Sorry it took forever, I was on holidays for 3 weeks then I've just been lazy the last few days... I'm still on summer break so I get to sleep in and laze about all day. Oh, and then I had a school camp. One of those joyous bundles of fun that didn't involve camping and was basically a two day lecture away from home...
If you're interested, I also started a new story about Peeta starting from his first day of school, age 5.
Blaze is now officially the sarcastic list guy.
This is mostly the second day (Joey's is the first) and the next is mostly the third but the POVs aren't necessarily in exact chronological order.
"Joey" Cox: (District 5)
The training centre's large and packed with people. Not just the tributes and the trainers but also the humanoid dummies, leering down from all angles.
I managed to pull off the outer plates with a solid knife to find a plastic interior that looked like one of Leana's robots. In fact, the entire training centre looks like the glistening empires that Leana likes to live in. Everything is chromed and the surfaces resemble the glistening walls of the train carriages except for the colour, the walls seem black but glisten like polished silver.
Even the tributes themselves gleam with an inner light that I'm itching to draw from the moment I enter the room.
As I climb to the top of the rock wall, it seems like the shadows thin slightly... but I don't care. It adds to the dark air of the training centre.
I pull out my sketch book the second I reach the top of the tower. I can see everyone in the room and all the gleaming weapons at once, the only problem is knowing where to start...
First I see the District 9 bow with his eyes darkened by his frown, silently throwing spears shaped like arrows, arcing through the air to pierce the heart of the target with a resounding thud...
I sketch his outline, muscles rippling with force as the spear is gripped in his hand, drawn back and ready to throw...
Next are the details, the bulge of his knuckles as he tightens his grip... the shadows emphasised on his face... the clench of his jaw and his back muscles stiffening in preparation for the throw.
Finally I add a background of shadows... it's like a... like a dark cloud over him...
When I finish the last pencil stroke, I move onto the District 11 pair, hanging like monkeys from the climbing apparatus sprawled around the climbing tower and the middle of the room. I sketch the two of them right as the girl leaps up from the bars to catch a piece of fruit the boy has thrown... when she lands in the bars and swings back down I want to draw another picture... but there's the handsome District 8 boy...
He already has two other kids with him, the boy from District... 3 I think and... Apollo...
This morning we went down to the training room together... I got him to wear a white and gold shirt like his outfit last night...
He was going to stay with me for the training. He said he didn't mind but I told him to go off and do what he wanted to do, I'd still be on Level 5 at the end of the day.
I don't know how I feel about Apollo being with an alliance so I ignore it and look for something gold. I like gold. It's pretty but I don't see it too often in District 5, we can't afford it.
Looking for gold finds 5 guys' hair and a station covered in paint.
As in literally, covered in paint.
It's annoying that only Karla has wings otherwise I would leap off the tower right now and have a paint bath. I've never seen so many colours in my life.
Instead I have to scramble down the climbing wall, earning a clap from the 6th golden haired guy in the room the climbing trainer, and sprint across to the station labelled 'camouflage.'
"So you're interested in studying some camouflage?" the instructor says as he attempts to hide a grin.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" I reply, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. All these paints... there's gold of at least 5 different shades... that one looks like distilled sunshine...
"Wait just a second," the instructor says, sticking out a hand to stop me from running straight into the paints and just basking in the glory of the colours... I didn't know it was possible to make blue like a dusky sky... the maroon of the tiles made in District 5... distilled sunshine gold... The instructor's voice snaps me out of my colour daydreams, "All of these paints and dyes are made from organic materials so some of them are going to be a little more pungent or a little weaker and some of them will turn you purple for a week."
"Aaaaaaaand?" I ask as a pot of lilac purple catches my eye.
"Um... don't eat the paint?" he offers as I stare at him, trying to work out exactly what colour his eyes are. I swear they change ever few seconds... blue... brown... green... was that yellow?
I'm about to test the sunshine paint on my skin when I realise what he said and ask, "Organic materials? You mean trees and stuff?"
