SONG: Melody of Certain Three by Blonde Redhead

Considering she was a Career who should probably know better, Agata had not hidden herself very well. Marks in the sand and spots of blood made a trail straight to her. Of course, she had been injured and probably on the brink of consciousness when she made her escape, so camouflage probably hadn't been her top priority. At least she hadn't collapsed somewhere the sun could get her.

Iris found her passed out in a ship that was empty of supplies. There was a parachute next to her, and an empty syringe. Iris wondered what had been in it - medicine to counteract the burns from the scorpion venom, perhaps?

She approached Agata cautiously, half-expecting the girl to jump up and run her through with a knife, but the girl was dead to the world. Up close, Iris saw the damage the acid had done to Agata's face - she was a far cry from the beauty she had once been, almost unrecognisable. The venom had disfigured her, leaving raised, puckered scabs all over her face. Her cheeks and eyelids were red and puffy, and there was a small red puncture mark on her right cheek which must have been where she injected the contents of the syringe.

Although Agata was unconscious and injured, Iris didn't want to take any chances. She dug a length of twine out of her pack and quickly bound Agata's hands and feet, after arranging her so that she was leaning against the side of the ship so that she wouldn't choke if she happened to vomit.

Iris made herself a small meal of bread and canned soup. Agata still hadn't stirred, and so Iris went through her stuff. In her bag was a half-empty waterskin, a large bag of jerky, a half-eaten bag of nuts, and a loaf of bread, as well as an assortment of knives and a pair of sunglasses identical to Iris' own pair. There was also a bottle of suncream, a flashlight, a compass, and - most excitingly - a pair of binoculars. There were also a few small tubs of what looked like paint. She was tempted to break open the bag of jerky, but refrained for now - she wanted to keep Agata's trust as intact as possible. Well, as much as she could, considering she'd tied the girl up while she was unconscious.

She knew that she was quite possibly insane for what she was trying to achieve. In the whole history of the Games, had someone from Six ever allied with someone from One before? But despite this logic, Iris knew she needed Agata if she wanted a shot at getting home. There was no way she'd be able to get rid of the Careers without help. There was no way she'd last long enough for the Careers to kill each other for her. She wasn't interesting enough for the Gamemakers to keep around - if she succeeded in allying with Agata, she'd not only become a talking point in the Capitol, she'd also be buying herself time.

By early afternoon, Iris had run out of things to busy herself with. She'd searched the ship, she'd organised her supplies, she'd thought over what she would say when Agata woke up. If there was one thing she hadn't anticipated in the arena, it was boredom. When she wasn't running for her life and caring for wounded allies, she found that there wasn't a whole lot to do. She'd never been a reader, but she wished that she'd brought a book with her.

She began drawing patterns in the sand, starting off with a repetitive triangle pattern. The triangles soon turned to diamonds, and she began working outwards, turning the pattern into a spiral. If she got home, maybe she'd take up drawing. She'd loved drawing as a kid - for her eighth birthday, her parents had given her a package of crayons, and she'd loved them. She had grown out of the habit after her mom died - drawing no longer felt important when she was worrying about her father's downward spiral and keeping herself and Jordie fed.

She wasn't sure what had happened to her beloved crayons - she'd worn them down to nubs, but they were probably shoved somewhere under her bed. Hobbies were rarely encouraged back home - there was always work to be done, more important things to spend money on than hobby items. But her parents had always encouraged her. Her mother especially had taken pride in Iris' drawings.

A groan from beside her tore Iris out of her reverie. Agata had begun to stir. Iris watched the girl from where she was sitting. Agata groaned in pain and began to struggle, a confused expression on her face as she realised she was tied up. She opened her eyes - they were so swollen that she only managed to open them a crack. "Who's there?" she asked, fear evident in her voice.

"Iris. District Six," Iris said, stepping closer.

"Why the fuck am I tied up?" Agata hissed, struggling.

"Well, I don't really want you to stab me. You're a Career, use some common sense."

"Untie me," Agata ordered.

"You're not really in a position to order me around."

Agata looked up at her. "Are you going to kill me?"

"No. I actually have a proposition for you." Iris waited for Agata to say something, but she remained silent. "As we are now both without allies, I think we should team up. We can help each other out."

Agata scoffed. "Why would I team up with you, District Six? What exactly do you think you can offer me?"

