Training – Morning 2
Jayde Cassidy, 17, District 10 Female
Jayde's knife hardly leaves a mark on the dummy and she throws the weapon down onto the ground beside it. She's certainly not the worst out of the bunch, but it doesn't feel good knowing that she isn't the best. The volunteer troupe took over most of the ranges yesterday and again today, but Jayde is unwilling to give up her place just because of their derisive stares. As she has always done, Jayde will look out for herself and there is no room for other people in this narrative. She is going to take every step with the intent to win and there's nothing they can do about it.
After so many years of fighting for herself, the universe just couldn't give Jayde this one break and let her live to die of ripe old age. She knows that she has to get over herself because, to put it quite honestly, life is not and has never been fair. Jayde should be used to it at this point, but that doesn't mean she's had dry eyes every night. She's spent about as many hours punching the silky pillows as she has spent crying into them. No one else needs to know about that, though- not Gracen, not Chase, and certainly not any of the others. The fact that Jayde feels about as defeated as she does angry is none of their business.
She glances over at the range two down from her, seeing the District 4 girl practicing with a spear. She's been at this station almost as much as Jayde, yet she seems to be having a lot more luck hitting the targets. All of the dummies have red circles on the critical hit areas, but Jayde's dummy only has a few marks on them. District 4's has sizable holes through the middle of each target and Jayde can only wonder how this sweet looking thing is doing better than her. The girl smiles shyly over at her, but Jayde quickly looks away. She's simply not in the mood.
Jayde dips down to snatch the knife off the ground, knowing that if she can't get the hang of this weapon then there is no hope for her learning any others. It feels like she's been at this one station for years and the fact that she still doesn't feel ready is even more frustrating. She didn't do horribly in the spar against the trainer yesterday, but she also didn't win. A tie isn't going to be enough to survive in the arena, that's just a fact. Jayde knows that in a few days, the consequences are going to be a lot steeper if she doesn't come up with a way to get on top.
"Hi there," a cheery voice calls and Jayde cringes. What does she have to do to show people that she isn't interested in talking? It would be so much easier if people just focused on themselves and left her alone. She has a lot to learn and not a lot of time left. These people are just getting in her way.
"Can I help you?" Jayde says sharply, hoping that she'll get the message.
"Um, sorry," the girl says softly. "I didn't mean to bother you."
"Too late, I guess," Jayde shrugs, turning away from the girl to refocus on her target.
"We're both working on the same thing," she says after a pause. It's clear that she's searching for some kind of companionship, but it's too bad she is trying to get it from Jayde. "I thought maybe we could help each other out."
"Look," Jayde says, clenching the knife in her hand and turning to the girl. "I don't know you and I don't want to know you. I don't need your help because I'm doing just fine on my own. So, do me a favour and shut the fuck up."
The girl looks stunned to say the least, and she quickly turns away as tears begin to well up in her eyes. Her freckled face turns pink and she places the spear on the ground beside her, seemingly losing interest in training for the moment. Jayde turns back to her own dummy, not caring what she does as long as she gets the message. By the silence that settles around them, Jayde would bet that she has.
"Is there a problem here?"
Jayde looks to see a talk girl with cropped hair staring at her, arms crossed over her chest. She looks between Jayde and District 4, clearly having overheard their conversation. Jayde shrugs, she doesn't owe this girl an explanation just as she doesn't owe District 4 a conversation. The newcomer walks straight into District 4's range, offering her a smile that feels just a little too forced. Jayde notices her sneak a glance at the dummy, which tells Jayde all she needs to know about why this girl has decided to come to the rescue.
"Are you okay?" She asks sweetly, placing a hand on 4's shoulder. The other girl nods, smiling in return though the expression doesn't quite reach her eyes. Jayde notices the 8 on the new girl's shoulder just before she turns to face Jayde. Her expression isn't nearly as upset as it had been the first time, in fact Jayde thinks that she looks almost amused.
"What's your problem?" she asks with a smirk, not waiting for an answer before her eyes return to District 4. "I heard you say you'd like to train with someone. You can come with me if you'd like? Maybe you could offer some pointers."
