Hey everyone! Long time no see...er, read! Go ahead. Read! Read about Ari's silly, disgusting life before the Games. Lol just kidding, just kidding, Icepath-Snowwing.

I'm alone, on my own, and that's all I know
I'll be strong, I'll be wrong, oh but life goes on
I'm just a girl, trying to find a place in
This world

From "A Place in This World" by Taylor Swift. It's pretty self-explanatory, once you read the chapter.

A/N Yeah, I'm going to skip the capitol chariot stuff. I just normally find it boring, but I do believe Sanctuaria will be doing some of it in the next chapter! But, here's the next update!

Thank you glitterflake for reviewing TWICE! I was so happy! Please do again, and that goes for everyone else reading. :D

Oh, and Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year and Happy Easter! ;) You can ask…

Oh! And I finally remembered to put the disclaimer:

DISCLAIMER!: I AM Susanne Collins and I DO own the Hunger Games….. I can wish, right?

Oh, the joys of training. Wouldn't you love to just see the million ways the different tributes could kill you? I personally just love watching everyone show off their talents. But I don't have much to show off about. Not really, anyways. And besides, the things I knew I could do well I stayed away from. It's best to keep everyone on their toes, right? My plan: surprise everyone with a good training score after looking really bad in training. Then, I'd totally spook them because they'd know I'd have some special talent for something and wasn't trying my best during training. But so much for my plan. It went kerplop into the lake.

ooOoo

When I arrive at the training center, I notice that just about everyone's there. Perhaps one or two missing. I also see about five of them bunched into one group. I suppose the one over in the corner is the Career pack. In fact, it probably is, since they look a little sly and cunning, and my district partner is with them. I observe them since they are acting a little suspicious and notice that one of them glances over at me. I think I recognize her as the District 1 girl, since she has bright blonde hair and blue eyes and looks absolutely gorgeous. I stare at them, but when I get a few more looks, I decide to look away. But before I can look away, I see someone poke her. I guess the person wanted her attention. She turns and slaps him in the face and the boy staggers backwards. Ouch. I'll make sure never to get on her bad side. Everyone else except the tributes from District 7 and the boy from 11 are sort of wandering around. I guess we're considered loners. I glance behind my back back to the Career pack. I see all of them looking at me and when one of them starts to speak, they all turn away. I squirm a little bit as I notice more people are looking at me. I can feel their gaze burning into me.

I square my shoulders. "I'm ok. Just ignore them," I mutter under my breath. Standing there for a few more seconds was driving me crazy. I shut my eyes tightly for a few minutes. Right when I finally calm myself down, I turn myself around jerkily, but I am surprised and unprepared by what I saw. They aren't staring at me anymore, which was good, but then I notice that everyone has gone to a station. I guess I missed the station experts coming in along with the last few tributes. Great. I've already missed a bit of extra training I could get, which I need.

I decide to try something new and make my way over to the bow and arrow station. There, I find out I am basically useless with them. I even almost hit the girl from District 2. Luckily, she was practicing, or should I say showing off, combat and has a shield. I am really surprised when she gives me a sympathetic look. I thought Careers didn't have feelings. I turn around and decide to try my luck by throwing an arrow. But of course, it does not go in my favor.

After my failing attempt with bows and arrows, I head over to the combat station which is a fair distance away to my right. I halt to watch the District 2 girl and District 10 boy battling. I notice the weapons aren't sharp, or they would have both been dead by now, considering they've been at it since beginning of training. I guess the Gamemakers don't want us killing each other yet. But still, I bet you could beat someone to death with these things… My eyes flash back and forth between the two tributes. The boy from 10 is using some bat. It might've been a club. Who knows? But I guess he'd be the guy who'd maul someone to death since he seems to be pretty talented with that stick. The girl from 2 has an old-fashioned sword and shield. Of course, the sword was blunt.

