Chapter 16: Plan For Victory
Thinking back to the reaping, Sera tried to recall the tributes from that year. Out of the two chosen, she'd be mentoring one as a replacement for Leora. She remembered standing on stage in Foxhalo waiting for their names to be called. Back then, she didn't know who was going to be the mentors, certainly not her.
It was only over a year since her reaping.
Exactly a year since it was Sera who was the one standing in the crowd with girls her age. Had she not been reaped last year, she would again join the crowd of fearful children who looked like lambs waiting for slaughter. It was her last year but now she took her place among the victors of her district. She scanned the crowd from behind two Peacekeepers, looking for a sign of her family.
She spotted her brother easily in the crowd among the adults, he was tall enough to stick out. Her sister wasn't too far away. Her two siblings stood next to their aunt supporting her as her aunt hobbled to take their places.
Had it not been mandatory to attend the reapings, she was sure Talissa would have forced their aunt to stay home. Talissa would also choose to stay home to take care of their aunt but unfortunately reapings were mandatory for all, no excuses.
It was the only day where everything was put on hold for maximum attendance, the only ones who were allowed to miss it were the plant workers. They were required to stay in their designated power plants and ensure the plants were running, energy was being produced for the whole of Panem.
Electricity was essential for this day as the reapings were being broadcast live throughout Panem therefore those emergency plant workers had to stay at work. It didn't matter if some of their children might be reaped, it didn't matter if reaping day was the last they might see of their children, power was essential and leaving your post meant either death or a fate worse than death.
Ramiel, her brother, was only an apprentice at Clemensia 2 water plant. He still had a year or two before he was done with his apprenticeship. She watched as her brother broke away from their elder sister and aunt. He walked over to the area where boys his age were standing. Next to them was the equally large group of girls the same age as the boys, the two groups were separated by a short thin metal barrier.
The combined group had only a year left. A year before they would no longer be of reaping age. Her brother was unfortunate his birthday was in the winter like Huxley's and he was lumped in with the eighteen year olds but she hoped her win in the previous year would save him from reaping. After all, there was an unspoken rule: siblings or family members of victors rarely get reaped.
The stage was propped in the center of District 5's square, Foxhalo. Like its namesake, the square had a recognisable statue of a giant black fox in the center which faced the stage with an unmoving glare. Underneath the statue of the fox was a halo of lights which were turned off as it was still day but when night came, the lights would flicker on one by one.
A few feet behind the statue was a clock tower displaying the time. The square was usually home to a bustling marketplace with shops and carts circling the center of the square. For the reaping day, all shops and businesses were shut. The usually vibrant square was dull with black clouds looming overhead the gathering crowd.
Behind the stage in the distance, was the Justice Building, the mayor's office and administration building. Behind it, in the distance, the Asterhall, the mayor's quarters, could be seen. It was a large and impressive building which was carved out of a rocky hill with two floors above and two floors below for storage. Most of the downstairs of Asterhall was open to the public, the east and west wings were used for educational tours, the south wing was used for ceremonies while the whole second floor was reserved for the mayor and his family.
While the Justice Building was mostly reserved for administrations and was a hub for Peacekeepers. Sera and her family had been in the south wing of the Asterhall once before she became a victor, a long time ago when her father had passed and they were invited. She was too young to remember exactly why and her aunt never talked about it again neither did her sister or her brother. It was so long ago, the memory had all but faded.
The last time she was there was for dinner with the mayor during her victory tour. Mayor Weathers was joined by his family. It was a quiet and a formal affair until the mayor's wife decided the silence was too deafening.
She glanced at the Asterhall once more before walking over to her place next to Huxley who had already taken his place. Next to him were Leora, Wells and the mayor's wife, Estelle whose husband was noticeably absent from the stage. The former victor turned mayor's wife beamed at her brightly before her face shifted into glare once she spotted Porter.
