Chevre Kanaf-Kaziol, 16
District 10, She/Her
June 9th, 97 ADD
7:28 AM
Chevre had taken the last watch, and so when the sun rose that morning, she was the only one awake to see it. She watched it through the window of the building they'd holed up in for the night, a small two-story one without a big sign up front.
Even with just a bit of morning light, she could make out the ghosts wandering the streets. There weren't as many as there were at the Cornucopia- she guessed they had started spreading out- but there were still plenty. The closest one lurked in the alley beneath her window. She paced back and forth, drenched from head to foot, and wouldn't stop twitching. While most of the ghosts had a number somewhere on their clothes, this one just wore a long teal dress. Chevre watched the dead girl pace for a moment, unsettled.
She closed her eyes and forced herself to return to the matter at hand. Some tributes were dead. Some were not.
First, the dead.
According to the sky last night, five tributes were dead, and none of them were her allies.
(One of them was her district partner.)
(While the people who interrogated her two nights ago wouldn't give up any details, Chevre hadn't taken long to piece together what happened. Her hypothesis was confirmed when she showed up to breakfast the next morning and Rumi was nowhere to be seen- which also explained the strangeness of the Cornucopia explosion.
Rumi died at the party.
She hadn't spent a lot of time with Rumi- it had immediately been clear that neither Chevre nor Rumi was the other's speed- but she hadn't disliked them, and his death happening before the Games felt like something she should care about. They were the only one from home and all that.
But the more she thought about it, the more she found that their shared home wasn't what bothered her about Rumi's death. It was the sense that Rumi had been tossed aside, unwanted and forgotten. A feeling that, at home, being shielded from life by her mothers, had always hit a nerve. The last thing she wanted was for the world to forget her, too.)
(There wasn't anything she could do to help Rumi now. But she was sorry nonetheless.)
Now, the living.
Today, they'd go looking for the rest of the alliance.
She'd briefly seen Jem before taking off towards the Cornucopia yesterday, but there had been no sign of True, Wisdom, or Tomo. She knew it wasn't the plan for her to go anywhere near the Cornucopia, but once she'd spotted the backpack, she'd known they would need it. If she could just find Wisdom, it was possible they could do some real damage.
And while her allies were far from the only tributes out there, they now outnumbered the Careers. Seven versus six, assuming they could reunite without a problem. Maybe that was why Jem had been so insistent on bringing Tomo into the alliance. She hadn't found a chance to ask him about it before the Peacekeepers had stormed in. She'd been hesitant about it, for good reason, but she'd underestimated how much sway Jem's heart had over his head.
Chevre exhaled. It would be fine. Maybe they wouldn't even find Tomo in the arena again. And if she did, she would make the best of it. And if worse came to worse, Chevre would approach Jem again.
(In a way, Jem reminded her of the kids she'd worked with back home, waging their high school gang turf war before they graduated and faced the real deal. That didn't mean she didn't take him seriously- she absolutely did- but she wasn't sure how much of the big picture Jem was seeing. He was a good leader, and had done well in bringing them all together, but as for the execution of his ambitions, Chevre suspected much of that would fall to her.
She was fine with this. Just… aware of it.)
A few feet away, Jest started blinking awake. Jude remained asleep next to him, curled in a little ball. Jest pushed himself up to sitting and yawned, then focused on Chevre. "Morning."
"Good morning," she replied.
"Any, uh, cannons…?"
"No," she answered.
He nodded. He took a moment to run his hands through his hair, detangling his bedhead. The cuffed sleeves on his shirt rode up his arms as he moved, giving Chevre a glimpse at the tattoos on his forearms.
Jest caught her looking. "I'm not used to them yet, either," he admitted. "Mostly healed now."
"Already?" Chevre asked. She'd seen plenty of tattoos on her old clients, and as far as she was aware, it usually took longer than that. "Isn't a week pretty fast?"
He shrugged. "They gave me some stuff to make it heal faster. It made it hurt less."
"That's good, at least."
"Yeah." He looked down at the ink again, his brow furrowing. "Can I… can I tell you something?"
Chevre tilted her head. "Yes."
"I'm scared," he said. "About who they'll make me into."
She considered that. "You don't have to become anything you don't want to."
He shook his head. "Yeah, I do," he said. "It's the only way."
"But-"
"No, it is," Jest said. He bowed his head. "Sorry. I just… I know what I'll have to do. Especially with Jem's crazy ideas. And I… I'll do it. I will." He exhaled. "Sorry."
"It's fine," Chevre said quietly.
Before she could continue, though, Jude started rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?" they asked.
"It's morning," she answered. She looked back out the window. "Still pretty early."
"Oh." Jude sat up. Unlike Jest, he made no attempt to fix his bedhead. Unfortunately, they had significantly more of it.
"It would probably be a good idea to get going now," Jest said. "Before the Careers start sending people out to look for us."
