Tribute Profile
Chaff Harris
Age: 47
District: 11
First Hunger Games: 45th, aged 17
Mentored By: Seeder King (45th Games)
Kills in the Arena: 1
Mentoring Record: 29 Games/ 0 Victors
Training Score: 5
Preferred Weapons: Sickle, Knife
Stylist: Serenity Hawkes
Like his district partner Seeder, Chaff is one of the better-known victors in this year's Hunger Games, having mentored every year since his victory three decades ago. Known among other things for his formidable strength and physical prowess while in the arena and his drunken antics in the years since, Chaff always finds a way to get into the headlines, for good or bad.
Ever-jovial, approachable and an excitable character, Chaff connects to us in a way that very few victors do, especially those who won their Games by overpowering everyone who got in their way. Which, in Chaff's case, wasn't very many people; barely anyone wanted to get near him. In an arena comprising dark, dangerous caves in the depths of the earth, Chaff's force made him an intimidating foe for anyone standing in his way.
Eventually, near the end of his Hunger Games, Chaff and his adversaries attempted to scale the cave walls to find refuge in the world above, but before the tributes could reach safety, they fell over fifty feet back to the ground. Miraculously, Chaff survived the fall, in the process crowning himself the victor of the 45th Games, even if he was unconscious at the time. Because of this terrifying fall (one that has been replayed over and over again on television in recent years), Chaff has become one of only five victors to have lost a limb in the arena, although unlike his contemporaries, Chaff never took a prosthetic replacement.
Since his victory, Chaff has mentored in the Games for District 11 alongside Seeder every summer, but has yet to bring home a victor. Considering his wild lifestyle and more than a slight dependence on alcohol (an addiction that in the past decade has been turning into something far more serious), this is perhaps not surprising.
In District 11, he lives alone in victors' village, his marriage having fell apart as he began to drink heavily, something that only accelerated once he was alone once more. Now, his only company are Seeder and his younger sister, Keisha.
Unlike many victors, Chaff never picked up a talent after the Games, but instead returned to work in the district at his uncle's apothecary. There was some speculation that at first he resented the job in the store, having preferred to be out gathering fruit in the orchards, but was unable to do so because of his injuries. However, if there was ever any bad feelings about the job, they had passed away by the time Chaff's uncle died seven years ago, as District 11's youngest victor has taken over the running of the apothecary since then, albeit with some help from his sister.
Having known that he was destined for the arena once more since the reading of the card in April, Chaff is one of the faces that we all knew we would see here tonight, but that doesn't make his interview any less tantalising. We all know of his spontaneity, of how you never know quite what you're going to get. With so much at stake, we can almost be guaranteed fireworks tonight, and not just the ones we've come to expect from Johanna Mason.
Chaff may not be the most athletic of the twenty-four victors in this year's Games, but he's the tallest, and I wouldn't bet against him being the strongest, either. As much as he may joke around in our presence, you can bet that if Chaff manages to keep himself away from the drink, he'll be a real threat in the arena.
We might not know exactly what to expect from Chaff tomorrow morning, but that's exactly why you shouldn't write him off just yet. He could be a real contender.