Shepard Howard, 17
District 10 Male
Life moved so quickly. You blink, and suddenly, years have gone by. You look away just for a moment and everything is almost over. That was why it was so important to treasure it.
The Capitol did the opposite. They treasured death and control. They didn't let life lead the way. They followed their own drunken beliefs and the word of the cruel people who ruled our country. Being here was such a stark contrast to home, and it made me even more grateful for the life I had - even though it was being cut short.
I knew how the Hunger Games worked. I knew we'd all be forced to kill each other. Only one person could live, and human nature dictated that I'd fight for it until I couldn't.
Some of the other tributes pretended they wouldn't hurt anyone. The boy from 9 was allied with two of the weaker girls. The girl from 5 was refusing to harm another living thing; even animals.
I admired their conviction, but I pitied them for when the moment came where they gave in to instinct. I wouldn't hurt anyone unless absolutely necessary, but I knew it would eventually.
Virgo also allied us with killers. I knew of my district partner before the Reaping because Dr. Lovelace was the best veterinarian in District 10 and talked about her often. So I allied with her right away.
She was a kind girl, and I trusted her. But her decision to ally with the Careers was questionable. They seemed weaker this year, and much less of a conventional Pack. But they all accepted their role as the prime killers of the Games. Now Virgo and I were too.
I wished she'd asked me properly before accepting Dorian's offer. When she brought him to me, I couldn't refuse without offending him and putting a target on my back. So I agreed, and now we were stuck.
Some of the Careers did seem nice though. Dorian was a bit aloof, but he still interacted with us. He acted like nothing ever bothered him. The twins from District 2 were much quieter and mainly kept to themselves. They were the ones I trusted the least. Kallik and Kendall were both friendly, but they seemed introverted. Overall, we weren't a very intimidating bunch… once you looked a little closer.
But in the end, it was their morals that defined them. Usually I wouldn't be so close-minded, but this was the Hunger Games. It was a death match. Anyone who chose to willingly participate, or align themselves with willing participants, was an enabler of the Capitol's evil. That meant I was too, whether I liked it or not.
Cactus Cleo, 18
District 7 Male
For the son of a Capitolite who was raised like a king in the most extravagant house in District 7, I didn't like the Capitol very much. It was loud and bright and always busy. Nothing was natural; the walls were plastic or metal, not sturdy wood beams like at home, and the overhead lights constantly hummed.
The change in my routine was unpleasant too. At home, things flowed smoothly. Our days were constant and familiar. Here, Nero was rushing Rowena and I around and barking orders at everyone. He was also having me autograph old pamphlets that Leo wrote years ago so he could give them out and round up more sponsors.
The training center was better than the District 7 lounge. There were still a lot of people, and we were stuck indoors, but everyone was doing their own thing. The other tributes were more of a shirt tag than a fast-paced song blaring on the radio.
The plants also improved the experience. There was a station for learning about every plant under the sun, which were all spread out over a long table. I made it my home whenever I was training.
Other people came to the plant station, but I ignored them. I wasn't interested in allies and I loathed small talk. I wanted to plot in peace.
But despite my plans to face the arena alone, I kept being drawn back to the curly-haired girl from 5. She spent as much time with plants as I did.
She was at the table now, talking quietly with the trainer. I quietly peeled the outer bark off of pine twigs while listening in.
"Is it possible to only survive off of plants in the arena?" Birdie asked. The trainer - a short woman named Elle - frowned, but nodded.
"Plants can sustain you, but you won't be at full strength. Oh, excuse me for a moment."
As she turned away from Birdie and went to help the tiny girl from 12 with her tablet, I came to sit next to her.
"Hello," I said, extending my hand. "I am Cactus Cleo. I overheard your desire to live only off of flora and I have a suggestion for how to do so."
"What is it?" Birdie asked after shaking my hand and introducing herself in return.
"Nuts," I said. "They're an excellent source of protein for a vegan diet that not everyone thinks about, since that's a nutritional component that is usually associated with meat."
"That's a good idea," Birdie said, smiling slightly. "We don't have a lot of nuts in District 5. It's mostly just desert."
"We have nuts and more in District 7," I said. "And my father is a botanist so I am very familiar with all sorts of plants."
"That's so cool!" Birdie gushed quietly. "My whole family is vegan, so we have a garden where we grow most of our food. We sell it too, and we try to spread our message to our customers. The meat industry is so cruel! If we slaughter animals, then we're just as complicit in the slaughtering of humans. And the earth already gives us so many gifts. We shouldn't take life to sustain our own!"
Birdie's eyes were bright with excitement as she finished her speech and I had to bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep myself from laughing in delight. She could not be more different from my adopted father and I was fascinated.
Dorian Sargasso, 18
District 4 Male
Everything still felt surreal. I was in a trance when I volunteered and the fog still hadn't worn off. Even when I interacted with my allies I felt like I was watching myself from the outside. The only time when I felt centered was when I had a sword in my hand.
It was almost enough to make me laugh. I never wanted to train or volunteer, and yet, I was at my strongest when I wielded a weapon. There must have been something about the repetitive motions that had been ingrained into muscle memory. They helped my brain focus.
I was extremely relieved that Kendall was leading the Career Pack. I was ready to take on the position, but I absolutely did not want to. The pressure would kill me before a tribute did.
