Nugua Meng, 17.
District 9 Female


Nugua Meng was not somebody unfamiliar with luxuries. After opening her Love Shack, she'd begun raking in more money then she knew what to do with, allowing her to purchase some of the finer things Nine had to offer. And yet, they didn't hold a candle to the Capitol's extravagance. As she stepped into the dining room, her eyes widened at all the food on the tables before her.

"That's… so much food," Nugua said, sliding into one of the chairs surrounding the table. It was somewhat ironic, how they treated them like royalty just to ship all but one of them off to die. She supposed it was somewhat of an incentive, as not only did the Victor get to live, they got to live life in the lap of luxury. Of course, Victory came at a price: the lives they took to win.

Was it worth it? Was winning worth the price of taking another's life?

"Do you want some coffee?" Nugua asked Alfie, who was sitting next to her, as she poured herself a mug.

"Coffee? I've never had it. I guess I'll try some..." Alfie mumbled, accepting the mug she offered.

Alfie was curious to Nugua, even more curious than he had been years ago at the home. He looked as if he'd aged hundreds of years since he'd gotten taken away by the authorities. What was left of the old Alfie? Little remained of his chipper, outgoing demeanor; the boy had been beaten down in prison, leaving a husk of the boy Nugua once 'd gotten the gist of what had happened to him, but Nugua didn't know what had happened past the fact that he was thrown in prison. It was just another mystery, another secret to unlock and get to the bottom of, and Nugua would do just that given enough time.

Time, though, was not something they had much of. With every passing minute, they drew closer to stepping into that Arena, and there was nothing Nugua could do to stop it. Despite the power she'd accrued over the years, she was left with nothing. Nugua only had days to build up what she'd lost, with completely different people, those who could very well kill her if she made the wrong move.

But she wouldn't. Nugua would never make the wrong move. If anybody could play the Game to her favour, it was Nugua Meng.

"You two almost done?" Twill asked, poking her head into the room as Alfie and Nugua finished their breakfast. "If you are, we should get going."

"To training, right?" Nugua affirmed, trailing behind Twill, who made a beeline for the elevator.

"Yeah. You two are sticking together, like we said you would, right?"

"We are," Nugua nodded, looking to Alfie, "Right?"

"Right," Alfie said, bobbing his head as they stepped onto the elevator. Twill pushed a button and the doors slid closed, allowing the elevator to rocket downward. Just a moment later, the doors opened again, and Twill pushed the tributes forwards out into what appeared to be the training room.

"I'll see you two tonight. Remember the plan!" Twill said as the doors closed, disappearing before anybody could get another word in.

"That was... interesting," Nugua said with a sigh, as they pushed onwards to the small group of people before them. Alfie let out a low laugh as the trainer waved them over.

"We're gonna wait a few more minutes to let the others arrive and then we'll start," the trainer said as Alfie and Nugua joined the circle. It seemed like most of the others were here; Nugua counted about seventeen faces she recognized from the recaps. There was a low chatter, a few of the other tributes talking amongst themselves, as Nugua surveyed the room. Nobody here seemed particularly threatening, save for the Careers, who stood clustered in the center of the room. But if there was one thing Nugua had learned over the years, it was that people were surprising creatures. After all, none of these kids looked like threats, but sheer brutality alone did not win the Games; no, chance and opportunity were equal players.

As Nugua watched the final few kids come in, the boy from Five scrambling as he brought up the rear, she subtly leaned into Alfie's side. "Keep an eye out for anything or anyone you think is interesting," she muttered. Alfie didn't react, responding with just a slight nod to acknowledge he heard her.

"Okay, that looks like everybody," The trainer at the front of the room said, her voice cutting through the chatter. "I'm Valhalla and I'm the head trainer here, the one who'll be looking after all of you for the next three days. There's a few rules you'll have to follow, which we'll go over now.

"First, don't be stupid and don't try anything stupid. Second, listen to the trainers, they know what they're doing, and if you don't listen you could very well get hurt. If you have any questions, just ask, and somebody will help you. Third, there will be no tribute on tribute fighting. If you want to practice, you can do it with a trainer. Lunch will be at twelve, in the cafeteria through those doors there," Valhalla pointed to a set of double doors behind them. "Now, get going."

