TW: Bullying and swearing

My knife bounces off the target once again and I growl in frustration. The trainer ditched me a while back in favor of Jacinth. Thankfully, I think I showed enough mettle with the scythes and sickles earlier that the Gamemakers and any other tributes who care know that I have skills. I'm just learning new ones while waiting for the opportunity to put my plan into action.

And failing hard. Mom could do this. Why can't you?

A sudden sense of frustration drives my next knife hilt first against the target with a loud thud. "Well, that'd stun them, if that helps at all." I jump at the voice behind me and whip around to find Drake casually twirling a knife in his hands. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." He smiles at me and lowers his knife before offering his hand. "I'm Drake, District Ten. And you're Amber, right? From District Nine?"

I stare at the hand for a moment as this gesture completely catches me off guard. I quickly recollect myself before this becomes awkward and accept the handshake. "The one and only."

Drake smiles and motions to my throwing hand. "May I?"

I reluctantly nod. He takes it and carefully places the knife into it. "Your wrist angle is off." He adjusts my hand and points me towards the target. "It also helps if you place your weight on your dominant leg and keep it perpendicular to your arm." Once he finishes setting me up, he steps back. "Go ahead and give it a try. Swing your arm straight down when you throw." I nod, take a deep breath, and throw the knife. It spins a few times before piercing the target. It's not a fatal throw, but at least it stuck this time.

I look over to Drake. "Thanks. How do you know how to throw knives?"

Drake shrugs and smiles. "Worked at a slaughterhouse. Occasionally I'd get bored and throw knives into the wall."

"That's…actually a pretty smart pastime."

Drake laughs. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"I have an alliance going with my district partner," I say suddenly. "Would you…maybe like to join?"

Drake nods. "Sure, as long as-"

There's suddenly a loud crash and a cry of pain from the archery station. I turn towards the commotion and-

Hell no!

I instantly start running towards Bran. He's sprawled out on the ground, surrounded by arrows that had spilled from a knocked-over rack. Nero is towering over him. "I told you to get out of my way, you outer-district rat!"

Bran slowly sits up, groaning as he does. "I wasn't even in your way, asshole!"

Nero raises his foot to kick Bran back down and I immediately throw myself between them. "Touch him again, Two," I snarl. "I don't care if it's against the rules. I'll knock your teeth out." Drake joins me rather quickly, helping Bran to his feet.

"Move, Nine. I'm not done yet."

"Yes, you are," Drake snaps, giving Nero a white-hot stare. "Or are you too chicken to take on someone your size?"

Nero's face turns bright red and pure rage fills his features. "Shut up! You're both probably just like every other outlier in this damn country. Sniveling, underhanded, weaklings!"

"That's high and mighty coming from the guy who had to sucker punch someone just to be able to volunteer," I retort.

This must strike a nerve because Nero raises his fist. "You fucking-"

I put up my fists, more than ready to throw hands with this boy when another voice cuts through the tension. "Nero, that's enough!"

Bronze is standing next to us, his arms crossed in disapproval. Jax and the Fours look bored while Camdyn just looks done.

"I don't think it is, Bronze," Nero snarls. "Did you hear what she just said?"

"I heard her loud and clear. It's not worth getting yourself in trouble over, considering that it's partially true."

Nero looks like he wants to get even angrier but can't seem to find the methodology for doing so. Peacekeepers are coming, probably to break up the fight and I realize that this is my chance. I put on my best apologetic face and turn to Bronze. "Thank you, Bronze. I do have some bad news though. I thought about it and I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your offer. After this little display, I'm not sure how much I can trust any of you."

This gets Nero to freeze for a moment. The rage on his face melts into confusion. "What offer?"

I ignore him and continue. "Besides, you've already got Belladonna and Atticus. I'd honestly just be extra muscle you don't need."

Bronze's stone-cold expression begins to waver, and I can see the bewildered disapproval form in his eyes.

Nero's eyes go wide. "Wait, what does she mean by-" The Peacekeepers arrive and grab Nero. "Bronze, what the hell is she on about?"

Nero is taken away by Peacekeepers. Bronze doesn't answer. He just looks at me with a mixture of disappointment and exasperation before shaking his head and walking away with a frustrated sigh. Jax throws her hands into the air in frustration and follows. "Thanks a lot, Nine."

"You're welcome," I say before allowing myself to be led away by two other peacekeepers, with Bran and Drake close behind. I nearly miss the subtle grin on Camdyn's face as we leave the area. She catches my eye and mouths. "Good job," before going to rejoin her allies, probably in an attempt to figure out how to "salvage" the situation. Given how much she seems to despise Nero, I don't think she'd miss him too much if he left the Careers. We probably just did her a favor. She definitely wouldn't have to deal with him for the rest of the day. Nero will be taken back to his floor and confined to his room until tomorrow, the standard punishment for fighting during training.

We don't even make it out of the training center before the three of us burst into laughter. "Did you see the look on One's face?" Drake gasps.

"It was glorious!" Bran replied. "And Nero! How can someone possibly be that oblivious?"

The Peacekeepers look confused. I just give them a sweet smile. "Will this take long?"

They exchange looks. One of them finally speaks up. "Well, it was pretty clear you were defending your district partner. You were prepared to fight, but since a fight never actually broke out…"

Another sighs, but I can tell he's trying to hide his amusement. "You're free to leave. I do suggest, Crawford, that you go to the medical area and get checked for injuries."

"That won't be necessary," Drake says. "Jenny could use the practice."

"Jenny?" Bran asks. "That's your district partner, right?"

Drake nods. "She worked as the healer's apprentice back in Ten. She's really good. Saved my little brother's life when he caught measles. She was getting ready to open up her own practice after next year."

