Justus Arculeo, 18

District Two Male

Justus couldn't help but twitch from nerves as he headed into the elevator, Phaedra right behind him, their hands entwined as he pushed the button for the training floor. Her other hand reached over to tug on the shoulder of his tank top, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Are you ready?" she asked as soon as the elevator door slid shut.

Breathing in and out slowly, Justus nodded his head. "You're sure I can do this?"

With a soft laugh, one that Justus knew was meant to reassure him, Phaedra squeezed his hand. "Of course I am. I always believe in you," she said loyally.

Justus couldn't help but smile down at her even as his heart pounded faster and faster in anticipation. "You're just supposed to say that because you're dating me," he joked, bringing his other hand to lightly graze over her ring.

Her lips brushed against his cheek in a light kiss. "I've always believed in you, even before I knew why. You're the strongest person I know, and you're going to prove that to everyone today."

His stomach fluttered at that, and Justus had to pause and make sure he wasn't going to throw up again. When another deep breath made him relax and realize he was fine, Justus gave her a muted smile.

"You were the first person to ever believe in me, you know that?"

Phaedra's lips parted in surprise, her eyebrows raising as she tried to form words. "Justus-"

"I know I have nothing to worry about as long as you're by my side," he said softly, the elevator dinging and effectively ruining the moment as the quiet chatter of tributes drifted into the once-peaceful spot. He just smiled and stepped out, leading her into the training center.

They were later than he'd hoped, catching the attention of most tributes as they stepped into the room. Justus quickly took note of the Ones, in white shirts, and the Fours, in blue, and headed over that way.

Justus tried to glance around and figure out who else they were waiting on, but it wasn't long before two beige shirts entered the room before promptly walking to opposite sides of the group, the Nines evidently not being friends. The girl seemed to be the more evident threat between the two, somewhat reluctantly standing with the tall boy from Five, but Justus knew that the ones that didn't seem to be big threats could be the most dangerous.

As the head trainer started giving instructions, Justus ducked his head down just enough to whisper in Phaedra's ear. "Let's work on learning names today," he suggested, already hoping to get a head start on keeping tabs on the others.

"We can turn it into a game," Phaedra whispered back with a grin. "See who remembers much from recaps."

"You're on."

Neither of them were too focused on the head trainer, already ready to start what would just be another day of training. Justus's brain was already kicked into overdrive, trying desperately to make up for how much of a failure he'd just discovered he was. All he wanted was to be worthy, to be good enough, and it had all been thrown in his face when it was too late for him to do anything about it.

He was already consumed by guilt over not telling Phaedra about it yet. There were no secrets between them and there never had been, so this was something completely unnatural, and yet…

Justus couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes and tell her that it was all for nothing. Every day of training together, the Fortuna Equestris, it was all for nothing because Justus was too hopeless to get into Mirador or the Games without his father's help.

Maybe the worst part was that for once, Justus had been confident in his own abilities.

He'd made that mistake once, but he certainly wouldn't do it again. Training was going to consume his life for the next few days, and he'd work harder than ever to earn the ability to stand by Phaedra's side, tall and proud.

Deep down, he knew there was no need to fight to compare himself to her. If he mentioned this to Phaedra, she'd just smile and say they were equals. But with the limited time he had left, Justus didn't want to disappoint her now.

A dozen strategies played through his mind all at once, trying to sort out the limited information he had so he could use it to his advantage. One piece stayed the same throughout every strategy, and he tucked that aside for later. Surely he and Phaedra would find a way to slip away from the pack at some point.

Before he knew it, the head trainer had dismissed them and the tributes were scattering throughout the room, some looking lost as they tried to settle on a station, more than likely trying to pick up skills for the first time. Justus could feel the desperation radiating off of them, resonating with it as he swallowed and turned to his allies, hoping he wasn't transparent enough for them to see how utterly weak he was.

Justus wouldn't consider himself the most proficient liar, but since he'd spent so much time lying to himself about his skills, maybe he'd be able to convince the others. And besides, if Phaedra of all people could believe in him, he couldn't fail.