Nugua couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with all of the choices of stations before her, bringing on pangs of sadness and homesickness. Oh, how Nugua wished she was at home with Deena and Spirit. She missed them, more than she could ever express or admit. But she didn't have the time or the leeway for missing them. If Nugua wanted to see them again, she'd have to win, and to win she had to play the game her way.

It was time for Nugua to establish her status in this game, to gain herself the upper hand.. After all, this was not a game she was planning on losing.


Pluto Valence, 18.
District 5 Male.


Pluto's fingers laced through the strip of bright red fabric, wrapping it around what remained of his left arm. Surely training couldn't be that daunting. He was in good shape because of work; how hard could it really be? Pluto could easily find something to do or someone to interact with. After all, there were plenty of stations to go to and people to talk to. But no matter how many times Pluto reassured himself, he couldn't help but feel nervous. It was like he was himself from a few years ago, returning to school after the accident, not knowing what he'd find on the other side of the doors.

But he'd be okay. He always was.

"You ready to go?" Revan grumbled, finger hovering near the button to call the elevator.

"Of course, what else would I need? Unless there's something else I need to bring that nobody told me about," Pluto replied, nodding. Revan snorted, pushing the button as the pair waited for the elevator to arrive. The others, Terra and Orli, had already gone ahead, Orli insisting that Terra wanted to be early. There was a noticeable divide between the two pairs of mentors and mentees, probably due to the disagreements of their mentors, but Pluto didn't mind so much, especially considering there was nothing he could do to help it. All he could do was listen to the best of his ability, and not cause problems for his mentor.

Revan pushed the button again, impatiently waiting for the elevator to come. "We're gonna be late at this rate."

"Late, huh? I guess we should've left earlier then," Pluto chuckled to himself. "I mean, I guess I'll get to make a cool entrance at least?"

"Mmm," Revan nodded, pushing himself into the corner of the elevator as soon as the doors opened. There were dark bags underneath his eyes, and his fingers and hands were bandaged, which seemed new to Pluto, though he couldn't be sure.

But Pluto didn't comment on Revan's changed appearance. He didn't feel the need to.

All things considered, Revan had been a decent enough mentor. Pluto didn't have much to complain about save for the fact he was always in and out, disappearing and reappearing seemingly at random. But the disadvantage of not knowing where his mentor was at any given time was heavily outweighed by the fact that Revan was easy on the eyes.

"You remember everything we've talked about?" Revan asked.

"I think so yeah, focus on picking up something that'll be helpful, talk to people but don't make any solid alliances on the first day, uhhh…"

"Don't do anything stupid, don't get hurt."

"Right, of course not! I could never!"

Revan sighed as the elevator came to a stop, the doors sliding open to reveal the large group of kids milling about.

"Good luck, you've got this," Revan said as Pluto passed through the doors. A few sets of eyes turned to look at him, although most seemed preoccupied with their own thoughts as Pluto made his way into the crowd. He spotted Terra standing in the corner, as far away from everyone else as she could get. Pluto didn't recognize many of the others as he hadn't bothered watching the recaps, although he did spot the girl he'd seen the night before who was being pestered by the media. As she spotted him, she began pushing her way towards him, weaving through the crowd.

"Um, hi. I just wanted to, uh, thank you for last night," the girl said, offering Pluto her hand. "I'm Ifer."

"Pluto. It was no problem," Pluto replied, shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you for real."

"Likewise, yes. I was wondering if you were looking for a training partner."

Pluto paused for a moment. Well, he was looking for a training partner, and it wasn't like Ifer was asking to be allies with him, so it should be fine. And if she did ask to be allies, then he could say yes to her the next day after running it by his mentor.

"Yeah, sure!" Pluto exclaimed as a woman stepped up to the front of the room. She launched into a long-winded explanation about how training would work and how their days were structured, which Pluto tuned out after half a minute of listening. It was much like reapings; every year they repeated the same, complicated things that Pluto didn't have the energy or drive to figure out.

