Author's Note
I do not own the Hunger Games.
The girl from Five and boy from Nine approached them the next morning as they headed back to the knife station. They had decided to practise with the slingshots only when there were fewer tributes about.
The fewer that knew their preference, the better.
The tributes who could surprise often did better in the Games. Already from watching Hyperion knew the boy from One and the girl from Four preferred swords, while the girl from Two liked knives, the boy from Two bows and the boy from Four a spear. The girls from Nine and Eleven both seemed to prefer scythes, while from what they had seen of the other tributes they would likely favour knives.
"You asked for an alliance with Nathaniel," said the girl from Five.
"Yes."
"We'd like to join our alliances," she continued.
Hyperion glanced at Luciente.
She gave a slight nod.
He consented.
They might never be friends, but there was safety in numbers, and coyotes needed a pack.
"Can you swim?" Luciente asked.
The boy from Nine, Azrayk, could, but the girl from Five couldn't and appeared to be actively afraid of the water, which, if Luciente was right (and she normally was) didn't bode well for her. They spent much of the morning trying to at least get her into the water and become buoyant.
After that they moved on to the spear station, where they practised launching the weapons into the soft targets. Hyperion and the girl from Five, Shelley, were proficient, but Nathaniel proved to be too small to effectively handle the weapons, while Azarayk struggled to aim and Luciente disliked them. They spent the rest of their morning there, learning the basics of close combat from the trainers and driving them into the targets.
They sat together at lunch, taking the opportunity to look around the hall and see who appeared to be together or in some sort of alliance.
The tributes from One, Two, and Four, had formed the usual Career pack, though it looked tense. The boy from Two didn't seem to want to talk to anyone, his District partner kept trying to use him as clothing, and the girl from Four was spending her time glowering at all of them. She and her District partner were sat at the very end of their table, and Luciente could recognise anger in the girl even now.
The boys from Seven, Eight, and Eleven were sat close, though it was unclear whether they were allying.
The pair from Six were sat chatting with the boy from Three. Luciente wanted to tell the girl not to waste her time and let her gaze linger for a long moment, studying the ghostly crown decorating her hair.
The girls from Three, Nine and Eleven appeared to be in an alliance, sitting at the end of one long table.
Lastly, the girl from Eight and the pair from Twelve were alone, scattered across the hall.
Obviously, the Careers were the biggest threat, but if they lived past the bloodbath those three girls could be a challenge as well. Then there was Six's maybe alliance with the girl who would be Victor.
Luciente sipped at her water and watched the world around her.
They separated for the afternoon. Shelley and Azaryk wanted to continue working on their combat skills, while Hyperion chose one of the simulator rooms to practise in and Nathaniel had decided he wanted to try out the agility maze. Luciente joined him, since it was one of the compulsory stations. He would come if she needed him, and she would go if he needed her. All that time alone hadn't changed that.
The boy from Four was at the agility maze, listening to a spiel by the trainer there.
"Ah! Here's another two! Here to try out the maze are we?"
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "No; we just happened to end up over here by accident."
The boy from Four managed a slight smile. Shy, Luciente understood, nervous, fearful. She thrust her hand out like people were meant to do when they introduced themselves. "Luciente."
He started and blinked at her. "Me?"
"Do you see anyone else here Four?"
"I- No." He reached out to take Luciente's hand. "Aros."
For a moment his face was crimson with blood, tears of red trickling from his eyes, and then it was gone. She withdrew her hand.
"You're from Ten, right? With your brother?"
She nodded.
"I'm sorry they've done that to you."
Nathaniel huffed. "I'm going to run this maze with or without you."
She offered Aros a bare toothed smile and a sharp nod, turning to follow Nathaniel into the maze.
It was child's play, really, thin walkways and swinging obstacles combined with rope ladders and fake tree branches leading up to rocking rope bridges and rails suspended high above the floor, so high they were held at the same height as the second floor.
The boy from Four was quick and agile, but he rocked unsteadily as he climbed the branches and clung, pale faced, to the rope bridges, wobbling on the balance rails with his arms outstretched. It was painful to watch, really. This kind of thing was easy; it didn't need to be as difficult as he was making it, clumsy and unnatural.
Nathaniel was careful and steady, though he still faltered a little on the balance rails and held too tight on the bridges. Luciente crouched on one of the beams, waiting for him. "Stop thinking and feel it."
"What's that meant to mean?"
"Close your eyes."
"But I won't be able to see where I'm going!"
"You'll be able to feel it."
Nathaniel closed his eyes, feeling forwards with his hands for the next rail. "This is stupid."
"You're thinking too much."
"You're crazy."
Luciente tipped her head. "Don't you feel it?"
"Feel-" His hand missed the next rail by a good shot and the momentum shift threw him off balance. He cried out, flailing for a handhold, missing, and tumbling sideways from the thin rail bridge, hitting the net suspended below.
There were a few laughs and jeers from the boys from One and Two. The boy from Four flushed red and winced. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Nathaniel rolled onto his back. "Thanks for nothing Luciente."
She began to climb down to meet him. Before she went, she noticed the boy from Four had closed his eyes.
