Sorry this took so long. I was snowed under with school work. Geniuses that they are, the teachers all pile on their biggest assignments in first term so we can work on the others in the second and third terms while in reality it just makes first term painful and the other easy.
Other than that, I had a bad day which turned into a bad week then month then a bad term because of something at school. It wasn't directly related to me but I got involved somewhere along the line and shit happened. It basically meant I had to rush my assignments, pull all-nighters and have an awful first term as a senior. The holidays ended up being sleeping and relaxing time to try and get ready for term two. Now back to the good old art of procrastinating to finish this chapter.
Kaya:
I swear Kristy gets even more talkative when she's nervous. She's bouncing like a jackrabbit and talking at about Mach 5. I wouldn't be able to understand her even if I wasn't trying to prepare for the task ahead but I don't get the idea I'm expected to answer anyway.
My brain is running through the motions of a slicing pattern with an axe when Sean somehow slides into my view. I swear I wasn't even looking near him and yet somehow I'm watching him again. Our ride down in the elevator was silent; I didn't even wish him good luck and now I'm regretting it. Even if I don't want to be allies, we still should have been friends. He has a good pair of allies; they're both supportive to him and don't waste words, a good match for Sean, but still...
I can't even bring myself to be angry at him for distracting me when my name is called. I know what I'm doing; grab an axe and hit things. It's what I've been doing all my life, I'm practiced; they're going to be in awe.
As I heft the axe, gripping it in my right hand, I remember Kristy saying to be a little original and instead of facing the prepared dummies, I whirl towards the camouflage station.
The trees collapse under a series of well aimed blows; I think the adrenaline is helping because I'm pretty sure I've never felled even a small tree at that kind of pace in District 7. When the tree's gone I turn towards a table at the knot tying station; firewood.
Finally I crush two dummies in a sweep into the wall and bow before being dismissed.
TRAINING SCORE: 7
Sean:
I can tell Scarlett and Matt are nervous for their sessions; Matt's twitching and clearly looks stricken while Scarlett is trying to be silent and stoic. I wish I could do more to help them than encouragement but it's the private sessions. I know Scarlett and Matt will do great; I just wish I could help them more instead of having to let them go in alone.
When Kaya goes in for her session, I want to wish her luck but I know that she said she doesn't want to be friends in the Games; I just wish there was some way to change that.
It's my turn only a short while after and I wish Scarlett and Matt good luck before running into the room. It feels strangely empty without all of the other people in it. Even though it sounds odd; I like it better with a big audience than with just a few people scrutinising my every move as I head over to the bow and arrows.
The targets go fairly well, all of my shots are within a few centimetres of the bullseye, but it feels like it isn't enough for the Gamemakers. Hunting in District 7 is simple; any animals that come near enough to the loggers are predatory, they don't run off suddenly and it isn't too difficult to protect a large, rowdy group of lumberjacks from forest creatures.
Even so, I don't want to practice like I'm killing people; I don't want to kill anyone.
So after showing them the archery, I head towards the knot tying station and hope it will make Matt get a better score when he comes later.
If anyone's going to win, I hope it's Kaya... and if not then Matt or Scarlett.
TRAINING SCORE: 6
Piper:
I can see tons of people around the room getting all worked up over the Private Sessions. Frankly I'm not surprised; none of them are going to stand between me and my little brothers unless they have a death wish, one which I'll be more than happy to grant.
When I realised that the District 7 archer was going to go before me, I was worried for a moment that I might have to have a change in plans. Then I realised that being worried was stupid and asked him if he could help me out at the archery station while the District 10 pair worked together. He was a sucker; more than happy to oblige and show me that he was average at best. He hit near the centre of the target but near the centre from a standing start wasn't enough to sway me in the slightest.
So when I enter the private session, I head towards the archery section without a second thought. Shooting a few arrows is easy enough but boring; I need to prove that I'm the best, to make sure no one in the Capitol thinks I'm just a stupid lone wolf. I don't want to be finding all my own food around the place and if there's one thing that'll earn me some 'don't kill me' favours in the arena, it's a good sponsor gift. Besides, why even bother letting the tributes think I'm weak since they're all going to die anyway?
