"You should consider it," Sylva says.
I sigh and shake my head. "I don't know, Sylva. I'm still unsure about Bran, let alone the others."
The reaping recaps ended about two hours ago. We kept rewinding through them, trying to learn as much as we could about the other tributes. Some reapings were relatively normal, like Three and Twelve. Some were heartbreakers, like Five and Eight. District Two in particular had both of us picking our jaws up off of the ground.
After our first run, Sylva started bringing up allies, an idea I am very much unsure about. I'm not a fan of the idea of getting backstabbed as the numbers dwindle. Not to mention, I've never been very good at the whole people thing. Bran seemed to warm up to me immediately, but I doubt he's stupid enough to consider me a friend. Not when only one of us can live.
I know Sylva means well though. I humored her a bit and started taking notes on the second playthrough, notes that Sylva helped me add to based on her own knowledge and experience.
"You're already going to be a big target, Amber," Sylva explains. "If you can't beat them, join them. The Careers are probably out, but there are other alliances to be had."
I think on it for a moment. Sylva does have a point. My status as a legacy tribute will get me a lot of sponsors, but I will definitely be a target. Allies will probably help with the latter, but still, the idea of working with someone and constantly having to look over my shoulder isn't exactly appealing.
Then again, neither is being a tribute.
"I'll tell you what," I sigh. "Same deal I gave Bran. I'll scope out any potential allies in training and go from there, but if I don't find anyone I like, I go this alone."
Sylva nods. "Alright. That sounds like a fair deal. Just…keep an open mind, okay?"
"I'll try my best. I'm going to go over my notes a couple more times if that's alright."
Sylva smiles. "Alright, you do that. Do you need anything?"
"I'm okay for now. Just come get me when it's dinnertime, please?"
Sylva chuckles. "Of course. I'm going to go check on the boys. Let me know if you need my help."
She departs the room and I am left with a notebook and my thoughts. On a whim, I decide to make a copy of my notes for Bran. It's the least I can do for him after turning down coaching together. Until training though, this will be all I do for him
I begin looking the pages over and carefully copy them over to another page.
District One
Jacinth Chaney (18) and Bronze Carlton (18)
Usual District One volunteers. Will probably get sponsors for looks. Bronze is good-looking in an intelligent way, and Jacinth makes a buzz cut work. (Also goes by Jax.) Bronze = Brains, Jacinth = Brawn. Confirm this in training.
They hugged on stage. Definitely close. Good or bad thing, time will tell.
Sylva told me that Career districts tried to avoid putting friends and siblings in the Games together. Apparently, it is a distraction from winning. Sometimes, though, the pair in question are too good not to put into the arena. It just goes to show how dangerous they will be. If I am forced to kill one of them, I can only hope the other doesn't see me do it.
District Two - STAY AWAY!
Camdyn Gloriana (18) and Nero Mortis (17)
Camdyn isn't really happy to be there. Seems almost solemn. Adrian…hold on.
Another kid tried to volunteer. They're fighting now. HE JUST SLAMMED ADRIAN'S HEAD INTO THE STAGE!?
New volunteer is Nero Mortis. How he got away with that is beyond me. (Note from Sylva: Two likes their murderers.) Camdyn is not happy. Possible personality clash.
Possible personality clash may be the understatement of the year. It's hard to tell from the Reaping, but Camdyn doesn't seem as bloodthirsty as most Careers. Nero, on the other hand, beat the chosen volunteer to a pulp, and as soon as he got ahold of the microphone, told the nation his grand plan to kill all of the outliers. Camdyn, on the other hand, stood back, absolutely furious with her new district partner.
District Three
Emily Wren (16) and Xander Browning (15)
Emily is wearing a lab coat. Definitely smart if a sixteen-year-old is wearing a lab coat. Watch her in training. Xander has some muscle. Probably a bodybuilder. Has a burn scar covering half of his face. Definitely tough.
The Threes look like they might have a shot. Even if they didn't, I'd still be a bit worried. All four of their victors came out of nowhere. I'm not so sure about allying with them though. The Threes have gone down early every year since Alan Turin won five years ago. The Careers didn't take kindly to losing to a terminally ill boy, and that grudge outlived him. I'm already a big enough target as it is.
