Camden Brynna Hart, 11
District Eleven Quell Female

Her tears had just not stopped.

They weren't sobs, the loud, dramatic tears that her district partner – one of her district partners, Cyei, had cried. No, Camden Hart cried quietly, fearfully, but not hopelessly. She knew the situation was dire – it would be foolish to assume anything else was the case – but Camden was doing her best to hold on to any ounce of hope she could. If there was a year of the Games where a child as young as Camden had a chance at winning, this was the year, so she shouldn't give up just yet.

At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

Camden curled up in a little ball, nestling herself into the corner of the couch. While the room was not particularly big, its opulence, high ceilings and maroon walls made the child feel particularly small. But there was something comforting about the way that she could press into the back of the sofa, feeling the pressure of the hard wood underneath all the stuffing. It grounded her, kept her here in the present so she didn't drift away in her memories of the past or her thoughts of the future. She had to stay focused on the here and the now; if she let herself drift away, she'd never come back to shore.

Yet it was hard to stay moored when there was nowhere for her to latch on to. Sure, she had a house, but it wasn't a home; no house could be a home for Camden as long as her father was there. Even in her last moments with her family, as her father and sisters stood in this small room to say their goodbyes, the feelings of emptiness, nervousness, and anxiety hung over the Hart family like dark clouds. How could Camden expect to stay afloat in the middle of such an intense storm? Nobody was there to help her find a safe place to land.

Well, that wasn't true. There was one person who had reached out her hand to Camden, who had done her best to warn the girl about the danger she was in. But before Camden could take the girl's hand, she was yanked back into the abyss, ripped away from the one girl who could have possibly saved her.

Camden only wished she could have found a way to say goodbye before her father dragged her away.

The girl stared at the closed door, trying to think about who else might come to say goodbye to her. She and her family had recently moved to the other side of the district, and her father hadn't let Camden meet any of the kids in their new town. So unless one of her schoolteachers came by or something, her last moments in Eleven would be tinged grey by her family – as her moments always seemed to be lately.

Suddenly, the door bust open. Camden could barely process what she saw as the figure rushed towards her, jumping on the couch and burying their head into Camden's side.

There was a time (before she was Reaped, of course) where Camden believed she would never get to see Maia Gattis again. That belief had been quickly proven wrong as soon as Camden signed in for the Reaping, when caught a glimpse of her childhood friend's face as Maia darted through the crowds in the section of eleven-year-old girls. A part of Camden had wanted to go and say hello to Maia, but it was far too crowded in her section for her to get over to her friend. Yet the girl was more than satisfied with the glimpse she caught of Maia; it was more than she ever hoped she'd get. Camden thought she'd caught another glimpse while she stood on stage, though everything was a bit of a blur after she'd heard her name called. But now, Maia was here, right next to Camden again, almost as if Camden had never been dragged away.

"Maia?"

"Camden."

Camden breathed, automatically putting her hand around Maia's shoulders and pulling the other girl in for a hug. "It's you."

"I'm so happy to see you. Well… not like this… but I'm glad you're still alive now. I was worried when you left."

"If I could have gotten word to you I would but…"

"I know."

"I know you know. You warned me."

"Did he… did he force you to leave because of me? Was this my fault?"

"I don't think so. We'd moved around a lot, every few years for as long as I can remember," Camden replied, choosing to leave out… most of the details of what happened after the last time the two saw each other. She wanted Maia to know that it was because of her warning that Camden tried to flee that night; it was thanks to Maia that Camden was able to finally realize just how unsafe her home was. But Camden did not want Maia to know what happened afterwards. She couldn't tell Maia that, hours after she left, Camden had put together a small bag and tried to run. She couldn't tell Maia that she'd been caught by her older sister, Annaliese, who begged Camden to stay, fearful that the two would never see each other again. She couldn't tell Maia that her father had caught the girls talking and chosen to move his family again in the dead of night.

Camden would never be able to forgive herself if Maia felt guilty about what happened the night Camden left. Sure, maybe if Maia hadn't convinced Camden to run, perhaps they would have gotten to say goodbye. But it wasn't Maia's fault that Camden and her family left in the middle of the night; more likely than not, Camden would have been forced to move at some point anyway.

"I'm glad I get to see you one more time at least," Maia said, a sad smile crossing her face. "I brought you something too. You left this at my house the last time you came over."

From behind her back, Maia pulled out a small, cloth doll and extended it to Camden. "You kept it for me?"