After watching them fight for a little while, I feel my eyes start to wander around when they catch a view of knives and daggers. I smile to myself, remembering the first time Lina had taught me how to use them.

"Never trap yourself in a tight space. If it happens, it could kill you. It's a life or death situation," Lina whispered. I knew she was dead serious about this. Lina is always serious when she's talking about fighting and survival skills. She never jokes about this kind of stuff.

I stared at her, wide eyed, since I was only eleven back then. I guess I was pretty innocent at the time.

"Also," she continued, "keep your blows closer to you body so that if need be, you can block." She demonstrated by thrusting her knife in my direction. I used the flat side of my blade to block it. She smiles. "Good. Now think fast!" With that as my only warning, she lunged at me and my survival instincts kicked in. She twirled around and her dagger sliced through the air, about to dig into my arm when I jumped backwards. This went on for awhile. Lina attacked, I defended myself. "Come on," she taunted, "is that all you can do?" Her blows get a little harder and I found myself just barely saving myself from a cut to the throat. My face grew furious, but she knew this was all play since my eyes had a glint of playfulness. I attacked, and while she was busy blocking me, I struck her by kicking my leg out and tripping her. With the surprise, she fell down to the ground and I stuck the tip of my blade to her throat.

"Captured," I teased.

Without warning, she used the knife that was still in her hand and stuck the tip to my back, about the area where my heart was. It was so close that my shirt had a tiny hole from the tip of her dagger. As I was distracted, she disarmed me and flipped me over. This time, her blade was the tip of my throat. "Not quite." Lina laughed. "Surrender."

I sigh. "I surrender." She let me get up and I retrieved my knife.

"Make sure to disarm your opponent before asking them to surrender. But…" she paused, "you're good," she stated while studying me. She looked up, surprise etched on her face.

I looked in the direction she was looking. There stood a boy, around the age of 15. I blinked.

"Very good for a beginner," he taunted, "but such a loser compared to me."

I glared at him; my grip on my blade tightened. "What did you just say," I hissed through gritted teeth.

"Oh, did I just call you a loser?" he called in a babyish voice.

A growl erupted from my throat when I felt Lina tugging at my wrist, firmly. "Hey! We're not losers, but yeah, you're good. So…we're just going to get out of here and you can have this place to yourself."

I yank my wrist out of her grip. "No. We're going to stay put." Lina sucked in some air and her cheeks poofed up like that spiky puff-out fish.

The boy's eye flashed. "You want a fight?"

I glared at him again. "Yeah. I do." Lina gasps. The boy looked shocked that I had accepted his challenge. "That's right. I'll fight you."

"B- but you only just learned how to fight," Lina spluttered. I ignored her and walked away into the center of the fighting arena. "And he's really good! The best! Oh, Ari, please don't!" The boy looked uneasily around but ended up joining me and took a fighting stance. I copied Lina's stance when I had sparred with her. Without warning, he thrust his knife at me, expecting to win at the first move, but I still had my survival instincts button on.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lina holding her breath, ready to leap in incase I lost. But I won't. Normally, my fury would distract me from fighting, but for once, it egged me on. I blocked him with my blade. He swung at me again, this time aiming for my stomach when my knife intercepted his path. The force jarred my arm. I pulled back and felt tiny beads of sweat on my face. One drop fell in my eye. I used my free hand to wipe it away when the boy charged at me. I was so scared that I was about to drop my knife. Luckily, I didn't, otherwise I'd be dead meat. Out of shock, I threw my dagger at him. I missed my mark, which was his throat, but the edge grazed his arm. He hissed in anger and held his arm, clearly frightened at the thought that he was hurt. I smirked, kicked him, and disarmed him all at once. I held his own knife to his throat.

"Would you like to take 'loser' back now," I drawled.

In normal circumstances, I bet he wouldn't've, but since this was a life and death situation, he sighed and closed his eyes slowly.