Instead of heading out to the different stations, the already-established pack just clumped together in the center, already drawing stares from tributes around the room. He wasn't used to being watched like this, not since the Fortuna Equestris. He didn't necessarily mind it, per se, but he felt as if someone was trying to tear him apart with their eyes, finding every flaw and weakness he had in order to exploit them.

Wordlessly, Phaedra squeezed his hand again, not looking away from where Shai stepped into the middle of the circle to draw the attention of the others.

"Well, we should get the obvious out of the way," Shai said, making Justus's skin crawl in a way that was all too familiar. He didn't appreciate how the One boy reminded him of someone he'd very much like to forget.

"What, do you want to lead?" Phaedra asked curiously, raising an eyebrow. Her grip on Justus's hand tightened just enough to let him know that they were on the same wavelength, thinking of the same person, and she was willing to take the lead as he gathered his wits.

Luckily, Shai just snorted. "Definitely not. I figured we could put it to a vote or something."

"Maybe we should start by figuring out who actually wants to be the leader," Alila cut in, raising a stern eyebrow at Shai.

With a laugh, Shai backed down and took a step back to blend into the circle again. "Just a suggestion Alila, don't get so worked up over it. Besides, I figured we're probably going to default to one of these two golden children as the leader if someone doesn't step up first."

"I'll do it," Kano said, volunteering himself a little too eagerly. Beside him, Makani just gave a slight nod and glanced away. They obviously weren't as close as they'd tried to appear at parades, but Justus figured that was more Kano's doing than anything else.

"A little too eager, aren't we?" Shai smirked at Kano, and Justus could easily see that this would be a bad combination if Kano ended up leading.

Glancing around, he figured he didn't have much competition. Makani barely seemed interested in the conversation, already appearing to be more of a follower, which could come in handy. Phaedra would follow his lead, and both of the Ones seemed more content to disappear into the background for the time being.

"I'm not sure you're the best choice," Phaedra supplied, filling the silence as Justus tried to sort out how to go about this. "I think we need more of a strategist, and while you might be good at leading, I'm not sure if you're cut out to strategize the way we need."

Justus nearly smiled at the way Phaedra let him down, trying her best to be gentle and not start a fight. Knowing her, she was two seconds away from apologizing for coming off too harshly. Kano seemed a bit too… temperamental, and therefore they'd have to shut him down gently. Anything else and he'd risk tearing the pack apart down the line.

"So you think it should be you?" Kano frowned and crossed his arms.

Phaedra hesitated before replying, "No. I think it should be Justus."

There was a soft chuckle and Shai's mouth curled up into a smile. "Maybe he should speak up, then."

Swallowing hard, Justus glanced around the circle, trying to settle on what might work. "Maybe we both should give our training plans," he finally said, "it would help the others get a feel for our ideas as leaders."

Justus didn't have to look over at Phaedra to know she was proud of him, keeping an eye on Kano, who didn't quite seem to have a concrete idea like Justus did.

"I think we should split off into pairs," Justus started, going over what he told Phaedra last night. "For the morning we can work on whatever physical training we individually need to do, and then in the afternoon the pairs can go through survival stations. Having the survival stations split into three pairs will make sure they're evenly distributed, and hopefully we won't have any weak areas when it comes to survival."

Alila regarded him with a look, sizing him up. "How do we decide the pairs?"

"Whoever you're most comfortable with," Justus said lightly. "You can go with Shai if you want, or one of the Fours, but Phaedra and I are sticking together."

"I'll go with Kano here," Shai said, ignoring the other boy's protests as he slung an arm around his shoulders. "Cute plan, Justus. I think you'll make a truly delightful leader."

Kano was the only one that seemed to struggle, the girls both appearing content with the new leader. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before gritting his teeth, unable to find the words to respond, instead letting out a sigh.

Justus didn't respond to that, letting Kano shoot him one last look before going off to spar, Shai trailing along behind him. The Four boy's calm and cool demeanor seemed to be unraveling by the second, and he was going to be more of an issue than Justus had previously accounted for.

"I think you'll be a great leader," Makani said softly, barely glancing at Justus as she said it. "Don't let him get to you."

"I'm glad we didn't get stuck with a hothead like him," Alila agreed, the two girls sharing a smile before stepping away. "We'll take knot tying and traps later."

They headed off without another word, leaving Phaedra and Justus standing in the middle of the training center.