District 4 looks a bit uncertain for a moment, but one more glance over at Jayde makes up her mind. "Sure, I guess."
"I'm Evi by the way," she tells District 4, taking her hand and leading her towards one of the far. "Some people just don't know how to act, am I right?"
Jayde doesn't hear the rest of their conversation as they finally leave the ranges and she can only roll her eyes in response to the parts she did hear. Despite Gracen's insistence, Jayde has absolutely no interest in making nice with the other tributes. There's no way of knowing what people are really looking for when they approach. Jayde guesses that the District 8 girl doesn't have nearly as heroic of intentions as she tried to show. If Jayde's dummy had been as cut up as District 4's, maybe Evi would have come to her defence instead.
Jayde goes back to work, thankful to finally be left alone again. There are only a few hours until she has to have this shit figured out, and she isn't sure that it will be enough. She turns the knife over in her hand a few times, wondering just how much trouble she would get in for taking it back to their apartment. It would be almost worth it for the extra hours of practice if Jayde didn't think there would be such stiff consequences. She smiles sadly and lunges at the dummy again, letting herself start off a bit closer than last time. The knife sinks into the stuffing just an inch from the target, but it still feels like a failure.
Sinead Kennard, 16, District 9 Female
Sinead didn't really think she would be able to find happiness in the Capitol. Now, sitting here painting herself with mud while listening to Jory and Chase laugh about how stupid they each look, she can't seem to stop herself from smiling. Yes, every moment of joy is cut by a couple minutes of panic when they realize how quickly training is passing by, but it's almost worth it. When she's alone in their apartment, Sinead finds it hard to stop herself from thinking and worrying about all the things that are going to be expected of her. For a few hours it feels good just to let that all go and laugh.
"I don't know, I think this colour really brings out my eyes," Jory says, bringing his mud-crusted hand up beside his face and fluttering his eyelashes. Sinead is happy that he's also found a way to calm down a bit in the Capitol. Even his anger, though, makes Sinead feel like she made the right choice to stay with him. Jory has a plan and that's more than she can say for herself. There are too many unknowns to even think about strategy right now, let alone decide on a solid plan. Just being near Jory makes her feel just a little bit more put together even if it's all an illusion.
Chase nods with a toothy grin. He's someone that Sinead and Jory hadn't really considered for an alliance, in fact they'd actually been trying to talk to his district partner yesterday. After that didn't go quite as planned, Chase happened to be nearby and quietly apologized for her. Sinead knew immediately that he was a keeper; he's one of the sweetest people she's ever met. There's a genuine feeling she gets around him that makes her trust him immediately. Jory said last night that he'll be good to have around because he looks strong, but Sinead finds that she doesn't even care about that. She just wants to keep people around that make her feel safe.
"Okay," Jory says once he stops laughing, his expression becoming more serious. "We should probably get back to weapons now. I don't think camouflage is going to be this important in the arena."
Chase shrugs, his smile faltering a bit at the mention of weapons. Sinead feels the same way, but Jory is probably right. Her and Chase definitely have more reservations about the real training skills, but they're both aware that the fun can't last forever. No matter how much Sinead would rather stay here, she knows that's not going to help her in the arena. She lets out a slow breath, trying to stop her mind from racing with all the questions she's yet to find answers for.
Is there enough time left to learn? Will she be able to remember these skills? Is she going to be able to use a weapon against a real person? Is she going to be able to actually kill someone? Will she even be able to get a weapon? Is she going to-
"Sinead?" Chase asks softly, nudging her lightly in the arm. Sinead shakes herself out of her head and turns to her ally, feeling her cheeks heat up. Her heart is pounding and her throat feels dry, but she tries to smile to let Chase know she's okay. "Come on, let's catch up."
Sinead looks over to see Jory already heading towards the weapon ranges. She envies his fearlessness, wishing that she would feel just as comfortable walking up and asking for a knife. Yesterday, she got the hang of some basic handling but that doesn't mean Sinead didn't feel ill the whole time. "You go ahead. I'm going to get some water first."
