Saoirse Brennan, 18

District 12 Female

Saoirse's hands were shaking, and not just from the cold. She'd spent her first night in the arena awake, straddling a branch, huddled close to the trunk of a tree. By morning, her eyes were itching and her head ached.

Now that it was light, her biggest priority was food. The rain had stopped somewhere around midnight, but the sky was still cloudy and gray, as if more rain was coming. That meant water was abundant. And hopefully, it meant that plants were too.

Saoirse carefully clambered down from her perch, jumping the last few feet to land hard on the soft ground. Her boots left indents in the moss and mud. She was silent for a moment, listening to make sure no one was nearby. But the only things she heard were bird calls and the rustle of the trees in the wind.

Picking a direction at random, she set off. The day before, as she was running from the bloodbath, she'd seen some bushes that looked like they could be blueberries, but she'd been too panicked to know for sure. She was hoping to come across them again.

It had been several hours and the wind was picking up. Saoirse kept her arms tucked inside her poncho, shivering at particularly forceful gusts. She was about to give up and find a place to curl up and hide when she came across a small stream. To her delight, it was filled with little fish.

Quickly, Saoirse began to search for a stick. When she found one, she broke off the extra twigs and crouched by the water, waiting for a fish to swim by. Her first few attempts were a bit of a disaster, and she nearly fell in trying to get a fish that was further away, but finally, she was able to pin one against the bottom of the stream.

Reaching into the water, she pulled out the flopping creature and swung it against a rock, killing it. She set it down and examined it. She had no knife to remove the scales, and it was too wet to start a fire. But eating raw fish sounded like a bad idea.

Still, she had to eat. So she picked it up and began to use her nails to peel off the scales. It was dirty, disgusting work, and it took a while, but she ended up with a decently clean fish.

Closing her eyes, Saoirse steeled herself to take the first bite. It wasn't bad, necessarily, but it certainly wasn't good. But she managed to eat the entire thing. When she finished, she risked taking a drink from the stream to wash the taste from her mouth, and buried the remains of the fish so no one would find it. Now she had to find a place to stay the night. Her eyelids were already drooping, and walking back to her tree sounded exhausting.

Wandering upstream, Saoirse came across a small grove of willow trees. The largest seemed to have fallen recently, and its boughs reached the ground, creating a hidden area underneath. Crawling through the branches, Saoirse curled up on the soft mossy ground. She'd only sleep for an hour or two…

Thalia Caerwyn, 16

District 10 Female

It was clear that Fritz was struggling. She'd barely spoken since they'd set up camp in a small gully. She just kind of… sat there. The adrenaline from the bloodbath had worn off, and now she was only half-present. That left Thalia in a worrying position.

Theo had been almost as quiet and subdued. He couldn't walk, and the girls hadn't been able to haul him any further than this gully. Thalia could imagine that he was angry with himself for getting hurt. But moping around wasn't going to help!

But she had absolutely no idea what to say. She wasn't good with people, or words, or words of comfort for people who'd just seen their friends die. Thalia had only caught a glimpse of Fallon's body, and managed to firmly shove the image from her mind. She learned a long time ago that dwelling on the past got you nowhere. As badly as she wanted Fallon and Dieter to be with them, she knew that there was nothing she could have done. Fritz and Theo were her focus now.

Steeling herself for the awkwardness that was sure to come, Thalia crawled across the mossy ground to settle herself beside Theo.

"How's your ankle?" she asked.

"The same," he said through gritted teeth. Thalia nodded.

"We should make a splint," she decided. Theo looked over at her.

"How will that help?"

"It will give your ankle support and help it heal faster," Thalia said. "When Lynette hurt her wrist, we made one, and it helped a lot. We just need two straight sticks."

The backpack Thalia grabbed in the bloodbath had a first aid kit in it, along with half a dozen apples and four large packs of jerky. No water, though there was a stream nearby they drank from the night before.

Fritz stood up quickly and began to clamber up the side of the gully.

"I'll get sticks," she said. Thalia could hear a tremor in her voice, but Fritz vanished into the ferns before either she or Theo could protest.

"She's not okay," Theo noted, leaning back against the wall of the small ravine.

"I know," Thalia said. "But I don't know what to do."

"I can try to talk to her," Theo said. Then he sighed. "I'm sorry I messed up my ankle. It's going to make everything so much harder for you and Fritz, and-"

"Stop," Thalia said firmly, cutting him off. "Neither of us are upset with you. Stop feeling bad about yourself."

Theo gaped at her and Thalia's eyes widened in shock.

"I'm sorry!" she gasped. "I didn't mean that in a bad way! I just don't want you to feel guilty. I-"

"It's okay," Theo interrupted with a light laugh. "I know what you meant. Thanks."

She relaxed into the moss beside him, sighing with relief.

"Okay," she said. And she was about to ask about Fritz again when the girl came back, carefully climbing down the slippery rocks with a bundle of sticks under her arm.

"Alright," she said, a forced smile on her face. "Let's get Theo patched up."

Ray Phillips, 14

District 10 Male

Ray didn't like the rain. It was rare that it rained back in District 10, and he preferred it that way. He was used to the dust and heat. Another thing he didn't like was trees. Sure, there was a small forested area back home, and he often hunted there. But he felt trapped under trees this large. And the drops that kept falling from their branches and hitting him in the head were extremely annoying.

