Signy Freyda, 15

District 10 Female

Signy sank into the snow, breathing hard. She wasn't sure how far she and her allies had walked, but her legs were aching. Braulia sat down on a rock beside her, putting a gentle hand on Signy's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Signy just nodded. There was nothing to say.

"We should find a place to set up camp," Ace said. She passed Signy the cleaver she'd gotten at the Cornucopia, who took the blade and examined it.

"Sounds like a plan," Braulia said, getting up. She offered Signy a hand and helped haul the other girl up.

The three of them walked for a little bit longer before coming across a small clearing in the pines. Acacia deemed it perfect, so Signy sat back down and began to look through her backpack. There was a thick thermal blanket rolled up inside, along with several bags of nuts, jerky, and dried fruit, and a small first-aid kit. Ace's had a water filter, another thermal blanket, a dozen apples, and more jerky. They seemed to be doing well with supplies.

Just then, a cannon rang out, startling them. Signy looked around, sudden panic washing over her. What if someone was close? Ace grabbed her ax, clearly feeling similarly. But even after a few minutes, nothing else happened.

"Must have been someone further away," Braulia said, relaxing.

"Hopefully," Ace muttered. She set her ax down and cracked her neck. "We should make a little shelter," she said. "In case it starts snowing."

"Does it snow in District 7?" Signy asked, her curiosity pushing her grief back.

"In the winter it does," Ace said. "We had a bad snowstorm last year. It knocked out the power to a lot of places."

"Wow. It doesn't snow in 10. It barely even rains."

"Same with 9," Braulia said. "Now, what's the best way to set up a shelter?"

They decided to make a small lean-to out of branches, settling them against a large pine. Then they spread out one of the thermal blankets inside, leaving the other for the person on guard to wrap up in. By the time the girls finished, it was beginning to get dark. Each of them ate an apple and settled down.

"I can take the first watch," Ace said, so Braulia and Signy curled up on the blanket while Ace wrapped herself up. They settled down for a long, cold night.

That night, Signy dreamed of Connor. First, she dreamed of his death, and of his hot blood spraying across her hands. Then she dreamed of him in a meadow of flowers. He was posing for her to paint him, but her palette was full of blood.

She knew it was wrong but her dream-self just ran with it, using the blood to paint a portrait of her dead friend. When it was done she turned the easel around to show Connor, but he was gone. It was just her and the wildflowers.

When Ace woke her up, Signy nearly jumped out of her skin. She forced herself to calm down and take several deep breaths.

"Your turn," Ace whispered. Signy nodded, pulling up her hood and crawling to the front of the lean-to. She sat in the entrance and stared out at the snowy landscape, listening to Braulia's snores.

Nothing happened during Signy's watch, and eventually her eyelids began to droop. Annoyed, she pinched her arm to stay awake, which helped a little, but not much. But only when she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer did she wake Braulia. The golden-haired girl silently took her place, and Signy curled back up on the blanket. This time, she didn't dream.

When she woke up again, Braulia was gone. Eyes widening, she shook Ace awake.

"Braulia is gone," she said. Ace sat up quickly and they crawled out of the lean-to. Snow was falling lightly, but there were still footprints in the snow.

"She didn't take anything," Ace noted, pointing to their packs.

"Maybe she saw something and went to investigate?" Signy proposed.

"Or maybe she saw a blackberry bush and picked some berries for breakfast," a familiar voice said. Braulia has just appeared at the edge of the clearing again, her hands cupped to form a bowl for a dozen juicy blackberries. She had a big smile on her face.

"You scared us!" Ace said with a relieved laugh. Signy nodded.

"Sorry!" Braulia said. I wanted to be back before you woke up, but that clearly didn't work out." She came over and placed a few blackberries in each of her allies' hands. Signy popped one in her mouth, enjoying the burst of flavor on her tongue.

"These are great," she said. Braulia grinned.

"Yeah. My dad and I used to go berry-picking when I was a kid."

"My mom and I would go to a swimming hole," Signy said. Her voice was slightly choked-up.

"I'm not very close with my parents," Ace admitted. "I have five younger siblings, so they didn't really have the energy to spend one-on-one time with us."

"I'm sorry," Signy said, but Ace shook her head.

"Don't be. It's just how it is. And I don't mind it."

Another cannon fired, making all three girls jump. Signy looked around nervously, but everything was quiet.

"Who died last night? Braulia asked. "I was asleep when they played the recap."

Ace began to count on her fingers.

"The girl from 3. The boys from 4, 5, 6 and 7. Both from 12. The boy from 11. And Connor."

Signy closed her eyes. Her elbow ached from where she hit the boy from 11 with it. He was dead. And it was because of her.

A shudder ran through her. How was his family feeling? They must be devastated. She couldn't even imagine how much it would hurt to lose a child. What had she done?

Braulia reached over, putting a hand on Signy's shoulder.

"It's not your fault," she said, clearly picking up on what Signy was thinking. Signy just shrugged. There was no point voicing her feelings. She had to be strong. Darcia believed in her. She had to believe in herself.

The girls spent the rest of the day resting. Ace said that if they didn't need to move, they shouldn't. Their lean-to was tight, but cozy. They were set up well. They snacked on blackberries and chatted about their home lives. She learned that Braulia wanted to be a doctor or apothecary and that Ace played the violin. It was nice to get to know her allies.

Later that afternoon, as the sun was just beginning to kiss the horizon, another cannon went off. Signy and Braulia both flinched.

"Are you sure we're safe here?" Braulia asked.

"We're as safe here as we would be anywhere else," Ace said. Signy nodded.

About an hour later, when the sun had gone down, the anthem played and an image of a tribute's face appeared in the sky. It was the blonde girl from 5. She was followed by the boy from 8 and then the sky went back to its usual display.

"I can take the first watch," Braulia said. Ace nodded and yawned.

"Sounds good to me," she said.

"Alright," Signy whispered. "Wake us up if anything happens."

"I will," Braulia said with a smile. "I promise."

Sorry for the super long gap between updates! I've been focusing more on my SYOTs, but I'm finally able to update True Colors! I'm still undecided on how I'll format this story, but think every chapter will be a few days of the Games. Please leave a review!

EULOGIES

16th: Jeremy Aiken - stabbed by Emerald
Jeremy was the death on the first day. He was unfortunate enough to run into the Careers while they were hunting. RIP.

15th: Twill Hooper - shot by Luster
Twill was also a career victim. He was a shy little guy, and he will be missed. RIP.

14th: Eve Mueller - hypothermia
Poor Eve was unfortunate enough to fall into a frozen stream. She died of hypothermia shortly after. RIP.

Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!

- Fiona