Akari Igneous- Res D2F
Jessie and I sat outside the training room, waiting for it to open. Fable was meeting with some sponsors, so Jessie was stranded without her usual bosom buddy. Me, I'd never made many close friends in the Games. At least I could say I'd never killed any of them. Jessie seemed like a pretty cool person, though. She was a bit on the timid side for someone so strong, but we all had our weakneses. I hoped she did well, honestly.
"So you're with the mean Careers, right?" Jessie asked.
"What?!" I put a hand to my chest. "First of all, you all are calling them the 'mean Careers'? And secondly, why would you assume I'm with them?"
"Well first off, you knew which ones I was talking about, didn't you?" Jessie retorted, smiling a little. "And secondly, because you're... enthusiastic."
"I guess that's a polite way to say it," I admitted. I mean, I am pretty bloodthirsty, but I'm not mean!
"Would you believe what Jessie said about my alliance?" I said to Ava when I next saw her as I was getting fitted for my interview dress.
"What, the mean Careers?" Ava asked.
"I am not in the mean Careers!" I protested. A stylist reeled back to avoid poking me in the eye with mascara.
"What, because they're mean?" Ava asked, confused.
"No, I'm totally mean! Well, not really, but I definitely would fit in more with them. I just didn't want that big of an alliance," I said.
"Oh, okay. Sounds good," Ava asked.
As I sat on a bench grabbing some water after a swordfighting session, I happened to notice Tulsi going through some acrobatic moves. I was secure enough in myself to admire talent in others, so I sat for a moment appreciating her grace.
"Oof, she's really good."
I was a little surprised Rachel would say anything. Most people thought of me as one of the mean careers, apparently. But then, outliers could be bold, too.
"I know, right?" I agreed.
"She's with one of the big Career alliances right?" Rachel asked. "Too much drama for me."
"Thank you!"
Jasmine Ashenvale- A Night to Remember
With Amphilia in the nice Careers, I needed to make new connections quick. There were a couple of ways to go about that. I could go campaigning through the training room, searching out likely suspects and trying to woo them over. I could ask Hades to help set me up with someone. I was still getting over how Hades had ended up being the one to win our Games. I'd barely spoken to him in the Capitol. No one had spoken to him- he was a little mouse. I guess there's a reason mice are still around even with the odds so against them. If I had time, maybe I'd carve him one.
There were just so many people to sift through. I decided that I'd try just practicing some skills and seeing if anyone came to me. I wanted a capable ally, after all, and any potential allies wanted the same from me.
I wasn't really an expert at throwing needles, but they were light and quick to throw. The wooden needles were heavy enough to stick in flesh and draw blood, but I wasn't sure I would really be getting a killing sort of blow. They were more to drive people off, or maybe to dip in poison. On the upside, they were easy to carry and I could make more in just about any environment. Heh, watch it be another inside Arena, I thought. What are the odds? Wouldn't Caesar just think that was hilarious, asking the Native girl about her indoor skills again? Since my people still lived in teepees and we all wore deerskin every day. I rolled my eyes with patient humor. He really did mean the best.
"That's pretty cool." Even with so many Seven Tributes, I recognized my District partner- is she really my District partner if we're not from the same Games?- Jezzebel by her confident voice and boisterous attitude. She picked up a needle and chucked it at the mannequin, hitting it in the face. "I'm something of a dart thrower myself."
"Oh, really? Neat," I said, making up for my skills in darts with my weakness in small talk.
"Yeah. Room for two in your game?" Jezzebel asked.
"This game right here, or like allies?" I asked.
"Both," Jezzebel said.
"Well then, yes. To both."
Rachel Larson- Let the Good Times Roll D5F
"Hey, ladies!" I called as I joined Jezzebel and Jasmine at the water purification station.
"Who's that with you?" Jasmine asked apprehensively.
"She followed me home," I said, sweeping my arm to introduce Akari to the alliance.
"I thought she was with the Careers," Jezzebel commented.
"No, she's cool," I said.
"I like to think so," Akari said.
"Aren't we kind of... low-level for you?" Jasmine asked.
"No, no," Akari said, waving a hand. "I've tried to big Career alliance and, well, here I am. Guess it's time for something new."
"You gonna kill us if it comes to it?" Jezzebel asked, with weirdly nonjudgmental frankness.
"You gonna kill me if it comes to it?" Akari asked.
"Fair enough," Jezzebel conceded.
"So what are you all training in?" Akari asked.
"Just brushing up on some water purification stuff," Jasmine said.
"Oh, you didn't already know that?" Akari asked.
"I knew a little, but I could use practice. We don't have much time for camping in Seven, so we usually have tap water," Jasmine explained.
"You wanna fight some?" I asked Akari.
"Really?" she asked, both skeptical and excited.
"Yeah! Sure, you'll kick my butt, but I'll learn some," I said. I wasn't afraid of a challenge. More importantly, I wasn't afraid of getting beaten up.
"You ready for this?" Akari asked as we squared off in the sparring ring.
"No, not really," I said cheerfully. Akari was half a foot taller than I was, and while I was fit from my time on the streets, Akari had the lean muscles of a panther. That, and she was already getting the glint in her eyes so many Careers got when they thought a kill was near.
"It's not too late to back out," Akari teased, flashing a smile.
"Here's the fun thing. You're still going to totally win, but when I get really mad, weird things happen sometimes..."
Jezzebel Fern- Descent into Madness D7F
The four of us sat huddled on either side of Jasmine's bed with our arms hooked over the edges, peering at each other around the glasses the increasingly unstable mass-produced painting we'd plopped facedown on the bed to serve as a table.
"Rachel's turn!" Everyone hooted as Rachel raised her glass.
"Truth or drink," I said. "Have you ever committed a crime?"
Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're going to have to be more specific," she said.
"Oooooooh," Jasmine cheered.
"Uhhh, a felony," I said.
"What am I, a lawyer? Uhh, I threw a brick through a window once. The kind of window where it was probably a felony," Rachel said discreetly, no doubt implying a government building.
"Nice," I nodded.
"Woohoo, my turn," Jasmine asked, turning to me. "Truth or drink. Who's the weirdest person you think is hot?"
I scrunched my mouth up and looked down at my glass. "You better not judge me."
"Ooooh, it's a good one," Rachel cheered.
"I'm gonna judge you," Akari commented, giggling a little. She'd tended to err on the "drink" side.
"It's usually normal people," I stalled.
"Come on, dish," Rachel prodded.
I covered my eyes. "It's president Snow."
"OOOOOOOH!" Everyone exploded into screams and shouts. Rachel dramatically threw herself down in a fake faint.
"Jezzebel likes older guys!" Jasmine hooted.
"You said you wouldn't judge!" I wailed.
"No she didn't," Akari pointed out.
"You know what? My turn," I said, my cheeks still burning. I'd been thinking of possible questions for Akari since my last turn ended with her choosing "drink", like she had every other time. I kind of just wanted her to answer a question for once.
"Truth or drink," I started, as Akari smirked from behind her already-raised glass. "What would you do if you hadn't volunteered?"
Akari chugged her glass as we all protested.
"That's not even embarrassing!" I said.
"So mysterious and edgy," Rachel teased.
"Thas my secrit," Akari slurred. "I jus really like drinkin."