Hey there my lovely readers! Sooooo sorry that I didn't update yesterday…my mom declared a family-wide Do-Productive-Things Day. The only time that I had alone (and was NOT cleaning the toilets, involuntarily exercising, and/or ruining my smooth pale complexion by pulling weeds out in the stupid garden) I spent either eating a meal or going to the bathroom. That's how much free time I had yesterday. (I did have time to update Dear Fanfiction Writers though…but that was because I did it on my iPhone and during a bathroom break…)

Well, today my mom's at work so my chore schedule is relatively free. (Even though right now I'm technically supposed to be folding laundry.) So that being said, I will shut up now and enter in the chapter.

Our last player is introduced. I'll bet that you forgot about him. Cornelius. Artemis's district partner. Ring a bell?

Chapter 22

The Arena, the next day

Artemis mentally reviewed her plan of action as she ghosted through the trees and towards the Cornucopia. Her group was running out of supplies, and more weapons might be needed if the Gamemakers decided that things were getting too boring.

She broke out into the section of sparser trees that surrounded the Cornucopia like a ring, and began utilizing all of her thief's skills that she had learned in the meadows and orchards of District 11. She matched her movements to the swaying shadows and patterns of the forest and pulled up the hood of her camouflage jacket to hide the fair skin of her face. Her footsteps were careful and silent as she glided through the shadows, and even the Gamemakers watching through the cameras above could barely hear her.

On arrival at the Cornucopia, she crouched in a copse on the edge of the clearing, completely still. If anyone had happened to look in her direction, they wouldn't see a thing except a cluster of innocent-looking bushes, perhaps with the occasional spotting of out of place color. But no one looked, so no one saw. And she saw everything.

Julius and the others were seated under the shade of a canopy, seeming extremely bored as they sharpened their weapons. Only Marius was not under the canopy with his allies; he was standing in the mouth of the Cornucopia with his giant club resting very intimidatingly in his hands. Guarding the supplies, Artemis assumed. This would make things quite more complicated.

Then her sharp eyes caught a movement across the clearing. Another tribute was crouched in the bushes on the other side of the clearing, near the tail of the Cornucopia. Artemis immediately recognized that mop of curly red hair, even from a distance. It was her idiot district partner, whom she had spoken to only a few times and on exactly two different occasions. Cornelius. What in the blithering blue blazes was he doing here? He was unarmed except for a slingshot, which he held in his hand. As Artemis watched, he loaded it with a golf ball-sized rock, drew back to a forty-five-degree angle –– maximum distance, Artemis realized –– and released. Artemis's eyes widened, but she had no time to do anything.

The stone sailed over the Cornucopia, over the clearing, whizzed past Artemis's head, and landed against a tree with a clack. Artemis ducked to avoid the stone, but as she did, she involuntarily rustled the leaves of her hiding place. The Elites, who had heard the clatter of the stone, noticed the rustling branches and saw Artemis hiding there. Shouting, they all leapt up and ran towards her. With the adrenaline rushing through her veins, Artemis sprang from her copse and took off into the forest.

While running, she felt her spine tingle and, listening to instinct, leapt forward and dove into a somersault. Sure enough, a silver arrow whizzed through the spot her back had been a second before. Quickly she scrambled to her feet and ducked behind a tree, then climbing up as fast as she could. Like an acrobat she ran down the length of a thick branch and leapt to a different tree, hiding in the leaves before the Elites could figure out where she had gone (a trick she learned in District 11). They were standing underneath the tree she had first climbed, looking up and yelling at each other. Finally they gave up and left for their camp, and Artemis was about to climb back down when she remembered. Cornelius.

She had seen and recognized the expression on his face –– it was the devious expression of a thief about to home in on his target. And Cornelius was no expert thief. She had to get him out of there before he got himself killed.