Death was another concept that didn't feel real. Of course we all knew it was a possibility, but the human brain just didn't comprehend the gravity of the threat to our lives until we were facing it head-on.
Except for Shep. He seemed totally prepared for his inevitable death.
Shep and Virgo were definitely high on the list of my favorite allies, but Kallik took the top spot. She was chill, like me, though she was less social. She also enjoyed running the obstacle course, which was where I excelled. Gymnastics was my favorite part of training back in District 4.
Kallik also had lots of cool stories. She grew up in District 7, which was just trees as far as the eye could see. All we had in District 4 were scraggly bush-like flowering trees and palm trees. And District 1 had vineyards, rolling hills, and scenic mountains.
But her connection to her heritage was what I admired the most. I wasn't a person who fostered relationships. I kept to myself and let the world lead the way, despite having plenty of opportunities for friends or partners. Kallik had to challenge everything to learn about her past and her people, and she did. I'd never craved that type of dedication before - it felt like too much work - but seeing her passion made me wonder what I was missing.
I had a bad feeling that when the haze wore off, I would be a changed man. And given the circumstances… not necessarily for the better.
Persimmon Caraway, 15
District 11 Female
At first, all of my waking moments were consumed with worry. Not for me, but for my siblings. When we said our goodbyes, I spent the time filling Pepper's head with everything she'd need to know to keep the shop running and put food on the table. But I was scared it wouldn't be enough. I was so afraid for them that I could barely sleep.
It was Saigon who shook me out of my fear. They were Clover's mentor, but they seemed to understand what I was going through. They told me they had younger siblings too, and they were afraid that their family couldn't get by without them. But they realized they had to focus on themself.
"If you can't keep yourself alive you certainly can't keep them alive," they told me.
So I was spending the last day of training cramming as much information into my head as I could. I chose edible plants as my main focus, since I already had some prior knowledge just from being from District 11. And I wasn't big enough to effectively fight someone off with a weapon. My strategy would be to outlast the others.
"Careful!" someone said from beside me, making me flinch at the sudden noise. "That's wild parsnip. It's poisonous."
I looked over my shoulder to see the pretty girl from District 9 examining my pile of plants. She was frowning worriedly.
"Parsnips are edible," I told her hesitantly.
"Yeah, but the leaves and stems can cause really bad rashes," she said. Then she sat down beside me and smiled.
"I'm Amberlynn."
"Persi," I responded. "Thanks for the tip."
I turned away from her and plucked another leaf from the tub of wild vegetables. I was hoping Amberlynn would get the message, but she just watched me curiously. I grit my teeth, silently wishing for her to leave.
"Hey, what are you two up to?"
Another girl was walking over to us and I fought the urge to sigh or roll my eyes. She took a seat on my other side as Amberlynn answered her.
"Hi Alara! Persi and I were chatting about wild vegetables," Amberlynn said. "I don't know a lot, but I recognized a parsnip. Persi knows a lot more."
"That's pretty neat," Alara said. "I don't know anything about plants either, but I can tell you all about seafood!" She laughed and I managed a smile.
I was relieved when the cafeteria doors opened for lunch, but Alara and Amberlynn followed me. After we got our food, they ushered me to a table and sat down across from me.
"We've been looking for another ally," Alara said. "I'm strong and Amberlynn is charismatic. I can get us sponsors. But we want someone who knows nature too."
"You also seem really nice," Amberlynn added. "We would love to hang out with you."
I stared at them for a moment. My instinct was to refuse the alliance, but having extra sets of eyes could be useful. Amberlynn and Alara didn't seem like the type to betray someone either. They were too sweet.
My mind flashed back to the parsnip and I almost winced. I wasn't going to be a nice ally, but I was going to join them. If I was the one with the survival knowledge, they wouldn't know when I collected a few toxic plants.
Hey everyone... I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated. I'm dealing with autistic burnout for the first time (that I know of!) and it's been tough. I've had way less motivation for SYOTs and writing in general, and I've gotten into the bad habit of comparing my writing to other authors'. But I really want to come back to my SYOTs. I can't promise long POVs/chapters, but I do want to update more frequently. My POVs will probably drop to about 300 words instead of 500 for the next little while, but I digress.
Next chapter will be the Private Sessions, so keep an eye out for it! It'll be a quicker chapter to write. Also, I didn't technically include it, but Birdie and Cactus are allied now. Please leave a review if you can, and thank you for sticking with me!
QUESTIONS
1) How will Shep cope with the impending (potential) loss of his morals?
2) How genuine is Cactus's interest in Birdie?
3) Any character arc predictions for Dorian?
4) Will Persi actually go through with poisoning her allies?
5) Out of all the alliances, which one would you join? Why?
6) Which alliance name should Cactus and Birdie officially have?
ALLIANCES
The "Careers": Kallik, Kendall, Octavia, Valerius, Dorian, Virgo, Shepard
Strategists: Ai, Trydan
Brains, Brawn, Betrayal: Yarrow, Robbie, Josie
Besties: Alara, Amberlynn, Persimmon
Plant Nerds/Little Lizards: Birdie, Cactus
Wild Things: Alley, Trayne, Rowena, Clover, Enzo
Loners: Taylor, Tommy
Have a nice day, be kind to each other, and never stop reading!
- Fiona