Porter was helped by two of her helpers while being followed by two Peacekeepers who led her to her spot. Estelle wasn't the only one glaring at Porter, Wells looked at her with disgust while Leora looked at her with a murderous glare. Only Huxley seemed apathetic to the older victor. He looked away when Porter greeted him with a nod, he seemed to have no interest to interact with his former mentor instead he busied himself with idle chat with Sera. She was still very much confused about Porter and why every other victor of her district couldn't stand her.
Stealing a glance at Porter, the forty-something year old wore a simple but expensive navy embroidered dress which seemed to have snakes and white roses embroidered onto the fabric. A stark contrast to the rest of the victors who wore dull and muted clothes. Porter had her neck brace on as usual supporting her head and neck while her closely cropped hair was curled to the side in waves.
Sera had to pause for a second when she spotted those familiar flowers on her dress. At first she thought nothing of it but then she glanced again to check. White roses. Those flowers, they couldn't be a coincidence. She wondered if there was indeed a reason why Porter was despised, a justifiable reason but she didn't dwell on it much longer.
In the distance, she could see the ongoing registration process going on as the children quietly filed into their rightful positions. She let out a sigh, Huxley patted her shoulders and gave her a small comforting smile. His face hardened and then a tired but anxious look flashed onto his face. She followed his gaze, only to find Clarisse moving towards her designated area. Clarisse searched the crowd before she spotted her brother and Sera on the stage. Huxley gave her a reassuring nod which was reciprocated. The two siblings silently communicated as the crowd finally finished gathering.
Mayor Weathers, a tall muscular man with long braided full hair and trimmed beard escorted Emilia to the stage, the two stopped in the center as he gave his usual speech which Sera knew every other district also had. It was almost exactly the same in every other district but Mayor Weathers would more than often cut down on parts of the speech and add his own words in. No one ever objected and Emilia usually made up for it.
When he was done, he read the names of all the past Victors of 5. In the sixty-nine years of the games, there were about nine victors from 5, including Sera, of the nine, seven were still alive.
Just as he said this, the oldest victor of 5, Uriel Orson clumsily hobbled to the stage. Uriel was someone hardly seen by other victors, he was a short man with a stocky build and all gray hair, closely cropped to his ears. His dull tired black eyes scanned the crowd before nodding at Estelle in greeting then taking his spot next to her and Wells.
The crowd murmured and whispered among themselves at his oddly late appearance but it all ceased once Uriel started to break into a fit of coughs, interrupting the mayor who paid him no mind. Mayor Weathers carried on as usual, giving a sympathetic nod to Uriel before he moved aside and signaled for the video of the Dark Days to be played and stood aside.
The moment the video ended, Emilia plastered a smile on her face and strode over to the mic. The crowd welcomed her with a rehearsed applause before silencing itself in exactly thirty seconds.
That year she wore a short dress which seemed to be decorated with shards of mirror all along the neck to the skirt. The tulip-shaped skirt seemed to reflect the miniscule amounts of light which escaped from under the dark clouds as Emilia moved around the stage. Her powder blue hair was braided to the side with shards of mirrors decorating the braid, like the skirt it too shone brightly.
With feigned excitement she picked where Mayor Weathers had left off. "Happy Hunger Games District 5! May the odds ever be in your favor." Her face distorted for a second as she said those typical lines almost all escorts said. "Ah! The Hunger Games is here once again! How exciting! Isn't it?" She didn't expect anyone to respond to her and no one ever did.
She beamed brightly with shaky eyes as she said her lines, glancing over to the glass bowls filled with slips of paper with names of every potential tribute. One bowl contained names of only boys while the other contained only girls. "As always, ladies first!" As was tradition, Emilia went with the girls first. "Ira Northwind." She read out from the slip.
Huxley let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't Clarisse, thankfully.
Everyone turned to look at Ira. The long-faced girl shakily looked around for her sisters, both avoiding her gaze while her mother let out a sob. Ira looked at Sera with anger in her eyes as Sera avoided her gaze. Sera caught Oran's eye and the boy looked guilty. But no one apart from Oran and Anton looked sympathetic. Even Mirri seemed relieved.
No one cared once your name was read out.
Something Sera knew all too well.
