Chapter Ten.

Tribute House, Part One.

Gormlaith Rivière, 18 years old;
Sector Eleven Female.

This is…surreal.

The Chariot Rides had ended about three hours ago yet for all River knew, it could have been a week since she'd stood next to the behemoth that was Tavius, waving for the masses. She was now inside an actual house with the rest of the tributes; the people she was supposed to fight and potentially kill. And here they were singing kumbaya together.

The house was expansive, the four bedrooms at the end of the large kitchen equipped with literally everything a girl who liked food – like me – could possibly want. The lounge area had a blazing fireplace situated into the brick wall where next to it a huge television screen was hooked just above the purpley-lavendery rug that River sort of wanted to flop onto. Through a glass pane set from the lounge all the way to the kitchen, a garden area was lit up by in-built bulbs fitted into the concrete and though she couldn't see it, River could smell the swimming pool.

I repeat. This is surreal.

And fucking awesome!

But so weird.

And…wrong?

Right now, River found herself in the massive duvet, buried into her huge king-size bed that had her name engraved above it. She was sleeping next to a rather angry girl called Briel Novack who from the right angle looked as if she had a unibrow that River wanted to pluck for her. River had bitten her tongue when they'd exchanged a rather short hello. She wasn't the type to be mean-spirited and as long as Briel didn't try to throw shit in her direction, River was happy to get along.

Some of the girls, though… problematic is too kind a word.

River yawned and stretched her arms out, the flat of her knuckles hitting the wallpaper coated across the feature wall behind her. She could hear snoring coming from a few beds to her right and outside the room conversation that she couldn't quite make out was filtering through from the open door.

Part of River was actually scared about meeting everyone else. Some of her competitors had obviously felt the same as they had moved straight for their room and not left. Others who had already made friends spoke with each other for a few hours but even they were now in bed.

Whoever was outside the room was clearly happy to stay up late and although River felt tired from the long day, she also really wanted a glass of water. Just go… they might not see you… She wasn't exactly a shy sort of person – quite the contrary really – but she did not want to put her foot in it and do or say something stupid. Not this early on.

Quickly, River swung her legs from over the bed and moved for the kitchen, leaving her room and rounding the corner. Past the living area was the huge, ornate doors of the Training Centre that they'd been told was the only place they could access without being filmed by the Capitol. In the corner, River took note of a camera that might have been zooming in on her and she gave a curious little wave towards it.

Prime television, that. River from District Two on a quest for some water.

She giggled to herself and headed straight for the tap. The conversation came from the couches in a semi-circle in front of the television. Bex, Syrella and Callisto were drinking what was definitely not water with cards in front of them. River felt a pang of jealousy as she noticed Manfred grinning and punching the shoulder of Tayte from Sector Two.

Why are they acting so cushy and cosy? River could do with a swig of something. Underneath all the nerves and excitement was the heart-wrenching pain of leaving her family behind, but that had been her choice and it was easier to smother down than deal with. On the other hand, she didn't understand how five tributes could be playing cards when in a few days they'd be stabbing each other.

Even River, who hadn't really understood much of what Tavius had been saying on the chariot, knew it was a bit of a weird scenario.

Oh well… back to bed… River took her glass, turned around, and was instantly doused with the very water she'd just poured. She spluttered as the glass nearly clattered to the ground and went red in the face as she felt the conversation die down and out the corner of her eye saw faces turned towards her. She willed herself not to get too emotional because that was never a good thing for her, but her brow immediately furrowed as her eyes narrowed in on—

Fuck.

"Sorry. I'm really sorry."

It was Jasper Apatite, winner of District One's Games, and if River won this month, future competitor and potentially either killer or victim. Definitely an ally if the traditional Career system remained intact for the final Games.

"It's no problem," River said, her anger already dissipating, as she put the glass down and patted her baggy white t-shirt, shorts clinging to her thighs with not just sweat, but cold-ass water. "Don't worry, I should have watched where I was going, it's not your—"

"Don't be silly. It's my fault."

Jasper was being nice and River was being an idiot. She always got like this, never knowing quite what to say in a social situation even though she loved socializing. Get it together, girl!

"I'm just a bit nervous, I think. It's all a bit—"

"—different?" Jasper arched an eyebrow and grinned, River nodding her head. "Yeah. This is weird for us. Sterling won't even leave his room. I've tried to convince him you aren't going to try and kill us just yet and us being your mentors means we should probably see who you all are."