He wished he'd gotten a tent from the Cornucopia. Those stupid Careers were probably warm and comfortable at night, while he huddled under a bush using his lumpy backpack as a pillow. He could almost hear his mother lecturing him for being grateful about what he had, and he frowned. She wasn't the one stuck in a cold, rainy arena.

Ray munched on an apple as he walked. He'd had half a dozen in his backpack, and he knew they'd go bad first, so he started with them. His stomach wanted something more substantial, but it would have to do until he spotted an animal.

In his backpack he'd also gotten a sleeve of crackers, a packet of jerky, a water bottle, a small first-aid kit, a pocket knife, and a water filter. A very lucky find. He'd also managed to snatch a large hunting knife right out from under the Career's noses, a fact that he was very proud of.

He was still smugly thinking about the Careers when he heard voices a short distance away. Hurriedly, he climbed over a fallen log and ducked behind a clump of brambles. The voices were definitely coming his way.

He just had time to draw his knife and press himself against the ground before three Careers appeared; Blitz, Sam, and Adelind. The pair from 4 were the ones talking. Sam appeared to be sharing bear facts.

"Believe it or not, bears eat blueberries. They don't have any blueberry bushes back home, but I learned to identify them just in case. And those back there were definitely blueberries."

"Maybe we can bring some back to camp?" Adelind suggested. Blitz shrugged.

"You can. I'm not risking it."

"I promise they're not poisonous," Sam said.

"But what if you're wrong?" Blitz challenged.

"I'm not." Sam sounded very sure of himself. But Blitz just shook his head.

"Like I said, you can eat them. I don't want to."

"We can move on from the blueberries now," Adelind said, sounding a little impatient. The boys seemed to pick up on it, because they both fell silent. And after a moment of scouting the area, they continued on. They hadn't seen Ray.

As soon as he was certain they were gone, he scrambled to his feet and ran in the direction Sam pointed. And sure enough, he only had to walk a short way to find a clump of bushes. He picked as many as he could hold before heading further away from the Careers' path. He'd have to find a sheltered place to sleep, since it looked like more rain was coming. But he'd have plenty to eat. Maybe he'd even start on his jerky.

Adelind Genoa, 18

District 4 Female

So far, every hunting trip had been unsuccessful, and it was grating on everyone's nerves. Noah was especially testy, and it was making everybody miserable. Regina was also clearly unhappy being confined to the camp, and they suspected Wyler was getting sick of playing doctor.

Noah took every chance to order the boy from 3 around, and only Blitz ever stood up for him. Adelind felt a bit bad, but she couldn't afford to get on anyone's bad side. No one could suspect her.

The plan they'd made with Fritz was to attack the Cornucopia on the morning of the fifth day in the arena. Adelind would ensure she was on watch, and they'd either kill or drive away the remaining Careers.

Wyler was the only one she'd considered warning. He wasn't a Career, and he was treated badly by most of them. But he would most likely tell Blitz, and that wasn't a risk she was willing to take.

As she followed Sam and Blitz back to their camp, Adelind considered her allies one by one. Blitz and Noah would be her biggest threats, now that Regina was injured. Mozu had managed to fly by in the background, but that could be her strategy. So she was one to watch out for as well. She and Sam had a pact that they wouldn't kill each other unless absolutely necessary, so he wasn't as much of a concern. And Wyler wasn't trained. She could overpower him if she needed to.

So they had to make sure Blitz and Noah were at their weakest when their allies attacked. Maybe they could do something to seal their tent? But that would trap Wyler too, and a small part of Adelind wanted Wyler to escape unharmed.

They barely noticed they'd arrived back at camp, as they were so deep in their thoughts, and Sam had to stop Adelind from tumbling into the water. They smiled sheepishly.

"Thanks," Adelind said. Sam smiled warmly.

"Dinner is ready," Mozu called from their small camp outside the Cornucopia. Adelind could smell the hearty stew in the air, and her stomach grumbled. Sam had forgotten to pick the blueberries he was so excited about, and she was hungry after a long day of hiking through the woods.

Adelind sat down beside Helios, who was already eating.

"Any luck?" she asked, even though she knew the answer. Helios shook his head.

"It's ridiculous," Noah said, sitting down on Adelind's other side. "We should have found someone by now."

"Maybe we should try smaller groups?" Mozu suggested. "We'd be able to move more quietly. Right now, it's possible that they can hear us coming."

"Are you calling us loud," Sam asked. Mozu's face paled, but he just laughed. "Well, it's true that bears aren't the most stealthy."

"I think it's a good idea," Regina said. She had her bad leg stretched out in front of her, and had Wyler sitting quietly by her side. He almost seemed to be looking after her. 'Interesting', Adelind thought. That could be something they could use.

"Tomorrow, we'll break off into pairs," Regina continued. "And hopefully, we'll find some tributes."

Hey everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that. My mental health has been... not great, so writing has been tough. But I am not giving up on my SYOTs! So here is Day 2 of the Games. No deaths today, but SPOILER ALERT - that will change next chapter.

Questions:

1) What do you think Saoirse's biggest arena challenge will be?

2) How will Adelind and Fritz's plan go if Theo is injured?

3) Is Adelind picking up on something between Regina and Wyler?

Current Alliances

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

Adelind's Secret Gang:
- Adelind
- Fritz
- Theo
- Thalia

Small But Mighty:
- Danse
- Colette

Loners:
- Lana
- Ellie
- Alrik
- Ray
- Saoirse

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

- Fiona