Enigma Fenn (D1Mentor)

I looked up at Prosper. He was taller than I was, and he held himself with a confident air. Fake. He's likely to crack if he's put under too much pressure. Going to be noticed by the Capitol, make a good leader. I did the same for Alexandria, judging her inner secrets while keeping a straight face. Actually confident. Not fighting for herself, so she already has a reason. Also a good leader.

"Both you and Prosper want to be leader, right?" I asked Alexandria, keeping myself blank. I could see both of them judging me, my small stature, my young age. They could deal with it. They hadn't won the Games at thirteen.

"I... guess so," Alexandria replied, and I judged her for it. She was faking. She was good at it, but she was definitely faking. She wanted control.

"Alexandria, you should be leader. You're more used to being in leadership situations. You'll get the pros of making decisions. Prosper, you'll get the pros of not being blamed when things go wrong. Sound good?" It didn't matter what they said. I knew them. That was going to please both of them. I knew it before they did.

Totsuki Sugihara (D2Mentor)

I sighed when my tributes walked onto the train. Cassiopeia looked nervous. A nervous Career was the last thing Two needed, and it wasn't something I wanted to deal with. Gallant was broken. He had obviously lived a hard life. He could be a fighter, and he definitely looked like he was one, but that didn't mean he was going to be worth my time, either. Maybe, maybe not.

"Do you two want to train together or separately?" I asked my charges. I hoped they would pick separately. Then I'd only have to deal with training one kid, likely Cassiopeia, and I'd get to go home afterward. If they said together, I'd be stuck with both, and with handling sponsors.

"Together." I'm going to kill you before the Games begin.

Tellie Cathode (D3Mentor)

This year, I got the female. I liked that. Females tended to be more willing to talk to me, for some odd reason. I judged Lexi when she walked up to the train, trying to get a feel for the best way to mentor her. The sooner I brought home another Victor, the sooner I got to retire.

"So, Lexi, what did you do in your District?" I asked my charge, wanting to know her past experience. Random things could come in handy in the Games. Maybe she knew how to make power tools or something.

"I'm a stripper." Lexi said her response flatly, without pride or disgust. I felt that clearly. I'm a mentor. I won the Games. Nice.

"Good. You're probably physically strong, then. Hide that. Hide it like your life depends on it, since it really does. Focus on survival, since no one will expect a Three to be able to take them down." This year, we had a real chance.

Talaysa Pool (D4Mentor)

Argentina was so pretty. I could hardly focus on anything but how pretty she was. I wasn't going to be a very good mentor if I could only focus on one of my tributes, but Rio was a little boring compared to her. He was a good boy, I was sure, but nothing like Argentina. She should have been a model instead of a Career. That was all there was to it.

"All right you two! How do you wanna train? Do you have a plan or anything?" I asked my two mentees, finally learning that I was supposed to do things like that. Argentina was probably going to seduce everyone.

"I wanna stick with the Careers, like anyone would," Rio replied. He seemed nervous. It made sense. He was a kid.

"Oh, I'm probably going to lead the Career Pack, unless someone else wants that job. I'd hate to steal the spotlight from anyone unless it's totally necessary, like to win the Games. I'd only do that because I have to live, though," Tina replied. I was amazed. She was a perfect person.

Sol Johnson (D5Mentor)

This year, my tributes didn't need me. I was best as a father, soothing the children who were scared in their last days before they were sent to their deaths. Adair didn't need that. He was tough as nails, used to tricking his way through life. Cecilia didn't need that. She was strong and sassy, everything a father wouldn't want to have to deal with. I have to switch my attack.

"All right, you two," I said to the children, leaning in on the table. "Your best bet is probably to ally with each other. You're pre-made allies-"

"No," Cecilia interrupted mid-sentence.

"Okay then, don't ally with each other. Cecilia, why don't you watch the Reaping tapes? I'll help you after Adair, while Adair watches the tapes." Never sass a mentor, child.

Rodney Sanchez (D6Mentor)

It wasn't going to get any easier. It was my third year mentoring, and still I hated having to watch children die. Someday I'd toughen up, but I didn't look forward to that day. It was better to mourn that be a rock.

"Are you a real person? Did you really kill anyone? Lyte says the Games are fake. Are they? What's the Capitol like? Are you going to teach me how to kill people, or do we just pull the winner out of a hat?" Nixon asked me, running around the train and picking up random things. Rhiannon was just staring out the window, pointing at trees and smiling at the mountains. She would have been easier to mentor, but I wasn't going to kill a child's light.

"I am a real person, and I really did kill someone," I replied seriously. "The Games are really real, and the Victor isn't picked out of a hat. You're going to have to focus, or you won't get back to your District. I need you to listen to me seriously. We can goof off later, but right now, we need to make a plan."

Cassia Rose (D7Mentor)

Both Alfred - Raven, he wanted to be called - and Yvette were quite quiet and subdued. They walked onto the train more calmly than I ever would have expected from children of their ages, more calmly than I had when I had been Reaped. Still, they didn't look likely to win. They hardly looked likely to try.

"I'm sorry if I get you sick. I hope you can afford proper medical care," Raven said, sitting down across from me. I shook my head.