"Y-yeah," he replies as he tries to work out what I'm talking about, "You make it out of tree bark, flowers, fruit and stuff otherwise you couldn't...make it in the... arena?" he offers. I swear his eyes were just red...
I've gone back to the blues before I realise what it means, "You mean I could make paint at home? Yay!"
"Y-yeah," he stutters again. His eyes were seriously just black, but over there is... purple? "I need to... um give this... red to... Steve. The edible berries guy," he finally manages before running off. Come on, orange eyes? but last time they were blackpurpleyellow...green... hey is that another shade of gold paint?
Testing on my arm, I realise that the dyes stain the skin. Combining sunshine and forest green looks like sunlight falling on a bed of leaves.
I'm halfway to being a desert when I realise someone else is there.
Gold hair #1, the District 1 boy.
"Hi," he says once he realises he has my attention, "My name's Fe-Hail," he extends his hand for me to shake.
"Fe-Hail? Like Fail? That's a bit odd..." I think he'd look good in Apollo's horse-knight armour. And in the sunshine, his hair's like the sunshine paint but... thicker... Especially when he laughs... he laughs posh...
"Nah, my name's Felix but my nickname's Hail," he says as he starts spreading brown paint over his arm.
"What's a Career doing in the camouflage section?" I ask as I stick my fingers in all of the red tinted paints to find the stickiest one... rolling in sand should finish off the colour if the paint doesn't stick too fast... maybe some gold, there's sunlight in deserts, right?
"Eh, the fighting gets dull after a while and we don't get along so well," he replies as he fiddles uncertainly with some green paint.
I vaguely remember seeing one of the Careers thrown before... maybe they did split up... That doesn't happen too often that I've seen before... "So you came over to the survival stations?"
"Yeah, it's not often we try these back in District 1, that's for sure," he grins as he starts painting his cheek a mix of the green and brown he'd been using... it just looks like paint though... it needs some more details like a sketch in my book, "What's the bet I can paint myself into that mud patch?" he asks, pointing at a puddle that's clearly for painting yourself in mud... if only I didn't already have a desert on me...
While Hail attempts to roll himself into the mud, I finish painting myself into the desert. When I'm done I start thinking about all the things I could paint... the griffin in golden sunshine... the most accurate flower I can imagine splashed out with its own colour on paper...
"I'm done!" Hail calls as I open my eyes, disoriented until I remember... the Hunger Games... probably shouldn't forget that, "Um... Joey?" he asks uncertainly as I realise he can't see me. That's cool... imagine winning the Hunger Games with paint...
I look over to where Hail's hiding in the muddy underbrush. I can just make him out, the dyes he's used are a little too... two dimensional. There's just one layer of colour that allows you to see the missing patches where he lies...
I reach out and grab his ankle causing him to jump up and search for a weapon. It's funny seeing the big Career leaping into the air when I barely touched his ankle.
He whirls around looking for me as he finally rubs his hand through his hair and laughs, "I think you win the camouflage Joey, going to tell me where you are now?" he asks.
The buzzer sounds for lunch and as he turns to look for the source of the noise, I leap up and jump on him, pretending to strangle him.
He grins as he drops me easily onto the ground before we both head for lunch.
When the Careers call him for lunch I think I see a flicker of... sadness maybe... as he says goodbye and sits at the Career table, his back towards me.
Was I just being... played?
Wolfgang Ardenne: (District 6)
Taryn, being her apparently usual surly self, has spent most of training actually training. Meanwhile in the awesome corner, I've discovered that apparently volunteering, acting happy and the Hunger Games don't exactly set you up for an alliance. Except maybe the Careers. Who I'm going to file under 'No freaking way in hell.'
By lunch of the second day neither of us has found an alliance as we sit together at a table on the edge of the canteen area.
"Still no one?" Taryn asks.
"Nope, probably all scared off by my amazing height and toughness," I grin, flexing my arm muscles and my eyebrows.
