Grande St. Leger- District One male

"I'll be in so much trouble if anyone finds out about this," Philomena fretted.

"Relax. You're cool, right? We knew you weren't just a boring old lady," Caio said.

"Oh, well…" Philomena flourished a hand.

We weren't going far from the Capitol building. Just around the block, really. Just enough to see what the city looked like and say we actually went in it and not just in one building.

"This fountain is a genuine Daedalus Rex," Philomena said about the giant quartz structure. "I suppose you and Elissa would understand art."

"Oh, I guess," I said. I'd read a million books about it and gone to all the museums in One, but for some reason I couldn't think of anything to say. Capitol art wasn't like old art. It didn't have any reason, or any allure, in my opinion.

I looked around for Elissa, hoping she could help me gather my thoughts. She was sitting on a bench talking to an almond-eyed little boy maybe four years old. She beamed at me when she saw me.

"Grande! This's kid's named Xian! Just like the Ahura!" she said. The kid looked uncertain but not confused. She must have already given him the scoop.

"Let's take him back with us," she said.

"What? We can't just take a kid. He has parents!" I said.

"Well, yeah, just for a while. We'll give him back," she said.

The boy's face screwed up. "I don't want to leave my daddy," he said.

Oh, no. He was about to cry, and little kids went full throttle when they cried. A bunch of passersby were about to think we were kidnapping a kid. We were gonna get arrested and Philomena was gonna get Avoxed.

"It's okay!" I said, putting my hands up palms-front to the boy. "We'll find your dad!"

The boy sniffled and looked at me with big teary eyes. I backed away from him slowly.

"Come on, you're freaking him out," I said to Elissa. "Let's just get his dad and get out of here." I gave her the kind of look my mother gave me when I was doing stupid stuff in public and she couldn't blast me because people were watching.

"All right, all right," Elissa said. Just then, a man came toward us.

"What's going on here?" he asked. The little boy ran to him and hugged his legs.

The man looked closer and saw who we were. "Xian, it's the Tributes!" he said.

"They're scary," Xian said.

"Don't complain, or they won't give you autographs," his father said.

"Don't worry, you can have one," I said. I scribbled my name as quickly as I could on a paper the father gave me and handed it to Xian, mentally begging him to take it. I wasn't going to punish anyone for complaining. Xian didn't have to grow up thinking any time he went to his father for comfort, he'd be told off for whining. That would be a horrible way for a kid to live.


Elissa de Angelo- District One female

I'd hoped I would make some friends in the Capitol, even though I knew they wouldn't last. It was just natural for people who spent a lot of time together to get close. Either that or hate each other, but I wasn't much of a hater.

Anyway, I got my wish in Seychelle. All my Career allies were cool in their own ways, but Seychelle was my best new friend. Donnatella was always super serious. She was never mean, but she seemed far more mature than me and Seychelle. Like suppose I wanted to go drop eggs off the interior balconies in the Games center. Seychelle would be think that was hilarious, but if we invited Donnatella, she'd say all the problems with it and then we'd feel silly and not want to do it anymore. We didn't drop any eggs, though. We just went shopping.

I loved buying people presents. I loved getting to know someone well enough that I could pick out something they really wanted, something that made their face light up and that they never would have picked for themselves but were overjoyed to have someone else buy for them. I bought presents for all my Academy opponents. When I got picked, there were a lot of disappointed girls, but none of them flat-out hated me like most chosen volunteers. Or at least that I knew of, I guess.

"What are you going to get for Donnatella?" Seychelle asked.

"I think I know," I said. "She's really quiet and I can tell she doesn't like sharing her thoughts with people. I'm going to get her a little diary so she can write down her thoughts and look at them privately." I wanted to make sure it had nothing to do with babies. Having a baby didn't mean you weren't still your own person, and sometimes people forgot that.

"Are you getting Caio a mirror?" Seychelle snarked.

"Pretty close," I said. "Eyeliner."

"That… actually makes sense," Seychelle said. Caio was a big manly Career, but he unapologetically liked his appearance and enjoyed being handsome. He was probably just a little too nervous to buy makeup, but if someone else bought it, it wasn't sissy and he could wear it. It would just be black eyeliner anyway. It would make his foreign eyes look darker and tougher. He could wear it and tell people his eyes just naturally looked like that.

