Training Day 2! Filler interactions scattered throughout, mainly in the middle 3 POVs.

ELIANA SCHAEFER, DISTRICT ONE FEMALE

"Is Shark joining us today?" Caelle asks Shelby as the girl from Four arrives to the Training Center. She's late, and her hair is messy. I'm pretty sure she woke up about five minutes ago.

She shrugs. "I thought he was already down here."

We all look around, and I spot Shark in his normal place, with a sword in front of a training dummy. "Found him."

We stare for a minute, and I'm sure all of our minds are reflecting on the scene Shark caused at the end of yesterday's training where he asked to work with a trainer, only to break the man's leg thirty seconds into the sparring match.

"I think it's best to let Shark be Shark and start building a strategy around the five of us," Andros muses. We all hastily agree. Shark may be less eager to kill us if we call him our ally, but he's got a world of his own that none of us are interested in.

"Tributes!" Kiriel's commanding voice rings out through the Training Center, "Welcome to the second day of training! We have decided that this year, you should all make your attempts at the Gauntlet as soon as possible- you will have time to warm up, but no trainers will offer you any resources until you have made your run. Best to get it out of the way early rather than waiting until the end of the day."

The huge obstacle course at the back of the Training Center looms over all of us, and the empty screen blinks, waiting for practice times to be recorded and displayed.

"Should we head on over?" I ask, "So we can knock that out and then get to work on our daily routine?"

"I think we should wait until everyone else has gone first- it'll be fun blowing their times out of the water!" Shelby suggests, grinning cheekily. Caelle laughs a little at that.

"I want to watch the others run it, too," Andros adds.

I nod. "I suppose it would be good to see how they measure up." We wait until most of the other tributes have made their way towards the obstacle course before starting to meander in that direction as a group.

"There's two tracks for the Gauntlet- who wants to race me?" Cyrus grins.

"Me!" True to form, Shelby is the first to throw herself into something.

"Aw," I fake-pout, "Shelby, what if I wanted to go against you?" In truth, it doesn't matter to me, but out of my allies Shelby seems the easiest to beat. And although Caelle is on some kind of crusade to prove herself the best at everything, I want to make it as clear as possible to myself that I deserve to be here too. It would be… reassuring to beat someone at something. I haven't had a chance to really work on my spear skills in training yet, and I'm feeling a little rusty.

She responds with her lopsided, cheerful grin and a wink. "There's plenty of me to go around!" I find myself laughing and playfully winking back, despite myself.

We watch as the first pair of tributes, the girls from Three and Seven, start their attempts at the Gauntlet. Aviva Nightshade rockets through the first half of the course, and then nearly goes flying as she trips over a hurdle. Althea Biachi moves a little more carefully, and she makes it nearly to the end before she loses her footing on a small rock wall. Their times pop up on the display. Not bad, but sloppy and unpracticed. Works for me.

I know I should watch the other tributes, to keep an eye on potential competition, but I start zoning out anyway. The ones I really need to watch my back around are my allies, even the ones like Shelby and Cyrus who put me at ease. Actually, maybe I especially need to watch myself around them.

"What's the plan for the rest of the day, team?" Cyrus claps his hands together, startling me. "After all our hard work yesterday, I say we find some snacks, sit back, and relax while the rest of these tributes work their asses off trying to be as good as we are!"

"That's cute, Cyrus." Caelle rolls her eyes.

"We can't afford to slack off now. I say, after the Gauntlet we head to the weapons and each have a turn at our specialty in front of the group so we can show off our skills. Then maybe pair off in a different arrangement than yesterday and explore the non-weaponry stations? It would be good to branch out." Honestly, I think that's the most I've ever heard Andros say at one time, and I've known him for years. I nod in agreement. Yesterday when I worked with Shelby, she half-exercised and half-goofed off. I'd like a chance to talk to Caelle or even Cyrus one-on-one.

"I'm getting tired of waiting- should we get in line?" Caelle flips her dark curly hair over her shoulder and raises an eyebrow at the rest of us.

Cyrus glances at the ever-shortening line of tributes. "Might as well- the sooner the better at this point."

"Cyrus, don't tell me you're scared of the Gauntlet!" Shelby teases.

