Goodbyes
Nausicaa stands alone in the eloquent room the Peacekeepers put her in. She's committed. She's really doing this. Despite preparing for this for her entire life, something feels off.
Get out of your own head. Nausicaa reminds herself. She's ready for this. There's nothing the Gamemakers, or any of her competing tributes can throw her way that she can't take.
Her parents are the first to visit. Her dad pulls her into a hug, which she gladly returns.
"I'm so proud of you, Nausicaa." He says to her. Both of them don't acknowledge the choking in his voice.
"Thank you dad. I won't let you down." He pulls away from her, smiling bigger than she's ever seen him smile.
"I know you won't. I love you." He kisses her forehead, then allows his wife to say her goodbyes.
"Don't forget your training. Your allies, all they will want is to see you dead. Do not give them that satisfaction, you hear me?" Marisol's direct tone is what Nausicaa is used to, but proceeding her dad's heartfelt comments, well, it hits a little different.
"I won't. You know I won't." Nausicaa's response is genuine.
"Good. I love you." Marisol hugs her daughter for the first time in a long time.
Nothing more of substance was said during the goodbye with her parents. Nausicaa wished for a little more, but she took what she could. Even Amelia's visit was more of the same, wishing her luck, encouraging her with excessive praise, everything she's heard before. But it's still nice to hear.
And so Nausicaa is taken out of the Justice Building and away from her District, from her home. Away from the life she's always known, and into one she believes she knows. But she'll soon learn.
Train Rides
About an hour later, Nausicaa and Santiago are sitting across from one another on the train, neither speaking. They enjoy some fine dining as they await their mentors.
Nausicaa already knows who the mentors will be. Montana Earthroot, her mentor, and Chryss Baratos, Santiago's mentor. Montana won her games at 16, about five years ago, and Chryss at 17, twelve years ago. Both are some of the most talented Victors in Four, so Nausicaa is pleased with the pairing.
The door opens and the two volunteers stand up instinctively. Montana walks in first, her chin raised high, her hands behind her back. Chryss is behind her, his hands in his pocket, seemingly more nonchalant about the entire situation.
"Hello Nausicaa, Santiago. It's a pleasure to meet you." Montana shakes both of their hands, her eloquent posture and stern face actually intimidating Nausicaa. But it only makes her more intrigued, and thrilled, with her mentor.
"I'm Chryss. Good to meet you." Chryss politely waves, then directs his attention to Santiago. "Let's talk in the other compartment." Chryss nods his head back in the direction the mentors came from, and Santiago follows. Montana, in the meantime, takes Santiago's seat across from Nausicaa and Nausicaa sits back down.
"Alright. I'm not going to beat around the bush. You're thirteen. But you were chosen by the academy. And I'll admit, I've seen you fight. You're good. But you're thirteen." Montana's words come out like fire, nothing like Nausicaa has ever heard before. But she isn't threatened by it. She's excited to prove her worth to her mentor, right here, right now.
"They only choose the best. You were chosen. Chryss was chosen. Why? For our skill. We're better than the rest." Montana slowly nods, taking in the young girl's words.
"Yes. I suppose you're correct. So, let's go over your skills, and your weaknesses. So I can understand how to best support you over these next few days." So Nausicaa and Montana talk, candidly, about just that. They talked, and planned, and discussed training strategies over the next hour, but to Nausicaa, it felt like minutes. With a training plan in place, and Nausicaa's voice turning hoarse, the two women take a break.
"The reaping recap will be on soon. Shall we see your competition?" Montana stands up and Nausicaa follows her into the room the boys went into, one with a large couch and a large flatscreen TV. Nausicaa pretends not to notice Santiago's face, which has turned a slightly darker shade of red. What did these two talk about?
Montana takes a seat in the center of the couch and Nausicaa joins her, sitting on the far left side. The two boys sit in single chairs on either side of the couch, and Montana turns on the TV directly to Calyptis Rose, this year's narrator.
"An incredible batch of tributes have been gathered up for this year's Hunger Games, and I'm so excited to meet them all! Alright, that's enough anticipation. Let's meet them!"
The shot fades from Calyptis to District one, where two very intimidating blondes stand side by side. The girl, Carissa Cabaret, wears a deadly smirk on her face. The boy, Verity Claret, seems to bear a much calmer, more open demeanor. Regardless, Nausicaa knows they'll be a threat already.
District Two's pair is a little more surprising to Nausicaa. The girl, Rhea Lars, is only fifteen. She seems much more reserved than you'd expect from a girl from Two. But Nausicaa knows all too well that age and demeanor mean nothing. If she's on that stage, she has talent.
The boy beside her, Virgil Caius, is your standard District Two male. Big and brawn, Nausicaa still isn't intimated. Guys like him are all face.
Nausicaa doesn't take much note of the two from Three, who are both scrawny twelve year olds. Then, there's Nausicaa and Santiago on stage. Nausicaa is pleased with the outfit Amelia decided to put her in, as it does wonders to make her look older, and more intimidating. In fact, Calyptis has nothing but praise for both her and her partner.
