Chapter Twelve.
Training - Day One.
Jasko Quinn; 18 years old.
District Four Male.
The big moment had finally arrived.
As Jasko and Tiena walked to the training center, passing throught some tributes along the way, he couldn't help it but feel excited. This was about him now, about Jasko Quinn and no one else. People looked at him, and they cheered for him. This was his moment, but first, there were necessary things that he had to do. Get throught training, throught the interviews, and then to the Games. Right now, he had to focus on getting the aliance under control.
Sorting them into the groups, and deciding which ones were worthy and which one were not. From what Jasko had observed for the few minutes that he knew them, this alliance wouldn't last much. One member short already, and the Games were still on the beggining. He could watch his own back, of course, but he needed some of them on his side. Some of them that would be with him, whenever that District Two girl decided to break the alliance apart.
She might be dangerous, but he was Jasko Quinn, and Jasko Quinn wasn't afraid of little girls from District Two with a big ego.
Tiena was by his side, lost in her own thoughts, but that wasn't anything new. He liked the girl, but if he was going to win, she would have to die. All twenty-three of them, dead by his feet, and Jasko would be the only one standing. The Victor, the best of the best. By then, there would be no one able to drag him down. The thought made Jasko feel like he was back in Four, and about to steal his favorite candy from a baby.
Once they reached the main entrance to the training center, Jasko placed a hand in front of Tiena, making her stop right there. "I just need to fix my hair, I mean, the winning District's tributes must look their best, right?" When Tiena only nodded, Jasko sighed. He ran a hand throught his hair, and using the glass door as a mirror, he smiled in approval. Now, he looked his best. Now, he was ready to face all of them. "Now we can go."
The remaining Careers were already gathered in there, save for Sadie's district partner, again. Jasko opened his mouth to greet her, but Sadie quickly turned away, focusing on the sword station, a few meters away from her. That was the only thing that they really had in common, Jasko and Sadie. Both of them would gladly skip the training part, and go straight to the Games. All five of them were Careers, and no one of them needed the three days of training.
They already knew how things worked, and what they had to do. As the remaing tributes started to arrive, Jasko couldn't help but notice that they had one thing in common. Either young or old, naive or smart, they didn't know what was about to happen. They didn't know what they would have to go throught, who they would have to see die, if they ever wanted to make it home to their families.
Careers like Jasko were already prepared, and maybe, that was their biggest advantage. "Look at him," Jasko whispered to Tiena, as soon as the Head Trainer sent them away, the clock already ticking. It all resumed to a clock; their lives, their time in the Capitol, and how long they would last in the Games. Twenty-three of their clocks were already ticking down. "He's small, and doesn't look comfortable at all. Is he a Career?"
Tiena lifted an eyebrow. "Depends if he's trained like us, or not. Appearance isn't everything, Jasko. Might mean a lot for us, but for them, it's not nothing." He couldn't agree with her, but mostly, he didn't want to agree with her. Appearance was everything to Jasko, because it got him where he was now. Alongside with his skills, appearance got him here, as the District Four male for the seventy second Hunger Games.
He flashed her smile, the special one that he kept saved for girls that were exactly like her. "Oh but that's where you're wrong, dear Tiena. How you look might mean the difference between a sponsor gift, that may or may not save your life. Just look at Finnick."
Tiena cringed, a few seconds before the District One pair appeared, with Sadie quickly following them. "Finnick was the only case, Jasko. And if you think that you're as beautiful as him, you're more deluded than what I thought you were."
Sadie cleared her throat, placing herself in the middle of the little circle that the four of them were already forming. "Sorry to interrupt your petty little chat, but we've got more important matters to discuss right now." Right there, Jasko could see it. She was strong, tough, and the perfect leader. Right now, he didn't mind it. Whoever was picked as the leader didn't matter, at least, not for now. Who knew if they were all alive at the end of the bloodbath? It was about chances. All about choices.
When nobody else answered, Sadie continued. "I'm leading right now, and if no one has anything to say about it, I shall do the same in the Games." For a second, there was silence. Aidan and Alexa nodded, followed by Tiena. Sadie's eyes were only on Jasko, like they should always be.
"Right now, I think it's a good choice," Jasko flashed her a smile. "But who knows about what will happen in the Games. Who knows if we'll all be alive at the end of the bloodbath. It's all about ifs in the Games, dearest Sadie."
A frown appeared on Sadie's face. "Is that a threat?"