"Never focus on that. Don't let the Capitol know you're sick unless you're certain - positively, absolutely, I've-already-sent-you-a-tent certain - that you have sponsors. They'll ditch if you do. You need to form a personality outside of that, or you're not going to get anywhere," I replied. It was nice to have a polite kid, for sure, but I wasn't going to let his politeness get the best of him.

Yvette spoke up. "Would you like me to brew you a drink?"

Rybbon Marbroox (D8Mentor)

Lacey and Isaac seemed like two sides of the same coin. Lacey reminded me or myself before the Games, a bright, idealistic young girl who wasn't prepared at all for what was thrown at her. Isaac looked like me after the Games, a more calm, responsible child - still a child, despite everything that had happened - who had too much thrown at them and was forced to adapt. I didn't want to see what would happen to him if he won.

"Do you two have a plan?" I asked, skipping straight ahead to the Games. Introductions didn't seem to go too well for me. Neither did that question, though, I learned, when both of my tributes shook their heads. "Then we'll have to make one. What are your strengths?"

Lacey spoke up immediately. "I tend to stick out, since I'm always willing to argue, and I can be pretty intelligent at times," she said to me, obviously downplaying herself. She knew she was smart. I knew that I needed to get Isaac out of his shell.

Flora Amfora (D9Mentor/Escort)

Jade walked into the train without saying a word, simply cocking her head at me and waiting for me to speak. Jacob stared at me with what could have been disgust, possibly since I looked so different from him. Well, he could deal with it. He was going to be pretty weird to the Capitol, after all.

"What can I do for you two?" I asked, calmly drinking my tea. If they chose to suck, they'd suck. If those chose to be worth my time, I'd make sure they didn't regret their decision. Either way, their lives were totally in their hands.

"I think I need a plan," Jade said to me, her voice so low I hardly noticed it. I nodded.

"Then a plan we will make. You're obviously used to being quiet, so you can use that to your advantage. Don't get noticed by anyone but the Capitol, and get noticed by the Capitol surreptitiously - by seeing people after training and the likes. Do not let any tributes think about you." I could give dang good advice when I so chose.

Nyra Pickering (D10Mentor)

Theodore was a leader. Definitely willing to do what he needed to do, used to being taught into a leading stance. He looked like everything I had fought against in my District until Ginger threatened to kill me. Lumara was a rebel. I saw the scars on her arms, which she either got rebelliously or did to herself, which was still pretty out of the ordinary. Either way, I had one tribute I liked and one tribute I was used to hating. I was going to have to learn to adjust.

"Theo, you're a leader, right? Gonna do everything you need to keep people going?" I asked the male, judging him silently. I wasn't too fond of his face, his personality, or his reaction to being Reaped.

"I suppose, yes. Grandpa always said that I had to be a leader, or else I was no one, and some people were just meant to be followers, or else they were no one," Theo replied politely, seeming serious yet... looking off. So Grandpa said, eh? Grandpa's a little butthead.

"All right. Then you need to learn how to do what you're told sometimes. Lumara, you should ally with Theo. You both stick out and it'll make an interesting dynamic to the Capitol. Theo, follow her lead."

Harvest Cormick (D11Mentor)

Arkane had a weird name. That was actually a good thing, since it would make him stick out without making him doing anything. But still, who names their child Arkane? Amelia had a normal name, which was kind of a bad thing, but it didn't really matter. She'd find a way to stick out no matter what. Even though her District partner was named Arkane.

"All right. I need your strengths," I said, speaking to Arkane first. Amelia had been tasked with looking through the Reapings, trying to find potential allies. They were going to train together, but I didn't like trying to talk to two people at once. "What are you going to do to win?"

"Well, my dad's a Peacekeeper, so I know some basic survival and stuff. I can fight a little bit, since he made me learn, and I'm used to taking what's thrown at me. Dad really drilled that one into me," the kid replied, and I could see a mess of emotions on his face. That made sense. Peacekeepers weren't allowed to have children. He was probably never supposed to make the spotlight.

"All right. Don't tell anyone else that. It's better to be underestimated than overestimated, after all. I'd say get some sponsors and look for more allies. Focus more on that than on training that hardly helps anyone in the first place." So that was who would name their child Arkane.

Bellepheron Steed (D12Mentor/Escort)

Indie was awfully thin. It was a shame that I was used to getting thin tributes. I shouldn't have had to get used to that at all, but I was. Nyle was also thin, but he looked to be more lithe than malnourished. He was probably healthy, as far as Twelves went. Still, I didn't like the look of him, either.

"All right! Do you two have reasons to win? It's better to fight for something other than yourself in the Games. The Capitol likes that, and then when you're doubting your value, you'll be a lot better off!" That was certainly true. I had seen tributes give up. Just two years ago Sylvia had gone totally insane, for heaven's sake.

"I want to prove to my parents that a gay guy can win the Games," Nyle said, surprisingly calmly. I jumped back in shock.

"Your parents don't know that? Honey, you are going to love the Capitol. Like half the people there are gay, and they won't doubt you at all." That didn't make any sense. Who didn't know that gay guys could win the Games?

Ta-da! I'm still kicking. Appearances will probably be next, because they're amazing to write and it's really about time.

Shoutout to Amfora for losing all chill over the years