Hey everyone! So, just to clear this up, this chapter would have been posted 4 days ago if I didn't have to wait for Icepath-Snowwing. So the late update isn't my fault. For those of you who didn't get the whole 'bite' joke in Ch5, you'll get it here. So, train ride, stylists, chariots, and first morning of training down.
Today was a fairytale
You've got a smile that takes me to another planet
Every move you make everything you say is right
Today was a fairytale
From "Today Was A Fairytale" by Taylor Swift. Etolia's happiness and relief at instantly being accepted by the other (important) tributes. She realizes training for the Games won't be so bad, it might actually be amusing.
Enough of my rambling, read it!
Dion and I first see each other again at the station. Our families are kept behind the rope. Dion has obviously been crying and is still sniffling as we go up the ramp onto the train. In his hand, he grips tightly what I assume will be his district token. It's a golden band, embedded with yellow gemstones forming the shape of lightning bolts. I wonder how he got it. Dion's family isn't poor, but they aren't rich either. I doubt even the mayor has something so nice. Too bad it'll probably be ruined in the Games. We board the train and the ramp comes up and covers the entrance. There's a slight jolt and the train starts moving. I glance out the window, and, though I'm loath to admit it, am slightly daunted by the speed at which we are moving. Surprisingly, I don't feel any side effects—such as nausea, which plagues Marie—from the train. The air is cool and controlled. Dion and I look at each other, wondering what we're supposed to be doing. The ride to the Capitol only takes about a day from District 5. Just then the door slides open—no push or pull, slides—to reveal our three previous victors. All of them look to be in pretty good shape, no alcohol or drugs inflicting abuse on their bodies. There are two female and one male, which means I get the pleasure of choosing my mentor. Joy. Elena Sosot comes in in her usual bouncy way.
"This is such a big day for you!" she blathers, "Dion, you'll be with Cori." Cori is the man. He looks on the older side, around fifty, but still strong. He looks at Dion with kind, understanding eyes and puts his arm around his shoulder. His blue eyes reflect a certain sadness, but there's a hardness in the shape of his face that accounts for his victory. No one comes back from the Games unscathed. Except maybe me. Because, as my mother said during one of her early shouting matches with me, I have become "cruel and heartless." I don't need the Games to change me, the circumstances in my life in District 5 has done that already. Cori leads Dion through a door leading towards the front of the train. I survey the two women in front of me.
One of them looks to be about the same age as Cori. Her graying brown hair and sharp brown eyes give her a unique look in District 5. Very few of us have the brown hair brown eyes combo. I try to recall everything I can about this woman. She was the victor of the 34rd Hunger Games. Because she's from my district, they play the reruns of her Game often. Her name is Levitha Olicayo. She's good with knives and swords, and average with a bow.
The other is younger than Cori and Levitha, maybe in her thirties? She has the customary dirty blonde hair of District 5, along with the green eyes. She's the picture of what you think of when you think of a person from District 5. Me, I'm not the norm. It's rare to find a person with pure brown or pure blonde hair. Dark brown eyes, hazel eyes, and blue eyes are hard to find too. I have dark brown hair and green eyes. The dark hair and green eyes are inherited from my mother, although her mother was a dirty blonde. My father had dirty blonde hair and green eyes. I try to remember all I can about this victor. Her name…her name is Velicia Birt. Victor of the 45th Hunger Games, her best assets are her throwing skills—you know, knives and stuff like that—and her powers of observation. Neither of them seem particularly soft and caring, but I don't care. I'm here to win, not be coddled.
Then I assess my own skills, trying to decide who to choose. I'm decent with small knives and okay with slim swords, but they have to be long and light. I can't use a sword and a shield at the same time either. I'm absolutely hopeless with clubs or maces. Decent with a bow. Besides fighting skills, I am okay with medicines. Not medicinal plants, but Capitol brewed medicines. And, well, that credit has to go to my overprotective mother. She must've diagnosed me with a billion different diseases over the years, and "treated" them all. I have tried every medicine known to District 5. Once, she even thought I had contracted rabies—though nothing had bit me or anything remotely like that—and gave me shots and pills for it. After all that, I'm fairly good at recognizing and identifying Capitol medicines. Like everyone in District 5, my ability in the electrifying department surpassed all the other tributes, except maybe my counterpart being coached by Cori. But who to chose?