I can tell Taryn's about to put in a cutting remark when the District 5 girl snorts slightly with laughter into her violet soup bowl. I think it's made of pumpkin and cinnamon.
"You find me funny, mein Freund?" I ask her.
"Yeah, you remind me of my imaginary friend, Dave," she replies as though this is totally normal. I'm about to raise my eyebrow when I stop myself. Sure, crazy imaginary friends are strange but not totally psycho and someone who actually finds my jokes funny is the closest I've gotten to an alliance all day.
"He must be pretty cool if he's like me," I grin back at her as she finally smiles in return. I guess the imaginary friends don't go down so well with most people.
She stands up and I follow her while Taryn just glares.
"You're freaky tall," she says as she puts her tray on the cleaning machine they have here in the Training Centre.
"Yeah, I mean why bother climbing a tree? I'll just stand there and paint myself green," I reply, watching her give another radiant smile. It makes me want to grin like a moron before I go to the Hunger Games. Ah, what the hell, they think I'm a moron anyway.
People who laugh at my jokes, oh how I wish there were more of them.
Joey talks about her family as we try to spear fish in a training pond.
"I'd do anything to get back to my family and for them to love me," Joey says sadly, "That's why I volunteered for my sister Freya. I have to get back to her."
"Yeah, because it's not like I have a family too or anything," I mutter.
"Oh… I'm sorry," Joey replies apologetically.
It's impossible to stay angry at Joey. It's like kicking a puppy. Repeatedly. In the face. With a jack hammer. There's the puppy eyes, the tiny smile then the grin as I shoot back an apologetic smile.
"Sorry... guess I'm just a little touchy about being in the Games," I try to think of a joke to make it all rainbows and sunshine... and fail.
Joey's eyes glaze over for a moment before she says, "So what are you best at?"
Random change of topic much... eh who cares, "Well clearly my deep, rich voice and handsome visage are my best features," she laughs before I continue, "Really, my Dad trained me with a sword. Well a piece of pipe... it's still a big metal thing you hit people with."
"My brother showed me how to use a knife a few times but... it never really interested me... I'm good at camoufla...ge..." she seems to drift off again until I snap my fingers.
"Do you want me to show you how to use a sword?" I offer as she looks at me again.
"Yes please," she replies. It's funny hearing someone using their pleases and thank yous in training for the Games especially sine *cough* don't use them anyway *cough*.
"Come on then," I grin as I hold out my hand to pull her up. I feel like a gentleman. I don't do that too often. Swearing, bad jokes and overuse of sarcasm generally tend to screw with your chances in the 'gentleman' department.
Walking over to the sword training is a bit daunting considering the District 1 and 4 girls are decapitating things all over the place. The big guy from District 12 is over in his own corner while District 8 and the little ones take a breather, leaving us with one dummy to work with.
I let Joey use it first to see if she has any idea what she's doing with a sword.
She's not too bad but that's because it's pretty hard to fail at smacking an inanimate object with a big, metal stick.
"Hey, hey, let me try something," I say, waiting until she stops hacking enough that my eye will remain safely in its socket for the remainder of the training session.
Trying to readjust her grip from the front is awkward because I can't compare it to how I'd hold it.
That's how I ended up with my arms wrapped around Joey from behind but from the snickering coming from the guys in the corner, somehow I think it looks like something else.
Luckily Joey's fazed out looking at me changing her sword grip as I wink at the guys in the corner.
I think I might have a little more than an ally on my hands for the cameras.
Kaya Lambert: (District 7)
I have an ally now at least, but that doesn't stop my eyes from flickering towards Sean.
I know that he has his own alliance, I can see him with the District 10 pair learning how to use a sword. He's about as good with it as he is with an axe and it brings back memories of a younger Sean back home, cutting down trees like the tree was going to have its feelings hurt by him cutting it down.
I know I tried to let him go on the train and maybe I would have succeeded if it weren't for the day.