"I'm River."

"Jasper."

Both shook hands in a weirdly formal way and River felt the blush creeping up her neck. "I find it surreal only because we're all in like a weird student house sort of thing, although upgraded for sure, and I want to speak to people because I don't want to go into the Arena alone, but I don't even know how to approach them or who would want to approach me. And do I wait? I mean – do I say hi, or do they say hi, or—"

"If you want my advice," Jasper interrupted, though kindly, with a smile on her face. "I just spoke to a girl in Room Two. Damali. She was saying similar things."

"Damali?" Hm. "Is she alright?"

"Look. I'm here to mentor all you girls and right now, those three behind me, drinking vodka instead of getting a good night's sleep, are the kind of girls I did not like at home yet pretended to be. My advice to you is to stay away from them and go to someone like Damali who seems… nice."

"Nice?"

"Yeah. You're all volunteers, sure you're all trained for this shit, but there can be such a thing as nice people from District Two. There were nice people from One. People I…" she drifted off and River watched as her face twisted into something akin to sadness. River wanted to comfort Jasper but she didn't want to overstep either. Instead, she nodded and politely thanked her mentor, who nodded as well and motioned towards the three girls playing cards behind her, mentioning something about 'I'm a mentor to them as well unfortunately… better go… mentor…'

River moved towards Room Two, smothering down her nerves, and in the darkness she could see a lamplight, gently bathing the other beds in a warm glow. She heard sniffling coming from under the covers of a room next to where Damali was sat upright and looked at the name Sivan Arcuri cut into the wooden pattern. Reaped? It was the only thing that made sense.

She almost wanted to say something, an instinct inside her heart kicking it into overdrive, but River had to start thinking smartly and a girl like that right this very moment would do nothing but curse River to hell and further. She did not want to make any enemies. Enemies meant being targeted and being targeted meant she may not make it home. And she had to.

I have Lakilynn waiting for me.

"Damali?"

A pretty girl with dark eyes blinked and looked up. She dog-eared a book that must have been in her bedside drawer and smiled at River as the two locked eyes. "Hi."

"I'm River. I was just speaking to Jasper. She kind of… guided me here?"

"Guided you?"

"That sounds weird," River said, laughing. "May I?" She motioned to the bed and Damali nodded, gesturing to the edge of the mattress where River sat, awkwardly crossing her hands over one another. "This entire thing is so strange."

"Tell me about it. I've been told to fuck off about three times from that blonde girl from Sector Eight who's out there somewhere, and my partner Vinicius won't even talk to me. He went straight to his room before I could catch up."

River smiled. "Tavius isn't much better. He's loud and confident and I don't really know half of what he says because I feel like it's all an act but I might be wrong and I don't want to offend him. He's also huge. Like…if I was into choking, those hands…"

Damali laughed. She seemed friendly but there was also something sad in her eyes. Like every-time she really focused in on River, she couldn't meet her eyes and glanced down, a flicker of something hiding within. "I might get some sleep if I'm honest. But if you want to, maybe we could train together tomorrow? Or go for a swim? I know we're all from Two but I know no-one here. I only recognise some surnames."

"I'd like that," River said. "I'd like that a lot."

As the thought of finding a friend – or at least an ally – flooded River's body with warmth, a harsh voice cut out through the intercom based in the far corner of the ceiling. Snoring coming from Damali's left abruptly ended and someone else swore, groaning as bedsheets rustled.

"Tributes. Tonight, there is a curfew whilst you settle into your new accommodation. Tomorrow, it is permissible to be outside your quarters 24/7, but for tonight we kindly request you to head to your rooms immediately. Thank you."

"Oh well. Back to bed for me."

"Night, River," Damali said softly. "It was nice meeting you."

River nodded with a smile and headed towards the door. As soon as she crossed the threshold, a mane of blonde hair almost knocked forehead to forehead and River stumbled backwards.

"Watch it bitch."

River's eyes narrowed as they met Callisto's. Ah, the girl that told Damali to fuck off three times. "Pleasure meeting you too," River replied.

"Move."

When River got angry at someone, the anger filtered through as quickly as it did the excitement of meeting someone she was thrilled to talk to. Her fists clenched and she took a step towards Callisto, eye to eye, almost nose to nose.

