A/N: Apologies for the delay. I'm trying to update this story once a week but sometimes things happen and I'm unable to. I definitely want to focus on this SYOT until the end, though. Enjoy the chapter!

Ariadne White, age 18
District 2 Female Tribute

Reaping Day

Reaping Day in District 2 always fills me with excitement, but this year is special because I'm the chosen volunteer. Holy shit, I'm going to volunteer as tribute in just a few minutes. I'm standing at the front edge of the crowd - that way it'll be easier for me to reach the stage when I volunteer - and wearing my nicest outfit, the white sundress. My token, a dried white flower petal from my favorite park, is safely tucked in my pocket. I'm all set. I just need to wait for Maribelle Kane to read out a girl's name.

It's very hot and sunny today, and I'm glad I wore a light outfit as the crowd quiets down and the Reaping begins. It's the same process every year, and I impatiently wait as the Mayor steps up and makes his annual speech. He talks about the history of Panem, states the rules of the Hunger Games, reads the list of past District 2 Victors, and introduces our escort.

I glance at the four chairs at the side of the stage. One of them is empty because it belongs to the Mayor. One of them is occupied by Maribelle Kane, our enthusiastic and proud but polite and helpful escort. She's been escorting for Two since the very first Hunger Games, and I can't wait to get to know her. The other two chairs are occupied by the two District 2 Victors who will mentor this year's tributes.

I'm going to be working with Camilla Henrikson, the Victor of last year's Hunger Games. She's only a year older than me, but she's strong and wise, not to mention beautiful. My District Partner, Scorpio Grayson, will be working with Orion Garcia, the Victor of the 12th Games and District 2's first Academy-trained Victor. Even though Scorpio and I have the option to consult with our individual mentors, Camilla and Orion will also be working together to present me and Scorpio as great contenders for Victory. We'll be working as a team, after all, until the very end - it's a tried-and-true strategy for the Careers from Districts 1 and 2 to start the Games by hunting the other tributes as a pack. After the numbers dwindle, I will beat my allies to be crowned as Victor of the 19th Annual Hunger Games.

Ariadne White, Victor of the 19th Annual Hunger Games. All I have to do is be stronger than every other tribute in the Arena. How hard can it be, especially because I've trained my whole life for this?

Our escort picks out a slip of paper from the Reaping Bowl. She calls for Sierra Delgado to come to the stage. The Reaped kid moves out of the section of fourteen-year-old girls and walks towards Maribelle, putting her head down and skittering with hurried footsteps. I wonder why she's so shy. Oh well, it doesn't matter. Sierra gets onto the stage, and Maribelle asks the question that I will answer to seal my fate.

"Are there any volunteers?"

My hand shoots up. "I volunteer as tribute!" I yell excitedly.

The District claps and cheers as I happily trot up to the stage, grinning from ear to ear. I shake the Reaped girl's hand, as per protocol, and Sierra hurries back into the crowd.

"What's your name?" Maribelle asks me.

"My name is Ariadne White," I announce confidently, "and soon my collection will be complete! I can't wait to have a rabbit."

The District is quiet for a few seconds, which I find strange, but someone starts clapping and pretty soon the entire District is applauding for me. I stand on the stage, grinning. I can't wait to be in the Games.

The District quiets down as Maribelle moves to the other Reaping Bowl and pulls out a name. "Will Will Smith come to the stage?" she announces.

A seventeen-year-old boy makes his way onto the Reaping stage. Maribelle asks for volunteers, and Scorpio steps forward from the sixteen-year-old section.

The District claps and cheers as the other selected volunteer makes his way to the stage. I smile as I watch Scorpio. It's one month after he was chosen as my District Partner, but I still find it a bit strange how he's only sixteen but was selected to volunteer by the Headmaster without a test like mine. He's great with knives, but some of the older boys are physically stronger than him. Perhaps it's his coolness under pressure or the fact that it's rumored that he's an actual sociopath. If the rumors are true, I understand why he'd be a good contender for Victory.