"You did it," Phaedra said softly, giving him a gentle smile.

And even though she was right, Justus couldn't help but feel as if he hadn't gotten what he wanted, not at all. Because if he'd accomplished what he wanted… why did he still not feel good enough?

Merix Joss, 15

District Three Male

Merix felt stranded as he slowly gravitated around the room, trying to settle down at a station but not knowing where to go. He adjusted his light green shirt again, trying to get comfortable in the clothes he'd been given. Somehow, he'd already lost Kyra, despite their promise to stick together for the first part of training, her matching green shirt over by two kids in purple.

His feet stalled, unwilling to walk over to meet up with Kyra. Even the Careers had split up, fanning out to start working at the different weapons stations. Merix's eyes lingered on the Twos and the way they each picked up a sword and shield as if it was an extension of their body before bile threatened to rise up in his throat and he turned away.

What to do, what to do… Merix's hands twitched at the very idea of finding a weapon of his own to wield. He couldn't stand the thought of harming anyone else, even if he'd been thrust into the Games, where death was practically inevitable.

Overall, Merix felt completely, hopelessly screwed.

But… he was tired of feeling that way. Merix had been weak from the day he was born, and it had made him a target for years. Even now, his gaze frantically darting around the room, his leg ached from the memory of being shattered in an incident when he was twelve. He half expected the tributes in here to turn on him as well, picking him apart for his flaws.

That's what finally made his feet start moving, and he ducked into the first station that he saw, wanting to avoid the attention of any other tributes. He wished that he could disappear, or that he could return to his skirts he'd used to hide his weakness for years.

Merix wanted to be anywhere but here, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to go back to how things were, either.

Surveying the Careers, Merix absentmindedly started fiddling with whatever station he'd wound up sitting at. The back of his mind told him that he'd ended up at the plant identification station, but he didn't even register what buttons he was pressing.

The Twos were sparring together, and while it was soon clear to Merix that the stronger one was the girl, he had to admire the way they worked together so well. The other girls were at weapons stations near each other, occasionally chatting with each other in between practicing, while the One boy was following the Four boy around, much to the annoyance of the latter.

They were completely terrifying, but Merix had to admire how strong each of them were. He could never be like them, even if he had ten or twenty more years to get to that level. Maybe he was doomed to be weak until the end, unable to change his fate.

Wincing, Merix realized that he could feel a headache coming on, and he turned back to his station, hoping that it could give him something to focus on, a way to clear his head. He soon fell into a rhythm, reading through the information given and then taking little quizzes to see what he had retained. In an odd way, it was a completely mindless activity, allowing him to calm down as he achieved something.

He hoped that this information would come in handy at the very least.

A few hums of frustration reached his ears, and Merix carefully looked around to discover the source. In his haste to sit down, he hadn't even noticed that there was someone else at this station, sitting on the other side of it as she squinted at the plants listed in front of her.

Even a few days ago, Merix wouldn't have dared to open his mouth and say something. The thought of it would have been ridiculous, the most terrifying thing he could think of. Who was he to offer help to someone that may not even need it?

But Merix had always believed that people deserved the best, even if he hadn't been shown that kindness in return, and so he tentatively cleared his throat.

"Do you, um… need help?"

The girl froze, her eyes still narrowed on the screen in front of her. Merix tried to go back through the recap to remember her name, but he could only place her as the Nine girl from the beige shirt she wore. He was pretty sure it was something like Lily or Lilith, but he didn't want to accidentally call her the wrong name and risk ruining this attempt at reaching out.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before her eyes finally darted over to his. "Yes," she said stiffly, "but no."

Merix wasn't sure what to make of that, his head tilting to the side as he tried to figure out how to proceed. "Some of them want you to determine exactly how much of the plant is poisonous," he finally offered, hoping general advice would help. "Like the one about hemlock, it's the whole plant that's poisonous, not just the flowers."

He watched as she paused and tapped around a few times, her brows furrowing as she finally selected an answer. The vaguest sense of relief flooded her face, but she didn't look at him again as she responded with a quiet, "Thanks."

