Chapter 3: Little Games
August, 150 ADD
Twice a year, the Academy hosted a mock Hunger Games for the Career trainees, one in the beginning of August, right on the tail of the Games themselves, and another in the dead of winter. The gap between them was designed to prepare the top twenty-six potential volunteers for the variety of situations they might face in the arena, given what they could with the range of climates that Two offered.
Venatrix had participated in last summer's mock Games, placing second. At nearly seventeen, she technically wasn't supposed to compete, as the tournament was meant only for eligible volunteers. However, her father had convinced the rest of the Academy Heads to let her join, much to the jealousy of her peers and senior trainees. He'd made the argument on the grounds of her legacy as a child of two Victors and the impending Quell; only the best deserved to represent District Two in the Capitol, after all.
That had changed with the announcement of the Quell.
Thanks to the Academy's impeccable planning on behalf of the Hunger Games, the majority of winter training events took place after Capitol-scheduled events like Victory Tours and Quell announcements. Additionally, the Academy generally held the mock winter Games after the Selection Tournament to give the volunteers a better look at what they'd be up against.
Last winter, only trainees of age twelve had been permitted to compete. Bellara, of course, had joined the mock tributes and won to boot, taking out both of the selected volunteers like the little madwoman she'd been. Perhaps, Venatrix thought grimly, that's what had given her the idea to steal the official spot for her own.
This year, Percy and Agate would accompany Venatrix as her predetermined allies; they'd utilized the past month or so to plot out their moves. She'd considered adding Iago to their little group, as he'd be competing as well, thanks to the same privilege she'd had (though for some reason, her peers seemed less upset about that than they'd been with her - irritating), but she decided against it. She wasn't stupid enough to trust that kid as far as she could throw him, even if it was pretty far.
Venatrix currently stood within the cluster of twenty-five other mock tributes on a rocky overhang on the far side of the mountain range, a valley of bright green intermingled with russet streaks of rock splayed beneath them. To their backs, the wall of solid rock that made up the fortress known as the Nut stood as immovable as it had been during the Second Rebellion.
The group of supervising mentors stood at attention, surveying each of the competing trainees with a keen eye; Dagmara gave a subtle wink upon catching Venatrix's gaze.
Oberon paced in front of the mock tributes, his hands clasped behind his back like a drill sergeant while he explained the rules clearly and precisely. "The goal of this event is to test your skills for use in a real arena. However, this is not a real arena, and I would like to be explicitly clear in my statements and expectations."
He paused to make sure the mock tributes were listening. "Do not intentionally maim or wound your opponents. This includes stabbing, poisoning, aiming for the head, breaking bones, you name it," he said, listing the offences on his fingers. "This will result in immediate expulsion from the Academy."
The tributes, Venatrix included, nodded in understanding.
Oberon continued. "Do not actually kill your opponents. This may seem fairly obvious, but for the sake of everyone involved, I am stating it anyways. Such actions are punishable by death in accordance with the laws of District Two and of Panem."
Next to her, Percy raised an eyebrow. "Has that happened before?" he whispered.
"Do not-"
Venatrix shrugged. "I think I heard something about someone biting it a decade or so back, but I'm pretty sure that was an accident," she whispered back.
"-speak when I am talking," Oberon said sternly. With a start, Venatrix realized he was looking directly at her. She felt her cheeks flush at the snickers of the other mock tributes, the curled smirk on Alystra Drakos's face. "You will miss crucial information if you are not paying attention."
Right, got it. She ignored the apologetic glance from Percy, focusing on her father explaining how to use the provided weapons without actually injuring anybody. Most of the weapons here would be shock-blades, which would send a pulse of electricity through the victim's body when striking, numbing the area of impact as opposed to slicing it open like a normal blade. Spears, arrows, and throwing knives would be equipped with blunt ends rather than points. Those who preferred blunts or maces were given weapons with rubber heads, though they were reminded not to strike with full-force, as this was a training exercise. Emphasis on training.
The weapons themselves were located over the edge of the cliff, piled around a makeshift Cornucopia. Instead of rising up from beneath the arena, the trainees would have to scale down the cliff face to reach the bounty. Luckily, or perhaps by design, this particular overhang tended to be a popular spot for professional and amateur rock climbers alike, with plenty of footholds to hang on to.
"So how do we know when someone 'dies'?" Agate asked, making air quotations around the last word.
