Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games. They belong to Suzanne Collins.

Note: You know what's fun? World building and filling in the blanks of a vague background to something. I guess the fun factor is what makes this story so easy to write and quick to update. Before long the first decade of the Hunger Games will be completed, much sooner than I had initially assumed. I guess I'm obsessed lmao. And now, the seventh Games. Seven may be lucky for some, but it sure isn't for twenty three kids...

Katniss and Peeta looked at the tough face of Runa upon the sidewalk, unsure what to think as they stared down at the immortalised face of one of the second ever female Victor, and the first to actually put effort into winning.

"Think there would be strong Career girls volunteering every year if Runa hadn't won?" Katniss asked.

"I mean... maybe? Not like the deaths one year ever really stopped the Volunteers the next year," Peeta replied. "Though... did she Volunteer? We just assuming, or...?"

"I mean, it makes sense given where she was from," Katniss said, peering down at Runa's braid. "Hmm... guess one of the Careers had my look."

"She must have had very good taste in hairstyles then," Peeta remarked, softly chuckling as he gently traced a hand along Katniss' braid.

"Braids, the must-have style for a Victor," Katniss said, smirking for all of a half-second.

7th Annual Hunger Games

Name: Runa Peace

Gender: Female

District: 2

Age: 18

Kills: 7

10 Lessons Runa Learnt From Her Grandpa

#1: Count your blessings

District Two was generally seen as the Capitol favourite after the Dark Days, a view that only became more and more set in stone – no pun intended, of course – as the decades went by. It was, for one thing, the District with the most freedom and privilege, as well as being the first one that was put back into its proper state after the Dark Days.

Of course, that wasn't until the time of the Twelfth Annual Hunger Games. Before then there were was a fair chunk of desecrated areas in the Masonry District that were in a particularly poor state of living. Perhaps not to the same state as the darkest slums of Six or the most filthy areas of Twelve, but certainly not a place a sane person would live if given the choice.

Runa, the youngest of four sisters and the only one who happened to not end up on the wrong side of a warhead nine years prior, did not have any such choice.

Life in the more southern parts of the District, some bomb craters still smoking at this point of history, was hard. Fights for food were competitive and the weak did not last long, unless they made themselves appear useful towards the strong. Runa was one of the strong and fought like a badger is it meant an extra two or three slices of bread.

It wasn't much of a life, but it was at least four steps up from death. She and her Grandpa, a wise old man who had seen endless conflict in his long life since before Panem was truly a nation, lived in Town 395, one of the overall most poor and desperate. They had a shack, a few blankets, water from a well and each other.

Those were Runa's only blessings and she'd kill if it meant keeping them in her grasp. The world wasn't going to get the last laugh damn it. Not that Runa had ever killed a person at this point, but she sure had broken a few arms of boys who tried to take her bread or grab her in ways she didn't approve of.

The idea of turning one's nose up at a meal or whining over not getting the birthday gift that you wanted was a foreign concept to Runa. Actually existing in the first place and receiving anything at all was a gift, so shut the fuck up.

It was shortly after her final reaping where she really saw just how right all along she was that life is a gift. She also saw that her Grandpa had been entirely correct as well when he told her to count the few blessings she had. Who knew that hearing a cannon fire while you lay starving was a blessing?

#2: Hard Work Is Rewarded

Whether it was payment, being owed a favour, getting a slice of bread or even just gaining a skill or some muscle mass the fact remained, according to Grandpa Peace, that hard work would be followed by a reward. So that's what Runa did, she worked hard.

District Two wasn't the sort of place to discriminate on Gender beyond a 'individuals being scum' sort of basis. If somebody was strong enough, whoever they were, they were able to work in the quarries. Runa stood at 5'11 when she was thirteen and six foot five by the time she was eighteen, made of muscle. Quarry work was never the slightest issue for her and she would carry rocks back and forth for hours to make a couple Caps. Anything to avoid starvation.