"Listen, whatever the fuck your name is." Girls like her don't like being nameless, so I'm going to take her power. "Check your attitude and realise where you are. Don't start something you can't finish."

Before Callisto could say anything, and thankfully she didn't, in fact she almost seemed to shiver slightly, River barged past and headed towards her bed.

River tried to quell her anger by thinking about Damali, and about Jasper, and then about her darling Lakilynn, bundled in her mother's arms.

For you, my love, my sun, I will do anything.

River was ready to topple mountains to make a better life for her family.

And bitches like Callisto were nothing but molehills.

Reyan Nalara, 18 years old;
Sector One Male.

7:00am.

Reyan blurrily gawped at the time depicted on the small clock to his side. He blinked and rubbed the tiredness from his eyes, pushing himself up by his elbows to sit upwards in his bed. With a yawn, he stretched his arms above his head and allowed his eyes to flit around the room.

It was still dark. Through the open doorway, he could see thin strips of morning sunlight in gracious yellow slipping through from the kitchen, and the gentle hum of early conversation.

He smiled. Briefly.

Even now, with everyone asleep, Reyan's mind began to whir immediately with thoughts on the coming day. Who to talk to, how to write the script, what story would be told.

The bed to his left was empty, the duvet rolled up in a messy ball. Phobos Arroyo. And the bed past that was also deserted, this time however the bedsheets neatly folded and tucked into the frame. Ozias Evermoor. The rest had their inhabitants still fast asleep and for a moment, Reyan almost wanted to shout at them to wake up, cause a stir, annoy the tributes that were in his way to the crown. Yet he held his tongue like he had been trained to do all his life. Right now, people knew him for the Nalara name that followed him regardless of where he went or who he talked to. So long as it wasn't a hindrance to his success, Reyan was fine to have that on his shoulders. He'd never really cared much about being a Nalara but it had always had its benefits and he wasn't the type to rebel against such a title.

Unlike Svanna. Uppity bitch.

In his pyjamas, Reyan blearily waltzed his way towards the door and out of his room, yawning again as he made his way to the sink. The quiet chat he'd heard from his bed was louder here, and over the counter he saw two girls sat side by side on the couch, bowls in their hands, conversing merrily. Reyan had made it his mission on the train to learn everybody's names because it would serve him well in the future.

Kasiani Tavarro looked at him with a pathetically endearing smile. Ryland Mercer was a bit more hesitant to appear so enthusiastic but she didn't look wholly unkind either.

"Morning," Kasiani said in a friendly manner. "I made breakfast."

"She poured the cereal herself!" Ryland joked.

Reyan allowed himself a pleasant smile in response. Don't make enemies on the first day with people lesser than. I mean…who are they kidding? He nodded his head and motioned to the sink. "If there's one thing about the Capitol I've already fallen in love with, it's this goddamn water."

"Tell me about it," Kasiani said.

Ryland turned her face away from Reyan, arching an eyebrow and crossing one leg over the other to stare at the television. Kasiani smiled at him once more politely and resumed conversation with Ryland. Already Reyan had dismissed them as unessential to his path forwards. It would be impossible for him to go under the radar purely because of where he'd come from in the centre of Two, but no one really knew his personality outside of magazine spreads and press releases. It was his to craft and his aim was to shape it perfectly.

Besides – Kasiani and Ryland didn't look special. He wasn't against having a girl on his side, but statistics were clear in favour of the boys from Two. They just seemed to do better.

Oh well.

Peacekeepers were stationed not too far from where the two girls were sat eating breakfast. Whispering behind them, leaning against the door frame, was Sterling with his hugely intimidating stature and Jasper, who seemed to look rather bothered about something. Interesting. Reyan stored that away for later and headed towards the shower room, locking the door and preparing himself for the day ahead. He wasn't kidding about loving what the Capitol was providing. After perhaps the best shower he'd ever had, even coming from the Nalara household, he went back into his room, pulled out his training uniform, and headed back towards the kitchen.

Other tributes had started to wake and were milling around. Ozias appeared from the garden area and joined his sector partner Kasiani on the couch, the two mingling congenially. Aurelian from Sector Eight sat by himself at the breakfast bar, drinking a glass of orange juice and meeting Reyan's eye with an awkward smile. Reyan reflected the smile, only for him he did it properly and moved towards the double doors where the training facility was.