District Five is next, and although neither of the tributes stand out to Nausicaa, she's more curious about last year's victor, Aleida Edevane. The first outlying tribute to win in a while. On top of volunteering, he is certainly one of the more interesting victors Nausicaa is familiar with. What shocks her the most is how angry he's been since his victory. He knew what he was getting into, volunteering and all that, so what's his deal?
As the recap covers Districts Six and onwards, Nausicaa doesn't find any of the tributes to stand out. A mix of weak and average from the outlying districts. In fact, Nausicaa is about to tune out when District Eleven comes on screen.
Nausicaa feels like she's seeing double as the girl, Clementine Caraway, is reaped. She has Nausicaa's dark skin. Nausicaa's coily, long hair that stops just below her shoulder blades. And they're the same age.
"Wow." Santiago says. Nausicaa can't find the words to respond. All she can do is stare.
It doesn't help when Clementine's brother is reaped, Lee Caraway. If the same last name didn't give it away, the way he pulled her into a tight hug, the way she buried her face into his chest as she let out tears the camera captured anyway. Yeah. They're related.
Well, surrounded by the other Careers, the odds Nausicaa will find herself face to face with her body double is very minimal. And even if she is, she'll do exactly what she was trained to. She'll kill.
Chariots
Montana did her best to prepare Nausicaa for the makeover she was bound to receive from her prep team, and Nausicaa had an idea of what to expect. But it didn't stop the process from being painful. Or stop the prep team from being completely uninteresting.
But Nausicaa didn't complain. She did what she was told. And she was polite, speaking only when spoken to. Her prep team commented that she was the friendliest Career they've styled in a while. Nausicaa smiled.
Once they were done, in came her stylist. An older lady who needs a cane to get around, Marta Minelli has been styling District Four for over five decades. And her outfits are always flawless.
She doesn't say much as she brings Nausicaa her outfit. Nausicaa contemplates trying to break the silence, but she decides to let it stay. It might be one of the few times she can enjoy it while in the Capitol.
Because of this, Nausicaa is one of the first tributes to her chariot. Her outfit is a beautiful emerald green dress with spaghetti straps and a side slit. It's covered from top to bottom in a patterned sequin fabric. Just like her reaping outfit, it does wonders to make her age.
Tributes from the outlying districts start to join her, none of them in anything comparable to her outfit. She can't help but notice the siblings from Eleven, wearing nothing more than a plaid flannel and overalls.
Thankfully, Santiago is out soon to distract her. His outfit is almost as stunning as hers, with a dark emerald suit jacket embedded with the same patterned sequins. With his hair slicked back, he'll get sponsors for sure.
"Shall we introduce ourselves?" Santiago subtly gestures towards our future alliance. Nausicaa turns to see the pair from Two joining the pair from One at their chariot. Nausicaa refuses to be left out.
Without responding to Santiago, she walks over to the Career alliance. Fortunately, Santiago follows closely behind, making them seem like a more united pair then she feels they are.
"Hey. Verity." The boy from One is the first to shake Nausicaa's hand. He's wearing a white vest with nothing underneath, and matching white slacks. His cuffs are encrusted with diamonds that reflect the light just perfectly.
"Hi. Nausicaa." She smiles at him. Nausicaa turns to Carissa, expecting a similar greeting, but she couldn't care less. She's too busy staring at her nails, which are painted a clear base with a sparkly white ombre tip. It compliments her nearly sheer, white ball gown, also coated in a small layer of diamonds at the base of the skirt. With her hair in a tight braided bun, she does look like a princess.
Maybe acting the part a little too much. Nausicaa thinks to herself. She disengages from Carissa and finds herself face to face with Rhea, a complete 180. Where Carissa is full of herself, Rhea seems more reserved. Like Nausicaa, her younger age doesn't help, but unlike Nausicaa, her outfit accentuates her age. A bright red, square neck dress that flows down to her feet with different sheer pink and red fabrics making up the skirt, and a black shawl wrapped around her arms, her makeup is kept minimal, well, camera minimal.
"I'm Rhea. It's nice to meet you." She shakes Nausicaa's hand gently, just like her voice. Nausicaa introduces herself.
"I'm Virgil Caius. It's a pleasure." Virgil, Rhea's district partner, takes Nausicaa's hand and bows to kiss the top of it. Nausicaa hopes her shock doesn't come across on her face. If it doesn't, Virgil doesn't take note.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I have a feeling we'll be an incredible team." Virgil's confidence is almost infectious, but Nausicaa senses something…off about him. But she can't explain it.
It's just nerves. Get to know everyone. You'll be fine. Nausicaa steps back to her chariot with Santiago.
"They'll be fun." He says as they step up. Nausicaa doesn't know if he means they'll be fun to work with or fun to defeat. It doesn't matter. Either way, it'll only end one way. With Nausicaa crowned as Victor, and the rest deceased.