I'm sure he was trying to keep his calm, but I could tell he was nervous. "Well," I coaxed as I pressed the tip of his blade closer to his throat. I glared at him when he didn't respond. He gulped.

"I surrender," he grunted. It was barely above a whisper.

"Louder. I want Lina to hear."

"I surrender." He winced as his voice cracked.

"… and?" I was waiting for him to admit that I was not a loser.

He gave a small pout. Of course, he was just trying to get out of the situation. It wouldn't work on me. I narrowed my eyes. "You're a loser." I raised an eyebrow. He whimpered as I pressed my blade harder. If he swallowed, he would end up getting cut. "Ok! I surrender and you're not a loser. You're… good."

I let him get up. He dusted off his pants and backed away slowly, as if not wanting to startle me. I looked to Lina for approval. She was just amazed. I told him to get out, but first, I asked his name.

Garilee (Jer-ih-lay) Longue… my district partner. That wasn't the boy in the mermory's name, but it was his little brother's. I mean, the one back when I learned how to fight with knives' little brother. Garilee is the little brother of the boy I practiced fighting with. No wonder I recognized him… He looked so much like his brother. Besides, whose last name is Longue? I don't know anyone else last name as Longue. But, whatever. It's not really important… unless Garilee is holding a grudge against me.

I walk over to the table of weapons, slightly mesmerized by them. I pick one up and lightly touch the tip. It's blunt. I let out a small sigh. If only they were sharp, my memories back in 4 would be so vivid. Now, they seemed cloudier. If only they were sharp… The adrenaline rush that I had experienced slowly left me, leaving me exhausted and longing for my dad's knives and daggers that I took from home. They were in my room.

When I had arrived at The Capitol, I was quickly rushed out and into this new building. The training center. This was also where the stylists decided to have a little fun with me. It was painful, but all the touch ups seemed very distant compared to what my mother would sometimes do to me. It almost seemed as if she were a living doll. Which she was, except that I would rather have a doll for my mother than the annoying one I have now.

My stylist, Sijardin, was really weird. His skin was tinted turquoise colored. My love for turquoise had disappeared. Strange designs were painted on his skin, all over his whole body. And the clothing style! I thought District 4 had some of the latest fashion, but I guess it was nothing compared to The Capitol. In a way, it disgusted me. Their clothes were exotic with the bright colors blinding me every time I took a look at them. But, I suppose I eventually got used to it all. My eyes probably adjusted, although every once in a while I'm blinded for a moment.

Sijardin's voice was a little high for a guy, too. I mean, it was insanely squeaky high, even for a girl. These capitol people were starting to scare me. However, they did have impressive outfits for the chariot ride and my prep team said the interview outfit was one of the bests they had ever seen. I'm not sure I quite believe them, considering they were the disgustingly weird clothes, but as long as they aren't overdone and all scary-like, I think I'm ok.

Distantly, I hear someone's voice calling my name. I guess it was my last name that jerked me out of my thoughts. I hate my last name with a burning passion. I mean, whose last name is Pebblestep?

"Pebblestep? Hello?"

I turn quickly, holding the dagger between us. "Don't come any closer," I say with a deadly seriousness in my voice. I actually don't really know what is wrong with me, considering a blunt dagger would get me nowhere unless I jabbed it in the guy's temple or managed to slit his wrists, which was unlikely.

"Hey! Chill! We only wanted to see what you were doing!" The girl from District 2 was watching me. Again.

The guy chuckles and puts on an accent. I recognize him as the boy from District 10. "Don't ya know that that piece of metal ain't gonna do a thing?"

I glare at him and made a mental note to cover my ears if he ever tries to talk that way to me again. Then I process what he just said. "Hmm? Oh… Sorry." I lower my knife. "I guess survival instincts are already starting to kick in." I give a weak smile.

The girl laughs. What was her name? Maria? Myana? Oh, whatever. I don't remember. "Yeah. Same for just about everyone. It all starts about right after the reaping day." She tosses her blonde curls. "So, your name's Ariella, right?