Levitha knows how to work with the skills I have. In a way, her experience with her Hunger Games would be very helpful to me. We have a similar skill set, so she knows strategy that would be useful to me. Velicia's powers of observation, though very useful and not to be underestimated, are unteachable, especially in the paltry time we have to prepare. I lock eyes with Levitha and she nods.
She motions for me to come with her and leads the way towards the front of the train. She shows me to my room, where I can shower and change before lunch. I pull open the drawer to find millions of clothes to choose from. For me, comfort, and maximum movement and protection beats style any day. I pull out a light spring green shirt and brow leggings and head for the bathroom. The shower is more high-tech than the one we have at home. The dial lets you change the temperature at will, whereas at home there are exactly three buttons: hot, cold, and off. Hot has always been a little cooler than I would like at my house, so I turn the dial up even higher. When I step out, I dry myself and don the light shirt and pants. I brush out my slightly wavy brown hair and pick up the sheet of thin material that is to be my district token. I'm not even sure what it is yet. I'm supposed to carry it around throughout the Games? Fat chance. All I can say is, if the mayor wants me to have this, the tribute clothing better have pockets.
Levitha comes for me again to lead me to the dining room. Steaming dishes are already set out on the table, soups and salads and breads. Dion and Cori come in after me. I sit down at we begin to eat. The food comes in courses. At home, our meals, though not scant, were all laid out on the table at the same time. There was no soup course, just meat, a starch, and a vegetable. The food here is all delicious, and to my surprise it's not too rich for me. At the end, as a little taste of home, they serve our district rolls. Their light brown crust is slightly sweet but not crunchy. The insides are white and fluffy, just like the most expensive ones at the bakery. After dinner, I retire to my room. I flip on the TV to watch the televised reruns of the reapings. Levitha comes in after me to my annoyance, but I don't complain. She's my lifeline in these Games.
Just in time, too. They flash the Capitol symbol and play the anthem. As usual, District 1 goes first. Levitha hands me a small notebook. I take it gratefully. I need to remember what the tributes are like, and use their weaknesses against them. The reapings for District 1 go by rather quickly. Two twelve year olds are chosen and immediately replaced by older tributes who will obviously be Careers. The girl is gorgeous, with blue eyes and long, curly blonde hair that falls down to her waist. The boy has slightly long straight black hair and hazel eyes that almost look purple. Their names are Sapphire and Amethyst. They both look confident, and Sapphire even smiles, waves, and blows kisses to the crowd of District 1, who go crazy. It's obvious she is a popular choice. Amethyst receives applause as well, but nowhere near as much as Sapphire. They both look strong and sturdy.
District 2 is after District 1. The girl is about eighteen and quickly volunteers for the thirteen year old called, flashing a winning smile at the cameras. Her blonde curls bounce as she walks up onto the stage. They announce her name: Mya Greys. The boy, also a volunteer, has a remarkable resemblance to the girl. Moliask's burlier, however, with straight black hair that falls to his shoulders. I'm not surprised when they announce them to be brother and sister.
District 3 is next. Luckily, I recognize neither of them from trading in the Week of No Somnus. The chosen are not volunteers. Pearanya and Bermiath are their names. Bermiath appears confident, but Pearanya looks surprised and a little frightened before she has a chance to conceal her emotions.
Then it's District 4, the last of the usual Career districts. A young girl is chosen, quickly replaced by an older, sixteen probably, my age, volunteer with brown hair and freckles. But right before the escort announces her name, there's a close up on her face. It's clear that she's crying, getting the front of her blue dress with the frilly bow all wet. As they zoom out again, it drips down in drops to her feet, clad in golden flats. Fear is etched clearly on this girl's, Ariella's, face. This doesn't make any sense to me. Why volunteer if it makes you unhappy? It's not like the girl was her sister or anything. Somewhere in the crowd behind the camera, someone is shouting her name, "Ari! Ari!" which I guess is her nickname. She doesn't turn to look, and I'm too busy puzzling over her fear to watch the male tribute being chosen, earning me a sharp rap on the head by Levitha. I come to my senses just as they're announcing his name, Garilee Longue, but I have no idea if he was a volunteer or not.