It wasn't a mandatory part of his time in the Capitol unlike most years. If the tributes wanted, they could eat and sleep their way to the Arena. Reyan was tempted but if he was going to find an alliance that he could use, he wanted people that actually cared enough to sharpen their skills. No one too sound of mind like he was, but strong enough to help him for as long as he needed them around for.

He vetoed two more tributes on his way to the Peacekeepers – Valdis Solgren: weak. Palatine Linott: virgin – and beamed at them as they motioned him forwards.

"This is a 24/7 facility. Use it as you wish. No sparring with other tributes."

"Thank you fellas," Reyan said, swaying his arms to and fro. "I'll catch you if I need anything."

He ignored whatever they had to say next as he sauntered into the hall. It was vast and stretched for as far as Reyan could see. Various stations that he'd seen in his own Academy were peppered along the wall, distanced enough so no one would crash into each other, but with other techniques and skills that he hadn't practiced before.

Reyan wasn't an idiot. He wanted a bit of everything.

What to do, what to do? His eyes hovered around the room until his ears picked up something instead. Reyan refused to be someone full of hot air. He wanted to practice what he internally preached to himself. He had to be smart about this and pick up things others might have overlooked. So the argument playing out in front of him was something that immediately sparked his attention.

He stayed far enough away so he didn't draw attention to himself but close enough so he didn't miss a beat. Ah, my dull as a brick roommate. Phobos was a threatening presence to watch hustle up towards a smaller figure, though his victim was still lean with muscle from training he'd clearly had. Brodus clutched his sword defiantly and matched Phobos' irritable stare.

"I got here first," Brodus said.

Phobos shook his head. "We aren't children. I don't want to argue about this but I want to train here alone."

"You tried to push me away."

Brodus seemed angry but also hesitant, like he wasn't sure of the emotions he was feeling. Plus, Phobos despite seemingly dead behind the eyes, or at least empty of something, looked menacing with his fingers wrapped around a sword.

Marvellous, Reyan thought with a grin.

The trainer was doing fuck all. In fact, the kid who couldn't have been older than fifteen – maybe an intern? – seemed to revel in the drama. Same, to be honest. He watched Phobos step even closer to Brodus and Brodus finally relinquished the fight, shaking his head and mumbling under his breath as he stalked away.

A grin flickered across Phobos' face but it was gone in a flash and quickly, Reyan took his opportunity to step a little closer. Not close enough that Phobos thought he was interfering in his training – clearly he wanted the swords to himself – but he also wanted Phobos to know he was here. The two had exchanged a quick good night just before bed. At least he wasn't a stranger.

"Hey," Reyan said, announcing himself.

Phobos slit the throat of the nearest dummy and looked over his shoulder, unimpressed. "Reyan."

"If you want to train by yourself, please by all means just tell me to go fuck myself. But we're all in a bit of a different situation here, living together, and not just that but we're all from Two which by definition makes this game a whole lot harder."

Phobos nodded, seeming to agree. "Yeah. A lot of them seem happy to stay put. I didn't come here to sit on my ass and do nothing. If this was a normal set-up, we'd all be forced into the training hall." Apart from Brodus, Reyan could only see a few other tributes together. Damali and River were a pair. Ryland was now here without Kasiani. Perhaps it was just breakfast? And then of course there was Brodus sulking about.

Reyan looked at Phobos and shook his head. "It's a bit annoying, isn't it? I don't know about you, but I came here to play with the best." Of course Phobos is here to get down to business. The man holds a sword so still and unbothered there's clearly something…wrong with him. And it's so, so right for me.

Phobos grunted. "I want it to be fun. Worth volunteering in the first place."

Reyan asked before really thinking about it – if he said no there were plenty more fish to fry. If he said yes, then he had a strong tribute on his side with not much going on behind his eyes other than a desire to fight. For the early portion of the Arena, he could use that for sure.

"I want to fight the best, but also work with those that know what they're doing. I'm not kidding myself to believe that it's going to be easy and that we can all hold hands and play friends, but you're strong, and if you allow me to prove it to you, so am I. I think it makes sense to work together."

Phobos didn't spend much time considering it. He didn't seem the sort to want to waste his thoughts on things that could be dealt with quickly. He nodded and turned to face the dummy again. "You can train with me, if you want to. Pick up a sword and have a go."

