Chapter 9: Onyx Hibonite
A/N: So, District One is back with a victor! This is going to be a wild one. I'd really appreciate if ya'll can review and tell me your thoughts and some new ideas (which I'm kinda running out of). Anyways, enjoy! :)
Katniss didn't think much of him. He seemed like the average District One Career. Blonde, handsome, snooty-looking.
"You know anything about him?" she asked.
Peeta shrugged. "It was the first time the Gamemakers had a Feast. That's about all I know."
Onyx Hibonite
District 1
Aged 17
5 Kills
Sapphire liked him. The last six tributes she'd mentored had been from the wealthy nobility of One: the Coopers, Ashtons, Carmichaels and Montgomeries, all of whom had built their own Career Academies open to the public. They all had that same snarky, spoiled rich kid attitude, the one that made her blood boil. It was bad enough she was getting sold out to pretty much every wealthy person in Panem, but to add insult to injury, she had to mentor a bunch of spoiled brats who ignored her every advice and even went as far as to bully her. She spent all her time not mentoring, but rather crying. She felt like a failure. None of them were coming home alive with this attitude. Until Onyx came along. He was a Career, sure, but he wasn't a snooty noble like the girl, Wonder Cooper. He was from a middle-class family who ran a tailoring business, making gowns and dresses for the nobles and the Capitol. Business had been difficult recently, especially since the Coopers and Ashtons kick-started their own tailoring companies, leaving smaller ones like Onyx's in the dust. Even worse, his mother had been shot for treason, his brother and half of the employees had died in a neighbourhood fire, and his father had lost an arm and a leg. Things were not looking great for the Hibonites. Unlike the children of the nobles, he wasn't here to bring power or wealth or honour to his family, he was here to save a crumbling business and prevent his family from slipping into poverty. Oh, and he was actually willing to listen to Sapphire's advice and was comparably polite. A little arrogant, at times, yes, but at least he didn't treat her like a rat. That was already a huge upgrade from Wonder and the nobles.
"If I'm going to bring one home," she told herself. "Then it's going to be Onyx!"
Wonder locked herself in her bedroom at the Tribute Centre, no doubt watching another stupid drama show. Onyx, on the other hand, was with Sapphire, being mentored.
"What are your skills?" she asked.
"I'm good with maces and crossbows, and I'm very, very smart."
Sapphire rolled her eyes, but tolerated his arrogance. "Now, now, Onyx. The other tributes are smart too."
"No, they aren't."
Sapphire glared at him. "And how do you know?"
Onyx smirked. "Wonder took three minutes trying to operate the TV remote, and she flunks classes all the time. The tributes from Two are brutes. The boy wore mismatching socks and the girl fumbled when she pronounced her own name. The Threes, they're usually the brainy bunch, right? Wrong. The boy wore his jeans backwards, and the girl couldn't even tie her laces. Then, let's see, the boy from Four is all brawns and no brains, no self-respecting person would have such horrific grammar. The girl from Eight seemed confident, until I heard someone near the camera whisper that she had an IQ of 77. Not very high, if you ask me. And yeah, that's it." He smiled coolly at Sapphire, whose eyebrows were raised. "Impressive. You might actually win, after all," she remarked.
"I will win," he said, puffing out his chest so pathetically it almost made Sapphire laugh.
"Okay, hotshot. But before that, you need to learn survival skills. You don't want to die of dehydration or anything."
Onyx frowned. "But if I'm a Career, wouldn't I have control over all the Cornucopia supplies?"
"What if the supplies are destroyed? Or worse, there aren't any in the first place?"
He nodded thoughtfully. "Fair point."
"Oh, and I wouldn't stick around with the Careers for long," she warned. "Remember Shocker?"
Onyx shuddered. "That maniac, yeah. So I should kill them in the Bloodbath?"
Sapphire shook her head. "No. Make it subtle. Poison them or something. Use your survival skills. Identify poisonous berries and give them to the others to eat. Then, you've eliminated your biggest threats."
Onyx grinned wickedly. "You know, Sapphire? Everyone at home says you're a weak crybaby. But you sure are a damn good mentor."