It may not have been much, but Merix was pleased with himself. He'd told himself on the train that getting allies would probably be his only way out of here, and while he wasn't sure how to go about that, being nice probably couldn't hurt. Maybe he could help out someone else on their journey to winning just by existing…

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Merix tried to focus back on his screen, tucking a strand of long red hair behind his ear as he heard footsteps approach, instinctively hunching over to appear smaller and less noticeable. To his relief, the steps headed to the other side of the station, by the girl Merix had just been talking to.

"Hey there, Lily Bean!"

"I told you not to call me that," she insisted, her glare focused on the screen in front of her. "Besides, I thought you were trying to find a weapon."

"I worked on my strength for a bit and didn't want to exhaust myself so soon," he said lightly. "Besides, if we're allies, I figure we might stick together."

As the two kept talking, Merix shot looks at the boy, eventually recalling that his name was Arcturus and he was from Five. He tried to keep his head ducked to stay unnoticed as his mind whirred faster, reminding him of his recent promise to be stronger. Here was a strong boy, right in front of him, and what was he doing about it? Nothing, because in the end he was weak and worthless and maybe that would never change.

Releasing a slow, shuddering breath, Merix tried to push those thoughts out of his mind. He wished more than anything that Agoura was here to reassure him - either form of her. But she was gone and Merix was truly alone for the first time in his life.

And maybe… maybe it was time to do something about it.

The boy - no, Arcturus - was heading away again, grinning back at Nine as he went. Merix's feet started moving before he could even think to stop himself, and he was sure that he flailed in an unseemly way as he skidded to a stop in front of Arcturus, momentarily frozen by the way the Five boy towered over him.

Merix had never felt quite so small before, but somehow, he'd never felt as brave, either.

"Whoa, sorry!" Arcturus yelped, jumping back in an effort to not run over Merix. "Didn't see you there!"

Even though his feet were rooted in place and Merix could barely even think when he was put on the spot like this, he managed to open up his mouth and force out, "No! You're fine, it's my fault!"

Arcturus blinked down at him before offering a smile. "Either way, sorry I almost ran you over! Good luck with the rest of your training!"

He moved to step around Merix, but Merix thought quickly and jumped in front of him again. "W-wait! I want… I want your help!"

That caught Arcturus's attention again, and he tilted his head as he glanced down at Merix. "What's up?"

"I… I…" Merix's brain short-circuited as he tried to figure out how to phrase what he wanted from the taller boy before he squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out, "I want to be strong like you!"

The silence between them was brief, and Merix opened his eyes after he didn't hear an immediate answer, his hands clenched into fists at his side. He braced himself for the answer he already knew was coming, that he'd never be strong and he was doomed to be weak forever.

"That's ridiculous, you could never be strong like me!" Arcturus said all too cheerfully.

Merix's shoulders fell, longingly glancing over at the survival stations once more. He wished he'd never left. Was this going to turn out just like school, when he was too weak and paid the price for it? The trainers here would be able to stop it, right? Here he was, still relying on other people, because he was just as useless as ever-

"Don't sweat it, Merix." Arcturus draped an arm over his shoulders and gave him a goofy grin. "You'll be your own kind of strong! And I can help you, yeah?"

Hope bloomed in Merix's chest for the first time since he'd heard his name come out of that dreaded bowl and realized everyone knew his secret now, whether he wanted them to or not. This was help being offered by someone who was, without a doubt, strong and Merix would be a fool to pass him up on the offer.

He let a soft smile creep on his face and nodded. "I... I would like that."

"Great!" Arcturus cheered, leading him over to the quiet girl that barely blinked as she saw them heading over.

"You went off and adopted some poor tribute, huh?" she mumbled, methodically tying knots as if she already knew how.

Arcturus didn't seem to be bothered by her comment at all. "That's Lilith! And I'm Arcturus, but my friends call me Nash."

Merix hesitated before asking, "So… do you want me to call you Nash?"

"Of course!" His smile was practically blinding in its intensity. "We're friends now!"

Merix's heart fluttered with the feeling of hope as he smiled back at Arctur- no, at Nash. Maybe he could do something after all, maybe he could be brave and strong. He could learn from someone, from a friend that was willing to teach him.

Strength lesson number one: being strong often comes out of being brave and doing things that would normally terrify you. It means that you're stronger than the weakness that holds you back.