After all, there were much better things to put energy into, as far as Pluto was concerned.

As the woman finished her speech, the tributes began to disperse, some of them pairing off and some of them going on their own.

"So, where do you wanna start?" Pluto asked, turning to Ifer, who still stood by his side.

"Um, I'm not sure. Maybe the agility course?"

"I don't think I have the balance for that," Pluto said, squinting at the course. He'd never been particularly good at keeping his balance, more often than not ending up falling on his face, and this course seemed like a one way ticket to the nurses station.

"Umm, okay, maybe we can do that one later? What about knot tying?"

"Yeah, sure!" Pluto agreed enthusiastically. It fit the bill as something that could come in handy but that wasn't too hard to learn.

The pair made their way to the empty station. The trainer watching over it explained the basics to them, demonstrating how to tie a few simple knots. Pluto picked up a rope to follow suit, although he found many of them hard to follow, both because of how confusing they were and because of his lack of a hand.

"I've been meaning to ask: who's Chardae?" Pluto asked, leaning back on his hand as Ifer continued to easily tie knots with her rope.

"Oh, she's, uh, my mother. She runs a shop back home in Eight that ships to the Capitol, so many people are… familiar with her," Ifer replied. "I wouldn't call her famous, but people know her and now they know me too."

"Huh, that sounds cool. What's Eight even like?"

"Well, there's lots of factories and stuff, where they manufacture all the cloth. It's mostly buildings and stuff, not a lot of nature like some of the other Districts, but I don't mind it so much."

"Mm, sounds like Five. Everything is so… grey. I don't mind it either though," Pluto said with a grin.

Pluto and Ifer continued to chatter as they worked to build their shelter. They worked well together, Pluto's more upbeat demeanor countering Ifer's more subdued nature. As much as Pluto missed home, he couldn't help but feel like he was making the most of the situation he was in.

After all, that was all he could do.


Morrigan "Mor" Meadowlark, 16.
District 7 Female.


Mor never thought she'd miss much in life, especially since she never had much room to spare for attachment to things. But here in the Capitol, she found herself missing Seven, the earthy smell of trees and sap, the scraping of bone dry branches in the dead of winter. And even more surprisingly, she missed Ronan and Brecken, the roaring of Ronan's laughter, Brecken's permanent worry. Being able to rely on the boys to watch her back, to pull her out of any sticky situations she got into, had caused Mor to go soft. But now that they were gone, Mor had to toughen up. Here in the Capitol, she was utterly and entirely alone, surrounded by people she didn't know and certainly didn't trust. Mor knew that, despite the bleak outlook, her best chance of survival was to go at the Games alone.

After all, Mor had gotten this far in life of her own accord. The Games wouldn't put a stop to her without her putting up a fight.

"Ah shit," Mor muttered, watching as the fire before her flickered out again. She'd been trying to get it going for the past half an hour, and yet hadn't been able to make it catch. Mor had lit fires before to help warm her up during Seven's harsh winters, but she'd never had to light one without matches.

"It's harder than they make it look," a quiet voice spoke. Mor looked up to see the boy from Twelve sitting in front of a small fire. He looked quite proud of his little creation, the flickering flames sending a glowing light across his face.

"How did you do that?" Mor asked, catching a glimpse of the Twelve emblazoned on his sleeve.

"Practice, I guess," Twelve replied with a shrug. He picked up a bucket of water and poured it into the pit, causing his fire to sizzle out. "I can show you, if you want."

"No, I'm fine. I can do it on my own."

"O-oh okay. If you're sure," Twelve said, turning his gaze towards the floor as he stood.

Mor was tempted. If she wanted to survive, she needed to know how to light a fire on her own, and if this boy could help her learn, then maybe she should take his offer. After all, it wasn't like they were allies. They were just peers, one teaching the other something, and Mor benefited from it, so why not?

"Wait!" Mor called. "Show me."