She doesn't wait for Chase's reply as she makes her way to the water fountain. Sinead takes a quick sip and then rubs the cool water over her face, hoping to wash away some of her uncertainty. She trusts her alliance wholeheartedly and truly believes that neither of them would do anything to hurt her, but there are always going to be questions. In District 9, Sinead relished in questions and believed that they would lead her to learn more than she would without them. Here, all the unanswered questions are beginning to suffocate her. The only way to answer them is to get in the arena and see what she can really handle, but that's something she is utterly terrified to do.
"Grabbing a drink?" A voice comes from behind her and forces Sinead to jump out her thoughts. She turns and smiles at the girl, grateful for the interruption.
"Sorry, go ahead," Sinead says, moving aside so that the girl can get to the fountain.
"Don't be sorry," she says. "I'm Capri by the way."
"Sinead," she offers. The girl's confident smile makes her difficult not to like, and Sinead isn't about to turn away an excuse not to head immediately to the ranges. Besides, a friendly face isn't exactly easy to find in this place. A lot of the tributes are keeping to their district pairs and the few that are mingling haven't approached her or Jory. Sinead tries not to think about what that means.
"How's training going?" Capri asks, her confident smile quickly melting into something much sweeter. This only makes Sinead like her more; she can almost see herself in the girl. She can remember seeing her a couple of times during training, but Sinead wishes she would have talked to her sooner. She seems really kind.
Sinead shrugs. "It's okay. Harder than I thought."
"Me too," Capri says softly, turning her eyes to the floor for a moment. "It's kind of weird going through it alone."
Sinead finds herself nodding along, but a memory of seeing Capri walk around with a boy yesterday cuts through. She thinks it was her district partner, but she could be wrong about that. Sinead hasn't spent as much time as she probably should trying to learn names and faces. Jory says it's a waste of time except to look for alliances. "Weren't you with someone yesterday?"
"Oh, Erdan?" Capri says. "No, we're just district partners. I don't think he wants to be allies with me."
"Really?" Sinead asks. She can't imagine him not wanting to be with Capri, but she also shouldn't judge people for whatever decisions they're making here. Everyone's trying to do what's best for them and maybe Erdan isn't looking for allies. Hopefully, he wasn't as rude about it to Capri as Jayde was to Sinead. "That's too bad."
"Yeah," Capri says. "It's fine, though. I can't blame him."
Sinead shrugs. "I'm lucky, my district partner has been really great. He's been trying to show Chase and I some self defence, but I'm not very good at it yet."
"He sounds amazing," Capri agrees.
"Do you want to meet him?" Sinead asks. She feels bad leaving Capri here after she seems to have had such bad luck with her district partner. Besides, she seems really genuine and Sinead can't imagine being left to train alone without Jory. Even if Capri doesn't accept, it feels wrong not to offer. "Chase and him are really nice, I swear."
"Really?" Capri asks, her smile beaming. "That would be so cool."
"Of course," Sinead nods excitedly. "They'll be happy to meet you. Come on."
Rion Dehart, 12, District 11 Male
Rion makes a face as he tries the 'purified' river water and Sadira erupts into laughter. It feels like there are still actual chunks of dirt swirling around in his mouth, so he's making a good guess that they messed up one of the steps. The two of them have been making their way through the stations they missed yesterday and trying to get a handle on the more important skills at least. Today has been quieter than yesterday, but neither of them are keen on discussing that right now. Rion isn't sure what their mentor, Fanchon, said to Sadira last night but his one-on-one meeting wasn't very much fun.
For Rion, being so far away from District 11 came with an overwhelming feeling of relief. He didn't think he had to worry about what he says or does because, as morbid as it might sound, he's dead anyways. As far as Rion knew, no one could do anything to further punish him so he felt free to speak his mind. He could finally be like his grandmother without worrying about the wrong person overhearing. It was a weird feeling because, as scared as he was, Rion actually felt more at home here than he has in years. He could joke around with Sadira and feel free to say whatever he wanted because no one could hurt him. That was all wiped away in one conversation with Fanchon, and Rion isn't sure how to feel anymore.
