Chapter Five: It's Okay to Judge

Dad always used to say that I had a talent for figuring people out. For looking past every façade they tried to use to hide what they were really like, and seeing straight through to who they really were. I never really saw the point of that, but I guess this is a place where it really comes in handy.

I can tell that Glimmer truly hates me by the time we break for lunch. We spend a lot of time throwing axes, since I'm trying to be a gentleman after pissing her off while Atala was talking – and I won't make that mistake again, believe me. She doesn't speak to me at all, just throwing her axe at a target that I know she's picturing as my face.

I don't see much of any of our other allies before lunch. Cato and Clove, I notice at one point, seem to enjoy terrorizing some of the smaller tributes. Glimmer and I freeze as we hear Clove call out to one of the smallest ones, who's climbing the rock wall – everyone else does, too. Clove, it seems, can tell that everyone in the room is watching her, because she casts a smirk towards her audience before flinging the knife she's holding directly at the girl. Miraculously, it lands inches away from the girl's hand, and I barely keep my jaw from dropping. Even though I despise Clove, I can't help being impressed.

I don't see Shell and Zen talking at all this morning, just focusing on their training with a ferocity that is slightly intimidating. Clearly, this won't be the most fun few weeks with them around.

Lunch doesn't come fast enough – I'm sick of Glimmer, honestly, and while I don't like any of the others any more – less if anything – a change of scenery is always good. The six of us meet up immediately and head for a large table in the middle of the room.

Clove starts off the conversation without preamble. "So, what do you think of everybody, now that we've gotten to see them up close?" she says, facing Glimmer.

Glimmer snorts and rolls her eyes. "They're all pathetic."

The rest of us laugh, drawing the attention of the rest of the tributes. The Career Tributes, as this alliance is commonly referred to as, has always maintained a reputation among other districts besides our own for being vicious, unmerciful, motivated, and above all, terrifying. There's a reason that the victor of the Games is almost always a tribute from One, Two, or Four. We're able to gain sponsors as quickly as we make enemies, but the difference is that the enemies end up dead in a week. Showing off is a common strategy among Careers, and this year, as Clove demonstrated earlier, is clearly no exception.

Might as well play that up.

"Nice stunt with the knife earlier, by the way," I say to Clove, albeit somewhat grudgingly.

I roll my eyes as Shell complains about what a pity it is that we can't actually kill our opponents yet, but then Zen speaks up loudly. "Yeah, it's a shame. Then again, they'll all be gone within a day or two. There may not even be a point in us forming an alliance at all!"

I grit my teeth. Genius, this one is.

Despite the fact that all the tributes are going to be trying to kill each other in the arena, there's a standard form of etiquette that is demanded by a strong alliance. One of the simplest unspoken rules is that you don't question the alliance. Doing so implies that you think you'd be better off without allies, which is basically an invitation for death.

I shoot Zen an annoyed look, but he doesn't notice – he seems to be having a staring contest with Cato, and the expressions on their faces make me flinch.

"So, you know what we still have to do?" Shell says, looking as if she's struggling not to strangle Zen. "We don't have a strategy for the bloodbath yet."

I glance up at her, interested. "You're right. We'll have to figure that out later, though – wouldn't be the best idea with all of them around."

Glimmer smirks. "I don't think we need a strategy. From the looks of them, they'll trip over their own feet and land on a knife. We'll be fine."

I almost choke on the piece of fruit I've just swallowed. "Brilliant," I laugh. Then I remember the necessity of keeping up the whole stupid act. "I have the perfect idea. We'll all just stand there and start dancing – they'll be so shocked they'll drop dead on the spot."

I've intended that as more of a poorly thought out joke than as a serious suggestion, but the looks the others throw me hint that I stop talking. "I'm kidding," I mumble, holding my hands up in front of me defensively. "Chill."

I swear I see Glimmer smile, but it's gone before I can be sure.

I decide that it would be unwise for me to speak for the rest of lunch, so I decide to just sit quietly and do what my dad claimed I did best – judge.