"Good point," Chevre replied. She looked at Jude. "Can you be ready in five minutes?"
Jude yawned and gave her a thumbs-up.
(Jude was given the shortest watch last night, but somehow, they looked the most exhausted. Chevre wondered about that.)
"Okay," Chevre said. "Five minutes, then we're back out there."
Aescelin Ibbara-Ixtal, 18
District 7, He/Him
tw: culty internal (and external) monologuing
10:21 AM
His leg throbbed, but he continued limping onward anyway.
(Aescelin didn't like this place. He could at least appreciate that he was outdoors, but he wanted trees. He wanted heavy forests and to find his Spirit again. There were certainly spirits around- now and then he passed one- but none were his. None were the Spirit he needed to serve.
Hopefully, he would honor the Spirit soon. Very soon.)
His mouth was parched, and the back of his neck was sticky with sweat. He'd been able to sleep outdoors last night, thank the Spirit- all those nights indoors had started getting to him- but he hadn't gotten away from the Cornucopia with much. In fact, all he had was the knife the Eight girl had stuck in his leg. It wasn't nearly as nice as the dagger he'd found, but the boy had taken it from him, so now he only had this one. At least he'd been able to remove it from his leg
Aescelin was pretty sure the bleeding had stopped. Mostly.
He squinted up at the sun, now looming directly overhead. He needed to get to shade. In the distance, he could see the mountains. He'd started walking towards them yesterday simply because they were far from the town area- far from civilization- but as he got closer, the promise of shade beckoned him even more.
Aescelin didn't know how long it took to reach the mountains. Hours, at least. By the time he got there, he didn't care. He eased himself to the ground and exhaled, trying to catch his breath. His leg wouldn't stop throbbing, and it was a relief to get off it for a moment.
Snap.
Aescelin yanked his knife out of his belt loop and brandished it wildly. When no other noise followed, he struggled back to his feet, feeling a fresh trickle of blood trail down his thigh.
He didn't let the silence linger. He wanted control. "Who's there?" he asked, his voice soft. He held the knife out, still covered with his own blood. "Don't worry," he continued. "I've been taught to respect all the Spirit's creations. Your death will be for Their glory, and Theirs alone…"
A huff, then from behind a large rock, a figure stepped out. "Cut it out, Aescelin."
He squinted. "Valentina?"
"No shit, genius," she replied. And it was, in fact, Valentina. His district partner, while a little dirty, looked no worse for wear. Neither her vest or her pants had any blood on them, and the two dark braids that stuck out from beneath her hat were barely mussed. "What the hell have you done to yourself?"
"Ah." He lowered his knife and glanced down at his leg. "A brief scuffle yesterday morning."
Valentina took a few steps closer, crossing her arms as she leaned forward to look at the wound. "With who? It looks like you got stabbed, Aescelin."
"Well, yes," he replied. "But I was able to keep the knife."
She glanced at his hand. "I see that."
"Where have you been?" he asked. "And where on earth did you come from?"
Valentina leaned back. "If you put the knife down, I'll tell you everything."
Aescelin dropped the knife. "I suppose you don't have any bandages in that backpack?"
"No," she answered. She looked at his leg again. "We should sit for a minute. That doesn't look too good."
This was fine with Aescelin. He settled back down, his leg protesting all the while.
"Have you been putting pressure on it?" she asked.
Aescelin shook his head.
"Hold your hand down on it. Try not to get any dirt in it. How the hell did you already get so dirty, anyway?"
Aescelin smirked, but did as he was told. The smirk immediately shifted into a scowl as his leg began throbbing harder. "That hurts."
"Some pain now means less later," Valentina said, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "And not like there's much else we can do."
Aescelin resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You said you'd tell me everything."
"Right." Valentina looked back over at the rock she'd been hiding behind, considering something for a long moment, before turning back to Aescelin. She lowered her voice. "Yesterday, after everything, I ran off. And I found somethin'. Tunnels."
Aescelin's eyebrows shot up. "Tunnels."
"And I think they run all over the arena," she told him. "This is the third entrance I've found. Who knows how many more there are. And I haven't seen a single other tribute in them. Other than some of the ghosts, and the ghosts haven't bothered me once. If we're smart about it, too, I've seen some little rodents we could trap and eat."
At the mention of food, his stomach growled. It had been a full day since he'd eaten anything. "Have you caught any yet?"
She sighed and reached for her backpack, pulling out a package of dried fruit and handing it to him. Aescelin had to force himself not to eat it all in one bite.
"So I think the tunnels are the best place for now," she continued as he ate. "We can catch food and stay away from other tributes at the same time."
He swallowed a piece of dried apple. "Why would we stay away from other tributes?"
She gave him a look.
"The Spirit demands blood," he said. "That's how I've always proven myself. With offerings. There's no excuse to stop offering Them nonbelievers, not here."
