Training Day 1

Ivory Borg (16) D1F

Ivory hated how short her hair was now.

But what she hated more was the fact that everyone of the Careers was waiting for a certain tribute to show up at the Training Centre so that they could discuss strategy. Everyone around was practicing and training as best as they could, even little Lanai, but them. Ivory understood that Careers didn't really need training but it was really irritating how this person was just not showing up.

"What is wrong with Saunder?" Siobhan questioned Emeline, who just shrugged.

"Everything is wrong with him. Someone else was supposed to volunteer but he snatched their chance. That guy has zero skill."

"Wow."

"And he's late," Casper muttered in annoyance, and Ivory felt better that she was not the only one getting impatient. Patience was never her virtue, and without meaning to, she started tapping her feet while she waited for the said boy.

"I think we should all just make a plan ourselves," Siobhan suggested, "We'll let him on it later."

"It will get worse," Emeline interjected, "You really don't want to make him angry."

"Is he that bad? You just said he has no skill!" Ivory exclaimed.

"No, he's just that irritating."

Even as the children laughed at the expense of the boy who knew nothing about punctuality, a voice was heard from behind Ivory.

"Who's irritating?"

Ivory looked behind to see who it was, only to see Saunder Kilkenny, dressed in the training outfit, a slight smirk on his face. A smile could tell a lot about a person, and as far as Ivory was concerned, Saunder's smirk spoke volumes. Most importantly, it confirmed in her mind whatever Emeline had told them about him.

"So! Here you are!" Everette greeted with a bright smile, "We've been waiting for you! Let's get started!"

Saunder tilted his head to one side and regarded Everette with interest, the smirk refusing to leave his face.

"Who made you the leader?"

"What?"

"Who made you the leader? Bossing around like that? Discussions start when I say so, mister. And it's my choice when I wish to turn up."

"If nobody has made me a leader then the same can be said about you too, Saunder. I'd suggest you keep quiet or contribute to the discussion productively if you can."

"You think you can talk to me like that?"

"No, but I am telling you that you cannot talk to me that way."

Before Saunder could say anything more, Ivory and Siobhan interjected, "He's right. You're late, it'd be better you don't make things any worse."

"You two girls will tell me what to do? So what if I was late? You guys are stalling strategy talks right now!"

Ivory's brows furrowed at his comment. So, after he couldn't boss the other Careers, Mr Kilkenny decided to put the blame on them… Ivory had seen many kinds of people, but nobody as less promising as Saunder. For all she cared, he could be a bloodbath. In fact, after meeting the charming man, Ivory wasn't opposed to the idea of excluding him altogether. Maybe it still wasn't late for that?

But when the Careers finally decided to settle down on the chairs of the cafeteria instead of arguing with Saunder, she knew it couldn't be done. Alas! She was actually looking forward to exclude this guy.

Speaking of him…

"Why's she here?" Saunder asked sceptically, pointing at Emeline.

"Just because."

"She was Reaped, she's no Career!"

"You don't have much right to comment on my Career status when you yourself weren't chosen."

"That was dumb luck!"

"Well, it was dumb luck for me too. To have you as a District Partner."

"Think you're really smart, eh?"

"Enough!"

Both the warring parties looked up at Ivory, who had slammed the table in exasperation. At this moment, she was losing her cool, and she didn't even think that it could be so easy. After all, Ivory was good at being calm even when she was restless. But the boy from District Four was getting on her nerves. How could a person like him be a Career?

"How dare you!?" Saunder screamed at her, "How dare you insult me?!"

"Sit down," Siobhan said as the other Careers all smirked. Saunder, maybe realising that he was outnumbered, sank down in his chair in a fury strong enough to burn the table in front of him, but not the other Careers' smirks. Ivory watched with a mild satisfaction as she lightly tapped her fingers on the table.

"Okay guys, so who do you all suggest that we try to include with us?" Casper started, clearly looking forward to get things on track.

"I say the girl from Eight. She's fierce," Siobhan suggested, "I can just… sense it."

