Ava Hanson has an eating disorder.

Akari Igneous POV

Everything around me felt like a warm glow,not the blistering heat of the desert sand with my head caved in. So why wasn't I dead? The last thing I remembered was Crag's betrayal to the alliance, then us trying to kill the other. Opening my eyes revealed a bright lit room with Quora leaning against the wall and smiling at me.

"Where am I? because I sure as hell didn't win," I asked.

"Aww is the poor little killer confused? You're in the capitol again and been brought back for another games," she said.

My eyes shot daggers at her as if she was mocking me for failure. "And how long has it been since my games?"

"Nineteen, and I hope you're ready,you get to kill more," she purred as her smile turned into a wolf's grin and then a giggle.

Avarielle "Ava" Hanson POV

Why did they keep picking me? I kept dying. I was a failure. I knew what was going on as soon as I woke up. Pray looked almost motherly by my bed. She was older than last time, of course, although Victors seemed to defy aging.

"It's supposed to be Ijolite meeting all of you, but I told her to go curl her hair," she said. "I had to see this myself. It's your third time cycling through, girl. You going to do it right this time?"

"Probably not. Look what happened the last two times. Did Apollo at least win?" I asked. She curled her claws around the bars on the edge of my bed.

"No, and that's not what I meant. Death happens. You never lived. You going to stop killing yourself before the Games even start? Gonna stop throwing away the best tool you have and start taking care of your body?" she asked. I never thought I was anything more than a faint, disappointing memory to Silver Claws. She was more worked up than I'd seen... since before I died. She actually thought I was worth something. So did the Capitol, and so did Apollo. The greatest wake-up call came when I realized that even Pray Jager, the greatest butcher the Games had ever seen, thought I was too morbid.

When people found out I starved myself, they thought it was because I wanted to look pretty. I knew I couldn't ever be pretty, just like so many other things I could never be. I did it to prove I controlled myself and my mind. I decided how much I ate, not my base cravings. It made me disciplined and strong. But Pray knew death and Pray knew control. There were other things I could focus on. I could control who I allied with. I could control my strategy. If I listened to her, I could control who won the Games. Even if I didn't value myself, Pray valued me. I didn't care enough to win for me, but I could win for her.

Mary Ellen Westley POV

So it was only the Careers this time. I hoped it wasn't Tori or Floki. Not that I was scared of them. I just couldn't stand them. Them and their high and mighty attitudes. Them sniveling and refusing to give the Capitol what they wanted and what they gave us so much luxury to provide. They tried to tell themselves that they were good on the inside, that they only killed for honor or onl killed people that could fight back. They were living a pipe dream. There are the killers and there are the victims. There are those that cower in fear and those that tear them apart and glory in the savage joy.

I looked forward to fighting Tributes with more spine, but I wouldn't have minded if the cattle had been invited, too. It would mean more people to hunt. They were beneath me, sure, but they were good to dip a sword into when the blood ran dry.

There was one other reason I hoped it wasn't Tori or Floki. Honestly, it was embarrassing that those two outlasted me. I was out of their league. What happened was a fluke, and I was ready to get things right this time.

Steel Keshmin POV

I screamed and tore at the knife in my arm. Something was wrapped around me like a net. I threw it off and another body pressed into mine, trying to force me back to the ground.

"Goodness! It's all right! Don't worry!" a voice too old to be Shade's rang out. Don't worry? Was the woman insane? How did a grown woman get into the Arena? I shoved her and she squawked and fell away. Two weights fell on my arms and pinned me against the soft ground. I thrashed until the net was off and saw I was in a hospital room. Two men were holding me down as a Capitol woman dressed in a bizarre outfit got off the floor and adjusted her hair.

"We are excitable," she said. "Obviously you're unaware this is a Resurrection Games."

"Ressurection Games," I repeated. A tumult of staggering truths overwhelmed me. I died. I came back. I was going to fight again. My mind didn't know which to focus on.

"Also, this is a Careers only Games. Isn't that exciting?" the woman asked.

"Careers? What are you talking about?" The Games are going to be a job fair or something?

"You know, Careers!" the woman said, like I was stupid. The put a hand to her mouth. "Ohhh! You were from before that! I'll explain. The Careers are the very best the Capitol has to offer. They train all their lives for a chance to prove their worth in the Arena. You're among the best."

What was she talking about? People wanted to go to the Games? I did, yes, but that was because I was a Peacekeeper cadet. It was to show that I supported the Capitol, and I did. I was always loyal to the country I loved so much.

"Are all Tributes... Careers now?" I asked. The woman smiled.

"Oh, no. The outlying Districts are ever so much weaker. The first day is usually taken up by the Careers killing all of them," she said. Then I knew she must be insane. The Capitol would never allow that. The Capitol was good.

Odeda Titan POV

A second chance? Heck, yes!

The Games were everything I'd thought they'd be. It was great picking off the weaklings and roughing it in the wild. It was like all my years at the Academy were a practice exam and I'd finally graduated. Everyone wanted to do things like that in their hearts. I got to do it and I was the good guy.

Of course, dying wasn't fun. My own District partner took me out, and screw him very much. He didn't win, though. Jackpot.

Even though I died, it was still better than a piddling life in Two with a deadbeat job and a bunch of whining kids. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, and here I was. Long live the Capitol and long live Galba.

