I wake up feeling more refreshed than I had expected to be. I didn't stay up that late, but I was still on the roof longer than I should have been, jabbering about dreams. But that's okay. It was nice to unwind with a friend for once.
When I go to the roof for my morning Chords of Steel, I'm there alone. That's fine with me. Engaging in rigorous vocal workouts this often isn't for everyone.
The hot chocolate at breakfast is as delicious and throat-soothing as always.
"What's our plan for today?" Trucy nibbles on her toast.
Maya nods, thinking as she swallows a mouthful of sausage links. "Keep going with survival stands if you think you can get the hang of them. You should practice some fighting skills, too. Even if you don't want to kill anyone—or especially if you don't—knowing what you're doing will help a lot when you're attacked. And keep in mind you'll probably have some mutts to deal with, too." She puffs out a breath. "Those, you can kill."
"Got it." I take a big bite out of my tree-shaped roll.
Mutts, huh? There were some of those in her Games, if I'm not mistaken. She and Phoenix were chased for some distance before another tribute took care of those things. If I have a weapon and the skills, would it be wiser to kill the monsters from the start? As long as close combat doesn't give me any more injuries than being caught for a minute would, I don't see any disadvantages.
Then again, if Trucy can knife everything from a distance, we'll be fine without me trying to swing any swords around.
"And keep an eye on the other tributes." Maya points her fork at us. "You can still hang out with ones you've already met, but be sure to branch out. You may not get to find everyone in the arena, but it's a good idea to have plenty of friends and allies."
"Right." I look between her and Trucy. "We're allying with Clay for sure, right?"
"The guy from 3?" Trucy smiles. "Yeah, he seems really nice."
Maya claps her hands together. "Works for me, then! And remember, every tribute has a skill set. You don't know what will be useful until you actually need it, so don't discount anyone's abilities."
"Yes, ma'am," Trucy chimes before diving back into her breakfast.
It's reasonable to assume that combat training will wear me out, so I'll just tackle survival stands before lunch. Let's see if we can find some crowded ones.
"How about over there?" My district partner points to the camouflage stand. Three tributes are working with the paints while a fourth lurks nearby. None are Careers.
"Looks good to me," I say, heading over.
Visual disguise probably won't help us much when it comes to hiding from mutts, but I'm sure it could fool tributes into walking right past. The best way to win a fight is to avoid it in the first place, after all. With camouflage, we might have the chance to do that.
The tributes and instructor are silent in their work, so I might as well speak up while I'm not interrupting anyone.
"Good morning. Room for a few more?"
The girl with the hat notices me first. Her expression switches to anxious in a flash. "Oh, u-um... Good morning."
Her district partner, the boy with the odd upper-body brace, turns to me as well. "GOOD MOOOORNIIING!"
I flinch back unconsciously, but Trucy didn't hold her ground any better.
"Hmph." The other boy, whose district number I can't see from here or remember, adjusts his glasses with one hand. "Even if this stand weren't so small, I wouldn't say it had room for two mouth-breathers like you."
"Hugh!" The District 11 girl continues to look worried. "Please stop calling everyone that..."
"My apologies." Hugh doesn't sound all that sincere as he slips a book from his pocket and flips quickly through it. "It's just difficult for a genius like me to humor those of duller wit."
The other boy holds up a small pot painted in earthy colors. Maybe it's a canvas for tributes who don't want to start painting on their arms from the get-go. "You put up with us, though!"
He examines the container for another moment before hurling it to the ground with tears streaming down his face. The harsh clash as it shatters on the floor doesn't mask his voice in the least. "BUT THIS IS AWFUUUUUUUL! How can you stand a man who can't even camouflage a pot?!"
My foot is withdrawn from where a few shards have skidded, and I'm leaning too far back to make balance easy, even with my arms stretched out.
I—I—Maybe I'm done here.
"Robiiin..." The girl tugs on her long braids, her eyes squeezed shut. "And Hugh... Both of you, please, calm down. Just for a little bit..."
"R-right." Sweating, Robin reverts back to his usual battle stance. He's still far from calm, but at least he's not throwing things. "Sorry, man."
Hugh doesn't seem to feel any need to apologize.
The 11 girl turns to me. "Um, I'm sorry if we've startled you." She keeps her mouth open, as if to continue, but coughs a few times instead.
I try to resume a less startled pose regardless. "It's fine. Are you okay?"
She pulls a sunflower off her hat and breathes from it in a few times. I don't think it's an inhaler...
After she puts it back, she continues with that concerned frown. "No, I'm all right. Um—" she grips her hands in front of her for a moment before smiling—"I'm Juniper Woods, from 11. Apollo Justice, right?"
"Ah! Yes, that's right." So not everyone is calling me The Surprised Boy. That's good to know. "And this is Trucy; she's from District 5, too. It's nice to meet you."
"N-nice to meet you, too." Juniper shuts her eyes for a moment before flicking her gaze to the paints and juices spread across the main table. "So, um, you two were interested in camouflage?"
I step aside as the worker sweeps some of the shards away from my feet.
"Yes!" Trucy bounces on her feet. "I love making things disappear, but I haven't used this method before."
"Oh?" Juniper blinks. "Are you a magician of some kind?"
Trucy tips her hat, posing. "The professional kind!"
"How wonderful." Juniper smiles. "Let's all practice together, then?"
I eye Robin and Hugh, who don't seem that physically or mentally destructive at the moment. "Sure."
Despite several distractions—mostly smashed pots—I make decent progress. Robin can work wonders with the paints, but I doubt I'll get my hands on any such thing in the arena. It's not much fun smearing mud all over myself, though. Maybe this is the station I should have saved for last, right before I get to go back and take a shower.
