Thanks to dyloccupy, Tales from the Cluttered Desk, Very New To This, owlthewriter, livinginadream0, & Dani H. Danvers for the reviews!

Well I'm feeling much better only for FFN to crash for two days. It seems like the problem is fixed now. Hopefully there aren't any further blackouts. Enjoy day 2 of training!

Chapter XII The Training Sessions - Part 2

The Capitol

The Tribute Training Center - Day 2

The second day of training had done little to endear Wolf to his hot pink training outfit but it did produce results with his combat prowess.

A trainer slammed into him, trying to throw Wolf down to the ground so he could stab at him. However, the dogs of District 7 had given him plenty of experiencing with heavy objects being hurled into him. Wolf held his ground and turned the force back on the Trainer. With a heavy grunt he jabbed his shoulder into the Trainer's sword arm, giving the Trainer pause and Wolf an opportunity. Fighting through the recoil, he slammed his blunted machete into the Trainer's hip, bringing him down and giving victory to Wolf.

"Well done, Tribute." The Trainer complimented. Wolf extended a hand and pulled the Trainer up to his feet. "You have more muscle than most of the other Tributes, never be afraid to use it."

"Muscle alone won't win the Games for me." Wolf muttered.

"There are many Victor's who'd disagree with you." The Trainer commented.

Wolf supposed that was true. One only had to look at the Career's success to know skills outside of combat could only help so much in the Hunger Games. There had been Victor's who won with their brains, but their numbers were far fewer than the Tributes who won through luck or simply were the last to starve.

"Let's go again." Wolf said.

They picked up again steel clashing on steel. Wolf was actually finding the combat relaxing. While fighting he only had to focus on the Trainer. He didn't have to think about his sister Bernie and other siblings back home, or his drunken father, or what would become of all of them should Wolf die in the Games. There was only his opponent, his weapon, and how he could land a killing blow on his opponent.

He also didn't have to think about Fest. His partner had said nothing to him since the Reaping, most of the time barely acknowledging he or anyone else existed. Wolf would sometimes catch himself staring at her, making out the burn scars that peaked through her clothing. In the Training Center she hadn't done much. He'd seen her do a few rounds of the survival stations, ran the obstacle course once, and practice swimming in the pool. She hadn't once shown any interest in weapons, even today. Currently, Fest was applying camouflage with a holographic forest to simulate a setting. She was practically invisible, only her haunted eyes peaking out.

'Not creepy at all.' Wolf thought.

To Wolf's surprise though, someone had come to say hello to him. Tall, lanky, with dark black skin and soft brown eyes, there was a beauty to him, Wolf thought. The boy from District 9 also had a confidence about him that made Wolf nervous. He didn't know the boy's name though. Wolf had been deliberately avoiding learning anyone's name for what he considered sound reasons.

"You're really impressive." The boy began, extending his hand. "Darley." He introduced.

"Wolfram." He sternly replied back. He took Darley's hand, shocked by how soft it was. It made Wolf's body tingle a little, imagining Darley's hands elsewhere. He looked away, refusing to make eye contact.

"Have you used a machete before?" Darley asked.

"No."

"Never, ever, ever?"

"No."
Darley laughed, soft and inviting. Even Wolf suppressed a chuckle. It may have been the Hunger Games and all the terror that came with that, but he was still a teen boy and Darley was handsome. "Any story to those tattoos?" Darley asked, pointing to the ones on Wolf's arms.

"Not really." Wolf lied.

"Really?" Darley questioned with a smile. "Well, I'll wiggle the story out of you at some point."

"When?"

"I guess in the arena."

Wolf glanced at Darley. "What do you mean?"

"I'm asking if you want to be in an alliance." Darley said. "I figured we could compliment each other. You've got combat skills, I've got survival skills – including medical training from my mom. We'd make a good team. Unless… you're considering being a lone 'wolf.'"

Darley chuckled at his own joke and let out a louder laugh as Wolf snorted one in turn. He quickly regained composure though. "I'm planning to face the Games alone." Wolf said.

"But that's so lonely! And scary! Come on, let's be allies."

"Just like that?" Wolf asked. "You don't know me. I could be a serial killer."