She scrambled down the tree and returned to the Elites' camp. Just as she arrived she heard a shout as Cornelius, emerging from the Cornucopia, almost crashed into Julius. From her vantage point, she could see that Cornelius held a large iron war hammer in his meaty hand and wore a visored helmet over his head, along with a pack slung over his shoulder. The expression on his face was one of pure terror. Julius cracked his knuckles and advanced on the smaller –– but still rather large –– tribute. Swiftly Artemis reached into her boot and drew out a tiny silver throwing knife. If she was ever to kill Julius, it would have to be now if she was to save Cornelius. She wouldn't be able to reach him in time. She was just drawing her arm back to throw when, out of her peripheral vision, she saw a newcomer to the encounter.

A small, darkly dressed figure was crouched on the top of the Cornucopia, watching. Then, just before Julius was about to do something possibly permanent to poor Cornelius's head, the newcomer jumped down right behind him and drew his short black sword.

"Heads up!" shouted Cynthia as she drew her bow and fired at Caius. Faster than the eye could follow, Caius's black blade flickered into action and interrupted the arrow's path. It skittered to the ground harmlessly, and while everyone's momentarily focus was on the arrow, Caius made his move. Before Julius could even raise an arm to defend himself, Caius slammed the pommel of his sword into his skull. For the second time in the Games, the large District 12 representative collapsed on the ground, out cold.

What happened next went almost too fast to comprehend, but somehow Cynthia was the next to be knocked unconscious, then Marius, and then, after a duel of blades and feet –– the latter of which were mostly Caius's, seeing as his fighting style required much kicking –– that lasted only a few seconds and was no more than a blur to any outside watchers, Lucius fell to the ground. Once all of his defeated opponents were out unconscious, Caius turned to Cornelius. The bigger boy held up his hammer in case he needed to defend himself, but Caius sheathed his sword, and, after sending a murderous glare at Cornelius, sprinted away from the Cornucopia and towards the forest where Artemis was standing.

"Whoever came up with that 'defenseless emo' stereotype," said Artemis as he came within hearing range, "obviously never met you. Wonderful timing, once again."

"No problem," replied Caius, stopping his quick pace. "A couple things, though."

"Name them."

"Tell that dimwit that if he tries pulling a stunt like that again, I'll just laugh."

"Gladly. What was the other?"

"I'm not emo."

Artemis looked up at the sky, as if waiting for the clouds to reply to her silent question of exasperation. Naturally, they didn't answer. "Got it," she said slowly.

Obviously either missing or ignoring the sarcasm, Caius nodded sharply, turned, and retreated into the trees.

Cornelius was still staring at the unconscious Elites and didn't even notice Artemis until she was standing right next to him. "You know that what you just did was incredibly stupid," she stated, causing Cornelius to jump in surprise and raise his hammer.

"Artemis," he said in a shaking voice that did not match what he was trying to convey. "Stay away. Now give me your weapons and supplies, and we can part ways without anyone getting hurt."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "I'll give them to you when you do something smart. Now let's get out of here before they wake up, otherwise we're both in trouble. Come on."

"Two things," said Cornelius as Artemis grabbed his wrist and led him into the forest. "One –– uh, offensive! And two –– where are you taking me? I don't even know if I can trust you."

"You shouldn't," she shot back without slowing down. "I'm a very untrustworthy person. The question to ask is whether or not I can trust you."

Cornelius, being the person he was, had no idea what to say to that. Normally it would be offensive to any seventeen-year-old boy to be shown up by a fourteen-year-old girl, hence making the older child summon a defensive bluster to salvage his pride, but Cornelius could not even try. "I… I guess."

"How have you been surviving the past five days?" asked Artemis in a snappy voice that made Cornelius suspect that it was an insult, not a question.

"I…uh…just took a big backpack on the first day and found enough stuff to last me this long," he stammered. "I ran out last night. So, uh, do you have any food?"

"No. I'm leading you back to my camp so we can all starve together. Of course I have food, and lots of it."

Cornelius considered the sarcasm for a moment, then said, "All right. You can trust me. Take me to this food." Sharply, Artemis released his wrist, sending him stumbling after the sudden release. "What did you do that for?" he cried indignantly.

"I did nothing," she said, not even turning around. "Now are you coming or what?"