Yieldmas is District 7's one holiday of the year.
After the main yield is finished, when it's turning to autumn and many of the trees are losing their leaves, we have a single day off.
All of the Districts concerned with producing something organic have a Yieldmas; District 4, 7, 9, 10 and 11 all have their day off at some time during the year. Districts 1 and 2 celebrate Terraunaka, the minerals from the Earth and Districts 3, 5, 6 and 8 have a Construction Day. For some reason these celebrations fall on different days. Probably to stop a rebellion by Districts consorting in their free time.
Apparently the celebrations were once religious ceremonies, thanking the Gods for all they've done. Really, I don't know what there is to thank them for.
Now they're just our one real break. District 12 are the unlucky ones, the Capitol decided the Victory Tour was too boring in 12 so they scheduled the Harvest Festival to add some life to it.
Knowing that I'm not going to celebrate it at home is bad, but knowing someone else I could share it with is only a few metres away makes it worse.
"Why the long face?" Kristy asks, appearing beside me.
"Weren't you getting a drink?" I reply, caught off guard by her sudden appearance. It's a slightly worrying habit in an ally. Still, I doubt Kristy would try killing her allies. She's a little too cheery to be going around backstabbing her friends. Especially since she looks at the bows and arrows like they're made of poison and she would've only used those for animals.
"I finished doing that, so now I'm back. Worried about your District partner still?" Apparently she's also good at sneaking up on people's emotion.
"Today's Yieldmas. It feels weird not celebrating it," I reply as I toss some more berries into the 'poisonous' bucket.
"Ours is the week before Reaping Day. When you get back up to your rooms, have a nice feast with Sean. You can order anything you want to make it more like home," she suggests while eating several of the berries out of the poisonous bucket.
"But I told him we couldn't be allies in the arena," I reply as Kristy keeps eating out of the poisonous bucket. Way to go self esteem.
"And you won't be. He has allies and you've got the best ally in the arena. I'm sure he doesn't want to be alone on Yieldmas either," she says. It took a while for us to warm up to each other but surprisingly having to try and escape a creepy knot-tying instructor together drew us closer until we ended up with Kristy chatting her head off and me moping over an arbitrary holiday.
"Is it just me or are you somehow happier than you were before?" I ask as Kristy finally moves onto the edible bucket only to toss some berries across into the poisonous section.
"District partner," she replies as she grins.
"The one who's been confined to your floor for trying to kill his opponent early?" I ask as I finally leave the berries station which clearly isn't my forte.
"Yup. Weeeeeell I spent all of the train ride trying to get him to say something but he never did. When he got dragged out of the training he used a lot of colourful language. Talked quite a bit really," she says as we approach the knives station.
Kristy's bubbly talkativeness almost makes me forget about Sean and Yieldmas.
Wait.
Shit.
Blaze Valentine: (District 8)
I started out the training planning on just flirting around, maybe getting a few allies and then spending the rest of training chilling out and practicing a few sword tricks and maybe fiddling around with some of the survival stations in case I don't get my hands on a sword because I'm not too fussed on diving head first into a brutal blood bath. Least of all with Dria watching.
If I have to die I'd at least want Dria to get to see me one last time, not as another bloody mess mixed in with the corpses at the bloodbath.
Still, the last thing I expected was ending up as Daddy Day Care.
Sure I love kids and all but look how well me looking after my little brother turned out all those years back.
Having a twelve and fourteen year old on my hands, trusting me to look after them in the Games, is seriously unnerving.
Lucas reminds me a little bit of myself when I was younger. He's more than a little bit cocky and he's a bit of a handful but no way am I turning away a twelve year old before the arena. Maybe looking after him could make up for losing my little bro all those years ago.
Apollo's fourteen but he acts like a puppy dog; he follows me everywhere and will fetch anything at will. Was I that annoying when I was 14? I would drop him off with his District partner but I can't see her anywhere. Not even the camouflage. There's someone over there but they're way too tall to be Apollo's pretty diminutive partner.