"Perfect," Reyan said cheerily, but not too cheerily that it put Phobos off. He wasn't the overly enthusiastic type like some of the others around them. "Thanks, Phobos."

Be polite, be the person they want you to be, and play the game with the right deck of cards. It was a life Reyan had always led and it was a life that had got him to this point. There would come a time when he'd have to potentially fight Phobos, but Reyan was trained to the teeth as well, equipped with enough expertise to be chosen as Sector One's prime candidate. That spoke for itself. Usually it was those tributes that went into normal Games where District Two only had two tributes.

He could do this.

He would do this.

Anything else didn't make sense to Reyan.

The story had already been written.

Briel Novack, 18 years old;
Sector Nine Female.

So far, Briel had done her absolute best to stay by herself.

She knew if pushed even slightly towards the edge, she might fall over and be swallowed by the dark waves. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited, but… she couldn't stand the rest of them. Or at least, the majority of them. Rich bitches and alpha male idiots. All of them strutting around like peacocks, flashing their Academy-trained feathers. Her hatred for the Academy had transcended District boundaries and had followed her here to the Capitol. In her vitriol, she was finding it hard to will herself towards the training facility, where more and more tributes had begun to filter towards.

In the somewhat silence of the Tribute House, Briel stood over the toaster, waiting impatiently with her foot tapping the tiled flooring, wafts of her lunch making her lips smack together hungrily.

With a pop, she felt giddy, and immediately felt stupid. Her stomach growled as she flipped the breakfast muffins over onto their back, lathered them with butter and took a huge bite of the first one.

"Nice buns."

The flippant comment came from behind her and Briel twirled on the spot, eye to eye with Svanna Hyland from Sector One. The blonde girl was pretty and by pretty Briel meant pretty fucking irritating. The sort of girl that Briel loathed.

"You mind?" Svanna said, pointing to the cupboard that Briel was blocking. "No el comprendo?"

Briel realised she was glaring and barged past Svanna, pushing her shoulder sideways and nearly knocking her to the ground. She didn't have the time nor patience for the rest of the tributes. Briel knew why she was here and so many of them were pretending it was a goddamn sorority or frat house. It wasn't why she'd come here. Briel of course had her expectations about what to expect, and knew that surprises were an innate part of the Hunger Games, but still…c'mon Briel, don't let it get to you.

She slid open the garden door and moved towards the decking situated towards the swimming pool. It was a bright day and in the distance she could see the top halves of impressive Capitol skyscrapers mingling with the marshmallowy clouds. Briel fell back into a deck chair and crossed one leg over the other, allowing herself a brief, pleasurable smile as the smell of the swimming pool filled her nose and the buttery tang of her lunch filled her belly with contentedness.

She wasn't sure what her strategy was just yet. Part of Briel almost wanted to go it completely solo, ignore everyone else, get the damn crown and go home for the rest of the year until she had to return. Her mind had been set on the Hunger Games for so long that she didn't really know much else. And when she set her mind on something, she was like a steam-roller bulldozing everything out of her way. The rest of the tributes could play pretend, like the fools splashing around in the pool, but Briel knew what the point of this all was.

If she could try and keep her focus and not allow girls like Svanna to get to her, then maybe she was in for a real shot at this.

"—one more point for the Solgrenator. Woop woop!"

Briel looked over at the cheering and whooping of the boy splashing around in the pool. Between him and the girl treading water not too far away from him, a ball had just been thrown against the edge, rebounding off the metal ladder and moving back towards him.

The girl threw her head back with a cackle and then shook her head. "That was so far out, Valdis. Like. Literally the definition of out."

"Don't be a dick, Viorica. That was in and you know it."

A camera wasn't too far from where the pool was, embedded into the peach-coloured wall. Briel looked at it and then tried to move a little bit backwards on her deck chair. She didn't want to be associated with the two playing games in the water. Sure, maybe she was acting dull and uppity and irritable, but that was just the way Briel preferred to be.

After this, I'm going to go and train. Find some far corner, lift weights or toss spears. I can't be like them. By them, she meant the pair from Sector Seven throwing a beach ball around, pretending they were sunnying it up in some Capitolite resort. Another display of distraction from their reality.

As Briel put her plate to her side, she felt another presence move by her, and couldn't help the groan that broke past her lips.

