Wyler Kline, 18

District 3 Male

Another headache was pounding at Wyler's skull as he rode the elevator down to the training hall, just like the day before the reaping when he helped Visa with her trigonometry homework. He'd do anything to be back in his small bedroom, studying or writing essays. Though this time, his headache was from staying up late working on different designs for electrical traps for the arena. He was getting close, but nothing was quite right.

Taking off his glasses, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Lana opened her mouth, as if she was going to say something, but closed it again as the elevator came to a stop. Stepping out, Wyler immediately felt eyes on him. He glanced over at Blitz, who was openly staring. But when Wyler met his gaze, he looked away.

Mentally shaking off the interaction, Wyler scanned the stations. Lana was already heading towards the obstacle course, where she'd spent most of yesterday. Yale wasn't there, also like yesterday.

Part of him wanted to speak to his brothers. Part of him hadn't even accepted that he had biological brothers. His mentor Vizio spent the first day of Wyler's training gathering all the information he could, and he and Wyler went over it that night.

Apparently, the three of them were identical triplets born to a prostitute in District 7. The two Capitol scientists who used to visit Wyler when he was younger had essentially bought the three boys and placed them in different homes. And while he had wanted to know the whole story, it still made him feel sick. He had parents. He had siblings. Should he include Blitz and Yale on that list?

Pushing the thoughts back, Wyler reminded himself to focus on training. He could think about his brothers tonight, once he was alone. Now was the time to learn. Yesterday, he learned about edible plants, how to purify water, and how to make fires. Today, he wanted to focus on other edible things he might encounter in the arena. He didn't plan on going too deep into the bloodbath, so he'd have to find food some other way.

A tired-looking older woman was leaning back in her chair at the edible bugs station, flipping through a book. Wyler had to clear his throat to get her attention. But when he did, a huge smile spread across her face.

"Here to eat some buggies?" she asked with a cackling laugh. Narrowing his eyes, Wyler nodded.

"Mealworm and buffalo worm larvae are edible, but can be difficult to identify. I'll show you how in a moment. But the most beneficial insect is the migratory locust. They don't have much salt, but they're high in fat and protein. Crickets are inferior in nutrition, but are arguably easier to find. Now, let's look at the common house fly…"

Wyler wasn't sure why this woman was so into insects, but she was extremely knowledgeable. He jotted down everything she said on a notecard and listened intently to all of her lectures. By the time the lunch bell rang, he was hoping for an insect-infested arena.

Saoirse Brennan, 18

District 12 Female

For Saoirse, training was the best part of the day. Because of Yale's illness, they were both confined to their rooms, and were required to wear masks and gloves whenever they left. Avoxes would bring her meals, and when she talked with Lucy or Ajax, it was in a different part of the building. She'd also been given several shots to protect her, as had everyone else.

Saoirse felt a bit bad for Yale. He wasn't allowed to train so he didn't infect the other tributes, and she could tell he was feeling confined. At night, he'd sing, or talk to himself. He had quite a nice singing voice. But truthfully, she'd rather have him be locked away than get sick herself.

In training, she'd spent the first day learning about fire-making and shelters. Her plan for today was to study edible plants. There were three screens set up near the station where you could test yourself on your knowledge, as well as a booth where the trainer could go over things with you. Saoirse picked the test on the screen.

She started with edible flowers. She knew about dandelion, red clover, and wood lilies already, but fireweed and coneflowers were new. Fireweed flowers were purple, and part of the primrose family. The information card said it was important to look for long, pointed leaves with purple blossoms. Coltsfoot, which looked a bit like dandelions, was edible, but only in small amounts.

When she moved onto fruits, she was faced with a strange spiky plant she'd never seen before. As she was deciding whether to sort it as edible or not, someone came up beside her.

"That's a prickly pear cactus," the boy from 10 said, reaching over to swipe the information card into the 'Edible' category. Saoirse frowned at him.

"I don't need help," she said with a scowl. The boy raised his eyebrows and held his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"Just trying to be friendly," he said with a huff. Saoirse stayed silent as he walked away.

She wasn't the best with people, but something about him seemed untrustworthy. He was far too confident in a situation like this. She wasn't panicking, but she was afraid. She definitely wouldn't be walking around with a cocky strut like he was.

Turning back to her screen, she began to sort nuts. But her focus was completely shot. Stepping back, she looked around at all the other stations. Nothing seemed appealing.

What was the point of this anyways? More often than not, a Career won. If it wasn't a Career, it was a skilled outlier, like Signy Freyda. Though there had been two recent flukes; Zander Kline from 8 and Dakota Grangerford from 9. But District 12 wasn't lucky enough to be a fluke.

She was going to die. There was no way around it.

Thalia Caerwyn, 16

District 10 Female

Taking a deep breath, Thalia adjusted her grip on the knife and did her best to block out Noah, the massive boy from 11. He was hurling knife after knife into the dummies, and nearly every throw was perfectly on target. Thalia was good with a knife, but compared to him, she was barely passable.

Shaking herself, Thalia refocused and let her knife fly. It landed with a thud. Not a bullseye, but it was on the edge of the first yellow ring. Not bad. In a small animal, it'd be enough to take it down. In a person? She wasn't sure.