He grimaces, hiding none of his distaste from the rest of us. "I can't exactly say I'm excited for it. Agility courses have never been my thing."

Shelby rolls her eyes. "At least you're practically guaranteed to be better than most of these tributes. Like five people have fallen off since we grouped up. Don't be such a pussy about it!"

Cyrus grins, and I brace for whatever cheesy joke he's inevitably going to make. "You are what you eat!"

I scoff and before I really have a chance to comprehend my own actions, I'm opening my mouth and saying, "Cyrus, I've eaten more pussy than you could ever hope to get."

"Ooh! Burn!" cries Shelby, and Cyrus gapes at me. He dramatically swoons and puts a hand over his heart, feigning shock and hurt pride. Even Caelle laughs. I can't make myself check Andros's reaction- if he knows about Adrienne, making eye contact with him right now could send me into a spiral of shame.

I feel someone's gaze on me, and I scan the surrounding area to find the girl from Ten openly staring at me. I narrow my eyes. "What the hell are you looking at?" I sneer. I have no intention of letting my first moment of camaraderie in over a year be ruined by some bloodbath fodder.

VALERIE WANG, DISTRICT TEN FEMALE

"Cyrus, I've eaten more pussy than you could ever hope to get."

I whip around from my place in line for the Gauntlet and try to find whoever just said that. My eyes land on Eliana Schaefer from District One, smiling smugly at her allies as they laugh with her. With her, not at her. She's…? And they're okay with…? And she can make offhand comments about…?

She turns and catches me staring at her. "What the hell are you looking at?" she snarls at me, and I turn back around as quickly as I can, looking straight at the ground. The burn of embarrassment creeps over my cheeks and ears.

I can't believe it. I know the upper districts are more tolerant of gay people- one of the victors from One is engaged to another man, and three years ago the boy from Two volunteered to stand up for himself and his boyfriend. I've heard my parents, classmates, friends make remarks about how 'it only makes sense that the districts close to the Capitol would allow that kind of behavior, since they're all so influenced by trends and that unnatural Capitol culture'. A lot of people were thrilled when Inez, the first Victor from Ten, killed that boy from Two in the finale of her Games. Our good, kind, traditional Victor, triumphing over that. I could never really explain my melancholy when Inez came home. And now she's my mentor- perfectly kind and trying her best to be helpful, but… I don't think I can open up to her.

And yet this girl from One is able to freely express herself, she's not afraid of her allies' reactions, and she's not even concerned about what others might think.

It's so unfair. It's so fucking unfair.

"Next!" The trainers in charge of the Gauntlet pull me out of my own mind and I step up onto the starting platform. Mary Sue stands across from me on the second track, and we share a quick smile before focusing on the obstacle course ahead. "And... begin!"

I leap into action, hopping up onto a higher platform and running down a narrow beam, dodging the rotating bars that threaten to knock me off my feet. Then I have to jump from one floating platform to the next, careful not to overbalance and send myself tumbling to the mat below. My heart is pounding when I reach the third obstacle, a set of seemingly innocuous playground monkey bars. I know from watching earlier tributes' runs, however, that the bars will loosen and fall if I hang on one for too long. I stretch my arms out, swinging hand under hand to make my way across, but I miss the very last handhold and fall to the mat below.

When I hit the ground, I immediately burst into tears. It's not for my failure— in fact, I've done better than at least half of the others who went before me— but for everything else.

The trainer rushes over. "Are you injured?" I shake my head no, and he sighs and helps me to my feet. "Go take a break over there," he says, pointing me to a few chairs against the wall. I try to wipe away my tears so no one else will notice, but I can't stop the shaky sobs.

"Val!" Mary Sue calls, "Val! Did you see what I did! My time is the fastest so far!" I try to nod and smile for my ally, but she notices the tear tracks on my face. "Oh no! What happened?"

"I… I fell…" I stutter out, and Mary Sue grabs my wrists.

"Oh no! Are you hurt! Are you okay! I'm sure they'll give you another try!"

I shake my head, hiccupping as I try to hold myself together. "No… no it's- it's not that. It's just- just that everything sucks."

Mary Sue nods sagely and pats my back.

I hate it. I hate keeping secrets, feeling alone, all of it. "Can I tell you something about why I volunteered?"