Fanchon talked with him about the private sessions coming up tomorrow, asking him what he planned to do which was nothing. Rion doesn't see a point in even giving the Capitol a chance to appraise him and tell the nation why he isn't going to win. It feels wrong on so many levels that they are just going to watch them for five minutes and then decide who has the best chance at living. Rion planned to sit in the middle of the floor and give them nothing, so that they would know he isn't about to play by their rules. It felt like the perfect plan, until Fanchon told him what the Capitol can still do to him. Rion thought that being reaped is the worst the Capitol can offer but he couldn't have been more wrong. Just like in District 11, the Capitol doesn't stand for any kind of rebellion even from tributes. They could go after his family if Rion isn't careful or even just make his life more miserable in the arena. That threat brought his fear back to the surface and wiped away any relief he'd been feeling. He isn't here to do whatever he wants and get away with it. Rion understands this now.
Just like after his parents' warnings, Rion is frozen back into complacency. He is scared by what he could have caused while also being scared of what he's headed into. There is no freedom to distract him from thinking about the arena. There is only him and Sadira and all the things they're trying to avoid talking about.
Sadira takes the purification device from his hand and begins taking it apart again. Rion stirs the muddy water with his fingertips, trying not to think about what Sadira and Fanchon might have talked about last night. Did she get the same wakeup as him? By how quiet she's been today, Rion wouldn't be surprised. "Next time, you get to be the test subject."
She rolls her eyes. "What, you don't like the taste of fresh mud in the morning?"
"I want to make sure you get a chance to try it," he shrugs. When they first met, it felt so easy to let the jokes flow between them. Maybe it was stupid, maybe they both just wanted to have some fun before they had to get stuck again in reality. Still, Rion misses it. They still find ways to laugh together, but the silent stretches between their jokes keep getting longer.
"Fine," she snorts. Rion watches her fiddling with the device for a few minutes before he sees someone approaching the station beside them. The District 3 boy collapses onto a bench and presses his forehead onto the table. When the trainer comes over to offer assistance, he waves them away almost immediately. Rion can just feel that he's upset, and when he looks up at Sadira she's already staring at him. "It's none of our business."
Rion stands up and gives her a quick smile. "I just want to see if he's okay."
"Rion," Sadira says, the warning in her voice clear but he doesn't care. It's not in Rion's nature to ignore someone that's upset and there is no harm in being a decent person right now. In the arena, he'd probably force himself to agree with her but they're not there yet. There aren't any rules about being kind, at least none that Fanchon has told him.
Rion slides onto the bench facing District 3. "Hey, uh, are you okay?"
He lifts his head carefully and his face is flushed red, but Rion's surprised to see that he isn't actually crying. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
"I don't think anyone's really fine right now," Rion says honestly.
"No shit," he says with a weak laugh.
"Yeah so, if you need anything I'm just over there," Rion points to where Sadira is still sitting, no longer looking at the purifier. She gives him a questioning glance and Rion shrugs. He tried his best, but if District 3 doesn't want to talk to him that's his choice. He did everything he's supposed to.
"Wait," he says softly as Rion stands up. "Do you know anything about girls?"
Rion laughs. "Not a thing."
"Capri, my district partner," he says, eyes searching the table as if he might find the answer to his questions there. "We were supposed to be allies, but now she's pretending we don't even know each other."
"That's rough," Rion says. He isn't sure what advice to offer, but it's a bit late to back out of the conversation now.
"I don't know what to do," he whispers and Rion isn't sure that he was supposed to hear the statement. He feels for the guy, it's clear that he feels pretty lost after whatever just happened, but there's not much he can do about it. He is starting to wonder if he should have minded his own business like Sadira.
"Have you talked to her?" Rion asks, cringing at how unhelpful this sounds. This isn't some schoolyard drama where his girlfriend won't speak to him. This is the Hunger Games and it looks like he's been left behind by someone he trusted enough to ally himself with. Rion can't imagine how he would feel if Sadira did that to him, especially without an explanation.