Jasko had to stop himself from grinning. He was getting to her, and when he truly did, Jasko couldn't wait to see her explode. It would be so much fun. "Only if your pretty little head wants to take it as one."
"My pretty little head is currently considering the most painful way to end your vanity-based life." Jasko laughed, and Sadie was about to throw herself at him, when Alexa placed a hand on her shoulder. Jasko barely heard her say, "Not worth it."
"Good, Sadie, that's good. Let all of that anger out. I'm sure you'll be a much more interesting person when it's all out." This time, due to Alexa's help, Sadie ignored him completely and continued. "I think we should all discuss if my district partner belongs in here, or not. I already gave my opinion yesterday, but please, go ahead."
Tiena stepped foward. "Tell him to go come over here, then. We'll decide if he's worth it or not. After all, he might be trained, just like us."
Sadie nodded. "Hey, Faustus! Come over here. We would like to have a word with you." With the way she spoke, Jasko was sure that nearly half of the training center heard her. "Maybe try to speak louder, Sadie? I'm sure that the others didn't hear our whole strategy yet."
She didn't even bother to face him this time." Maybe try to jump off your pedestal earlier, Quinn? I'm sure the outliers wouldn't mind one less Career before the Games even started."
He smirked. "You wish, princess." When Nikolai arrived, Jasko realized how small the boy was. He wasn't nothing compared to Jasko, or even to Sadie. "Hello, Nikolai." Jasko started. "It's absolutely nice to meet the person that the lovely Sadie as spoken so much about."
Tiena, as always, went straight to the point. "Are you trained? Sadie claimed you didn't train in the Academy with her." Nikolai slowly nodded, but he stood tal and proud. Almost like he was proud that he wasn't one of them. That he wasn't a Career."
"My family supplies the weapons to your Academy," He said. "I make weapons, I don't use them." The idea started to place itself on Jasko's mind, but for it to happen, that boy couldn't be in the Career alliance. "So you're not trained?" Jasko asked.
"A little bit, but nothing compared to what you have in your Academy." He looked at something behind Jasko, like he was already wanting to get out of there. Already wanting to be out of the mess that was the Career Pack. "I'm sorry, but we can't have you in our alliance."
"Yeah, you heard him. Get lost, Faustus." Sadie added, but she couldn't keep the grin out of her face. Jasko was already starting to realize what kind of person Sadie was, and what made her who she was. "Whatever. I never wanted to be in the alliance in the first place." He turned his back on them before any of them could say another word.
"Well, now that's solved, we have something else to talk about. I believe everyone already trained with every weapon around here, so that shouldn't be much of a problem. Build bridges with each other, play cards, I don't care. Just look for enemies, from the threats we'll have to eliminate as soon as we're in the arena." When she left, Tiena and Alexa looked at each other, nodded and quickly followed after their leader.
"Looks like the girls are sticking together, uhm? Wanna do one of those spear simulations?" Aidan nodded, and they left for the spear station. Right now, they had each other's backs, but in the arena, Jasko would be the first one to turn on them. That was a promise.
Sedna Orwell; 17 years old.
District Seven Female.
So far, luck was on her side.
The best part about not standing out was the she could do whatever she wanted, without anyone bothering her. But so far, training had been a disappointment. Despite the axes, Sedna wasn't really able to find a weapon that she could work with. The axe was nearly an extension of her arm already, and the Games came, at least she would have that. Her district partner had also been trying his luck with the axes but when the trainer claimed that he was a lost cause, Hex ran away to the fire station, and Sedna could swear that she saw tears in his eyes.
She couldn't blame him, though. Not many people were cut out for the games, and those who didn't, well, they needed to have the strenght to hold on until their time came. Sedna couldn't blame him for giving up this early, after all, he was just a thirteen year old, that somehow got reaped for a death match. The youngest tribute, too. It must have been hard, being the one that everyone thought had absolutely no chance. The one that everyone thought was destined to die in the bloodbath.
Sedna had decided that she would fight, the moment her name was reaped. They had picked her, and now she was going to give them the fight that they wanted, no matter what happened. But with every passing second; whenever she failed at knocking a dummy down with a sword, or throwing a knife, Sedna could feel that determination slipping away. The others were Careers, trained by the best, and she was a single girl from District Seven.
If the others couldn't do it, why would she?