Shrugging, Cornelius hefted his hammer over his shoulder and trotted after Artemis. Before long, they had arrived at the camp, where Petronius and Romulus were resting around the clearing. Iris was nowhere to be seen, but Artemis was not worried. The girl could take care of herself. The two tributes both jumped up when they saw Cornelius, but Artemis's cool expression reassured them. "Look what I found, boys," said Artemis to them, placing one hand on Cornelius's back and nudging him forward into the clearing. "Corny here –– may I call you Corny?"

"NO!"

"Corny here was trying to steal supplies and weapons from the Elites. In broad daylight. While trying to use me as bait."

"What?" Cornelius interjected. "I never even saw you until you popped up out of the bushes after I shot the rock!"

"Even if it was an accident and you just so happened to fire it in my direction it still had the effects you desired. That was incredibly stupid, Cornelius, even for you." She didn't tell him what she really thought –– that the diversion idea was actually a good one…even if it was accidental.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," apologized Cornelius irritably, but Artemis wasn't finished.

"And by the way," she said, "Caius –– the boy with the sword who literally saved your butt –– says that if you try to pull something idiotic like that again, he won't care if you get dismembered. In fact, I'm pretty sure he will enjoy it."

"And where is this Caius person now?" Cornelius shot back.

Artemis shrugged. "For all I know he could be camping out in a bush or perched up in a tree right now, listening to every word we say. Or he could be back at his camp, hotwiring the cameras. We just don't know, because he's…well, he's kind of a stalker. Just believe me when I say that he just pulled your rump from the barbecue."

"Why, hello there," a new voice said just then. "Cornelius, I believe?"

Cornelius turned around, half expecting it to be Caius even though the voice was clearly female. Instead, Iris was standing behind him, holding her bow in one hand and a burlap sack in the other. She set down the latter of the two and stepped lightly up to Cornelius, inclining her head in a way that made her look a lot older than she really was.

"Welcome to the alliance," she said in her high, pretty voice. "I'm sorry for the rough treatment. Artemis isn't very good at first impressions." Then, to Artemis, she asked, "Have you proven his loyalty?"

Artemis seemed to consider this. "Not exactly."

Iris's eyes locked with Cornelius's, then, in an unexpected flash of motion, she drove her fist sharply into the larger boy's stomach and pinned him against a tree, holding a dagger dangerously close to his throat.

"Then I don't know what he's doing inside our territory alive," she said softly yet menacingly.

Cornelius was caught completely off guard and squeaked to Romulus and Petronius, "Help…me."

Petronius exchanged a glance with Artemis and then said, "A small, sympathetic part of me tells me to help you. The rest of me, the amused part, is having too much fun to agree."

When Cornelius looked to him for help, Romulus only shrugged. "If a girl half your size can knock you against a tree, you're on your own."

"Iris," said Artemis, but the smaller girl seemed to have gone hard of hearing. "IRIS! Let him go, please. I really don't think he wants to die right now, and I don't appreciate blood."

Grudgingly, Iris released the pressure on the knife and stepped back, letting Cornelius fall to his knees. Artemis leaned in and muttered, loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Nice use of that maneuver though. Remind me never to get on your bad side."

Once Cornelius had regained his breath, he straightened his helmet and asked indignantly, "Do all of the girls of your alliance try to kill newcomers after they say hi?"

"No. Just us," Artemis said. "I mean it's just us two girls. This is our alliance –– Romulus, Petronius, Iris, and me. And hopefully you if you don't do anything incredibly stupid."

Cornelius considered this. "What happens if I don't join you?"

"Then I give the word," answered Artemis, "and Iris here will demonstrate her knife techniques." As emphasis, the eleven-year-old girl flipped her dagger precariously and caught it lithely in her other hand.

Cornelius's hazel-green eyes bulged, and all of the blood seemed to drain from his face. "Fair enough. You can trust me."

Artemis inclined her head, a cold smile on her face. "I thought so. Unofficial meeting adjourned; all personnel return to duty."