"Of course! For your friend Marie, right?"

I take a deep, shaky breath, and then let it all out as quickly as I can. "I didn't quite tell you the whole truth. I volunteered for Marie because she's my girlfriend. Or at least- was my girlfriend. About a week ago someone from school found a letter I wrote her and told everyone, including my family. It's been hell since then, no one will even talk to me. And when Marie's name was called… well, it was just better for me to take her place."

Mary Sue frowns. "That's horrible! I'm so sorry!"

"And the fact that there are people here who can afford to be open about themselves and volunteered because they think that they can win, whereas I'm here because it's literally easier for me to die in the Games than face the hatred of everyone at home- it's so unfair! Why does my home district have such an impact on my survival?"

"Val, that's sad. Don't look down on yourself!"

I look away from Mary Sue. "If you don't want to be my ally anymore, I understand. You can leave. I just didn't want to hide it anymore."

She grabs me by the shoulders and turns me to look into her purple eyes. "Val, I still want to be your ally, are you crazy? I think it's soooo brave that you volunteered. Like me! I volunteered for my little sister Willow, who's only twelve and was so scared of her first Reaping!" With her reassurance, the bubble of my tension bursts and I'm finally able to smile again.

"Thanks, Mary Sue. I think you're one of the nicest and most talented people I've ever met."

She smiles at me. "Now tell me honestly, Val- are you one of my fellow fillers? The tragic backstory, the volunteering- I can't quite tell."

The what? "I don't know what you mean? Am I a what?"

She purses her lips. "I suppose not. I guess I shouldn't have asked… you're probably genuinely telling me your story, not desperately letting me know everything that's ever happened to you."

"I would… certainly hope that's the case?"

I'm confused, but I shake it off. Mary Sue reaches up to wipe the tears off my face, and then smiles. "All right, ally! Let's shake it off and keep training! Do you want to learn how to use my crossbow?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think that would be a good plan."

As she leads me away from the Gauntlet, I breathe deeply and let myself relax a little more. I'm not alone. For once, I haven't been left alone.

INAYA STRATTON, DISTRICT EIGHT FEMALE

I try not to focus too much on the set of Gauntlet scores on the flashing display board. My name sits uncomfortably close to the bottom of the list. If only I hadn't fallen off on the second obstacle!

Then again, nobody notices the ones at the bottom of the list. I won't be seen as a threat by any of the others, which means I'll be able to slip away unnoticed when people are counting heads in the arena. Being forgettable to the others could definitely work in my favor. At least I'm not like Mary Sue, who even outranked some of the Careers with her time. The girl from Twelve is pleasant and I've seen her be kind to just about everyone at training, but she's made herself a target for the Careers.

And I do take a little pride in the fact that I'm not last. The little girl from Six, the boy from Three, and the tall boy from Twelve all fell on the first obstacle, and even though Rhea lasted a little longer than I did she didn't actually get further.

I turn to the girl from Nine, who I've spent most of the morning with. We met yesterday afternoon and it just felt right to gravitate towards her again today. We've made our way through a lot of the educational stations together, pointedly avoiding the weapons. "Where do you want to go next, Rhea?"

She glances around. "I'm not sure. What else is there to do on this side?"

"Um… we haven't learned knots yet, or fire building. And there's another table at the end but I'm not sure what it is."

"Well, I can't do knots. When I was kidnapped as a child, I got tied up by the kidnappers and now every time I see rope, I panic."

"Rhea— oh my goodness! That's horrible!"

She shrugs. "It's fine. I was rescued, anyway. Peacekeepers shot the kidnappers and they died right in front of me."

I can't help but hug her. "I'm so sorry, that must have been terrifying!"

"Thanks, Inaya. Can we go check out that mystery table?"

"Of course!" We head past all the rest of the learning stations to a tiny table surrounded by a couple chairs. There are books strewn on the display, and the trainer is a sweet-looking elderly man. "What… is this?"

He smiles at us. "You're the first ones who have made it to this station so far! It's new this year to the Training Center. Welcome to the Gamemaker's Picks! You can select any of the books here and take a seat to read them."

"What are they the picks for? They just look like dusty old books to me." Rhea frowns as she runs her finger over some of the covers.