After that, it's my reaping. I wonder what they'll show, as the whole process after the mayor's speech took about a half hour, and this program's only forty-five minutes long. I see Dion being called, his face white. The screen goes gray as Elena is selecting the slip from the girl's ball. The screen suddenly goes back to the Capitol seal and a voiceover is apologizing for the mix up in the reaping of District 5's female tribute.
After that they cut right to District 6. A small girl, Teribia, and a tall boy named Yassarith are selected here. No one comes forward to volunteer for them, so the program moves right along after they shake hands with the escort. Then it's District 7, where Lethalissima and Quistor are chosen. Lethalissima is tall, tanned, and has brown hair. Quistor has short-cropped black hair. Neither of them look particularly fearful, but their district obviously is less well-fed than my own.
Meryll and Velvito are called up from District 8. Velvito doesn't look like much of a threat and neither does Meryll. Velvito has black hair and Meryll brown. She's small and looks to be about fourteen.
District 9's tributes also have no one to volunteer for them, and it's reflected in their faces. Icanya is very lightly tanned, with black hair in a long braid down her back. She has a serious and somber expression. I don't see her being much of a threat. Hatmic is burlier, but obviously could use more food in his diet. I'm slightly struck by how well off we of District 5 are.
District 10 is next. The girl is chosen first, one Atonia Magda. She bravely mounts the stage, and I judge her to be a young fifteen year old. She has slightly curly light brown hair that falls a bit past her shoulders. Her eyes are a soft green. The boy is Kobe, who is not particularly distraught by his being a tribute. He acts as if it's all a big joke, although I—and most of the other tributes, I'm guessing—don't find him very funny. I suppose this will be his plan to win over the Capitol audience and gain sponsors.
District 11's tributes, Blossom and Urness, are very slight in stature. Their reaping day dress and nice clothes look as though they've been passed down through many generations, which makes me wonder what their normal clothes look like. They look way underfed, and I think Blossom might have wiped away a tear as she mounted the steps.
In District 12, the last district since 13 was blown off the map, everything goes smoothly. But if I said District 11's tributes looked underfed, 12's were even worse. You could easily see the outline of every bone in their body. Their shoes were covered in black dust from just walking up to the stage. From what I can see, the entire district's covered in a thin layer of coal dust. Their names are Tessaraea and Ore. I wonder what kind of parents would name their child "Tessaraea," which comes from tesserae. Was that all their child was to them? Someone to get tesserae for their family?
Then it's over, and Levitha leaves me with the order to study the list. I stretch out on the bed, with the TV still on in the background as I look over my notes. Suddenly I hear the words "Special Report" and turn to look back at the TV.
"District 5's female tribute is Etolia Akari. We're sorry for the delay in getting this information out to you, citizens of Panem," the announcer says. They show a brief clip of me going up the steps and shaking hands with Elena Sosot. I'm glad to see that my expression is impassive. I pop the tape of the recorder and play it, rewatching the reapings. As I see District 4's again, I'm glad my dress wasn't fluffy with a big bow like Ari's. I go through them again until Levitha pulls me out of my room. We are arriving at the Capitol. At the last second, I go back to pick up the dress and district token from my bathroom and take them with me going off the train. A Capitol attendant takes them from me, leaving my arms free to wave at the crowd, but I don't. I ignore them and walk straight down the plank. Dion is beside me, our mentors following behind. He isn't crying, but he still looks miserable and does nothing to try and please the crowd goggling at us. Cori shows him to an elevator and they get inside. Levitha shows me to a second elevator and hits the "5" button. It rises up and the doors ding open, revealing a large room with whitewashed walls.