I pause and then nod hesitantly.

"What? You don't know your own name?"

I glance at the boy. He is laughing at his own so-called joke. I don't really get it and I don't think the girl did either. "Well, I prefer Ari. It's way better than Ariella." I frown.

The girl blinks. "Ari…" She pauses. "Ariella sounds more sophisticated."

I shrug.

"But I like Ari. It's pretty and a little dangerous sounding. I really like it, actually." She puts down her shield and holds out her hand.

Being me, I just stare at it.

"Seriously. It's a handshake. I thought you grew up in District 4."

I laugh a little, though you can tell it is forced. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm a little slow at processing things…" I shake her hand firmly and pull away.

"Mya Greys, District 2 tribute," she introduces herself.

"I'm Kobe Luck from the awesome District 10," the boy from District 10 volunteers.

We ignore him and the three of us end up standing there a little awkwardly.

"So," she suddenly starts, "are you good with knives?" She points at the dagger in my hand.

I shrug. "I guess I'm ok."

Mya snatches it out from my hand and starts to toss it around. I look at her unhappily. Who does she think she is, snatching things out of my hand? I try to keep my cool and close my eyes, letting out a long breath.

Mya doesn't seem to notice. "This is perfectly balanced for me. Such a shame the Gamemakers decided to blunt all of these." She runs her finger down the length of the blade. Suddenly, she throws it. The blade slices through the air like a blur and burrows itself just slightly above the dummy's heart. If the dagger had been sharp, it probably would have been directly on target.

I'm surprised, although I probably shouldn't be. She is a Career after all, and Careers are talented people. But, they're normally more violent. Or at least that's what I had always thought. Maybe I'm wrong, which is more than likely.

"Can you throw one?" she asks. I bite my lip, unsure whether to reveal my skill to her. She looks at me inquisitively. "Well?" I nod. "I want to see."

I select another dagger from the table and make sure it's balanced in my hand. Then, I chuck it at the dummy. It seems to be on target, but at the last second, it swerved and instead lodged itself in the throat. I bite my lip.

"Were you trying to aim for its throat?" Mya asks.

"Yes." I blink, look down, and shuffle my feet.

Mya rolls her eyes. "You probably missed because it wasn't quite balanced."

I'm glad she sort of believed me. Or, at least, she gives me the benefit of the doubt. Or, well, I guess none of that happened. She just doesn't push it.

Mya looks at me funny. "I think you should join the Career pack… but the problem is that they don't trust you since you didn't join us automatically. Which, is true, since it's, like, a no-brainer to join us. I mean, why wouldn't you?" She stares at me. I guess she's sort of waiting for me to answer her.

I shrug. "I don't know if I want to join you guys."

She rolls her eyes again. "Well, whatever. It's lunch time anyways." She leaves out the door with Kobe following her close behind.

I shut my eyes and open them again, breathing out a sigh. Looking around, I notice that everyone's gone. All the station people are staring at me. "Sorry," I whisper, blushing, and I run out the door.

ooOoo

Lunch was a little awkward. There were two tables. The first table held the Careers. Districts 1 and 2, Garilee, the girl from 3, Kobe, and the boy from 8. Surprisingly, the girl from 5 is sitting next to the District 1 girl. You know, the one who slapped the boy who poked her earlier. The other table held everyone else, although at one end the tributes from 7 and the boy from 11 were huddled together.

ooOoo

I am unsure where I want to go. Go with my fellow Careers who were planning each other's and everyone else's deaths? Or look like a softie and join the other districts?

My district partner turns around and stares at me. The girl I almost hit with an arrow, Mya, swivels around in her seat and smiles at me. She beckons me to their table. I pause for a minute. Everyone seems to be watching me. Before I know it, my legs carry me over to the Career's table. I hesitate before I sit.