The moment your name was called you were destined to die, if the odds were in your favor but the odds were hardly ever in your favor, not unless you were strong, smart, pretty or skilled. Even then being strong and skill often meant nothing or being pretty and smart only brought unnecessary attention which would often get one killed. Standing out meant making yourself a target.
However, Ira was nothing remarkable.
Sera quietly assessed the still girl standing in the center of a storm of whispers. She was neither eye-catchingly pretty or strong. She knew Ira wasn't smart either or skilled. Her parents hardly let their beloved daughter face much trouble as someone from the Lux. Ira was spoiled and sheltered.
"She's gonna have a hard time." Wells muttered only to those close to him.
"She only has herself to blame." Leora chimed in, her mouth covered by her hand.
Porter's head snapped to look at the duo. "Can't you two be a little more sympathetic?"
"Can you stop pretending like you care?" Leora rolled her eyes and glared at Porter before turning away to meet Estelle's gaze. Estelle looked amused by the commotion but she made no move to join in.
"Ira?" Emilia called out again. "Ira Northwind?"
The tribute still hadn't moved and now Peacekeepers were starting to surround her. She started to breathe heavily, letting out a cry as a Peacekeeper grabbed her by the arm, attempting to bring her to the stage.
Ira's eyes welled up with tears before she let out a laugh of disbelief. "Mera? Naya?" She called out to her sisters quietly, thinking either would volunteer for her. Her sisters again avoided her gaze. "Mera!" Her older sister acted as if Ira was not there at all and looked elsewhere. "Naya! Please! Mera! Please!" She desperately tried to get their attention as she was dragged to the stage but she dug her heels in and refused to move. "Mirri! Mirri! Where are—Ow!"
"Come along, dear. It's an honor to be reaped, let's not make a fuss. We don't want to hold everyone up, do we?" Emilia gestured to the stage.
With no choice left, Ira sucked in a breath and held her head high, walked to the stage. Nobody she called looked at her, not until she was on the stage.
Sera could've sworn she saw Ira's sisters breathe a sigh of relief when Ira finally climbed on the stage to seal her fate. She pitied her former classmate and tormentor for a second but it all faded once Ira turned to glare openly at Sera, muttering it was her fault.
Mayor Weathers panicked and tried to shift focus. This was being filmed and broadcast all over Panem. Ira just made their reaping into an unforgettable affair, most would talk about for years and years.
The whole of District 5 didn't want that.
Seeing Ira's actions, murmurs and whispers turned to jeers and boos at Ira. Nobody was looking at her in sympathy now. She caused a scene and openly showed disdain to a victor. Most would see it as an act of rebellion and the last thing District 5 wanted was to be seen as rebels.
"...Ah, she just made a biiig mistake." Leora stifled her laughter while eying Ira. "There's no way, she's gonna get any sponsors after that."
"You don't know that." Porter quietly spoke. She was the only one who seemed sad about the outburst.
Wells drunkenly giggled before covering his mouth. The crowd looked at him with apathy before he clumsily waved at them. Leora laughed as Porter slapped her face in annoyance.
Huxley sighed and turned to Sera to explain to her why Ira was not going to make it after she tugged at his clothes. "Apart from her hysterical outburst, she glared at you."
"So?" Sera was confused. She didn't think too much of it earlier. Ira and her never liked each other and never would, their mutual animosity was something so natural almost everyone at their school knew about it.
Her brother-in-law shook his head and lowered his head. "You're still one of the favorites and you're a recent victor. Capitol people have a soft spot for you."
"So they'll abandon her before the game's begin because of that?" He nodded. "That's not fair. Ira doesn't like me from the start—"
"They don't know that." Wells cut in as he stumbled a bit where he stood. Leora held onto him while nodding along. "They see what the-they want…nice happy victors and tributes…who…yawn…all get along—"
"Marvelous." Emilia clapped her hands together silencing the crowd. "That took a while." She laughed, trying to ease the tension in the square but no one laughed along. "Moving on. Any volunteers?"