"I'm getting yours separate because it's extra special," I said. "And so you can't peek."

I'd already gotten Grande one as well, so that just left Atticus. To be honest, I hadn't put as much thought into his. Atticus was a bully and there wasn't much more to say about him. I was getting him what I knew he would have asked for if I'd talked to him: a knife. One of those fancy, over-the-top knives that looked wicked cool but would be preposterous to actually use in a fight. Probably a backhanded message there, but he wasn't smart enough to pick it up.

I had a great time picking everyone's presents, and it was even more fun because Seychelle was there. Shopping was a necessity when alone and an outing with a friend. When we were done we stopped at the food court and sat licking ice cream cones and chatting about little friend things. In the Arena, that time would be over, but it wasn't yet, and I would make the most of it.


Atticus Scipio- District Two male

I growled when the spear hit an inch to the left of the mannequin's heart. It was crooked, or the mannequin was off-center. I knew I was good at this. Good enough to take a slot. They didn't give one to me, so I took it, and the devil could take anyone who was in line ahead of me. Even where it hit, the spear would still kill. It would just take longer, not that it made a difference.

Out of the side of my eye, I watched Grande going through the holographic breaching simulation. Targets popped up in front of him erratically, some armed and some fleeing. He had to not only react quickly, but also assess which threats were largest and prioritize accordingly. He was dancing through it like a Peacekeeper, and that just made me angrier.

I threw the spear blindly, far over the head of the mannequin. Huh, it might hit someone, I thought, hoping it would. I craned my neck to see around the dummy. My spear flew toward Yttria, who had her back turned. I scrunched my mouth in disappointment when it whizzed past her so close it stirred her hair. She turned her head in time to see the spear thud into the wild game tracking instructor's leg.

Everything took off from there. The instructor was wailing on the ground holding his leg, Yttria was screaming for help, the first aid instructor was kneeling on the leg to cut off the blood while the tracking instructor tried to shove him off…

Then the Peacekeepers came. Two of them flanked me, grabbing my arms.

"Violence is not permitted," one said, which struck me as hilarious. You can't fight in here! This is the War Room!

"Hey, it was just a wild throw," I said. "See? Look at the mannequin," I tugged an arm free and pointed at the lousy shot. "Just a stupid botched throw."


Donnatella Bronos-Palassaqua- District Two female

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I was huddled on a deserted balcony, angrily rubbing at my eyes. I couldn't be doing this. I had to pull myself together. It was shameful I'd ever fallen apart in the first place.

It just came out of nowhere. I was at the archery station, minding my own business, when there came a cry to wake the dead. I looked over and an instructor was lying on the ground, blood spurting from his leg. There was so much of it, and right away I knew he could die.

He could die. Just like that. Something you didn't even see coming. You could be walking through the Arena, looking for someone to hunt, and be dead before you even knew you'd been killed. My breath sped up uncontrollably, and I started to shake. Stop it, I told myself, but I couldn't. I just couldn't stop it. And so I ran.

Die. Death. Die. My body in a casket. Kallista holding out her arms to the cold me-thing in the box. A grave and a funeral and nothing after that.

I took deep breaths and hugged myself. I just needed a minute. Just put it aside and get back to work.

"Donna? You all right?"

It was Caio's voice. I knew it from his funny accent, like the foreign lover from a romance novel.

"I'm fine," I said tightly. I wiped my cheeks, though they were dry, and glared in an attempt to hide my the redness of my eyes.

"A lovely maiden like you should have nothing to cry about," Caio said, sitting next to me on the wrought iron bench.

Despite myself, I smiled. I'd feared contempt or false concern, but a frank attempt at flirting was perfectly Caio and an easy way to defuse the situation.

"Just worried about the Games, I guess," I confessed.

"I am too," he said. He saw my surprise and went on. "Life is too wonderful not to be protective of. I joined the Games to live it to the fullest, but I worry sometimes that by burning my flame so much stronger, I might be burning it faster."

"And it's not just my flame," I said. Caio nodded with understanding and genuine sympathy. His eyes crinkled, and I noticed he was wearing eyeliner. It suited him.

"That's something worth living for, even if life wasn't enough," Caio said. "I'll tell you this. If I don't win, I hope it's you. And if- when- the Careers split, I hope I'll have my back to you."