"All these years. I'm glad I got to give it back to you."

The tribute delicately took the doll from Maia's hands, drawing it close to her chest. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Camden wanted to try to make small talk with Maia, but she didn't really know where to start. It had been three years since the two had seen each other last, after all, and so much had changed in that time. It felt a little awkward to just be sitting in silence, but at the same time, there was something nice about just sitting with a friend. Camden hadn't had a friend to sit with in a very long time.

"I think the Peacekeeper is going to come soon," Maia piped up.

"Probably."

Maia turned to face Camden, taking the other girl's hands in hers. "No matter what happens, I'm never going to forget you."

"Hey, don't give up hope on me just yet," Camden insisted. "There's still a chance I come back. And I'm going to fight to the bitter end."

"That's my girl." Maia flung herself onto Camden, giving the tribute three years' worth of hugs in one moment. "Hopefully this is only see you later."

"I hope so."

The girls heard the door open behind them. Maia looked at Camden for a moment, then gave the other girl a quick kiss on the top of her head before darting past the Peacekeeper and out of the room.

For the first time that day, Camden smiled. Somehow the room that had felt so dull and grey just moments before suddenly felt alive, full of color and warmth and hope. She knew that her friend was alive and safe, which was more than she could have hoped for in a district like Eleven. And because Maia was alive, if she could somehow make it home, she could move her sisters in with Maia and keep everyone alive and healthy and safe.

Camden looked down at the doll she held in her hands. It reminded her not just of Maia, but also of her sisters, who had made the doll for her once, a long time ago.

Those were three people worth coming home for. All Camden had to do was fight for it.

Viktor Wayland, 18
District Ten Standard Male

It wasn't until the door closed behind Viktor that he registered what had just happened. Viktor knew that he'd acted impulsively, choosing to do instead of think, but he couldn't imagine doing anything differently. He'd always said he'd do whatever he could to keep his siblings safe, even in such a dire situation as this. And if he'd chosen not to step up, not to volunteer for the Games in Wolf's place, he knew that he would never forgive himself.

Of course, volunteering for Wolf meant that Viktor would be going into the Games with Rowena, which was less than ideal at best and a very dangerous situation at worst. But he and Rowena undoubtedly had a better shot than Rowena and Wolf did. As much as he loved his sister, Rowena was not the kind of person who was best at thinking before she acted. (Viktor was, admittedly, not the best at that either, but at least his impulsive actions were usually less outright rash or violent than his sister's.) Viktor knew that Rowena would have trouble keeping enough of a level head to get herself out of the Games alive; there was no way she would be able to also keep Wolf alive as well. At least Viktor felt confident in his ability to keep Rowena under control enough that the two of them had a shot – or at least as good of a shot as anyone else – and at least with the Quell, there was a chance that both could come back alive.

There was also a chance that neither could come back alive. But Viktor was choosing not to think about that.

Waiting in the goodbye room for his family to come felt like an eternity. Living so far away from any other citizens in the district meant that Viktor didn't really have any friends his age, so he wasn't expecting anyone to come except his Baba and his siblings. But they had two children to visit, not just one, so they'd presumably chosen to visit Rowena first. Viktor tried to spend his time wisely, thinking through plans for the Capitol, for training, for the interviews, but his thoughts were just bouncing around his mind. Nothing was sticking anywhere, nothing standing out as a concrete plan to build off of for the Games. But he also didn't want to let his mind wander, didn't want to squander the only time he would have alone to plan for the next few weeks. So Viktor tried his best to grab his thoughts, to draw them in and organize them in his mind, but it was like he was a small child who had just let go of a balloon that their parent had bought for them, desperately grasping at its string until it floated away.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the door to Viktor's room opened, and Fleur and Wolf burst through, launching themselves at Viktor. "Hi, guys," Viktor said softly, opening his arms up to allow them to bury into his side.

"Viktor," Ariel said, a tear forming in their eye as they walked in the room and shut the door. "I can't believe this is happening."

"I can't either," Viktor admitted.

Wolf looked up at his older brother. "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't have to volunteer for me."

Viktor turned to look at his brother, whose eyes were filled with tears. "Wolf, that's foolishness. I could not let you go into the Games, even if this wasn't a Quell. And this is better anyway, because Rowena and I could both come home."

"Well, if we both could come home, why did you volunteer?"