No, no. Sedna shaked her head, picking up a spear. I just need to keep myself busy, that's all. Sedna gripped the spear by the middle, and after relaxing her arm, she threw. The spear hit the dummy with a loud thump, but crashed to the ground, a few seconds later. Sedna sighed, and was about to pick up another one, when another girl picked it up for her.
She was tall, with freakish red hair, wrapped up in a ponytail. Sedna couldn't say that the girl was particulary beautiful, or smart, but she was surely noticeable. But right now, she was stealing her training space. And someone that got in the way of Sedna's training would surely have to pay for the fact that she was having a bad day. A bad month, for that matter.
But right now, she was going to watch how the girl did. And if she did well, Sedna was open to an alliance. The girl threw the spear faster than Sedna did, and impressively enough, it actually stuck in the dummy. It wasn't a bullseye, but it was something. A few seconds later, the girl moved to pick up another spear, completely ignoring Sedna.
Sedna frowned. There was something called manners, and even in the Hunger Games, ignoring someone else was completely rude. Hell, she could be dead in less than a week, but right now, she was going to teach this girl some manners. "Excuse me." Sedna waited, but the girl didn't even spare a glance her way. She might have been a simple tribute in the Hunger Games, but she wasn't about to take anyone's bullshit. She had avoid it all of her while, and she was about to start right now.
"You're excused," She replied, still not looking in Sedna's direction. Yeah, that girl must be playing her, that was it. Well, suit yourself. Sedna thought. Two can play the game, doll.
Sedna ignored her, but she knew that this wouldn't last much. From here, she could either get an enemy or a precious ally for the Games. Whatever that was, it was up to that strange girl, who could become an enemy or a friend. "I didn't catch your name yet, doll."
Sedna noticed a light blush appearing on the girl's cheeks, and maybe, there was a hint of a smile in there. It was either that, or Sedna was finally going mad, after so many years of playing with fire. Oh well. If she was going mad, then she already had her fun. The thought of fun brought something else to Sedna's mind... Thane, she missed him so much. Closing her eyes for a second, Sedna pictured her brother, from his cheeky smiles to his bear hugs, and the thought gave her strenght to face all of this.
Strenght to make this girl an ally. "That's probably because I didn't throw it yet." Whatever determination she had to ally with this girl was gone the second that the words left her mouth.
"You know, I was just trying to train, but it seems that ego took over the entire place. I'll find something else." She turned to leave, but in that second, the girl finally turned to face her.
"You know, maybe my ego would like to have another ego to train with," The girl bursted out laughing, and offered her hand for Sedna to shake. "I'm Leila, District Ten. And if you think that wasn't nothing, wait until I truly mess with you."
That actually brought a smile to Sedna's face. "Well, to be fair, you were being a bit of a bitch. Sneaking up on me like that, and then ignoring me until I finally decided to take my chances and talk. I'm Sedna, by the way. District Seven."
"Yep, that's me. Biggest bitch you'll ever meet." It was only then that Sedna noticed that Leila wasn't staring at her, but at something right below her neck. Her...chest? What the hell did she get herself into?
"Uhmm... are you checking me out?" Leila blushed deep red, but quickly composed herself. "Yeah, you wish you were hot enough for me to check out." Yep, there was her bitchy side. Even if she was weird as hell, Sedna found herself liking this girl more and more, with every passing second. "Er... maybe."
Oh. "That explains why you turned down your hotty district partner, then."
Leila looked almost suprised. "Oh, trust me, Coulter is everything but hot, once you truly get to know him. Not that I would know much about that, he is not really my type."
Sedna smirked. "You're into the other type, uhm? I don't think I ever meet a bitchy lesbian before. It's truly an amazing day for suprises, don't you think?"
Leila agreed. "Truly. So are you in, or not? Hopefully, such a pretty girl like you is not making me waste my time in a sorry excuse for an alliance."
Sedna laughed loudly. "Sorry excuse? Well, if you're not happy, then go find someone else. I'm sure there are many boys in there that would accept you as an excuse to get in your pants, only to be truly disappointed when they figure out that you're not into them."
With seemed like an eternity before Leila answered again, her light Brown eyes never leaving Sedna's. "I picked you. I could have picked any of them, but I choosed you. Don't doubt that I wouldn't gladly drag you to a bed and show you everything I have, because I would. I picked you because you were the only one taking this seriously enough, and I have a feeling you also have someone else to come back to, just like me."
Sedna didn't know if she should answer or not. "I-I do," She admitted. "My brother, Thane. He's my best friend in the world, and I promised him I would come back to him, no matter what it took." It felt weird, telling her whole life to a stranger like this, but in a way, Leila wasn't a stranger anymore. "You?"