"Oh, alright," Twelve replied. He returned to the fire-making station and crouched down next to Mor, letting her get a good look at him. He was pale, unusually so, as if he'd been drained of all colour. Even his hair was a pale blonde colour, nearly platinum in hue. Something about his coloring was odd to Mor, although she couldn't place a finger on why exactly it seemed so strange.

"So first, you've gotta build a solid base," Twelve said. Mor watched as he built up a small pile of twigs and dried leaves, talking through each of the steps as he went. By the time he finished, it looked almost like a bird's nest, the mess of kindling surrounding a rounded space open to the air in the center.

"Okay, now what?" Mor asked, leaning forward. Twelve picked up a set of flint and steel, striking them together until they produced sparks that landed in glowing specks in the middle of the kindling. The twigs and leaves quickly caught, the sparks turning to smoldering embers as smoke began rising from the center.

"There we go. Do you think you could do it on your own?" Twelve asked, dumping another bucket of water onto the pile, putting out the flames as quickly as they'd caught.

"Yeah, of course," Mor grinned, taking the fire building items and moving to another spot in the pit, away from the ruins of the last fire. She carefully placed sticks and leaves, arranging them just as Twelve had explained. Eventually she pulled back, a similar although slightly more messy nest in front of her. Mor grabbed the flint and steel from the ground, striking them together until she got a spark. Mor drew back, holding her breath as the sparks landed, hoping they would catch. And, they did! The grass and twigs began to smolder, just as Twelve's example had.

"Oh! You did it!" Twelve exclaimed, clapping his hands together, "Good job- oh... What's your name?"

"I'm Mor," Mor said, holding her hand out.

"Jasper," Twelve replied, shaking her hand. His grip was ice cold, a stark contrast to the warmth of the air around them.

"Well, thanks for... showing me that? I'll see you around," Mor stammered. She quickly stood up and hurried away before Jasper could get another word in. Mor curled inwards slightly, cheeks flushing as she ducked her head, pushing onwards away; she hadn't considered that she'd have to get out of the situation upon engaging in conversation with the boy. But as she distanced herself from him, she couldn't help but keep Jasper in her mind, couldn't help but think about what would happen to a boy like him in the Arena. He'd be ripped to shreds likely enough. Sure, he seemed smart, but intelligence wasn't everything. Physically, Jasper couldn't possibly compare to the Careers, or even to Mor herself. She couldn't see him living past the Bloodbath, unless...

Unless somebody like her helped him.

But Mor she couldn't afford an ally, no matter how much she may be tempted to ask. If she asked one person, then that would balloon, turning into two or even three people on top of herself to look after, and in the end only one person could win. What was the point in putting in all the effort and risking getting attached if she'd just have to sacrifice any allies in the end to secure the win?

No, Mor would have to go at the Games alone. Putting trust in others would only come back to hurt her.


Claudia Bartoszek, 18.
District 2 Female.


Claudia Bartoszek had volunteered with a certain set of expectations in mind, of what things in the Capitol would be like. She expected to be treated like her worth for once in her life, training in the most state of the art facilities that Two couldn't even compare to, the taste of luxury only egging her on to her inevitable victory.

But Claudia wasn't doing any of those things. No, here she was watching Reign as he tied together the last of a shelter-like structure with a piece of twine.

"Can we go now?" Claudia sighed, stretching out her legs as she sat on the floor, "I'd like to get to the fighting stations at some point today."

"I never said you had to stay with me," Reign replied, not bothering to look at her as he spoke.

"I know, but..."

"But what?"

"I mean.. I thought us Twos would stick together," Claudia shrugged, "After all, we're the first real volunteers in years."

"Suppose you're right," Reign grumbled, beginning to disassemble the wobbling structure, "But still, we need to know these things. There's no guarantee we'll have access to the Cornucopia, and even if we do, we don't know what might be in there."

"Yeah, but when was the last time they screwed us over like that?" Claudia grinned, continuing to stretch her graceful limbs out. "We'll be fine."

"I wouldn't be so sure of yourself. You should always expect the unexpected. But if you want to go, I won't stop you," Reign said as the last of his structure came down. He collected the branches and ropes he'd used, placing them in careful bundles back where he'd gotten them from, the trainer nearby flashing him a wide grin.