For whatever reason, Wolf saw Darley's eyes light up at that. "Are you?"

"No."

"Good! So you won't be slitting my throat in the night!" Darley declared. "Come on, why don't you show me how to fight or something? Put those big muscles to use, huh?"

Darley thought he saw Wolf blush, but the boy turned away too quickly. Damn, was he good at what? Darley knew his guess was right and that the stoic boy from 7 had a thing for guys. There were quite a few good looking male Trainers about just asking to be ogled and he'd seen Wolf's eyes lingering. And, just on his personality alone, Darley was willing to gamble he didn't have much experience with man on man action. A little flirting and forthrightness would guarantee him an ally – one who knew how to fight.

And Darley had learned from his mistakes with Greta and District 10. He said nothing about Clinton. And least… not yet.

As they practiced, the Careers were having a bit of a split. Amaya had put down her machete and declared that she was sick of weapons training and wanted to learn something from the survival stations. This was met with mockery from Pietyr. "Why? We'll have all the supplies we need from the Cornucopia." He stated.

"What if they decide not to leave supplies this year?" Amaya countered.

"They would never do that."

"They didn't have any weapons at the Cornucopia last year! It's not outside the realm of possibility."

"I think it's a sound idea." Elegance proclaimed, stepping forward and standing besides Amaya.

"Any idea from the most beautiful women this year is a worthy idea." Cas agreed. Behind him, Maddie's jaw dropped in indignation. "Anything you learn, promise to teach us?" Cas asked.

"Fine." Elegance said. "Anyone else?"

Nicola also needed a break but decided to try out the obstacle course and rock-climbing wall, so it as just Amaya and Elegance who went to the survival stations. "Pietyr's a dick." Elegance commented.

Amaya laughed. "He's pretty thuggish. A good Career, but not much else."

"Any reason he's like that? Or are all the boys in 2 like him?"

"He's unique but not that different from a lot of Academy boys from 2." Amaya conceded. "But he had a star sister at the Academy who was better than him at everything. So he's got a chip on his shoulder the size of the Nut about girls. At least, that's my opinion. I didn't know him that well to form one before all this."

"What do you mean?"

Amaya shrugged her shoulders. "He's from an old family in 2. The ones with all the money. Most Careers come from money in 2. Me, I'm from literal Dust. I did what I had to in order to make it."

"You earned your spot." Elegance said immediately, respect and comradely blooming.

Amaya gave a devilish grin. "I sure did."

As they approached the survival stations, quite a few Tributes moved out of the way, trying to avoid the attention of the Careers. Among them was Seph and Teagan, who scurried away from their station and retreated to the back of the Center. The morning had been awkward for them and Seph had no idea why. Teagan had been in a mood since last night, but Seph didn't know why either. They had been eating dinner with Olivia and Seph proudly told her they had an ally with Web. Olivia had been thrilled and complimented both of them on branching out.

For whatever reason, Teagan soured and showed little interest in Web, much to his and Seph's bafflement. Web was now at another station, supposedly learning another skill for their alliance and not in exile from their group.

"Can we please go work with Web now?" Seph asked.

"Why?" Teagan asked.

Seph looked at her like she had a third eye. "Because he's our ally and we should be together?"

"We d-d-d-don't have to w-w-w-work together on everything." Teagan told him, voice full of acid as she continued. "Just be-be-because Olivia said-"

"What is wrong with you!" Seph shouted, jumping to his feet. "Why are you so mean? Why are you so rude to Olivia and everyone! You're not the only one who's scared!"

The explosion was unexpected and unplanned and Teagan's face registered shock. Eyes around the Center were now firmly on him and Seph felt self-conscious and foolish. He quickly ran away, feeling tears stream down his face. He ended up hiding in a holographic forest, hoping that nobody would find him and he could just be alone.

That wasn't true. He wanted his mom and dad. He wanted his sisters. There was even an insane part of him that wanted Simon and Ray. He had barely anytime to think about his brothers, except when he was laying in bed, unable to sleep for hours. Seph didn't think he'd ever be able to forgive his brother's for not volunteering. But he still loved them.

'I just want to go home.' Seph thought, crying into his knees. 'Or wake up in bed back home, and it can all just be a dream.'