"Stay here," she instructs me, "Your prep team will prepare you before you meet your stylist. Don't resist." With that, she hits the down button on the elevator and glides back downwards, leaving me alone in the Remake Center. The door on the opposite end opens, and in comes three of the most bizarre people I have ever seen. The first one is dyed completely blue, and appears to have died of asphyxiation. The second as covered in blue and green tattoos, with a headdress of what looks like peacock feathers sticking up. She's lucky she's so short or her feathers would have brushed across the ceiling. The third is also female, for which I am grateful. She smiles at me, and I see that her canine teeth are elongated more than is natural and end in sharp points. Her nails are also abnormally long, filed to be more like claws.
They introduce themselves as Crotia, Aguasa, and Sindi. Then they strip me down and Sindi, the clawed one, dumps a bottle of green sludge into a tub of lukewarm bathwater. They usher me into it. When they let me emerge fifteen minutes later, I'm covered in noxious green slime. I hope this is not part of my outfit, for though I like green, this is more of a sickly color. Luckily or unluckily, they scrape it off with heavy bristled brushes. Though I showered on the train, it's amazing the amount of dirt they can scrape off with those things—along with layers of my skin.
They circle me, taking in every part of my naked body, checking that everything was okay. I hope this means I'm done. But no, after they agree the green solution has done its work, they dunk me in a muddy brown one instead. And then a red oozing thing that they rub into my hair. Then a yellow paste that sits on my body for about an hour before they peel it off. Finally, Crotia exclaims, "There! You look lovely, darling!" I shrug as Aguasa goes to call my stylist.
The door opens, and a faint fragrance permeates the room. My stylist comes in, but she's nothing like I expected. I don't think I've ever seen her before. The fragrance holds a hint of trees and bark. There aren't many trees in District 5, so I can't tell which kind. Then there is the woman herself. She looks to be in her early thirties, but you never can tell the age of anyone in the Capitol, with all their high-tech cosmetic equipment. Her eyes are tilted slightly upwards, giving her an exotic, but beautiful appearance. The tips of her ears taper to a slight point, and I see when she smiles at me that her teeth are perfectly straight. She wears tawny pants and a light green top, the kind I love to wear. A for-decoration quiver and bow are strung across her back. When she speaks, "Hello Etolia," I know I've heard her voice before. She reminds me of an image I saw somewhere before…
"You're Cliarra, who trained under Tosiri," I realize.
"Indeed," she smiles again. I cannot help but trust her. She way she moves and talks…it's so…perfect. I pinch myself. Hard. The feelings vanish. To hide my lack of concentration, I ask, "What am I wearing tonight?"
"Oh, I think you'll like it." She glides over to the massive wardrobe and opens it. Only one outfit resides inside. She delicately takes it off its hanger and I know instantly it's not my type, but as dresses go, it's reasonable. Cliarra holds it out to me and I take it. It's made of some sort of lightweight material that shimmers in the light, throwing bits of gold everywhere. The entire dress is gold, but I don't realize how it reflects my district until I put it on. As I stand in front of the mirror, I notice no matter which way I turn, a lightning bolt is emblazoned on my chest, shinier than the rest but utterly unnoticeable until light shines upon it.
"Cliarra," I breathe, "Thank you!" And I truly meant it. Getting sponsors and a high training score are my duties now, before the Games. To me, this dress is priceless. She smiles mischievously.
"Just wait until you see your interview dress," she says. I smile back, for the first time today. First time this week, probably. I decide I like Cliarra. She genuinely wants to help me, a quick-to-anger, slow-to-forgive sixteen year old girl, who wants to kill other people. Well, this is the Capitol. I turn back to my prep team so they can do my makeup. I've always disliked make up, but luckily they only do a highlight of green above my eyes and powder my face. Cliarra moves about with a grace I've never seen, almost too fluid to be human. We get into the elevator which takes us down to the first floor. While we glide down, I realize what she reminds me of. A book, a rather dry and boring book, that we read parts of in school. It was called Literature of the Past and talked about all sorts of books that were written before the Hunger Games began, before the Dark Days even. Anyway, it talked about a book in which strange creatures existed, and one of them I would imagine to look just like Cliarra. What were they called? Elves! That was it!
"You're an elf," I say.
"Yes," she nods, "The Capitol has many makeover options."
"Literature of the Past?" I ask.
