Gadget Sycamore, 13
District Three Male
"I'm tired. Do we have to keep working on this shelter?"
"I'm hungry. Can we stop making this fire and go to the cafeteria now?"
"I'm bored. Let's go play one of the games over there instead of practicing camouflage, Gadge."
"Don't call me Gadge, please," Gadget replies, biting her lip in frustration. Even though his initial proposal of working together had seemed promising, especially since he was so, well, so much older than her, Paris had quickly proven to be the most annoying teenager she had ever met. "I want to keep practicing the camouflage - you never know what it could do in the arena."
"Well, that's stupid. You don't even know if there's going to be, like, trees or something in the arena. You know what? I don't want to keep on working with you. You're wasting our time."
"Good luck," she replies, with only a tinge of malice that the boy doesn't notice. Paris walks away, whistling something before heading over to one of the plant-identification stations, and she breathes a sigh of relief. He had seemed nice at first, he really had, but he was just so annoying. Gadget felt like she couldn't get a single thing done with Paris breathing down her shoulder, waiting for her to finish with what she was practicing so he could waste more of her time.
Maybe she doesn't need an ally in the arena. Yes, she's good on her own.
For now.
She finally finishes with the camouflage station after she's painted a butterfly across her arm, giggling at the zany colours that she's decorated it with. "There probably won't be anything as beautiful as this in the arena, will there?"
"Likely not," the instructor replies with a melancholic smile, and Gadget's stomach drops again with the remembrance that she's supposed to die in a few days.
It's hard to stay happy when she remembers that.
So the next station she heads to is the water station, where an instructor teaches her how to make a filter with commonplace materials. The man at the station seems to be happy to have someone here, and Gadget is amused by the fact that using a sock, gravel, and sand can provide clean water for her in the arena. She likes it - she doesn't want to be one of the people who die because they don't use clean water sources. But after finishing her water filter and draining enough water to take a small drink, she looks over at the section filled with snow. "Why is there snow in that part of the station? Why would you have to filter snow? Isn't it, like, rain water but solid?"
"Anything can get into the snow, and it's best to melt the snow before you eat or drink it. That way, your body doesn't have to generate as much heat so that you can properly consume it - if you're in a cold climate, it's going to be best for you to reserve as much heat as possible. Little things like this can win you the Games, and it's a crying shame that not enough people realize it's the small stuff, like your food and water, that will keep you alive out there."
What's the point if someone bigger and stronger than her slices her in half before she has a chance to survive? she wants to ask, but she keeps quiet out of courtesy for the instructor. He's been nice so far, and it wouldn't be very kind to offend him like that.
So she smiles, makes the filter to clean the snow that she boils at the fire-making station, then heads to the next area.
It's plant identification that she wants to try next, and she takes an uneasy seat next to Paris. He's gazing furiously at all of the different plants and their labels, likely so that he can get ready for another test at the screens in front of them. And soon he does, allowing Gadget to study the plants unabashedly. But he returns all too soon, cussing up a storm as he does so, and she notices by the scars on his hands - or, rather, the lack of scars on his hands - that he's not done the menial labour that most children from Three do in the factories. He's not from any of the Ember-villes, he's not used to hardship.
Maybe she shouldn't be so hard on him.
But when he pushes plants off of the table in disgust, she gives up and walks away. She doesn't want to confront him right now, when he's in his worst mood.
So instead, she finds herself on the rock wall.
Another girl, who looks like the one from District Five, is clambering up the rock wall as well so fast that her harness can barely keep up with her. When Gadget grabs a difficult handhold and pulls herself up, the girl risks losing her own grip to give Gadget a thumbs up and a grin.
Gadget likes her.
But she's now stuck - between a rock and a hard place. She can't find a way to haul herself up the wall without falling now, so she hangs in limbo as she looks for a way around the obstacle.
"You can do it!" the girl cheers, taking one last step up before she leaps up and latches her fingers around the final rockhold. And then Gadget sees it - a small hold on the side, just large enough for her fingers to fit in.
It may not be a good idea. It wasn't the safe option, and if she messes up, she's going to get something scraped to the bone, if not broken.
But when she grabs a hold of the wall after a wild, time-slowing leap, and realizes that she's made it past, Gadget feels nothing but bliss.