"Same," Emeline replied. Ivory admired how well Emeline had made herself a part of the group. Of course, none of the others opposed it, but the confidence she had for somebody both young and Reaped was commendable. She smiled lightly at the younger girl, who returned it.

"I was thinking about the girl from Eleven," Everette added, "Ari, I think her name is. I also think Tybal will be a good addition."

"Not Tybal." Casper interrupted immediately, "He looks strong and everything, but I can't trust him. at all."

"He has a point," Emeline said, "He looks like a threat, and someone we can tame."

"Oh come on!" Saunder exclaimed, waving his hand to fan himself dramatically, "I don't think that guy is a threat! Not one bit!"

Everyone wisely decided to ignore his inaccurate assessments. After all, Saunder, with his less than acceptable behaviour, had just proven to everyone he was not to be taken seriously.

"How about the boy from Six?" Ivory asked, "He looks strong."

"Hell no," Siobhan shook her head adamantly, "That guy will kill us with his foul mouth. No weapons required."

Everyone except Saunder laughed out at that, attracting the attention of Lanai and Andrei who were helping themselves to a glass of cool water. Their heads turned towards the Careers inquiringly, but one glare from Saunder told them to mind their own business.

"Well, let's speak to the girl from Eight then."

Jordan Arroyo (18) D8F

Now, it was true that Jordan liked blood and gore. A lot. But it was also true that she liked elegance and beauty.

Hence, when the trainers demonstrated to her how to brew her own poison, and used it on some rats, the sight of them dying slowly, painfully, struggling for air, looking around helplessly, and finally dying for good, Jordan realised that this was also one of the ways she preferred to kill. Sure, there wasn't much blood involved, but the struggle… it was more than real. And Jordan was delighted. She was so looking forward to the arena.

Earlier she had had some practice with a trident after trying multiple weapons like swords, spears, arrows, katana, javelin, etc. But a trident was what suited her, and a trident was what she would try to get. However, in case, as it often happened at important events, she missed what she wanted, the knowledge of poisons would be a great help.

And now, even as she relaxed in the cafeteria, sipping on some hot tea, she noticed from the corner of her eyes two figures approaching her. She didn't react when the pair seated itself in front of her and watched her keenly as she had her tea.

"Hey there!" one of them said, "I'm Siobhan!"

"And I'm Everette."

"Hi Siobhan and Everette," Jordan replied as she set down her cup and smiled politely at the two Careers in front of her. She was, after all, a mayor's daughter. Etiquettes were to be in order.

"So how's training going?"

"Really good. There's a lot to learn here."

"We're glad you're feeling good about the training."

"So Jordan," Siobhan said, her tone suddenly very business-like, "Jordan we wanted to ask you something."

Now, when someone was as experienced and as smart as Jordan, they just knew what was coming up. However, they would also know that displaying such knowledge could be dangerous. So, Jordan frowned slightly and asked sincerely, "What is it?"

"Are you interested in joining us?"

"Oh…"

Internally, the girl felt like screaming a yes. After all, everyone knew that Careers were killing machines. If she were to stay with them, she could get a few kills too, and that too easily. As her mind pictured a random tribute with blood gushing out of their neck, she barely managed to control her laughter.

"Well-I-"

"It's okay if you don't want to," Everette said and Siobhan shot him a look that suggested that it was anything but okay.

"I'm honoured," Jordan finished and then smiled brightly at them, "Like really, I'm so happy you guys asked! Thank you so much!"

"We'll take that as a yes," Siobhan said with a satisfied look on her face, "Very well Jordan, we're going to meet after today's training in Everette's room. It's the first room on the first floor. Cool?"

"Sure, I'll be there."

"Very well. Have a good day. And if you need any help with training, let us know."

"Thank you."

As Everette's and Siobhan's forms retreated, Jordan smirked to herself. Ha, so much for being honoured! She would kill the two of them without even blinking. And she had heard Careers were smart. Yet, they decided to trust her, of all the people present at the training centre. Oh, if only they could read minds!

