Dakota Grangerford, 12

District 9 Female

Training Day 1

To say Dakota was dreading training was an understatement. The parade had been bad enough; the eyes of every single person in Panem were on her. Though she had to admit that she looked nice. Draco was a good stylist. She'd worn a golden gown with a crown of wheat, and her wheelchair had been decorated in glittering gold ribbons. She definitely made an impact.

But did she want that? While Maddox told her to fight, a big part of her wanted to just let the Careers kill her in the bloodbath. What was the point of trying? She wasn't going to win.

The elevator came to a stop and Zeke gave her a nervous glance.

"Good luck," he said with an awkward smile. Dakota just nodded as the doors slid open. She wheeled herself into a large gymnasium with wooden floors and bright fluorescent lights. White tables were set up all around the room, as well as racks of weapons and mats for training. In the corner there were targets and dummies for bows and thrown weapons.

A guy with purple hair rushed over to her and Zeke, standing in front of them so they couldn't proceed.

"Welcome 9!" he said in a hurried voice. "We need to go over a couple of rules before you're allowed to train. Rule 1; stay in this room. If you need to use the bathroom, a trainer can direct you. And Rule 2; you cannot fight with other tributes. Understood?" Zeke and Dakota nodded, and he grinned.

"Perfect! Now, go explore!"

Zeke immediately went to the weapon's area, but Dakota hesitated. Where on earth was she supposed to go? What skills would be useful for a malnourished kid in a wheelchair?

"Hi," someone said, coming up beside her. Dakota turned to see the large boy from 10. He had red hair and lots of freckles, and his shoulders were massive. He was definitely strong.

"Hi," Dakota said curtly before scanning the stations again, trying to ignore him. But he wasn't deterred.

"Do you want to throw knives with me?" She turned to stare at him. Why was he being friendly? Did he pity her? Did he think she would be an easy kill because of her disability? But he looked surprisingly sincere. Without thinking, Dakota answered.

"Sure."

He didn't try to push her wheelchair, which she appreciated. He just kept pace with her, a smile on his face.

"My name is Mars," he told her.

"I'm Dakota," she said. "Why did you want to throw knives with me?"

Mars was quiet for a moment.

"My little brother is 13. He lost part of his left leg and his right foot in an accident as a kid, so he's in a wheelchair too. You reminded me of him. And everyone deserves to be treated with kindness, regardless."

Dakota just stared at him. Like before, he seemed genuinely sincere. She knew people who pretended to be nice, and she knew people who forced themselves to be nice, or were only nice to get something. She'd never met anyone who was nice just because.

She must have looked skeptical because Mars dropped his smile.

"Sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable," he said quietly. And for some strange reason, Dakota felt the need to reassure him.

"You're not," she told him. "I just have no idea how to throw knives."

"And that's what I'm here for!" the blonde trainer said, waving at them. Mars started smiling again.

After a morning of throwing knives, Dakota was starving. She'd picked up a few good techniques, but her arm and back were aching. The trainer had said that for someone with her condition, she was doing surprisingly well. She felt both appreciated and insulted.

She and Mars sat at a small table in the corner of the room, silently eating beef stew. Dakota had never eaten such a hardy, delicious meal in her life, and judging by Mars's expression, he hadn't either.

Mars only spoke once they both finished their stew. He set his spoon down and looked at Dakota. She waited for him to speak, eyes on him."

"Dakota, do you want to be allies?"

"What?" she asked, completely shocked. A part of her still suspected Mars was being nice out of pity, or because of some strange personal obligation.

"I'd like to have you as an ally," Mars repeated, chewing on his lower lip. Dakota hesitantly nodded.

"Um, sure."

Mars smiled broadly at that, giving a little fist pump, which made Dakota giggle. She covered her mouth after, stunned by the noise she just created. Mars was still smiling though.

"So, ally," he said. "Do you want to learn about edible plants while I work on fires and shelter building?"

"Sounds good… ally."

Indigo Li, 13

District 8 Female

Training Day 2

Training had been… interesting so far. Indigo was excelling at making traps, but she hadn't changed stations since training began. She was telling herself it was because she wanted to master trap-making, but she knew the truth. She was scared. Scared of failing. Scared of dying.

Having an ally would have made her feel a lot better, but no one had approached her, and she felt like no one would want her if she approached them. Keith was the only person who had offered, but he was a crybaby, so Indigo said no. Now she was sort of regretting her choice.

She finished up her snare and got up, scanning the group of tributes. By tomorrow, most people would have already established alliances. It was now or never. She decided to approach the girl from 7 first, who was practicing with hatchets. She was tall and thin, with thickly-braided black hair and warm brown skin. Her name was Jasmine.

Indigo hovered nearby for a few moments, watching her throw. She didn't hit the bullseye every time, but every throw stuck. Indigo cleared her throat and Jasmine turned around.

"Um, hi," she said. "Can I help you?"