He opened his eyes and saw only the shimmering illusion of the forest. Reality, fake as it was in this moment, forced him back into the Games. But to his surprise he wasn't alone anymore.

"Um… hi?"

In front of him was a tiny girl, shorter than Seph actually, though her face was older. She was a little person, Seph realized, the eighteen year old girl from 9. She had pale white skin, hair that nearly white too, and her eyes radiated concern. In her hand was a metal contraception, which she quickly threw down, the holographic leaves on the ground reacting to it.

"Sorry!" the older girl said. "Bet that was intimidating. Are you ok?"

A simple question asked with such sincerity warranted an equally simple and sincere answer. "No." Seph said, bawling all over again. He entire body heaved as he cried. The older girl was by his side, wrapping her arms around him to comfort him. After a couple minutes, he calmed down enough to speak. "Thank you." He told her.

"Of course. I wish there was somebody around here to give me hugs." She said. "I'm Greta, by the way."

"Joseph. But everyone calls me Seph."

"Then so will I." Greta said with a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" Seph asked.

"Oh, trying to be clever." Greta said, pointing to the metal object she dropped. "I've been learning how to make traps, so I figured I'd test them out."

"How that going?"

"I think ok? I mean, I can't test them out on people. That's just mean."

"Unless it's a Career."

Greta barked out a laugh. "That's true! Can you go flag one down for me?" Seph laughed too, wiping away snot. Greta quickly corrected him. "Oh, don't use your hand to do that! Use your uniform. These things are already ugly enough that some snot might improve it."

Both of them were laughing now, Seph feeling much better. "Do you need any help?" He asked her, a little uncertain. Greta's smile widened and she nodded. Soon the two of them were working together, learning how to lay traps in a variety of settings.

Meanwhile, Nicola had found himself in a bad position: stuck halfway up a difficult rock wall with Dallis beneath him, shouting things at him. A literal rock and a hard place, he thought bitterly.

"I heard something interesting in the bathroom yesterday!" Dallis declared proudly, as though it didn't conjure up gross images.

"Don't care!" Nicola shouted back down.

"It's about Maddie…"

Nicola paused, heading turning as much as possible to look at the smug Tribute. "Ok?" He lied. He had a pretty good idea what this was about and was pretty confident Maddie would be dumb enough to blab about it.

"Must be tough, huh?" Dallis said. "Being her partner and all after what happened?"

"I've got nothing to say to you."

"Really? How about when I tell all of Panem during the interviews about it?"

Nicola froze, that embarrassment playing out in his mind. Once more, Nicola was frustrated that it was suddenly on him, the guy who couldn't care less about 4, to care so much about the District. Or, at least his parents. They'd never get to live down that their son was a Tribute the year someone bribed their way in.

Angrily, he detached from the wall and propelled down, landing on the mat below with a heavy thud. He disengaged from the rope line and approached Dallis, who was giving him that stupid smile she loved. He towered over her and had about seventy if not more pounds on her, but the girl was acting like they were even. In a different context, Nicola might have actually respected her bluster.

"Why would you do that?" He asked.

"Maybe just to get a laugh. At least for me."

"Are you going to laugh before or after I stab you?"

"Oh come on! Don't be like that, Nikki!" Dallis teased, poking all his buttons. "It's not Maddie's fault now is it?"

"No, she can't control what her family does." Nicola agreed. "But she still volunteered on her own. Her family paying for the spot doesn't diminish her, or the Pack."

"Did anyone pay for your spot?" Dallis asked, facing lighting up.

Nicola scoffed at that. "My parents barely had enough to cover the Academy tuition. I'm here because I earned it."

"Well, good for you. Thrilled you get the opportunity to kill people." Dallis shrugged and walked away.

"Hey! I mean it, don't tell anyone or I'll get you!"

Dallis smiled, "You have my word. Nobody will know."

She showed exactly how much her word was worth when everyone sat down for lunch and Dallis blabbed to the seated Careers immediately.

"Your family did what?!" Pietyr roared, jumping up from the Career table so fast his knees slammed into it and food and drink spilled everywhere.

Cas sighed in annoyance. "Looks like I'm having watery chili." He remarked casually, removing his spilled cup of water from his tray.

