Chapter 19:

Training Day Two

Jessamine Briggs, 14, District Eleven

Jessamine is trying her best to stay positive about training and focus on learning a ton at the numerous training stations available to her. But how is she supposed to focus when there's so much to learn? It's already day two of training and she feels like she's barely learned anything. She spent too much time yesterday at survival stations, hoping that would be where she could find an alliance, but no one has asked her to join them. And now she's spent a good portion of the morning struggling to handle a dagger. Her weak body can barely even stab it through a target…how is she going to be a threat to anyone? Or protect any allies? Well…that's if she finds any allies… Even Arthur now has an ally, one he told her last night probably won't take her. She's all alone and might have to go into the Games alone…

She blinks a few times to hold back tears that appear out of nowhere at the thought of the Games approaching in just a few days. No. She cannot let herself start thinking that way. If she does, she'll really never find an ally for herself. It's still early in the day. There's plenty of time for her to find someone to be her ally. She just might have to go talk to people herself – well, write to them. They can do the talking instead.

Jessamine laughs to herself at her joke and a small smile starts to form on her face, picking up her mood already. She reminds herself of what Arthur told her yesterday, and Kanzi agreed when Jessamine told her – she has an advantage here. Somehow, small, unimpressive Jessamine from Eleven has more of an advantage than the careers with their years of training. She turns to look around at the others to see if anyone is trying to train without hearing, finding Atropa wearing headphones to block out sound, and doing very poorly at not having her hearing anymore. The careers had been a bit better yesterday…but none of them were born deaf like her. It's going to take them all time to adapt.

But not her. And if the Gamemakers take away her smell or taste, well, she'll have no problem making it to the end!

Jessamine is smiling as she keeps looking around the training center, starting to feel better about her odds. Her gaze lands on a pair looking over at her and she has to glance back when they're waving over at her. She turns around, looking behind her to see if they're waving at someone behind her, but nope, the only person behind her is Anastacia, and she doubts two of the younger tributes in these Games are waving at the career.

But still, when Jessamine turns back around and finds them still looking at her, she points at her chest and asks them, "Me?" She doesn't want to get her hopes up that they really want to be her ally, but she sure is hoping they do. There aren't many options for her that are younger like her, only Davy, Eliot, and Sky. And she had tried talking to Sky but even being deaf, she can imagine the volume that Sky screamed at her. After that, she was kind of defeated about finding allies for the rest of the day…

Until now. Eliot is waving Jessamine over towards the pair, bouncing a bit on his feet as Davy watches, giving her a slightly nervous smile. Jessamine looks around once more just to check that they really want to talk to her, before setting down the dagger she was making no progress with and picking up her paper and pen once more. And then she sets off across the training center to hopefully her new allies. What's the worst that could happen if she asks them to be allies? They say no and that's it. She doesn't want that to happen…but it wouldn't be the worst thing.

Jessamine tries to keep a hopeful smile on her face as she approaches them, clutching her notebook closely to her chest. Eliot is bouncing on his feet more, grinning up at her as she gets closer. Up close, she starts to notice just how small he is. He starts talking away, way too fast for Jessamine to have any hope of trying to read his lips to figure out what he is saying to her. She stares at him in confusion, not knowing how to ask him to slow down or write in the notebook. But before she can ask, Davy puts a hand on Eliot's arm, making him stop talking right away and give the older boy a look of admiration that makes Davy pause for a moment, before turning to Jessamine. He looks nervous as he glances away from her, and Jessamine starts to worry that he is going to tell her that he doesn't want her as an ally. "Hi…" he finally says to her, giving her a small smile that Jessamine quickly returns. His cheeks start to redden a little as he gestures for her notebook, "May I?"

Jessamine quickly nods her head and passes it over, used to finding different ways to communicate with people. But mostly she's happy that he's taking the time to talk to her. Jessamine watches as Davy writes something down, Eliot watching over his shoulder and talking to him as he writes, still making Davy give him confused and nervous looks. But he soon finishes writing and hesitates for a moment as he looks at what he wrote, before passing it back to Jessamine and avoiding looking at her.

