Disclaimer: I do not own the original concept of The Hunger Games. However, I have built my own flair into this world.

I would like to take this time to credit Rune Whisperer for our protagonist. I begged them for a character because I said this arena is so complex that it can't be told in one story. XD With that, this story acts as a Side B with the other story, Soaring Above The Clouds. Feel free to check it out if you haven't, but you can read both stories in any order you'd like.

Without further ado, enjoy! :)


On the golden fields of District Nine, seven-year-old Raenu Pyrite and her childhood friend Aveline Sunn chase each other as they head towards the horizon.

"Gotcha!" Aveline says as she grabs Raenu by the collar of her shirt.

"Oops," reacts Raenu.

The two of them often play games with a bunch of other kids their age, but since it is getting late, those kids already went home. Aveline's and Raenu's parents are probably looking for them, but Raenu is feeling more adventurous today.

"I wanna see what's up this hill!" Raenu says. Like a cat, her curiosity is killing her, not literally at least, but she's feeling energetic right now, and going up this hill seems like a fun idea.

"Let's go!" Aveline responds.

As they hike up the hill, Raenu remembers the moments when the other kids weren't on board with her idea to explore a new place, or if they were, they would walk too slow for the excited Raenu to leave them behind. She still does it on her own. She doesn't need a companion to be on an adventure. Aveline? She isn't really Raenu's adventure buddy consistently, but she can tell that the girl also enjoys a fun and wild adventure.

At the top of the hill, they get a better view of the sun dipping seamlessly into the endless golden landscape of Nine.

"This is so cool!" Raenu jumps up and down enjoyably.

"I've never seen a sunset like this before," shares Aveline.


For Rae, Aveline is definitely not all sunshine and butterflies though. A couple years later, Rae would remember times when she and Aveline and a bunch of other kids would play castle. Aveline always wanted to be queen, and Rae has played along for a few times, but then she never gets to be queen herself, and this frustrates her to no end.

"I wanna be queen this time," stands Rae.

"But you're still too short to be queen, Rae." Aveline gives her a sympathetic look.

Rae crosses her arms. "But you're always queen!"

"Then you better try and get that title from me." Aveline cackles at that statement, before rubbing Rae's head for being too short.

Rae plays along, but she refuses to be inferior. Not for long though. After their play session, Rae and Aveline hang out by the river.

"Are you okay?" Aveline asks.

"Mmmm… I guess…" replies Rae.

"Mmmm, okay." Aveline watches the fish jump from the river with Rae.

Rae… Rae is not happy, at all. She never gets to be queen, and being queen would look nice on her. She knows queens are strong. Queens conquer any challenge hurled towards them. The most powerful piece in chess? The queen. It doesn't sit well with her that Aveline is power hungry and unfair, never giving Rae the chance to be the superior player, even for at least once. She hates it. She can feel her insides getting frostbites, from the blood circulating her cold heart. She has to do something to rise above the occasion.

She turns to Aveline.

"Yes?" asks Aveline, wondering what Rae is about to tell her.

But she tells Aveline nothing. Instead, Rae leaps at her childhood friend, who starts to scream, but she does her best to muffle her.

"What are you d-"

Rae dips Aveline's head in the river violently. Aveline is struggling with Rae, but Rae knows she's the queen when Aveline starts to open her mouth under the clear river waters. The struggling gets weaker, and then it stops. That's when Rae decides to leave Aveline to float down the river.

"That crown is mine," Rae mutters as she lets go of Aveline and picks up the gold-painted crown on the ground. She puts it on her head, and she finally feels like a real queen.

A few days later, Aveline's parents are worried and emotional about why she hasn't returned home. When asked, Rae said she didn't know what happened to her after they went their separate ways that day. Nobody else has to know about it. This dark little secret is something she knows will die with her.


On nights when she would feel overwhelmed, Rae would need time alone. She isn't a kid anymore, especially not after murdering her childhood friend, but she feels no remorse about it. Aveline's ghost doesn't haunt her, and the thought of her killing Aveline doesn't frighten her. She has moved on from it. After all, Aveline was nothing but unfair and makes Rae feel inferior, which she refuses to be!

Although she doesn't do it often, tonight is a drawing night, as a form of escapism. She draws a flower she sees commonly around the district, and she writes a short and simple poem about it, right before she goes to bed.

She would read it aloud, but the poem sucks, she thinks. Her drawing? Probably sucks as well. She closes her sketchbook and lies down to think. She reflects on who she is and the things she cares about. Her reflection gets on a spiritual level, and it is on that night that she wonders if she's really a queen after killing somebody. She thinks she's more of a warrior now. She will fight for what she wants, or she will fight on her own. While she imagines enjoying ordering people around, she doesn't need anybody. That's what being a warrior means to her.

She still likes being the queen though. It's night like these when she would question the little things. She likes it nonetheless. It gives her peace and makes her calm.


"Bye Mom! Bye Dad!"

"Bye sweetheart!" Her mom waves.

Her father yells from another room, "Bye!"

At seventeen years old, she's still 5'2". She didn't really mind it so much, until Aveline used it against her, but she's a distant past now, not her words unfortunately. People who are younger than her are sometimes taller than her, and she hates her height even more the more she notices it. She's one of the shortest harvesters in the field too.

Rae has a pretty simple life. She works in the fields day in and day out, and when she gets paid, she helps her family bring food to the table, no matter how little. She cares for her family very much, and she needs their nurturing as well as her nurturing them for her to thrive.

Rae thinks she's a practical person, so even if work from the fields may sound boring and typical, she at least contributes to the family. It's the best she can do for now, coming from the lower class.

After work, she spends time enjoying nature, so even without a companion like Aveline, she would go and relax by the river, or hike up the hill to watch the sunset, or even walk around the neighborhood and admire the sounds of leaves rustling and birds chirping.

At seventeen, she feels like there's more that life can offer, so when an opportunity arises, she knows she would jump in and grab it no matter how risky. She considers herself a bit daring sometimes, for the sake of growth. She has hope that life can get better someday.