Other workers got laid off, either from being too weak, being careless and hurting themselves or simply not by keeping up with the often ridiculous quota they were threatened to reach. Runa wasn't among then, the bulky girl just going back and forth, working hard for as long as she had to. Whatever kept bread on the table.

It wasn't so much a reward as just being able to keep the job she had to begin with, but seeing the unemployed starve during the winter had Runa grateful nonethless for her Grandpa's advice.

After Baron won the Hunger Games and the District began to see that hard work would lead to winning the Games, and the chance of never having to go hungry ever again, suddenly everybody was trying their hardest to match Runa's work ethic and build up muscles in hopes of getting into the arena and winning their way to an easy life.

Runa thought the idea of risking your very life for fortune in some godforsaken arena was the stupidest idea she ever heard and resumed lugging around the rocks, same as always. Hard work came with rewards, but some rewards are not worth it.

She eventually saw the upside of training after she was specifically 'requested' to attend the academy and her name was drawn at the seventh reaping. Nobody Volunteered for her, but in the end nobody had needed to.

She still thought risking one's life for riches was stupid, even after winning.

#3: Don't Let Them See When They Get To You

With Panem being a dog eat dog sort of world it was never a particularly good idea to show weakness, especially in the early years following the Dark Days. One ill timed crying fit, one overly visible crapping of the pants in a terrifying situation, one too many whimpers from hunger and suddenly you were the one at the very bottom of the heap. Swords cut worst, but words had a habit of cutting almost as bad at times.

Runa had been quite literally frog marched into the truck en route to the Overwhill Academy when it's headmaster, Baron's father Elias Overwhill, had come by the village looking for potential recruits with his gang of Peacekeepers. Being the father of a Victor and a loyalist back in the Dark Days granted him some privilege that only continued to rise.

He only had to be briefly pointed towards the 'mammoth girl in the quarries' to know who he was picking out to train. Even if the girl didn't Volunteer, he got paid for each potential killer he signed into the academy.

Runa had refused, of course, having plenty of work to do anyway and no particular interest in leaving her home. She also had no choice and was dragged off, finding herself in a bunkroom that night with nineteen other girls and plenty of anger bubbling around in her soul.

She'd decided against leaving when a would-be escapee got shot two nights later.

It soon became routine. Attend fighting classes, get actual food for lunch, learn some actual subject matter, more food and then being taught battle tactics for an hour before bed. Rinse and repeat. Runa figured it was best to just go along with this crap for the year, knowing she only had one reaping to go and no intent to Volunteer.

The actual work was simple, even easier than anything she'd had to do in the quarries. Being around other people, less so.

She was a quarry rat who just needed bread to feel content. The others, aside from the escapee they shot, were one of three things:

From higher standing in Two society and had greed that only the Games could fulfil

Young criminals who wanted to satisfy their bloodlust in the arena.

Workers from quarries in less broken areas of Two who had some basic idea of how Math worked.

Whatever the case, they liked to pick on the 'slow girl from the boonies' to get out their aggression and just for the pleasure of it. Runa could've broken their arms, of course, but the thirty lashes she got after the first and last time she tried this deterred her from doing it again. It didn't deter the rest from continuing the slander and bullying, as verbal abuse did not carry a penalty so long as it was not done during a lesson.

Runa just acted like a rock, appearing unmovable and holding all of it back as the months snailed by at an agonisingly slow pace. Listening to her Grandpa served her well once again and she became a practically emotionless mountain of a young woman, stronger by the day. Soon enough the others started to think Runa had become too slow to even remember how to emote and began to forget all about it, moving on to somebody else.

Runa did not forget about it. Her District partner, the ring leader among those who harassed her, learnt this when Runa smashed him repeatedly into one of the many concrete walls of the arena, death only claiming him after the twentieth agonising slam.