District Four
Brooke Hawker (18) and Dashiell Lake (18)
District Four trying to replicate success with Finnick. Trying too hard. Will definitely get sponsors for their looks, but unlike last time, everyone will have a pretty good idea of what they are capable of. There will never be another Finnick Odair.
District Four is in the spotlight this year because of Finnick Odair. Finnick was reaped and the boy who was supposed to replace him failed to show up. His district partner took him into the alliance out of pity, which turned out to be a fatal mistake. The other tributes underestimated him…and then he got that trident. I don't know why they're trying to replicate Finnick. Career or not, if it works, I'll be too dead to be impressed.
District Five
Wendy Porter (13) and Urban Porter (13)
Twins. This one is a heartbreaker. Both of them were crying on stage. I feel horrible for their family. These two are too young and definitely underfed. I really hate to say this, but they won't last long…
I audibly gasped when Wendy's name was called. It's always awful when siblings go into the Games. It's even worse when they are this young. To make matters worse, the Capitol cut to the family sobbing to add to the drama. I consider myself so very lucky that I had no male relatives my age. I couldn't imagine going into the arena with Sunny.
District Six
Giemci Weldon (15) and Lincoln Turner (17)
Lincoln looks strong and well-fed. Announcers said he was an athlete and won some trophies. Giemci looks smaller and she's hiding behind her hair. She's playing the shy angle and she's doing a good job. Better keep an eye on her.
Lincoln is the first person on my "maybe an ally if I look for allies" list. I did fairly well in the sports that I entered in, nowhere near as good as Sunny, but I have a couple bronze medals. I don't know much about conversation starters but I think that qualifies. I can't get a good read on Giemci though. I would like to know more about her, but if Lincoln wants to ally and he and Giemci are a package deal, I'll consider it.
District Seven
Decida Harding (16) and Cedar Warwick (18)
Both strong. Probably lumberjacks. District Seven doesn't have the best luck with the Games, but maybe this time will be different. Cedar has a scar on his face. That will come up in interviews. Will watch these two during training.
Decida and Cedar are also on the potential allies list, but I'll have to be careful. District Seven tributes have the stereotype of being deadly and good with axes, so unless they are a pampered rich kid or a twelve-year-old, they are usually Career targets.
Career targets… What am I even doing? Why am I being overly careful about not surrounding myself with targets when I'm one myself? Victor, fifth place, second place, my family has usually done well in the Games. Not to mention I am stronger than most girls from Nine. Suddenly, I'm more open to the idea of having allies. If we're strong enough to hold our own against the Career pack, then we might have a shot of getting one of us home.
Bran's comment echoes in my mind. We could be the anti-Careers or something!
That might not be such a bad idea…
I continue through my notes with a renewed purpose. I'm still not sold on allies, but I'm not sold on the idea of dying either.
District Eight
Chanel Gibson (15) and Krystian Berg (14)
Chanel is very sick. Possibly tuberculosis. She will likely get treatment in Capitol so she doesn't die before the Games begin, but she will still be weakened. Krystian is thin, probably a street urchin. Likely has some survival skills though from living alone.
I know that these two are doomed. Even if the Capitol can treat Chanel, she will be so weak she may not even be able to train. Krystian has a better chance if he can avoid combat entirely and focus solely on survival. Strategies like that have worked in the past, but unless the tribute in question is particularly impressive, it can very easily end in mutts.
District Nine
Amber Reeves (18) and Bran Crawford (14)
Thanks, Claudius Templesmith, for running your mouth and telling the world how deadly I might be because of my mother. Make the target on my back bigger. That's perfectly fine. They barely talked about Bran. Now I feel bad.
The announcers were quite thrilled about a volunteer from Nine. That excitement only grew once they recognized me. They would not stop talking about strong I will probably be and how my mother and sister both did so well in their Games'. Sylva warned me that what I did could be considered rebellious. I'll definitely have to watch what I say or do from here on out. As for Bran, they didn't even give him three full sentences. To the Capitol, it's all about the legacy tribute. Her district partner is fading into the background.