So now I have to look after them. Yay.
At least they're past the burping and feeding age or I'd be screwed. Note to self: do NOT get any buns in the oven.
Then again 23 people are saying that I won't exactly have a choice in the matter.
I say to screw the 23 people-
-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand then I remember the kids.
I've got myself into a tiny bit of a mess here...
The worst part is that in another situation I could see Dria laughing at me. In my mind's eye I can see us in the snow, me weighed down by Lucas and Apollo jumping on top of me while I laughed with her, like I would have done in District 8.
It just reminds me how not in District 8 I am right now.
I'd be closer to flying to the moon.
On a pig.
I end up taking them around to the survival stations for the basic fire-starting and berry eating so that three of us can live without having to resort to going to the bloodbath or cannibalism.
Especially not the second part; I've definitely got the most meat in this alliance.
I pick at a few berries and organise them but once it becomes clear that Apollo and Lucas are way better than me at it, I just end up looking around the room to see where people have ended up.
Careers: Both from 1, Both from 2, the girl from 4 and presumably the guy from 4 when he gets out of solitary confinement.
Alliance 1: The guy from 6 and the girl from 5... now I find her.
Alliance 2: The pair from 10 and the boy from 7.
Alliance 3: The pair from 11.
Alliance 4: The girls from Districts 7 and 9.
Alliance 5: That would be us.
Loners: Girl from 3 (unsurprised), girl from 6 (wouldn't know. She's terrible to flirt with, that's for sure), Piper (that doesn't exactly leave me stunned) and both from 12. (I had to guess about the girl though because wherever she is I have no idea)
The guy from District 12 is alone at the sword fighting station and I can see him looking towards the girl from District 6.
Apparently it's not just my mojo failing that's the problem with the District 6 girl as he shuffles away, possibly protecting the family jewels from attack. Might be a good ally, he's big enough to handle himself and maybe he wants to adopt a District 5 puppy.
"Come on guys," I say, turning around to face Apollo and Lucas.
"Where are we going?" asks Apollo as he looks up at me. Aside from annoying, was I that short when I was 14? Lucas is almost as tall as him.
"Sword fighting, give you two a chance to learn to fight," I say to the delight of Lucas and the anxiety of Apollo.
Still doesn't mean I'm not almost getting a broken heel bone the whole way to the sword fighting station.
I use the training-instructor-child-minding-service as I walk up to the District 12 guy, following his line of sight to see Piper fiddling with some knives at the next station over, "Don't even try dude, she's a 'lone wolf.'"
"Really? Weird, you'd have thought she'd want one of us buff guy protecting her," he replies as he turns to face me, "Allies?"
"You read my mind," I reply. Maybe I should be worried that it takes all of two sentences to get a new ally, but the Games make you pretty desperate for other people, a lesson I've already learned with only one flying pig analogy.
"Twin telepathy, it can work on others if you practice," he replies as he shakes my hand somewhat formally.
"Neat trick, got any others?" I ask. I don't think he's playing us with a twin back home, both because he would never live it down and that it means I was right about desperation.
"Sewing?" he suggests as I laugh.
"Real manly talent you've got there," I reply as he grins a little.
"Just about as manly as the name Wesley."
"Blaze," I say as I grin.
Dria should be proud; 4 guys, no girls.
Then again, now she might be worried in the other direction...
If you're wondering why Joey creeped out the trainer, imagine someone staring directly at your eye for several minutes while randomly whirling around and asking about things you said a short while ago.
Interviews: Do you want them to be a whole individual interview for each person or just the most important parts and have Plutarch the baby Gamemaker's POV?
Also, I'm making a video for this which I'll link to in a chapter soon so watch out for it. I'll try and update again this afternoon and might even get the Gamemaker's Sessions in since I wrote several of them when planning the story to choose what kind of skill I wanted the characters to have.