Nobody moved.
Ira's sisters looked away just as cameras focused in on them while Mirri acted as if she hadn't heard the call for volunteers. Nobody cared enough about Ira to die. Her sisters who were still of reaping age didn't even hesitate to ignore the pleas or Ira, they didn't want to put themselves out for her now either. They didn't care.
"Well, I suppose that's it then." Emilia awkwardly carried on. Usually some family members would at least look guilty for not volunteering but Ira's sister didn't look guilty at all. They were more scared than guilty. "Now why don't you say a few words to introduce yourself?"
Shakily, Ira took a step forward. Her nervous eyes scanned the town square before she sucked in a breath and let go. "I'm Ira Northwind and…I…uh…" She ran out of words to say and stumbled back.
"Wonderful." Emilia gently directed Ira behind her while she signaled to the mayor's assistant to bring over the second bowl. "Now onto the boys."
One of the mayor's assistants picked up the bowl and brought it over to Emilia who with rehearsed actions stuck her hand into the bowl.
The only thought which kept circling Sera's mind was; not Ramiel. She begged and prayed it would be anyone else instead but not her brother. This time she was focused when the name was called out.
"...Maxim Solberg."
Sera's mouth went dry and her heart dropped. The name was familiar. Too familiar for her comfort.
Maxim Solberg.
Everyone knew who he was.
How couldn't they?
Eugene Solberg's brother. Gene's brother. Sera's district partner.
All eyes were now on Sera.
A silent hush fell over the entire square again. This silence was worse than before. Even Emilia seemed too stunned to continue. She repeated the name once more before whisperings started. Sera could hear them too clearly.
Maxim Solberg stood in the center of his section as they all parted to give him room to pass through. He looked stunned and shocked, momentarily forgetting his surroundings as he sniffed. His dark eyes searched the stage and then stopped, staring straight at Sera.
Sharp cheekbones, dark hair and eyes which seemed to bore into one's mind. He looked just like his brother, so much so it was haunting.
Dark fog crept into Sera's vision. She blinked and it was gone, replaced by the ghostly figure of Gene. He stood behind his younger brother crying bloody tears while his head was bent into an unnatural shape. The ghost opened its mouth to speak but black blood rushed out of its mouth as it fell to its knees facing the darkened sky. She flinched back seeing him and she started shaking. Her chest started to ache and she grabbed onto Huxley in pain.
"Maxim Solberg." Emilia repeated. Her voice didn't shake but her hands were shaking a little. Quickly, she composed herself and smiled a little brighter. "Maxim?" She called out.
Maxim looked around then let out a pained breath. With a shaky step forward, he started to move. More people parted as he walked past them and shakily climbed up the steps.
Emilia welcomed him with a sad smile. "Now, any volunteers?"
Only a second passed before some yelled. "I volunteer as tribute." A boy who was standing next to Maxim before he was called, yelled out. Murmurs and whispers followed. District 5 was no stranger to volunteers, it was uncommon but not rare. Still it had been a while since the district got any volunteers.
Sera and Huxley shared a look before they both turned back to look at the boy who volunteered. The boy was quite thin but he was tall. He had tan skin and straggly light brown hair. He seemed unfamiliar to Sera yet not enough to warrant her concern as deeply as Maxim did. The boy took confident strides up to the stage while Maxim was escorted back to his place, he tried to turn back and look at the boy who volunteered for him but he was stopped by the Peacekeepers.
"Wonderful." Emilia murmured into the mic as she reached out for the volunteer. "Introduce yourself for us, will you?" It wasn't a request but a procedure they all had to follow.
The escort took a step aside and allowed the boy to take center stage while she held a mic to his face. The boy looked nervously at Emilia then looked at the crowd.
He sucked in a breath before breathing out. "Zephyr." He said. "Zephyr Nikolas." The boy's cheeks were red and his eyes wild. Sera noticed his palms were bruised with nail marks maring his skin. She recognized those marks well. Turning her palms over, she had matching marks. She did those herself whenever she was scared or nervous.