It was going to be even more fun with only Careers. Maybe the Bloodbath wouldn't be quite as fun, since there were no comically weak Tributes to kill, but after that it would be one big party. No waiting around for fights and trying to maintain a pack far longer than necessary. The first Bloodbath would be less exciting, but really it wouldn't. The whole Games would be a Bloodbath.

Lottie Parker POV

Gosh, I'm hungry.

I listened through Ijolite's explanation while bent over a platter full of Capitol delicacies. Some of the others were probably pretty surprised, but this is Panem. Weirder things have happened.

"So, I must have starved to death?" I asked.

"Yes, as is quite apparent," Ijolite said, and she pursed her lips at my table manners. I looked down at my plate and my appetite waned.

Food is what lost me the Games. I got distracted looking for food and never got back on track. I needed to be more focused this time. I pushed away the plate of potatoes I'd been eating and took a single green bean instead. Food was going to be fuel now, not a hobby.

"It's been a long time. How's my family?" I asked. Ijolite took out a long list and scanned for my name.

"The Capitol regrets to inform you that your parents have passed away from old age," she said. Her voice was monotone.

Ick, that's rough. I thought of my parents and all the good times we'd had. But it was weird feeling bad, since they'd had a full life while I was unfortunately dead. It wasn't something I should think about until after the Games, anyway. The Gamemakers didn't have to be so rude, resurrecting me with my pre-Games husky form. It was good for adding force to strikes, but it was a low blow.

I pushed away thoughts of family and food and started planning. I needed to get into shape. I wasn't going to win the Games as a fatty.

Aversa Jewel POV

I loved it. Bringing the Careers back and letting us all kill each other again? There's nothing we wanted more. We were even more loyal now.

This was going to change everything. It was hard to have a Career pack when we were all Careers. Would the strongest of all merge for an uber-pack? Would there be a half dozen smaller packs? Would we all go it alone, giving the introverts a huge advantage? Time would tell.

And what about the Bloodbath? We'd all rush in, looking for weapons and a fight. With luck the Gamemakers would stuff the Cornucopia with weapons for everyone. They had skin in the game too, since they wanted a good show. If those toads pulled a fast one on us and didn't put any weapons in the Cornucopia, there'd be a riot.

Awww... half the fun of the Games is mowing down the sheep in the Bloodbath. There were no sheep this time! Oh well, some of the Careers would be weaker.

There was one major problem. In my first Games, I stuck out. I was a Career, one of the front-runners and game-shapers. This time, I was just one of the crowd. I hated blending in. Everything I did was calculated to make sure people knew I was the one to watch and to make sure people did. How was I going to make sure that the people focused on what was most important: me?

Cierra Daline POV

I did good. Not good enough to win, but good. A year ago- or a year before I died, I guess- I'd have thought Olivine would have taken me apart. But she didn't. At least, we both died. I wasn't the best Career, since I didn't win, but I wasn't the worst.

I made a friend, too. The best thing about this Careers thing was that there would be no little girls like Alice in the Games. I would have given anything to save her. I was never going to forget her. She wasn't like the girls in Two. She really liked me. She didn't have to pretend. She made me think maybe there was something to like about me.

I was already thinking about who I could ally with this time. I was wary of the other girls from Two. I had experience with them. The girls from One were all such snobs. They thought they were as fine and beautiful as their jewels. My best bet seemed to be the Four girls. They were usually the most laid-back of the Careers. But then again, I didn't know most of the other Tributes. I shouldn't judge them because of where they were from.

I was in deep trouble. I never should have volunteered in the first place. In a Careers Games, I definitely wasn't the favorite. But there was nothing I could do about that. I looked forward to another chance at making friends, and anything could happen. I surprised myself once. Maybe I could do it again.

Venus Lorieta POV

We were a mix of the strongest personalities in Panem. There were showoffs and grandstanders. Pretenders and vamps. Psychotic killers and attention whores. The more time I spent around fellow Careers, the more I wanted to distance myself from them. They'd all lost sight of what was important.

The Games aren't about victory. They're not about honor and prizes, or showing who's the best. They're about killing. The purpose of the Games is for twenty-three people to die. I didn't want to be a Victor or a champion. I wanted to be a killer. I had no joy from watching life bleed away and nothing to prove by defeating others. It was my nature. That was all it was.

Maybe that made me twisted. But who's to say what's twisted and what's normal? The Games happened every year. Those in power sided with me. No one who opposed the Games cared enough to end them. All the important people in Panem, all of the elite, were on my side.

I knew what the really twisted thing was. Out of all the Careers in these Games, I was one of the better ones to meet. Death was inevitable for all but one of us. Meeting me wouldn't end in torture or a dramatic kill. It would just mean death. Death as easy as it was certain. In Panem, I was the last and best thing anyone could hope for.

Well, Venus just got super creepy out of nowhere...

Akari's POV was written by her submitter, so credit to Tinks113.

I try to write so the POVs average out mostly the same by the end when it comes to word count, but if you see someone getting shafted chances are I overlooked it and it's okay to let me know.

If you're new here, you'll find I often update in the dead of night because I work the graveyard shift and my circadian rhythms have changed. I also don't update from Saturday-Monday because I work all night and sleep all day.