Note- Omg I feel so guilty. xD Sorry, I had a giant case of writer's block this week, plus I started doing tennis so it took up some weekend time. I also got into Chamber Orchestra so now I have practice in the mornings and if I get into DI it'll be even more chaotic. I'm sorry guys. xP I'll try to pre-write whenever I stop procrastinating..anyway I hope you liked the chapter, thank you and have a great day. c: Also, if anyone wants to check out my slime Instagram account, it's "crystalslimeezz"! shameless advertising lol. xD

Harriet Wilson (D6 Female)

I got up the next morning, relaxed, fresh- well, you get the idea. The Capitol bedroom was so spacious! It was amazing. Surely the Capitol wasn't that bad, if they offered such good things to us and were so charitable?

I put on the training outfit draped against my bed. It was a bit uncomfortable- what with all the tight, itchy material- but I could manage for another day or two. I reminded myself that I had to make these days count, for my evaluation was coming up.

As I stepped into the dining room-of-sorts, I noticed that the lights seemed to shine a bit brighter, and the whole atmosphere was cheery. Huh. That was interesting.

Cameron sat across from the table, already finished with a plate of ham and starting on another. I pulled up a chair and asked for the same thing. They were so nice to do this! I thought(a bit gushingly).

The food was delicious, like everything else at the Capitol. It tasted of salt and a bit of spice, mixed in with some kind of sauce. Content with that plate, I went on to have another...and another.. until I was full.

Very full.

I didn't even think I could go to Training but I forced myself to stagger up and walk with the others. We were slightly late and most of the other tributes were already there. A couple of the girls I had sat with yesterday were there and I eagerly talked with them until Feline called for our attention.

Zahava whispered brightly in my ear, "I can't wait!" and I smiled back. She was such an enthusiastic person I felt much better being in her presence. I almost forgot the heavy weight of the Games that lay on my shoulders.

Feline gave the same speech as yesterday. Physical contact was allowed but no injuries(she said this with a smug look), no food or drinks, that kind of thing. When she was done, the tributes began scattering, and Zahava asked, "What do you want to do today?"

I thought for a moment. "What about the knot-tying station? It doesn't look too popular so we'll be able to learn at least something from it."

She followed my glance and nodded fervently. "Good idea," she remarked. We headed over there and I realized that the reason why there was not a lot of people there was because it was a very small station. It was kind of cramped between the archery and the wrestling, so that everyone's gaze just passed over it every time.

"Are you any good at tying knots?" she asked curiously, before launching into her answer, "I'm not, that's for sure!"

I smiled sheepishly. "Me neither. But we could learn."

She shrugged. "Yeah, why not?"

I grabbed a piece of white yarn between my hands, wondering how exactly it would be useful for tying knots- all I could get out of it was that it was flimsy and looked easy to break. The man at the station said brightly, "Girls, how may I help you?"

I glanced down at the yarn. "Could you please show us how to tie knots? We're, er, kind of new at this."

"Of course." He took a piece of yarn and deftly did a few knots into it so that suddenly there was an intricate design instead of just plain string. Intrigued, I leaned forward, as did Zahava. He demonstrated a couple more times before adding, "Here, you try."

I looped the yarn around my finger like he had done and tried tucking it into the circle but it just came away ruffled. He shook his head. "Not like that."

He showed us again and gradually we began to get it. My spirits were lifting as I performed one of the tricks he had showed us and Zahava applauded. "Nice!" she complimented.

I smiled, my cheeks setting on fire. "You too." I gazed down at my knot in pride, not knowing how I could feel so emotional about a simple piece of yarn. This could really help us in the arena, since nobody ever bothers to even check out this place. We'll have an advantage in this place, at least.

Zahava seemed to read my mind and she whispered, "You know, I hope this place stays as unpopular as it is now."

I nodded. "This would give us an excellent advantage. I mean, we could use this for lots of things. Nets, fishing lines..," I listed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't get too ahead of yourself." Zahava grinned. "I mean, it's smart to think ahead, but we have to get this done first."

"Aren't I already done?" I looked down at my limp piece of string.

"Not yet," the man chimed in.

I groaned, my pride evaporating in that moment. I guess I had really thought I had achieved something, and my heart was looking desperately through every little accomplishment to try to find something to be positive about.

"Could you please show us another design?" I asked, his kindness warming me nonetheless.

"I could," he said swiftly and continued on. He piqued my interest for the whole time as his hands winded string through string and braids, swirls, even little shapes began to form. I caught my breath, finding myself wanting to do the same. I vowed I would try my hardest to learn. And practice, I reminded myself.

Zahava stared at hers forlornly. "How do you do it again?" she asked quietly.

I patiently helped her through it, not caring if I might be helping a future enemy, just focused on giving help when others needed it. This was what I was supposed to do. Be myself, not be someone changed just because the Games. The Games did not deserve my change. I would be exactly like myself all the way to the end.

Zahava beamed proudly at her knot. "Thanks, Harriet," she thanked gratefully.

"No problem at all," I smiled, my heart swelling with a sort of kinship. "Uhm, Zahava, could I ask you something.."

She looked up, startled. "How...what...you're not saying..." Her eyes widened.

"You want to be allies?"

She smiled somewhat nervously and shook my hand. "Allies," she murmured, still disbelieving. "I like the sound of that."