Jordan glanced over at the group as they huddled together to talk. The boy from District Four appeared to be shaking his head a lot, maybe in disapproval. She narrowed her eyes as she sipped tea again; the boy looked really out of place. She was going to find out later any way, but his body language just suggested to Jordan that the kid was hopeless, and maybe the Careers thought so too. And maybe that's why they had asked her to join them.

Whatever the case be, she knew it was he who was the weak link, the one that she had to exploit. And as far as exploitation was concerned, Jordan was an expert.

She was surprised when Casper and Ivory got up from their seats. Even as she pretended to sip from her now empty cup, Jordan's eyes followed them to the washroom doors, from where Ari had just emerged. The two Careers talked animatedly to the girl which annoyed Jordan. How dare they look for another ally? Was she not good enough? And wouldn't a bigger group be more trouble anyway?

However, as she watched, Jordan felt a sense of satisfaction, the satisfaction a human feels when he sees someone else fail. For Ari shook her head firmly, and the conversation seemed to be going nowhere.

"Oh come on!" Ivory's voice floated up to her ears mildly, "We're making you a good offer. You should accept it!"

"You have a way better chance with us."

Ari laughed out at Casper's statement and shook her head. Jordan almost laughed out too. Goodness, the girl was stupid! It was good for herself, of course, and that was what Jordan was concerned with anyway.

And she watched with mild satisfaction as the Careers returned, both of them looking perplexed.

"The other Careers are going to eat her alive," Ivory muttered.

"Ah, she's invited trouble for herself," Casper whispered.

Jordan smirked behind the cup. The politics going on right then was highly entertaining in itself.

But she was looking forward to ripping out a few organs.

Maurice Toussaint (15) D11M

Maurice wanted to hide in his room upstairs immediately.

He had freckles all over the body, and they attracted attention, unwanted attention. Maurice wished to disappear due to the innumerable stares he received for his looks. However, it was not to be.

First of all, there were so many women here! Most of the trainers, for some reason, were females, and Maurice didn't know how to talk to them in order to get some skills. But he knew it would be no good even if they were all men, for the men that he had seen here till now looked just as dangerous and monstrous. Especially the guy from Four.

The boy didn't look exceptionally strong to Maurice, but he knew that he was the most ruthless one around. He just hoped that the boy wouldn't see him, which was hard considering his unique appearance, for then Saunder would leave no opportunity to humiliate Maurice further.

Why was he bothered anyway?

He was going to die, wasn't he? After all, here he was thinking about sneaking back to his comfortable room, and here were the other tributes, all trying to learn something. He let out a deep sigh, when what he feared came booming across the room.

"Hey Ugly, what happened to your face?!"

Maurice looked up fearfully at Saunder, who was on the other side of the room, his voice louder than that of the loudspeakers present for announcements, and more hostile than the poisons that lay on the counter beside him. The boy walked towards him purposefully, and Maurice was forced to believe that this guy was only utilising his time to bully others. Behind him Maurice saw Emeline face-palm as Saunder advanced, and simply disappeared. What good would that be to Maurice?

"So Ugly, how did you get your face so spotted?"

Maurice hesitated for a second. How was he to react? If he reacted he was sure that Saunder would target him in the bloodbath, even if other Careers didn't. but Maurice was touchy about his freckles. However, as any wise person would do in the face of threat, Maurice decided to keep quiet.

"You can't speak Ugly? Or is your tongue as spotted as your bloody face?"

Maurice clenched his fists tightly as Saunder regarded him in amusement. The boy wanted nothing more at that moment than to wipe off the smirk from the elder boy's face, but he accepted that he had no chance. Poor humans! The best hunters, and the most hunted! Maurice was trembling slightly now as he remembered his sister bullying him back when he was young, a mere child. This boy in front of him was doing nothing to make matters easier for him.

"Come on Ugly!" he said and thrust a finger towards Maurice, at which the boy jumped. However, Saunder pulled back his hand immediately, face contorted in disgust as he regarded the small boy in front of him.

"On other thoughts, I'd rather not touch you. Don't want to get dirty, and especially don't want to contract whatever disease you have."

"It's no disease!" Maurice spoke up finally in a heated tone, "These are freckles!"

