Fiona Fierry

Fiona could not believe how beautiful the tribute train was. The floor shone black like a lake at night, with crimson red carpeting in the living area. The air was wonderfully cold, like the first day of fall when the air was perfectly comfortable. Fiona tied back her hair, which had been itching at her face from the wind. Cornelius came aboard last, and immediately began talking.

"Tributes, your rooms are down the hall to your left. Two people to a room. Clean up, dinner is in two hours." Fiona followed the other tributes down the hallway. There were two spots where the walls turned to bendable, durable rubber where a new cart began. She came to a door on her left, but when she looked inside, Alarzin and Bridgely were in there already. The next room was also full, with the other two boys. The third room had only Ganch inside. Fiona quickly claimed her spot there in the room. She was curious about Ganch. But first, she wanted to explore.

There wasn't much to see, as the train was just a few cars. Her bathroom was bigger than any she'd seen before. She poured soap into the tub and turned on the hot war. She climbed in, relishing in the heat of the water. Back home, it was so hard to get a bath this warm. It was dangerous to use boiled water, as it might be too hot, and cold baths, common as they were, were unpleasant. She pulled a bottle of shampoo from the large shelf. It was labeled 'cherry blossom', and it smelled wonderful. She found a soap of the same scent and used up both of the small bottles. The shampoo she had at home was cheap and homemade.

After her bath, Fiona found Ganch also soaked from her tub. She was a little self-conscious about dressing in front of people, and took the fresh clothes back to her bathroom with her.

"Why'd you do it?" she called trough the doorway. There was a moment of silence before Ganch answered her.

"Do what? Volunteer?"

"Yeah. Was the girl your cousin or something?" Fiona sat down on her bed and finished drying her newly shortened hair with a towel.

"No. I've never met her before in my life. I just had no one, and nothing, left for me in the district. This is my way out, as horrible as that sounds. I figured that it'd be nicer to save someone rather than be selfish. You're going to tell me how dumb I'm being, right?"

Fiona was shocked. She hadn't expected that this girl had wanted to die when she volunteered. Could life get that bad? "It's not horrible or dumb at all. What you are doing is brave. You saved someone. I hope that you are going to try to win, but don't think this is dumb. You are very brave, Ganch."

Ganch smiled. This was clearly not what she had been expecting as a reaction. Fiona felt she'd just made herself an ally and a friend.

Gustin Waters

Gustin didn't need two hours to simply bathe and dress before dinner. He was ready within a fourth of that time. He, along with Alarzin, Zane, and Seairra, sat down with Max Sterling, Five's mentor, to watch the Reapings. Gustin knew that Career districts would provide the most challenges, but he was more interested in the other districts. They usually provided the most surprises.

He saw that not just Five, but many other districts, had volunteers this year. Gustin worried about them. He knew that the girl, Ganch, was not in this for the win, but what about the others. Were they confident they could win the Games, especially during the Quell?

When the Recaps were almost to the end, Cornelius came back from his own room, calling the others out for dinner. He turned of the Recaps right in the middle of District Eleven. Gustin wouldn't know about the tributes of Twelve until they all arrived in the Capitol.

The Dining car was actually two cars, one with a large dining table, one filled with food, wall to wall. Gustin had never seen this much food before in his life. Cornelius told them to have as much as they wished, and if anything ran out he'd call for more. There was more? He couldn't imagine there being more food somewhere else within miles, as somehow it had all been decoratively crammed into this one room.

Gustin grabbed a large plate and began making rounds of the room. Cornelius and Max were already leaving, full plates in hand, back to the table. He saw that the other seven tributes were as amazed as he was about the food. Gustin found himself in front of large containers of soups. He was used to soup; his parents made it a lot back home because it made a small amount of food seem larger. He poured himself a larger bowl of beef stew, and a large piece of some kind of yellow cake. He was one of the first ones to leave the room, but he knew he'd be back for more.

"So, Gustin. Do you have any idea of strategy for when you are in the arena?" Max wasn't fooling around. He wanted to get right down to business. He hadn't really though about strategy.

"Um, I guess just stay alive." Max laughed.

"Well, that's always a good one. But can you run? Will you fight or hide? These are things you have to think about. Don't let all this Capitol bullshit…Sorry Cornelius…fool you. It is going to be downright life-threatening out there." Gustin wasn't dumb. He knew this luxury given to them couldn't last. It was just the reward before the slaughter.

Seairra Lightwater

Seairra kept quiet all through dinner. She had never been much of the quiet type of person, but the reality of the games was sinking in, and she realized her life was coming to an end. Within a few weeks, she might very well be dead. It scared her. She wasn't as good at pretending as some of the other tributes seemed to be. Gustin and Bridgely were talking game strategy with Max, as if it was just that, a game. Not an execution.

"So you're going to try and run for the Cornucopia?" Max asked Alarzin, who had just joined the conversation.

"Yeah, I figure that they have supplies and weapons on the ground surrounding it, so if I can get to any of those before I run, I'll at least have something to defend myself with. I'm not dumb enough to run right to the horn for something, but if I can get even a knife, I can work from there." Seairra knew there would be no weapons until right before the Cornucopia. All they had at a good distance were packages of food, maybe a roll of bandages. Stuff to keep a tribute alive, but nothing to help them fight or defend themselves. If this was Alarzin's 'winning' strategy, he'd die that first day.

Seairra hated thinking like this. She fidgeted with the hair ribbon tied around her wrist. It was her lucky pink ribbon. Her strategy would be to run, find herself a good hiding place, and hope that the Gamemakers wouldn't drive her out. She didn't know anything about weapons or shelter or finding food, so she'd have to train hard and learn as much as she could in the Capitol.

Bridgely Olivier

Bridgely was glad that Max was nice. He'd heard that some mentors were cold, unhelpful people. Something in the Games, turned the fun loving kids they used to be into the unlikable adults they were today. It seemed like no on ever won the games, they just survived. Bridgely was wondering if it was worth it to win. If Max Sterling was the exception to the rule, then Bridge felt he didn't want to win. He was already thinking about his own death. How it might be the lesser of two evils. There was no escaping anymore. His future only had two possible outcomes, death or a life of watching others die.

"What are your plans for alliances?" Max asked with a mouth half-full of chicken. Bridgely looked up. He didn't seem to be asking anyone in particular. He wanted to know if everyone from Five was planning to stick together. Fiona answered him.

"I'd be willing to team up, anyone else?" Ganch, Iris, and Zane nodded assent. If Five was planning an octet alliance, he'd want in. He nodded at Fiona, who had seemed to take the lead. After him, the little girl, Iris, joined in, and then Alarzin and Gustin. Max seemed pleased.

"This is good. There are eight of you. It's a big number to fight off. If you guys can get hold of some weapons and enough food, you could have a chance." Of course, everyone knew that only two could win, but no one wanted to say that just yet. But the group came alive, and they all started talking strategies. It seemed the guys wanted the girls to stay safe, particularly Iris. They agreed to go in for food and supplies, and the girls would find somewhere to hide nearby. Bridgely wasn't too excited about going into the Bloodbath, but he had three allies going in with him. They could do it. He had to believe that. He couldn't go in there thinking he was going to die. If he did, he surely would die.

What do you think of the district alliance? Will Alarzin's strategy get him killed? Who should lead the alliance from Five? Remember to vote in the new tribute poll up on my profile and remember to sponsor. M, T, and W I work a lot, so there may not be an update every day...