Cornell Wheaton (D9 Male)

I had already gotten an alliance agreement from Cameron- that was as far as I knew. The rest..I wasn't so sure.

Cameron told me not to worry about it. He said he was going to try to get his District partner on our side and hopefully mine as well. At the rate we were going, maybe we had a chance. My hopes rose every time my thoughts landed on that.

I joked awkwardly alongside Cameron, who scanned the crowd. He stopped, turned his heels. "They're over there. Knot-tying station. We'll try to get that alliance I was talking about."

I nodded and shut up, eager to get some more allies. Allies meant protection to me, and I felt like the more we had, the safer we would be.

Cameron slowly headed on over to them, trying not to seem suspicious. I copied, though I wasn't too sure how that was supposed to look like. Soon we were at the station and I let Cameron do his thing. "Hello, ladies," he said smoothly as a well-oiled knife.

Harriet glanced at him while Zahava looked at us sideways. "Are you allies now?" Harriet chimed in.

I nodded for confirmation. "Yeah, we are."

Zahava blinked slightly. "Wow. Stuff here is fast, then. I wouldn't have thought it possible in Nine." In the past few days, I had found Zahava to be bright and all- which was good. But then there was the side that narrowed in to naive, acting the role of a child even now and then.

I smiled instead and said, "Well, you know, there is the saying 'Everything's possible'."

She let out an easy laugh. "Yeah, I suppose so."

Cameron cleared his throat and shot me a look. I folded my arms, a bit annoyed at him. I mean...it wasn't that I was jealous or anything. It was just that he sometimes got on my nerves- he was just so...great with the girls. I didn't know how else to describe it, except unsettling.

Outwardly I expressed jokes same as always, and Cameron remained happily content. The two of us were an interesting pair but one to be expected; after all, we both had similar personalities unless Cameron was faking. Although I wasn't one to wink at girls and flatter them. No...I would leave that to Cameron.

"I wanted to ask you two..." Cameron began calmly, "..would you like to be allies with us? You know, a bigger group, more access to supplies, and a stronger defense. We could share skills with each other."

"We could," Harriet murmured thoughtfully. She eyed Zahava. "What do you think?"

The black-haired girl mused over this with sparkling eyes. "I say yes!" she said eagerly. "I mean, allies are always great...right?"

I flashed her a slight grin. "Of course they are." I avoided the fact that the more allies you had, the less we would notice if someone sneaked away from the group- and we would become a bigger target. But these troubles only lasted a millisecond before I was pulled away on the happy tide that was Zahava.

It was settled, then. District Six and District Nine...a formidable group. I knew a little something about crops and grains and all that, so if we landed anywhere close, I could help. And Six was all about transportation..maybe they could fashion us something from their knowledge in that area.

"This is perfect!" whispered Cameron into my ear.

I nodded fervently. "We're getting allies and slowly becoming one group. We can train together from now on, teach each other some stuff. It'll totally work out."

He tilted his head. "And you could teach us some magic tricks."

I grinned. "I could."

We went to the knife-throwing station after that, just to see how Cameron could do because the twelve-year-old was pretty confident. I was starting to get used to his calmness by now, his utter lack of doubt in any situation. His happy personality was nice to have and, coupled with Zahava, we were a pretty enthusiastic group. Harriet's kindness was beginning to feel surreal as she leaped at every chance she could to give us tips. And me..I wasn't too sure. I was just a jokester, being my usual funny person. I hadn't changed for anything.

The targets were layered red-and-black. It looked really cool against the dark walls, the red popping out almost like...like blood. I flinched when my mind came to that.

A selection of knives were set on a stand for us to choose. There were labels underneath for the amount of skill required to handle each one, and to my amazement, Cameron picked one from the hardest rank.

I stared. "Wait..you can really use that?"

"Of course I can." A thin innocent smile twitched across his lips. "What, you thought I couldn't?" He pretended to look offended. "Well, let me show you how it's done."

Within the next few minutes, he had landed three knives like darts onto the central circle. The trainer for this station's attention had whipped around to examine us, while Cameron's allies stared. He just seemed to innocent...how could he do something this deadly? I guess since I had thought him being a ladies man, he was totally soft and got scared at the first sign of blood.

Then again, he had been the twelve-year-old to volunteer. The first in history, probably. This must have been where his confidence lay.

Harriet kept handing him different knives while he threw from a number of spots. Once he did it from a long way away, so far my heart sank- if I were to try, I wasn't too sure I would make it. Unless I practiced of course. There was always the 'if'.

Cameron pulled it off quickly. He almost made it look easy as he tossed the knife casually into the center painted ring, its blade cutting through the wood. I glanced around me at the others practicing but they didn't seem as good. The Careers were somewhere else and all the rest were really just beginners.

"How'd you learn this?" Zahava asked faintly, her brown eyes boring into his.

He glanced at her and shook it off with an easy shrug. "Are you underestimating me just because I'm from Six?" he teased, and she turned a bit red. I knew he was just avoiding the question but I didn't know why.

"You have got to teach us," I piped up. My fingers twitched with the possibility that I might be able to throw as good as Cameron someday. With practice. Maybe I had that skill in the inside but I hadn't let it out yet...

"Sure," Cameron said, the smoothness returning to his voice. I soon forgot about it. What did it matter, as long as he had this amazing strength and was on our team?

9/23/17