I hope you enjoy this chapter. It was a nice break to be able to write after the rush of midterms.

District 11 Train

Roran Dale flexed his hand, studying his veins. Did he need more water? He pinched his wrist, listening to his heartbeat. It was hard to believe he was actually on this train. He laid back, resting his head on the pillow. As his eyes closed, he recalled his last meeting with his father.

His eyes had been dark, full of pride. "What you do today, your choice will change Panem. Because of you, we may be one day be free."

His younger brother has wrapped his arms around his legs, but Roran attempted to ignore him. "Dad, I know I can do this."

A hand placed on his shoulder, "You must be the light; we are sure you won't let us down."

Roran rolled his neck, stretching his shoulders. It was so comical the escort's reaction when he had volunteered. The pale face of the reaped kid had been enormously funny. The whole district had been taken aback. Except for the ones who knew, of course.

When Roran mounted the stage, he easily spotted the faces of his father's friends. Their resolve filled him with a pride. For himself or them he wasn't sure. The escort had rambled on about clapping for him, and a few on the district started to as well.

But the men, standing along the front of the crowd, they raised their hands in salute instead. The few who were clapping had been momentarily confused, and while half the crowd started to salute, the rest shifted in awkward silence. A few older ones glanced fearfully towards the peacekeepers, but they stood as usual, faces devoid of expression.

Roran opened his eyes, taking a deep breath. He knew his father and friends were placing a great deal of hope on him. They were the ones who had taught him to use a knife, to wrestle a man to the ground, to filter water, and make himself a victor.

He knew their reasons. He was glad for the training. He wanted victory just as desperately as any of them.

Standing, Roran wondered about the girl. He wasn't sure if he had met her before, but it would be nice to know before the games started. Pulling on his shoes, he headed down the hall, stopping to knock on her door.

Silence. She must have gone to supper. He continued on, peeking in different cars. Not in the dining hall, or the entertainment lounge. Was there another place?

Maybe she had ignored his knock. A servant passed him, then stopped. "Are you looking for something?"

Roran eyed him, speaking without thinking. "You're not an Avox?"

The man blanched, "Excuse me?"

"Oh, Nothing. I'm just checking where the girl went."

"If you mean your fellow tribute, she's in the observation deck." He dipped his head before stepping away.

Roran mentally slapped himself. His dad had said all the Capitol servants couldn't speak, they had been turned into something called Avoxes. But he shouldn't know that information; he was just a kid from District 11. It had just surprised him the guy could talk.

Robin Newman played with the hem of her dress, absently staring out the window. The servant had brought in a plate covered in delicacies, but she wasn't particularly hungry. She looked behind her as the boy stepped into the room.

"Nice view," he nodded, "Totally black."

Robin shrugged, "It's not garish in here. The closest thing to home."

Roran looked around, noting how simple the deck was compared to the rest of the train. "Suppose you're right. Sorry you miss home."

"You want to be in these games."

Her blunt words hung in the air. He cleared his throat, "I felt sorry for the kid, he was young, sometimes,"

Robin smiled, "You are a terrible liar. Those guys, they knew you were going to volunteer. Remember, I saw them refuse to clap even before she asked. This was all planned."

"You always jump to conclusions?"

Robin tightened her ponytail. "I was standing there, and I kept thinking, he wants to go kill people. They want him to kill. And you know what," Her voice lowered, head moving forward, "That is sick. We aren't the Careers and you, you just betrayed our district."

District Twelve Train

Snider braced himself as he approached Raquel. Best to be as lighthearted as possible.

"I hear the clam chowder is really good this year." The words hardly left his mouth, when a glass shattered behind him.

"And you get the girl! I have to deal with that already dead kid! Why am I stuck with a loser again?" She raved, pulling at her hair, "You always get what you want." Picking up a book, she whirled it at his head.