Oberon smiled at the question. "Us mentors will be monitoring you via the Nut, so we will be able to see if you try to keep fighting when you're supposed to be dead." He looked pointedly at Iago.
Iago recoiled indignantly. "Wha-me? What did I do?"
"Nothing yet," Oberon said wryly. He cleared his throat, continuing with his explanation. "All of you will be wearing a thin layer of protective armor that will register when you are hit; we will receive that signal and pull you out if the hit is deemed fatal. A red light will flash on the center of your armor indicating that you are 'dead.' If you attempt to keep fighting, we will neutralize you via an electric current through your armor." He paused while the group of mock tributes absorbed the information. "We'll be keeping track of individual kill counts as well; highest will get a prize, even if you don't win. Any questions?"
Alystra raised her hand from the center of her little group of allies; apparently she'd had the same idea as Venatrix. She'll be a threat. I'll have to take her out early. "What about food and shelter? This is going to last a couple of days, right?"
"Correct," Oberon said. "You will each be provided with a week's worth of food before we start. As I said before, the goal of this exercise is to test your skills and strategy, not to starve you." A few titters of laughter followed his comment. "As for shelter, you're on your own. Better hope it doesn't rain."
He pulled out a clipboard, gesturing to Morwenna and Dagmara to start passing out the supplies. "Oh, and do try not to drag this out for longer than a week, otherwise we'll have to send the mutts after you." He grinned at that, a bit too wolfish for her liking.
Venatrix exchanged a nervous glance with Agate and Percy. "Mutts? They have mutts?" Agate whispered in horror.
"They didn't last summer," Venatrix responded.
Dagmara's voice interrupted their conversation. "Tributes, please line up in alphabetical order to collect your armor and provisions, starting with Ambrosia, Agate." Grimacing, Agate broke away to grab her supplies.
Venatrix followed, getting in line behind her brother. "Hey kiddo," she said, poking him in the shoulder. "You ready?"
"I'm gonna shank you so hard," Iago said eagerly, snatching his bag from Dagmara's grasp.
Dagmara pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at her son. "Iago," she said waringly.
"I'd like to see you try," Venatrix countered with a smirk.
Regrouping with her allies, Venatrix began rifling through her pack, investigating the contents: plenty of food rations, as promised, and additional stuff like a water bottle, iodine tablets, a hundred or so meters of thick nylon rope, a sleeping bag, some matches, and the armor that Oberon had mentioned. Mostly things that tended to show up in packs at the real Cornucopia, excluding the armor. Absently, Venatrix shrugged on the armored shirt and pants over her training gear, scanning the length of the overhang to see the others doing the same. It covered her arms and neck, though the pants only fell just above the knee. The material was surprisingly light and supple, a dark grey-green color that would help her blend into the landscape.
"Alright guys." Percy clapped his hands together, and the three of them leaned into a huddle. "We all know the plan, right?"
"Yup."
"Solid," Agate nodded. No further need to explain, lest the others overhear.
Just then, Oberon called the tributes to ready, ordering them to switch on their armor by pressing a button on the inside. Venatrix did as instructed. Heart thudding in her chest from the sudden anticipation, she shouldered her pack, joining the others to stand at the edge of the precipice. Below them, a neat assortment of various shock-weapons lay clustered at the mouth of a bright blue camping tent - the 'Cornucopia', Venatrix realized with a huff of laughter - in a clearing surrounded by trees. The ground itself was dangerously far away; briefly, Venatrix wondered what would happen to anyone who fell before pushing the thought from her mind. They wouldn't if they were good enough to be at this point in training. A flash of light caught her eye, reflecting off the blade of a lethal-looking sword right in the center of the weapon pile. That's mine.
"Sixty seconds," Oberon called, starting his watch.
Venatrix exhaled a sharp breath, glancing at Percy and Agate. They returned her grin, adjusting themselves in preparation for the climb down. A couple tributes down, Iago bounced on the balls of his feet, excitement plainly visible across his sharp features. She glanced back at her father, still looking at his watch, before catching Alystra's threatening glare. Venatrix returned it with fervor.
"Five," Oberon barked. Dagmara raised the air horn in her hands. "Four. Three. Two. One-"
The blaring sound of the horn cut him off. Almost instantaneously, the tributes launch-crawled themselves over the edge of the cliff, scrambling to be the first to the bottom.
Venatrix, however, took off in the complete opposite direction.