Jessamine quickly reads over the note before she can let herself start worrying about the possible disappointment, but finds she doesn't have to worry about that. "Do you want to train with us?"

Jessamine grins up at Davy and nods her head, making Eliot let out what she assumes is a cheer of excitement and Davy smile at her, still looking uncertain about Eliot talking animatedly to him. Jessamine feels a brief pang of sadness that she can't participate in their conversation, but lets it quickly fade away. She's been this way her whole life…she can't change that, even if she sometimes wishes she could. But, at least she won't be the only one like this in a few days. That thought shouldn't make her happy, but it does. She is looking forward to being like others.

She realizes that she's been staring at the two boys for too long as Davy and Eliot look at her expectantly, and she asks them quickly, "Where?"

Eliot is the first to respond, looking over at a course as he answers her, and making Jessamine a little confused from reading his lips because she does not think he said octopus. Davy notices her confusion and gives her a gentle smile before pointing over at a station. Ohhh, obstacle course. Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. Jessamine chuckles to herself at this and Davy gives her a curious look as Eliot starts walking – well, more running – over to the obstacle course. Jessamine quickly scrawls out an explanation to him, "I thought he said octopus, not obstacle, and was very confused."

Davy reads this over as they start walking after Eliot, and he laughs a little at what she said. He slows as he walks to write and Jessamine watches him, already liking him and just getting a pleasant vibe from him, making her really hope that she can be allies with him. He passes her back the notebook, making Jessamine laugh this time. "Not sure what an octopus station would involve, maybe camouflaging yourself into an octopus?"

Jessamine shrugs her shoulders at him as they reach the station where Eliot is already getting instructions from the trainer, looking impatient as he waits to be allowed to go through the course. Jessamine is fine with letting him go first so she can see exactly what she needs to do in it.

Davy gently motions for her to pass the notebook back to him and she does, watching Eliot start weaving through the platforms at various heights and avoiding ropes trying to trip him. Soon enough, Davy nudges Jessamine's arm with the notebook at she takes it back from him. "It's his favorite station."

"It looks fun, I just haven't tried it yet," Jessamine responds to him, chuckling a little when she looks up at Eliot and sees him all tangled up in a pile of ropes with the trainer walking over to help him out. "Hopefully I don't get stuck like him," Jessamine adds before passing the notebook back to Davy.

She glances over at him as he takes the notebook, a little worried that he will be annoyed at having to communicate with her this way instead of just talking to her like he would with Eliot. But she finds his gaze attentive and focused on her, just like he has when talking to Eliot. "I'm sure you'll be fine," he tells her and she gives a little shrug, not really knowing how well she'll do until it's her turn. They stand there without writing for a minute, watching Eliot as he gets detangled and immediately gets back to running through the course, not phased at all about getting stuck. Jessamine doesn't write anything else, a little nervous about talking to him because she doesn't want to get her hopes up higher than they already are. But surely it's a good sign that he wants to be her ally if he invited her to join them while training and he's talking to her.

Jessamine sees in the corner of her eye someone approaching a station next to them and she glances over, smiling at Carameuse when she looks over at them. The girl from Seven immediately looks away, anxious look on her face that makes Jessamine start frowning, almost wanting to go talk to her. She can understand being nervous about talking to other tributes. Just look at how long it took her to talk to Davy and Eliot. Maybe she could be allies with Carameuse if things don't work out with the two boys. But as soon as she has that thought, her stomach starts twisting at it and she knows she doesn't want that to happen. She likes Davy and Eliot, already knowing from the short time talking to them that they're good people. Davy just has that appearance of being kind, and Jessamine has always gravitated towards those kinds of people.

As Eliot starts to near the end of the course, Davy gently pulls the notebook back from Jessamine. He writes something down and when he hands it to her, he's still focused on her, even if he keeps glancing nervously away from her before bringing his gaze back to her. "Do you have any allies?"