#4: Sometimes Things Happen For Reasons You Won't Know Until Later

Runa attended her final reaping without any particular feeling. She'd blocked out most feelings aside from the bare minimum ever since she had been made to join the academy during the previous year and she wasn't unblocking them not, not when one last hurdle remained before she could go home. Even so she couldn't help but smile when she saw her old Grandpa standing in the roped off area at the side with all those inelligable for the reaping, the old man ready to welcome her home.

Her name was picked and, as she stood on the stage with her braid blowing in the unusually strong summer breeze, not a single Volunteer stepped forwards. All of the girls had gotten cold feet.

There was no such issue for the boys when a dark fifteen year old was spared from his fate as a monster of a boy, Sword, stepped forth and became that year's Volunteer. Runa can only scowl at him, shaking his hand for the briefest of moments when ordered to. This boy is a known rapist. It was hanging or the Hunger Games and Mr Overwhill had him sent to the academy.

Runa has no idea why this is happening. She'd never done more than try to live and fight to ensure her own survival. Then again, wasn't that what the Hunger Games were about anyway? Live and keep surviving. The thought that her hard work led her here was a sickening thought to swallow, the fact all that honest effort landed her in the deathmatch of a lifetime.

A lifetime that had a twenty three out of twenty four chance of being a rather short one.

The goodbye with her Grandpa, Runa expecting it to be the final one and him assuming the opposite, is a sombre one. No words are spoken and, until the last minute, Runa doesn't let any of her tears flow. Just promises without words that she'll do her best.

It's later that night, after having locked herself in her room hours ago, that it occurs to her how winning will make sure she and her Grandpa never need to go hungry or bare another freezing winter night ever again. It's what the other girls had wanted before they chickened out, and now Runa decides she might as well go for the same.

That must be the reason for this twist of fate, the chance to work her hardest yet and be rewarded with a lifetime of peace.

Baron is ordered by his father to focus his attention on mentoring Sword to the Victor's throne and to do only the bare minimum for the slow quarry miner. Baron abandons his father's words, intending upon the opposite. He privately tells Runa the next day while Sword showers that he'll make sure she is the last one standing.

Runa sees the second reason for what happened. Making a friend firm ally and friend, one who would be something even more a little over a decade later.

#5: Pay Attention When Given Advice, Especially If It Means Food Or Water

Each of the six Mentors that year have their own style of guiding the tributes under their care, a style that invariably is worth more than what the six Peacekeepers assigned to the six Districts lacking a victor have to say.

Mizar is fatherly and comforting like he would be for anybody, Pliny quietly emphasises the value of hiding and working with District Twelve, Museida orders complete focus and strong discipline, Honorius rewards intelligence and thinking outside the box, Duke enforces teamwork between his tributes and points them to the Sevens.

As for Baron, he makes a snap decision that entirely comes down to the tribute as an individual. Sword only wants to fight and kill, so Baron just tells him to act strong, mighty and keep training with the biggest weapons.

Runa is told, ordered in fact, to go over survival stations. An area his father tended to overlook due to sponsors seemingly closing off the need for it, Baron need only look back to his own Games and those the year prior to know that without water even the most mighty of tributes will get weak and that sponsors are not everlasting.

He is entirely correct.

Day one is all about survival, but day two is about picking a weapon and also keeping an eye on the other tributes in case of any notable developments. Sword is as aggressive as can be expected, joined by both of the Ones. Both from greedy prospecting families, Gold and Glamour have their eyes on the prize and want to live the lap of luxury for the rest of their lives. They also let in the Four boy, Galleon, after seeing he is a natural with tridents and spears. Mainly just to keep an eye on him, really.

Runa has her alliance, taking note of how they are all focused on combat and do not pay any mind to survival stations like she is. They even scoff at her, shaking their heads at the 'slow girl' who doesn't think to spend her time with the biggest weapons.

Runa thinks back to the fourth and sixth Games, recalling how thirst was a weapon in and of itself.

Rising into the arena and seeing a concrete maze all around her, the Cornucopia having no food within its mouth this year, Runa adds Baron to her list of blessings from lesson one.