"She won't let me," he says. "I'm sorry. You could probably care less about this right now. I'll be fine I swear, I'm just a bit shocked."
"We're not in the arena yet," Rion shrugs. "I don't think it's against the rules to help."
District 3 snorts in response. "For now."
"You said it, not me," Rion says with a smirk. In any other situation, he can imagine himself getting along with this guy. He can feel himself going down a path that's going to be really hard to pull himself out of, but Rion also isn't sure he wants to stop.
"Thanks for stopping by for the show," he says, the redness in his cheeks beginning to finally fade. "I'd appreciate if you leave a five star review on your way out."
"You know," Rion begins, knowing that he's probably about to get himself into some trouble but also not really caring. He should probably talk to Sadira about this first, but when he looks for her he finds that she is already standing behind him. She raises her eyebrow at him and then glances over at District 3. Rion shrugs and gives her a weak smile; it's difficult for Rion to decide what she's thinking, but he hopes it's not that he's a complete moron.
"I couldn't help but overhear," she says. "I'm Sadira and I don't think Rion actually introduced himself."
Rion feels his face heat up, realizing that she's completely right. District 3 smiles awkwardly back at her. "Erdan."
He is worried at what she is going to say but knows that he shouldn't argue with whatever she chooses. She looks at him again and he smiles back hopefully, trying to tell her that he trusts Erdan. He knows that she wanted to keep their alliance small because it would help them get around undetected, but Rion wants to help Erdan. Three wouldn't be that much different than two. Sadira glances between him and Erdan before continuing. "If you need some people to train with, we can probably make room."
"Really?" Erdan asks, his face lighting up. "You don't have to, I mean."
Rion looks at Sadira, unable to contain his own smile. "Really."
Romello Dupree, 18, District 1 Male
Romello can't say that he's happy with what happened yesterday. The more that he talked about it with Ashara and their mentors, the more upset he got until he was hardly able to sleep at all. Delias had embarrassed him in front of their entire alliance, hell in front of the entire tribute roster, and for what? He was trying to let off some steam by watching the other tributes. It was a joke, one that clearly Delias couldn't handle. He was so ready to enter the volunteer alliance without even taking a look at the people he was forcing himself to trust. District 2 is trouble and Romello isn't about to make the same mistake again. He doesn't trust them as far as he can throw them.
The apology they offered this morning felt like nothing but a joke. He isn't going to just forget the fact that they made him look like a fool. Romello knows that he is here for all of the right reasons and he doesn't deserve to be treated like a nobody. Delias isn't any better than he is. He's not some saint here to protect the young and the vulnerable. He's here to win, just like Romello is, but that's not going to happen if he has anything to do with it.
At first, he wanted out of the alliance entirely but their mentors convinced him to stick around. It will be good for sponsors and, like the old saying goes, it's smart to keep your enemies close. Romello isn't exactly sure what he's planning to do, but specifics don't matter right now. Delias is a traitor and Aristona is a threat. Romello intends to treat them as such, but he needs the numbers for it. As much as he hates to admit it, District 2 are skilled. From what he's gathered, they've both trained for several years in an Academy meant specifically to prepare them for the arena. It's enough to make the youth center feel like drama club.
"Nice one," Romello says, nodding at the target that now has a spear protruding from its center. He's been trying to spend as much time as possible with Jordan today without raising suspicion. He knows that Ashara will follow him, she was shocked to hear about what happened with Delias, but Jordan is the swing vote in his eyes. If Romello can get him to see logic, they might be able to do something about them without risking too much.
"Thank you," Jordan says over his shoulder as he heads over to retrieve his weapon. Romello is impressed by Jordan's skills with spear throwing, even though it makes sense with him having worked on boats like he said. He's good, but he's also quiet. It's hard to get a read on people like Jordan.
"If I might ask, what do you think of 2?" Romello asks. He knows that it's a bit forward, and that could spell trouble if he's not going to land on their side, but it's the best way to approach people. Romello doesn't want to give him room to make assumptions or change the subject.