"You're pretty good with those," Indigo said, casually nodding to the hatchet in her hand. Jasmine narrowed her eyes, but thanked her. Indigo took a deep breath.

"Is there any chance you're looking for an alliance?" she said, putting a hand on her hip and trying to look cool. Jasmine raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, I don't ally with babies," she said. Indigo stepped back.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she snapped. "I didn't realize I left my pacifier in. Would you like it? Because you're being more of a baby then I am." She mimed taking something out of her mouth and offered it to Jasmine, who snorted and rolled her eyes before turning her back to Indigo.

Grumbling, Indigo stepped away. She was about to give up and go back to the trap station when a pale girl with blonde hair and bright green eyes hurried over to her. She was a bit on the chubby side, but she looked friendly. Indigo recognized her as the girl from 12.

"Hi," the girl said nervously. "I'm Blythe. Your name is Indigo, right?" She nodded, and Blythe smiled.

"Cool! I like your name a lot."

"I like yours too," Indigo said. Blythe bobbed her head in thanks.

"I saw you working on traps, and you're really good." Blythe was twisting her fingers together nervously. "Would you want to be allies?"

Indigo grinned.

"Absolutely!"

Prince Middleton, 17

District 1 Male

Training Day 3

Everyone Prince knew was upset with him. His parents, Maia, Ali, his mentor Gleam, and now, his district partner Queenie. Apparently she and Elijah trained together for years, and now she was blaming every small thing on Prince.

She missed a spear throw? "Prince was hovering!" He got a bigger lunch than her? "Elijah wasn't such a pig." And it was rubbing off on the other Careers. Tulio, the boy from 4, was the only one being nice to him. Maybe because his district partner wasn't in their alliance.

Lazuli from 4 was a reaped tribute, and she'd never been trained. Naturally, the Careers couldn't accept her. Instead, Ada, who had made herself the designated leader, recruited Iago, the boy from 12. He was big, bigger than Prince, and was apparently deadly with a pickaxe.

Prince was hoping he would fit into the Career Pack. Sure, he expected there to be a few bumps, but nothing like this. On the surface, he was their ally. But he had a bad feeling that if you looked a little deeper, it would be clear that he'd be the first to go.

Lunch was always awkward. Ada bossed everyone around, Cadmus told dumb jokes that only Tulio laughed at, and Iago and Queenie flirted shamelessly. The only time they weren't all over each other they were staring murderously at Prince.

It made him anxious for the Games to begin. Once they were in the arena, everyone's focus would shift from him to the other contenders, like Jasmine, Nikolas, and the pair from 6. She was talented with a bow and he was getting good with an ax.

Finally, they were all called away for their private sessions. Prince stood by the door while everyone else sat down in district and gender order. Tulio gave him a thumbs-up as an invisible loudspeaker announced his name.

A metal door slid open and Prince stepped inside. It immediately slammed shut behind him, and he found himself in a smaller version of the training gym. Twelve Gamemakers sat on a balcony, notebooks at the ready. Prince bowed slightly before beginning.

Prince's preferred weapon was a sword. It was a simple choice, he knew, but it was quite a versatile weapon. He stepped up to a training dummy and began to hack away. He carved up three dummies and was working on a fourth before a timer went off, startling him. Sweat dripping from his forehead, he glanced up at the Gamemakers, who were taking notes and chatting amongst themselves. A tall woman with golden eyes and braided black hair stood up.

"You are dismissed," she said. Prince put his sword away and bowed once more before leaving.

Hey everyone! Here is the next Hopeless chapter; training! I split up the three POVs into three days of training so we didn't have multiple chapters featuring the same thing. Also, I realized I never posted the full tribute list, so I'll do that here.

Questions:

1) Does Mars seem like a good ally for Dakota?

2) What did you think of Indigo's comeback?

3) Do you think Prince is right to worry about the Careers ganging up on him?

Tributes (tributes in italics are featured tributes)

District 1 Male: Prince Middleton, 17
District 1 Female: Queenie Barbour, 18

District 2 Male: Cadmus Banner, 18
District 2 Female: Ada Stone, 18

District 3 Male: Bo Sanderson, 15
District 3 Female: Tessa Hurst, 15

District 4 Male: Tulio Waters, 17
District 4 Female: Lazuli Aguado, 16

District 5 Male: Nikolas Lopez, 18
District 5 Female: Nina Jones, 13

District 6 Male: Nero Smith, 18
District 6 Female: Raven Cardwell, 16

District 7 Male: Elliott Clarke, 18
District 7 Female: Jasmine Hooper, 15

District 8 Male: Keith Burton, 12
District 8 Female: Indigo Li, 13

District 9 Male: Ezekiel Miller, 15
District 9 Female: Dakota Grangerford, 12

District 10 Male: Mars Szalinski, 17
District 10 Female: Moira Wurth, 15

District 11 Male: Quincy Addams, 16
District 11 Female: Millie Greene, 15

District 12 Male: Iago Moore, 18
District 12 Female: Blythe Pruitt, 14

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

- Fiona