"I guess you're right, but it can't hurt to brush up, right?" Claudia said as she pulled herself to her feet. "I'll come find you when I'm done."

"Sounds good to me," Reign nodded. Despite his interest in taking leadership within the Careers, Reign seemed rather uninterested with everything the others were doing. They'd split off in the morning, agreeing to reconvene at lunch. Most of the others had gone off to the practice rings in the middle of the room, but Reign had broken off, choosing to spend more time at the survival stations. While Reign's choice was strange to Claudia, she saw some sort of reason in his explanation. She figured he was probably just nervous to show the other Careers what he was capable of.

Claudia, however, wasn't afraid. She was ready to show the others just how capable she truly was. After all these years she'd finally been deemed worthy, better than all of the other girls in Two, and now she'd prove herself better than the other Careers.

"Oh, it's good to see you here. We were wondering when you'd get bored of all that survival shit," Chiffon purred, as Claudia made her way to the edge of the ring. The other Careers were scattered about at the other stations, each having found their chosen weapons at other stations.

"It didn't take much. It's certainly not interesting," Claudia sighed as she leaned against the barrier surrounding the edge of the ring. Inside, Mystic was squaring off, some kind of large sword in hand against a pair of trainers. Claudia watched as Mystic easily dispatched the first, sweeping the trainer's legs out from beneath him. He tumbled to the ground with a muffled thud as Mystic trained her sights on her remaining opponent. She swung wide with her sword, glancing off the trainer's shield with the familiar sound of metal scraping against metal. Righting herself, Mystic swung again, this time her sword stopping inches from the trainer's neck.

"Good job!" Chiffon hollered, continuing to whoop as he clapped loudly. Mystic dropped her sword and made her way to the side of the ring where they stood, smoothing what hair had come loose from the tight knot at the back of her head as she leaned against the barrier.

"How was that?" Mystic asked, a slight smile spreading across her face.

"Good enough, I suppose," Claudia wrinkled her nose. She didn't appreciate Mystic one-upping her like that before she'd even gotten the chance to show her prowess.

"What? Do you think you could do better?" Chiffon grinned, "I know I can, but can you?"

"Of course I can. Where are the weapons?"

"You can probably find whatever you're looking for over there," Mystic replied, hauling herself over the barrier as she pointed to a nearby wall. It was covered in weapons of all kinds: swords, daggers, spears, shields, even bows and quivers of arrows. Claudia quickly spotted what she was looking for: a long lance, the pointed end just as wickedly sharp as she. She'd always had an affinity for the weapon, one of the many reasons she'd chosen to train with it, and it'd never let her down before. Certainly today wouldn't be the day her skill faltered.

Claudia retrieved the weapon from the rack and returned to the others. Chiffon had already selected his weapons, some sort of short, curved sword in his hand and a small holster filled with pointed throwing stars secured at his side.

"So how are we doing this?" Claudia asked, tightening the laces on her boots.

"Hmm... let's do it how we used to back home. We start with three trainers each, and if neither of us lose, we go to four, and then keep upping how many opponents each time until somebody loses." Chiffon grinned, eyes glinting with something hard that Claudia hadn't seen before from the otherwise laid back boy. She hadn't considered Chiffon to be any kind of threat, but how he looked at the ring before them made Claudia want to reconsider. He looked... hungry, vicious, like a wild animal eager to spring at its first given chance.

"That sounds good. How about you go first and show me how it's done?"

"Sounds good to me," Chiffon snorted, sliding over the barrier with ease. He made his way towards the center of the ring, twirling his sword with each step. As he reached the center of the ring, a pair of trainers wielding swords and shields came through a gate opposite of him. Chiffon laughed, shaking his head as he held up three fingers. Another trainer reluctantly stepped into the ring, brandishing a spear alongside his shield.

"How do you think he'll do?" Claudia asked, leaning over to Mystic who sat nearby on the bench.