Leila sighed, and for a moment, she looked older than seventeen. "My girl. Her name is Sadie, and well, she's the most gorgeous thing in the whole world. And it sucks, because I have never been good with feelings, but now I'll never have a chance to tell her that I love her. More than anything."
Sedna placed an arm around her shoulder. "Hey, you have a chance. I can teach you how to throw an axe, and you can teach me how you did that little stunt with the spear." A little smile appeared on Leila's face.
"That was only to impress you, but hey, I guess I can do it again." She sighed deeply. "And if you ally with me, I promise not to hit on you.. that much."
Sedna smirked. "You got yourself a deal, District Ten." As they walked side by side to the sword station, Sedna couldn't help but feel a little bit happier. She would fight, and even more now that she got someone that was more like her than Sedna could start to imagine. They weren't the strongest, but maybe two girls with a liking to saying whatever they wanted, could work together to get what they wanted.
To go home.
Niamh Gregora; 16 years old.
District Nine Female.
Was it the right thing to do?
The question had been playing back and forth in Niamh's head, since the moment that she had left District Nine. No, since the moment that she had volunteered. Deep down, she knew that it was the right thing to do. After all, that was her job, to protect Toria from anything that cause her harm. But also, it had stopped being a job long ago. Protecting Tori was something that she had to do, not anything else.
But right now, she was here. She had left District Nine behind her, for what would probably be forever. Toria... she would be better without Niamh. She had a boyfriend, a good and promising guy, and would marry him as soon as she got out of the reapings. Niamh... she would only stand in the way, stopping Tori from having the future that she deserved,
With a husband, children, and a good home. That was something that Niamh would never be able to give her, no matter who hard she tried. Even if Tori felt the same way about her, they could never be together. Not that she did, anyway. But that didn't mean that Niamh wouldn't fight, because she would.
Her promise to protect Tori was forever, and Niamh wasn't someone that broke her promises that easily. Or in any way, for that matter. She wanted an alliance, but so far, no one had stood out enough. Or maybe, Niamh was the one that didn't stood out. Being the only outer-district volunteer, Niamh was worried that people would pay much attention to her. That the Careers would target her, and try to take her out in the Bloodbath. Until now, they had left her alone.
Ignoring her, and doing their job. After all, it was only the first day of training. Only a few alliances had formed yet, and nothing that Niamh thought was truly special. The girls from Seven and Ten were together in the spear stations, the Careers were split, the girls were in the swords and the two boys trained together. The only other alliance was the pair from Twelve, sticking together at the rope station, but they didn't looked like they knew what they were doing that much.
I could help them, she thought. She knew a few things about ropes and stuff, something that she had learned when she was designed the job of protecting Toria. It was nothing special, but it could give her a place in their alliance. But did she really want them? The boy was tall and looked tough, but his expression told her other wise. The girl, well, she didn't much but to cringe whenever she did something wrong.
Someone to have her back. That's what she needed. Right before she turned to walk over to them, someone called out. "Niamh! How is my favorite red-head today?" She rolled her eyes. Oliver was annoying as hell, but he was her district partner. She couldn't leave him behind just yet, just in case.
"Oliver, you saw me like one hour ago. My mood doesn't change that easily."
He placed an arm around her shoulders, leading her towards the sword station. "I know, but I was just wondering if you had found someone worth allying it? You know, my offer for an alliance between the two of us still stands. We would rock the entire arena together. District Nine pride and all of that." His wink made her sick to her stomach. Yeah, he was good looking and all of that, but whenever she looked at him, all Niamh could think about was Pax, and all the things he would do to Tori...
All the thing that Niamh wanted to do to her. "And my answer still stands. I'm looking for someone better, and so are you. If we don't find anyone, we'll stick together. Simple as that. Oh, and by the way? I think you should try the boy from Ten. He looks strong."
Oliver grinned from ear to ear. "And he's pretty hot, too. I'll see you later, Niamh." Yeah. Much later, hopefully. Walking over to District Twelve, Niamh took deep breaths. She stopped a little bit behind them, watching. It turned out that the girl had no idea how to make a good not, and whenever she tried and failed, the boy told her that he could do better. Keep trying.
