Winona Espero, 17

District 6 Female

Despite the long train ride and the chaos of the parade, I slept poorly. The bed was almost too soft, trying to absorb me into the squishy mattress. I was much more used to the lumpy cot back in my crappy apartment in District 6. But anticipation and excitement for training were enough to get me up.

Some time during the night, someone had left clothes on my dresser. Each district had a color, and ours was apparently lime green. Black leggings, black sneakers, and a black jacket with lime green stripes down the arms were all folded on top of the dresser, along with a matching lime tank top and comfortable undergarments. I quickly got dressed before heading out for breakfast.

Ronald was already at the table, a stack of fluffy pancakes on his plate. My dad made me pancakes once, for my tenth birthday. They weren't that color, and they were lumpy, but I appreciated them all the same. I was a different person back then.

Axel greeted me quietly as I sat down next to him. The guy was my age, but seemed so much more sheltered. And yet, he'd been through the Hunger Games. He had strength, and I could respect that.

An Avox set a plate of pancakes down in front of me as Hestia joined us at the table. She had a steaming cup of coffee in her hand and a bright smile on her face.

"Good morning!" she sang. Axel returned the sentiment, but the rest of us stayed quiet. Even Journey only offered a nod.

But it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. She just chattered on and on about how her Capitol friends loved our parade outfits, and how she already had some sponsors lining up. The sponsor thing was nice to hear, but if my plan succeeded, we'd have the Cornucopia by the time the bloodbath was over.

"Oh, look at the time!" Hestia finally gasped. "Quick, to the elevator!" I rolled my eyes but left my half-eaten stack of pancakes. I was full anyway. I guess I wasn't used to this much food.

Hestia ushered Ronald and I into the elevator and pressed a button with a 'G' on it. As the doors slid shut, she gave us a thumbs up.

"Good luck!"

We rode down in silence, and when the doors opened, Ronald and I stepped out into a massive gymnasium. A tall, thin man with purple hair was standing in front of a crowd of tributes, and an Avox by the elevator gestured for us to join the group.

The pair from 11 arrived shortly after, and then the man began his speech. He introduced himself as Atticus and went over a list of rules. Basically just no fighting and no wandering off. Then he released us.

Ronald immediately left my side, heading towards the hand-to-hand combat station. The Careers joined up in a huddle, and I went to stand near the water fountains, where I'd have a good view of the entire gym.

I had a mental list of tributes I wanted to talk to. Evelyne from 3 had a reason to dislike the Careers, as Mozu Striker killed Evelyne's girlfriend to win her Games. And Kerra from 10 seemed quite strong. The tributes from 7 were usually a good bet too, since they were very likely to have experience with axes.

The pair from 7 was over at the shelter-building station, so I headed their way. I settled onto the stool next to Jackson as the green-haired trainer began to explain the basics of creating a stable base for a teepee shelter. When he finished his lecture and left us to try it out for ourselves, I turned to the boy, holding out a hand.

"Hi, I'm Winona," I said. He hesitantly shook my hand.

"Jackson," he said. "This is Ebony." The tall girl smiled and winked.

"I've got a game-changing idea," I told them. "And I was hoping you'd be interested in an alliance?" Ebony grinned and slung an arm over Jackson's shoulder.

"I'm always down for a bit of fun," she giggled. I smiled too.

"Perfect."

Lumine Bellerose, 18

District 1 Female

I laced my fingers together nervously as the head trainer went over the rules of the training center. Adonis was by my side, a content smile on his face. I was resisting the urge to tug on my hair, a bad habit I'd formed as a young teen. But my district partner and ally seemed totally confident, and I tried to draw strength from him. While I wasn't exactly afraid, I was nervous. I wasn't the most social person, especially with strangers, and I wanted the other Careers to like me.

Once Atticus released us, the girl from 2 walked over to Adonis and I with a smile. The ends of her braids were still purple, and she had them all tied up in a big knot at the back of her head.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully, holding out a hand to Adonis. "I'm Billie."

"Adonis," he said, shaking her hand firmly. When she turned to me, I smiled and shook her hand as well.

"I'm Lumine. Your hair is beautiful."

"Oh, thank you!" Billie gasped, looking a little startled. "Yours is too! The cut really suits you."

I felt a blush spread across my cheeks.

"Thank you."

"Are we done fawning over each other now?" a new voice cut in. We all turned to see Mira with her arms crossed over her chest. "We've got important things to discuss."

"Sure," Adonis agreed. "What's up?"

Looking annoyed by his cheerfulness, Mira approached Adonis.

"Marino was reaped. Are we going to be a pack of five, or are we going to let him join us?"