Getting to know these tributes isn't so bad, though. Hugh still looks down his nose at everyone, and Robin's still a little too energetic, but they don't seem like bad people. Neither does Juniper. She has that cough, and she does look a little sickly, but she's kind enough to help and accept help in turn. I can't say that all three of them are promising contenders, but that's not what I'm looking for. I just want a range of people that won't stab me in the back. All alliances will have to fall by the end, but I still want to count on people for as long as I can.
As great as learning camouflage is, the three from 11 and 9 seem a little too hooked on this one stand. I'm sure I can get in practice somewhere else before lunch.
"Trucy?" I start quietly. "You seem a little bored with this. Want to try somewhere else?"
She sets down her set of berry juices immediately. "Sure. What were you thinking?"
I glance across the aisle. "Knot-tying?"
She folds her arms. "But haven't we already done some of that? At, like, two different stands?"
"Okay, where do you want to go?"
"Hmm... Knife-throwing?"
"I'm not standing in front of the target."
She pouts.
"Here." I wipe my fingers clean on one of the provided cloths. "Let's just walk until we find a place."
Once she agrees, I look up to the others. Robin's investigating another painted pot that will probably be smashed soon, while Hugh and Juniper have noticed us pulling aside.
"It's been nice talking with you." I give them a nod. "Trucy and I are going to try a different station now, though."
Trucy wipes her fingers clean and slips her gloves back on. "We'll see you all later, though! You can always join us for lunch if you want."
Robin actually sets the pot down on the table for once. "That sounds GREAT, MAAAAAAN!"
Hugh doesn't turn from his painting work. "I'll consider it, I suppose."
"I'll see you later, then." Juniper smiles at us both. "Have fun."
"You too." I lead us out into the aisle, but Trucy charges ahead of me before long.
"Hey, Athena!" She runs forward waving as Athena turns to see us.
The redhead smiles immediately. "Hey, Trucy. Apollo. How's it going?"
"Good!" Trucy bounces on the balls of her feet. "We just finished up at the camouflage station. How about you?"
She glances at the stretch of rubbery flooring behind her. "I've been hanging out here for a while. Sprinting practice." Grinning, she punches her fist into her other palm. "Wanna race a couple of rounds?"
"Uh..." I guess it would be helpful to practice some running, for the bloodbath if nothing else, but I don't know that I need to race anyone. I've been humiliated enough already, and I don't need to be shown up by anyone in full view of the other tributes and Gamemakers. I can just run around on the roof if I need to.
"Sounds fun! Polly, will you hold my hat?"
"Huh?"
Trucy's thrusting her top hat at me before I can get in a proper response. Well, if I'm busy keeping this safe, I don't have to race anyone. "Okay, sure."
"One of you at a time, then?" Athena puts her hands on her hips and grins. "I can handle that. Apollo, the finish line is..."
Her mouth stays open a little, but she freezes, her eyes focused elsewhere. I note that her necklace has turned a darker blue before I check over my shoulder.
The male tribute from District 2 stands solidly before us. He may not be showing off any muscle in his heavy-looking outfit, but he's still nearly a foot taller than me.
His smirk tilts the tan feather between his lips upward as he trains his dark eyes on Athena. "Cykes-dono."
Athena takes a deep breath and assumes a neutral expression. "Blackquill. Is there something I can help you with?"
My bracelet tightens at "help," but I swallow and look back at the other tribute.
He tilts his head a bit, still looking smug. "Would you at all be interested in joining my alliance?"
"What?" Athena jumps, Widget turning a bright yellow. "Isn't your alliance... the Careers?"
He hooks his chin between his thumb and forefinger. "Indeed. It looks as though we'll have quite a promising pack this year. I'm sure you can see how advantageous it would be for you."
"But why would you want someone like me with you? I haven't trained a day in my life." Frowning, she rests her hands on her hips again.
He gazes off to the side, although his stance doesn't change. "I merely thought I would finish what I had started. That seemed like the reasoning of the powers that be as well."
She stares at him for a minute before he returns her gaze. Even if I closed my eyes, I could feel the tension in the air like some kind of oppressive humidity. It's all I can do not to run for somewhere cooler.
"What about the others?" She swallows. "Your sister?"
He chuckles, but it hardly lightens the mood. "The rest of us may be staunch in following a straight road to victory... but I assure you, I have just the blade to convince every one of them."
Wait, is he going to threaten them?
Athena looks down, gripping her elbow. I get the feeling he glossed over what she really wanted him to answer. "I can believe that. But I..." She suddenly looks up at him, eyes fierce. "I don't want it to end like that. Not if I can help it."
What does she mean, "end"? Dying at the hands of Careers?
His eyes flash. "I'm afraid there's little you can do to dissuade me, Cykes-dono."
She lurches forward, thrusting her hands down. "Then I'm going to do that little!"
He turns his face away. "Is that really what you want? You've come to an understanding of the situation, haven't you?"
"I have, and—" she fists her hands—"y-yes, that is what I want!"
From the way she hunches her shoulders defensively, from the flicker of fear in her eyes, I can tell she isn't sure. But about what? Rejecting the Career alliance? It feels like the conversation has taken a turn elsewhere along the way, but I haven't the slightest idea where to.
Blackquill stays paused for a while before turning his back on us. "I encourage you to reconsider, because I won't." He cranes his neck to cock a grin at her. "The way which you're striving after now is advantageous to no one, least of all yourself. Come speak with me when you've realized how grievous it would be to throw away your own life."
He walks away in solid but silent strides.