Jessamine starts frowning at this and shakes her head at Davy, avoiding his gaze because she doesn't want to see the look on his face if he doesn't ask her to be his ally. But she does eventually look back up to him, finding him looking just as nervous as she is. "Do you…" Davy starts talking before cutting himself off and giving her an apologetic look as he takes the notebook back to write out a response. He takes his time writing, pausing often and twirling the pen around in his hand as he figures out what to say to her. And Jessamine just watches him, anxiously hoping he is going to ask her to join them. Finally, he hands the notebook back to her, and Jessamine quickly scans over the note, even if part of her wants to not read it and stay blissfully unaware in case it's not what she wants to read. "Sorry, I'm trying my best to remember to talk to you through writing, not speech…" Jessamine smiles at this, further believing that Davy is a good boy for going out of his way to include her in the conversation. "Do you want to join our alliance?"

Jessamine immediately nods her head at this a bunch of times, sending her curly hair flying around her face and making Davy smile at the action. "Absolutely!" She quickly scribbles out to him, too happy at finally having allies to count on in the arena.

Eliot runs back over to them, looking excitedly between Davy and Jessamine both smiling. He says something to Davy in a rush and when Davy nods his head and says yes, he throws his hands up and lets out what Jessamine assumes is a cheer. Jessamine chuckles at his reaction as he takes the notebook and writes out a quick note to her before practically shoving the notebook towards her. "I'm so excited to have you in our alliance!"

Jessamine grins at this, her nerves from earlier finally starting to dissipate now that she has not just one, but two allies. She glances around the training center briefly, finding Arthur looking over at her. When he catches her gaze, he gives her a quick thumbs up before turning back to working with Calvin. This action makes Jessamine want to go over and thank him, because she should have listened to him right away.

He was right about Davy and Eliot. Her allies.

Elias Pilkvist, 17, District Six

Elias stares up at the tall climbing wall, struggling with what to do next. For far too long, he has always done what he has been told. He has fought and trained because his parents told him to, and he lost his legs from it. He fought in the fighting pits in District Six because Cecy told him it would help him earn money, and it did. He has never been happier than the day he brought home his first paycheck as the champion of the faceless man and knew it would help out Cecy.

But Elias is not in District Six anymore. He does not have his parents or Cecy telling him what he should be doing. His mentor has tried, but even when Elias pleaded for him to tell him exactly what to do, he shook his head and said it was up to Elias to find out what skills he needs to fight and survive. Elias faulted back to what he has always done for the first day of training and fought against the trainers, always being careful to not let anyone know about his condition. That was what Cecy made him promise to do before he left. If they do not know, then maybe they will take away a sense he already does not have or is limited. And fighting had felt good. It was familiar and something Elias could do without thinking about his next step. That is not the case with the station he stands in front of now.

Elias wearily looks up at the wall, trying to figure out where exactly he lost his grip on the wall with his prostheses. Every time he will get a little higher up but then fall back down, getting the breath knocked out of him but not feeling any pain from slamming onto the foam mats below. He does not know why he is still trying to climb this, even after realizing climbing is not something he is good at. Maybe he just wants to achieve this one thing that he decided for himself. Maybe he does not want to look weak in front of the others for giving up. Or maybe he just really wants to see what it is like at the top of the wall.

"Are you sure you don't want to take a break?" The trainer at this station asks him once again and Elias looks over at her, staring with wide eyes to figure out her tone and how he should response.

"I am sure," Elias finally responds, not sounding too sure of himself. He has not felt sure of himself all day…but the routine of climbing, falling down, and getting back up again is enough to remind him of the routines of the drills back home, and he does not want to stop yet. "I am almost there."

"Alright then…but if you fall again, I'm going to insist you take a short break. Those falls can hurt."

Hurt…Elias stares at her, not knowing what it is like to feel hurt, but she is looking at him like he should know. And if he wants to make sure they do not know about him, he will have to listen to her. "Okay."

Elias does not want to stop though. He wants to get to the top of that wall. One more try.