I start with Clove, because she seems to be the most simpleminded out of all of us. She's one of the youngest, too, and it kind of shows in the way she acts and speaks. She's a bit childish – throughout the day she's been speaking animatedly, and I've been able to hear her laugh all the way across the room this morning. She's wearing a headband, for God's sake. And I don't think she's seen as much as the rest of us as far as tragedy goes. Her eyes still have that sparkle that suggests that she's had a relatively easy life, despite the pressure she must have been under. I know that both her parents are victors, though not terribly well known… they're not like Finnick Odair or Enobaria Klu. Still, there's a determination in Clove, plain for us all to see, that shows how dedicated she is to winning the Games, and that she's not about to let any of us stop her. I decide on the spot that Clove is going to be a big threat in these Games – because something about her suggests a deadly temper, and I've seen her throw knives. The hilt of the blade still stuck in the rock wall tells me I wouldn't want to be within a mile of an angry, armed Clove.

For only having met her today, that's as much as I can decipher about Clove while still maintaining accuracy. So… the easiest analysis is complete.

I move on to Cato – might as well get District Two completely out of the way. Well, the most obvious thing should come first, I suppose. He's a giant. I don't know how it's even possible for anyone still young enough to be eligible for the Games to be this size – he's the same age as me, for crying out loud! Putting that aside, there's a quality about Cato that makes me nervous. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the way he looked at Zen earlier, so furiously, suggests mental instability. Which almost invariably will be paired with a temper. Cato's eyes lack the childishness that I can see in Clove's, which makes me certain that he's seen more of the country's horrors than his district partner. Did he live in one of the poor areas of District Two? Two is the richest district in the country – do they even have poor areas? Maybe some childhood tragedy… I haven't heard of either of Cato's parents being victors. Maybe they're not even alive. That would certainly explain the lack of brightness in him. However, like Clove, he clearly has a fire burning behind those furious eyes, and will stop at nothing to win. This would be where any madness would come into play. One thing I do note, however, is that he appears to have a bit of a soft spot for Clove. I make a mental note of that, planning to observe them more carefully in the future.

Well. District Two has given us quite a pair to contend with this year. Clearly, both of these tributes are going to be dominant in the arena – they've already demonstrated that they plan to lead the alliance, and they seem to get along better than I do with Glimmer, as well as Shell and Zen. After just half a day, I can barely stand either of them… these two could quite literally be the death of me in the arena without even picking up a weapon.

I file thoughts about these two away and consider Shell. What I know about her. Which, unfortunately, is virtually nothing. She's young, even younger than Clove; that much is obvious. But she holds her head high and regards the rest of us almost disdainfully. There's something behind that smile that makes me think she's up to something. Maybe that's a stupid notion – isn't every tribute up to something at this stage in the Games? But I can't shake off that intuition, so I give into it and pay her more attention. She and Zen are almost constantly exchanging glances and giving each other almost imperceptible nods. My eyes narrow suspiciously. What's this about? Then I notice something else – she keeps glancing at Clove and Cato, paying Glimmer and me no more attention than if we were thin air. Whatever's going on with them, it involves the tributes from Two, not us.

This makes me consider Shell more carefully. Is she clever enough to have come up with a scheme to overtake Clove and Cato on her own? Or did her mentor have something to do with this? And how is Zen involved? Whatever the answer is, it shows that there's more to Shell than I had originally thought. I sigh – none of this can be simple, can it? Now, in addition to watching for any sign of something going on between Clove and Cato, I'll have to watch Shell watch them as well… just in case I'm the next target.

I shake my head. It's not as if she can do anything yet. It's against the rules to engage in any physical combat with another tribute before we enter the arena. Which means… Shell must be trying to unhinge them mentally.

This, of course, opens up a whole new realm of possibilities that's too broad to even consider. I'll discuss this with Jasper later – he'll be able to provide some insight, no doubt. But I've got another two tributes to figure out first.