Dallis was standing next to the table with a satisfied smile on her face. She looked to Nicola and gave him a wink. She couldn't believe that idiot just believe her!

Maddie, never great with angry confrontation, collapsed immediately. "I didn't know!" She shouted. "You don't understand either! My parents and grandparents are crazy!"

"I don't believe you!" Pietyr shouted, face red and neck bulging. It was quite an undignified sight for the large boy in his pink jumpsuit.

"Pietyr, calm down." Nicola told him, rising from his seat as well, eyes locked on Dallis. If looks could kill, Dallis would be full of a hundred knives at that moment.

"Did you know your partner bought her spot in the Games?!" Pietyr demanded, slamming his fist into the table, causing more food to go flying. A bit of beef from the chili landed on Elegance, who angrily swiped it away and stood as well.

"Pietyr, seriously, get a hold of yourself!" She ordered.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Pietyr shouted backed, getting in Elegance's face, who didn't back down. All the Tributes in the lunch room could hear what was going on and were hanging on every word. Dallis took a moment to find Diesel and, with a smile still on her face, jerked her head to the Careers and mouthed "see?" to him.

Diesel rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe Dallis' plan to cause strife was working. She'd be utterly insufferable now – and she wasn't easy to deal with to start!

Shouting ensued amongst the Careers, though more discerning observers would note that it seemed to to be everyone against Pietyr, who was shouting accusations at all his allies. Maddie was returning fire with excuse after excuse. Nicola was defending her, hating himself for doing so and annoyed with Maddie for putting him in this position. Elegance was arguing with Pietyr simply on the principle that she was sick of his attitude and felt his anger wouldn't be nearly as bad if Maddie was a boy. Only Cas and Amaya remained unmoved and only when there was a lull in the shouting did they speak up.

"Pietyr, calm down." Cas said. "She's here now, so she's a Career just like the rest of us."

"Yeah, Pietyr, lighten up." Amaya remarked.

"Lighten up? Lighten up?!" Pietyr roared, completely unaware that worried eyes were on him. A few Trainers were circling in case things got violent. It even pierced Dallis' mind that she might have pushed things too far with this Career. "You're the exact same as her! Subpar and cheating your way into the Games!"

"What's he talking about?" Nicola demanded.

"She," Pietyr cried, pointing with absolute vitriol at Amaya, "Wasn't supposed to volunteer for the Hunger Games! She pushed the Tribute who rightfully won the spot down a mountain staircase and broke her legs! She stole it!"

The whole Training Center heard the confession. High above, the Gamemakers listened in, intrigued by both Maddie's and Amaya's story. Amaya waited for the other Careers to respond before she answered the challenge.

Cas took the lead with a shrug and smirk. "That's it? Sounds like she's perfect for the Hunger Games."

Pietyr felt a vein throb in his forehead. "What?!"

"Well, the Hunger Games aren't really about honor and all that." Cas mused. "It's about who's the deadliest. And the cleverest. Sounds like Amaya's better suited for the Games than you, Pietyr."

Pietyr was apoplectic, but next to him, Amaya gave Cas an appreciative smile, which he returned with a wink. Who cared how she got into the Hunger Games, Cas thought? She wasn't going to win anyways.

The tension from the other Careers diminished as Elegance joined in. "I agree. She's here now. As is Maddie. Both of them are capable fighters and worthy of representing their Districts. And they both worked hard in the Academies, I'm sure." She added on. Actually, she wasn't sure about Maddie and it peeved her that she bought her way in, but what was the point in complaining now?

And she certainly wasn't going to align herself with Pietyr!

Nicola relaxed too. "Sounds like we're all in agreement." He said, sitting down. "Maddie stays."

"Fine with me." Cas said.

"And me." Elegance.

"Same here." Amaya said, looking at Pietyr. "Do you have an issue with this, or are you going to disgrace the Pack by breaking it up?"

Pietyr was defeated. Worse than defeated, he was humiliated. "Whatever." He grumbled. He left the table, storming back to the Training Center before the lunch hour was up. No Trainer tried to stop him. As he ran off to pout, Cas rounded on the Career Pack's problem.