"Zephyr Nikolas!" Emilia announced to the square. "Marvelous. Simply marvelous. Now Zephyr, do you have a few words for the crowd or perhaps your friend Maxim who you volunteered for?"
Zephyr shook his head. He still took center stage and said a few obligatory greetings before he took his place next to his partner. It took her a second to recognize him. It was him, the boy who helped her. She had almost forgotten his face and all about him until now. Her eyes widened when she recognized but she quickly acted like she didn't, looking elsewhere.
She wasn't the only one. Ira recognized him as well. Her blood ran cold and she started shaking, cursing in her mind. Her luck was really rotten. First she was reaped, then her partner was a boy who didn't like her at all. She remembered him. He helped Sera when she was waiting for her brother outside of the school and she, along with her 'friends', had decided to pick on her. If Zephyr wasn't there, Sera would've attacked them. Suddenly she felt even worse than before.
Sera watched as he took his place next to his nervous district partner. Emilia then carried on presenting the new tributes for 69th Hunger Games before going back to finish the rest of formalities. She closed off the reaping once again by announcing the two tributes. "I present to you the tributes of the 69th Hunger Games!" She announced, gesturing to them excitedly. "May the odds be ever in their favor." She finished and turned her back to the stage.
The remaining victors on stage all turned their gaze on Zephyr once again when Emilia was done. He was different from them. Not unlike the rest of them who were scared, nervous or brave. He was apathetic, a little bit like Sera but at the same time he seemed determined, something Sera lacked.
Emilia walked off the stage while escorting the two tributes to the gates of Asterhall. The mayor signed off the ceremony with his last words before dismissing the crowds. Sera watched as the rest of the victors followed soon. She didn't even notice until Huxley had tapped her on her shoulder. It was only then did she notice the almost empty stage. She quickly followed after her former mentor to the gates of Asterhall.
Back then, Sera pitied Zephyr. If anyone in 5 could potentially reach top five that year, it would be Zephyr. It took Sera moments to figure out that he was smart and resourceful. She'd seen him around passing by even before he decided to help Sera. He was the only nephew of Mr Starek, the owner of the antique shop. Her brother had mentioned him once or twice in passing moments to Sera—how the boy, despite only being a first-year apprentice, was doing advanced tasks that were usually left to final-year apprentices like Ramiel.
She thought his efforts and talents would be wasted, until Leora mysteriously fell ill and she was set to replace her. Now she sat in front of the boy who was only a year older than her. Zephyr looked down at the wooden table with a broken clock in his hands that she was sure that he had broken. He was busy fixing the clock, not focusing on her.
"Were you listening to what I was saying?" Sera asked, looking at the clock and at the boy. "Zephyr?"
The boy's grips on the screwdriver tightened and he looked up. "Yes. Yes. Skills. You were asking me what skills I have so you know what you're working with." Sera nodded. "Sorry to disappoint you but I've got nothing so…I guess I'll just die." With a shrug, he went back to work.
"I think you're lying."
Zephyr giggled, shaking his head. "Unlike you, I don't know how to throw knives or anything. I'm not particularly strong—if you haven't noticed." He moved his head towards his thin arms. "I guess you could say I'm smart. I can fix just about anything and even make things out of scraps but that's not gonna help me survive out there is it. I'm not against the idea of me dying, I'm fine with it. It's not like anyone's waiting for me back home."
Sera let out a sigh. She too would be fine letting him die, if only the ghosts in her mind let or the pesky little promise she had made to Clarisse. It was surprising for her to find out that her childhood friend was actually close to Zephyr. Clarisse begged Sera to help Zephyr so she had no choice.
"As much as I would love to leave you alone, I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because Clarisse asked me to."
Zephyr paused and finally dropped the screwdriver and the magnifying glass. Mentioning Clarisse got his attention. "Right, you grew up with her." His hands started to shake a bit. "She's a good person."
"She is. She asked me to help you."
