w w w. shotinthedarkhg. blogspot. c o m
w w w. halloffamethg. blogspot. c o m
Halley Carradine
District Ten Female, 17 Years Old
"Hi, I'm Halley."
Sitting down next to the girl, I grab a hold of my own book, flipping to a random page. I'm not really reading, no, I'm just pretending to so maybe she'll be more open to talk. On the cover, there's a leaf of some sort, with its edges having a white coating on them. The girl seems to be engrossed in the book, and if I look like I'm reading, she'll talk to me. People who read are usually very focused, so I'm sure she doesn't appreciate me barging into her time alone like this.
All I want to do is talk, anyway.
"Hi, Halley," she says, giving me somewhat of a smile. "I'm Damaris."
"Damaris!" I repeat back, liking the sound of the name once I say it. "That's a great name! Are you named after someone?"
Damaris giggles, bringing back the strand of hair in her face over her ear. She looks up from her book, closes it, and pushes it back into the slot it came from. "No, my mother just liked the name. Were you, Halley?"
"Nope," I reply, doing the same with my book. "I'm not really a big fan of the name, but it's better than some of the other ones I've heard. Like, Maureen? That's an old lady name."
Damaris giggles again, raising her hand to cover her mouth. "It's lovely, really. Now, Halley, I was about to go towards the archery station, would you like to come along?"
Standing up, I nod, enjoying her company more than others. Sure, Peros is okay for a while, but he's too young. The idea that he won't be here for long makes my stomach churn, not wanting to reach the conclusion that he'll die just yet. I don't mind talking to him, but I can't get past that he'll be one of the first to die. Even of our mentors, Branna and Devana, know that he won't survive long. I appreciate their efforts, though.
It's people like them give me hope.
Even when they know that Peros might not survive, they still help him. They help both us, really, when it comes down to it. They've given both of us valuable tips, especially survival skills. Although they don't know the arena, they told us how to find water, how to see if fruits are poisonous, and taught us how to use traps. They're really friendly, actually.
They're like a friend to me now.
"So, Damaris, I'll be upfront about it," I say, trailing behind her towards the archery station. She doesn't stop, and as she keeps walking, I know that she's listening, which is good enough. "Do you have any allies? It's the last day of training and everything, and my mentors are really pushing me to get at least one."
"I do not," she replies, her voice gentle as she speaks. "Are you offering, then?"
"If you're interested!" I perk up, not caring if I'm too overbearing right now. "We can try to find others, if you'd like."
We reach the vacant station, Damaris going right for a bow. She weighs it in her hands, going for an arrow next. She doesn't speak anymore, paying attention to the bow and arrow now. I get it, though. I don't expect her to reply to me all the time; usually, people don't make it this far with me.
As she raises the bow onto the string, I can see that she's struggling a little bit, but I don't say anything. I trained with a bow and arrow on the first training day, and even though I still am not the best with it, I'm more comfortable with it than with other weapons.
I just hope that I won't have to use it. It's just for self-defense, if anything.
When Damaris tries to release the arrow, it flings to the side, her fingers squirming to grip it back onto the string. She blushes, lowering the bow and backing away. As I look at her, I can see that her cheeks are a little over her dark cheeks, feeling embarrassed by it. I smile, walking over to her and raising the bow back up.
"Don't feel bad about it," I say to her, quiet enough so that she doesn't think other people saw her mess up. I don't want her to feel bad about anything. "It happens. Look, at least you didn't almost hit the trainer like I did. That would've been bad."
Damaris doesn't have much an expression on her face now, but from what I can tell, she seems a little better. She goes at it again, properly releasing the arrow this time. When the arrow is implanted into the dummy, Damaris smirks a little, her whole character defined in that one expression. She really is sweet, and that's all I need.
I need an ally like her.
With her, I don't have to be afraid.
And, if we recruit more people into this alliance, that'd be even better. In numbers comes strength – that's what Branna has told me all along. I trust her more than anything, especially when it comes to anything related to the Hunger Games. She is a victor, after all.
And victors know what they're talking about.
"See? That's better!" I clap my hands, wanting Damaris to forget that she ever messed up. We all mistakes, so she shouldn't feel bad about incorrectly shooting an arrow. "You're basically a pro now!"
It isn't easy, anyway. Weapons are hard to get used to.
"Thank you," she finally says after being quiet for a little while. "Thank you, Halley."
"It's my pleasure," I reply, grabbing a bow for myself. "I can tell we're going to get along perfectly."
And that's all I ever wanted. Was to find someone that I would get along with, that wouldn't get annoyed with me after speaking to me. That's what it always was like in District Ten. I considered everyone my friend, but I knew that people weren't always fond of me.
They would get sick of me.
I just hope that Damaris won't.
I just want to find a true friend for once.
A friend that won't ditch me.
Katcia Elspeth
District Seven Female, 17 Years Old
What if it doesn't work out?