"Dallis… we need to chat."

She tried to be brave. In fact, Dallis felt she was making a good show of it. Until Casanova Rothschild, a Career of District 1, stood over her. Since meeting him, Dallis had seen his smiles and winks and carefree attitude. His hair braids, tattoos, and piercings had been fun, edgy accessories. And his conversation had been light and airy. But in that moment, with his face hardening, Dallis suddenly registered everything Diesel had been screaming at her since the Parade.

Cas was a trained killer.

"It's been fun at times, but I think this is at an end." Cas told her, voice low. "Nits breed lice and all that."

"You can't hurt me in the Training Center." Dallis said weakly.

"Well duh. I meant the arena. Watch this." Cas spun around, addressing all the non-Careers by raising his voice. "Everyone! I have an offer! Whoever assists us with killing Dallis in the Bloodbath – meaning they don't interfere with us or actually helps us by tripping her or pushing her or whatever into one of our blades – we guarantee that person will survive the Bloodbath and the first day of the Hunger Games!"

A deadly silence fell over the Training Center. Dallis' heart sank to her feet. Suddenly, since the first time since being Reaped, the potential of her death felt truly possible.

The remainder of lunch was tense with nobody, not even the Careers, speaking. When the buzzer ran to let people back out onto the Training Center floor, the Tributes rushed out, eager to be away from the Careers and Dallis. What awaited them was Pietyr, still in a rage. Around him, four mutilated training dummies were strewn about.

Dallis looked at them, terror filling her as she saw her remains spilled out in a similar fashion. Behind her, Diesel put a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"I went too far." Dallis remarked.

"You did." Diesel said. "Can't believe they're going to target us in the Bloodbath."

Dallis spun around, angrily. "Us? It's me they want!"

"Yeah but… I figured they'd probably try to take down your ally too, especially when I'm defending you from them."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Ally?"

"We're partners right?" Diesel said. "Unless you got a better offer from someone. But that'd be pretty rude to ditch me."

Dallis could have hugged him if she was that type of person. Instead, she settled for reforming a smile on her face, feeling a bit more like her old self. "I thought you and that boy from 8 were a thing?"

"Sadly not." Diesel said. "Never really clicked."

"Why? What's wrong with him? What's his story?" Dallis demanded.

Diesel let out a heavy sigh, directing them to the survival stations. "Why are you the way that you are?" He asked, only half joking.

Straight after lunch, Blakely was running the obstacle course. She felt confident in her combat skills, particularly her knife work, but didn't want to show it off while the Careers were nearby. What she did need to do was practice her agility and reflexes. She dodged between obstacles and Trainers who jumped out to strike at her. She did well and made it to the other side unstuck.

She took a moment to catch her breath, observing the other Tributes. Since the next day would only be a half one with their individual scorings in the afternoon, most of the Tributes were treating it as though it were the final day. Tributes sprinted from station to station, trying to desperately squeeze out as much knowledge as possible from each in preparation for the Games. Ash sat that the first aid station, trying to learn as much as possible about treating wounds. Raveni was bouncing between quite a few spots, but kept coming back to the weaving station. Oscar and Sierra were split, one of them learning how to make shelter and the other learning how to fish. Hypatia and Teagan were also learning how to swim, though neither spoke to the other. The Careers remained at the combat stations, half the alliance foray into the survival stations ending that morning.

There were some other alliance, Blakely noticed. District 6 was together, no big surprise there. The twelve year old from 5 was with the little girl from 9, both of them talking over the traps stations, even giggling together. Blakely glance at the girl from 5, trying to get a read on her. She would occasionally look at her partner but otherwise seemed in her own world. Sometimes the boy from 3 would stop by to chat but it didn't seem to be going anywhere. How odd.

Blakely had thought more about an alliance, but her mind remained unchanged from the train. Allies would be good to begin with, but could she really trust any of them? She'd rather go to sleep in the arena alone than trust others to watch over her. She had a life time of experience in the gang to tell her where the latter got someone.

Damon's words came back to her, talking about the purity of the Hunger Games, how they simplified things to violence. Blakely hated how right he was. Her path forward was simple: kill and survive.

Exactly how she had lived her life until she was Reaped.