Everyone stares at me for a few more seconds and then go back to their food except Mya. "Hi," I whisper softly.

She smiles. I'm not quite sure if it is genuine, considering it was the same smile she had shown the cameras on the reaping day. I wonder why she volunteered, but perhaps she's like the normal Careers. Just they are a little more violent. But I think I like her. Maybe I will join the Career pack.

"So," she starts, "Ari, this is the Career table. I'm glad you joined us." She picks up a roll and picks off a piece, popping it into her mouth. She then turns to everyone else at the table and says something I don't quite pick up. It was something along the lines of 'Hello? Why doesn't anyone say hi? It's not like she…' I jab my fork into a fairly big slice of meat and decide just to bite into it since it appears that I forgot to get a knife. I take a big chomp out of it. I look up and see everyone at this table staring at me, wide-eyed. "What? I have something on my face?" I ask through my mouthful of beef.

The boy from District 1 laughs. "She doesn't bite?" he asks Mya.

Mya's cheeks burn red in embarrassment. "I meant that she doesn't bite other people."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," The girl from 3 jeers. Mya doesn't say anything. "I'm sure she would bite if her life is in danger. Which, would be quite soon."

"I would kill her now. She eats just like an animal. It's disgusting." The girl from 1 looks at me disapprovingly. I put down my fork.

"Well, anyways," Mya tries to continue as if nothing happened, "Ari, this is Sapphire." She points to the District 1 girl. "Amethyst." She moves to the District 1 boy. "Of course you know I'm Mya from District 2, and this is my brother, Moliask." The boy she points to gives her a death glare. I'll make sure to steer clear of him. "This is, um, Pearanya, right?" The District 3 girl rolls her eyes and nods, acting bored. "Garilee, your district partner, and Velvito from District 8." Velvito doesn't look up from his food. "Oh, and this is Etolia."

"Hi," she says before returning to her plate of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and rolls. I can't tell if it's condescending or not.

"So," Sapphire begins, "since we're the Career pack, we should guard the Cornucopia, right?" she asks, although I bet it's a rhetorical question. Everyone around the table nods except me. Sapphire looks at me sharply. "Ariella? Do you not agree?"

I shrug and don't say anything while I sort my thoughts. Eventually, I figure out what to say. "That is only if there's nothing else more important. Say, like, there's an ultimate food supply in one place. Then, you guys should guard there and will also control the food source while eating all you want at the same time."

"Yes, I was going to say that," she says sweetly in a voice that could almost have had honey dripping out of it. But Sapphire glares at me.

"Of course," I mutter sarcastically.

She smiles, but it's a cold one. "Well, then that's-" Suddenly, there's a scream. We turn and look the other table and see a girl holding her throat and another girl trying to do the Heimlich maneuver on her. I think the girl choking is from District 9 and the other one from District 8. Her face was starting to turn blue. Medics rush in a few seconds later and they inject something into her. She survives. Apparently she wasn't choking but was deathly allergic to peanuts, which was in a cookie. I feel kind of bad for the girl. If there are any peanuts in the arena, she'll definitely have a tough time, since everyone could use it as an advantage against her.

Even though all the drama is over, everyone seems quiet. No one speaks. But it's a good thing. I get to think about everything.

I'm willing to bet that Sapphire is going to be the leader since everyone else seems to listen to her. And if I join the career group, I'll have to listen to her too, or else she's going to make sure everyone turns against me and then I'll be dead meat. Like my food in front of me. Sort of. But that's too risky. I can't join the career pack. I'm going to have to face this on my own.

A/N Oh my googles! This is the longest chapter I have EVER written! I hope you liked it! I don't know if you understood the meat part. Sorry about that. I hope the next chapter (Etolia's view) explains that. And… the peanut issue, I felt like doing that. I hope that wasn't too weird or anything. Thanks! Please review, and blah blah blah…

Review please! New chapter is posted.