"Charming."

Juliet Romero, her Sector partner, leaned back into the chair directly adjacent to where Briel was relaxing. He looked at her and winked, smiling to himself. She hadn't really decided what she thought about him. At first, she'd wanted to immediately hate him because she thought maybe he was an example of an Academy trainee that she did not like, but the Romero name and the display of Peacekeepers running after him in the Square made Briel think twice about pushing him into that box. There was more to him than what met the eye and Briel didn't want to pry, and Juliet didn't seem the type to give away too much about himself.

They'd argued for a little on the chariot about their strategy. She could still feel his sweaty hand locked in hers.

"Can you believe that?" Briel said, not exactly quietly, nodding her head towards the pool.

Juliet followed Briel's line of sight and shrugged his shoulders. "Thinking about going for a splash myself. You fancy it?"

"Not in a million years. I'm not here for a swim."

"It's exercise. Work out those mighty fine arms of yours."

"Gross."

Juliet just smiled and crossed his arms behind his head. It was clear he'd seen some shit. The way he'd spoken on the train about some of the other tributes, dismissing them immediately as people to fall, it was as if he was allowing Briel a momentary glimpse into his otherwise shrouded past and present. It didn't stop him from at least trying to speak to Briel in a weirdly charming way. For Briel, she usually pushed it aside. But with Juliet, she felt different, and different made Briel feel emotions she didn't want to feel.

Complicated thoughts and feelings weren't her forte. She usually just went with the flow. Anger – throw a fist. Happiness – laugh a little. It was like when she'd practiced in her garden. Hitting the target had made her feel grounded joy in her decision. It proved why she was here in the first place.

This time the girl from the pool looked over at Briel and raised an arm, waving with a smile on her face. "You are welcome to join us, just so you know. And by the way, girl with the blonde hair and the sour face, I can hear you. Can you believe that? We're just having fun."

"Yeah!" Valdis agreed. "We'll get to the killing each other later!"

Viorica rolled her eyes but not as much as Briel did in response. "I'd rather stick pins in my eyes and slice my ears off than listen to you two rattle off ways to distract yourselves from why we're here in the first place." She vaguely remembered Viorica volunteering and Valdis being reaped yet rejecting his volunteer. They were both trained clearly. Both here to win. It just did not make sense with Briel's perception of her current present-day situation why they were acting this way.

Juliet laughed and when he turned his head fully to look at Briel, he shook his head and the grin dropped. Over his shoulder, she could see Viorica's face contort into anger, and Valdis placing a hand on her shoulder and throwing the ball over her head.

"You have a way with words," Juliet said. "I distinctly remember you telling me you didn't want to make any enemies."

"Did I say that?" Briel said, leaning backwards. "They're all enemies, Juliet. You too."

"I'm flattered to be called your enemy but seriously, Briel. If we're going to have any luck in the beginning of a Games where District Two tributes are all bunched together, then we can't—"

"Uh, what?"

He gawped at her. "Uh, what, what?"

"Why are you using 'we' in this?"

"Oh please. I know my way around certain aspects of things that I'm sure you and your pretty face have never experienced before. And you have fixed training behind you that I know is going to benefit me. I'm not in this to make best friends but I think we can help each other. I thought it was a given."

He shrugged and Briel thought about it, watching as Valdis and Viorica broke out into another fit of giggles. That is definitely not the relationship between me and Juliet. If he was thinking in terms of benefitting each other with their set of strengths, then she could understand where he was coming from. And she could actually stand to be around him, which was huge for Briel.

Maybe I don't have to go it alone.

"So?"

"Fine," Briel conceded, nodding her head. "But I'm not swimming with you."

"Shame," Juliet said with a laugh.

Briel couldn't help herself but smile.

After all, there could be two victors.

Why not Juliet and I?

Ok I can't help myself. Have another chapter!

Just a reminder about the poll if you haven't voted already! I have no idea when I'll close it tbh.

I think I just need to accept that these POVs are going to be long. My strategy with this is similar to my last story. I want to have as many cameos from other tributes, even very brief mentions, throughout the POVs so that it feels a bit more natural and enclosed for them all. I don't want anyone slipping under the radar. It's a hard balancing act.

Confirmed alliances:

River + Damali
Reyan + Phobos
Briel + Juliet

Thanks guys, let me know what you thought!