Snider ducked, "I've brought home a tribute, I get dibs." A snarl flew from her lips, "That's the way it is, I'm sorry you don't care for Oliver."

"He's dead Snider, he'll never make it ten feet!" Her angry countenance melted as tears spilled over, "Why do we have to do this to these kids?"

Snider gingerly touched her shoulder, "It's painful, I know. But you need to pull it together for the kids' sake."

Raquel straightened, "I'm sorry Snider, sometimes," she breathed in, rubbing her neck, "I'm going to go see him."

Snider brushed his hand through his hair as Raquel left. He would have to page the hostess. Food was smashed on the wall, glass crunched underneath his shoes.

Raquel knocked on the boy's door, opening it after a long pause. "You doing okay, Oliver?" She peeked in, spotting the kid. He was perfectly fine looking, except for his disfigured mouth. The escort had called it a cleft lip. "I'm just going to come in and talk to you."

Closing the door behind her, Raquel struggled to smile, "I'm going to be the one helping you. I really want the best for you, and I need you to cooperate as much as you can."

"I thow," The boy spoke, his voice surprisingly calm.

Raquel closed her eyes, "I'm really, really sorry. I need to ask you some questions, answer as best as you can, ok?"

A nod. "I'm guessing your mouth," She gestured towards his face, "It messes up your voice."

Oliver nodded, as Raquel continued, "And you're an orphan, right?"

"Wight."

Raquel's face pinched, and she rubbed her forehead. Oliver looked at her, "Ith's thine. I thow whath I am. Thon'th theel bath."

Raquel swallowed, "Just try to see if you can learn anything, and make yourself invisible. If they don't notice you, they won't kill you."

The Capitol ~ Tribute Center

Silk turned in front of the mirror, her dress shimmering as it clung to her skin.
"You will look like a piece of the sun itself emerging from the darkened ruins of the earth." The designer half whispered, "A ray of light in our dark existence."

"But isn't the tribute parade dark? How will this catch the light?" Silk pulled at the neckline, lowering it a tad.

"Oh, my dear, each of these sequins is equipped with a tiny lightbulb. As the air grows darker, they will begin to shine even brighter." He touched his nails together, "You will simply steal all of our breath."

Silk tossed her hair, "Anyway I can show this to my team tonight?"

The stylist's face clouded, "Ah, no, mon cher'. It is a delight reserved only for the parade tomorrow. I just needed to do a fitting tonight. You should go ahead and step out of it now."

Reluctantly, Silk stepped down from the stool. His fingers pulled at the zipper releasing the tight hold the fabric held on her body. Silk stepped from the dress, reaching for her jeans.

"So you think I need to wear a bra with that dress?" She asked as she laced up her boots.

The stylist's brows knit. "It was not in my plan, at least not for the parade." He hung the dress in a bag, gently storing it along the wall, "You wish to advertise yourself in that way?"

Silk pulled her hair back from her face, "Of course. I'm not stuck in my parents' house anymore." Her mom would have a panic attack if she ever tried anything like this at home. She could almost hear her screaming that her daughter would never look like some half naked whore.

It was a pity she wouldn't get to see their reaction tomorrow night. Pulling on her leather jacket, she started for the door, "I can go, right?"

"Of course, my beauty. Be sure to sleep and not allow yourself to be exerted in any way," the nasally voice trailed her as she headed to her apartment.

Radiance met her at the door, concern etching her face. "You didn't tell us where you went, we were worried,"

Silk rolled her eyes, "Why are you such a hen these days, Rad? You used to be so fun, now you're all serious. Don't tell me you didn't sneak off last year too."

"It's just late, and we didn't know." Radiance tried to smile brightly, "You like the stylist choice?"

A grin, "It's brilliant. People thought you looked nice, wait till they see me." She raised an eyebrow, waiting for a cutting retort.

But there was none. Radiance nodded, before stepping away. Silk crossed her arms, "Why do you act so dead. You were so much more fun, before you volunteered."

