Mykal Duncan, D7

Mykal made sure to plan which station she visited next. She wanted to always be at a station with someone new, even if it meant repeating one. She wanted to see everyone's skills. Where they excelled, where they lacked. If she could remember this, she'd know how to go about with her offense.

She stuck close to the careers. If she wasn't at the same station as some of them, she was as close as she could get. Mykal knew that they would be the biggest threat, so the sooner they were gone, the better. At the moment, she was at the knife throwing station with two from Four and three from Two. She watched their technique, and then tried to copy it. She was surprised to find that she was actually good at it. She hit every target that came at her, even if her aim wasn't exactly perfect. She'd have to be sure to get a knife at some point in the arena.

At the axe station, she excelled beyond the Careers. Reyes was there, too, and he was able to best the three tributes from One, also. One girl, the odd one of the group, with midnight black hair, swooped down on Mykal.

"Watch yourself," she said menacingly, before pulling away and moving to another station. Mykal was intimidated by her, but she wouldn't let it show.

"You alright?" asked Reyes, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She nodded, eyes still following the girl with the black hair. She heard another tribute call her Shine. Why did all the tributes from One have such stupid names? She didn't get close to any of the girls from One for the rest of the day, but she kept up her routine of tracking the careers. The only difference was that, now, Reyes kept with her, almost like a guard. Not that she needed it, but it was a nice gesture.

Parker Dust, D12

Parker kept close to his own district. Twelve moved as one, from station to station. Occasionally, one person would break away to stay behind and practice something, but for now, they were all trying to learn. Parker had found out that Minnia was excellent with a slingshot, and out of their group, little Evie was the best climber. Parker liked the slingshot as well, and tried his hand at archery. He was decent. If he was able to get a hold of a bow and arrows, he'd take it, but what he was best with was the swords.

He picked up a broadsword ad it just felt right I his hands, as if it was made for him specifically. There were dummies laid out in an attack pattern ahead of him, and he prepared to strike. The dummies mimicked the durability and consistency of a person, so when he was able to make a deep blow into them, he felt happy. He'd be a decent threat if he could get a sword.

After he had his practice, Ula asked if they could finally try some survival techniques. The group followed her to the fire starting station, but Parker stayed behind. In a group of eight, surely not everyone would need to start a fire. He wanted to practice more with his sword. There were five other tributes at the station with him, but he remained focused on his own targets, and he concentrated on how to dismember them. He imagined each one as a Career. Parker was horrified.

Who was he becoming?

Thalassa Pearl, D4

Thalassa watched as a small girl from Eleven fell from the agility course. She'd been up on the bars about ten feet off the ground, and she'd landed flat on her back. Lucky for her there had been a mat on the floor, she thought. She moved the girl aside once she stood up, and showed her how it was done. She swung through the bars like nothing, and climbed her way up the first stretch of the rock wall in a matter of thirty or so seconds. The girl looked at her in shock, and backed away slowly to join one of the guys from her district over at the knot-tying station. Nenna, who had also been watching from the floor, laughed.

"Guess we won't need to worry to much about that one," she said as Thalassa landed on the ground.

"Guess not. She won't make it past day one." Thalassa watched her try, and fail, at knot tying.

"Wanna bet? I bet she'll make it two days."

"You're one. That girl is mine." Thalassa grinned evilly. She wondered how the Capitol betting was going. Surely that girl's odds wouldn't be too great. Thalassa figured she'd be close to, if not at the top.

Cicenna Arlenos, D8

Cicenna kept close to Sarah and her sister all day. Their reunion had made her cry. Everyone knew the inevitability. One of the Beta sisters would die, if not both. When Sarah had been working at the edible berries and plants station, Rachel had pulled her aside.

"Don't let Sarah die for me," she said sternly. Cicenna couldn't believe how mature she sounded for only being fourteen. "I know that if she wins, Seven won't, but I don't care. Please, don't let her die. I don't plan on being there the whole time for her, but I know that you can. You're from Eight, so I trust you."

"You don't trust Brantley, do you?" Cicenna asked. She had noticed Brantley keeping close to the three of them, and she assumed he'd joined their group.

"He's only in this because my dad is a Victor. He doesn't care about anything but winning, and I…" she paused for a minute to look around. There were people she didn't want hearing this. "I don't plan on letting Seven win this year. I want to take Brantley out myself, to make sure it gets done. Preferably before he can attack you or Sarah." Cicenna was shocked at how serious she was about sacrificing her own district for her sister and Cicenna. Now she couldn't back out of this. She was also a betrayer. She'd gone against Eight to save a girl actually from Seven, and not even a win for her district would ease the minds of those families of the other tributes.

"I'll get her out, just make sure you are there for her as long as possible." She watched Rachel nod and walk off. She had to be one of the bravest people Cicenna had met.

Shantelle Lester, D2

Elle kept with the Careers, even though she knew they didn't want her. Only Paxton ever spoke to her. She enjoyed his company. The other night, when everyone was asleep, he'd come to her room and told her their plan for the arena.