Why do I get the feeling he'd be okay with that?
District Ten
Jenny Palomino (17) and Drake Montez (18)
Both relatively healthy. We're getting a lot of those this year. Jenny is smaller and she was clearly shaken. Drake is very fit and kind of handsome. He seems friendly enough. Gave Jenny a reassuring smile when they shook friends. Jenny seemed a bit more confident after that.
I can definitely see these two as potential allies as well. Drake clearly respects his district partner, giving her the confidence boost he did. I can definitely see those two allying. Drake seems kind now, but there's only so much you can tell from a reaping. Jenny, on the other hand, will likely be more comfortable around him, but beyond that, I can't read her very well. I do know that if they ally, they will likely be a package deal.
District Eleven
Belladonna Harper (18) and Harvey Lyons (15)
Belladonna is in a prison uniform. Concerning. Harvey is clearly scared of her. When they shook hands, it looks like she purposely dug his fingernails into his hand. Drew blood. It's dripping on stage. Yikes.
I am not allying with Belladonna. I can see her and Nero getting along…had Nero not declared a crusade against anyone who had the audacity to be born in a district that's not One, Two, or Four. They can definitely relate to each other in the Let's Deliberately Injure Someone At The Reaping department. As for Harvey, I don't know yet. I pity him, but I can't start taking in random kids because I pity them. I can't have them dragging me down, and I can't give them false hope that I'd be able to protect them.
District Twelve
Bridgeteri Earhart (16) and Atticus Gatsby (18)
Relatively normal for a District Twelve reaping. Girl is relatively well-fed. Blonde hair, blue eyes, covered in dirt. Gardener maybe? Boy looks to be from what Twelve calls the Seam. He's covered in coal dust too, probably a miner. Look out for pickaxe skills.
My notes said relatively normal, but District Twelve is among the most normal reaping ceremony this year. The girl seems average for someone from Twelve. Sylva said that she was likely from a merchant family. There's something about the boy that doesn't sit right with me though.
I decide to make a note of who I'm not teaming up with and work my way backwards from there. The Careers are definitely out. Even if Nero were to spontaneously combust in the bloodbath, who knows what the dynamics of the alliance will be? Historically, Career district partners tend to try and protect each other, but it will be more extreme in the case of the Ones, and the Twos clearly despise each other. I honestly can't wait to see how this goes down in training, but I will be doing so from a distance. The other hard no is Belladonna.
The Threes, Sixes, Sevens, and Tens are all on the list of potential allies. I know for a fact that getting them all will be impossible. An alliance of ten is just too large, and yes, Bran is included in that count. I'm still on the fence, but I'm now leaning toward accepting his offer. I can't just make all these alliances and not include him. He's already proven he has at least one useful skill. As for the other potential allies, the Gamemakers would never allow an alliance consisting of nearly half the players to exist in an event meant to divide the districts. We'd lose a few in the bloodbath for sure, and mutts would definitely be around to rip us apart, both physically and metaphorically. I'll need to pick and choose who to ally with, and I need backup plans in case those choices say no.
With my plan in place, I put the finishing touches on my notes and head to the other room. Rycin and Bran go silent upon seeing me enter, but Rycin gives me a smile. "Hey, Amber. What's up?"
I walk over and hand Bran the piece of paper. "My notes from the Reaping," I say. "Find me when training starts. We can talk alliances then."
Bran looks shocked for a moment, but his face quickly lights up. "Sure thing, Ames."
I was going back and forth about naming all of the tributes, but I ultimately decided to go for it. I wanted to come up with a way of introducing the tributes in a unique way, and I figured that Amber going over her notes from the Reaping recaps was a good way of doing so. This chapter also marks a change where Amber starts to become more open to allies. She's still relatively anti-social and paranoid, so she's not entirely sold on the idea, but she's also realized that there are a lot of strong contenders, and having a relatively large alliance would help more than hurt. We'll see how that goes for her.
I also decided to give another victor a cameo. To explain, Alan Turin was terminally ill, but still well enough to be able to win his Games. Unfortunately, despite the Capitol's best efforts, he did wind up succumbing to his illness.