"Yes." Her laugh is soft and melodic. We arrive at the bottom floor to discover it's more of a stable than a room. Cliarra helps me mount the chariot to join Dion, who is already there. His suit is golden, like my dress, and he sports a top hat emblazoned with a lightning bolt. We nod to each other and face the front, where the District 1 chariot is already starting to exit into the view of the cheering crowds. Sapphire is gorgeous as usual, and the purple suit Amethyst is wearing brings out the slight purple in his eyes. The horses are so well-trained they need no guidance. District 2, District 3, District 4, and then we're being pulled out onto the track by our horses.
There's plenty of time to examine some of the other tributes on our way to see the president, so I do. As I wave and smile at the crowd—though they definitely do not deserve it—I look at some of the other tributes. As I glance around at the other tributes, I see that they are in awe of the Capitol's bright, flashing lights. It doesn't make as much of an impression on me though. District 5 is full of lights, as we're the power district. Without us, there would be no Capitol. No Games.
The easiest to see is the chariot right in front of us, District 4. The girl, Ari, I think, is calm instead of crying for once and smiles and waves to the crowd. A lot like what I'm doing. The boy, Garilee, is smiling a fake smile down on the Capitol citizens, but I'm not sure any of them notice how condescending he's being. Actually, I'm not sure if they're noticing him at all. Behind us, District 8 Meryll has captured the crowd with her sweet face and smiles. Further on Icanya, District 9, is the only girl crossing her arms and ignoring the crowd. A pang of jealousy goes through me; I'd love to be doing that. District 10 tribute Kobe is laughing and joking with the crowd as he passes them, while his counterpart just waves shyly, a small smile on her face. Away from my mother and the sad memories of my district, I'm beginning to relax, as ironic as that is. I'm going closer to what I used to be. Atonia, that was the girl's name. In my district, she'd be too young to be a tribute. Someone would have volunteered for her. But I guess it isn't like that in District 10. Mya, District 2, also has an excited audience. But by far, we are all blown out of the water by Sapphire, of District 1. The crowd screams her name and she blows kisses back to them. Her chariot is covered in pretty flowers that people have thrown to her.
We make our final lap around the City Circle and finally stop before President Snow's mansion. The music ends with a flourish, and a hush falls over the crowd. The President, a young sallow faced man gives us an official welcome to the Capitol from the balcony above. They play the anthem and cut to our faces on the screens above. Then we do a final parade around the City Circle and enter the Training Center. The doors shut around us and we are swarmed by prep teams. Cliarra is smiling and helps me dismount from the chariot.
"How'd I do?" I asked as I stepped down.
"Perfect," she smiled.
"The dress was the only thing anyone saw," I told her.
"Nonsense," she said, "You make it beautiful."
"Thanks," I blushed, which I'd probably never done in my life. The other tributes are being guided into the big glass elevator, and Cliarra and I follow behind. They're surrounded by either their stylist or their prep team. The glass elevator has fifteen buttons, one for each district, one for the ground floor, which we're at, one for the Training Center below us, and one for the roof. The number corresponds with our district, making it easy to remember. We shoot upward, watching the people beneath our feet shrink. Cliarra, Dion's stylist Terri, Dion, and I get off at the fifth stop. We have the floor all to ourselves. Dion and I immediately head to our rooms.
Mine is huge. The shower panel has more than a hundred buttons. I take off the gold dress and lay it on the bed, trying not to wrinkle it. I take a nice shower and when I step out onto the mat it automatically sends a gush of warm air at my body, drying it. Placing my hand on another panel sends a current running through my hair, drying and untangling it instantly. Being the power district, we have these at home, but they don't work as well and you often have to use many electric currents to fully dry and untangle your wet hair. The wardrobe is programmable, having more than a hundred options. First you select casual, fancy, or sleep, then under each of those categories is the options of casual, or formal. Then it has you pick more specific things, such as color, and temperature it will be worn in. Finally it provides you with a variety of clothes. When you select one digitally, there's a whirring sound and the doors open to reveal it. I don a light green shirt and tawny pants, like the ones I wore on the train and continue exploring the room. Yet another panel by the window lets it zoom in and out to see whatever you want in the beautiful city of the Capitol, but I set it to show the patch of night sky above the horizon instead. A giant mouthpiece in the corner of the room lets you order whatever you want from a huge menu next to it, but before I can try it, Levitha is back, calling me to dinner.