"A pack of four," Billie said. We all turned to her. "Sorry to interrupt, but Spartan… he won't be allying with us."

"Why?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Because you are weak."

I jumped a little, as the voice came from behind me. Spartan was looming over me, a fierce expression on his scarred face.

"A true Career wouldn't be afraid to face the arena alone. Relying on each other just proves you aren't worthy of participating in this great event."

Mira rolled her eyes.

"Blah blah blah. You're a macho man. We get it. If you aren't joining us, why don't you run along and play." She made a shooing motion with her hand and all of Spartan's muscles tightened up. He looked ready to throw himself at Mira.

"We understand and respect your choice," I butt in. "Thank you for being honest, and we wish you the best of luck in the arena." Spartan huffed at that, but chose to stalk off.

"So, does that mean I'm in?" the teal-haired boy from 4 said. He'd wandered over to us at some point during Spartan's lecture. He had pale makeup on that complimented the light blue accents on his training uniform and a friendly smile.

"Fine by me," Adonis said, clapping him on the back. Marino's smile widened. "Now, shall we explore?"

With an arm over his shoulder, Adonis led Marino off towards the sword station. Mira's eyes flicked between me and Billie and then she was off too, snatching up a spear and taking aim.

"What would you like to work on first?" Billie asked. I bit my lip. My main weapon was a bow, but I was decent with knives and rapiers. I had been planning to hide my skills with a bow until the private sessions. But would that deceit make Billie and the others distrust me? Befriending my allies was high on my list of priorities.

In a quick moment, I decided to stick to my original plan. I could still be friendly while having a few tricks up my sleeve. And it would be naive to think that my allies didn't have secrets of their own.

"Knives?" I suggested. "They're quite versatile."

"Sounds good," Billie said. She linked her arm through mine and we set off across the gymnasium.

Jeff Tyler, 15

District 8 Male

By the time the bell rang for lunch, I was sweaty and sore. I'd spent the morning on the obstacle course and I was thoroughly tired out. Being from District 8, I didn't have much of a reason to exercise… nor did I have the time. The girl from 12 had been running the course too, and she'd actually been quite decent. Maybe she would make a good ally…

I joined the lunch line right behind her, waiting for my turn to be served a delicious-smelling stew. Once an Avox spooned some into my bowl and gave me a few buttery rolls, I turned to find a place to sit.

The Careers had already claimed the center table, where they were chatting and laughing. The boy from 2 was sitting in the corner, glaring at them. In the other corner was the pair from 12. I took a deep breath and walked over to them.

"May I join you?" I asked. Beria nodded, so I took a seat across from her.

"You're Jeff, right?" Jonathan asked. I nodded.

"That's me."

"You were pretty good on the obstacle course," he said. I smiled.

"Thanks."

"I was wondering if either of you were interested in an alliance?" I asked. Beria frowned.

"I'm not sure if I want allies," she admitted. I nodded.

"Totally understandable. But if you decide you do, the offer still stands."

"I'd love to ally," Jonathan said. "I think we could work well together." I grinned.

"I think so too."

After an Avox came by to clear our plates away, we walked back out into the gymnasium.

"So, what do you want to work on?" Jonathan asked. "Weapons?"

I bit my lip, suddenly worried about my answer.

"I don't want to learn to use a weapon," I admitted. "I just… I'd prefer to focus on survival skills." I glanced nervously at Jonathan, but to my surprise, he looked relieved.

"I feel the same way. I lost my mom when I was younger and I just can't bring myself to put someone else through that pain."

I nodded and placed a hand on Jonathan's shoulder.

"I'm sorry about your mom. I lost my best friend when I was nine, which is obviously different from losing a parent, but I understand the sentiment. We won't practice with weapons."

Jonathan nodded, and then, to my surprise, pulled me into a quick hug.

"Thanks," he said. Then he pulled back and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So… shall we work on edible plants?" I gave him a thumbs up.

Hugo Firewall, 14

District 3 Male

I'd spent all morning at the traps station, and now that lunch was over, I was fighting the temptation to return. I made a pretty impressive little spider that the trainer had complimented me on, and it was where I felt most comfortable. In a scary situation such as this, my instinct was to seek out comfort.

But on the train, Beetee explained that the arena was much more likely to be natural, since last year's arena was a junkyard. Stations that focused on survival skills would probably be more beneficial in the long run. And my desire to survive was stronger than my desire for comfort.

The water sanitation station was free of tributes, so I made my way over. The trainer smiled when she saw me and straightened up in her seat.

"Did you know it only takes two or three days for dehydration to kill you?" she said cheerfully.