Kane Rowan, 16
District Eleven Male
Kane is tired - well, he's tired of being wrapped up in bandages and being cared for instead of getting the chance to train. He's been in the hospital ward of the Tribute's Building for the past day or so, just recovering from the nasty fall he took on the chariot.
Pity about that curtain, it was one of the things he hadn't thought to watch for.
He lifts a hand to his head and winces, feeling the mound of large, swarthy bandages that have been wrapped around it. One of the many nurses has injected him with some sort drug that hopefully will help his blood to clot quickly. Judging by the fact that the bandages are still dry, it should be working.
If all goes well, he'll be right as rain in time for the interviews.
But for now, he lies back in the bed and waits for someone to come, something is given to him, for something to happen. The first few hours of being here had been interesting, with the nurses bustling around and telling him that he was a poor dear before slipping him things to eat, but he wasn't allowed to move for fear that he would break something again. Now he's just stuck in the bed with no company except the massive television that hangs above the edge of his bed. A re-run of the Fifth Games is playing on the wide television screen, and he listens to the broadcast.
"Oh, and Sidney's just gotten to the top of the building! Ashira is making her way up as well - I say, how did they manage to get all of these animals to stampede the building? A spectacular job on the part of the mutt specialists, they certainly know their mutts. Oh, they're stampeding off of the building! And… and it's only Sidney and Ashira, and they look angry."
Kane shudders at the sight of Ashira slowly, surely defeating Sidney before finishing the job with a knife to the neck. He doesn't want to think of that right now, he doesn't want to be reminded of the fact that's supposed to be him.
He thought that if he would get a chance to train, he'd find a way to survive. Maybe there was something there to teach him to avoid conflict, to preserve his energy, to lay low until he needed to move.
But now he's bedridden until the nurses take pity on him.
They aren't the type who take pity on their patients easily.
There's a commotion at the end of the ward and he peers over to see another tribute walk in, plop down on a bed, and wait for one of the nurses to wrap bandages over his arm. Kane watches in interest, noting by the boy's uniform that he's from Eight. "How'd you get in here?"
"Oh, I fell off of the ropes station," the boy replies with a laugh. "I'm too careless for my own good, I guess. You?"
"Hurt myself on the chariots," Kane replies. More gruffly this time, he continues. "I hit my head… they wanted to make sure I was alright. Now I'm stuck in here for the rest of the week, I guess."
"Oh, cheer up! I'm sure it can't be that bad," Eight replies. "How come you can't leave if you're not bleeding? I mean, as soon as this is bandaged up I'm going to head back out and keep training. I'd like to make the most of every second I get, you know?"
"Complications," is Kane's answer. He likes the boy, he does, but he doesn't want to talk about hemophilia. Maybe it's best to keep some things to himself - if he lets others know about it, it would be easier for them to kill him off early and get one more competitor out of the way.
No, he'd like to stay silent.
"Ah," Eight replies, as if he understands perfectly. They sit there for a while, the nurse bandaging Eight's arm like no tomorrow. Then, Eight tries again. "So, I'm Chase. You're…?"
"Kane. Kane Rowan," he says. "Good to meet you!"
Chase grins back, and Kane notices how skinny he is. He's taller than he should be, being that thin.
It must be really bad in Eight if that's what they consider healthy.
"Well, I better get back to training now," Chase says when the nurse finishes wrapping his arm and a badly skinned knee. "Good luck, Kane - I hope you get out of here earlier than you expect."
"Same." Kane waves goodbye to Chase, then settles back into his bed. They're now playing the reaping recaps, and he watches the two from One jump onto the stage and declare their right to volunteer. They're both as fierce as he expected them to look - both ready to fight anyone who gets in their path. The tributes from Two look much the same, although the boy doesn't volunteer. He's reaped, instead, and gives the evil eye to anyone who dares to volunteer in his place. It works, and they both walk into the Justice Building before it cuts to District Three.
Kane leans back into his bed, letting his head sink into the pillows.
He doesn't want to be stuck here.
No, but he is.
So he might as well make the most of it.
He takes the remote, and backs through the tape until it's back to the beginning of the reaping recaps.
Then, he memorizes everything he can about his fellow tributes.
Our next chapter! How did y'all enjoy it? Any exciting parts? Do y'all think that these two will do well?
ATTENTION ATTENTION THIS IS A DOUBLE UPDATE - MAKE SURE TO HEAD TO THE NEXT CHAPTER AFTER READING THIS - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
Enjoy! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