"Ohhhhhh! So, you do have a spot-free tongue!"

"These aren't spots, these are freckles!"

"And what is that?"

Maurice went silent at that. As far as he was concerned, he didn't know what exactly freckles were. All he knew was that they were… spots… on his body from as long as he could remember. His mouth thinned in a straight line even as Saunder's brows went on rising and his smirk went on broadening.

"They-they're just not spots."

"Oh…?"

Maurice could feel his cheeks heating up as Saunder threw back his head and laughed at his plight. Why did he have to open his mouth? All his life Maurice had hidden away from the prying and bullying eyes of the foes, and it had served him well. The bullying had considerably lowered, as he never encountered anyone. Even if, by some chance, he came across bullies they let him go because he didn't react.

But today he had to go and change that.

Idiot.

Maurice, unable to comprehend what to do, started backing away slowly, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the monster lurking in front of him. but even as he tried to complete his agenda, the boy from Four started moving towards him, a sly smile on his face, his eyes dazzling with amusement. Amusement at Maurice's expense.

Suddenly a strong figure stepped between the two, and Ari glared at Saunder, who stopped in his tracks, the smirk turning into a frown.

"What is it you want?"

"Leave him alone," Ari said calmly.

"Why are you getting bothered? You already refused to join us, and are already on our radar."

"Yeah, that's why I'm telling you to *** off."

Maurice inhaled deeply in fear as he watched with frightened eyes even as Saunder's eyes widened in anger, and suddenly there were Careers who were dragging him away from the scene as he shouted trash at Ari, who just watched calmly.

Suddenly, she turned to Maurice and smiled lightly, her expression giving away how pleased she felt.

"That's good Maurice, that you stood up for yourself."

Lanai Mitsubishi (12) D6F

Lanai watched as the Careers pulled their teammate away from the tall girl from Eleven and scurried him to the cafeteria again, when the boy started yelling at them. Lanai sighed; the boy had been dominating the scene the entire day, and had tried scaring almost every other tribute. He had teased Lanai as well, but the girl had simply left the spot, her young and intelligent mind understanding the need to be away from such drama queens. Or kings.

She sighed and grabbed the tiny darts, tiny enough to fit in her small hands. She doubted whether such small weapons would be available in the arena but this was the best that she could personally work with. She could throw the puny knives as well, and usually they hit the targets well, as well as they could by a girl of twelve years.

She pulled her arm back, and threw the dart with all her strength. The object flew at a speed faster than light itself… and missed the mark, landing on the floor a few feet behind the target.

"That much strength wasn't required," the trainer said kindly as he nodded, "Too much force can lead to missing your aim. You need to analyse how much power you have to put in."

Lanai nodded and allowed the trainer to pull her arm back at a certain angle and then demonstrated the hand movement. He again pulled back her arm, and forced it forward, the dart flying out of her hand, flying towards the target, cutting the air, and then hit the middle ring.

"See? That's how you do it. now, give it a try."

Lanai inhaled and then pulled back her arm. Remembering the strength that she had applied just now, she threw the dart with a great force, and the tiny weapon found its mark. Lanai felt a smile play on her lips as the trainer clapped at seeing her performance.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed, "Lanai, you're a natural. If this is how you perform in the Games, I'm sure you'll do well."

Of course, the guarantee of 'doing well' meant nothing if she couldn't survive, but Lanai Mitsubishi still felt her chest puffing up in pride at the compliment and her cheeks turning as warm as the cookies that she had last night, which was very warm.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, "But the strength that I need to apply will change with the distance, right?"

"It will, yes. And that's what you need to keep in mind. Distance means a lot when you're opting to use something like darts, because they're an optimum weapon in a certain range of distance. If that range isn't met, I suggest you try to get away from the area, or close the distance to take the kill, whatever suits you."

"Oh okay then."

The trainer pushed the target a little further and motioned to Lanai to throw her dart. She measured the distance as quickly as she could, and threw with strength that she thought was required. Lanai was good at analysis, and it could be seen in the way the dart met the target right in the second most inner ring.

"Impressive!"