"You were gonna try anyway, she didn't have to ask or—" He scanned her face and the way she was sitting. It was harder to read Sera when she wasn't in 5. Outside of 5, Sera was like a whole different person. "Nevermind." He shook his head and leaned in towards Sera. "Fine. I'll let you know something. I have a great memory."
Finally after hours of waiting for Zephyr to open up, Sera had something to go on about. "How good?"
"Good enough to remember something forever with one look. Test me."
"Okay," Sera looked around the room before glancing at the screen behind them. The two were seated in the newly remodeled floor of District 5. "Behind you is the recap of the 24th Hunger Games, how did the tribute in third place die and what was their mistake?"
"That's a little challenging, don't you think?"
"It's a test, besides the recap of the 24th Hunger Games has been playing since you walked in. I'm sorry if you weren't focusing."
Behind them Ira mindlessly rocked back and forth while trying her hardest to focus on the screen. Now and then, she'd glance at Sera and Zephyr and then back again at the screen or the empty seat where her own mentor was supposed to be. Wells as Sera could predict was off somewhere getting drunk.
Ira nervously stared at Sera, making eye-contact with her before looking away. Of course, the girl she tormented back at 5 wouldn't help her. Sera didn't want to help her anyways. She acted as if the other girl wasn't in the room at all, despite her so-called kind nature, she could care less about Ira. Had it been anyone else, Sera would've cared.
"Third place was a girl from Eight and her mistake was trusting her district partner too much. She let her guard down and he gutted her alive in her sleep, said partner met his end at the hands of that year's victor who was from District 1."
Sera nodded, not surprised that Zephyr got that on his first watch. "The choice of weapons of the top five of that year along with their flaws."
"Seriously?" Sera nodded before Zephyr sucked in a breath and let it go. "Okay. Number five was a girl from Two, choice of weapon was a pickaxe and her flaw was that she picked something she couldn't handle and only survived that far because of her alliance."
"Good, carry on."
"Number four was a boy from Three, choice of weapon was a modified saw that he rigged to shock his victims. His shortcoming was not taking into account the arena's environment and his own weapon killed him. Number three—I already mentioned her—her weapon was a circular-type weapon…"
"There's an actual name for that." Sera quietly pointed out.
"Chakram?" Sera nodded confirming his guess. "She lost it the night before she died because she threw it too far like number five, she didn't completely master that weapon which led to her partner stealing it—we both know what happened next—and finally top two. Number two was also from Eight and his choice of weapon was a whip but he also retrieved the chakram from his district partner. His downfall was that the whip was not made for close-combat and ignoring his opponents flexibility. He also didn't utilize both the whip and chakram properly. Is that enough?"
"Not bad." Sera clapped once which garnered the attention of Ira. "I'll bite. You have a good memory."
"You didn't make me do that to just test my memory, did you?" Sera shrugged. "I feel like there's a lesson in there somewhere."
There was. A huge reason why she had even won her games was analyzing the mistakes the tributes from the old games made. One could learn a lot from the past. "I'm wondering if you'll notice it yourself." She answered with a soft smile and mischievous twinkle in her eye.
"Ah." It didn't take Zephyr long to realize what Sera was doing. "You want me to learn from that."
"Depends on you. Let me ask you one question; do you want to live?"
"Like I said, no one—apart from Clarisse—is waiting for me."
"You don't have to live on because of others." Sera quietly spoke, she motioned him to come closer, knowing that Ira was listening but now with the newcomer, Emilia—she didn't want either of them to hear her.
Zephyr stared at her. She had a blank look on her face and it was a little harder to read her but she seemed sincere enough that he almost believed her. "That's funny," He whispered. "You came back for your family. I saw your reaping—everyone did. Anyone with a good eye could tell that you were ready to die the moment your name was called."
"I admit. I was, that is until I realized that I would be wasting away the years I spent living to that moment." Zephyr frowned, he was now even more confused. "Everyone knows that I was born sick but what most don't know is that I was only meant to live till I was eight or ten at best but now I'll be sixteen soon. I realized in the arena that if I just died there, those years that I lived until that moment would be wasted so I chose to live…for me. My family was just an additional reason. Some may think my main reason is selfish but—"
"It makes sense—to live for yourself is the most sound reasoning I've heard."
