AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter delves a bit into the developing factions and alliances that are likely to form in the arena. Sure we have the usual career pack and then a few of the tributes from '12 and '11 planning something or another, but there are other groups that may or may not form as well. They're never quite the same, which keeps things interesting. Heck, one year's bloodbath fodder might be another year's victor. Time will tell. Also, there's a bit of Cadence/Lucia fluff at the end, but yeah.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 8: The Developing Factions

There was not much to say in the name of variety as to what the tributes did in the training centers. There was plenty of variety in the facility itself, but as to where the tributes were and what they did with their days, this was more or less it. Lucia managed to convince Cadence that she didn't need him following her around the entire time. The boy stuck to himself, but kept a close and subtle eye on the other tributes. District 5 was notorious for its aura of mystery, and while Cadence was fairly open about who he was if he was required to speak, he retained this sense of mystery to him like so many others from hid district before him.

The pair from District 3 did not seem as formidable this year as they had been during the 93rd, 92nd, or 91st Hunger Games, but by contrast, the pair from District 9 did. Both Robin Destry and Fox Morrowson were seen intermingling with the careers, but also with the painted tributes from District 12 and District 11. Mani and Sudi in particular appeared to be rather threatening. Mani took up a weapon that looked like a quarterstaff and went into one of the simulation chambers. An onslaught of holograms came at him, and while he was not as fast as he looked, his moves were powerful, and he prevented himself from getting his until at least 3 or 4 dozen of the holograms had shattered all around him—something they only did when struck with a blow that would otherwise kill a normal person. The simulations these days were considerably accurate, with holograms flinching, staggering, and otherwise behaving the way a normal combatant would, only that their weapons and forms were holographic pixels instead of actual flesh and bone.

Sudi was a little different, and her fighting style was right in Cadence's ballpark. She took up a pair of knives, and Cadence swore that they had blood on them from somewhere. Maybe that explained the fresh-looking paint on her cheeks. He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was. Mani had them too, but Cadence hadn't pieced it together till he saw the knives. He quickly forgot about it once he saw Sudi in action, however. Fierce and lightning-swift, her savage fighting style matched her wild appearance. She wasn't even wearing any shoes, although that part had Cadence more tilting his head in confusion more than anything. He'd definitely have a few questions about the other districts when he got back to Bethany and Johnny later that evening.

The lunch break was fairly quiet in comparison, with most tributes sticking to their own district. Nazir and Gabriela joined Faren and Serendipity, and nearby, Fox and Robin found seats close by. Was there going to be an alliance between Districts 1, 2, and 9 this year? Cadence liked to entertain the idea that they would be fodder like they were the last few years in a row, although even Lucia seemed to think otherwise when she heard of this.

"Don't try to discount them just because of their district's reputation," she warned, "Remember that behind the careers, District 5 has produced the most victors… and yet here I am."
"Don't say things like that," Cadence growled, "I'm not going to let them kill you."

Lucia decided not to push the topic any further, knowing that Cadence would not likely be convinced. It was certainly not to say that she was about to just lie down and die, but she knew that with formidable enemies like Mani, Sudi, Xandra, Kilon, Nazir, Gabriela, and Serendipity, to name but a few, that she would likely be seen as easy pickings. The notion of private sessions in less than a week's time didn't help her case either, since she was fairly certain that she would score low. She was a friend and a healer; not a fighter. Her title of "District Sweetheart" had not come from her legendary fighting skills, after all.

While Cadence was kind of expecting the worst at this point, it seemed that the careers were not actually paying attention to them. Three of them returned with most of the others to the training center, although Serendipity remained behind, even after Cadence and Lucia had left.

The pair from District 9 both glanced her way, and she knew what this was all about.

"Maybe it's just me and my poor eyesight," she chortled, "but it looks like '9 might actually have a chance of not being bloodbath fodder this time around."

"That's more or less the goal here," Robin quipped, "Granted, I imagine that's the goal every year, albeit with limited success."
"Ah!" Serendipity laughed, "Now you I like. I cannot say that an alliance with the career pack is assured, but if you're willing to make a deal of some sorts, I'm listening."
"There's not exactly much we can offer except potentially decent training scores." Fox pointed out, "I mean, we're not about to try and protect you guys if you won't offer us the same luxury, but if you're proposing a sort of truce in the arena, by all means, keep talking."
"That can be arranged." Serendipity smiled. "I'll keep my buddies off of your backs, and all you two need to do is not turn against me till later in the games."
"That's a pretty bold risk you're taking," Fox raised an eyebrow. "What if we betray you?"
"Then I made a stupid decision," Serendipity laughed, "We all die eventually. I don't exactly want these to be my final days, but if you're as paranoid as that District 5 fellow, you're not bound to get much done anywhere."

"We'll consider the offer," Robin indicated, "we've got 5 more days of training and then private sessions. Odds are you'll get our support."

"Excellent." Serendipity beamed. "I'll see you guys out there." With that she left the District 9 pair to their own devices, and they promptly turned around and had a discussion of sorts with Kilon and Xandra from District 11. There were definitely factions beginning to form on this opening day, and those who were not parts of Districts 1, 2, 9, 11, or 12 were likely going to be in trouble if these were successful.

It was later in the evening when Lucia and Cadence returned to their apartment for the evening, and Cadence wasted little time asking Johnny about the tributes, for the mentors often watched the tributes from a distance (presumably some room with one-way glass or something, but Cadence was not entirely sure), and then offered advice on what to watch out for from a wider point of view.

"As threatening as the careers are, I'm actually more worried about the kids from the outer districts," Johnny warned, "I don't know what they do down there in District 12, but those painted tributes are always scary little bastards to square off against. Sometimes there's one of them, other times two; it seems to be a particular section of the district they come from… the really poor kids come from a place called the Seam, the better-off ones come from the central quadrants… the Painted ones come from some outskirt area near the fences if I recall correctly. Don't cite me or anything on this; it's just the stuff I remember hearing from Everdeen a few years back."

"So are Mani and Sudi the largest threats?" Lucia asked.

"I wouldn't say largest… just the scariest." Johnny noted, "I think the pair from District 11 are more formidable enemies."
"And what about District 9?" Cadence had not followed them around all day by any means, but he had seen them interacting peaceably with both the career pack and the outlier tributes, which raised red flags all over the place for him.

"I saw them interacting with a lot of the other tributes." Bethany warned, "either they are just overly amiable and extroverted, or they are or they're really adamant about securing alliances. It would makes sense given their district's history of often being bloodbath fodder, but with the things I saw them doing today, I don't think they'll be as likely to die in the bloodbath as some of their predecessors."

"Wonderful," Cadence sighed. He made a mental note to watch them closely, but at this point he kind of felt like he was watching everyone. He decided to retire to his room for a while to try and get his thoughts sorted out. He was a little surprised when he was joined by Lucia.

"I know what you're thinking…" she whispered, setting her arm on his shoulder.

"Hmm?" Cadence didn't look up, his face almost buried in his lap, and his hands clutching his hair.

"You're worried about me." She continued. "And it feels to you like everyone in that training center is out to get us in the arena."
"Lucia…" Cadence sighed, "See… it's things like this that make me want to keep you alive. Maybe it's just me, but it's… strange. You care about me… when I'm not really someone to care about. Most people don't treat me like that, Lucia. I… thank you."
"Any time," Lucia smiled, one of her hands reaching in and softly clutching Cadence's curls, "seriously, Cadence… talk to me any time."