She'd be willing to try it on Ray. While she didn't necessarily want to kill, she knew she'd have to if she wanted to go back to Lynette. And Ray had been haunting her tiny forest for far too long. She was ready for him to be gone. And she was fairly certain Ray had never seen her, so he wasn't aware of her anger. It was probably for the best. Now she could target him without him targeting her.

Glancing at him now, she could see he was working on traps. So was the girl from 7. She was very clearly copying his movements, but Ray didn't notice. Smart girl.

Thalia turned back to her knife throwing, adjusting her footing before throwing this time. The knife hit in about the same place. Closing her eyes, she sighed heavily. She needed a break. And luckily, it came in the form of the lunch bell.

She joined the line of tributes and was served a large heap of chicken and rice covered in a delicious-smelling orange sauce. It made her mouth water and her stomach grumble. She was used to tough game and foraged plants. Not this.

After getting her meal, she sat down at a table with Fritz and Dieter. Dieter was quiet, but Fritz initiated a conversation.

"So Thalia," she said. "What is District 10 like?" She was quiet for a few moments.

"I'm not usually in the main part of 10," she finally said. "So I'm not very familiar with it?"

"Why not?" Fritz asked. Her eyes were wide with genuine curiosity, and for some reason, Thalia felt comfortable enough to tell her.

"My parents weren't the best," she said, not quite ready to meet Fritz's eyes. "So I ran away. I live in a small camp in the woods with my best friend Lynette. Sometimes we go into town to trade extra meat or produce, and I play the flute for tips sometimes too." Fritz reached a hand out, placing it on the back of Thalia's hand.

"I'm sorry your parents were like that," she said. "But I'm glad you were with Lynette." Thalia smiled.

"Thanks."

"And it's so cool that you play the flute!" Fritz continued. "I play the harmonica. I even have a music group at school!"

"That's amazing," Thalia said with a soft smile. The two shared a moment of peace before Dieter jumped in.

"Should we, um, maybe find another ally? Is there enough of us to… you know, do it?"

"I think finding one more person is a good idea," Thalia said. Fritz nodded.

"Who do we want to ask?"

"Maybe the girl from 12?" Thalia suggested shyly. "She seems nice."

"She's very hesitant," Fritz noted. "She was good with edible plants, but the quiz took her forever. It looked like she second guessed everything."

"And we need someone more confident?" Dieter whispered. Fritz put a hand on his shoulder.

"What about Fallon, from 11?" Thalia said. Fritz glanced over to where she was sitting in the corner, focused on her food.

"It's definitely worth asking," she said. "I'll be right back."

Mozu Striker, 18

District 2 Female

Mozu had spent most of the morning throwing axes with Helios and Blitz, and her arms were beginning to get sore. The boys seemed as if they could go on for hours, although Helios was wincing a bit. But the lunch break called the session to a close.

As an avox came around clearing their trays, and the Careers headed back to their preferred stations, Mozu reached out and tapped Blitz on the shoulder.

"Can we talk," she murmured.

Blitz raised an eyebrow, but nodded. The two of them stood outside the cafeteria doors as Blitz gestured for her to start speaking. She fiddled with her fingers as she tried to find the right words.

"In the arena," she finally said. "I want to let you know I have your back. If that's okay. Since you're also from 2."

"Okay," Blitz said flatly. "District loyalty is important. I will have your back too." He turned to walk away, but Mozu grabbed his arm. He turned back, looking mildly annoyed.

"Also, if you want Wyler or Yale to join the pack, I'm okay with it. Family… family is very important. I'm sorry this is the situation you're in."

Finally, a brief flash emotion crossed Blitz's face. He seemed upset and relieved all at once.

"Thank you," he said, giving her a curt nod. Mozu nodded back gently, watching worriedly as Blitz walked away. Had she overstepped a boundary? She just thought if her family was here, she'd want to get to know them. She'd lost her entire village when she was only ten.

The memory still made Mozu shake. District 2 had some miners living deeper in the mountains, in small village-like communities. Mozu was born and raised there. But a group of rebels decimated her home when she was just a child, and she was the only survivor. She still remembered hiding in the cupboard her mother crammed her in as Peacekeepers rushed into the building. They heard her sobs, and rescued her. Corrina rescued her.

Desperate now to clear the thoughts from her head, Mozu went over to the swords station and grabbed a smaller, lighter blade. The girl from 3 was there, practicing, and Mozu had to admit she wasn't all that bad. Not Career-worthy, but not at all terrible.

After watching her for a few moments, Mozu fell into a similar routine. Jab, slash, parry, feint, slash, and so on and so forth. Swords weren't her main weapon, but it was good to have a versatile skill set. Corrina taught her that from the very beginning.

She tore through several dummies, determined not to picture them as any more than plastic. Secretly, she was dreading the bloodbath. She didn't want to kill anyone, but she really wanted to get home. And the only way to do so was to end lives.

Suddenly overwhelmed with holding a weapon, she gingerly placed her sword back on the rack and went to join the line for the obstacle course. The girl from 12 was currently attempting it, but fell near the end. Mozu climbed the ladder to begin her turn.