The stylists are there, although our prep teams are absent. A young man whose hair is dyed completely red offers us all glasses of wine. Everyone except Terri and Elena decline. I've had wine before, but I need to keep a clear head. The young man is joined by an even younger girl who looks to be about 12 years old. She looks familiar, but I can't have seen her before. I've never been to the Capitol before now. The dinner starts with a creamy soup, which is delicious. "Chicken and Gnocchi soup," the young girl called it. I could eat it all day, but the young man is back with the next course, salad sprinkled with cut carrots, celery, and baby tomatoes. Fresh fruit and vegetables are expensive in District 5, so we don't get fancy ones like this often. Next comes the main course, rare prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes. Throughout the meal, a basket of rolls remains on the table for us to eat if we wish. The meal ends with a bowl of fresh strawberries each and a pot of chocolate. I watch Cori carefully dip his strawberry into the chocolate and cautiously do the same. It's delicious. It's all delicious. What do people in the Capitol do besides eat all day?
After dinner, Levitha and Cori lead us to the TV in the sitting room, where they're broadcasting a rerun of the opening ceremonies. Having watched the other tributes during the parade, I mostly focus on us. We get a decent amount of applause, probably a bit more than 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, or 12. Poor Tessaraea and Ore were dressed in coal miner's getup, their bodies powdered black and their outfits tattered. 10 made out just about as well as us, dressed in wide-brimmed hats with fake whips in their hands, like they were about to ride off in pursuit of some runaway cattle. I'm relieved to see my smile and waving didn't seem too forced, knowing I never could have pulled that off back in District 5. We retire to our rooms once it's over, leaving our mentors and stylists to talk.
When I wake up in the morning, I find my wardrobe dysfunctional and an outfit laid out for me instead. Black tight-fitting pants, a light blue sleeveless shirt, and flexible leather shoes are laid out at the foot of my bed. I dress quickly and head to the dining room for breakfast. Even though it's early, Levitha, and Cori are already there, sipping cups of a steamy brown liquid. Coffee. Cliarra sits across from them, cooling a mug of tea, and pats the chair next to her, inviting me to come and sit. I gather some scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh melon and go sit at the table to eat. The young man server offers me a glass of orange juice and I accept it gratefully. Dion comes in a little bit later, but looks alert and awake for our first day of training. Finally, Levitha and Cori stir.
"All right," Levitha announces, drawing our attention, "You have to decide now. Do you want us to coach you separately or together?" Dion and I eye each other. Cori watches us over the rim of his cup.
"It doesn't matter," I say. Dion nods.
"There's two of us, it'll be easier if we just coach you separately," Cori tells us.
"Separately then," Levitha agrees. "Etolia, if you'll come with me?" I push back my seat from the table and Cliarra gives me a reassuring smile. I suppose she thinks I'm nervous about meeting the other tributes, but the truth is, I'm not. I have to make allies. Besides, we already know we're going to end up killing each other. It's not like it's some big secret. Levitha leads me to a medium sized room. It's bare except for a desk with two armchairs. I sit in one with Levitha across from me, studying me.
"What?" I finally ask.
"Give me an idea of your skills," she commands.
"I've trained with a sword, but I can only handle a light one," I tell her, "I prefer using knives when I can. I've done a bit with a bow and arrow as well."
"Hmm," Levitha says, "This is not so good. In your private training session, on the third afternoon, you're going to want to show the Gamemakers a good skill. But you seem to be decent at many things. That doesn't attract their attention well. It's better to have one excellent skill. Hmm…"
"Well, there's always the electrical side," I offer, "Everyone in District 5 is good at that."
"I think that may be best, if you have the resources to do it in the Training Center. Do whatever you want, but note if there's equipment to set up something electrical. Don't go after useless skills, either. Are you planning to be in the Career pack?"
"Probably," I answer with a sigh. Levitha nods but doesn't comment.