What if they say no? What if they judge me? What if they laugh and look away?
Gripping my hands tighter, I push myself up from the chair, expecting Silas to follow. I shake my head, not wanting to think about it anymore, knowing that it has to happen. I have to ask the two girls to ally, the time being now. I won't have another chance to really ask them later on, so if I don't do it now, I'll regret it later on.
I haven't been listening to Silas babbling for the past few minutes, so when I grip my hand on his shoulder, he flinches a little bit. He sees me looking at Damaris and Halley, and even though he doesn't want to ally with them – for the same reasons as me – we have to.
What's the worst can happen, anyway? Them saying no?
Still, I can't convince myself to go up there and just ask. I'm too scared, for reasons that Silas and I both share. They could say no, or they could laugh at us, or they could judge us right in our faces. No matter what I say to make myself feel better, I know that it won't. All that will make me feel better is if they accept our offer to ally with them.
"We have to," I say to Silas. "We have to ask them."
"Are you sure?" He utters, his voice quiet. "They might say no, Katcia."
Gulping, I take a step forward, not wanting to doubt myself anymore. When I hear Silas stand up from his chair, I walk towards Damaris and Halley a little faster, wanting to get it over with. I have to ask them – I have to.
We need an alliance. An alliance bigger than the two of us, anyway.
Halley notices us first, and as she perks up out of her seat, she waves her hand. I give her a nervous smile back, and as she pokes Damaris, they're both looking now. This is the time where they'd judge the most. The first few seconds of meeting someone is when you judge the most, since that's when you have the most sincere thoughts.
What if they don't like what they see?
They have to. We need this alliance.
"Hey!" Halley says, her voice making me feel a little calmer. "What's up?"
Smiling at her, I try to push down any more doubt, the way she's acting right now making me feel better. If she were to not want to talk to us, she would have said so by now, so I shouldn't be worrying. I don't bother looking at Silas, since I can only imagine the look on his face. He's probably feeling exactly how I am right now.
"We had a question for you," Silas says, which takes me by surprise. His voice isn't as shaky as I thought it would be, and as Damaris and Halley look up, I just hope that he goes through with it. "We wanted to know if you'd," he takes a pause, glancing at me. "If you'd ally with us?"
"Of course!" Halley raises her voice, not even thinking about it before a moment. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulder, forgetting about all of the worries I originally had. "You should've asked us earlier! We were going to ask you, really, but we didn't want to seem creepy."
Silas sits down next to them, immediately starting a conversation with Halley. Damaris is quieter, and as I sit down, I ignore everything else that's going on. I just stare at Damaris and Halley, glad that they wanted to ally with us. All of that worrying, all for nothing.
Maybe I overthink it all. It's just paranoia, there isn't anything to worry about.
"Katcia, right?" Halley asks, catching my attention. I nod my head, and she continues to talk, not really directing it at anyone.
Apparently, Halley and Silas are going to be good friends. The two of them seem to talk a lot, and even though that's a good thing, I can see a downside to all of this. If we get too close, that'll make the breakup that much worse. Even though I don't want to think about it, I can't help it. This is all I think about.
I couldn't stop thinking about them saying no to an alliance, and now, I won't be able stop thinking about the time when we have to split up. Whether they die or we die, it's inevitable. When Halley coughs from talking too much, I try to join the conversation, pushing the thoughts away for another time.
"I have always to go to District Seven," she says, talking with her hands. "I heard it's really nice. Do you guys like it?"
"The natural smell of the trees is my favorite," Silas says, the eagerness in his voice making me feel comfortable. "It's really, really nice. Especially when it's right before the sun sets and the sun is shining onto the tops, making these really pretty shadows."
"I like that too," I say, not really knowing what else. "I like those a lot."
Halley continues to talk about something, and even though I think she's paying more attention to Silas, I get over it. We just met, so I can't think that she favors Silas already. Damaris, though, hasn't said a word. She's listening to the conversation, blinking here and there.
Does she not like us?
Is this why she isn't speaking?
It was Halley who said yes, after all. Damaris hasn't said a word.
Damaris sees me looking at her, and I smile, getting a smile from her back. She fixes the hair in front of her face, going back to listening to the conversation. I stare at her some more, and once she looks back, I look away quickly. She seems friendly, so there's nothing I should worry about.
Both of them seem friendly.
They were good choices for allies, weren't they? Of course they were.
There's nothing to worry about anymore. We're allies, nearly friends.
I shouldn't worry about it anymore.
Until the Games, that is. I'll have to worry then.
Audric Lavier
District One Male, 18 Years Old
"Hello?"
Carina shoves her face in front of Constance's, waving her hands rapidly. She stares right into her eyes, but Constance doesn't seem to be fazed, just remaining there without replying. Carina steps back, throws her head back, and from the way she exhales it's clear that she's infuriated.