For once, as she was dragged out of the Tribute Centre in front of a very suspicious and very concerned Onyx, Sapphire wasn't crying. Onyx's compliment had made her heart flutter. Finally, some recognition! A minuscule moment of happiness, something she doubted she would ever enjoy again. The peacekeepers drove her to a mansion in the city center. It was large, even larger than her house in the Victor's Village. They dropped her off, and drove off, no doubt muttering some crude comments about her along the way. She sighed, holding her jacket tightly as she rang the gate buzzer. The gate swung open, and she made her way to the house, forcing a smile which masked her disgust. She rang the doorbell. "It's Sapphire!" she called out. The door opened. It was a stout man in his thirties with pink hair and moon tattoos on his forehead.
"Hello there," she forced out in as sweet a voice as she could muster.
"Hello, Sapphire. I'm Moony Wilkins. Wow, you're even prettier in person," the man chirped, looking at her up and down in that disgusting manner.
Sapphire resisted the urge to snarl. She smiled seductively. "Eyes on my eyes, Moony dear. Now can I come in? It's awfully cold."
Moony nodded and she walked in. Moony told her to undress, which she promptly did. After a comparatively easy session, Moony reached for his wallet, but Sapphire stopped him.
"No, I don't want that."
Moony raised an eyebrow. "Well, my little minx, I have to pay you somehow…"
A cold smile crept up Sapphire's face. "Do you mind sponsoring Onyx Hibonite some rat poison?"
This year's Career pack wasn't exactly the best. Wonder could only use a sword, but was hopeless at literally everything else from weaponry to survival. The Twos were good with spears, but weren't too bright. Which left Onyx as the undisputed leader of the Career pack. He grinned. These guys wouldn't backstab him. There was more chance of the midgets from Six and Twelve winning.
The training scores were out. Wonder got a seven, which she was clearly not happy with. Sapphire leaned in, eager to see Onyx's score. Nine. She smiled. That would win him some sponsors. The Twos both got an eight, which only brightened Sapphire and Onyx's smiles. The other tributes received fairly poor scores, save for the girl from Eight, who managed an eight.
"Take her out first," Sapphire warned. Onyx nodded while Wonder scoffed.
"Her? I could take her out in a heartbeat!" With that, she marched off, no doubt to watch more TV.
Sapphire sighed. "At least we know she's not a victor."
The arena was a large cornfield, with two streams running through it. On the outside, it seemed brilliant, until Bartomeus revealed that it was infested with mice. Sapphire grimaced. She had a fear of mice. Watching these Games would not be easy. She scanned the Cornucopia. Maces, maces, and more maces? She gasped. The only weapons available were maces! Her eyes lit up. "You can win this, Onyx."
When the gong rang, Onyx ran towards a mace, grabbed it, then swiveled his head around. His gaze fixated on the girl from Eight, Twine. He charged towards her as she struggled with Wonder for a backpack. With one quick blow, he crushed her skull.
"Didn't need your help, Onyx," Wonder scowled.
Onyx growled. "Oh, really?" He raised his mace, and brought it down on her head. Sapphire winced. Onyx might be her favoured tribute, but he was still, by all means, a Career. The Twos, Jet and Delta, raised their eyebrows.
"Dude!" Jet yelped.
Onyx shrugged. "She was weak anyway," he replied nonchalantly.
The Bloodbath continued. By the end of it, nine tributes were dead. Onyx hadn't killed anyone else, but it didn't matter. He was still the strongest tribute. When he suggested they make camp for the night, Jet and Delta didn't hesitate to oblige.
"Eek! These rats are everywhere!" Delta shrieked. She danced her way around the Cornucopia, trying to avoid the rats nibbling at her shoes. Just then, a parachute floated down to them. Onyx grabbed it. Rat poison. He had a plan, but it had to wait.
"Give them this," he told Delta, tossing the bottle over.
"Rat poison, huh?" Axel remarked. "Is Onyx scared of rats or something?"
Sapphire shook her head. "No. Watch and learn, boys and girls."
The other victors looked at her strangely, but didn't comment.
