Night Before
Nausicaa lays in her bed, eyes focused on the ceiling. Despite the late hour, Nausicaa struggles to find the ability to fall asleep, and she doesn't know why. She's not worried about the arena, she can handle anything. She's not worried about the other tributes, the other Careers, she could kill them all one by one in a heartbeat.
So why am I awake? Nausicaa wishes she knew. She hates not knowing.
She gets out of bed and goes into the living room of the apartment. At this hour, she expects everyone to be asleep. So she's surprised when she sees a light flicker from the room. As she gets closer, she starts to hear very faint commentary. She's confused, until the two connect. Someone's watching TV.
Nausicaa can't make out the person until they turn their head around. Santiago.
"What are you doing up?" He asks.
"Same reason you're up, I assume." Nausicaa sits next to him on the couch, attentioned turned to the TV. Not surprisingly, it's the recap of the interviews. With the Games starting in less than twenty four hours, it's all anyone in the Capitol can think about. Including those not originally from this place.
"I have always been more of a night owl anyway. Guess I prefer the quiet. Although, no one in the Capitol seems to have the same sentiment." As if on cue, fireworks explode outside. Nausicaa laughs.
"Not me. I can't remember the last time I slept in after the sun rose." Nausicaa says.
"Seriously? What's wrong with you?" Santiago laughs and Nausicaa shrugs nonchalantly.
"I just don't like to waste the day, I guess."
"That explains how you convinced the academy to choose you." Santiago's statement bothers Nausicaa. She earned that spot. She was the best choice. Why shouldn't they have chosen her?
She's about to comment on it when Santiago changes the subject.
"You seem friendly with Rhea. Have you learned anything interesting?" He asks. Nausicaa shakes her head. Not because she hasn't, but because everything she has learned wouldn't interest Santiago.
"Shame. Though I guess it's hard to get to know people in a few days."
"Have you learned anything about the rest of them?" Nausicaa asks, knowing Santiago has spent more time socializing than she did.
"Well, Carissa is insufferable, Verity is smart and relatively chill, and Virgil has a big personality. But I'm not telling you anything new." Santiago says. Nausicaa doesn't bother confirming.
"It doesn't really matter. We're a part of the same alliance. We'll be fine for a bit." Nausicaa stands from the couch as the music dies down outside.
"I'll see you in the morning, then?" Santiago says. Nausicaa nods, then heads back into her room.
Fortunately, Nausicaa is successful the second time around, and manages to fall asleep in an instant. Morning comes quicker than she'd honestly like, and after a quick meal, her and Santiago are boarding the hovercraft. Other than Santiago, there's not a single person on the hovercraft she recognizes.
The flight is long and quiet, other than the Gamemaker placing everyone's tracker at the beginning. Nausicaa enjoys the silence, as she knows it's her last one for a while. When they arrive, Nausicaa can't help but wonder where they've landed. What will be in front of her when she rises up into the arena? Will it be water? Grass? Last year it was snow. Nausicaa wasn't envious of the tributes that year.
Nausicaa is taken down a long tunnel by a Capitol worker and then into her own small room with nothing but the tube that'll bring her into the arena, a table, and a box. Nausicaa assumes her arena outfit is inside.
She's soon joined by Marta, who doesn't waste any time pulling out her outfit. An athletic, form fitting tank top. A loose, white button up with button tabs on the sleeves for easy securing. Tabs in the back to help vent air in, at least, that's how Marta describes it. Loose, tan pants that have zippers right above the knees to turn them into shorts. Hiking boots. A sunhat with additional fabric in the back that can be pinned up if unwanted. A wide headband that Marta explains can be used to protect Nausicaa's nose and mouth from the elements. Thermoregulating gloves. Sunglasses. And lastly, a down jacket with its own case that can be hooked on Nausicaa's belt.
"Expect extreme temperatures. Extreme heat, definitely. But I wouldn't be surprised if they threw in extreme cold as well." Marta helps Nausicaa change into everything to make sure everything fits right. It does.
And then they sit in silence until Calyptis announces it's time for everyone to get into their tubes. Only then does Marta wish Nausicaa good luck. Nausicaa thanks her. Then, she leaves.
Ready to give it her all, Nausicaa enters the tube.
The tributes rise around the Cornucopia, the sun beaming down bright onto the sand that covers the entire arena. Nausicaa rises north of the cornucopia. To her left, a large temple. To her right, a lake. In the distance, various ruins, and limited vegetation. If any.
The sixty seconds begin and Nausicaa strategizes. She knows she'll be one of the first Careers in the center.
I need a weapon. Nausicaa scans the middle for a weapon, anything. She sees a small sword directly in the mouth of the giant structure, and it might as well have her name on it.
The gong echoes throughout the entire arena and Nausicaa is the first one sprinting in. She sees her allies coming in from every side, along with tributes she doesn't recognize. In a smooth swoop, she grabs the sword, then puts her back towards the cornucopia so no one can come up behind her.
Santiago stands next to her, ax in hand, and soon the rest of the Career pack is here, fighting off their opponents. Nausicaa sees the boy from Five trying to take a spear from the center, and she doesn't hesitate to swipe the sword through his stomach. He coughs up blood and collapses, dropping the spear.
Nausicaa hears the clanging of metal and turns around to see Carissa swinging at the girl from Six, who's barely holding her off with a sword. Nausicaa starts to rush in to help, but Carissa knocks the sword out of the girl's hands and stabs her own weapon through the girl's neck. Nausicaa doesn't watch the girl fall.