Elias steps towards the wall, looking at the small outcroppings that he can step on. The first part of the climb is easy, even if he does have to pause often to keep his prostheses from slipping. But this part he has climbed many times and knows exactly where to step. The same cannot be said about the upper third of the wall. Elias nearly slips several times, swinging in the air by just his hands as he scrambles to find somewhere to stand again. But each time, he just slips once more.

Elias whimpers as he realizes that he is going to fall again and have to stop. He does not want to! He wants to make it up to the top of the wall that's so close he can see the top of it – and a face peering down at him. "That spot, to your left," she says, pointing down next to Elias.

He scrunches his face as he looks up at her, trying to understand what she is doing, but when his fingers start to slip, he looks down at the place she pointed to and swings his legs over. It takes a second to get a sturdy placement on it, but eventually he does and can push himself up a little and relieve some of the strain he can't feel on his arms, but knows is there. He takes this time to look up at the girl, confused about what to say to her. "Thank you?"

The girl blinks down at him as he stares back up at her for a few seconds, before she nods her head. "Next spot by your right knee."

Elias looks down at the spot she points at, studying it and trying to figure out what makes it different than the others. Soon, he notices the slight flatness to it and once he has figured that out, he is able to look better at upcoming spots as he finishes up the climb, occasionally getting helped by the kind girl above him. When he finally reaches the top and pulls himself over, the girl smiles at him and gives him a pat on the shoulder. "Nice job."

Elias takes a deep breath from the exertion of climbing as he sits up, letting his legs hang over the edge of the wall as he looks out at the training center. He was right…the view is nice up here and he can see everything.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?" The girl asks him and Elias stares at her, confused as to why she has decided to talk to him. Now that he is up close, he recognizes her: Genesis. "I've been up here for a while, trying not to get stressed by everything."

Elias continues to stare at her, feeling shy about being with another tribute and not knowing what to even say to her. But she is giving him a look that reminds him of Cecy, and he wants to keep talking to her, even if he struggles to keep up the conversation. "I am glad I got up here."

Genesis nods her head in agreement and turns to look back out at the other tributes, and Elias does the same. He can see all the tributes easily, which means he can also see those that are trained to kill, or moving through the obstacle course quickly. Three of the youngest tributes are moving through the course faster than he ever could. They would probably be able to climb the wall much faster than he did.

"I do not think I should climb in the arena," Elias says to her, knowing he would not have made it up fast enough if tributes were chasing him. He starts to shake from the sudden sadness at that realization, unable to control his reaction. He would have died if this was the arena and he tried to escape by climbing. "I would be dead and Cecy would be alone."

"You don't have to climb," Genesis tells him, her voice smooth and calm, reminding him of how Cecy talks to him. "Just stand there and fight them. The only ones that can fight like you are the careers… How did someone from Six learn to fight like that?"

Elias turns to look at her, studying her expression as he mulls over what to say. He cannot say anything about back home. He would get everyone in trouble. But he cannot lie to her…he cannot stand lies…and she asked him a question. A question she is waiting for an answer, looking at him differently from how the other tributes have stared at him as he takes his time answering. And that is enough for him to know to be honest with her. "I fight back home."

Genesis does not show any emotion on her face as she stares at Elias. "Are you going to fight like that in the arena?"

Elias starts shaking once more as he thinks about the arena, hating the thought of having blood on his hands, even if the blood is from a career. He does not want to kill anyone, but he wants to get back home to Cecy… But he does not want to do what his parents trained him to do for years and scare away Cecy… "I will fight to protect myself but I will not kill if I can avoid it."

Genesis does not answer this right away, making Elias start to worry that he said something wrong. He always says something wrong in social situations and makes people leave him. Everyone but Cecy…

"Do you want to be allies?"

Elias blinks at the sudden question and stares at Genesis, really wondering if she means it. "Do I want to…" Elias repeats, thinking over the question. Does he want to be allies? He had not thought about allies yet as he was too scared to approach anyone. He did not want to mess up a situation. But now…now with the option right in front of him, he does want to have an ally. He does not want to be alone in the arena with no one to help tell him what they should do or let him know if he is injured. He suddenly starts grinning, very happy at the thought of having someone with him. "Yes. I would like that a lot."

