Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games.

Note: And that's a wrap on training. Camp NaNoWriMo's been good to me so far. Just a reminder to vote in the bloodbath poll if you haven't already; a new poll will be up along with the next chapter.

Training Day Three – Evening
Undone

Wes Bartoshesky, 16
District Eleven

There was no undoing it now.

Wes smiled at the girl across from him. It had been Aleyn's idea to come and sit with her. She was one of the only tributes who didn't seem to have found an alliance, but not for lack of trying. During the last few days, he'd seen her with the girls from Three and Twelve, as well as the boy from Three and her own district partner. But neither of those groups had joined her for lunch today. It was past noon on the third day of training – a little late to be thinking about adding to their alliance. But maybe one more person wouldn't hurt.

"Anyone sitting here?" Consus asked, despite the fact that the three of them had already sat down.

The girl shook her head. "Nobody but you. What brings you over here?"

Aleyn shrugged. "Just looked like you needed some company."

The girl chuckled a little. "Finding company doesn't seem to be the problem. Keeping company … well, I guess that's a different matter."

"Alliances haven't been working out?" Wes guessed.

The girl blushed a little. "Was it that obvious?"

"Only a little," Consus offered. "Look, if you want to join us, I…" He glanced at Wes and Aleyn, who nodded. "We would be happy to have you."

The girl hesitated. "That's what the other groups said."

Wes raised an eyebrow. "Then what happened?"

"I told them I would think about it, and then we started training together, and … well, it just didn't work out."

"They said you weren't good enough for them?" Aleyn guessed.

The girl shook her head. "I wasn't serious enough for them."

Consus chuckled. "Not serious enough?" he repeated, confused.

"They all wanted to get down to business and focus on training, and I didn't see any harm in throwing a little fun into the mix, and … well, it just didn't work out." She shook her head. "Look, I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you. It's not really your problem. I just thought that if you were offering an alliance, you might as well know what you're getting into, so you can get out if … if it's not really what you want."

Wes nodded, holding out his hand. "If it's not what you want, that's fine. But I think all three of us could do with a little more fun. I'm Wes."

"Charu."

Consus smiled, offering his hand next. "I'm Consus, and this is Aleyn."

"Good to meet you. Well, I mean, not good that we met here, I suppose, but … well, it could always be worse."

Wes chuckled a little. "How?"

He hadn't really expected an answer to that, but Charu went quiet, tracing the fading tattoos on her hands. "It could. I know a thing or two about being … forced into an alliance you don't really want." She shook her head, a smile returning to her face. "But that's not important right now. Right now, we're here. And any alliance we make in the Games … well, it only lasts so long, anyway. So if we mess it up, it's not the end of the world, right?"

Wes smiled a little. "Right."

Charu Varma, 18
District Six

It was too late to take it back now.

Charu smiled a little as she turned her attention back to the rest of her meal. The truth was out there now – or, at least, she'd hinted at it. She'd been unsure about whether to tell anyone the truth about why she had actually been relieved at the reaping. After all, if her family knew…

They would disown her. That much was certain. But they would have to find out, if she came back. If she returned to District Six, there was no way she was going to go through with the marriage. So they would have to find out sooner or later. And if she didn't come home – if she died in the Games – then why should it matter to her whether they disowned her or not?

"I was engaged," Charu blurted out before she could stop herself.

Consus raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Before the reaping, I was engaged to be married. We were going to get married later that day, in fact."

Consus shook his head. "I'm sorry. That's rough."

Charu chuckled. "Not for the reason you think. I didn't want to marry him. It was my family – an arranged marriage. I never wanted it, and the Games … whatever else they've done, they've gotten me out of that."

Consus nodded. "Families can be … difficult. My whole family always wanted me to train for the Games. My sister's in training to be a Career, and my father always wanted me to do the same, but it was never something I wanted."

"And you just said no?" Charu asked, trying not to stare. She'd always wished she'd had the guts to do that – to just tell her parents no. She'd thought about it, but never quite gone through with it. This kid had been able to do what she couldn't.

Consus shook his head. "Yeah, I guess. I just told them I wouldn't be good at it … which was true. I guess they had to agree that was a pretty good reason."

