AUTHOR'S NOTES: Like in all other installments of the 'Fire Without a Spark' series, the highlight of the 10th chapter is the scores. There's also a bit of discussion and whatever else as Cadence deals with his concerns and Lucia addresses her own.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 10: The Scores

The week of training passed by remarkably quickly when all was said and done, and soon Cadence and Lucia were eating breakfast the day of the private sessions. This was the last day of training, and later that evening, they would be personally interviewed by Caesar Flickerman himself, Cadence wasn't worried about Lucia for that part. He knew what angle Kurai and Kuro would go for her there, and he was fairly certain that the Capitol would love her—perhaps a bit too much.

Whatever the case, he and Lucia wandered down to the training center, watching the various tributes line up by District, with Faren leading the pack. Some of the lower districts hasn't shown up, and so Cadence watched eventually as the tributes from District 11 and District 12 populated the bench, with Sudi at the end of the line to finish off the private sessions.

It took a couple hours to get through the first four districts before District 5 was called up.

"Cadence Montoya, District 5!"

"Stay safe, Lucia," he took the girl's hand as he stood up.

"You'll do well in there," she whispered, pecking him on the cheek as if in reassurance. Cadence smiled and entered the room, not really worrying about his score as much as Lucia's. He glanced up at the Head Gamemaker, a small but imposing little woman who used to stand out because of the large wings on her back. This year, however, it seemed that she had taken on a different look, with blue clothing and certainly frills in her hair that gave her an aquatic vibe. Her ears were still pointed, however. The woman was always an extravagant example of Capitol fashion, and Cadence didn't think any different. Her voice, however, was a lot calmer and gentler than he expected.
"Welcome to the 94th Annual Hunger Games, Cadence Montoya," she smiled down at him, "you have 15 minutes to present your chosen skills. Begin!"

Cadence's demonstrations were fairly simple and to-the-point, as he wielded knives to great effect. The kicker was that he was a fierce fighter, causing damage to the dummies he attacked. While he might not have had a very athletic frame at first glance, it was clear that the fiery-haired boy was much stronger and faster than he looked; he was definitely a fighter. The ferocity of this boy was something that the Gamemakers remarked about amongst themselves and out of his earshot, but it was clear that his antics had attracted their attention.

However, 15 minutes eventually passed, and he took a bow as he was dismissed from the room. He passed Lucia and smiled, still a little heavy on breath.

"Show 'em what you're made of, Lucia…" he whispered as her name was called out. He returned to their apartment to wait for Lucia's return, and subsequently the reveal of the scores later that afternoon.

About 20 minutes after Cadence had returned to the 5th floor to wait for the other tributes to finish their training, Lucia showed up, seeming content.

"How'd you do?" Cadence was the first one to ask, although Bethany and Johnny showed their faces a few moments later, "did you show them what was what?"
"I showed them who I was," Lucia smiled. "I'm a helper, not a fighter."
"Well…" Cadence scratched his head. "I… guess that's good?"

"Low scores do not always mean bloodbath fodder," Johnny pointed out, "there was a kid who won the games with a 3. Aveline a few years ago won with a 5. Sure she might have held back a bit, but there's no real telling what Lucia might have done."
"What's your point?" Cadence frowned.

"The point is," Bethany answered, "don't get discouraged yet. We'll have the scores in a few hours after the rest of the districts have their turns."

Sure enough, in came Nephenee to turn on the television a few hours later after Mani and Sudi had done their things and returned to their floors to wait for their scores. Cadence and Lucia jumped onto the sofa to watch (or in Lucia's case, listen) to the Capitol announce the scores for all 24 tributes.

"Faren Dumar; District 1, with a score of… 10"

"Welp, that's about standard fare for the careers, I'd say." Bethany pointed out.

"Serendipity Li; District 1, with a score of… 12"

"I knew that girl was going to be trouble though," Cadence frowned, glancing towards Lucia. She did not say anything, but nodded as if to acknowledge Cadence's words.

"Nazir Mateaki; District 2, with a score of… 11"

"A sizable force," Johnny indicated, looks like you kids have your work cut out for you."

"Gabriela Sanchez; District 2, with a score of… 9"

"That's a lot lower than usual," Lucia pointed out, "Korra last year scored an 11. Amy and Chel from the two years before scored a 12."