Alila Perwane, 18

District One Female

Distractions were a foreign concept to Alila, as she was someone that knew how to keep focused when it was demanded of her. She didn't get distracted, she knew how to push aside anything that could divert her from her main goal.

But this was something different. She'd never expected to volunteer for the Games and then be shaken so deeply that it threw her off in every waking moment. Even the silence that she craved was permeated by thoughts of the boy that reminded her of the brother she loved so dearly.

Honestly, it made sense. She'd been lulled into a false sense of security after seeing her allies for the first time and realizing that she'd gotten everything she was hoping for. Phaedra and Justus were eating up just as much attention as she assumed they would, Shai had immediately latched onto Kano, and Makani had a Victor for a brother. They all had something that would draw attention to them, and Alila was just… there. She wasn't there to make friends, she wasn't there to revel in the spotlight like she had back home, she was there to win and she'd do whatever was needed of her. The showmanship she would display would be subtle, the kind that would keep gamemakers entertained but prevent her allies from looking at her twice.

In the singular moment that she'd gained everything, she'd also managed to lose it all.

Braiding her hair this morning had been a chore, and for the first time in years, she'd messed up and had to start anew. Her thoughts were scattered completely, as if the appearance of Thay had managed to shatter everything holding her together.

Even now, fans in hand, she felt herself resisting the urge to look around the room and spot him again. Alila was hyper aware of Makani only a station over from her and the way Makani kept shooting her concerned looks every time she froze. She didn't want the attention or the pity of the girl, even if she meant well.

Alila adjusted the fans in her hands and attacked a dummy with a careful spin, dancing around it on the tips of her toes while slicing at every weak point she could manage within the span of a few seconds. She knew no opponent would just stand there and wait to die, so she enjoyed testing how much damage she could cause in the shortest amount of time. It was a game to her, finding new ways to deal quick and painless deaths. She always strived to be efficient above all else.

"Good job," Makani offered from beside her.

"Thanks," Alila said, twisting her wrist and wincing. "I'm still trying to get used to the feel of these fans before I go up against a trainer."

At the very least, Makani was good at providing bits of conversation before fading out again. Alila briefly wondered what kinds of things were on her mind, what made her delicate face turn somber when she thought no one was looking at her. But she also knew that they weren't close, and Alila wasn't sure if they'd ever be close enough for her to uncover that secret. She wouldn't be quick to trust her allies, no matter how nice they appeared to be right now. There were countless records of Games where the One tributes fell to their allies due to acts of betrayal, and Alila wasn't about to let that happen to her.

Twos were notorious for going the farthest. Fours were known for going out early. And while Ones were good at holding the spotlight, that put them in danger of being targeted by gamemaker traps or being betrayed by their allies.

Alila sighed and found herself looking around again, her eyes lingering on Thay when she saw him sitting at one of the survival stations. He didn't seem fully focused on what the trainer was telling him, absentmindedly tying knots as he surveyed the tributes around him.

If Alila squinted, she could pretend he was Thee, sitting quietly in the same room as her. The silence they shared was more important than anything else in her life, as Alila had learned through her years that the things left unsaid were the loudest of all.

With a jolt, Alila realized that Thay's gaze had met her own for the briefest of moments, his eyes just as dark as the nearly obsidian color of Thee's but holding none of the hidden light. It made her wonder just how different Thee would have been if he'd stayed in Nine instead of being rescued by Alila's family.

It was finally enough to make her tear her eyes away, and she recognized the now-familiar weight of Makani's eyes on her. All Alila could do was try to shrug it off, attempt to return to the task at hand.

A hand on her shoulder stopped her just as she was about to duck down to come at the dummy from below, and Alila couldn't help but frown slightly as Makani stepped closer.

"Spar with me," she offered, gesturing to the ring.

When Alila didn't respond immediately, Makani lowered her arm slightly. "Just a couple rounds, maybe?"

Alila paused before nodding, slotting her fans back into their previous position before trailing after Makani. As long as the weapons they used didn't have real blades, and as long as they didn't go for any cheap shots, the tributes were allowed to spar with each other if that's what they wanted. Phaedra and Justus had been doing that for a while now, their soft laughter occasionally echoing through the room.