#6: Be Careful With Who You Trust

The tributes are given two minutes to be interviewed on the flight to the arena that year, each interview now having more personalised questions. Runa makes it perfectly clear that she trusts Baron fully.

She doesn't trust her alliance anymore than she trusts the large, hairy spiders in the quarry back home. In fact, even the spiders seem a little bit better in comparison.

Runa gathers up as many of the small number of water bottles within the Cornucopia as she can while her allies begin hacking and slashing, shoving them into a backpack. Runa joins the fighting later than the others, managing to take down the snippy girl from Three, the mute boy from Ten and the boney girl from Twelve. The centre of the concrete maze is crimson, the grey lost under the large pool of blood that spreads around thick and fast as twelve tributes lay lifeless on the hard ground.

It becomes thirteen once Sword finally finishes tearing off the leg of the boy from Nine.

For a while the pack get their breaths back, the only sound being the squeaking of rats running around the clearing and nibbling at the young bodies littered the ground inn excess.

After silently taking the insults spat at her by her arrogant allies, all annoyed over Runa's late start and blaming her as the reason for why Gold lays slumped over a crate with half his face missing, they gear up for the hunt that is soon to begin within the vast maze.

Runa, having never trusted the alliance for a moment, sees it coming when Sword tries to knock off his biggest threat early on by swinging one of his namesakes towards her neck. She dodges and soon she leaves him cursing with a bleeding hand as she scatters off deeper into the maze. Having a pack of three after her is still better than being dead.

On a similar note, Glamour should have been a lot more careful with who she put her trust in as well. It's not long into the Games, merely day three and one kill closer to the end, when she becomes the victim of Sword assaulting her in a way more vile than a stab or a bludgeoning.

Her desperate screams echo across the concrete maze, up until the moment they don't anymore.

Runa is glad she was given the perfect excuse to bolt when she did. She's strong, but knows it could've been her. The thought keeps her up that night in the maze.

#7: If Something Seems Like It May Be Too Good To Be True, It Probably Is

It's three days and two kills by her own spear later when Runa, suffering hunger pains, sees the burlap sack laying on the ground up ahead in her section of the maze. The only other source of food this year is sponsors and they don't come down often. She stares at the sack for five whole minutes, wondering if it's worth taking the chance and making a rush forwards to grab it.

The instant the sack slumps over to the side and bread rolls tumble out has her turning her back and leaving. Her Grandpa called this sort of thing 'schmuck bait' and she's not a schmuck, no sir.

Runa travels around in search of food. She only gets a merciful sponsor parachute carrying a large chicken leg four hours, two miles, three dozen corridors and twelve dead rat mutts later. As the hunger boils within her, the chicken leg is practically a gift from the heavens above though a gift gone all too soon.

It was just as well that she didn't go for the bread earlier on in the day, because as the sun sets on the massive concrete maze that day the boy from Four, sponsorless after Sword stole all of the attention off of him, makes a run for the sack and is shish kebab'd by a dozen spears that strike out from the floor below him. The bread is left for the rat mutts to enjoy.

#8: Aim High In Life, But Watch Out For Flying Boxes

The tenth day of the Games ends up being the final one, with only Runa, Sword and a willowy boy from Three by the name of Node still alive in the depths of the maze. Sword tries his hardest to hunt down Node, closing in on him bit by bit, while Runa deals with an issue of her own.

Rat Mutts, these ones ten times as big as a typical rat and with evil red eyes.

She's really starting to hate rats, especially when one gnaws into her shoulder. She kills it before the bastard can do anything serious, but she knows all too well how many diseases rats carry and figures that she'd better end the Games quick lest she suffer the consequences of the rat bite.

The agonised, despairing howls of Node are easy to hear when Sword catches him, but they're a distance from Runa and she can't recall what corridors to take in order to get there.