After a few hours of intense training, Lanai decided it was time to relax. She felt good here, because although she could die the people here really treated her well. They were respectful and Lanai was astounded at being treated as an equal. As she sat in the cafeteria, eating grilled sandwiches, she reflected on her life. All her life she had yearned to be loved and respected, and had hated life dearly because of it. and now, here she was, away from Yarvis, away from her maid, away from her family.

She knew she wasn't loved by the Capitol. After all, they had decided to bring her here in order to have her killed. But the behaviour of the Capitolites she had met made her happy, eve if it was temporary. They spoke to her like an individual, they treated her with respect, and at least she was not a direct slave of anyone. Of course, she still hated the Capitol, because they were the reason the Districts had turned out this way, but at the moment she didn't regret her decision to be here.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice a young boy sit down across her with a mug of hot chocolate, and Lanai looked up at Canon Tadashi, and to the right of him at Shama Grasswhistle.

"I hope you don't mind us sitting here?" Shama asked as she took a bit from her own sandwich.

"Even if I did, I don't think it's much use since you're already sitting here."

"Oh, right."

"Hey Lanai, we saw you train with the darts-" Canon started.

"-and we think you're awesome-"

"-and we're wondering-"

"-will you-"

"-join us?"

Lanai blinked a couple of times at the pair seated in front of her as she processed what they were talking about. They were asking her to be their ally based on her skills… Lanai didn't speak as she eyed the other two, who seemed to be on the edge of their seats. Having an ally would certainly be beneficial… to a point. If she did team up with these two, Lanai would have to be certain as to what that point was. But for now, the proposal seemed to be alright.

Slowly, she nodded even as Canon and Shama gave each other a high-five. The two beamed at the girl when she finally said 'yes', and proceeded to tell her to meet them before the training next day in the cafeteria itself. With that, the two stood up as one and left, even as Lanai heard Shama say 'Come now Canon, let's go meet Dwayne and I'll let him know I have two more allies."

"You were fighting with him yesterday!" Canon argued.

"Yeah because he's an idiot."

Lanai frowned as their figures retreated. They hadn't told her about another ally. The boy from Seven was old, she'd have to be careful from him.

But as of now, her bed was waiting upstairs to get rested on.

Dwayne Wildflower (17) D7M

Dwayne had sent Shama to get them some allies while he trained. The boy had no idea about axes, breaking a stereotype right there, and he wondered how useless his job had been all along. He had no skill. At all. And the previous day, during the chariot rides… he didn't want to remember. He had fallen off his chariot! Nobody fell down their chariots ever! Good that he had pulled Shama with himself; why should he face ridicule alone? When it was Shama's fault?

But then that boy, that beautiful boy had shown up to help them, without thinking of his reputation as a Career tribute, and that too from District Two. Dwayne was moved by this act of kindness, and he would have written an article on it had he been at his workplace. But the feeling of gratitude lessened as his wandering mind again arrived at the same spot: about how bad and miserable he was feeling about this whole situation. And the more he thought about it, the more miserable he became. He even thought about just ending everything himself, but that could cause trouble back home, and Dwayne didn't want that to happen at any cost.

As Dwayne stepped back from the trap making section. His mind gave a little buzz when his eyes met Casper's. suddenly, he found himself grinning widely at the other boy, who having caught his eye, smiled politely. Dwayne walked up to Casper Cavette and then beamed at him.

"Hey, thanks for helping us out there yesterday."

"Aye, it was no big deal. How're you now? You got injured last night."

"I'm just fine. It was just a few scratches."

"That's good to know. So, where's your District Partner?"

"I don't know," Dwayne replied honestly, "She said she wanted to train individually so I haven't seen her since lunch."

"She's a cute little girl," Casper nodded, "Take care…?"

"Dwayne, Dwayne Wildflower."

"Wildflower? Are you the editor of Through the Districts we Go!?"

"Um yeah…"

"Goodness, you're famous!"

Dwayne's cheeks turned a bright red as Casper grinned at him. He felt like laughing heartily and throwing his arms around Casper in gratitude for yesterday. However, a small, smart part of his brain warned him against him, so he restricted himself to a bright goofy smile.