"Head Gamemaker Scelestiber wanted to provide a bit of respite for the tributes. He is a literary man, and hand-selected some choices for the tributes to peruse at their leisure."

"There's no instructions? Just sit and read, like a library?" I ask. The little trainer man nods.

I glance down at some of the titles in front of me. Greek and Egyptian myth… Arthurian legend… fairytales… all one thing in common.

"What do any of these have to do with the Games?" I ask. "Reading storybooks doesn't feel like training, it feels distracting."

"The Head Gamemaker just wanted to provide this opportunity. Training can be stressful, you never know what might be useful for a tribute."

"Maybe I'll come back if I get bored. C'mon, Rhea." We turn away from the table of books and start heading towards the fire building station.

"Inaya? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, what's up?"

"Are we allies? We've been doing everything together."

I freeze momentarily. Allies? I like Rhea, and it's been pleasant and motivating to spend training time with her. Could I see us sticking together in the arena? Would I run towards her in the bloodbath so we could stay together? I can't imagine going in alone. I think I'd be too paralyzed with fear to move at all.

"Yes! Yes, we're allies." Relief washes over me. It's official now, and we don't have to play the game of 'we're spending time together but once it starts for real, we're alone'. And I didn't have to ask the question myself.

"Good, because I don't think I could go alone. After growing up an orphan, being alone is one of the worst things in the world."

Something about her statement catches me off guard. "I thought yesterday, you said you had a bad relationship with your dad?"

Rhea stares blankly ahead for second, almost like she's malfunctioned. "Oh. Right. That was my adoptive father."

That's weird. "Ah, okay. Got it."

We reach the fire building station, but the giddiness of having an ally starts making me feel… happy. "Can we make plans now? What's our strategy? Do we want to invite anyone else to the alliance?"

Rhea picks up some kindling and starts organizing it in a pile. "I wouldn't mind. What about your district partner?"

"Sharif? I don't know if he would join." I'm not sure if he likes me at all. He barely speaks and even though we spent some time together, he always drifts away and stays distant. I don't think he really enjoys my company. "Maybe Malek from Seven, or Kepler from Five? Both of them were kind yesterday and they did all right on the Gauntlet."

"Either of those would be all right with me. Neither of them remind me of my uncle, who was always cruel to me growing up-"

"Okay," I cut her off, suddenly determined to find a third ally. As much as I find Rhea calming to be around, her tendency to ramble about her past is wearing my patience thin. "This afternoon we scout, and tomorrow morning we make some offers."

REDMOND ALDERIDGE, DISTRICT ELEVEN MALE

"Well?" I ask Calandra as we head towards lunch, "We've had another day to see what's up with everyone else, who do you think would be helpful to us?"

She gnaws on her lower lip as she glances around the Training Center, matching tributes up with her impressions of them and their record times on the Gauntlet. "What I think is really important for us is that we find someone who's not afraid of the weaponry. That's what we haven't touched yet, and a lot of others are scared too. I feel like we need to get an ally who has more confidence and skills in that department."

"So if we're the brains and the heart, we need some brawn?"

Calandra giggles. "I suppose you could put it that way! Which of us is brains and which is heart?"

"Not to brag, but I think I'm brains. You're definitely heart, you always care so much about others! But honestly, I think the two of us share both qualities."

Calandra playfully elbows me in the side. "That's sweet, Red. Thank you."

"And another question- should we add one more ally, or maybe join up with another pair?"

"Definitely one more. We're close to each other already, and I'm kind of scared that if we make a group of four, our district bond won't be quite so strong because we'd be balanced by others. If there's only one other person, I think I'd feel safer."

I nod. "Sounds good. My top choice is Timo from Nine or Aspen from Ten. They've both been checking out the weapons. What about you?"

"I'd say Aspen or maybe Kepler. He hasn't looked at the weapons as much specifically, but I do think I've seen him trying everything at least once."

"I thought Kepler was in an alliance already?"

"I don't think so, he's been alone all day today."

I shrug. "Luckily, it doesn't really matter. We both agree on Aspen. Should we go talk to him?"

Aspen is sitting alone at the end of one of the long tables, and I seat myself across from him. Calandra slides gracefully into the spot next to me. Aspen looks up at us.