The peacekeeper considers this for a moment, probably trying to discern if this is legal. Healers have been in the ring before, but since training is kept top secret, it's never been disclosed if they practice on their allies who are injured in training. There are rules against fighting, but I'm not sure if there are rules on patching up other tributes. "Go ahead," the other peacekeeper finally says, "and stay out of trouble."

I nod, thank the peacekeepers, and follow Drake to the medical station. As we're walking, I look over at Bran. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Bran rolls his eyes. "I was passing by the archery station to get some water when I heard Nero yelling at me to move. Next thing I know, I'm on the ground. I'm alright, I think. None of the arrows cut me. My wrist is just a little sore."

I nod. "Good. I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks, by the way." Bran smiles. "Both of you. You didn't have to defend me like that."

"It was no problem," Drake replies. "I could never stand bullies."

"What he said," I reply, giving him a friendly nudge. "Besides, you're my ally, and Nero needed to be taken down a peg."

We make our way to the medical station, where we find Jenny talking to Chanel. Chanel looks absolutely exhausted, even underneath the mask. Jenny looks up upon hearing us approach and waves us over. She then turns to Chanel. "Keep up with those breathing exercises, okay?" she says.

Chanel nods and stands. "Thanks," she says, her voice raspy yet kind, before heading over to get some water.

"Did you make a friend?" Drake asks.

Jenny shrugs. "She wasn't interested in alliances. She just needed some help, so I provided it. Her tuberculosis was taken care of by the Capitol, but she's still recovering. What about you? Did you make friends?"

"Yep. Jenny Palomino, meet Amber Reeves and Bran Crawford. They're from District Nine."

Jenny gives us a warm smile. "Nice to meet y'all."

"Nero pushed Bran here into a rack earlier. Do you think you could look him over and make sure he's not hurt? He might have hurt his wrist."

"Sure. Let me wash my hands and then I'll take a look."

While Jenny looks at Bran's wrist, I take the opportunity to look around at everyone nearby. Krystian is at the snare station now. Flower Power is at the edible plants station. Chanel makes no effort to move from the water station. Xander is sparring with a trainer. The twins are at the fire building station, huddled close together. The Careers are gathered together, and this time, Atticus and Belladonna are with them. There's no point in hiding it anymore, I suppose. Based on the raised voices, it's clear that they're arguing. Dashiell and Camdyn are arguing with Jax and Bronze, with Bronze trying to keep Jax calm. Brooke doesn't seem to care, and is practicing with her trident.

I smile at this and turn to the others. "So, does this mean we're allies now?."

Drake nods. "I guess it does. The condition I was going to bring up was that Jenny was in the alliance too."

"That's fair. Bran and I are also a package deal."

Jenny releases Bran's wrist. "I think the blow just jarred it a little bit. It should stop hurting soon."

"Thank you, Jen," Bran replies.

Jenny raises an eyebrow. "Jen?"

I can't help but giggle. "He likes his nicknames."

"Ames is right," Bran says smugly. "I do."

"Jen…" Jenny thinks on this for a moment and nods. "I don't mind that."

We leave the medical station and spend the rest of the day going from station to station, learning as much as possible. When we get hungry, we head to the edible plants station and just start snacking on the plants the trainer deems safe, much to his chagrin. We also learn how to make snares and traps, and even teach each other skills. Bran shows us how to sneak around. Jenny shows us some medical skills, and Drake and I show Jenny and Bran some self-defense skills once Bran's wrist is no longer hurting him.

It's strange how the four of us just fall into casual conversation. We talk about our lives back home and our families. Bran's mother died giving birth to him, so it's just him, his father, and his older brother. Jenny was orphaned during a stampede, so she lives with the healer she's apprenticed to. Drake has worked hard all of his life to help support his mother, stepfather, and four siblings. I don't talk much about my situation. I think everyone knows it too well. After all, they saw my sister in the Games two years ago and likely recognized me from the interview I gave when Sunny made the top eight.

We do try to recruit more allies. The Sixes and Sevens are out, as that would make us too large. Xander and Krystian aren't interested. Neither is Flower Power. Eventually, it becomes clear that it will be likely just the four of us in the arena. While that isn't ideal, I suppose it's better than nothing.

It doesn't take long before I start wondering how long this alliance is going to last. Will we split up peacefully when the numbers start to dwindle? Will we turn on each other? Will we all make it to the end? Will even survive the bloodbath?

Only one of us can win, and if it's going to be me, I need to be prepared to lose them. It'll probably be easier than it should be. Death is something I've gotten used to.

A lot has happened in this chapter! Amber and Bran have new allies in the Tens, but Nero makes the mistake of attacking Bran. Bronze's big brain move of secretly recruiting outliers blew up in his face when one of his allies messed with Bran and she retaliated with a big brain move of her own: throwing Bronze under the bus. Will Bronze be able to salvage this? Guess we'll find out! Amber trying to navigate having friends has definitely been interesting, especially since at least three of them, maybe even all of them, will be dead soon. She likes having friends, but her paranoia and cynicism are definitely still there and affecting her thinking.

There's going to be one more training chapter, where training scores will be revealed. Then, it'll be time for interviews! We're getting closer to the Games!

Current Alliances:

The Messy Careers: Jax, Bronze, Camdyn, Nero(?), Brooke, Dashiell, Atticus, Belladonna

Flower Power: Emily, Bridgeteri

The Twins: Wendy, Urban

The Six Seven Crew: Giemci, Lincoln, Decida, Cedar

Nines and Tens (New Name Needed): Amber, Bran, Jenny, Drake

Loners: Xander, Chanel, Krystian, Harvey