"I guess, a little bit."

"Are you kidding me? Everyone at our Academy used to read your magazine! All of us used to wait for it eagerly!"

"It didn't have everything true, you know?"

"Obviously, District Eight doesn't have needle shaped houses and all, but it was still fun. it's nice to meet you, Dwayne."

"Thank you, thank you so much."

"You know?" Casper said after a second, "Maybe during the interviews you should tell everyone who you are. I mean, that'll get you loads of sponsors, I believe."

Dwayne considered the boy in front of him for a second. Well, his fame would certainly get him sponsors. But it will also make him a target…

"I'll leave that up to you," Casper said kindly, "See you later, I need to meet my team."

"Bye," Dwayne called out even as Casper jogged away towards the awaiting Careers.

"Hey!"

Dwayne turned around at Shama's voice and saw the girl running towards him along with a guy of around fourteen. Dwayne frowned. The boy looked a little too…innocent? The two stopped right in front of him, panting, trying to get some air.

"Goodness, you guys need more stamina," Dwayne complained as he weighed the young boy in front of him. The boy seemed to be shying away from the older kid, and Dwayne wondered what was causing it. maybe the kid hadn't expected someone as old as Dwayne to be on the same team?

"Dwayne, he's our new ally- Canon Tadashi!"

"CANON TADASHI!" Dwayne cried out, attracting the attention of other tributes. He saw Aryton glare at him, and he lowered his voice.

"Dammit! You're the Canon Tadashi?! The guy who sent all those awesome pictures for my magazine?!"

"Y-yeah…" Canon blushed. He was shocked though, when Dwayne hugged him tightly.

"Canon! My sweet boy, you've been a lifesaver! My Picture Gallery would starve without your work."

"Th-thanks. I-I really love your magazine. Me and my siblings- we all love reading it!"

"And my entire team loves your pictures bro! We definitely must team up…!"

Dwayne's voice faltered at that, and his earlier happiness disappeared. Even if one of them did manage to make it out… the partnership would still end. The boy clenched his fists, his vision fogging as tears threatened to trickle down. However, Dwayne had already made a mess of himself twice- once at the Reapings by crying and then during the chariot rides. He couldn't break down again.

"Aye, we'll do well, Canon."

"By the way," Shama interjected with a sour look on her face. The weird kind of union that she had witnessed really irritated her to the core. How come these two knew each other before even meeting?! Totally unfair!

"What?"

"We have another ally."

"Yeah," Canon added, "Lanai Mitsubishi, the girl from Six."

"She's like twelve or something."

"Yeah, but we got her on the team."

Dwayne sighed inwardly at this. So he was going to be in a team of all little kids. Great. Maybe he should have taken some efforts to make some allies himself. At least it would be an older group.

"Great. Now let's go train."

Um hi. So… long time no see, eh? I know I've been gone for a very long time, so I guess this update is a surprise. Things have not been very easy for me in the past year, the details of which I cannot share, but let's just say I won't blame you if you don't read this. Or if you've already resubmitted your tributes. It's all my fault.

But I'm here to complete this story get it up. Hopefully, some of you will consider reading this. If you did, let me know what you think of the developments here.

Alliances:

Careers: Ivory, Everette, Siobhan, Casper, Emeline, Saunder, Jordan

Team 1: Dwayne, Shama, Canon, Lanai

Team 3: Lily, Wesley

As far as now, these are the clear alliances that have formed. More to come next chapter.

By the way, there was a guest review on this story, abusing another writer and writing nonsense about them. I have enough faith in my submitters and regular readers to know they weren't involved, but to the person who did it, I request you to not bully anyone in reviews. If you have issues, talk to that person. Bullying someone publicly is a really cowardly thing to do, and it is another person about whom you're talking ill. Kindly don't do it. Such guest reviews will be deleted, if there is any account that posts such reviews, they'll be reported and blocked. Like, people, try enjoying stories. It's good to live them, but that doesn't mean you make someone's life hard by being a bully. You're better than that.

And now, guys let me know what you think of the chapter.

Have a great day!