"Living for other people is hard and your life is not your own. Live for yourself, that's the only way to live, you can share bits of your time and life with others but not all which is what my mother used to tell me. So let me ask you again; do you want to live?"
Zephyr sucked in a breath and stared down at the half-fixed broken cloak. He had rigged it to be voice activated but Sera didn't know that, if he kept on going he could make a weapon out of the clock, like a bomb. "I want to live." He looked up to find Sera staring at him.
"Thought so. Let's get a game plan. Now you said you have no hidden talents."
"Apart from the ability to fix anything and tinker around and maybe a great memory. I've got nothing."
"What about your reflexes?"
Zephyr paused, thinking hard about how quickly he could react but Sera was already getting up and walking away. He looked around for a second, catching the eye of Emilia who awkwardly smiled at the boy.
The other tribute of 5 watched her partner and their escort leave. She contemplated following them or staying alone in the sitting room before finally she got up, biting down her pride and hurrying after the trio.
Sera walked into the large and newly remodeled dining room. Unlike last year, this year the floor had gone through a change to prepare for a new decade of the games. A waterfall with electric blue water rained down into a bed of black rocks acted as a backdrop for the huge white dining table in the center of the room. On the table were a set of cutlery including knives, ready for lunch which was to be served soon.
"What are you doing?" Emilia asked but she was met with no response. "Lunch isn't for another hour." She added, only to get ignored.
Unlike Emilia, Zephyr hung back and watched the younger girl walk up the platform where the dining table was. Sera went over to the table and leaned over it. "I thought we were talking about our reflexes." Zephyr quietly approached Sera but he didn't get very far as Sera turned around quickly with a knife in her hand. She aimed it and threw it straight at him.
In panic, Zephyr quickly dodged the knife and the knife lodged itself onto the wooden wall behind him with enough force to make the wood splinter. He didn't have time to relax as Sera threw another knife at him which he narrowly dodged. Despite his doubts of Sera as a mentor or even victor, he had to admit now that she was actually quite skilled. He dodged another knife as Ira ran and ducked for cover while Emilia watched on proudly.
Sera was down to one last knife, she had thrown four so far at Zephyr and each time he had only managed to miss it. One last knife. She narrowed her eyes on her target and pulled her arm back before she threw it straight at him. Pure panic flashed in Zephyr's eyes as the knife shot through the air and headed straight for him, unlike before he didn't dodge it instead he narrowly moved and caught the knife by its hilt.
He let out a sound with the knife in his hand and almost fell to the floor but instead he got up. Sera smiled softly at him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to throw it back. Zephyr knew it too so he walked over and gathered all the knives, handing them back to Sera who gave it to an avox.
"You're crazy." Ira murmured, looking at Sera who ignored the other tribute and went to Zephyr.
"You have to be faster next time." Sera looked at Emilia who started to clap.
"Right so you didn't just try to kill me."
"No, I was testing you. You passed."
Emilia finished clapping and patted Sera on the back before turning to Ira. "May I say that was a marvelous display of skill from Seraphine. Ira, darling, since Julian…is absent, you should watch Seraphine and Zephyr."
Ira's face fell and she looked around the room again but her own mentor was nowhere to be found. "Will I be tested as well?" She asked, trying not to look at Sera.
"Not by me." Sera answered with a blank face. She'd prefer if Ira asked for help rather than her going out of her way to help. "Unless you ask, that is."
"Who'd want to ask you?" Ira blurted out without thinking.
Emilia gasped. In all her years, she had never come across a tribute as rude as Ira. The escort was used to having tributes who were at least civil to their mentors and their partners but Ira was something else. "My goodness! Ira dear, if I were you I'd be nicer to Seraphine given the…absence…of Julian, your mentor but I suppose pride does take precedence of rationale."
Zephyr choked back on his laughter and shared a look with Sera who just shrugged. "You heard Emilia, if you want to have at least a surviving chance in the arena then maybe being nice to your mentors is the way to go otherwise you're on your own."