Later that night, while Jet and Delta were sleeping, Onyx took two green bowls of soup and poured rat poison in them. He then took a third bowl, this time a red one, and poured non-lethal soup in it. The other victor's eyes widened, and they stared at Sapphire incredulously. "Sapph- "Axel muttered.
"I want Onyx to win. He's by far the best tribute One's had, like ever," Sapphire told him flatly.
Hassan laughed. "Nah, I still you're way cooler."
Sapphire took a magazine and raised it above her face, to hide the light blush on her cheeks.
Onyx woke his allies up. Sapphire straightened in her seat. It was now or never. Jet took the red bowl, but Onyx stopped him.
"That one's mine."
Jet didn't even seem suspicious. He just shrugged and relented. Sapphire wondered if he even had a noggin. He couldn't possibly be that stupid, right? Still, she held her breath as the three Careers gulped down their soups. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, Jet and Delta started convulsing horribly, foaming at their mouths. Reyna shrieked, and Ragnar had to cover her eyes. Shocker winced, and Captain Cornelius, who'd been allowed to continue co-mentoring Five, led him out of the room. Soon, the cannons boomed. The Career alliance was over.
"Well, that was more gruesome than I'd imagined", Onyx murmured, grabbing the supplies in the Cornucopia and trudging south as the hovercraft came to collect the bodies of the most idiotic Careers in Hunger Games history. Sapphire was shaking in her seat. The biggest threats were gone. She was finally going to have a victor! Little did she know, things weren't going to be quite so easy…
A day passed, two tributes having died after drinking from one of the streams, which was in fact poisoned. The other stream was safe, though, and Onyx didn't die from drinking its water. But just to be safe, he'd purified it with iodine first, a survival skill none of the other Careers had known.
Sapphire watched as Onyx walked on the bank of the stream, mace in hand, looking already like a victor. Suddenly, she heard howling. Then, the corn husks began toppling over. Onyx turned, and his smug grin turned to pure fear. A tornado.
"No…" Sapphire groaned softly. Onyx was very close to the swirling monster. He ran for his life, pushing past the pair from Nine, who were sucked into the whirlwind, screaming. He ran, and ran, but to Sapphire's horror, tripped on a rock and twisted his ankle. "Gah!" he yelped. Sapphire's heart pounded wildly in her chest. She gripped her chair tightly. The tornado was closing in, hurling husks of corn at an already battered Onyx. His foot was crushed underneath large piles of rocks, corn and supplies. He lay sprawled, eyes wide in panic. "Please…"
Lady Luck must've been smiling, because right before he was sucked in to die, the tornado switched directions. Sapphire and Onyx let out a huge sigh of relief as the tornado sped away from Onyx. The others weren't so lucky. Four tributes had been sucked in, and another had been severely injured, leaving him at the mercy of the rats, who wasted no time before nibbling and infecting his wounds. His fate was soon confirmed just minutes later.
Meanwhile, Onyx groaned in pain as he pushed aside the fallen debris. Sapphire winced at the sight of his foot. It was dangling at a funny angle and bleeding.
"Sapphire… Please…" Onyx moaned.
By then the sponsor money had begun flooding back in. Sapphire didn't need to hesitate. She sent him some painkillers, some expensive Capitol medicine, bandages and a splint. The parachutes floated down to him. "Thank you," Onyx whispered, as he bandaged his foot. The medicine Sapphire had sent him should at least partially mend his bone within the space of 24 hours. But he was now vulnerable to attacks. The rats scurried closer, sensing a potential victim.
"Use the rat poison!" Sapphire shouted at her screen desperately. Onyx did, and they scurried off.
Two more days passed, with minimal action. The Gamemakers must've been frustrated, because soon, Bartomeus' voice boomed across the arena.
"ATTENTION TRIBUTES."
Sapphire's eyes snapped open. She'd fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion, but the announcement jolted her awake.
"Huh, what?" she mumbled.
"Shh, it's an announcement," Ringo told her.
"TOMORROW AT DAWN THERE WILL BE AN EVENT AT THE CORNUCOPIA CALLED A 'FEAST'. THERE WILL BE SUPPLIES READILY AVAILABLE FOR YOU THERE. ATTENDANCE IS COMPULSORY. GOOD LUCK AND MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOUR."