"Dunno. I know he's good, obviously since he's here but… we trained at different places, so I don't really know." Mystic shrugged, squinting at the ring before her. Claudia turned her attention back to the fight. Chiffon produced a pair of shurikens and released them from between his fingers; they sank into the chests of the front two trainers with solid thunks. The trainers pressed on without hesitation, the shurikens stuck to them not deterring them as they swung at Chiffon. He ducked under the first swing with ease as he blocked the second with his sword, dislodging the larger blade from the trainer's grip with a flick. The training blade went clattering to the floor as Chiffon whirled around, striking out with his sword. It connected with the front of the now weaponless trainer's suit, tearing a large gash through the front of his chest.

Claudia couldn't help but wonder how he did all this with such a small sword. Chiffon didn't seem to be outwardly the strongest (in fact, for a Career, he was rather petite), but he managed to do all this with little effort. Claudia couldn't help but worry that she might be out of her league here. But she couldn't show that; no she would prove she was worthy, just like she'd proved herself in Two.

The clanging of sword against sword pulled Claudia back to the fight at hand, just in time to watch Chiffon drive his sword into the chest of the second trainer, sending him tumbling to the ground. Chiffon planted a boot on his chest and yanked the sword out. He then pulled three more stars out and fired them one by one at the third trainer. The first two landed in the trainer's padded chest, one right over his heart and one right under it; the third hit between his eyes, jamming into the helmet that protected his head and face.

"How was that for show?" Chiffon grinned, bowing towards Claudia and Mystic before making his way out of the ring.

"Good enough, I suppose," Claudia replied, swinging her long legs over the barrier. The padded floor was springy beneath her feet as she walked to the middle of the ring. It reminded her of the arenas in which they held the final trials they had to complete before being selected as the chosen Volunteer. Claudia hadn't enjoyed those very much, as she already knew she was the best to come out of her year, so what was the point in making her participate? Claudia was a shoe in after all, the star of District Two. There was no room for second guessing or doubting, not when her pride - no, the pride of her District was on the line.

Three trainers stepped into the ring from across from Claudia as she positioned herself, lance in hand. This time two of them had spears and one had a large, mace-like club. They approached her apprehensively, but Claudia didn't wait, as she knew she'd make quick work of them. She rushed forwards, aiming her lance for the padded heart of the first trainer, but he blocked her attempt with his sword, nearly wedging the weapon from her grasp. Claudia held on, swinging around with the butt of the weapon and aiming for a second trainer's knee. She hit, hooking and sweeping the trainer off his feet; he fell on his back and scrambled away from Claudia. She put her boot on his chest and paused for a moment, just a moment, revelling in the spotlights that shone down from above, framing her in bright white light.

Claudia had spent her whole life working for this spotlight. And now she was here, in the Capitol, right where she belonged. She reveled in the eyes that focused on her, knowing that in just a few short weeks, nobody in Panem would be able to look away.

Until everything came crashing down around her as the club of the third trainer connected with her side. It wasn't unforgiving, or hard enough to do any damage, but it still sent her tumbling to the ground, lance clattering across the mat. Claudia rolled to a stop, laying on her back through watering eyes, finding only the rafters of the ceiling above as she gasped, trying to regain the air that had been knocked from her lungs.

"You alright?" one of the trainers said, moving around to the edge of her vision.

"Yes, of course, I'm fine," Claudia growled, dragging herself to her feet and brushing herself off. She wanted to at least maintain some shred of dignity despite her loss. Claudia pushed her head up and held it high as she walked out of the ring. As Claudia clambered over the barrier, she caught sight of Reign, leaning against a wall distantly observing. He shook his head, turning away to return to the station at hand.

Despite being a star, Claudia couldn't compare to the others surrounding her. No, she couldn't burn as hot or as long as they could. But maybe she could make herself known by burning brighter, even at the cost of her light going out.

Claudia Bartoszek would put her name and her District's name on the map, no matter the cost.


Olive Sidney, 15.
District 11 Female.


Olive was not happy to be Reaped; nobody would be. But a small part of her had hoped that perhaps leaving her parents' house would bring a degree of freedom that she'd never had before. Getting out of her parents' looming shadow would give her the chance to make friends, to explore, to discover herself. But thus far, there had been nothing but the same rigid, hard structure that she'd tried so many years to escape.