She barely registered the confused glances from the mentors as she yanked the rope from her pack, swiftly wrapping the length of the cord once around a solid-looking tree planted at the back of the overhang. Taking both ends of the cord in her hands, Venatrix jogged back to the edge of the cliff, tossing them over the edge as she quickly fashioned the rope around her waist and legs in a makeshift harness.
Gripping the rope tails tightly in her hands, she briefly caught Oberon's approving grin before she leaned her weight backwards, disappearing over the edge of the cliff.
The others had gotten a decent head start on her, but Venatrix had the advantage now. Without having to worry about footholds, she rappelled down the rock face, quickly surpassing her peers and earning more than a few muttered curses.
"What the fuck; that's not fair!" Iago whined.
"Later, loser," Venatrix crowed, giving him a friendly kick in the side as she passed.
She reached the bottom of the cliff in record time, ignoring the burning friction from the rope in her rush of adrenaline, though she had to jump the last meter or so when the cord ran out. Sprinting towards the makeshift Cornucopia, her hand automatically gravitated towards the hilt of the sword she'd seen from above. She paused, however, as another idea popped into her mind and grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows instead.
Glancing back, Venatrix saw the others still climbing, about two-thirds the way down the cliff. With a grin, she loaded an arrow, sending it into the back of one of the trainees.
She heard a yelp of surprise as their armor suddenly flashed red; they slid the remaining distance down the wall of rock (thankfully not too far) as Venatrix notched another arrow. Another hit; two 'kills' already. Venatrix grinned. Her next arrow, however, only hit an arm, stranding the poor trainee on the bluff while they figured out how to climb down one-handed.
Her fellows were starting to touch the ground now; Venatrix sent a last arrow in Alystra's direction - the girl dodged with a scowl - before lowering the bow in favor of snatching her sword from the pile.
Percy reached her first, panting from the effort. "I believe that's mine," he said, holding out his hand expectantly.
Venatrix passed him the bow and a new quiver. "Just warming it up for you," she said, twirling her sword as she braced for the onslaught. Percy sent a couple more arrows into the approaching wave, knocking out two more tributes with far greater accuracy than Venatrix had.
No time to talk after that; Venatrix swung her sword at the first weaponless attacker, sending a shock of electricity through the poor boy's chest. He grunted as he fell, his armor lighting up red, but Venatrix moved on, scanning the crowd for her other ally as she parried a blow from another girl's sword. Quickly, Venatrix disarmed her, stabbing at her side. The blade glanced off the armor, drawing a line of sparks through the material before it flashed red as well. The movement sent an uncomfortable vibration through Venatrix's arm; she much preferred a traditional sword, she found. Shaking it off, Venatrix spotted Agate with her spear.
"Aggie!" she called, jerking her head towards the treeline.
Agate glanced up, narrowly avoiding the strike of an enemy sword. She parried with her spear, leaving her opponent off-guard. Instead of striking the killing blow, she made her way towards Venatrix and Percy as they retreated from the Bloodbath, leaping over another 'dead' tribute. "Alright, ready?"
"Not yet," Venatrix grunted, spotting a potential target peeling away from the scene, an arm and leg already clearly numbed by a previous blow. Sensing her approach, he turned around, eyes widening at her predatory grin. She moved deliberately, slashing her shock-sword at his chest in a glittering arc, the adrenaline surging through her blood.
He collapsed with a groan, his armor flashing red. "Didn't have-t'hit so hard," he wheezed from the ground.
"Sorry, pal," she said, turning back to her allies. A flash of movement caught her eyes. "Agate, watch!"
The large girl ducked, wincing as a throwing knife skidded across her shoulder. Venatrix glared in the direction of its source, meeting Iago's savage grin. He readied another one, but Percy acted faster, sending an arrow whistling towards him. Nimbly, Iago leapt out of the way, abandoning his sister's alliance for weaker targets.
Venatrix scowled as they made for cover, having served their purpose. "His time will come," she seethed, earning a chuckle from Percy.
Before they dipped behind the treeline, she surveyed the scene a final time, her 'dead' peers groaning and cursing in frustration while the survivors dispersed; getting Bloodbath'd in the mock Games pretty much nixed their chances of being selected to volunteer. Someone would be around to pick them up soon; her father might even make them climb back up the wall as a penalty.