"Good," Genesis smiles a little at him before looking away, back at the tributes below them. Elias keeps grinning at her – his ally – for a few seconds, before following her gaze back to the tributes. They sit in silence for a few minutes, and Elias does not feel like he has to be saying something to fill it. But soon Genesis sighs and he looks over at her, concerned about her. "We should get back to training."

Elias nods his head obediently at this right away, before realizing he should not be following instructions so quickly. But Genesis seems so kind… "Okay."

"Have you used any weapons?" Genesis asks him and he shakes his head at her. He has only fought with his fists and prostheses. "I can show you how to use an axe, if you like."

Elias nods at her and she stands up, looking down at him expectantly. He looks over at the drop down nervously, knowing it is a long fall. But Genesis offers him her hand and after a moment he takes it, letting her pull him up and waiting until he gets his balance before letting go. She leads the way to the side and a set of stairs down, and Elias follows after her, smiling from having someone to help guide him.

They spend the rest of the afternoon showing each other the things they have learned and Genesis takes her time explaining things to him, just like Cecy does when teaching him. And she never gets frustrated at him when he struggles to understand anything she says.

All too soon it is time for training to end and Elias starts frowning and shaking, not wanting to stop already. But before he can start walking over towards the elevators with the rest of the tributes, he hears his name called out and freezes in place. Genesis gives him a concerned look as he looks up at the Head Gamemaker staring down at him. "Can you stay for a minute? We won't keep you long."

Elias looks over at Genesis, frozen in place by fear. Have they figured out his condition? Are they going to tell him that he will lose one of the two senses he has that aren't effected in some way? He is in trouble, he just knows it.

Genesis places a hand on his shoulder as tears start forming in his eyes. "It will be fine. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Elias nods his head, but cannot form any words to say to her as he watches her leave with the other tributes, a few of them curiously looking at him being told to wait behind. Tears keep falling down his cheeks in fear and when the elevator doors close behind the last tribute, he cries out in a sob.

"Why are you crying?" Head Gamemaker Lukianas asks him, confused look on his face.

Elias tries to wipe away his tears as he keeps sobbing. "Am I- am I in trouble?"

"Trouble?" The Head Gamemaker shakes his head at this right away, making Elias sniffle as he tries to stop his sobbing. "No, not at all. I just wanted to ask if you would like prostheses made here in the Capitol that are sturdier."

Elias stares down at his prostheses, knowing that these were fixed up by Cecy and they are special to him. He does not want to give them up. "Cecy made these nice for me… I want to keep them."

Head Gamemaker Lukianas gives him a weird look that Elias does not understand, but Elias starts shaking his head, knowing he will not give up these prostheses. "Are you sure? It could help you out."

Elias shifts on the prostheses, wondering if the Capitol ones would help him climb easier. But he loves these ones. It lets him keep a part of Cecy with him. "I am sure."

And we are now done with training! I hope this was fun and you enjoyed seeing the alliances form. We still have lots of opportunities to see them interacting together during the remaining pre-Games chapters!

So thoughts on this chapter? How do you think these two alliances will hold up in the arena?

The alliance list is still of course subject to change as there's still quite a bit of time left in the Capitol. But here is the current list!

Look at us being friends this year! - Major, Anastacia, Odyssey, Bellona, Demarcus, Delta

STEM Queens - Amelia, Eva, Courtney

D8 Squad Game Strong - Fete, Atropa

Sweet young ones - Davy, Eliot, Jessamine

The Dads - Adam, Fox

Strength and Survival - Calvin, Arthur

Socially awkward duo - Elias, Genesis

No confirmed allies - Holly (Carameuse), Sky

Next up we'll be checking in with Eliot and also seeing the private sessions report! If I get my butt moving, that might also be up this weekend! But first, we gotta have some Games chaos with Wayward. See you soon!