"I didn't want you to have to go into the Games. They're not easy in the slightest, and they'll leave you scarred at best even if you do make it out."

"But then you could die. You and Rowena could both die!"

"But that means you get to live."

Wolf buried his head back into Viktor's side, the boy's body shaking with soft sobs. Viktor delicately rubbed his brother's back, planting a few soft kisses on the back of Wolf's head as he cried. Viktor might have cried, but he had to stay strong for his brother. He couldn't seem scared, or it would scare Wolf even more; Viktor had to exude the confidence in his own abilities that he was so desperate to pretend that he had.

As Viktor wiped away a single tear that slipped out of his eye, he felt a small tug on his shirt. "Viktor?"

"Yes, Fleur?"

"We made you something. A while back, just in case… something happened." Fleur looked to Ariel, who pulled a cord of rope out of their pocket. "It's a necklace for you."

Viktor reached out his hand to take the cord, which felt surprisingly smooth to the touch. Hanging off of the cord were three charms carved out of wood: a swan, a wolf, and half of a heart. "Who made these? They're so lovely."

"Baba made the heart," Fleur said. "Wolf made the wolf charms. And I made a swan for you and a mockingjay for Rowena."

"I love it, Fleur, thank you," Viktor said, placing a kiss on his sister's cheek. "I'll think about you every time I look at it."

"I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

"You will come back, right?"

"I'll do my very best."

All too soon, a Peacekeeper came into the room, indicating that their time was up. "Can we have just a moment longer?" Fleur asked.

"I'm sorry, but no," the Peacekeeper replied. "We're on a tight schedule."

Viktor stood up from the couch and gave each of his siblings one last hug. Then, he looked up at his parent, who had a sad, solemn look on their face, but not a tear in sight. "Give me a moment alone with Baba, please?" The younger kids nodded, then grabbed hands and left the room together, the two of them together against the world.

Viktor held out his arms to Ariel, who fell into them in a warm embrace. "I believe in you, my son," they whispered into his ear. "I know you can do this. You've always been so strong for us; you can be strong in the Games too."

"I know I can be. I'm going to do whatever it takes to come back home."

"Just keep an eye on Rowena, OK? I don't want her doing something rash that will get her killed. You can both come home, I really think so, and I don't want her to risk that."

"I know, Baba. I'll do whatever I can to protect her."

"Promise me?" Ariel insisted, as the Peacekeeper stepped closer to them.

"I promise."

And with that, Ariel broke away, following their children out of the room and closing the door behind them.

Viktor took a deep breath, Ariel's last words echoing in his mind. He couldn't imagine breaking away from Rowena, leaving her to die while he got to go back to his family. But there was a particular flavor of urgency in her voice that made Viktor even more determined, if that was even possible, to protect his sister's life. He didn't know if he could ever forgive herself if she died; he wouldn't just be letting himself down, but he would also be letting his parent down.

After another eternity of waiting, another Peacekeeper opened the door and motioned to Viktor to follow her. Viktor stood up and followed the Peacekeeper to a car that would take him and the other tributes Reaped from North City to the train station. There, he found Rowena already sitting in the car; the third North City tribute, the mayor's brat, was still nowhere to be found, giving the siblings one last moment of solitude together.

As Viktor slid into the car, Rowena grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him in for a hug. "Oh, Viktor," she said sadly, "what were you thinking?"

Howdy everybody! I hope you all had a fantastic July, and I'm happy to see you all back here in OTWT-land! A huge thank you to optimisms for Camden, who was a true pleasure to write this chapter. And I hope you enjoyed meeting Viktor! I know we kind of got to meet him already, but this gives you a little peek into his perspective on life and the situation he and his sister are in.

A quick note – we had a little change to the tribute list for the story, as the D11 standard female has been swapped! There's no drama related to this change; the more I thought about the previous D11F, the more I realized that I couldn't do her justice with this story's format. So I checked in with her submitter, who graciously agreed to swap her out, as she does happen to fit really nicely into another story that I happen to have open right now :smirk: Speaking of! Let Him Feel No Pain is still accepting subs! Please sub kthx. I'm going to be pushing the deadline back into October, so don't worry about time – there'll definitely be enough!

Anyway, we're finally beginning to move towards the Games here and I am hype for it! I know this fic has gone a lil slow but I'm so grateful for all of you for sticking by my side. I'll see you hopefully in less than a month with the next chapter, as we begin to ride towards the Capitol!

xoxo, xxxi