Dimitri Muller, 16
District Two Male

He watches the other guys spar around playfully as they wait for their turn in the ring, two boys already fighting their hearts out in the ring. One punches the other right in the chin, blood spurting out from the second boy's mouth before he tackles the other boy and lets his fists rain down on him, not stopping until the first boy stops moving.

It's finally Trials Week.

He looks down at the harness attached to his belt, moving his arms from side to side to stretch before tugging at his black and red collared-shirt. Only eleven other boys in the Academy have red shirts - they're the other eleven fighting for the spot of Two's male volunteer. He doesn't understand why they would want to play with the fate of the gods by volunteering, or why he was picked to do the same. Why would you play with fate itself, when you should let it be?

He remembers the first time he remembers hearing of the Hunger Games - his parents were fortunate enough to receive tickets to the Gala celebrating Two's second victor, Natalia Haines. Only later he had been told that his father had done a few illicit favours for the Mayor, and was returned the favour through the tickets and a promotion.

Dimitri, only seven years old and with a head full of reddish-brown hair, had walked through the short, labyrinthic streets of his town and took a rickety bus to the capital city of District Two. There, they had entered the gorgeous Hall of Justice, which had been cleaned enough for Dimitri to see his reflection on the floor as he walked inside. The marble floors made his shoes echo throughout the halls, and Dimitri's mother had pulled him out of his shock and to their table - only a few seats away from Two's newest victor.

He doesn't remember much from the conversation, but he does remember Natalia telling him about 'honourable combat' and 'glorious trials' that had led to her victory. As he walked to the bus stop with a signed picture of Natalia in his hand, a clear mental image formed in his mind - gods up in the skies of Panem, watching over the citizens of Panem and testing the finest with whatever Natalia had won - the Hunger Games?

He hung Natalia's picture up on the side of his bedroom wall so he could brag to his friends that he had met a celebrity, and went to bed thinking of the gods above his head.

As he got older, he saw more of these Hunger Games, and concluded that they must be tests from whatever gods watched over Panem to punish them for the Dark Days. How else would you justify the violence, the deaths in the Games? Surely they must mean something, anything at all. They must. They had to.

He decided that the gods chose specific teenagers from the crowd to be reaped for the Games, that the hands of the escorts were guided to make the right pick for the Games. That was why he was so caught off guard when he saw his first volunteer, a tall boy with dark eyes and an angry face who marched up the steps of the stage and saluted to the crowd. Why would he stop the choice of the gods from entering what was supposed to be their challenge? Why was this insolent teenager allowed to enter on a whim? It was fate that was supposed to choose tributes for the Games, not teens from the crowd. When the boy died to a wiry girl from one of the rural districts, Dimitri nodded in grim satisfaction. At least the gods had allowed justice to commence the way it should.

No, volunteering was a bad decision. Dimitri was only here because it made his family money - a recent program introduced by the heads of District Two allowed the highest-ranking cadets from Two's Academy to earn a monthly pension from the government. It wasn't much, but it was enough to help support his family. Perhaps it went against the standards he should hold himself up to, but at least he won't attempt to volunteer.

When he tried to explain that to his teachers in the Academy, they had laughed in his face and told him to go work in the kitchen on dish duty once more. Not many people believed what he said, and most of those who did were too young and too naive to matter. Dimitri liked to keep things to himself. It was better that way, so he wouldn't interrupt the status quo of the Academy. Perhaps they were angering the gods through their will to train tributes for the Games, but at least they wouldn't force him. Although he had the black and red shirt on, it was merely a formality. He and the victors had an understanding that unless he was reaped directly, he wouldn't enter the Hunger Games.

"Muller, you're up!" one of the instructors bark. She points to the rock wall, where another boy was preparing by rubbing his hands in chalk dust and stretching. "You're doing The Wall today."

"I'd be delighted!" Dimitri replies. He stretches as well and makes his way through the crowd, ignoring the younger children who stopped and stared at him. A few cadets had spread the rumour that Dimitri was crazy, a loon who was here because his parents didn't want him in an asylum, but he had stopped them from continuing it after beating them against the back wall of the school. Two of them admitted themselves to the infirmary, and the other cadets stopped speaking about Dimitri. At least in public, of course.

"I can't wait to beat a candidate," the other boy laughs as he prepares to ascend The Wall. "I haven't lost one of these matches yet, Muller. I'd like to see someone keep up with me."

"I sure will," Dimitri mutters, then launches himself up the wall as an instructor rings the bell. He heads up the right side of the rock face, towards a blunted knife that he likes to use in these fights. Then, he starts to muscle his way towards the other tribute. He's made a good pick, a quarterstaff that will knock him off of the wall if he isn't careful, but Dimitri can defeat him. He just has to wait until they make a mistake.

And the boy does when his left foot slips, causing him to stop in his path. It gives Dimitri the chance to approach him with the knife and stab at his face. It leaves a red mark of paint and just a bit of blood before Dimitri kicks the boy's other foot off of the wall, and Dimitri's opponent lets go of the wall.

"We have a winner!" Dimitri laughs as he rappels down the wall, walking to shake the other boy's hand. "Good game there. I'll have to be more careful next time, you have an eye for climbing and know how to hold a weapon. Work on your balance, and you'll beat me."

"Thank… you?" The boy appears puzzled, and Dimitri smiles again before disappearing into the crowd.

The Academy might not understand him, but at least they respect him.

That's all he wants.

Another intro! I'm glad to bring you this one, because I really enjoy Dimitri and think that he's going to be a lot of fun. How do y'all like him?

And now, we only have seven more intros before the Capitol! Very very exciting, especially since I've written my way into the arena. Yes, you should be very frightened and scared for your children.

You'll be getting the next intro on March 14th, so that's only a few days away! I won't make you wait as long this time :D

Enjoy! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