Sapphire gulped. Onyx wasn't in good shape. If he were to go out there with all the other tributes, he'd be dead meat. She scratched her head for ideas. Then it occurred to her. Hadn't Onyx claimed he was good with crossbows? And the weapon restrictions had been lifted after the tornado. If sponsored, tributes could use any weapon, not just maces. He hadn't been able to show her his crossbow skills, but maybe, just maybe… She had to hope. But the sponsor funds were running low. She gulped, beads of sweat forming on her forehead upon realizing what she had to do to save Onyx's life. She went out of the room, and hooked up with Moony Wilkins.
Moony wasn't going easy on her twice. He'd invited a couple of friends over, all of whom were huge admirers of her. Sapphire clenched her fists. If this was what she had to do to save Onyx, then so be it. By nightfall she had been reduced to a crying mess, her clothes tattered and torn, as she called for a taxi to take her back to the Tribute Centre.
It was time for the feast. Sapphire held her breath as Onyx waited on the outskirts of the Cornucopia for someone to make the first move. Everyone was waiting for that someone. And that someone was the boy from Ten, who sprinted to get a bag of bread rolls. Instantly, a spear flew out of nowhere, and lodged itself in his back. The cannon boomed.
"Come on, Onyx," Sapphire murmured. "Just keep waiting."
The girl from Four and the boy from Three, who had thrown the spear, charged forward. They tackled each other to the ground, and began slitting each other's throats. The girl from Five used the chaos as a distraction to dash forward, but Onyx had his crossbow ready. With one lethal arrow dipped in rat poison, she sank to the ground. Meanwhile, Cordelia and Qwerty had finished each other off. Three cannons boomed. Onyx dropped a crossbow, his eyebrows furrowed. Sapphire stared in disbelief. Then, the trumpets rang, and both victors from One leapt into the air, whooping and cheering. They weren't cheering for long, though, as the peacekeepers dragged Sapphire away for another session while Onyx collapsed from the pain in his foot and exhaustion.
On the train ride home, Onyx stared out the window in silence. Sapphire sat next to him.
"Ravenstill wants to whore me out," Onyx muttered.
Sapphire bit her lip. She'd seen this coming. There was no way around it. She clasped a hand on his shoulder.
"It's going to be tough. But promise me, you'll never give up. I'm your mentor, you have to listen to me," she told him sternly.
Onyx laughed. "Yes, boss." Then he leaned in closer. "One day, we'll show Ravenstill who's boss, eh?"
Sapphire gave a weary smile. "Yes. We will."
The train ride continued in silence. Then Onyx started sobbing.
"My father's going to be pissed."
Sapphire frowned. "Why?"
"I mean, I've gotten my first customer. It's going to be some middle-aged Capitol official. He won't be too happy about me losing my virginity to her."
Sapphire chewed on her lip. But before she could think up of a response, their escort, Pamela, got one for them.
"Why, you don't have to!" she chirped. "You've got a very lovely lady right here!"
She pointed at Sapphire, whose cheeks burned. Sapphire made a mental note to add 'Slap Pamela' to her to-do list.
Onyx and Sapphire looked at each other, embarrassed.
"Uh…"
Peeta swiftly moved the page, then groaned.
"Who is it?" Katniss asked, leaning over, before she too, groaned and bit back a curse.
"Draco Hadley. The monster victor. Cato's grandfather."
VICTORS
District 1-Sapphire Huntington(4), Onyx Hibonite(9)
District 2-Ragnar Sveinsson(5), Reyna Boudicca(6)
District 4-Marina Bluebell(1)
District 5-Shocker Crimson(8)
District 7-Hassan Greenwood(2)
District 10-Ringo Alvarez(7)
District 12-Axel Millar(3)
A/N: So that was Onyx! I definitely had to show the craftier side of Sapphire. She's not just a crying mess put up for prostitution, she's a smart victor too! Anyways, as usual, pls review and share your thoughts and btw, I'm running out of ideas so I'd appreciate if you could give me some! (arenas, storylines, formats, victors, tributes, weapons) Stay tuned for Draco Hadley, someone who I will probably hate to write about (but Careers are brutes so he's essential). Cheers :)