She turns just as Virgil shoots both tributes from Nine in the back. In the distance, Rhea throws a spear into the stomach of the girl from Five. Verity is standing over the Girl from Eight.
Nausicaa hears footsteps as the girl from Ten charges at her with a knife. Nausicaa side steps as the girl lunges, causing her to fall face first into the sand. Nausicaa stands over the girl and takes her life without a second thought.
"Watch out!" Santiago yells and Nausicaa ducks in an instant. A knife weakly flies over her head, and she turns to see who threw it. The boy from Twelve, who Santiago instantly tackles and breaks his neck.
Nausicaa picks up the knife and sees that the cornucopia has basically cleared out, as Carissa and Verity make their last kills, the boy from Ten and girl from Eight respectively, and the Careers gather in the rest of the supplies. Verity has each Career help organize. While they all participate, some are less enthusiastic than the rest. Nausicaa is indifferent. Right before they start, the cannons start going off. Nausicaa counts eight. Two belong to her.
She pulls her headband over her nose and mouth, like Marta showed her, as the wind picks up and the sand starts gathering in the air. With her hat and sunglasses on, she's grateful for the protection from the elements. As someone from District Four, she feels, quite literally, like a fish out of water. She wonders if Santiago feels the same.
Despite the rough arena, adrenaline is flowing through Nausicaa and all she wants is to get out there and continue showing the world what she's made of.
After the Careers get organized, they each create their own little hunting packs with a minimal amount of everything. Nausicaa has a bottle of water, some food, some bandages, and her sword with her. The rest of the pack have similar pickings in their bags.
"Okay. Let's not waste any time. Three of us will go hunting. Three will stay here. I want Santiago, myself, and Rhea out hunting now." Verity instructs. Nausicaa shakes her head.
"Send me out hunting." She says direct and to the point. Carissa scoffs and Nausicaa ignores her.
"You can hunt later. This is the group I want out right now." Verity explains, no malice in his tone. Nausicaa still doesn't agree.
"There are some people who don't see my value. I want to change that perception." Nausicaa doesn't look at the people she's referring to. She doesn't even glance at them.
Verity turns to look at Santiago, contemplating Nausicaa's request. Santiago shrugs.
"Give her my spot." Santiago walks into the metal structure and takes a seat on a box.
"Alright then kid, you're up." Verity leads the way and Nausicaa and Rhea follow closely behind.
The entire time they walk, Nausicaa can't help but plaster a smirk on her face.
The group heads north, towards a large set of ruins hidden in the desert. The structure has either been there for some time, or that's just how the Gamemakers decided to make it appear, because sand has covered the bottom half of whatever was there before.
The trio walks in silence, either listening for signs of life, or strategizing in their own minds. Nausicaa does a little bit of both.
She's openly proud of herself for standing up for herself earlier, and selfishly, she enjoys spending time with Rhea. She's thankful Verity is with them, as she finds his level-headed approach both respectful and stabilizing an otherwise chaotic group. She feels bad that Santiago was dropped, but she also doesn't really think he minded.
"Hey. Footprints." Verity points at the ground and the girls look down. Nausicaa doesn't see them at first, with the blowing sand blocking some of her vision. When she does see them, she's impressed that Verity caught them in the first place, with how faint they are.
"It looks like more than one set." Rhea points out. The trio follows the prints as they lead directly into the ruins. Nausicaa assumes whoever made those prints didn't make it further than this.
"Over there!" Rhea points at a movement as two tributes seemingly begin to flee. The trio engages in the chase, with Nausicaa leading. As she closes distance, she recognizes the two as the pair from Seven, a twelve year old boy and seventeen year old girl. The boy stumbles on the unsteady sand, and soon enough, Nausicaa is standing over him delivering a final blow, ignoring his pleas for mercy.
Verity chases down the girl and gives her the same treatment, the two cannons firing to confirm the kills. They take the minimal supplies from the dead, including the extra sunglasses, headbands, and hats, and continue searching the area as the hovercraft comes and takes their bodies away.
As they search, Nausicaa can't help but hear the boy's last words echoing in her head. With nothing else to drown out the sound, they play on repeat in her head.
"Please…please…" That was the only thing he was able to get out before he was dead. What would he have said, had she given him a little more time?
But why would she? It's no secret only one of them can win. Nausicaa knew that it would be her from the start. She knew what it would take to get there. But knowing and experiencing are two vastly different things.
As the trio continues to secure the area, Rhea gets closer to Nausicaa.
"Are you okay?" She asks quietly so Verity can't here. Nausicaa snaps out of it.
"Yeah. It's just hot." She says, returning to the Career leader. It's true, it's hotter than Nausicaa has ever known. The protective clothing certainly helps, but it doesn't dissipate it fully. And she knows it's only going to get worse.
Once the sun starts to hit the horizon, Verity sends the team back to the cornucopia. As they return, they see Carissa standing on guard, and Santiago and Virgil chatting closer to the mouth of the structure.
"Good. Those cannons didn't belong to you." Carissa's contempt isn't lost on Nausicaa. But she just smiles, refusing to start a fight.
"They were caused by her." Verity passes Carissa, making sure Nausicaa can see him winking. She smiles.
As the temperature continues to drop, the anthem begins to play, as the faces are projected in the sky. Both from Five. The girl from Six. Both from Seven, their earlier kills. The girl from Eight. Both from Nine and Ten, and finally, the boy from Twelve. Ten dead, fourteen left.