In District 8 'arrowheads' isn't exactly something you just go and order over the counter so I tried strapping a knife to the arrow in its place. It took a while to master and was totally different to a normal bow but it left a huge gouge in the wall once mastered.
I thought I'd never have a reason to use it but well, soon I will.
TRAINING SCORE: 8
Blaze:
I hope the little guys go well; sure they annoy the frick out of me but maybe looking after them in the Games will make up for failing to look after my little brother all those years ago. I didn't consider the idea of having a big alliance (least of all one with all guys) before I got into training but now I'm here; I regret nothing. I think that maybe if I try to protect them I might finally forgive myself; and that's always a good start.
Despite all that protecting I've been thinking about, Lucas and Apollo still went in around the Careers for their sessions and I had to resist the urge to beat the crap out of the Careers for being around the little guys (like that would turn out well). Apparently my paternal side is similar to the maternal side of a mama grizzly bear- as you do as a teenage male in the Hunger Games.
When the Piper- aka the "lone wolf" potential-psycho-bitch- smiles sweetly at the room before she lunges towards the archery section even as the door closes, I remember that I'm next. I have to do something that makes the Gamemakers think I'm not going to end up on the pointy end of an unfortunately rather regularly pointy stabbing object during the Games.
As I stride in, I toss a cocky grin in the direction of the Gamemakers. Seeming cool and under control straight through will help my angle for the interviews and the Games because, in charge or not, the Gamemakers are just another few members of the audience. I don't care what my mentor says; my angle will be how I normally I am because how I normally am is epic.
First I head to the sword fighting section to show that I at least have a vague idea what I'm doing with my own regularly-pointy-stabbing-object before changing to a different tack and showing off hand-to hand combat. You don't get to be king of the popularity contest without being to punch the crap out of any challengers.
All in all; not bad.
TRAINING SCORE: 7
Kristy:
Pandemonium.
That's what I've decided to name the trap I've designed for the Gamemakers. It's not too original but it's a pretty good description. Kaya probably thought I was crazy when I went and collected everything for the trap in the last few hours of training. She probably still will afterwards but I won't care, I just want to test out the trapping equipment in the training centre and see if it's better than the glass plate rigging I made at home in District 9. You never know when you might get to fling rocks at humanoid figures in the presence of Peacekeepers again.
When my name gest called I dash straight to the first set of rope, leaping around the climbing apparatus to tie it into position.
Next are the dummies, placed near the various sensor points so that when I trip them from a safe distance it'll show the Gamemakers what would happen to an unsuspecting tribute.
Finally the pressure points themselves. Covered in leaves, dirt, in the shadow of the climbing apparatus, in the roots of the cmaouflage tree and up in the branches, they're everywhere I could feasibly hide them in the time limit. Which is a lot of places; I've had three days to plan for some carnage.
I snatch up a handful of knives to set off one pressure point, it sends several axes to crack through the dummy from a drop off the climbing frame. The plunge wrecks the next pressure point, hanging a dummy easily as though it was just another wild turkey in District 9. Setting off the next pressure point with knives sets off the grand finale.
A group of dummies stand near each other like a pack of tributes on the prowl, the pressure point in front of the first dummy causes the whole group to be annihilated in various ways. A wooden spike plunges through the head of the leader, a boulder (camouflaged as a bush as part of my preparation) is launched by a bent tree branch also from the camouflage station. The last two dummies find themselves in a net with their limbs at funny angles against their body.
That was fun; shame I only get to make one trap... Maybe I could make one in the Games that also involves being able to sneak up behind people and zap them. It'd be fun.
TRAINING SCORE: 9
Ahab:
All the training I put into preparing to go into the Games- whether or not I aimed for this year or next- shattered by the moron from District 4 with his big mouth and his bigger head.
I even have to suffer the injustice of waiting outside until the District 4 boy goes into his private session. Like that bastard's any better than me because he's from a poncy little training school.
Sure I spent every minute locked in my room training my body, exercising until I puked or slept, but there's a huge difference between that and getting your hands on a weapon and practicing taking aim at the weak bodies around you. Learning their weaknesses to snap their necks or stab them through the heart before they get to you first.