"That will be your source of food, the Cornucopia. Don't bother with edible plants and such. Learn weapons and learn tactics. And most of all, don't make enemies and get yourself trusted. Go for Sapphire, District 1, or Mya, District 2. Also, what may be even more important than training, is watch other tributes. See what they're good at. See who they're friends with, so you can watch for possible betrayals in the arena."
"Got it," I nod.
"Okay," she agrees, "Get in the elevator, training's due to start soon."
I follow her instructions and arrive at the Training Center. About half the tributes are already there, lumped in small groups. We mill around until the rest of us arrive and the instructor gives us leave to start. I head immediately for the spear station. The expert there hands me a spear. I try to aim as he tells me and throw at the target. I miss by a couple of inches and it glances off the wall. He hands me another and I position myself to throw again. I manage to hit the target this time, but only on the rim. The expert gives me a few tips and I try again. All of a sudden, my hand is directed back into the throwing position, guiding it through the movements. I release it and the spear stabs straight in the middle. I turn to see a smiling Sapphire Goldrine behind me.
"That," she says, "is how you do it." I wonder why she chose me to help and not one of the other tributes. She will obviously be a Career, so why doesn't she go recruit Ari? She, at least, comes from a Career district. We work together a little while longer, her helping me aim the spear correctly.
"You should come and eat with us at lunch," she requests. But I see behind the simple offer to the real thing behind it. By sitting with the Careers, I'm signing up to join their pack in the Arena.
"Sure," I say, and smile at her. She smiles back and throws the spear, skewering the dummy through the neck before she leaves my station. After a couple more practices, I move on as well, but keep a closer eye on my fellow tributes.
Almost not in time, I duck to avoid an arrow whizzing over my head, heading straight for the girl from District 2, Mya Greys. Luckily she turns and deflects it with her shield. Ari hold the bow in her hands, looking mortified. I feel like giggling. Mya gives her a sympathetic look before turning away. Ari sets the bow carefully down—as though afraid it might explode—and moves on. As I head to another station, I note that the boy from 10, Kobe, and Mya seem amicable to each other. They join Ari at the knives, although working with her or teaching her I cannot tell.
The bell rings, and, remembering my promise to Sapphire, I sit next to her at lunch. The Careers all sit at one table, but Sapphire seems to be the leader. Her district partner sits on the other side. We get food from the carts and start to talk. I notice Ari isn't sitting with us. I guess she declined Mya's invitation to join us. Never thought she was Career material, anyway.
Suddenly talk stops as Ari joins our table, beckoned by Mya. We all stare at her for a few seconds before returning to our food. "Hi," Ari says hesitantly.
"So," Mya begins, "Ari, this is the Career table. I'm glad you joined us." She picks up a roll off her plate and pulls off a piece, eating it. We all watch in silence. She finishes, and then says, "Hello! Why doesn't anyone say hi? It's not like she bites!" We all look down again, and I'm waiting for one of the nasty Careers to make a stab at her, but I have the feeling that's not the kind of reception Mya wants for Ari. Ari jabs her fork into a fairly big piece of meat and looks around for her knife. I frown, thinking she forgot to get one, before I see Velvito, District 8, slipping her knife under the table. She takes a big bite out of it, and then seems to realize we're all still watching her.
"What? I have something on my face?" she asks through her mouthful of beef.
Amethyst laughs. "She doesn't bite?" he asks Mya, who turns slightly pink but holds her ground.
"I meant that she doesn't bite other people."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Pearanya, 3, jeers. But Mya doesn't retort anything back, which I understand. She can't risk her rank in the Careers to defend Ari. "I'm sure she would bite if her life is in danger. Which would be quite soon," Pearanya points out.
"I would kill her now. She eats just like an animal. It's disgusting," Sapphire says. The other Careers chortle, and me with them. She came from District 4. Surely they could afford to teach their children proper manners? At least she's better than District 12's Ore, who's scarfing a chicken thigh with his bare hands. Sapphire has obviously seen Amethyst's prank on Ari. Ari puts down her fork.
