Aline Roche, 16, District 2
Day of the reaping:
"Are you ready? Are you excited? You're going to do great, I just know it." Aline's father, also known as the mayor, pats her shoulder. He has this content and a satisfied smile that his daughter loves to give him. She's never managed to disappoint her father so far and she's not planning on doing so ever. That is also the reason why Aline is so hellbent on coming back victorious from the Games.
"Of course, father. I'm as ready as I'll ever be." she smiles contently without exposing her teeth. She can't say that she isn't nervous. Of course, she is. No matter how prepared you are, there's always a chance that you're not prepared enough and Aline is fully aware of that. She isn't stupid. The stupid ones always get killed.
As the bell rings for breakfast, Aline floats to the kitchen. She's been told before that whenever she walks it looks like she's levitating. She takes that as a compliment. Her brother and her… beloved mother are already sitting at the table.
"Good morning, mother. Good to see you, as always!" she exclaims sarcastically. Never has there ever been a close bond between this mother-daughter pair. Hessa, her mother, has always had the feeling that her daughter took away all of her husband's attention. Aline doesn't care. There's a point in life where you can't expect to be the center of attention anymore and, sadly, her mother hasn't understood that concept quite yet.
"Yes… lovely to see you and congratulations on having been selected. I'm sure you'll perform excellently." there's a hint of bitterness in Hessa's words as she brings the wine glass close to her lips and indulges on the liquid.
"Whine so early? Wow, mother. You must be feeling great, huh?" Aline implies as she takes a seat at the grand dining table across her brother. The careers have been given an early notice to compensate for the special 'reapings' or 'choosings' as Aline likes to call them this time. Since the careers don't get to pick their volunteers, the chosen ones from the career Districts received a one-day early notice that they were picked for this year's events while the other tributes get chosen immediately at the reapings without warning. It's not much and yet it was enough for Aline to have gone to the Academy one more time to warm up and to mentally prepare herself.
She's not going to let her father down. Her brother is useless, naive and incompetent and she won't allow their family's legacy to fall into his hands. Once she is crowned victor, she'll take over as rightful heir of the family and then perhaps she'll run for mayor.
Their father joins them at the table and everyone starts to serve themselves. Aline watches as her mother hoards pile after pile of food on her plate. She's thinking of commenting on her mother's absolutely grotesque behavior but she'll refrain from doing so for now.
"You know this might be the last time we ever see you, right?" her boring brother comments and thus ruins Aline's previously good mood.
"Must we speak of such unpleasant matters during breakfast, dear brother?" she asks trying not to let her agitation show. All her brother does is stare at her with his dark eyes. She can see that he really isn't happy with her decision. Well, it wasn't really her decision, was it?
After breakfast, Aline approaches her brother and talks to him on the side. "Just stop ruining the mood, okay? Just because I got picked and you weren't doesn't mean that you have to go moping around all day."
"I'll stop moping around once you stop talking like a medieval bitch whenever dad's around. I mean, seriously? 'Must we speak of such unpleasant matters?'. You're not a queen. You're not a princess. Heck, you're not even royalty so stop with the tryhard posh accent."
Aline scoffs.
"My god, you're so boring. And you know what? Maybe if you started acting more regal, then you'd have a little bit more of what I have."
"And what would that be, dear sister?"
"Pride."
Before entering the capitol train, she sat in the waiting room. She remembers how her father cried tears of joy and tears of pride. It was confirmed then and there that it would be an obligation for her to get back home. Aline knew that her mother would be glad when she's gone. Finally, she could get some alone time with her husband since her son isn't, according to her, as annoying as her daughter. Her brother was truly sad and she was able to see that. For a second she actually believed that he might really be scared for her but then she reminded herself that he's just jealous that she gets to go and not him.
As soon as Aline takes a seat on one of the fluffy cushions, her district partner sits across of her. "Reginald Vambrace, correct?"
"That's me." he grins, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. "Mmh, I always heard they have the best orange juice in Eleven. Too bad we don't get to go there… but I bet the capitol one is just as good." Aline watches as her district partner chugs the orange liquid.
You're the medic, aren't you?" Aline's heard of him before. He works at the Academie's medical center together with an old hag. Aline's never liked the hag. She always thinks she knows everything.
"Oh, yeah. Guess that's not really a secret, is it?" he chuckles.
Aline rests her chin on her palm and tilts her head a little playfully. "I never really understood… why did you quit the programme?" she knew the answer. She knew everything about everyone at the academy. There weren't any secrets to be kept from her. Ever. And yet she wants to hear it from him. She wants to know if he'll lie to her or if he'll be straightforward. Before Reginald gets a chance to answer, however, their mentor steps in.
"Quilla!" Aline exclaims ecstatically. She's so glad that Quilla is their mentor this year. Quilla is absolutely amazing and Aline has the utmost respect for this multi-talented woman. Quilla is liked by basically everyone, she's one of Two's most popular victors and a capitol-favorite.
"Hello there, my lovelies!" she envelops Aline in a big hug. Aline flinches a little, shocked by the informality of it all. She hates close contact with people, no matter who it is so she cringes a little bit. Quilla proceeds to hug Reginald aswell who seems completely content with the greeting. Aline scoffs.
"Sit down, sit down! We've got a lot to talk about so let's begin as quickly as possible." the two sit across of their mentor and thus begins the tutoring.
Reginald Vambrace, 16, District 2
Three years before the reapings:
"My friend Bruce, 13-years-old."
"Very good, Perci" Reginald holds up the next flashcard.
"My friend Acacia also 13-years-old."
"Perfect." he lifts up the next one.
"June, my mother, 44-years-old."
"Excellent."