Zen. I sigh quietly. This one has already proved that he's a bigger idiot than… well, a bigger idiot than I'm pretending to be. He's a giant, like Cato – it's clear that he's more of a brawn over brains type of tribute than Shell is. So what part does he play in Shell's scheme? He's as determined to win as the rest of us – like Shell, he's gives off the aura of thinking he's superior to the rest of us. But his expression is flat when he's not glaring – there's no emotion whatsoever. And that means that nothing's going to stop him from killing us all in an instant… which makes me think that it would just be smart to kill him at the bloodbath and get it over with. There's no point in having someone around who's going to risk the entire alliance on day one. Though I'm not a fan of any of these people, we still need each other until the playing field is narrowed down. So I'll keep an eye on him for the duration of training as well, up until his death – which I will, I vow to myself, be around to see. I do note, though, that he seems to be somewhat condescending towards Shell – like when he tried to introduce her this morning. It's almost as if they're siblings. That's clearly not true, though – the media would have had a field day with that, I would've known. But it's something to remember.

Oddly enough, I don't consider either Shell or Zen to be much of a threat. They're plotting against Clove and Cato, not me, so I'm not too worried. I saw this morning that their weaponry skills… aren't what I'd call exceptional. Something tells me that they'll be dead after a few days in the arena regardless.

There's only one tribute left for me to try to decipher, and I have a feeling that she's going to be the hardest out of everyone.

Glimmer.

If I thought Zen was condescending, he's nothing compared to this one. Maybe condescending isn't even the right word – more like superior. I recall the disgusted way she regarded me back on the train and this morning, even. The way she flounced out of the room the first chance she got. She already seems to have a vendetta against me, though not for a good reason as far as I can see. I know she's younger than me and probably hasn't been training as long. But other than that… I don't know her at all.

For a moment, I wish Di were here. She'd be so much better at this, she'd be able to figure out what Glimmer's like in an instant, with the girl talk she's so skilled at, according to Em. Because she's a girl, you idiot, I scoff at myself. Then I remember that if Di were here Glimmer wouldn't be anyway, and Di is the absolute last person I want with me in the arena. I'd kill myself before seeing her come here.

Anyway. Glimmer. Well… I suppose she's not stupid. And she was brave enough to speak first after Cato and Clove this morning, to break the awkward silence that had come over us. After spending so much time with her during training, it's obvious that she's more skilled with axes than anyone else I know. That's definitely worth remembering, and worth giving up some sleep for in the arena. Don't want to be murdered when I'm not even awake to defend myself.

Oh – and she's easily annoyed. I found that out on the very first day… and that's something I can definitely use to my advantage in the arena. Push her over the edge, maybe she'll lose her temper…

Regardless, it seems as though Glimmer's not as enigmatic as I thought. There's something else, though, something that suggests that she'll be able to see through any BS the rest of us might put forth. Which means that I'll have to be incredibly careful if I want to pull off acting like an idiot for ten minutes, let along weeks.

I take a deep breath. I think… I think that trying to guess whatever I could about my allies has been more exhausting than everything I've been through so far since leaving District One.

Clove is now whispering urgently in Cato's ear, and his eyes narrow as he hisses something in reply. She nods and raises her voice just as we're dismissed to go back to training.

"Girls, come with me," she says, motioning towards Shell and Glimmer. "We're going to separate from them for a bit."

Cato nods and meets my eyes. "Marvel, Zen, with me."

I almost groan. Great. This should be a fun couple of hours… I stand up, bracing myself for whatever these two might throw at me, and prepare to go through hell.

Well, I stayed up super late last night writing this chapter so I'd be able to post it today... and I actually really like how it turned out. I've been looking forward to writing a more in depth analysis of all the Careers from Marvel's POV, and it was pretty fun. So I hope you all like this chapter too. :)

There were a few more reviews for the last chapter than before, but I still have to ask for feedback. Come on, guys, when I was writing Winning is Everything it got tons of reviews for every chapter... what happened? Please, please review.

Next chapter: We'll take a look at what happens when Cato, Marvel, and Zen work together during training... and Jasper and Star inform Glimmer and Marvel of what Shell and Zen may be up to. :)

Review, please!

~What the Quell