"Well, anyways," Mya says, trying to mend the rift, "Ari, this is Sapphire." She introduces her. "Amethyst. Of course you know I'm Mya from District 2, and this is my brother, Moliask." At the sound of "brother" Moliask glares at her. Some sibling rivalry, I note. "This is, um, Pearanya, right?" Pearanya rolls her eyes and nods, making the cuckoo sign behind Mya's back. "Garilee, your district partner, and Velvito from District 8." Velvito doesn't look up from his food. "Oh, and this is Etolia."
"Hi," I offer before returning to my plate of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and rolls.
Introductions over, Sapphire begins, "So, since we're the Career pack, we should guard the Cornucopia, right?" she asks. I nod, as do the rest of the Careers. Except Ari. Sapphire looks at her sharply. "Ariella? Do you not agree?" she asks.
Ari shrugs, still looking down at her food. After a couple seconds, she looks up 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. Sapphire gives a "well, duh" look around the table, which I totally agree with. Ari needs to get with the program here.
"Well, then that's—" Sapphire continues, but she's cut off by a scream. We all turn to see a girl, Icanya from 9, holding her throat in terror. Another girl, Meryll from 8 is trying to help her. Icanya is choking. Medics rush in and inject something into her. They announce it's all right, that she was just allergic to the peanuts in the cookie. Everyone is quiet, but I can tell from some of the looks getting passed around at the Career table that some of us wish she'd died; one less tribute to kill.
Eventually talk resumes like it was before. Per Levitha's instructions, I try to make allies with the other tributes and not enemies. Sapphire and I like each other, and Mya is friendly as well. I suspect some of that is because I was the only one to greet Ari when she first came. Other than that, I secretly find most of them obnoxious or brutal. Amethyst, Moliask, Garilee, and Velvito all seem to fit that description. Pearanya isn't as bad, but we would definitely not be friends back in District 5. Kobe, from 10, another recruit of Mya's, can't seem to keep anything serious and makes dumb jokes throughout the meal. Ari, however, is quiet and doesn't even interact with Mya when she tries to talk to her. All in all, I wouldn't bet that Ari sticks around with the Careers for much longer.
So what did you think? Leave a review! Or Ari's next accidental arrow might hit you…
Review of the tributes:
District # Girl Name, Training Score Boy Name, Training Score
1 Sapphire, ? Amethyst, ?
2 Mya, ? Moliask, ?
3 Pearanya, ? Bermiath, ?
4 Ariella (Ari), ? Garilee, ?
5 Etolia, ? Dion, ?
6 Teribia, ? Yassarith, ?
7 Lethalissima, ? Quistor, ?
8 Meryll, ? Velvito, ?
9 Icanya, ? Hatmic, ?
10 Atonia, ? Kobe, ?
11 Blossom, ? Urness, ?
12 Tesseraea (Tessa), ? Ore, ?
So, the origin of the names. Some of you who have read my Sanctuary or Eragon stories might have noticed some similarities. I'm just not that creative *smiles apologetically*
For example, for Etolia's last name, Akari, I just changed the u to an i. Akaru was how I originally thought akhkharu was spelled (Sumerian for blood demon, or "vampire"). Pearanya's last name, Elestros, comes from electricity. Icepath-Snowwing created Pearanya's first name while thinking about pears—Pearanya. Lethalissima—lethal. Atonia, which I made, comes from atom. Tesseraea comes from tesserae (odd thing for the parents to name a child, hopefully we'll get a chance to explain it later). Teribia—terrible. I was not listening to Celine Dion, believe it or not, when I named Etolia's district partner. It was only later I realized the similarity. Yassarith—Icepath-Snowwing's name, so I'm not sure about this—sounds a lot like "Nazarith," a city in the Bible. Velvito—velvet. Cliarra was based off what I always imagined Arya (from Eragon) to look like. Blonde hair, not black. I guess my brain sort of skipped the description of her hair in the book. Oh yeah, and Sindi I described as: The third is also female, for which I am grateful. She smiles at me, and I see that her canine teeth are elongated more than is natural and end in sharp points. Her nails are also abnormally long, filed to be more like claws. Sanctuary watchers, remind you of anything? I should've known I can't write a story without at least one vampire or an elf in it. This one has both!
Okay, that's it. Wow, that's a long author's note. Forgive my rambling.
Don't forget to review!