Recalling one of her Grandpas most confusing bits of advice, she decides it doesn't matter as determination fills her mind and soul. She puts her all into her task of climbing up to the top of the fairly high concrete walls of the maze. Even when some cardboard boxes left up there by forgetful Avoxes during arena construction fall onto her face she keeps going.

She reaches the top just as Node's cannon fires. The screams may have stopped, but it's easy to find where her noisy District Partner is lurking around in search of his last opponent.

Sword always knew to watch his back, but he never got told to look up. Runa leaps upon him from the top of the wall and twenty slams later his head explodes against the concrete wall.

#9: It's Ok To Cry Around Those You Love

Runa went home, rich and empty. For once, she wasn't empty due to a lack of food but rather from the torment over what she had done in the arena. The Capitol had loved it, the citizens delighted to see that District Two was now the first of the Districts to have a second Victor. Already they had a fanbase emerging, the Typoon Twos, who vowed to support the District for centuries.

In her new home, right next door to Baron's, Runa wept into her Grandpa's shoulder, feeling like she was just a little whelp of barely a few years of age all over again.

"I hurt them Grandpa," Runa whispered, shaking so much she is nearly sick. "I hurt them so bad before they died."

"You did what you had to do," her Grandpa replied, as caring now as he was before. "Only one was getting out and you just did what you needed to do to make sure it was you. You're still my little rock lifter."

Runa wasn't sure if she agreed at all, but tried her best to keep her Grandpa's words in mind for all of her waking hours. It was one of the few things that helped in the difficult weeks that followed after her time in the concrete maze.

The other thing, of course, was her new neighbour and best friend. Baron was the only other person in Two and one of the only people alive who had any understanding of how it all felt. It wasn't long at all before they were spending days together and doing a variety of activities side by side whether it was talking, planning for future Games, bodybuilding, reading... anything really. Anything that distracted them and gave both of them a way to get it all out for a while. The pair were unlike almost all of the Victors from Two who came after them. Among the only ones who did not willingly take part because of greed and desire as well as being among the few lost all of the 'Games spirit' the second that they were the last one standing, they were a far different generation of Victors than the many that would follow them.

They were also the only two Victors from District Two to kiss one another as anything beyond a party dare.

#10: Say Yes More Often Than No

"Will you marry me?" Baron asked one night while the two sat on his porch, an orange sunset cast upon the Victor Village.

"Yes," Runa said, happy tears welling in her eyes and her hands trembling with joy.

Katniss and Peeta were silent, not having much more to say.

"Makes me glad that we decided to come to the party," Peeta said after a pause. "I mean, we don't know much about Runa. We don't know much beyond the basics of most Victors. Those who are still alive will help us learn."

"What do you think we'll have to tell them in return? I mean, we don't have as many years behind us. Not as many stories to tell," Katniss said, pondering this as she and her boyfriend kept moving.

"I guess... just let them know we're still living and doing our best to hang in there?" Peeta suggested, giving a soft shrug.

The pair soon looked down at the eighth face on the ground. A snooty looking girl with an elegant aura to her, immaculate hair in the imprint of her face and a pointy nose.

"Peridot Gaudy," Katniss said, her expression perfectly neutral. "The first true Career to win."

District Two may be a powerful place full of Careers, but who says every single one of their Victors was a Volunteer? Not I! Runa's tale was a fun one to write for I'd say. I feel she came off as quite human and a good addition to the six Victors before her. Plus, a Victor pair... let the shipping begin! Stay tuned guys, the first Career to triumph is lurking pretty damn near...

Stats

District 1: N/A

District 2: Baron Overwhill (4th Games), Runa Peace (7th Games)

District 3: Honorius Perthshire (5th Games)

District 4: Museida Selkirk (3rd Games)

District 5: N/A

District 6: N/A

District 7: Pliny Aransio (2nd Games)

District 8: N/A

District 9: Mizar Aldjoy (1st Games)

District 10: N/A

District 11: N/A

District 12: Duke Saint-Rose (6th Games)