Charu looked away. She had a pretty good reason, too. The fact that she'd never liked a boy in her life had seemed a pretty good reason not to marry one. But it was a reason her parents wouldn't have understood. Wouldn't have accepted.

"Sounds like both your parents are a bit … strict," Wes observed. "No wonder you got here and just wanted to have some fun."

"I guess it does explain a bit," Charu admitted. And maybe it also explained why she hadn't wanted to commit to any of the other alliances. Lena was nice enough, but she and Merrik had been so serious. And Dinah and Orphelia had done nothing but talk about how an alliance would be beneficial. But these three … they were different. This was different.

So when they finished their meal and headed back to the stations, Charu followed with a smile, the others clapping her on the back and welcoming her into their little group. It was almost … almost nice. That was something she hadn't expected to find in the Games. It certainly felt good.

Even if it could only last a little while.

Retro Liu, 12
District Five

It was too late to tell them now.

Retro couldn't help a smile as the four tributes behind him got up and headed back to the training stations. He'd overheard enough of their conversation to wish he'd had the guts to go over and introduce himself. He couldn't imagine defying his parents if they'd insisted that he start training at the academy. And as far as an arranged marriage … well, that was all to familiar. He was too young to really be engaged, but his parents and Ysa's parents had been talking about the two of them marrying since they were small. Ysa was a nice enough kid, but she was ten. He'd never thought about her like that. He'd never wanted to.

"Eavesdropping a little there, Retro?" David teased, giving his shoulder a little shake.

Retro shrugged. "Never hurts to know a little about the competition."

David chuckled. "Didn't hear anything that would do us any good. She doesn't want to get married. He doesn't want to be a Career. Nothing that's going to really matter in the Games. We don't get a choice now about whether we want to be Careers or not – right, Retro?"

Retro nodded distractedly. He'd never wanted to be a Career. But he'd also never wanted to marry Ysa. Never really wanted to do any of the things his family had planned for him. He'd never dreamed that he would really get a say in what happened with the rest of his life. It had all been planned out, mapped out, years in advance.

Except this hadn't been part of the plan.

The Games changed everything. He could only imagine what his family was thinking right now. No matter which way things went in the Games, all of their plans were ruined. Even if he came home again, the life they had planned for him back in District Five was gone. Retro shook his head as he finished the last of his potatoes. "I guess it doesn't really matter now – what we would have been back in our districts. What would have happened. We all get a new chance."

Ti chuckled. "A new chance. Speak for yourself. My life wasn't so bad back in my district. I didn't ask for a new chance."

David shook his head. "None of us did, remember? Not this year. But if we survive—"

"But we won't," Ti pointed out. "Only one person gets to live. One. One person gets a chance at a new life. One person gets to live to regret what they did in the arena. I mean, look at the Victors who've made it out of the arena. How many of them act like they've been given a second chance at life?"

Retro opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it. District Five was different. Harakuise, Sabine, Camden, Adalyn, Oliver – they all acted like they'd been given a second chance. They were all grateful to have made it out of the arena. But they were also Careers – or, at least, three of them were. Four of them had volunteered, and that made them better prepared to handle both the Games and its aftermath. But if he said so around these two…

No. No, it was better to hold his tongue. For now, at least. He could pretend to be just as disgusted by the Games, if that was what he needed to do. He couldn't act too proud to be from a Career district, or he would risk alienating his allies.

That was something he couldn't afford.

Kilian Romane, 17
District Eleven

It was too late to change his mind now.

Kilian glanced around the room as the clock continued to tick off the minutes until the end of the day. They had about an hour left of training time, and he was feeling almost … almost ready. It was a strange feeling, really. He'd never imagined, when his name had been called at the reaping, that he would ever feel ready for the Games.

He certainly wasn't eager for the killing to begin. But while so many of the other tributes were rushing to get in as much last-minute training as they could, his little alliance had found their way back to the archery station, where Shanali was trying a few tricks. So far, she'd managed to at least hit the target after turning in a circle a few times. Ronan insisted she'd gotten lucky, and she probably had, but it was also true that she had a bit of a knack for it.

Kilian leaned back against the cart that held the bows, watching the other groups. There were so many of them. So many kids who just weren't ready, who would never be ready. Twelve and thirteen year olds. Kids who reminded him so much of his little brother. Devan would never stand a chance in the Games, and neither would some of these tributes.