I wouldn't have believed him if he'd said it was a true alliance. It would be foolish to trust someone who volunteered to murder. But even Careers relate to each other, and connections are part of the human experience. Grande and Elissa were inseparable, and Elissa and Seychelle had taken to each other like girls at a sleepover. I didn't trust Caio with my life or with my trust, but I did believe he meant what he said. Caio trained by his instincts and passions. He depended on them and listened to them, and it seemed they included me. I admired his sincere and unashamed outlook. I would trust him to watch my back, because I knew he would kill me, but he would do it to my face.


Caio Sagres- District Four male

The Training Room was closed, but the night was young. I made my way through the nightlife of the Games center, never drinking much, just enjoying the people and the atmosphere. At one bar, a sensually-lit, intimate space, I found something worth staying for.

"Excuse me, miss," I said to the black-haired, pink-eyed woman about my age. She sat alone at the bar, sipping something from a martini glass. "I couldn't help but notice you're alone."

The girl squealed as she recognized me. "Yes! Yes, I'm alone!" she said.

"But not anymore," I said. I sat down next to her and experimentally slid a hand around her waist. When she didn't refuse, I experimentally slid it further down.

"Dance?" I asked a moment later. We made our way to the small dance floor, where lights pulsated in time to electronic music. It is clear to anyone who has made love that dancing is an imitation of it. We swayed together, her chest and hips pressed against me. During a break in the songs, I brought my arm behind her head to support her as I kissed her deeply.

"Would you like to try something really crazy?" I asked with a smirk. She saw from the gleam in my eyes what kind of crazy I meant, even though I hadn't said the particulars.

I'd been eyeing the young man since before I started dancing with Vivica. He'd returned my glances and hadn't turned away when he saw me with her. He was dark-haired and light-eyed, shorter than me but not short. Vivica walked with me as I approached his table.

"You look like a man who enjoys variety," I said. There wasn't really a sixth sense for that sort of thing, but sometimes it takes one to know one.

The next morning, I ordered room service for the three of us. I had my Career responsibilities, and the firm knowledge that training was a necessity and was what would keep me alive, but it was barely morning. There was so much more to life than work.

I left as Vivica was fussing with her hair and Festus was politely stacking the dishes on our tray. I paused in the doorway.

"Look me up in a few months," I said. "I'll be there."


Seychelle Devries- District Four female

Rouge insisted that my hair had to go. For the parade it had been easier to wear a wig on such short notice, but now my time had come. The lavender streaks, calling back memories of the Capitol dye I'd found in an outlet on the seedy side of Four, were out.

I wasn't all that torn up about it, though. It sounded fun to have a change, and all the colors in the world were available here, plus a stylist who actually knew how to dye hair and didn't just smear the dye in while bent over a bathroom sink.

"Really it should be blue or green, since you're from Four," Rouge said. It was funny when I thought that I'd never seen a neon-haired Tribute in the Arena. I guessed we were lucky that no stylist had ever so valued form over function that they sent their Tribute in with bright pink hair to signal every Career in the Arena. Or maybe mentors had enough pull to head that off.

Blue or green were all right, but there was so much more to think about. If I chose a sensible color, I could keep it into the Arena. And there was more than just color to consider, too. Every possible kind of extension was also available. If I wanted, I could have hair to my feet. Of course, that would be impractical. I didn't intend to change my hairstyle at all, unless the stylists did some last-minute fussing. But it was fun to think about.

"What about this one?" I asked. I tapped the display and the hologram of me had platinum blonde hair. It was almost silvery, especially against the ethereal hologram. It made me look sharper all over. My eyes looked pointier. My smile looked meaner. My face looked more feral. I looked like someone I wouldn't want to fight. Maybe it was silly, like the eyespots on a butterfly, but I liked it.

"That one's spooky," Rouge said

"Please? I asked. "I think it looks really cool."

Perhaps because she was a softie, or perhaps because she could always redye it later if she didn't like it, Rouge gave in. A few hours later I had fine, almost glassy strands of silver-blonde hair like a wreath of icicles. I preened in front of the mirror, whipping ot back and forth and running my fingers through it. In a while, I was excited to show Elissa. But for now, and was just me and the new me, the belladonna in the mirror.