"Chase Rebiana; District 3, with a score of… 8"

"Aveline also scored a 5, and she knifed a career boy that scored a 9 in the bloodbath." Johnny reminded them, "don't take the scores too seriously. It's really more just to scare tributes and to appease the gamblers; little more."

"Ratchet Caseres; District 3, with a score of… 8"

"Never trust a Ratchet though," Bethany warned, "just… trust us on that one."

"Andraz DelRio; District 4, with a score of… 10"

"If you say so." Cadence nodded, growing quiet as he anticipated his score as well as Lucia's.

"Isabela Vikta; District 4, with a score of… 9"

"We do," Johnny agreed. Cadence nodded and then all but held his breath at this point.

"Cadence Montoya; District 5, with a score of… 11"

"Well… someone fought hard." Bethany nodded in approval.

"I did what I had to in order to survive and protect Lucia." Cadence asserted.

"Lucia Alzar; District 5, with a score of… 4"

"Aaaand, she's definitely going to need it." He groaned a moment later.

"Chad Xela; District 6, with a score of… 7"

"Cadence…" Lucia sighed, "this isn't about me."
"Shay Nuvas; District 6, with a score of… 6"

"Did you even try in there, Lucia?" Cadence frowned. I saw you in the training center. You were pretty good with those knives if I recall."
"Solas Drazen; District 7, with a score of… 7"

"What do I need to show them?" Lucia shrugged, "Let them think I'm weak. Perhaps it will be different when we meet on the field of battle. There's no reason for them to know everything about the little blind girl right away."

"Elspeth Sylvan; District 7, with a score of… 8"

"So you pulled an Aveline then?" Johnny raised an eyebrow.

"Verde Salazar; District 8, with a score of… 8"

"I suppose that's one way to put it," Lucia shrugged, "although it wasn't like I was about to score a 13 out of 12 or anything."

"Camilla Shao; District 8, with a score of… 5"

"Well again, relax." Johnny advised them, "The scores are mostly just numbers."

"Robin Destry; District 9, with a score of… 9"

"Numbers, eh?" Cadence frowned, "District 9's not likely to be cannon fodder this year."

"Fox Morrowson; District 9, with a score of… 10"

"They could still be," Bethany pointed out, "tributes that scored 10s have still been killed in the bloodbath. It might rely on District 12 or something though."

"Brody LaHir; District 10, with a score of… 6"

"Should I be worried about those two painted tributes then?" Cadence asked.

"Alissa Zinder; District 10, with a score of… 9"

"Probably to a degree," Bethany nodded, "they haven't won, but they've scarred and terrified some of the victors before."

"Kilon Sotega; District 11, with a score of… 9"

"District 11 is usually formidable too, as you'll notice." Johnny added.

"Xandra Kanosh; District 11, with a score of… 12"

"Really formidable in this case," he continued. "Definitely watch out for them."

"Mani Tauanu'u; District 12, with a score of… 7"

"So District 11 and District 12 are trouble then." Cadence raised an eyebrow

"Sudi Ontanago; District 12, with a score of… 8"

"It seems like it, this year." Bethany agreed, "Something tells me that Mani and Sudi weren't exactly putting their all into their private session efforts this year."
"Ah, Bethany the prophetess," Johnny playfully taunted.

"I'd rather take her word than take my chances," Cadence asserted. "So what happens now?"
"Now…" Nephenee grinned, "We wait a few minutes for this to settle and a few other bettors and sponsors to sort things out, and then it's time to get dressed again."
"Don't worry," Johnny chuckled, "these are more of actual outfits rather than costumes."
"Well, I can't say I'd mind seeing Serendipity in her underwear again," Cadence quipped. "It'd at least be a decent image to leave in my mind before I kill her if she tries touching Lucia."

"Don't put all your money on her being the only one to try and kill me," Lucia warned, "First off, like you said, I'm not about to roll over and die, and secondly, everyone is an enemy in the arena. Even if you take out Serendipity in the opening minutes, that doesn't mean no one else might threaten me."

"She's the one that keeps eyeing you though," Cadence frowned. "I still think you need to avoid her."

Lucia sighed and did not respond. It was not to say that she trusted Serendipity in a death tournament, but at the same time, she thought Cadence was overthinking it. Whatever the case, now as the time for them to flush those thoughts at least for a little while, because Nephenee had just left the room—which meant that odds were she'd be coming back in with Kurai and Kuro in tow.