After that Sera led Zephyr back to the living room, on the way back the two quietly discussed their plans. "I don't really have any skills." He repeated.
"Offensive skills. Huxley did this thing last year where he divided up my skills into three categories; survival, offensive and defensive. They're pretty self-explanatory."
"I don't have any survival skills. I know you'd think I do but most of my childhood, I was raised by my uncle."
Sera nodded as the screen above the mantle flickered from a static to Caesar Flickerman's face as he went on and on about that year's Hunger Games. "Right, the Stareks are pretty well off for a family from the Hollow but I guess we can fix that. You have a great memory, remember that. In the training center, there's gonna be plenty of survival stations and one of them will be very important. It's an identification station where you have to match up edible fruits, herbs and vegetables. It's memory based."
"I'll focus on that."
"Don't go overboard. I'd also suggest going around to the rope station—Mags Flanagan used her skills with rope to survive—remember that." Zephyr nodded. "Go around to some offensive stations like the knife, archery, sword and even the spear. There's some weight stations as well, make sure to go to those as well—you'll need them and lastly, look at your fellow tributes."
"To weed out the weak ones?"
"Yes and no. You can find out a lot more about them outside the arena than inside, like their weaknesses and strengths—helps you find allies and your targets. Remember looks can be deceiving."
"I'm looking at the proof of it." Sera grinned just as the double doors to the living room opened to reveal Scarus. She stiffened when she saw her guard and nodded at him, of course she still had her schedules. "Do you have to go?" Zephyr asked.
"We'll talk more about the potential arenas and sponsors, even alliances next time. I have to go." She patted his shoulder and left to follow Scarus who glared at her tribute.
Scarus trailed behind her as he led her to the car. She didn't speak a word to the guard and instead kept her gaze away from him. On their way to the car, a screen showed the interview between the past victors and Caesar which was filmed weeks ago. Scarus stopped for a moment Sera walked down the steps.
On the screen, he watched as the five victors animatedly talked to each other but what caught his eyes was how full of life Sera looked and how she actually interacted with others. Her interaction with Finnick Odair and Cashmere caught his eye. He watched as Finnick carefully interrupted Caesar whenever he gave her a difficult question and how she would do the same, like pretending to admire Cashmere's dress to get the attention of Finnick. How admirable of her.
He looked back to see Sera standing in front of the car, waiting for her. Unlike her on the screen, she looked more lifeless and hollow standing in front of him. Her cheeks were pale and even the peach blush that she had on couldn't bring much life to her, she looked like a painting to him. The contrast between the girl on the screen and the girl in front of him was a little sad for him, still he didn't care enough to point it out. He felt strange that he even noticed.
"So what's on the agenda?" Scarus was nearly surprised when she spoke. "I do have a schedule, don't I?" She asked, pulling her hair back and smiling gently but like all her smiles directed at him, they never reached her eyes.
Shutting his eyes, he banished those thoughts before opening them again. "Yes, only one, very important too. After that you're free for the rest of the day." He took out a small book with all of Sera's schedules and flipped through it.
"Do I have to visit this patient regularly?"
"Only for a week or two."
"Do I have to bring him some flowers?"
Scarus stilled and looked at Sera who had turned away from him and was now looking at the window. "That won't be necessary." He answered.
Unbeknown to him, Sera let out a quiet sigh of relief when she heard his reply. She wouldn't have to kill another sick person, not today. Maybe it was a small reprieve granted to her for the Hunger Games season or maybe the particular patient was already dying, she didn't know but what she did know is they wouldn't have to die by her hands.
Author's note: Sera's first time as a mentor was fun to write and Zephyr is just a really fun character especially with his eidetic memory. Unlike, Sera or even Huxley, he's not that strong or agile or even skilled. I wanted to play around with the idea of tribute that literally started from almost scratch but not really and you have Zephyr. Ira's also making a re-appearance from the earlier chapters and that's all I have to say.
Hope you all enjoy, until next time.