At this, everyone –– which only included Petronius, Romulus, Iris, and Artemis –– dispersed from their makeshift circle. Cornelius just watched them, for fear of doing something wrong and getting chopped up by Iris. Petronius sat down on a log and started examining his sword blade. Romulus started climbing a tree. Iris retrieved her burlap sack and started unloading the contents. Artemis, who had been watching her, grimaced and turned away with a small gag. Iris, holding the three dead groosling in her hands, looked up amusedly. "What?"

Artemis rubbed her temples and stuck out her tongue to no one in particular. "Blood. That's just nasty."

Across the clearing, Petronius let out a bark of laughter. "You're afraid of blood?"

"No," Artemis scowled. "I just don't like blood –– when it's out of the body. It's disgusting. Yes, I know it's only a compound of white and red cells, platelets, and plasma essential for the survival of humans, but still…ugh."

"You might not want to turn around, then," advised Iris, who had just laid the dead birds on a log in preparal of cleaning and gutting them. "Petronius, hand me that knife, will you?"

Artemis groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. "Oh gross, oh gross," she muttered repetitively, hugging herself. "Nnnnnhhhhh…."

Iris didn't bother to suppress her smile as she slashed the knife across the bird's stomach, causing a ripping sound that everyone knew would drive Artemis nuts. It did, and immediately Artemis's hands flew up to her ears. "Don't do that!" she yelled, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

Iris rolled her large blue eyes. "Do you want to eat tonight or not?" She knew that Artemis could not hear her, but she didn't care.

Artemis was still rocking back and forth, muttering unintelligible things under her breath. Soon she risked cracking open her eyes to walk away, but then Cornelius had either the courage or the stupidity to follow her and ask a completely, at that moment, irrelevant question. "Hey Artemis, what am I supposed to do?"

Artemis took her hands off her ears. "What did you say?" Iris just so happened to slash open the stomach of another bird at that moment, and Artemis visibly flinched. That day, they all found her "nails-on-a-chalkboard" sound.

"What am I supposed to do here?" repeated Cornelius, not noticing Artemis's reactions to the teeth-grinding sounds of Iris gutting wild chickens.

"You," replied Artemis, stressing the word as she tried to ignore what was going on with Iris and the knife, "stay at the camp and watch for attackers."

"Just…sit here and wait for the enemy to show up?" Cornelius inquired cynically. "Why not just go out and attack them head on? Get rid of them while we can?"

"Because that's not our game," she said brusquely. "Our job is to stay together and stay alive, and we're not going to accomplish either by charging heroically into battle. Not everything is won by force and strength, Cornelius."

"But one of these days, we're going to have to split up and kill each other, right? These alliances are only temporary, right?"

A cold, stony silence enveloped the clearing as everyone watched the potentially hostile exchange. Iris even set down her knife. "I meant what I said. Not everything is or can be won by killing everyone who comes your way. Sometimes all it takes to win is for you to drop your weapons and use your brain."

Cornelius digested this phrase for a few minutes, then asked her, "Do you know that kid at the Cornucopia? The one with the black sword?"

"Caius," she said. "Yes, I know him. Not well, but we have met on several occasions."

"Is he on our side?"

"More or less," she replied. "I don't think he's really on anyone's side, because no one ever sided with him. But he likes to help us sometimes. I suppose he could be considered our ally."

"He could also be a dangerous enemy," Cornelius observed.

"Absolutely," she said. "More dangerous than Julius or Marius or any of the Elites. If I could recruit him I would, but I think he likes being alone."

"Why?"

Artemis hesitated, as if she wasn't sure she should be even talking about it. "I don't know," she said, but Cornelius was not as stupid as Artemis's experiences with him suggested.

"You're lying," he said.

"I know that," she replied without flinching.

Next chapter: we see why Caius is who he is… (*squeals in fangirl giddiness*)

On a totally unrelated topic, I have a quick poll: who are your favorite OCs so far and why? Now that all of the players have been introduced, we can vote on such things!

(If you can't tell, Caius is my fave because he's HOT… ^_^ Artemis follows close behind because of her snarky clever smart awesomeness, and Petronius places third because of…umm…I don't know why.)