She couldn't quite tell how many were out of the running already, but if she had to guess, the number was around thirteen or fourteen. Mock Bloodbaths tended to skew higher than those in the actual Games, due to the sheer amount of trained tributes. The higher you climb, the harder you fall, Venatrix thought with amusement. She let out a huff as the thrill of the Bloodbath began to wear off.
And that was probably only half as exciting as the real Games will be.
The thought birthed an unexpected nugget of uneasiness in the corner of her mind; staunchly, she pushed it away.
Adjusting her backpack, Venatrix started through the trees, her two allies falling into step behind her. Percy kept an arrow nocked in his bow as he walked, alert for any newcomers; similarly, Agate held her spear at the ready. "Are they gonna tell us how many got killed?" she asked.
"They did last year," Venatrix said, pushing aside a clump of thorns with her sword. A slight gap in the vegetation hinted at the presence of a trail; she stepped around another bush, the forest opening up before her. "Should be soon enough - there."
The same horn that had started the tributes' descent into the valley now rang through the air, reverberating sharply against the rock walls of the mountain range. It sounded twelve more times, pausing long enough between each one to avoid confusion with the echoes.
Agate let out a low whistle. "Pretty brutal, huh?"
"Yeah," Percy agreed. "I think three of them were mine."
"I only got one," Agate said, her expression thoughtful. "Probably could've gotten more, but eh." She shrugged, unperturbed by the turn of events. "What about you?"
Venatrix mentally recounted the Bloodbath in her head. "I got five."
"Damn, Trix," Percy said appreciatively. "Your little rappelling trick probably helped. Where'd you learn that?"
She frowned at him. "We all learned it?"
"Yeah, three years ago, maybe," Agate said, huffing a laugh.
Venatrix merely shrugged. "I left the rope back there anyways, so if we need to do anything like that again, I'll have to borrow one of yours."
For the next couple of hours, they ambled along their path, making idle chatter. While they didn't find anyone else, two more horns echoed through the air, whittling the remaining competitors down to eleven. They spent the rest of the day searching for the perfect place to camp for the night, stumbling upon a fairly well-hidden clearing backed by a sheer wall of rock as evening rolled around. They laid down their sleeping bags in a circle, making a meal of the rations they'd been given. Nothing fancy, but Venatrix didn't mind.
She only half-listened as Percy and Agate swapped stories about their recent crushes, one ear strained towards the forest just in case. Nobody bothered (or dared) to interrupt their party, and Agate took the first watch, standing guard with her trusted spear at her side.
Stars sparkled through the gap in the trees overhead as she and Percy settled down for the night. Venatrix had always been fond of sleeping outside like this; it was quite peaceful, reminding her of the camping trips her family sometimes took, how she used to drag her father out of the tent to sleep under the stars with her, making up names for them. Another memory waded to the forefront of her mind: Bellara trying and failing to cross a river by a bridge of slippery stones, giving everyone quite the scare when she tumbled into the water. She'd been soaked to the bone, but uninjured, relegated to sitting by the campfire for the rest of the day while Dagmara made her a cup of hot chocolate.
A bittersweet memory now; it tugged mercilessly at Venatrix's heartstrings right when she didn't need it. Giving in, she let the ache of Bellara's absence spread through her chest like oxygen in her lungs; it wasn't going away anytime soon.
A/N: Told you I'd make Career training fun lmao.. Oberon: "Please don't kill anyone, otherwise we'll have to execute you LOL have fun guys!"
Ok, so there are a couple of inspirations I'd like to cite for the idea of this.. TintinnabulousRune has a mock Hunger Games thing for their D4 Career training (seen in their story "Bay Laurel"; I recommend checking out their whole series though, its excellent !). Also... if you want to see what a Real all-Career Hunger Games would look like, check out AmeliaAndreas3's "Cliques" ! Who Doesn't love some good old D2 drama, amirite..? (They've also got some excellent works out there as well, definitely recommend ;-; ) ((Should probably mention that both of those are on AO3 btw..))
Also, I posted the first chapter for another story in this series; No Sleep For the Wicked will be telling the events of the 140th Hunger Games, so feel free to check that out! It'll be a short one, but it's fun, I promise jhf.
Yeah anyways... This got a little out of hand as I realized I needed to figure out how to prevent the trainees from Actually killing and/or sabotaging each other hfdhjfd.. As you can maybe guess, the Capitol puts a Stupid amount of money into funding Career training jhhj.. Yeah, this is going to be fun :3 Next chapter should be out Sometime next week; I've finally created a backlog :D See you guys then !
- Nell