Makani shot her a shy smile before handing her a couple of the fans and grabbing two knives for herself. Alila flipped the fans over in her hands, trying to get used to the unfamiliar weapon before she had to fight with it.

The ring was lightly sketched out on the ground, so stumbling outside of it would be an instant loss. It was small, this one meant for close range weapons like Alila's fans and Makani's knives.

"Are those your usual weapon of choice?" Alila couldn't help but ask as she stepped inside the ring.

Shaking her head, Makani replied, "I'm more of a bow person, but that won't do me much good here. I might as well get a little more practice with knives against someone with a weapon I don't normally see."

Alila couldn't argue with that, rolling her shoulders as she got ready to fight against a real opponent for the first time since that hellish week where she'd been chosen as the volunteer. She worked best on her own, but she couldn't deny the opportunity to go up against someone that had been trained.

Across the ring, Makani stood casually, having toed off her shoes to leave her feet bare. Alila felt her mind go into overdrive, attempting to analyze everything about the situation and store information away for later. She didn't want to go all out now, not when she could very well be facing off against Makani in the arena, but she wanted to show just enough to let everyone else know she was a real threat.

To her surprise, Makani rushed at her first, not giving her much of an opportunity to finish planning her first move. Alila found herself barely able to duck out of the way of a knife swinging at her head, but that left her vulnerable to a slice to the stomach. If these were real blades, Makani might have caught Alila off guard enough to give her a wound that would've kept her down for a moment.

Instead, it made Alila wince and suck in a breath. Makani was faster than she'd anticipated, but surprise was the main advantage Alila could see.

"Not bad," Alila commended, nodding lightly. "Quick on your feet."

"When I can't stay out of the way entirely, I'd prefer to not get caught."

Unwilling to let Makani catch her off guard a second time, Alila made the first move, lunging forward and twisting her wrist to open one of her fans. Makani instinctively reached up with one of her knives to block her face, but another flick of Alila's wrist made the knife fly out of her opponent's hand entirely. She pivoted on one foot to try and corner Makani now that she only had one weapon, but Makani just darted out of the way once again.

Letting out a soft laugh, Makani tossed her remaining knife between her hands. "I guess I should've expected it to get caught between the blades."

"Well," Alila said, wondering why she was entertaining this small talk, "now you know and can adapt."

"Will you keep sparring with me?" Makani blurted out, even though they hadn't gone through their promised few rounds yet.

Alila sized her up slowly, taking note of the way Makani was everything a trained tribute should be just… messy. Her form was a bit all over the place, and while Alila assumed she truly was talented with the bow, she doubted how well Makani could hold her own in a fight.

And… for some reason, Alila found herself smiling back at the girl. "We'll go until you can take me down or lunch is called, whatever happens first."

Alila couldn't say for sure why she was actively helping someone that was supposed to be one of her opponents, but she also couldn't find it in her heart to say no. Maybe it was because despite how hard she tried, she couldn't get Thee out of her head.

Maybe it was because that's what Thee would do, and no matter how hard she tried to forget about him right now, he was what kept her going.

Eleanor "Norrie" Holmia, 16

District Five female

With bandages spread out around her, Eleanor had gotten into a rhythm of tying a tourniquet around the arm in front of her, staunching the flow of blood with clean gauze, and then wrapping it with a self adhesive bandage to finish it off. She remembered from school that stopping the bleeding was the most important part of taking care of any wound, and she was glad that information could finally come in handy now.

The trainer in charge of the station she was at kept giving her odd looks as she surged ahead without requiring any assistance from them, solely relying on the things she'd learned a long while ago. Sometimes she impressed herself with the amount of knowledge she was able to retain.

The next part of this station had her flipping through the booklet provided to skim the information on healing pastes. She wasn't entirely unfamiliar with them, having to deal with a few scrapes and burns of her own throughout the years, but it wasn't the kind of information freely given in Five.

Eleanor heard a familiar laugh ring through the room as she started grabbing the proper plants to make a healing paste, glancing up to see that Nash had a nice little alliance now. It brought a slight smile to her face, as she didn't have it in her to feel hurt by him finding an alliance with others instead of her. She was just glad that he had people that could help him out.

