Lazuli Oberyl, 18 - District One Female

I apply a nude lip-gloss while Alexandrite, perched on the seat behind me, braids my hair. It's rather therapeutic for me, having Alex run her fingers through the roots of my hair, pulling them back once in a while. 'You know it's funny,' she starts. I put the lip-gloss in my bag and turn around. 'You probably have a bigger biceps than like eighty percent of the guys here,' Alex laughs.

I snicker. 'I'm telling you, the boys here aren't half of what they think they are,' I say. And it isn't false. Whenever I'd have one of those macho boys with their inflated egos try to pick a fight with me, I always put them in their place. Sometimes I'd even have some of the more venomous girls test my nerves and it would be up to me to kick their asses to the floor where they belong. But I'm proud to say that those days are over because I've finally made a name for myself at this academy. No one dares even come close to me without permission which is just the way I like it. The career academy is brutal. No one can deny that. You can even ask the most successful victors and they'll all tell you the same thing. They'll all tell you that they've been through hell and back to get where they are now.

And soon I'll be giving that speech to young, hopeful trainees that I can mold into worthy killers. I'll bring them back to their proud mothers and shower them in pure gold. I'll have the Capitol drooling over them.

And yet when I have to watch embarrassing mock battles like this on the sidelines, I don't know how I'll be mentoring all those incapable ducklings. 'Dude, look at Nick's face. He's about to burst.'

'Understandably so,' I hiss. I mean look at this guy's technique; it's horrible. 'I subtly point at one of the trainees in the ring with Trainer Nick. The old me would have gone up to the trainee after the session, shoved him against the wall and made sure he never set foot in this academy again as not to embarrass himself any further. Sadly, however, my parents made it abundantly clear to me that I mustn't go around bullying the weaker kids. It makes the Oberyls look bad which I wasn't going to deny.

'Lazuli, I think Nick wants you to come down.' Alex places her hand on my shoulder. I turn my attention to the trainer who seems to be beckoning to me. I drop my purse on the floor and strut down the stairs, making sure my steps are as heavy and impactful as possible. And suddenly all the attention is on me and the training halls go hauntingly silent. Even the tributes not participating in the mock battles drop their weapons and join the spectacle.

Nick takes the staff from one of the girls and tosses it towards me. I catch it in mid-air with one hand, twirling the weapon around my body before setting it vertically on the ground next to me. 'Good,' Nick shouts, signaling for the girl to return to the audience. 'Lazuli, I'll have you battle Douglas here.' Douglas as in the boy with the bad technique I mentioned before. 'Begin!'

I wait a bit and try to figure out how long this battle will last. I'd estimate three seconds. I point three fingers towards Alex who nods raises her eyebrows in surprise. I knock the staff out of the kid's hands so quickly that he doesn't have time to react. I kick his ankle, pushing the hilt of the weapon against his stomach and bringing him to the ground. Alex gives me a thumbs up from the sidelines.

'And this is why she's our chosen volunteer this year,' Nick says with a proud smile.

Titus Faust, 18 - District One Male

Sometimes I wish I was old enough to have made a choice. The choice I wanted to make. There were two lives waiting for me.

One life would have offered me creativity. Every day I would have spent time with my father thinking of new designs for the jewelry company he works at. And maybe in the afternoon, we would have been working on a really awesome looking treehouse with two floors and actual windows and maybe even a TV in it. Probably not, but who knows. I would have become a craftsman or a jeweler and followed in my dad's footsteps.

The other life would have offered me strength. Every day I would have spent time with my mother, training to take part in the Games and make her proud. We would go out on long runs together and share a big meal afterward and talk about all kinds of things. She'd always attend my matches and cheer me on. She'd be my cheerleader.

And if I did actually have a choice at the time, I still don't know what I would have done. So maybe it was best that all those lawyers and judges made the decision for me. My mother always had a better income than my dad and especially after that demotion he received at his company it was obvious that my mother would end up gaining custody of me.

Sometimes I wish it was my father who won and sometimes I wish it was my mother. Right now I wish it was my father.

'I… I can't,' I cough out. I try to lift myself off the ground but my muscles give in.

'Come on Titus, honey.' My mom maintains her jogging while staying in place. 'We've only been running for two hours and we've still got another hour before your school starts so let's go!' she shouts in an attempt to motivate me.

I give it another shot, flexing all my muscles and this time I manage to make it to my feet. I wobble around awkwardly for a while before joining my mom.

One Step.

Two Steps.

One Step…

…Step

I fall to the floor again. The fall didn't hurt but my chest feels like it's on fire. 'I'm sorry mom. I'm sorry.'

'Oh, honey, it's alright,' she says dropping to the floor next to me. She unzips her backpack, handing me her water bottle. I twist it open and devour the liquid like a nomad who's been traveling the desert for days on end. I swipe my lips with the back of my hand, returning the bottle to my mother.

'I'm not a collegiate sprinter like you, mom,' I laugh. She looks at me with a hint of sorrow in her eyes.

'I know, Titus… I know that but I just want you to be prepared.' She wipes the sweat away from her face. Maybe they're tears; I can't really tell. 'I wouldn't know what to do if you didn't come back to-'

'Don't. That's not even an option. I am coming back.' I say those words with a hint of uncertainty. If I'll actually be able to spill another human's blood, I don't know. I like to think that I'd have no problem with it, that my drive to win is enough to carry me to victory on a safe cloud. I know how unrealistic that thought is. But I can always hope.

Shiro here!

So these were the District One Intros. Huge thanks to CreativeFanatic and matts0688 for Lazuli and Titus respectively. I enjoyed writing these two a lot and I look forward to seeing what you guys think of them since your opinions are more important than ever. Remember, this is the time for you to find allies you can work with. The way you play the game is completely up to you. Let us know what you thought of the tributes in the reviews!

Also, some LCS-Style appearance descriptions here:

Lazuli: Has light green eyes and long flowing blonde hair that is slightly curly. Lazuli is also tall (5'11) and muscular.

Titus: African American with curly dark hair and brown eyes. He's tall and athletic for his age (6' and 150lbs).

Remember to stay safe!

I'll be back with the District Five intros!