Horus and Prosper of District 1!

Horus Lethe - District 1, 17 years old

In order to be the best, you have to train yourself to make it there. Once my parents gave me permission to do so, I devoted my life to hockey. Day after day, I spent my time on the ice, practicing my skating, my puckwork, and my shooting. Through my own hard work, I dragged myself to the top. I was always physically dominant over my opponents, but now I was the best hockey player I could be.

As I took off on a fast break, my dominance was obvious. A defender rushed out towards me to stop me, but with the momentum I carried, I danced past him with ease. As I reared up to shoot, I felt a sharp jab into my calf, and my shot was thrown wide. When I looked back, I knew the defender had stuck me with the blade of his skate, and in the scuffle, the ref had missed it.

The championship game was tied, 0-0, and we were minutes from heading into overtime. I couldn't trust anyone but myself with winning us this game. But as I rose from the ice, I heard my teammate, Glace, huff. He had skated alongside me, and he must have been expecting a pass. When you're the best, everyone wants to take away from your success, even your teammates.

"You know Glace," I said to him in seeming indifference, "if you wanted me to pass you the puck, maybe you shouldn't have taken a shot into the stands a few minutes ago." Glace rolled his eyes, but didn't argue.

The opposing defender chuckled to himself.

"As for you," I turned to him, "you won't be laughing when you taste the shame of defeat."

BeeEEEEeeePP! The two-minute warning. As we closed in on overtime, I remained calm, safe in the knowledge I would have the chance to prove my dominance one way or another.

And then, there it was. The clock was ticking down, and I took off. As the puck was kicked out to me, I took it in my stride.

The opposing defender was all that was left between me and the goalie. I decided on a different approach this time. As he came rushing towards me, I lowered my shoulder and we met each other at top speed.

He flew back, thrown to the ground by my momentum. With mere seconds remaining, I scored.

The crowd went wild. I shrugged. It was beneath me to celebrate what was expected of me. As the best, it was my job to score. The mailman doesn't celebrate when he delivers the post to every house.

As my teammates celebrated around me, I set my gaze upon the defender. He met my gaze. His petty jealousy was expected, and as expected, he and his jealousy withered when confronted.

Everyone wants to be the best. Only some have what it takes to make it there.

Prosper Reilingen - District 1, 15 years old

I looked across the table to see Peacekeeper Silvanus meeting my gaze. He took a glance at his cards and smiled to himself.

We sat around a table in my friend Josiah's compound. The entire operation of the casino was illegal, but the peacekeepers tended to turn a blind eye as long as we let them win to boost their egos here and there.

Silvanus was a nice guy, if a little simple. Anyone with a brain could see he was trying to bluff me out of betting.

I raised my bet. Peacekeeper Iota groaned and folded.

Only Silvanus and I were left.

"Well, Prosper," Silvanus spoke from across the table confidently, "You've had a lucky day so far. But your luck has run out. I'm all in."

My friends, Diamond and Saphie, snickered quietly. Nonchalantly, I slid my chips into the center of the table to match him. If Silvanus wanted to play himself out of the game, I wasn't going to stand in his way.

The dealer put down the river. Silvanus's smile grew even wider. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Show 'em," said the dealer. Silvanus eagerly laid down his cards.

"Full house," he announced proudly. I slowly laid down my own.

"Straight flush," I smiled. My friends cheered and Silvanus's smile disappeared. Iota was sent into a fit of laughter.

As my friends and I went to go cash in, Iota caught up to us.

"Nice work out there, putting that clown in his place," he chuckled.

"I knew I had him the whole time." I said.

"You've got game. I hear you're also a bit of a prodigy with a katana as well," he smirked at me, "You should volunteer. You'll put those outliers in their place."

Iota may have been a corrupt peacekeeper, but he knew his stuff. After my parents abandoned my sister and I, we'd lived with my aunt, Alia. Alia was sweet, but she was as protective as any real parent. As a former Peacekeeper herself, she used her connections to admit Fleur and I to the growing training Academy as soon as we came of age. From that day forward, she encouraged us to remain steady in our training and continue to train to be the best we could possibly be. My trainers had always said I'd shown exceptional skill with the katana, which I suppose came from the years of training.

Volunteering was an idea growing in popularity in our district. The first ever volunteer was a trainee from One, Comet Julien. After dominating his games, the idea of trained tributes gathering glory for the district had been popularized in our district, with many academy graduates beginning to consider the option. Diamond and Saphie had pressured me to volunteer many times.

"Let me grow up a little," I replied, "I like gambling with you here at home. Once I'm 18, I'll be ready to go to the Capitol and gamble for glory."

Horus - Middle Eastern descent, honey-colored skin, long and braided black hair, has a large, muscular build

Prosper - Prosper has albinism. Large lavender eyes, with a heart-shaped face and pale blonde hair. She is relatively tall at 5'7".

As for training, Horus is not a trained tribute. He was reaped. Prosper is trained and would've volunteered, but she was reaped at 15 years old. Nobody volunteered for her.

We are almost full! SuperMarioGrayson, I've reserved your spot as we try to figure out why I haven't been able to find your submission. At this point, could you just send it to me again? Thanks