Pulling a small bowl towards her, Eleanor started pulverizing some of the leaves in it, letting out a quiet hum as she thought. So far during training she'd merely been feeding into her insatiable desire to learn, but she still had to look ahead. There were so many girls back home, and whether they knew it or not, they were relying on her to tell Panem about everything they'd been through, about the horror of being forced to work in a factory that was slowly killing them.

Eleanor couldn't let anyone else end up like her, withering away where she stood.

Allies were always the first step to surviving, Eleanor knew that much from watching the Games year after year. Loners had to fend for themselves and usually died off earlier in the Games because of it. It was just… harder, and while Eleanor knew there was a strong chance she'd end up dead in a few weeks, she hoped at least she could die surrounded by people that cared about her, even if it was just for a little while.

Besides the Careers and the group Nash had gotten together, there didn't seem to be any other alliances readily forming- or, at least, none that she could see. Eleanor was hoping she could just blend into one, as she'd never been much of a leader, but it was looking like maybe she'd have to find someone to join an alliance with her and hope for the best.

A quick glance told Eleanor that this station was empty save for the girl from Eight, who didn't appear to be catching on as quickly as Eleanor had. Her head was down, her hair falling into her face as she tried and failed to tie the tourniquet tightly enough to keep it from slipping down.

"Can I help?" Eleanor offered, scooting over with the arm she was working on.

Eight reluctantly looked over, not willing to verbalize that she needed help but willing to at least take in what Eleanor had to say.

"See, if you pull both ends tight and then loop this part under," Eleanor said, letting her actions mirror her words, "then it'll stay in place and you can release it with one pull as soon as you're done using it."

Eleanor pulled back on the tourniquet and, with a light snap, it freed itself without her struggling to untie it. The other girl's eyes widened slightly before she went to mimic it, the tourniquet still loose compared to Eleanor's but tighter than all of her past attempts.

"... Thanks," she said gruffly, her voice quiet.

"My name is Norrie," Eleanor offered gently, extending a hand to the girl in the hopes that she'd take it.

Eight regarded her outstretched hand silently for several seconds, and Eleanor was worried she'd reject it entirely before a calloused hand met her own. "Jack," was all she said in return.

That's right, Jacqueline had been the name from the recap. Jack must have been a nickname, and now Eleanor was glad that she'd waited to see what the girl went by instead of trying to come up with her name on her own.

"Nice to meet you." Eleanor smiled, pleased that she'd at least managed to make an acquaintance, even if it hadn't turned into a friendship or alliance yet. It was all about small steps, and Eleanor was sure that soon enough they'd start adding up.

Though Jack didn't smile in return, she also didn't frown as she returned to the arm she'd been trying to bandage up. Eleanor considered that a win in her book, so she returned to the slightly more comfortable silence without complaint. She did best when there was some kind of small talk that could fill in the gaps, but as long as the silence didn't suffocate her, she figured she couldn't complain too much.

Footsteps approached the station as Eleanor kept working, and when they didn't keep going, she looked up to see a girl in a purple shirt standing over them. Her dark hair was kept loose, merely tucked back behind an ear, and she grinned at Eleanor.

"You're from Five, right? Eleanor, was it?" she asked, extending a hand for Eleanor to grab. "Would you be interested in any allies?"

Even though a "no" was on the tip of her tongue, Eleanor couldn't bring herself to say it, instead letting the girl take her hand and lead her over to the fire starting station. She did need allies, after all, and who was she to refuse when some were handed to her so easily?

There were four other tributes waiting there, most of them briefly looking at Eleanor before returning to their tasks. The only one that kept her gaze was in purple, the District Partner to the girl that had led Eleanor over. If she tried, Eleanor was sure that she could eventually come up with the names of each tribute, but for now she just recognized the other three as the pair from Ten and the girl from Three.

"I'm Imperia," the Six girl said, evidently not one to shy away from anything. "And this is my District Partner…"

Imperia paused and looked at the boy quizzically before he supplied his name. "Jude."

The other three introduced themselves as Teagan and Liam from Ten and Kyra from Three. Teagan and Liam seemed the closest, and Kyra appeared to mostly keep to herself. It was an odd alliance, but in the Games you had to learn how to make things work.

