Gaius Gloriana

District 2 Male

73 HG

June 66 AD

"Checkmate!"

Gaius Gloriana pouted. "No fair! How come you always win?"

His older sister, Camdyn, simply giggled as she began to rearrange the chess pieces. "Because I'm more experienced. I've been playing for years. Don't worry, you'll get there one day. Just keep practicing."

This got a grin out of Gaius. "We can practice a lot when you get back, right?"

Camdyn's smile slowly faded. "Gaius," she said for what had to be the tenth time. "We talked about this. I might not come back."

"You said that already. I know you will though! You're strong! You'll win for sure!"

Camdyn reached out and patted Gaius's head. "I appreciate the confidence, but… if something happens to me, you need to be ready to take care of yourself."

"Auntie Lyme will take care of me while you're gone and then one day, I can volunteer for the Games and win just like you!"

Camdyn shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"Why not? All my friends are doing it!"

"Gaius, you can't always follow your friends into everything. How many times has that gotten you into trouble?"

That was a question Gaius wasn't sure he wanted to answer. He got sent to the principal's office quite a few times several times because he had gone along with what they did. It was fun, but the punishments were not.

Camdyn continued. "I won't be there anymore to get you out of that trouble, and even if I am, you're getting older. I can't always protect you, meaning you have to protect yourself. And that means making the right choices even though everyone else doesn't want to. You have to lead by example. Does that make sense?"

Gaius shook his head slowly and Camdyn smiled. "Don't worry. One of these days, you will. Now, up for another round?"

Gaius nodded excitedly. "Yeah!"

July 73 ADD

Gaius crouched behind a pile of rubble, gripping his dagger tightly. Elsewhere, Prospero was getting into position, Glint was climbing something tall enough to where she could flash the signal mirror when the boy from Seven emerged. Bren was behind him, holding her morning star.

As far as chess pieces went, Bren was the queen. The most powerful fighter in the pack, but also the most impulsive. People were so eager to throw their queen into action only to lose her, and Gaius was not ready to lose Bren yet.

His daggers were already bloodstained. Soon, it would be time to kill again. Unlike Bren, who is bouncing excitedly behind him, Gaius was not looking forward to it. "Why are we keeping the other two around?" his district partner asked. "Seriously, Glint's only good for climbing and Prospero doesn't belong here."

Gaius closed his eyes tightly. "Just because it's the top ten doesn't mean we need to go around picking off our allies just yet." It was not the first time he had this conversation, and he was an idiot to think that the last time would be that: the last time.

"Right," Bren replied sarcastically. "For strategic reasons. Other packs would have cut out the loose ends by now. Why don't we?"

Gaius shot Bren a dirty look. "Other packs have also fallen apart by now, so maybe you should take that into consideration."

Besides, turning on Prospero now, despite the sense of rivalry that existed between the two tacticians, felt wrong. He was not going to make the wrong choice, strategically or morally, because Bren was feeling a little bloodthirsty. That was not what a good leader did.

Bren rolled her eyes, but didn't say anymore.

A flash of light alerted Gaius to a nearby tower. He looked out past the rubble and saw the boy from Seven emerge.

He spun his daggers in his hand and stalked out from behind the rubble.

All according to plan.

"My sister once told me that you should always make the right choice even when everyone is against you. I made the right choice in volunteering. I only hope I continue to make the right choices."

xiii. leader
See! I told you I wouldn't have another One! This time, it's our very own Gaius Gloriana! He's known as the Man With a Plan for a reason. He was the alliance tactician alongside Prospero and let's just say he learned those skills from both his late sister and a certain ally of hers.