Xi'an, 13 (D9f)
Perhaps Xi'an had miscalculated. In her abandoning the cornucopia, she had neglected the fact that it's very cold at night.
She had climbed up into a tree to avoid being caught by another tribute. Unfortunately, she had no way to tie herself up, so she didn't fall to the ground.
Voices in the back of her mind began to creep up again.
'It's so cold tonight, what if you freeze into an icicle and fall to the ground and crack open?'
'What if a tribute climbs up here and your too cold to move?'
'You can't get warm.'
'You're going to die.'
'Why did you volunteer?' Xi'an stared straight ahead.
"I'd be executed otherwise," she breathed.
'It's pathetic to be a criminal.'
'And at thirteen, no less.'
'Such a sad existence.'
"I was starving!" She hissed.
'You had the tesserae.'
'You were weak.'
'And now your family's dead.'
"Fuck you!" She shouted.
"Who's there?" A voice, a young one, called out.
She put her hand over her mouth, petrified.
"I won't hurt you!" The voice exclaimed, earnestly. "I have some blankets, if you're cold."
Xi'an was starting to get painfully cold. And she needed food. And water. If the voice tried anything, she could probably overpower them.
She dropped down. Much to her relief, it was the boy from district six. Xi'an never remembered seeing him at a weapon station during training.
"Hi! You're Xi'an, right?" He had two packs. She could probably steal one later. She nodded in response.
"I'm Logan. Are you alright? You look cold. Here's a blanket." He handed her one. It was thick, thankfully. She hastily wrapped it around herself. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments.
"Sorry, I didn't get anything from the cornucopia," she said. She felt a tad inferior.
"Consider yourself lucky! I was almost caught by the Careers trying to get this stuff for me and Tati." He smiled complacently, for a moment. "Have you seen her? Tatianna, I mean?"
"The girl from one?" He nodded. "No, I haven't seen anyone." His shoulders drooped. Xi'an felt a bit of sympathy. She knew better, though.
"Hey, you want to climb up?" She jerked her thumb towards the tree. "I don't want to run into anyone."
He nodded in agreement and, after settling themselves in with some rope, she began prodding him for information.
"Did you hear any of what the Careers were saying to one another?"
"Only a bit. I kind of dozed off," he chuckled. Xi'an rolled her eyes, since no one could see. "They did talk about Tati, though. And that they should ration supplies. I don't think there's a lot this year."
"Is Tatianna one of their targets?" She asked.
"Yeah, I want to find her and warn her. I know it's stupid, but I really care about her, you know. It must suck, not having anyone volunteer for you. In a Career district, I mean."
"Tell me about it," Xi'an said shortly. She decided to turn to logistical matters. "Hey, do you want to take the first watch?"
"Sure, I'll wake you up in a few, kay?" She murmured her agreement, and laid down.
She made a mental note to kill Logan in the morning.
Sylven, 18 (D4m)
Sylven felt disappointed. Sure he had secured the cornucopia and the other Careers (expect for that Tatianna girl), but he had lost his fucking district partner! On the first day, nonetheless.
Fucking a, Mariette.
Garnet and Chartreuse had tried to calm him down.
"Dude, you're on your own, that's bound to get you sponsors!"
"We still managed to get a ton of stuff from the cornucopia."
"We can like totally avenge her and stuff."
"Hey, it's one Career down!"
"At least you're not the only chick left," Garnet said as he jerked his thumb over at Carmen, who had single handedly set up camp.
"I'm killing you first for that," she called back. It was rare of her to speak so lightly, as Sylven had noted, but she and Garnet were pretty close. Close enough for people who would have to kill each other later, at least. They were the only pair in the Career pack, which frankly worried Sylven, but he pushed those thoughts aside.
"What do you guys want to do for dinner?" Chartreuse asked. They had joined Carmen at the fire. Garnet wasn't too far off, keeping watch.
"It's mostly dried meat and canned food," Carmen replied. Sylven thought she seemed somewhat off, since the arena. She nearly got herself killed at the bloodbath. Why?