That was, until today. Today was different. Now it was time for training, where she was free to do whatever she wanted and talk to whoever she wanted.

A taste of freedom, at least for now, and Olive planned on making the most of it while it lasted.

Olive pushed towards the back of the cafeteria, towards the girl she'd been keeping an eye on for most of the day, who was seated in the corner by herself. "Excuse me?"

"Um, yes?" the girl replied, looking up, eyes wide as if startled anybody would talk to her.

"Would you mind if I sat here?"

"Uh… I mean, sure? If you want to."

Olive nodded enthusiastically, sliding into the seat across from the girl. She'd hoped this would work, since she was the only other girl of Olive's age in the group of tributes. She was the kind of girl Olive would think about trying to talk to at school, but would always be dragged away from by her brother or her parents, telling her they'd be no good for her.

But her parents weren't here now, and neither was her brother. No, it was up to Olive to make her own decisions, to choose her own path.

"I'm Olive. What's your name?"

"Um, Terra," she mumbled. Olive offered her a hand, which she gingerly shook, the pale girl's hands cold beneath Olive's. The pair went quiet for a few moments, Olive thoughtfully chewing her food as she planned her next step. Should she ask Terra to be allies right away? Or should she wait, to avoid scaring the other girl off?

There wouldn't be much more time to wait, though, and Olive had never been very patient.

"So, are you looking for allies?" Olive said through a full mouth of sandwich.

"Not really, no," Terra replied quietly, shaking her head, her eyes trained on the lunch before her.

"Oh, well I was wondering if maybe you wanted to train with me," Olive continued. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, but I was wondering if you'd maybe like some, uh, company?"

"Oh… I don't know about that," Terra said, her brow furrowed. Did Olive mess up? Did she push too hard? She'd never been good at knowing when to stop, and maybe the lack of her parents' control was coming around to bite back now of all times.

Olive just wanted a friend, plain and simple, and she might've screwed it up.

"You uh, don't have to answer now, we can just eat our lunch," Olive backpedaled desperately. Terra nodded, continuing to chew on her food and keeping her head down. Olive did likewise, trying to figure out what to do next. It was hard to really talk to people. Olive wished her parents had let her be around other kids more, but she wasn't allowed to, and now she was suffering for it.

Was it too much to ask, to not be alone anymore?

"I'd better get going," Olive muttered, hastily collecting her garbage.

"Um, I think I'd like to join you. For training. If that's okay," Terra said shakily, looking up from her tray.

"Oh, I'd like that, yes! Where do you wanna go? We could go to the agility course, or maybe the camouflage station, or maybe the plant station? I'm good at plants, we have lots of those where I live," Olive exclaimed, sucking in a deep breath.

"It's uh… up to you," Terra shrugged, "I don't mind."

"Okay, okay, what about shelter building? I haven't been there yet," Olive said. Terra nodded her agreement. After returning their trays, Olive beelined for the shelter building station, ignoring the tall, gloomy looking boy from Two who joined them, beginning to construct a shelter of his own.

"So, what's your home like? You're from Five right? It must be so different from Eleven," Olive chattered, as the two girls collected materials.

"Um, yeah," Terra nodded, "it's fine I guess."

"In Eleven we have trees and stuff everywhere, and me and my brother used to sneak through the fences into the fruit orchards and play hide and seek- oh do you have any siblings?"

"No, I don't," Terra shook her head, as she dumped a pile of sticks and long grass onto the mat on the floor. Olive followed suit, dumping an armful of rope and twine next to Terra's pile as the girl from Five began to work on their structure.

"My brother is named Indigo. I'm glad he's not here. Here, try using this." Olive handed Terra a long length of rope to anchor the bottom of the structure. The girl seemed quiet, quieter than Olive was hoping for, but that didn't deter her one bit. She'd always wanted somebody to listen to her, and now it seemed she'd found that person.

Now all Olive had to do was figure out how to hold onto her.