"First of all, you're currently tied up. I could always leave you here for the mutts to find you. So the question you should be considering is what you can offer me."

Agata stared at her for a second, and then started to laugh. "You know, you surprised me," she said. "I never thought you'd last this long. I certainly didn't think you'd last longer than that ally of yours. The big boy from Ten. What happened there, anyway? Did you kill him? Or did a mutt get him? Was it your fault, Iris?" Agata goaded.

"No," Iris said, not rising to the bait, although the mention of Christopher had sparked a mixture of anger and guilt. Agata obviously wanted to provoke her, get under her skin. It might have worked, if Iris hadn't been able to see straight through her. Agata was scared, powerless. She probably thought that she was out of options - of course she'd go on the offensive. And since she was disarmed, words were her only weapon. Iris knew that she needed to keep the conversation focused, and not allow Agata to get under her skin. "I think that we'd work well as allies. Considering that I'm alone, and you're alone, there's no way we'll be able to take out the rest of the pack without each other's help. I think you know that already." Agata remained silent. "You don't trust me, and I sure as hell don't trust you. That's why this works. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, right?"

"I guess you've got a point there, Six." Agata said. "But what makes you so sure I won't slit your throat while you're sleeping? Or stab you from behind?"

Iris smiled. "What makes you so sure I won't do the same?"

Agata let out a wry laugh. "I suppose that's a good point." She sighed. "Well, Six, I don't like this. Not at all. But I don't think I have a choice. If I refuse, you'll kill me."

"You think I would kill you?"

"Of course. You've got an opponent - a Career, no less - disarmed and tied up. That's worth some sponsors alone. If you leave me here without a way to free myself, that's as good as killing me, so you might as well kill me properly. You can't leave and give me something to cut through the ropes, because I'll only hunt you down."

"That's true," Iris said.

"Of course," Agata said, "I could be saying this so you let your guard down. I could kill you the second you untie me. What makes you think that I won't?"

"I don't know that you won't. Not for sure."

"Why would you make a gamble like that?"

"Because we both know I'd win if you were to fight me right now. You're injured. Exhausted. Weak. I've got your weapons. If you tried to get rid of me, you'd be killing yourself, and you know that. And say that you somehow managed to kill me, you'd be alone, without any allies, with four people who know you're the biggest threat left in here. You wouldn't make it a day."

"I have sponsors."

Iris laughed, crueller than she probably needed to. "Not anymore you don't. You're no longer beautiful. You're no longer a Career. You've been tied up and disarmed by someone from a weak district. You think they still care about you? You're dreaming."

"I'm no longer beautiful?" Agata almost whispered.

"You got sprayed in the face with acid. What do you think?"

Agata looked away from her, closing her puffy eyes. "I don't believe you. And anyway, I got a gift. I still have sponsors."

"You're talking about the medicine?"

Agata nodded.

"Medicine is expensive. I'm assuming that whatever they sent you is the best of the best if it can stop that venom in its tracks. Your mentors probably drained the rest of your money to send you that," Iris said. "Anyway. To put it simply, Agata, you're fucked. You need me."

"I want a mirror," she said, taking Iris by surprise.

Of all the things she had expected Agata to say, 'I want a mirror' was not among them. "Why the hell do you want a mirror?" Was it vanity? Curiosity? Both?

"I want to see myself. I want to know what I look like."

"Oh, of course. I'll just grab my mirror. I absolutely have one in my bag. I have a hairbrush too, if you want it."

Agata scowled. "Fine. Get me my sunglasses so I can see my reflection. They're in my bag, but I'm sure you've been through my bag so you probably know that already."

Iris just grinned at her. Not turning her back on Agata, she reached for the backpack and grabbed Agata's sunglasses. She held them up so that Agata could see what she looked like.

Agata's eyes widened, and she let out a strangled sob, turning her head away. "Oh my god."

Iris almost felt sorry for her. How must it feel? To be beautiful all your life and have that taken away suddenly, painfully? As much as she wanted to, Iris didn't hate Agata. Seeing how distraught she was at her disfigurement reminded Iris that Agata was a person, too, no matter how much Iris wanted to vilify her. It was far easier to think of the Careers as the enemy - it was strange, knowing that they were scared too.

Agata sniffled. "Fine, Six. Whatever. I'll ally with you."