When she had been away for a while, Paxton had overheard Peter talking with Ember, Cubic, and Nenna about getting rid of her. They wanted her out of the alliance, but because of how close she and Paxton had become, they couldn't risk losing him, also. Ember was the one who suggested pretending to accept her and then taking her out in the bloodbath.

"Why are you telling me this?" she had asked him, terrified. She hadn't been sure yet whether or not she could trust him completely. He was a career, after all, and he'd been friends with the other careers for years now. Why would he throw that away to help her?

"Because we need to agree on where we are going to run to." Elle was shocked. He, a trained killer, was talking about running from the bloodbath. It was usually the highlight of the games for trained tributes like him. "I'm not letting them kill you like that. So, where are we going to run?" Elle didn't know what to say.

"North? East? Towards trees? Water? Where would you feel the strongest?"

"Trees. Woods. More cover, but we'll need water."

"You'll run for the trees if there are any, if not, let's say we head East. Then you'll –"

"How will I know where East is?" He gave her a look as if saying 'are you serious'? Elle shrugged it off. "Well, the games always start at 10am sharp, so the sun should be in the east. Look for the sun and follow it. A straight path would be best, and when you feel safe, mark it somehow."

"Like climbing a tree and putting a carving into it?"

"Exactly, that way I can find you."

"Won't you be running with me?"

"No, I'm going to be getting supplies in the bloodbath, so we can go for a bit without needing anything. I'll have to come find you later on. If I end up on the fallen count, you'll have to make it on your own." Elle couldn't help but cry. He was doing so much for her. He was risking his life for her. They'd talked before, on the train and earlier in the week, but had he really changed that much. Elle got her answer when her kissed her on the hand.

"You stay safe." He ordered softly, before walking out.

In training, they pretended if nothing had changed. Paxton acted as if he'd never overheard the conversation, and Elle pretended like she didn't know a thing, which was easy. She just had to be herself, ad hope that their plan for the bloodbath didn't work out.

Veris Sphene, D3

Veris kept to the stations that taught offense. He needed to know how to attack and protect himself, and he could work with the survival stations later, now that they had extra days to train. He'd spent an entire day with the knives and spears, as they were usually the most abundant weapons available in the arena. Today he had spent the morning working with archery, but it wasn't a strong suit. Now, he was on long sword. He liked it because it could keep someone at bay, and that would be good for him. Back in the apartment, he and Aaron had had the Avoxes bring them large containers of water, ad they'd been lifting together. Veris probably considered Aaron his best choice of alliance in the arena.

Luxe Cressa, D1

Luxe was confident in his abilities with the weapons stationed around the training room. He'd proven himself on everything back home in One, and right now, he just wanted to focus on the survival skills. The other tributes from his district had warned him against doing it too much, but he felt like they wouldn't retain the information if they didn't really focus on it. He'd been at the edible plants station, and refused to leave until he could identify everything thrown at him in under two minutes.

The trainer seemed to get tired of him after a few tries. Obviously she knew had anyone stick around this long before. Luxe glared at her whenever she asked if he really wanted another shot at it. He was determined.

Valeria Groulx, D10

Valeria had a huge bruise oh her shoulder that night when training ended. She falling from a rope and landed just right to leave her body aching all day long. Yvaine still hadn't been back to training. In fact, she hadn't been seen by anyone since Linielle called her away yesterday morning.

Valeria walked over to her door, which was shut, and walked inside.

"Door closed means no company, didn't you know?" Valeria jumped. Yvaine was lying in her bed, facing the windows that overlooked the Capitol.

"How…how did you know I came in?"

"I heard you," she said, and Valeria nearly screamed. She ran to Yvaine, and realized her head was bandaged tightly around both ears.

"What? What happened?"

"A very generous sponsor, who gave me the option to have the operation or go through training." Valeria could hear the slur in her words when she spoke, but she was doing amazingly well. Valeria hugged her friend, but she moaned in slight pain, and Valeria back away.

"So no training? Isn't that dangerous."

"Val…I. Can. Hear. You. You don't understand what this means to me after all these years. Of course I'd pick this over training."

"Does anyone else know?"

"No, but if you tell them, don't let them in here. I have to rest so they can clean me up by the night of the interviews." Valeria left it at that. She was still in shock. If a sponsor had been willing to do that for Yvaine before the games even started, what would happen for the rest of them?

So what do you think of the chapter? What do you think of Mykal's almost alliance with Reyes? Is he interested in her? Are the games already changing Parker? Is Thalassa being too cocky? Is Cicenna making the right choice in the Betas over Eight? Can Elle trust Paxton and the possible feelings he may have? Are Veris and Luxe being smart in there training strategies? What do you think about Yvaine being able to HEAR?

Her procedure cost 1000 SP. Her 'generous sponsor was able to gather friends and get her 880 points, so the remaining points come out of the District Pool. I'll post all 'purchases' on the Meet Your Tributes chapter (Chapter 3).

Can you tell which POV was my favorite to write for this chapter and which ones I felt a little uninspired for? Review, please? I feed off reviews, they make me write faster.