The Hunger Games: Victors Retold

by ThreshHG

Inspired by The Victor’s Project by Oisin55 and Tales of the Hunger Games by Christian Blanco, The Hunger Games:Victors Retold tells the stories of all 75 victors of the Hunger Games, both canon and non-canon. Most chapters are around 500 words, which is perfect for any Hunger Games fans looking for a quick look into the archives of Panem.

14. Woof Musslin

Woof Musslin was the first of only three tributes from District 8 to emerge from a Hunger Games arena alive. The tale of his victory is often used by tribute training centres to display how quickly disasters can turn the tide of the games.

Woof rose on his podium into the arena, which was a large wheat field similar to those of District Nine. He took in his surroundings, planning on where to go before realising that he had missed the countdown and other tributes were already running in.

This greatly hindered Woof, as he had to settle for a simple backpack and bottle instead of anything more useful, which he probably would have been able to reach with his athletic build. As the Careers began taking control of the area, he sprinted west, through the wheat and towards the edge of the arena.

Woof followed the perimeter until he came across a small pond that was one of this year's sources of water. He saw that a pair of boys had beaten him there, and quickly took cover amidst the tall wheat.

The boy from District 8 quickly unzipped his bag, hoping to be lucky enough to find a knife but ending up empty-handed. However, after seeing the duo also unarmed he felt confident enough to fight. He crept through the field, managing to position himself behind them before tackling both into the pond. One managed to pull out a concealed knife, but Woof was able to rip it from his hands and stab it through the boy's chest.

By this time, the other male had pulled himself up and run away, leaving his supplies for Woof to collect. As he organised his food and ensured he had plenty of water, he realised that the strategy he had used against the duo could also work against other tributes attracted by the pond. He hastily finished what he was doing and concealed himself in the field, patiently waiting to ambush any opponents that came near.

This worked very effectively, the boy from the textiles district collecting a further four kills in the following three days, as well as scavenging enough supplies from his victims to last a month if he rationed them well. He also stole a spear from the corpse of the District 7 girl, finally managing to get his hands on a more deadly weapon.

As the faces of the fallen were displayed for the fifth time, Woof heard the Careers heading in his direction, and lay down in the field again as they set up camp no more than 200 metres away from where he was hiding. He waited for over an hour as they prepared an evening meal and discussed their victims of the day as well as who else was remaining, before they finally fell asleep and he scarpered away as fast yet as cautious as possible.It was revealed to Capitol viewers that the boy from District 1, who took first watch, noticed him escape but decided to let him go, presumably thinking that his group would catch and kill him the next day anyway.

Woof ran until he reached the cornucopia, the only sheltered place in the arena, taking inspiration from the victor of the previous year's games and hiding in a corner. This would prove to be very fortunate the next day, as the sun rose that morning with such intense heat that the wheat field began to catch on fire, sparking a blaze that spread across the entire arena. This trapped and killed almost all of the remaining tributes, including the Careers, who were still near the pond at the edge of the arena and were unable to make it to safety, despite their best efforts.

Woof emerged from the Cornucopia, believing he was the last remaining tribute after hearing eight cannons fire almost simultaneously. Although it turned out that he was not the only person in the arena still alive, he was the only person in the arena capable of fighting, and as the boy from District 1 crawled out from the flames, he finished him off and was declared victor of the 14th Hunger Games.

Capitolians, especially those who had bet on a Career victory, were filled with rage with this conclusion as they believed that the games were rigged to hand Woof victory. These rumours were never directly addressed, but as the Head Gamemaker was not seen again, it can be believed that these Hunger Games were not entirely fair.

Woof was an unsuccessful mentor, only managing to guide a tribute to victory after almost 30 years. After these three decades, he retired to his home in the Victor's Village where he lived alone until he was reaped for and died in the 75th Hunger Games

Victor 14: Woof Musslin, age 17, from District 8. Six kills.