Turning to Eleanor expectedly, Imperia smiled. "And your name is…?" she asked, already knowing the answer but letting her introduce herself to the others first.

Her mouth felt suddenly dry, as if Eleanor was about to get way in over her head. But there was no way out, no way that she could see that would help her escape, and so she opened her mouth to respond with, "My name's N-"

"Hey, Norrie!"

Eleanor spun on her heel towards the voice, wondering who would know to refer to her as Norrie outside of Nash. She was surprised to see the Nine boy headed over to her, recognizing him from his beige shirt and fluffy black hair. As the only outer District volunteer, his name stuck out a little more in her mind.

"Hi, uh, Thay." Her smile was stretched thin as she glanced between Imperia, whose kind smile had faltered as the boy approached.

"Sorry, Norrie and I were already planning to be in an alliance," he said smoothly, taking a step to where he was just barely in front of Eleanor.

Imperia hummed in response, her eyes barely narrowing. "Funny, I don't remember seeing you together during training at all."

"We didn't want to make anything too official yet," Thay replied easily, unaffected by her frigid gaze cutting into him. "Besides, I didn't think anyone was going to try and steal her away like that."

"Why don't you let her choose?" Imperia asked, turning back to Eleanor with a look that betrayed nothing. "Would you like to stay with us?"

Thay watched her hesitate for a moment before saying, "Or you could ally with me."

Eleanor wasn't sure how she'd gone from having no allies to having to choose between two groups, but in that moment neither felt like the right option. They were both staring at her expectantly, but when Eleanor looked down to the rest of Imperia's allies and saw Jude's all-too charming smile, she found herself taking another step behind Thay.

"I'll, uh, stay with you," she mumbled, sticking to their lie of having been allies all along.

Imperia's face went back to the pleasant neutral she'd presented before, but her eyes never left Thay's as she said, "Good luck, then."

He didn't look bothered at all, merely tilting his head as he sized her up once more. "Good luck to you as well. I imagine you'll need it as you get your alliance exactly how you want them."

And with that he gripped Eleanor's arm and led her away, over to the opposite side of the room from where the Sixes sat. Eleanor found it hard to breathe all of a sudden, sitting down in a heap on the floor.

"Why would you do that?" Eleanor asked breathlessly, still trying to recover from whatever situation she'd found herself in.

For the briefest of moments, as Thay looked her over with cold eyes, Eleanor wondered if she was any better siding with him. But then the tension left his shoulders and he offered her something that… wasn't quite a smile, but she decided to interpret it as such.

"I thought you were more useful than that," he replied simply. "It would have been a shame to see you waste away in that alliance."

"Are they… bad?" Eleanor asked, her head spinning as it tried to catch up with what had just happened. She didn't want to believe that they would've wanted something bad from her - after all, everyone here just wanted to survive - but she couldn't deny the queasy feeling in her stomach that lingered even after she was out of their sight.

Thay twisted a ring on his finger, regarding her with a look. "It's hard to say for sure. All I know is that I do want to ally with you because I think you're meant for more. You don't have to stay with me, of course, but I thought I'd make a more official offer to you here."

An alliance offer from the only outer District volunteer… Eleanor wasn't sure what he offered, but he couldn't be completely helpless if he'd volunteered. He seemed to be smart at the very least, and maybe he'd make good company at the end of the day. Eleanor still found herself in desperate need of allies, and if this boy was offering, she didn't see a reason to say no.

"I'll ally with you," she finally said, holding her hand out to him.

Thay slowly took it, giving her hand a single firm shake before releasing it. "I think we'll make a great team," he said solemnly, nodding his head. "Would you like to go back to the medicine station?"

Eleanor paused as she looked around, noticing that the plant identification station had been abandoned. "Actually, let's head that way," she suggested, looking to him for guidance. "And then… maybe weapons after lunch?"

"Sounds fine to me," he agreed, getting up to head that way.

Smiling to herself, Eleanor followed, already confident that she'd made the right decision. She felt sure that Thay really was trying to help her, and she felt more comfortable in a small alliance anyway. For a moment, she felt a tinge of regret that she'd left Jack behind, as she'd hoped that the two could find a way to become allies, but maybe she'd find a way later.

There was still more time, and Eleanor would find a way to use every bit of it she could.