"I do now," I mumbled, a little unnerved by her excitement.

"Well, as long as you're resourceful, it probably won't come to that."

She dove into a detailed explanation of how to find water in a regular forest biome, and how to effectively filter it to prevent disease and infection. When she pulled out a water filter, an idea popped into my head.

"Could I… could I take that apart?"

The trainer blinked at me.

"What? Why?" she asked.

"I want to see how it works, and if I can build one."

"Could you really do that?" a new voice asked. I startled a little, turning to see the small girl from 11 standing behind me. Her eyes were wide.

"Yeah, I think so." I ducked my head awkwardly, uncomfortable with her eager gaze.

"That is so cool!" she exclaimed, climbing onto the stool next to me. "You must be a genius."

I smiled awkwardly. Back at home, people rarely called me a genius. And strangers never did. No one but Perry and my parents showed an interest in my skills. It was nice to be considered smart.

"I invent things," I told her as she settled in beside me. "Back at home, I have lots of machines that help me do things."

"Wow!" Ruby gasped. "I like to create things too, but your stuff sounds way more awesome."

"What do you make?" I asked. She smiled, a little sadly.

"I like to sew," she said. "It's pretty simple, but it's fun."

We continued to chat as I fiddled with the water purifier. It didn't seem too complicated to make, if I had the right parts. The issue was going to be acquiring the parts. Finally satisfied, I put the contraption back down and turned to Ruby. To my surprise, she looked sad.

"You definitely stand a better chance in the arena than I do," she mumbled. "You can do amazing things.

"It all depends on the situation," I pointed out. For some reason, I felt the need to comfort her. She'd been kind to me, and so I should be kind to her, right?

"If someone is injured, you could stitch them up. I couldn't do that."

"I guess…"

We sat in silence for a few more moments before Ruby poked my arm.

"Hey," she said. "Want to be allies?" I smiled.

"Yeah. I'd like that."

Victor Fry, 12

District 10 Male

I sighed in frustration as my fire collapsed… again. Every time I took my hands off of it, it fell apart. I was playing it up a bit, but fires had never been my strong suit. With a huff, I nudged the sticks and stuck out my lower lip in a pout.

Just as I'd hoped, the boy from 7 seemed to notice my plight and came over. He'd been working on his own fire, and had a small blaze going within a few minutes. He also seemed very friendly and open. The perfect ally.

"Need some help?" he asked. I looked up at him with a sad expression.

"Yes please."

He crouched down beside me and began to pick up the sticks.

"I'm Jackson, by the way."

"I'm Victor."

"Nice to meet you. I think your issue is that you're stacking them too high. They need to lean against each other, not balance on their ends." He began to rework the stack while I watched, creating a tent shape that supported the kindling much better.

"Thanks," I said when he was done. "I wish I had people like you to help me when I was little."

"You're welcome," Jackson said. "And I can't imagine you have to build many fires in 10. It's warm there, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I said. "But it's not just that. I didn't have supportive people in my life as a kid. My parents died when I was little and the orphanage in 10 was run by a really awful woman. A girl there even died because of her neglect."

"That's awful," Jackson said. I nodded.

"I was lucky though. I got adopted three years ago. But now… well, there's no way I can survive the Games."

"There's always a chance," Jackson said. He put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Younger kids have won before and I don't think you should be counted out."

"Thanks," I said, pretending to sniffle a little.

"Hey," Jackson said after a moment. "Would you want to be allies? I'm already allied with Winona and my district partner Ebony, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind you joining us."

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from grinning. Kind people were just too easy. They'd do anything for a kid with a sob story.

"I'm allied with Kerra, my district partner, so I will have to ask her," I told him. "I think she'll say yes though. Maybe we can all meet up tomorrow morning to discuss stuff?"

"Good idea," Jackson said. "And Victor? I'll do my very best to keep you safe in the arena."

"Thank you," I said. Then I leaned forward and hugged him, finally allowing the smile to slip out.

After he released me, Jackson went back to explaining the basics of building a fire, but I tuned him out. With Jackson, Ebony, Winona and Kerra on my side, I'd practically have my own entourage. And they'd all die to keep me safe. After all, who could resist a little freckled orphan?

Hey everyone! Here is the first day of training! I spent a lot of time on this chapter and I'm pretty proud of how it came out, so please leave a review and let me know your thoughts! Alliances are beginning to form, friendships are blossoming, and rivalries are beginning to fester... Exciting! I'll post a proper alliance list next chapter, since things are still developing here.

Questions:

1) Did your impression of any of these tributes change?

2) Whose POV was your favorite and why?

3) What would your weapon of choice be?

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

- Fiona