"Uh… hello? What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Aspen! I'm Calandra and this is Redmond, we're from Eleven. We just wanted to introduce ourselves to you."

Aspen drops the soft roll he'd been putting butter on and reaches out to shake our hands. I grin. Off to a great start with a pleasant greeting! I'll let Calandra do the talking and I'll keep an eye on Aspen to watch for any interesting tells- just like when I watch the men my brother gambles with, to figure out their hands.

"You already know my name, apparently. How's training gone so far?"

"It's been fine! Redmond and I have been learning a lot. There's so much to do, especially at first aid!"

"And you did pretty well on the Gauntlet, too. Both of y'all scored in the top half of the group. Very impressive, especially since you're both on the younger side." A genuine compliment. Nice. He sees us as equals, not younger kids.

"Thank you! Not too bad yourself. What have you been working on the last few days?"

"At first I tried to do the learning stations, but eventually the voices told me to try my hand at weapons."

Calandra laughs, thinking it's a joke, but I can tell that Aspen is dead serious. I nudge my district partner and she stops giggling. "I'm sorry- the voices?"

"Oh yes, I hear them all the time because of my schizophrenia," Aspen says. I'd think he was kidding too, if he weren't so deadpan. There's not a hint of a grin anywhere, not even in his eyes. "They give me advice. They led me to the wakizashi- even though I've never held a weapon before, I've gotten really good at this one particular weapon."

I can feel the confusion radiating from Calandra. "And what's a washy- sorry. A what? Waki- what?"

"A wakizashi. It's a short type of sword, similar to a katana."

"So… a short sword?" I ask.

"No, a wakizashi." What's the difference? A sword is a sword, in my mind.

"Well, we're going to get our food now," Calandra says, and I'm grateful for her clever excuse to leave Aspen where he sits.

As soon as we're out of earshot, I cringe. "That was a total bust."

"Oh, absolutely. I didn't see that one coming at all." Calandra drags her hands down her face and winces. "I guess we're back to square one?"

"Not quite, we already had our second choices planned. Kepler and Timo." I glance around the dining hall. "I don't see any of them in here, though."

Calandra shrugs. "We can definitely have a pleasant meal by ourselves, and reach out later. I think we need to try our hand at some weapons, though. If the people we want for allies either turn us down or end up being not so ideal, we need to prepare ourselves to work together with no one else."

I grimace, but she's right. There's only so much first aid that can be done, but if we learn some defensive strategies we may be able to avoid bandages entirely.

SHELBY LEONE, DISTRICT FOUR FEMALE

I'm absolutely thrilled to be paired with Cyrus today. Everyone else is pleasant enough but they are all so dull. Eliana has her moments, but still. Boring!

My mentor reminds me daily to take training seriously and focus on things that will help me in the Games, but as soon as I try to focus on something or 'take it seriously', my mind slides away and I'm distracted again. The Games don't feel real. My choice to volunteer still feels like a joke, a game in and of itself. And if I start taking the Games seriously right now, I don't know who I'd even be.

Does that make me delusional? Probably. Can I afford to care right now? No. That's a problem for Shelby on bloodbath day.

None of it feels real right now. This is like a vacation. New people to hang out with, new things to try. A much nicer apartment than I've ever seen in Four.

But Cyrus and his sense of humor anchor me more than anything else does in the Training Center. I'm not a robot like Andros who stays centered by training. I throw a few spears and call it a day- I have better aim than anyone who's not my ally already. I'm not like Caelle, who gets off on telling the rest of us what to do. I'm far funnier than Eliana. I'm not a freaking psycho like my district partner. I think of all the untrained tributes as puppets on the verge of tears. Cyrus is the only one who can keep up.

"Shelby, come here, do this anatomy test with me," he says, pulling me over to the first aid station. We're graciously freeing up the weaponry department and letting some of the shier tributes have a chance to hold a knife.

I bound over and glance down at the tablet, which displays a map of all the muscle groups in the body and provides a list of labels. The goal is to correctly match the names to the muscles, but I look up at Cyrus and grin.

"This is clearly wrong- that one is clearly the ass muscle, but there doesn't seem to be a label for that!" I joke, and Cyrus belly-laughs.