Infuriated with what, I don't know. Carina gets all worked up about nothing.
"Constance?!" She screams, attracting the attention of the whole Training Center. "I am talking to you, Constance."
"Rudely," Constance answers, still maintaining her posture. "If you wish to speak to me, lower your voice and correct your speech."
"Is she kidding?" Carina says to herself, becoming more and more infuriated, even if Constance isn't doing anything.
Ever since we joined the alliance yesterday, Carina has been at it with Constance. Ceres, too, but for some reason, Carina has hatred for Constance. The whole thing is petty, but I won't bother speaking out against it. I'll keep to myself, let Constance take the punches, and once Carina is done with her, the Pack will go back to being normal.
I just hope that it's soon enough.
I don't need Carina corroding this alliance.
Standing back from the whole argument, I just stand there, not wanting to leave just yet. If a real fight does break out, however, I'll break it up. Alamar would probably just sit back and watch, while Kace would get some enjoyment out of the two of them actually fighting. It's still petty to me.
Arguing over nothing.
They'll learn soon enough.
"Are you just going to stand there, Constance?" Carina asks, her teeth gritted. "Just stand there and look pretty?"
I refrain from rolling my eyes, not wanting to show Carina that I'm on any side. I don't want to get involved no matter what, since it wouldn't work out for me. If I get involved, that would lead to the downfall of the Careers. I don't need the pack to be pitted against each other – that never works out for anyone.
And I need everything to work if I want to win.
"I'm done here," Carina spits out, not turning away from Constance yet. "Please, just go do something. If you keep this shit up, you'll be the first death. I swear, Constance."
As Carina turns away, Constance still stands there, remaining unfazed like usual. Carina doesn't even bother to look back at her, since we all know that Constance would still be standing there. Once Alamar walks over to her, though, Constance perks up a little, probably awaiting her orders.
Her orders, that's what she calls them.
I won't judge, but there's come a point where you should just… where you should just stop.
"In the name of the Capitol, I order you to go to the hand-to-hand combat station, Constance!" Alamar jokes around, even though Constance thinks he's being serious. "Hurry up now, we don't have all day!"
Turning around, Constance begins to walk over towards the hand-to-hand combat area, and as Alamar and Kace laugh about it, I choose to ignore it. I don't condone Carina's off-hand comments to Constance, nor do I condone the way they treat Constance. But, it's not my problem.
Constance can handle them on her own.
And, if she can't, that's not my problem, either.
Alamar and Kace are all buddy-buddy now, so they walk together towards a different station. Scanning the Training Center, I try to find a vacant station that I can work on something by myself, but they all seem to be taken. Ceres is at the spear station, just practicing stabbing the dummy with it. Besides her, there's no one else, so I might as well go there.
Besides, I can work on our relationship. As of now, we really don't have one, so this is a good time. Carina and Constance already hate each other, Alamar and Kace are pals, so Ceres and I are the odd-ones out.
As I walk over to where Ceres is, I go slowly, wanting to soak in everything I can. I look at each tribute to see what they're doing and to see if they're doing it well. Personally, the key behind victory isn't just how well you can handle a weapon. You need the right character and form, so if I see anyone exceptional right now, that doesn't prove much.
It takes more than that to win.
It takes a lot more than that to win.
At the knife-throwing station, there's the girl from Three, looking like a complete fool. She's tossing it up in the air, catching it back with her hand. If she were to cut herself… I can't bother to think about that. Once again, it's not my problem; if she hurts herself, that'd only be better for me. Across from her at the weight-lifting area, there's the boy from Nine, Dymas. I at least remember his name.
How could I not?
Clara thought that he would be a good addition to the Career alliance. Constance had absolutely no say per usual, but I was against it. I wouldn't have even brought it up to the others – there's no way they would accept it. Besides, if I were to offer that, it would show that I have doubt in the alliance.
That I don't think we're good enough.
Even if I do think we're good enough, we could work on it. We could have better ties between each ally, we could practice our skills some more, and we could each work on how we act. Each and every one of them –including me – could work on something, so that's why I don't think we need another ally.
We'll be prepared by the end of the Capitol.
Once the Games start, the Careers will come together. We'll put aside all petty arguments, personal feelings, and finally work together. Call me an idealist, but this is what I think.
And if it doesn't work out like that, then I wish us luck. Luck might be the only thing that will keep us intact. And even then, I don't expect the Career to shift altogether; we just need to come together. One by one, we will work together, making this a successful alliance.
The pieces will soon fall into place.
They have to.
Author's Note:
That concludes the three days of training! We saw some alliances forming, some hints at what will happen to the tributes, and just some overall interactions. How'd you like the training POVs?
So, next up is the Private Sessions and Training Score chapter.
What tributes stood out from this chapter?
And a personal question!
What would be your favorite part about going to the Capitol?