There was a part of him that had been tempted to try, anyway. To try to protect them. Help them. But it was too late now. He'd chosen his allies, and they were allies who were going to help him, as well as the other way around. As much as he wanted to help these kids, his first priority was getting home to his own brother, his own family. If that happened – if he managed to come home a Victor – then he could help as many people as he wanted.

Only then.

First, he had to win. He had to survive. And in order to do that, he might very well end up having to kill some of the very same children he'd wanted to protect. The thought made him sick. Kilian shook his head, trying to focus his attention on the older tributes. On the ones who might be a threat. That wouldn't be so bad, maybe – killing someone who had been trying to kill him. But still…

"What's on your mind?" Shanali asked as he helped her retrieve the arrows she'd shot.

Kilian shrugged. "Nothing. Just … just checking out the competition." He forced a smile. "Unless you'd rather I check you out."

Shanali snorted, punching him playfully on the shoulder. "Let's try to focus on the competition, shall we." She smirked. "But I suppose there's no harm in looking."

Kilian chuckled. Behind them, he could tell Ronan was trying not to burst out laughing. It hadn't been that funny, but maybe they'd just needed something to break the tension. It wouldn't be long, after all. Not long until they would be fighting for their lives in the arena. Maybe a little joke or two now was harmless after all.

Maybe they needed all the laughs they could get.

Genevieve Odele, 17
District One

It was too late to change her mind now.

Genevieve flashed a smile at the other Careers as they gathered again at the edge of the training room. There were only about ten minutes left – not really enough time to get in anything they hadn't tried already. Most of the other tributes were finishing up with something. Genevieve glanced around the room, watching the different groups. Almost everyone seemed to have found someone else to work with.

There were only a few larger groups to watch out for – aside from themselves, obviously. On the other side of the training room, the boys from Ten were meeting up again, with the girls they'd found as allies in tow.

Genevieve shook her head. No. No, not the boys from Ten. Connor and Skyton. Those were their names. She'd made a point of learning all their names during training, and the only way to get into the habit was to keep using them. Not that any of the other tributes would care, but it would make an impression with the audience. The audience could remember thirty-five names, after all. And that meant she could, too.

So Connor and Skyton, then, were meeting back up, along with Arabel and Klaudia. It had taken her a while to figure out whether the four of them were actually working together, but it seemed as if they'd finally decided to stick together, at least for the time being. Two of them had spent more time at the weapons stations, two at the survival stations. Not a bad strategy, overall, as long as they managed to stay together long enough to make use of each other's areas of expertise.

The other group of four – Consus, Aleyn, Wes, and Charu – was over by the snack table, finishing off the last of the cookies. But that was probably just for show; they hadn't been there long. They'd spent a good part of the afternoon at the climbing stations. But now they were apparently trying to look like they were relaxing – maybe give the impression that they were ready to get on with it. Not a bad idea, either.

Most of the groups of three seemed to be taking things a bit more seriously. Ronan, Kilian, and Shanali were still at the archery station, pretending to have a bit of fun to cover up the fact that the girl had actually gotten pretty good. Not Career-level good, certainly, but most of this year's Careers weren't at that level, either. Nearby, Thomas, Nephelle, and Aven were putting the finishing touches on a shelter they'd built. The younger group of three – Retro, David, and Ti – were at the snare station, testing a trap they'd built.

The rest had paired off in groups of two. Annemae and Margo. Leo and Barlen. Lena and Merrik. Mariska and Vashti. Orphelia and Dinah had been looking for another tribute to join them, but had apparently failed to convince anyone. Off in another corner, Emmett was watching with a glare on his face, clearly ready for training to be over with.

Soon, he got his wish. The bell rang, signaling the end of training for the day. Genevieve took a deep breath, following Justus and Mae back to their room. Training was over. Tomorrow, they would have their private sessions in the morning, followed by score announcements in the afternoon and interviews in the evening. The next day – the day after tomorrow – the Games would begin.

She just hoped she would be ready.

"Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o' the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great; art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly, that wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false, and yet wouldst wrongly win. Thou'ldst have, great Glamis, that which cries 'Thus thou must do, if thou have it; and that which rather thou dost fear to do than wishest should be undone.'"