"And there's no label for dick muscle either!"

"Or boob muscle!"

We collapse into giggles at our immature jibes, laughing together over the tablet. I laugh so hard I make myself cough, and I have to steady myself against Cyrus's strong shoulder.

"Can you pull yourselves together and act professional?" Caelle chides us from the next station over, where she and Eliana are trying to sort edible plants. I roll my eyes, but Cyrus starts halfheartedly labeling body parts.

"She's got a real stick up her ass, huh?" I whisper.

Cyrus smirks. "She sure can act like it sometimes."

I turn around and prop my elbows up on the table, crossing my ankles languidly. "At least your district partner acts human."

Cyrus doesn't take his eyes off the screen, but he still smirks. "Oh yeah, Caelle is my best friend in the world compared to Mr. Mason. How's your living situation at night? Do you have to lock the door to stop him from killing you early?"

I stifle a bark-laugh, not wanting Caelle on my case any more than necessary. "Luckily, no, he's pretty chill when it's just us and our mentors. They keep us apart, but it's like he shuts down entirely when there's no weapons for him to play with."

"That sounds ideal, honestly. I'm not sure Shark needs any weapons at all."

I scrutinize Cyrus's face, but I can't see anything other than smiling eyes and a chiseled jawline. I can't tell if he's suggesting something about Shark or if he's just making a jab at his untrustworthiness.

"How's the anatomy going?"

"Eh. Could be better. I'm mostly guessing."

I peer over his shoulder, but it's not like I'd score any higher myself. I'm getting bored again. I glance over at the weaponry, now occupied by some of the other insignificant tributes.

"Hey Cyrus?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you decided on what you're going to do for the private sessions tomorrow afternoon?"

He shrugs and finally gives up on the muscle test. "Probably mace. I like it and I haven't even seen anyone else touch it yet. Most of the tributes here aren't strong enough to lift one. You?"

"I mean, spear is my go-to. Do you think they'll be bored of spears by the time it gets to me? Eliana uses them as well, and Caelle might show off multiple skills. Should I pick something else? I want to stand out."

"I think spears will be fine. Caelle told our mentors last night she plans to stick with her double swords for private sessions, so it'll probably just be you and Eliana. And besides, you're still in the first third of private sessions so I don't think they'll have gotten bored by then. Could you imagine being from Twelve and going last? If I were a Gamemaker, I'd be asleep."

I snort. "Maybe I'll add a dance in to mix it up. Do you think they'd like that?"

Cyrus laughs again. "I bet they'd love it. A good refresh after seven tributes' worth of weapons skills."

"Do you think they'd score me higher for seduction?" Now we're both laughing again and I feel a little better. A little more like myself. A little more like I'm back at home, where I'm supposed to be. "I'll do it if you dare me!"

Cyrus ponders for a second. "Okay. Consider yourself dared!"

I grin and wink. "It's a done deal. I'll tell you how it goes!" It's a win-win situation for me. No matter what I actually decide to do for the Gamemakers, I can spin it to work for me. If I score high, it was because of my spear skills. If I score low, maybe I'll blame it on the dancing idea. Now that would be a fun story to tell.

He fake pouts. "You mean you won't show us your dance routine before you go in? As your allies we may be able to give advice."

"Only if you show me your mace fighting routine!"

He rolls his eyes. "I get it, I get it, it would take way too much time to do show-and-tell."

I shrug. "It's whatever, honestly. No big deal."

No lessons to be learned, but I hope you're having fun hearing about the fillers' antics and getting to know all the tributes better! Take what information you can from the way the fillers act and treat it as a 'what not to do', probably.

I've really enjoyed seeing what everyone is proud of during quarantine. I hope you all are staying safe!

Confirmed alliances (continued):

1- Eliana, Andros, Caelle, Cyrus, Shelby, Shark (?)

2- Calandra, Redmond

3- Neon, Loren, Everlyn

4- Althea, Aviva

5- Valerie, Mary Sue

6- Inaya, Rhea

Questions:

Now that you've seen all the tributes twice, how do you feel about them? Any victor guesses from the second round?

What's your SYOT pet peeve?

Drop a review and let me know! Three chapters until the Games begin!