She swung confidently across the bars, then leaped onto a large platform and jumped to grab a rope. Landing on another platform, she ran to the balance beam and made it across it quickly. She wobbled near the end, but didn't fall.

The trainer gave her a smile when she finished.

"Second best time!" he said as a congratulations. Mozu just nodded. Second best. That was who she was.

Lavinia Danse, 13

District 7 Female

Danse did not like the way the Career boy from 11 was looking at her. And at Colette. And at Dieter. As if they were slabs of meat he was just waiting to carve up with his knives. She'd spent a lot of time spying on the other tributes, and she overheard him tell Blitz from 2 that he was looking forward to killing them, especially Colette. He "wanted to make that pretty little thing ugly". It disgusted her.

Some innate part of her wanted to warn Colette, or ally with her, or something. She reminded Danse of Heidi and Dahlia. She didn't like to admit it, but she missed Morty and the gang a lot. More than she was expecting to. And she was sure someone back in District 8 was missing Colette.

Danse had approached her a few times, but chickened out at the last moment. She felt like a coward, and she hated it. In fact, she was in the middle of giving herself a pep talk when she heard someone shout "hey!"

Looking up, she saw Gaia, the girl from 9, sitting on the ground with Noah standing over her. But he was looking at Colette, who was holding a blowgun and looked absolutely terrified.

"Hey there, little insect?" Noah taunted. "I bet you'll snivel when I kill you. Just like you did at the reaping, huh?" Colette whimpered a little as Gaia got up and stood between them.

"Go away Noah," she said. He smirked and was about to speak when Danse rushed over and jumped in.

"Hey shithead," she sang, matching his mocking tone. "Shouldn't you pick on someone your own size? Oh wait. You can't. You're the shortest Career here!" It was true. Noah was just about 5'5". She giggled as he began to fume.

"You have the audacity to call her a little thing? Have you looked in the mirror lately? I bet even Regina could pick you up!"

Noah lunged forward with a growl but Danse darted out of the way.

"Ah ah ah," she mocked. "No fighting with the other tributes, you naughty boy." She wagged her finger as she spoke, and she was certain that Noah was about to maul her when Blitz came over and grabbed Noah firmly by the shoulder.

"Stand down," he ordered. "She's just trying to rile you up."

"And it looks like she succeeded," Adelind noted. It looks like they were trying to hide their smile. Regina joined them as Noah shrugged Blitz's hand away.

"Hmm," she said slowly, looking him up and down. "Do you think I could carry him Adelind?"

"Yes," they said, tucking a strand of loose hair behind their ear.

Danse was ready to jump in with another taunt when Atticus, the head trainer, stepped into the circle of gathered tributes.

"Alright, that is quite enough!" he said in his oddly chirpy voice. "Simmer down everyone. Mr. Brimms, we do not tolerate attacking other tributes. And Ms. Danse, your contributions were not welcomed nor needed. I expect you all to conduct yourselves with poise from here on out. Understood?"

A few tributes nodded and a few just mumbled in agreement. But Atticus's ridiculously formal speech seemed to have reduced the tension more than Blitz's intervention had. She heard Gaia breathe a sigh of relief as everyone split up again.

Danse was about to go work on some poisons, content with her level of interaction with Colette for the day, when a large hand grabbed her arm, squeezing tightly. Noah stood beside her, head lowered to whisper to her.

"In the bloodbath, I'm coming for you first, smartass."

"Oh, how kind," Danse hissed back. "You knew my favorite nickname."

Noah shoved her away with a disgusted huff and she watched him go, a smirk on her face. This was definitely going to be interesting.

Hey everyone! Sorry for all the quick updates, but writing has been my comfort activity since I lost my grandma a few weeks ago. I'm doing okay, so no need to worry, but it's still hard. Anyways, here is the second day of training. I'm having a ton of fun writing all these characters; I'm going to be sad when it's time to kill them off, even though I've already decided on the bloodbath deaths.

Also, just to clarify something I said last time; please don't feel like you need to review every chapter or be super detailed. I'd appreciate it, of course, but even just a "good chapter, I liked x, y, z" every few chapters means a lot to me. I don't want to put pressure on anyone!

Questions:

1) Thoughts on Ray jumping in to help Saoirse? Does he have good intentions?

2) Do you think Fallon will join Fritz and Adelind's alliance?

3) What did you think of Mozu trying to help Blitz?

4) Which POV was your favorite from this chapter, and why?

5) Were you impressed with my edible bug knowledge? (this is kind of a silly question - no need to answer it lol)

Current Alliances

Careers:
- Regina
- Helios
- Mozu
- Blitz
- Adelind
- Sam
- Noah

Girl Power! (and Dieter):
- Adelind
- Fritz
- Dieter
- Thalia

District 6:
- Ellie
- Josko

Happy Gals:
- Colette
- Gaia

Loners:
- Lana
- Wyler
- Danse
- Marcus
- Theo
- Alrik
- Ray
- Fallon
- Saoirse
- Yale

Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!

- Fiona