Jordan turns and looks at him for a moment before answering. "They're skilled."
"Have you talked to either of them much?" Romello prods.
"Not any more than I've talked to you or Ashara," Jordan shrugs. "Why?"
"I'm not sure what to think about them myself," Romello says calmly, trying to test the waters a bit before diving right in. The last thing he needs is Jordan going off and telling District 2, even if Romello doesn't think he's the type.
"Is that right?" Jordan asks, examining the end of the spear. "I would have expected you to have some pretty solid opinions by now."
Romello laughs at the statement. "Okay, I don't trust them."
"I hate to ask, but what exactly does this have to do with me," Jordan asks, tilting his head to one side as he stares at Romello. Clearly, Jordan isn't into the whole 'testing the waters' tactic so Romello decides he might as well dive in. The District 4 tribute might be a bit of an enigma, but he seems honest at the very least. Romello wants him on his side.
"They're not like the rest of us," Romello begins. "They don't have training contracts; I don't understand why they even want to be here. Delias hardly speaks and has proven that he's not on the same page as us. Aristona is controlling and seems more fake than my escort's hair colour. I think the three of us need to stick together, that's all."
"You're suggesting we leave them?" Jordan asks, his eyes no longer leaving Romello's. It makes him feel slightly better to have his ally's full attention, but that doesn't mean he's in the clear. Until Jordan agrees, Romello doesn't think his heart will leave his throat. He could be making a lethal mistake right now by telling him all of this.
"No," Romello explains. "It's better for all of us to stick together for sponsorships. I'm suggesting that we watch each other's back and take whatever opportunities are presented in the arena."
"You want help killing them," Jordan says, no question in his voice but Romello still nods. "That's a lot to ask from someone you hardly know."
"You're here for the same reason I am," Romello reminds him. "I can understand what's going through your mind because it's going through mine too. You want this to change your life, to have all of the things no one was able to give you. I know what you're after, but I can't say the same about 2."
"You're serious about all of this?" Jordan asks. "You know that if they get wind of this, they'll kill all three of us. I've watched them train. I believe they could accomplish that easily."
"They're not going to hear about it," Romello says confidently. "Because none of us are going to tell them."
Jordan says nothing for a while and Romello wonders if he was too quick to judge Jordan's mindset. It's completely possible that he'll go talk to District 2 and gain some brownie points with them. However, Romello is confident that those will run out quickly. Jordan wasn't exaggerating when he spoke about their skills, if they want any of them dead they can make it happen. If Jordan stays with District 2, they'll kill him eventually and Romello believes that Jordan is smart enough to know that.
Romello isn't happy to be in this position. The last thing he expected when he raised his hand at the reaping was to be plotting against his allies before the games even begin. He thought he would be entering the arena on at least level playing field as the other volunteers. He didn't realize that there would be so many differences between them or that they would make such a quick move to betray him when the stakes are still so low. The center made it sound like they would work together until the time came to split up. They made it sound easy. Unfortunately it's too late to back out just because things aren't going as planned. Romello knows that he's in this for the long haul, and he has every intention of winning.
A/N: Hi again. Excited to say that we are now halfway through the Capitol chapters! Everyone has had one POV and will have a second one in this next round. Training will be continuing for one more chapter, followed by private sessions and some more chapters in the tribute apartments. I'm very happy that we've reached this point and hopefully (if I can keep up the pace) we can be in the arena in early August. That's crazy y'all.
Alliances: Ashara/Romello/Aristona/Delias/Jordan; Capri/Sinead/Jory/Chase; Erdan/Sadira/Rion; Emilia/Doran; Verdana/Levi; Ira/Florian
Confirmed Loners: Jayde
What did you think of these 4 tributes (Jayde, Sinead, Rion, & Romello)?
Now that we've seen everyone again, who are your early favourites?
Thanks so much for all the support and I hope you are all still out there doing your part with respect to the BLM movement and the COVID situation. Take care of yourselves, but also make sure to take care of each other.
~ Olive