"Uhmm, hi." They turned to her at the same time, but their reactions were quite different. The boy gave her a shy smile, and turned back to his rope. The girl, however, sighed in a relief. "Oh, a girl! Finally someone that looks at us like we're more than street rats. Sweetheart, please, come over here." Before she could do anything else, the girl pulled over to the little shelter that the two of them had built.
"He's so rude, you know," The blonde whispered to her, pointing to the boy. If this was any other situation, she would gladly be happy that she was this close to a girl. And a hot one, for that matter. "But he has been helping me ever since we got here, but oh god, it's so nice to have another girl here."
"Amy, let the girl breath for a second. We don't even know what she's here for." The look that the girl gave him could make possibly anyone shudder in fear, but to Niamh, it wasn't much. "Amaryllis will do trick, darling. Don't listen to him and try to cal me Amy. My name is beautiful enough already, I don't need people shortening it."
Niamh nodded. "You have such pretty hair.," Amaryllis told her. "Not as beautiful as mine, but still, it does it for your face."
She didn't really know how to answer. "Err, thank you, I suppose?" The boy, Tyson, patted the spot next to him and Niamh sat down. Might as well do it now, she thought. "You're doing it wrong," She explained, picking up the rope, and making a simple trick that she had learned a few months ago.
Amaryllis gasped. "You-you, how did you do that?"
Niamh smiled a little bit. "It's pretty simple. I can show you, if you would like. If you would ally with me, that is." Tyson smiled. "You're welcome to join us, Niamh. We... well, we need someone that knows how to work with stuff. I man, that's why you volunteered, right?"
Shit. Right now, she had two options. She could either lie and say that yes, she was trained and yes, she would love to show them everything that she knew. But what kind of alliance would that be, then? If she started it with lies, then she was already doing what the Capitol would want her to do. And Niamh, well, she was never one for lying. She shaked her head. "N-no, I volunteered because of something else."
Tyson raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Niamh sighed, and came up with a small explanation before telling them. "M-my best friend, she was reaped. And I just couldn't let her come here, you know? She had her whole life ahead of her, and I couldn't let the Games ruin it for her." She hoped that it was good enough. That they would ask more questions, because there was so much to talk about. Things that Niamh would rather not bring up ever again.
"So had you." Amaryllis replied.
"Well, I guess that some people are worth fighting for. I just never thought of letting her come her. She means too much to me, to ever let her die in the Games like that. Forgotten, forever." Tyson nodded, and smiled sadly. So he understood, too. Even Amaryllis, who was Amaryllis, seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.
"Well, you seem to know your way around the place. And you're not completely useless, that you could teach us a few things along the way. Do you still want to ally with us? Because if you do, we would love to have you. We understand if you don't, we're just from District twelve, me and Amy. Our tributes never make it out of the bloodbath."
"Tyson!" Amaryllis hit him in the shoulder, looking at Niamh with an apologizing look. "He doesn't appreciate what we are, and I'm sorry for that. But he's right, we would love to have you. It would be amazing to have another girl around here. But please, just call me Amaryllis. Not Amy, or anything like that."
"Yeah, I understand." Niamh laughed a bit. "I would hate if someone shortened my name to Nia or something. But yes, I-I would love to join you. We can have each other's backs, and learn some things with each other."
"Welcome to our little team then, Niamh." Tyson said, holding out his hand. Niam shook it right away, smiling.
"It's Team Amaryllis, without a doubt." Tyson cringed, and looked up to Niamh, from his newest rope. "Nah, it's Team Amy. What do you think, Niamh?"
She giggled. "Yeah, I like the idea of Team Amy." They kept going on like that, with Niamh teaching them a few rope tricks along the way, and Amaryllis being more than annoyed every time that they called her Amy. But right now, Niamh was happy. This was the closest thing to having friends, to having someone to watch her back, that Niam ever had. And in that second, Niam could swear that she could feel Tori right there with her, giving the strenght that she needed to fight.
Giving her the strenght that she needed to be Niamh Gregora, and no one else.
A/N: I loved writing this chapter, training is just great to do. So yeah, the alliances will be up in the blog as they are introduced in the story, but I'll also keep a little list down here, so that no one is confused:
Alexa + Aidan + Sadie + Jasko + Tiena
Leila + Sedna
Amaryllis + Tyson + Niamh
More alliances will be introduced soon, and I can't absolutely wait. I have so much planned. So excited. I'll keep the poll up a few more chapters, since not many people voted yet. Yeah, okay, please vote in the poll! Reviews are very much appreciated, too. See you soon ;D