I don't even look at the bastards in the Gamemaker's stand as I head straight for the spears. I stand next to the table to throw, not bothering to move as I throw each spear into the targets without having to shift as I pick another spear to throw. Finally, I'm left with only the spear I practiced with before the District 4 moron stopped my training. While the balance is different to the ones at home, the weapon feels better in my hand, perfectly balanced to plunge through the heart of the sword training dummy like I would've done with a moss-coated log at home. I'd be lying if I said the spear and the synthetic dummy doesn't feel better, feel more like I'm really training for vengeance, but I'd be lying more if I said I didn't want to destroy everything around me for the price it cost my family without affecting their petty, pathetic existence.
After a few more arcs with the spear remaining in my grasp, I turn to leave. I can't stop myself from glaring at the people who cost me my family as I no longer need my focus on my training and obliterating the targets. The spear is still clenched in my fist as I head towards the door. The Peacekeeper looks ready to take it off me as I throw the spear into the wall behind me. To an untrained observer it looks like a casual throw that stuck in the wall but to me, I see the eyes of the Capitol scum in the paint smear I speared.
Soon I will avenge you mother, sister.
TRAINING SCORE: 8
Scarlett:
As I give Matt a quick hug goodbye, I have my plan formed in my mind. Some would say it's stupid, reckless even- but who's going to talk me out of it? It's my Games and my survival is pretty important to me funnily enough. No one else gets to tell me what to do. Then again that goes for everything but still- especially important in life or death situations. (Or when it involves authority figures but that's a completely different matter)
My genius plan is to be awful.
As in completely and totally terrible.
So bad that they'd probably consider tossing a turkey into the arena instead of me and seeing who would win more of the fights. In reality I'll have a few knives up my sleeves but the point is playing pathetic.
When I walk in, I shoot a 'terrified' glance at the Gamemakers, hating every second of weakness I have to fake. But I'm not changing my plan and taking the mentor's advice to show our strengths; my plan is good and I'm not changing it because of the morons with the poodle fur on their heads.
I head over to the poisonous berries station, sorting weakly through the berries, messing up most of the hardest similar poisons and edibles but making sure that I get the easy ones right. There is such a thing as dignity and I think being completely pathetic at the poisonous berries is enough to get a terrible score even if I don't mix a blackberry up with some strange bulbous fungi.
I think my dignity deserves a gift before the brilliant score it's going to get tonight.
TRAINING SCORE: 3
Matt:
There's a difference between Sean's archery and mine.
I don't know whether or not to exploit it; to make myself seem better and lower his score just because I was lucky a long time ago. Despite the consoling comments and the conversation within our alliance, only a tiny fraction of my brain focuses on that while the rest debates my moral conflict.
In the end I'm still not sure; there's pros and cons to either side and it seems too even to choose one. Fire well; Sean gets a lower mark while I get a higher grade which could mean more sponsor gifts in the arena. Fire amateurishly; Sean seems better while I get a lower score in comparison to his and he gets more acclaim and satisfaction with himself.
As my name is called, my mind settles on the second option. Protecting and being friends with my allies is important- I shouldn't burn bridges for my own satisfaction for only a marginal possibility of improving the likelihood of our survival in the arena.
Something in my head starts changing that decision as I collect the bow and test the draw before collecting an arrow.
The idea isn't fully formed in my head until I draw and aim at the target. My mind is intending to aim a little to the upper right while my arms don't move. There's some part of me that feels there's something gone wrong. I finally realise as my eyes focus on the heart of the target. The marking in it is a large gouge, significantly bigger than a normal arrowhead. Lower and on the left is a small arrow mark. My eyes pick out a few more markings, becoming increasingly more difficult to find until the fifth is non-existent.
I can practically see Sean losing his nerve thinking about killing, almost feel his arms shake as he puts the bow aside and moves to a safe station. In that second I know that option 2 is the only choice for the alliance.
The first shot arcs into the heart of the target, slamming home within the larger groove. Whoever fired previously clearly isn't particularly strong as, despite the unusual dent, my arrow is embedded noticeably deeper than the groove. If the knife station wasn't about 50 metres away with it's own targets, I'd say the grooves seem like knife divots.