Others didn't feel that way. There was strength in numbers, Sierra thought, and time was running short to find them. Oscar was of a similar mindset, it was just a matter of choosing who to approach.

"Why not start with 11?" Oscar proposed.

Sierra shook her head. "Maybe when we have more people?" She said. "Something tells me Calen will shoot us down."

That seemed true enough. Calen was glaring at everyone and everything with disdain, only socializing with his partner Tilly. The two of them seemed to bicker a lot though. They considered going to some of the Inner Districts, but an Outlier Alliance was fairly common in the Games and seemed easier to manage.

So, they ended up going to Greta first. She had made an ally of the shy twelve year old from 5, Seph, and gotten very proficient with making traps. Nor was she opposed to allies. "I'd love to be allies! What do you think, Seph?"

The young boy merely nodded, more a follower than leader. So, they're alliance grew double and they moved onto another. It seemed outliers were a good place to start and since Darley had his own ally – and District 10 and Greta didn't really care for him – they went to District 12. They decided to ignore Ophelia, who had managed to make a fire and was currently running and flailing about with a torch to the distress of the Trainers. That meant speaking with her partner Ash.

"Really? You want to ally?" He asked, genuinely surprised. He had come to accept that he was going in alone and the chance at allies was a dream. When he saw that nobody was yelling "gotcha" at him, he nodded vigorously. "Ok! I learned how to make and swing an axe, and I can build fires, and learned how to make take care of injuries, and-"

"Slow down! There's plenty of time to get to know about everyone." Greta laughed.

With a large group now, they finally went to speak to District 11. Tilly was all manners when they came to speak with them and Calen gave them a grunt to show he was engaged. The group made their pitch and the Tributes of 11 went in two different directions.

"We'd be interested!" Tilly said.

"Pass." Calen said at the same time.

This lead to an argument amongst themselves and the pair excused themselves to talk in private. Before Tilly could begin, Calen laid out his reasoning. "I have no issues with finding allies, but not them. There's strength in numbers only if there's actually strength there, like the Careers. And I don't mean just physical strength, I mean mental. People who can hold on in the Games. This group… we might as well ally with District 6."

"You don't know them." Tilly countered, but she was already finding Calen's argument to be persuasive. One of the allies only twelve years old, another from the backwater of District 12. The older kids didn't seem much better.

"Exactly. Neither do you. But think about it, the Hunger Games could last weeks, Tilly! Do you think they'll be able to hang in there when the food runs out? Or when they're injured and have to bear with it? Or how about when the Careers are slaughtering people in the Bloodbath? Even odds says half of them break and start running. I don't want to spend the Games cowering with people. I need people at my side who are strong. That's why I'm with you."

Tilly was surprised by the compliment. "You think I'm strong?"

"Course. I heard you talking to the Escort. You have a big family you raised alone. Deadbeat dad. You already had to deal with so much, along with just the shittiness of 11. And you've been kicking my ass since we got on the train. I trust you."

Tilly actually felt her heart swell with appreciation. "Look at you having a heart."

"Don't tell anyone, I have a reputation to uphold." Calen said deadpan, before giving her a wink.

It was decided and they politely – or, Tilly did at least – declined the invitation to the alliance and left it at that. That put a sour note over the group, but Greta rallied them. "We don't want to listen to them fight all the time anyways." She joked.

The alliance half-heartedly agreed and moved on, everyone assessing the strengths and weaknesses of their new group. Unfortunately, there were a lot of weaknesses, particularly in the combat area, but what could they do? The alliance was built, and no one wanted to be the odd person out.

From across the Training Center, Amaya watched the alliance grow, nudging Elegance. "I feel kind of bad for them." She said, pointing to the group. "Bloodbaths walking, all of them."

Elegance glanced at them, actually feeling bad. The group was pathetic, all skin and bones and for the most part young. But Elegance actually felt pity. It been an odd fascination for her that she admired Victors who came from the Outliers. They seemed to endure so much more than Career Victors and when they won, it really was a spectacle. And Elegance always had a thing for underdogs.

Didn't mean she wouldn't kill them the first chance she got though.

'There's only one Victor after all.' She thought.

Up Next: Tribute Scoring

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