Reggi prepares the next flashcard, knowing that Percival struggled the most with that one. He sincerely hopes that he would get it right this time.
"My… my, uh… damn it, I can't remember." Percival rubs his head frantically.
"It's you when you were six-years-old." Reggi offers him a melancholic smile.
"Shitt man!" Perci slams his fist against the table, causing the tea to spill all over the floor. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry." he tries to get up from his bed.
"It's okay, no problem, just stay right where you are." After wiping the floor with a piece of cloth, Reggi puts the flashcards away. He can see Percival's discontent.
"Listen, you're doing great, got it?" he refills Perci's tea. "You're going to be better in no time. You're just struggling with this last one a little bit. Once that is out of the way, you can be back on your feet."
"What if it gets worse?"
"It won't, I promise. I'll make sure of that." Reginald offers Percival his hand. He takes it and they shake.
Athena taught Reginald how to handle short-term memory loss and even dementia. She told him that the key to the treatment is the answer to the obsessively repeated questions. Before starting the patient always has to know that the answer is on the card itself. Usually on the back. It calms and reassures the patients and gives them a sense of security.
Percival was brought into the medical center two days ago. He had injured his head in a sparring match. His opponent, Ernist Hazeltov who was also known to be quite aggressive when it came to duels, lost control and went all out on the poor boy. Perci stood no chance. Ernist immediately knocked Perci out with a club straight to the head.
Not only has Perci lost his eyesight on one side but he's been suffering from short-term memory loss and constant headaches. Reginald doesn't really know when he'll be cured or if he'll even be cured. All he knows is that Perci needs to focus and getting better for now and not on what the future has in store for him.
It's 3 pm, almost time for Reggi to start packing up and head home. He washes the equipment in the center and cleans the floor. In the corner of his eye, he can spot Athena smiling.
He turns to face her. "What?" he asks with a grin, running a hand through his dreadlocks.
"It's nothing…" she continues to smile and closes the cupboard once she's done sorting the supplies.
"No, I want to know, pleaaase!"
"I just remembered when you were first brought here… what was it again? One broken leg and two broken ribs?"
"Three," he corrects her.
"Yes, that's right." she gets down from the ladder. "You were in such pain, crying and screaming. I really felt bad for you. It was a long recovery process." Athena picks up some plastic wrappers from the floor. "Afterwards, when you were feeling better and had the option to continue training, you decided that you wanted to learn from me instead and not from your mentors. You wanted to heal people, not hurt them. I had and still have so much respect for you. You're so young, only thirteen and yet you are so mature."
Reginald blushes. "Stop it, you're flattering me," he says cheekily and laughs.
"No, I'm serious. Thank you."
"For what?"
"Giving me purpose. Seeing you with Percival, made me know that I've taught you well and that you will grow up to be a kind-hearted and compassionate young man."
Compassionate… maybe Reginald's strength really was compassion. He might not be as strong as the rest or as athletic as the rest but he does have what most of the other trainees lack a heart.
"You know I'm not letting you into the career pack, right?" Aline whispers softly into his ear as soon as their mentor leaves their compartment for lunch break.
"Yeah, I expected that to be the case. Still, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know that everyone will follow your lead?"
"Oh, don't you worry about that… I always manage to get myself into a leadership position in a group. It's my secret superpower. Shh, don't tell anyone, okay?" she says a little tauntingly.
"Got it, Your secret's safe with me," Reginald says playing along. "What will you do now? Ally with the Ones and Fours, as usual?"
"The Fours?" Aline laughs radically. "Oh please! Have you seen them? A fourteen-year-old pair… the boy looks like he can't even lift a sword and the girl seems like she's too stubborn to listen to what I tell her to do, meaning she won't really be an asset to have. The ones, however, I do think I'll be able to play them. The girl is strong physically but far too weak-willed. I give her three days tops before she breaks in the arena. I'll have to get rid of her before that happens… the boy, probably the strongest out of all of you. He'll be the one to keep around for sure. No doubt about that."
Reginald watches as Aline continues to list names and facts. He's heard of her before. Who hasn't? She's so known in the academy for being part of the elite student groupe. The ones who have the highest scores of all. She, obviously with the highest score. It seems like she's thought this through very carefully. Does he think he stands a chance against her face to face? Not in a million years. Does he think he'll be able to beat her? Yes.
"The girl from Five looks strong, so does the boy from Eleven and the boy from Ten. They'll definitely be offered an alliance with us. What about you? Do you have any plans now that you're… well, alone?" she asks with an emphasis on alone.
"I actually have no Idea. Guess I'll figure it out along that way…"
Aline rolls her eyes and sighs. "Well, I wish you all the best. If you'll excuse me."
She gets up and leaves the compartment. It wasn't a lie when Reginald said that he had no clue what he'll be doing. He doesn't but he will figure it out. He always does… or not.
Hyaa! Quick update? Yup! Reward for keeping you waiting so long last time :D
Only five more introductions chapters and then… dun, dun, dun. We'll get to see our tributes actually interact with each other! I'm actually already planning for future SYOTs which is completely ridiculous given the fact that I'm not even done introducing the cast yet but I've just got so many Ideas, OH MA GAWD! Sorry…
- Also, I am aware that this chapter is shorter than the rest and, yes, I will have to start making them shorter if this story is ever to be finished. I know I've said that for the past three chapters and they always seem to get longer and longer but this time I had to be strict with myself xd
Questions:
Do you like Aline? Or do you find her interesting at least?
What will Reginald do, now that he has no alliance?
How will Vale react when she finds out that she ain't joining the career pack?
If you want you can also rank the tributes so far in a table. Would be interesting to see what you all think fo the cast so far!
Have an awesome day and see you all next time!