I jog several metres back with the bow and another three arrows, flipping the arrow rack on its side to form a small wall between myself and the target, despite being a few inches to the right.
My heart thumps painfully in my chest as I drop to the ground where I am, nocked bow in hand.
I count down from three as I prepare to launch forwards.
On one I push up as hard and fast as I can, leaping up and firing at the first target before running two steps and hiding behind the makeshift wall. I only give myself a second before darting out the opposite side to fire at the second target.
I spin on the spot, putting my weight on my knee instead of my thoroughly gripped shoe, standing with the other leg as I do so and nocking the arrow with my hands as I fire at a spear target on the opposite side of the room the second I'm out of my crouch.
In the end, the difference between Sean and I is that, no matter how many foxes were in District 10, Csirke and I both knew that in the end, it was moving, living, breathing humans that we were training to kill.
TRAINING SCORE: 9
Millie:
Denver and I sit alone, apart from the other pacing tributes playing a game made up by kids in District 11 to play whenever we get a break from work. It's the easiest option because you don't need anything except your hands to play meaning you can start and stop at a moment's notice when you need to get back to work. Basically you have a finger out on each hand to start and every time you tap the other person's hand, they have to put up the number of fingers that were on the hand you just tapped them with. If you get 5 fingers up on one hand that hand is out but if you have several fingers up on one hand and none on the other, you can 'split' the number of fingers between both hands.
The other tributes are panicking like crazy, but me and Denver are in the corner, relaxing until the session because nothing we do now will change our results and there's no point in stressing over the Games when we could at least be having fun.
Denver's the best person to be doing it with too; although I miss Greg and Sash being the third to their couple isn't the same as being Denver's best friend. He cheats occasionally when it's getting boring and we joke about whether or not he took off a few fingers. Other times he'll lose on purpose if I'm having a bad round and then refuse to let me throw the game myself no matter how hard I try to play terribly.
It's actually a bit of a letdown when my name gets called to go into the session itself. The Gamemakers glance at me before continuing their conversations, clearly bored by the procession of tributes. I have to show them that they shouldn't ignore me but I don't want them to get annoyed if I seem pushy...
I see the eyes turn towards me as I select a few knives from the rack and feel a little more confident. At least I'm certain they're watching as I climb up through the climbing apparatus until I'm in the rafters, virtually invisible but the harder the Gamemakers have to look for me, the more attention they're paying to what I'm doing.
Once I find a good niche in the rafters, I start throwing the knives, occasionally scuttling through the rafters towards fresh targets until I'm out of knives. I haven't done too badly really, all the knives are lodged in their targets which is pretty good considering how high up I was.
Now all I have to do until tomorrow afternoon is eat, sleep and talk or play games with Denver.
Not at all bad really.
TRAINING SCORE: 6
Denver:
Once Millie's gone I can't help but spend my remaining minutes fidgeting nervously. It's easy to hang out with her, it seems like she doesn't even remember I'm deaf half the time, but when I'm basically alone I get reminded by little things like the District 12 boy fiddling with his belt and the girl running her fingers through her hair in an obviously subconscious twitch.
The moment's gone and once again I only feel determination to prove that being deaf is no obstacle. How is it going to affect me chucking around some spears for the Gamemakers? If anything it's a bonus because if their voices are half as obnoxious as their looks I'm not exactly the one losing out on anything. No, I'm not going to have any problems with my private session. I have Millie for the Games- I don't need to worry about everyone else. All I need to do is prove myself in the private sessions and I'll be set for the Games and hopefully winning sponsors for our alliance.
When I walk into the training room I'm confident that I'll be able to prove myself. I'm bigger than pretty much everyone and I'm used to the types of hideous conditions the Games usually bring about.
I head straight for the spears, they're the perfect weapon for a big guy with no training; point, stab, cheer as your guts aren't the ones dangling around on the ground. Problem is stabbing some dummies for 15 minutes is interesting enough for me but I figure that the Captiol Gamemakers who looked bored by the ten seconds it took to walk across the room towards the spears might find it a little dull. I can't imagine having so much at my fingertips that a 15 minute demonstration could be considered boring but I guess it's just something about the Capitol.