"You know, my dad used to take me hunting as a kid," Chartreuse said. "I can get us some real meat."
"What's wrong with jerky?" Sylven asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"It's beneath me, Sylv."
"That's very good, Chartreuse," Carmen said as she handed everyone some beef jerky and crackers. They ate in silence.
After they had finished, there was the question regarding whether or not to hunt or sleep. Chartreuse and Sylven were more inclined to murder.
"We should hunt at night, most of the others are probably sleeping."
"We need to rest. What if someone like that girl from eight ambushed us. If were exhausted, they could probably take out a few of us. And we do not need to lose more Careers."
"Carmen's right, there are only four of us and it hasn't even been a day."
"C'mon guys, it's tradition! We can make it a game, like who can kill the most!"
"Chartreuse, buddy, that's kind of the point of The Hunger Games."
"Guys, we can't ignore tradition. Think of what the Capitol will say! Think of the sponsors..."
"Alright, I'll go," Garnet said. "Carmen?"
"Fine."
And the Careers began to hunt.
Tatianna 13, (D1f)
Tatianna woke with a start. She brushed some leaves off of her and glanced around. It was early morning and still a bit cold.
Tati hadn't any supplies, so she had buried herself in some leaves. It was shelter enough, but more urgent matters were pressing her.
It hadn't been a day, and she was already feeling the effects of hunger and dehydration.
She walked along for a while, vaguely thinking of the lake, until she heard some voices in the grove up ahead.
"How long do you think the food will last?"
"I don't know, a week?"
"Garten what's up with you? You've been off since we got here."
Tati snuck up until she could see them. They were talking, away from their supplies. If she could just grab a pack without them noticing-
"You drop that right now or you get a knife in the chest," the girl said, Tati was fairly certain it was the strong girl from eight, as the two approached her.
She dropped the bag, panicked. "I'm sorry, I didn't-, I was just so hungry! Please don't kill me!" She was hyperventilating. They both towered over her, though the boy, Garten, seemed a bit spacey.
The girl studied her for a moment. "Aren't you the girl from one? What's your name?"
"Tatianna," she said. Reflexively, she asked. "What's yours?"
"Blythe," she replied. "And this is Garten."
"Look, please don't kill me! I'll leave right now. Or, um, I can tell you about the Careers!"
Blythe perked up at this. She lowered her knife, slightly. Tati tried to relax, slightly.
"What do you know?"
"The boy from my district, Chartreuse, he's stupid. Like, really, stupid. And pathetic. If you trapped him, you could probably get him to tell you anything." She was really rambling. And embellishing, since Chartreuse had been awful to her on the train ride to the Capitol.
"You want some water?" Blythe asked. Tati took this as a sign that she had passed. She nodded, and Garten tossed her a bottle. She drank greedily.
"Tati, I'm calling you Tati, you're not like the others, are you?" She nodded her head.
"Here's a knife. Do you want to work with us? Garten and I are trying to form a counter alliance with the other tributes."
Tati nodded her head.
Tributes' Status (bold text indicates POV)
D1m: Chartreuse, Alive. D1f: Tatianna, Alive.
D2m: Garnet, Alive. D2f: Carmen, Alive.
D3m: Jay, Dead. D3f: Courtney, Alive.
D4m: Sylven, Alive. D4f: Mariette, Dead.
D5m: Carter, Dead. D5f: Lee, Alive.
D6m: Logan, Alive. D6f: Sara, Alive.
D7m: Harry, Dead. D7f: Acadia, Alive.
D8m: Noah, Alive. D8f: Blythe, Alive.
D9m: Pete, Alive. D9f: Xi'an, Alive.
D10m: Garten, Alive. D10f: Dead, Alive.
D11m: Vernon, Alive. D11f: Celia, Alive.
D12m: Marcus, Dead. D12f: Tara, Dead.
Author's Note: That concludes the third chapter! Now that this fanfic is properly underway, I can promise that it'll be a long one, especially since I only plan to release a few POVs at a time. I once again apologize for a lack of death. I'm sure the game makers are getting impatient…. As always, feedback is appreciated!