"Yippee," said Iris. She folded up the sunglasses and placed them in the sand next to Agata.

"Can you untie me?" Iris hesitated. "Please."

"Well, since you asked so nicely…" Iris took the knife out of her belt. She held it to Agata's neck, and then to her cheek, and then hovered it over her chest. The other girl's breathing quickened. "If you even try to kill me, I'll cut up your face even worse." She took the knife to the twine binding Agata and sliced through it effortlessly.

Agata rubbed at her wrists where the twine had been. She glared at Iris, and drew her knees to her chest. "I'm not stupid. I'm not going to kill you."

"Good," said Iris.

They stared at each other wordlessly for a moment, sizing each other up. Agata was far from the girl who had threatened her after the interviews. She looked small, huddled there against the wall of the ship. Scared. What had the arena done to her? Iris felt bad, now, for threatening her, for taunting her. It felt like she'd kicked Agata while she was down, and Iris didn't like how that felt, even if it had been necessary.

"So," Agata said, breaking the silence. "Do you have a plan? For killing my allies?"

"They're not your allies anymore, remember? I am. And no, I don't. I'm not even sure how many of us are left."

"How can you not know how many are left?" Agata scoffed. "Are you stupid?"

"We were dehydrated," Iris said. She wanted to shudder, remembering how awful dehydration felt. Even the memory of it was enough to make her want to drain a water bottle. "We lost a few days. At least, I think it was a few days. I'm not too sure."

"It's the final eight. Seven, now, I guess. My district partner is dead, isn't he." Iris could tell it wasn't a question.

"Yeah." She hesitated. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Agata shrugged. "He was stupid."

Iris raised an eyebrow. "You're a bit obsessed with stupidity, aren't you?"

"What?" Agata snapped.

"Never mind."

"Fine."

"Anyway," Iris said slowly. "I think we should head back to the Cornucopia. That's where they'll go, right? The Careers?"

"As there's only seven of us left now, I'd say so. I've no doubt that the Gamemakers will call us back for a feast soon anyway."

"That's what I thought."

Agata picked at her fingernails. On the middle finger of her right hand, Iris noticed, was a silver ring with a large purple stone set in the middle. She wondered how much it had cost. From the look of the thing, Iris guessed a lot. "How do you propose we kill them, anyway?"

"I don't know yet."

Agata raised her eyes to Iris. "So you tie me up and threaten me with an alliance before you actually know what you want me for?"

"Well it's not like I knew this was going to happen," Iris snapped. "I simply happened to see you crawl away with your tail between your legs. I used the situation to my advantage."

"I never thought you'd be impulsive like that."

"Well I'm not, usually. I like to think things through. But it was an opportunity I couldn't ignore."

"That makes sense. I mean, I can't say I would have done the same, had I been in your shoes, but I see where you're coming from."

"Well, good."

They didn't speak much after that. Iris took to a corner on the opposite side of the small ship. Agata retrieved her bag from where Iris had left it, and went back to the spot Iris had tied her up. Iris watched as she examined her reflection in her sunglasses again, as she gingerly raised a hand to her once-beautiful face. Iris wondered what she was feeling.

All in all, the day had been a surprising success. She still couldn't quite believe that Agata had agreed to the alliance, that she hadn't tried to strangle Iris the moment she was untied. Iris was feeling cautiously optimistic - if this worked out, she'd have a much easier time getting rid of the remaining Careers. Of course, she'd have to get rid of Agata at some point, too, but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

Neither of them slept much that night. Iris didn't trust Agata not to kill her in her sleep, and Agata evidently felt the same. "What's to say you won't kill me in my sleep?" "What's to say YOU won't kill ME in MY sleep?" Iris knew they would have to prove themselves to the other before they felt comfortable in their alliance. Iris felt as though she was tip-toeing across thin ice. They spent the night huddled at opposite ends of the ship, eating food from their packs, silently glaring at each other. Iris dozed off a few times, and she knew that Agata did as well - she'd seen the girl's head nodding a few times.

By early morning, they were both still alive, and Iris took that as a good sign. The swelling on Agata's face had gone down slightly, but she still seemed to be in pain. Iris found a tube of anti-inflammatory cream in her first aid kit and handed it to Agata wordlessly.

Agata dabbed the stuff over her face and handed it back to Iris. "Thanks," she mumbled. "Should we get going?"

"Lead the way," Iris said.