Although their boredom means I get one last chance to clamber over the climbing frame- one which can hold my weight unlike any tree I've climbed since I was about 10- before I go to my hopefully-not-impending-doom.
Once I clamber over the frame, hanging upside down from the very top before leaping across the bars to land near the bottom on the opposite edge. It's a shame it's just me but it's still nice to have another chance to act like a kid. I can see the Gamemakers look mildly impressed but some of them just glare at their watches as though a few seconds watching me past 15 minutes will kill them.
As I'm preparing to leap off from my perch two metres above the ground, I throw the spear as hard as I can towards the wall with the targets on it, pleased when it hits the stomach of the dummy as I walk out the door before dashing to the elevator to catch up with Mil.
TRAINING SCORE: 8
Ivy:
I've been hoping to go through the training as thoroughly unmemorable. I know I want to win but I can't put a target on my back from the start of training by showing off my skills or making someone notice me enough to decide they might want to kill me. It's also partly... well maybe a little more than partly because I can't bear the thought of having someone with me in the Games- either because they'll hold me back or because I don't want to watch them die.
It was pretty lonely but my parents haven't exactly convinced me that being lonely is a bad thing. The sound of my own thoughts is like an old friend- one which won't try to kill me in the Hunger Games.
Basically I went to the smallest, loneliest stations available and tried to memorise every skill I could possibly need in the Games. Should I ever need to tie someone to death, purify the water from their blood or shelter them so the sun sets fire to them I'm all set. It'd be the weirdest victory in the history of the Games if I managed any of those things but I'd take it. I have to win the Games. Failure isn't imaginable- even if I have to purify them to death or stab them with a rusty nail I'll do whatever it takes.
Wes is looking increasingly nervous but I try to avoid acknowledging his presence. I'm not willing to fall for someone else's weak act only to be stabbed in the back the instant I step off my plate at the Cornucopia.
When I walk into the training room I head for the only violently useful things I learnt. Poisons.
Mixing handfuls of edible berries with the most similar looking deadly berries, smearing them with juice as camouflage, crushing up handfuls of blood poisons and smearing them on knife blades, dripping nightlock juice into water so that it's invisible against the darker container but still 100% deadly.
I know I don't want to have to kill to succeed but at the very least I'll be giving them the least painful death I can without fail. Even if I never use any weapons it doesn't take a genius to work out that I wouldn't even need to stab- point and poke is all it would take to kill all 23 people without having to freshen up my knife with more poison.
TRAINING SCORE: 5
Wes:
Being the last to go on is a killer.
My hands can barely stop shaking as I watch Ivy stalk into the private session, not even acknowledging my gaze. Blaze has the ability to radiate confidence like smoke from a fire in the coal mines while I'm just your average guy- the idea that 15 minutes could decide whether or not I get enough sponsor gifts to survive is freaky.
I don't even know what I'm going to do. The District one guy could probably convince a sword to kill a dummy without touching either but that was my best weapon. Even the random guy from District 6 was good at it. Somehow I don't think a display of my extreme sewing skills will earn me too many points and I don't think the stand-up comedy routine's quite ready to be performed yet. The jokes about the Capitol man who gets strangled by his eyebrow extensions might not go down to well with the target audience.
In the end I decide that I might as well go do whatever for the hell of it since they're too busy drinking to notice my entrance, let alone whatever else I do. They're so drunk they might even laugh at my Capitol joke but from the way one of the Gamemakers' eyebrows are resting behind his shoulders to allow him to drink the punch straight from the bowl, I don't think accidentally prophesizing the unusual death of one of the Gamemakers would be a great idea.
I grab a handful of berries, toss away the poisonous ones, and chow down while sitting on a dummy that I sliced off at the knees to use as a chair.
The Gamemakers seem to find this mildly amusing so I build a chair out of dummies cut down to size and snack on some more berries while the Gamemakers chuckle.
Maybe I won't get a score of 3,000,000 but frankly I'd rather make them laugh than afraid that I'll cut them up in their sleep.
TRAINING SCORE: 6
Wow these POVs have grown enormous since I started at Hail and Aglaeca's... To make up for it I'll do the opposite with the interviews, longer for the first half, shorter for the second because while it was unintentional it isn't really fair to character building.