There's no way he'd beat me, though. I'm taller and stronger than him. Compared to me, Scorpio Grayson is a shrimp.

"District 2, your tributes for the 19th Annual Hunger Games, Ariadne White and Scorpio Grayson!" Maribelle announces. "Tributes, shake hands."

"May the best tribute win," Scorpio says with a pleasant smile as he reaches out to shake my hand.

"That would be me," I say as I shake my District Partner's hand, already seeing him as a valuable ally who I will get rid of when the time comes. Scorpio opens his mouth to say something, but closes it as we turn to face District 2 and its thunderous cheers one last time.

Lamar Hunter, age 17
District 4 Male Tribute

Reaping Day

The weather in District 4 is balmy and sunny, as usual, as I stand in the crowd of seventeen-year-old boys. It's been a year since the last time I went to the City - there's no real need for me to come here except for the annual Reaping - and I ponder on whether to go straight home after this Reaping or stay in the City for a few days. If I went straight home, I could hang out with Persephone and Cress, and also practice the piano for the next concert. If I stayed here, I could pick up a hot chick or two, and also see the sights of Four's population center.

I guess what the choice comes down to is, should I go home and work, or stay here and play? I realize. Perhaps I can do both. I'll stay in the City for tonight and be home by tomorrow night so that I can practice the next morning. Yeah, that sounds like a good post-Reaping plan. That way I'll have it all.

I smile slightly to myself as the Reaping starts and the Mayor makes her annual speech about the history of Panem, the rules of the Hunger Games, and the important people District 4 has in regards to the Games. In the eighteen years of Hunger Games, Four has had exactly one Victor. That Victor, Mags Flanagan, sits on a chair on the stage, looking as sad and somber as everyone else. I don't know if she has Reaping-aged family members, but nobody wants to know which two unlucky children will be sent off to their likely deaths.

"Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!" our escort, a young, bubbly, blue-haired man named Zephyr Zhang, chirps into the microphone, desperately trying to cheer up the nervous District. Cress squeezes my hand, and I take a deep breath. I don't know what I'm going to do if either of us is Reaped.

"Let's start with the boys this year, I think that'll be fun," Zephyr says. He picks a name out of the male Reaping Bowl, and my heart rate shoots through the roof. "Lamar Hunter! Will Lamar Hunter come to the stage!"

My heart drops into my stomach. No. No no no no no. Fuck. Fuck off. Are you for real? This can't be happening. I'm too young to die. I have so much in life ahead of me. He did not just call my name and sentence me to death. But someone is nudging me, and I'm too cool to cry, so I make my best attempt to hold my head high and walk to the stage.

I climb the stairs shakily and take deep breaths as I face the District and try not to cry. I can barely hear Zephyr asking for volunteers, but as usual there are none. I can't die. I have to win. I'm not going to fail to realize my dream of becoming a great musician just because I died in the Hunger Games.

The gears in my head start turning. I wish I had gone on more fishing trips now. If I had, I might know a little about using spears and tridents to kill. But I can't change the past. Rather than weapon skills, I'll be winning these Games with my cleverness and drive. No, I won't let anything stop me from having the best.

I barely notice that the female tribute has been Reaped, but I heard the name Delilah Aberforth. That isn't someone I know, thankfully. The section of sixteen-year-old girls stirs, and a wide-eyed and pretty girl makes her way to the stage. The first thing I notice about her is her beautiful red hair. She looks decently muscular, too. Maybe she can be an asset to me in more ways than one.

"Alrighty then, tributes, shake hands," Zephyr says airily after he has asked for volunteers for Delilah but nobody stepped forward.

I shake my District Partner's hand and study her wide eyes. There's something off about her that I can't put my finger on…

A/N: Chapter question: What are your first impressions on Scorpio, our District 2 male Tribute, and Delilah, our District 4 female Tribute?

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you all soon!