Radiance sighed, stopping only momentarily, "It's late, Silk. Go get some sleep."

"You should have let me do the Games without you. You didn't need to win to prove you're better than me." Silk spat the words, "You want me to die, right? You want to prove that you're a better tribute, huh?"

"Shut up, Silk," Radiance whirled, her fists clenched, "I want you to live. But I told you not to volunteer because only one person makes it out of these games. Now it's 3:30 in the morning, and if you don't stop running off and start listening to Odyssey and me, you're going home in a casket."

Before Silk could even think to respond, Radiance was gone, her door slamming behind her. Crossing her arms, Silk headed to her room. She was better than Rad. Wait till the Games, she would get more kills than Rad had even thought was possible.

Capitol ~ District 7 Apartments

Riley pressed her face against the window, trying not to become too awed by the sight. The building she was in, the tribute center, towered over the city around it. Riley felt if she was to lean forward even a little bit, she would topple out. Falling to her death seemed a better option than a spear sticking her in the back.

"Riley," a voice floated towards her, "We need to get you to the remake center." Minnie, her mentor came up behind her, "You made a good impression when we left the train this morning, but we have plenty of work to do this afternoon."

Riley turned slightly, "Has everyone left the trains?"

Minnie shook her head, "It's only 9 o'clock. District 12 doesn't pull in until close to noon. Eleven tends to arrive around 10."

Minnie placed a hand on her shoulder, "Come on now, we need you to see your stylist, and get all prepared for tonight."

"We're going to be trees, why does it even matter?"

Minnie chuckled, "It all matters very much, every choice is a move, a decision to live or die. Come on, we need to get down there."

Riley silently followed, trying not to gape at her lavish surroundings. They walked through a hall lined with mirrors, and Riley stopped, tilting her head.

"The Capitol likes to feed our vanity." Minnie gestured, "This week you'll see yourself in ways you wouldn't have ever imagined."

A nod, and Riley continued to follow. They stopped in front of an elevator, and from around the corner came her district partner and the male mentor.
Riley studied the boy, her eyebrows furrowed.

He looked her over, "I might look familiar because my twin sister is in your class." He grinned, "Except she hasn't gotten a broken nose in a fight."

"I'm still thinking," She bit her lip, "Charlotte maybe?"
"Yep, Char and I are twins." He grinned, "You're good. Did someone already tell you?"

Riley felt her face growing red, "Why would someone have told me? I can figure stuff out on my own. Do you think I'm stupid or something?"

He raised his hands, as the elevator pinged, "Hold on, it was just a question."

Minnie glanced at Cedar as they stepped into the elevator. As usual, her partner's face was a mask. His eyelids drooped, making him look asleep on his feet. Minnie sighed, wishing he would be the one to speak to the kids.

"Riley, Demetri, No reason to already be arguing. No one meant to insult the other." She smiled at each of them, silently willing for them to cooperate.

Demetri smiled back, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make anyone mad."

Riley crossed her arms, "I won't get mad if he doesn't insult me." She turned her head, her voice low, "If he does, I'll save it for a couple of days, then butcher him in the arena."

Demetri's face clouded, "What's wrong with you?"

Cedar spoke for the first time, "Quiet, Demetri. If she doesn't want to ally, no use prying."

The elevator slowed to a halt, doors opening. Several people were waiting to board, but Cedar waved them aside. Demetri followed, but not before turning to give Riley a slight scowl.

Minnie led the girl, waiting till they were away from elevator, "He didn't intend to insult you. It's best to try to get along."

A shake of the head, "I never get along with anyone, Minnie. Especially guys."

Don't be shy, tell me what you think!

1) Who do you want to make the best impression at the parade?

2) Guesses on the arena?

3) Only one tribute I haven't introduced... can you tell me who? If you do, your tribute will get featured in the next chapter!

4) As always, I love to hear your opinions on the tributes!