Valentina was silent, looking out over the arena with a neutral expression. It disturbed him a little, how hard she was to read in that moment. Aescelin was a leader with a substantial following- he had always been good with people.
But then she responded. "Okay, Aescelin. We're in the Games- we'll do what we came here to do."
"Obviously."
"But," she interrupted, "we need to be smart about it. We aren't gonna lose our heads."
He scoffed. "I would never-"
"You already have," she said. "The other night, in our apartments-"
"The Spirit appeared to me!" he reminded her.
"And you lost it," she replied. "You were talking nonsense for the rest of the night-"
"Nonsense?" Aescelin asked.
"You were hard to understand," Valentina corrected.
He nodded. "Because you were unenlightened. Which has changed."
She gave him a slow nod. "Right."
He took his palm off his wound and took her hands in his. "Valentina Gammon," he said. "Together, you and I will change everything. I will bring the Spirit to glory with you at my side. We have been charged with a sacred mission."
She watched him silently. He took this as an invitation to continue.
"I can see that you are afraid," Aescelin said. "But fear not. As long as we remain true, the Spirit will not let harm befall us. We have been chosen. See that, and take comfort in it."
"Right," Valentina said. "And we're going to be smart about it."
"Elaborate."
"We go after loners and tributes we know we can win against. No Career pack. Not the other big alliance, either," she said.
"Choosing our battles," he observed.
"Yes. Let the big groups take each other out, while we do our own work. For… the Spirit."
He smiled. "Yes. For the Spirit."
She gently pulled her hands out of his with a grimace. "You need to clean up," she said, examining the fresh blood on her palms. "I found a river early this morning. If you can walk, we should go find it again."
"I can walk."
Valentina stood and, after a moment's hesitation, offered him her hand. Aescelin took it, hoisting himself back to standing. Once again, he couldn't read her expression.
(He tried not to let that trouble him. She'd just sworn her loyalty to him. The Spirit had never sent him any assistant that wasn't useful, and he was confident They wouldn't fail him now.)
Valentina wiped her hand on her pants. "Alright. Let's go."
And so, still limping, Aescelin followed Valentina into the depths of the mountains.
Mercury Vidovic, 18
District 2, He/Him
tw: mention of gun violence
4:25 PM
As soon as he walked in, Mercury knew he was in trouble.
It had been a long shift of patrolling the streets that surrounded the Cornucopia. Not only was it long, it was boring. He'd been sent out with Tisiphone, and the Four girl hadn't been interested in talking. All she wanted to do was search the buildings for tributes, and she insisted they stay quiet the whole time to keep the element of surprise. The only not-boring part was the ghosts, which were fucking everywhere and gave Mercury the heebie-jeebies.
(By far the creepiest one was the Nine girl, who was always five steps behind him. He couldn't stand to look at her.
She didn't seem to have the same struggle.)
Finally, Tisiphone decided enough time had passed, and they started heading back to the Cornucopia. He didn't wanna spend any more time in the ghost town than he had to.
Until he walked in the door, and every head swiveled to stare at him.
"Uh, hi," Mercury tried.
Bastet leaned against the opposite wall, her arms crossed. Aveline sat a few feet away, cross-legged on the floor and eating an apple. Vince had made themself comfortable on a stack of supply crates, and Brizo stood next to the window, his hands behind his back.
(Mercury had been in trouble many, many times. He had a sense for it- one that he'd earned by surviving too many avoidable situations. Countless run-ins with other gangs that would've been happy to see him dead. His dad's death. His brother's death- the death that should have been Merc's.
Standing in the Cornucopia now, he wondered if this was what his brother Jupiter felt like when he faced the gunfire.)
"We're back," Tisiphone said quietly. "What's going on…?"
"We were just talking," Vince said.
Mercury chose to look at his district partner. This was probably a mistake; Bastet had never been easy to read, and now was no exception. She arched an eyebrow at him, and he didn't know what to do with that.
"I was hoping you could help us fill in some blanks," Vince continued.
"Us?" Mercury asked, glancing at Tisiphone.
"No," Vince said. "Just you."
Mercury did not like that response. He switched to looking at Aveline, who was frowning and playing with the cuff of her sleeve.
"Well, sure," Mercury said. "Shoot."
"Where were you, the last night?" Vince asked.
"Last night? I was here-"
"No, the last night," Vince interrupted. "Before the arena."
Mercury faltered. "That? I… I was at the party."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Did anyone see you there?"
"Yeah," Mercury said. He turned to Tisiphone. "Right?"
She nodded. "Yes, I saw you."
"When?" Bastet asked.
Tisiphone considered for a moment. "A bit before I found Rumi. Not very long. I was talking to the girl from Eight-"
"Is that what this is about?" Mercury asked. "I had nothing to do with Rumi. I didn't talk to them once."
"Where did you see him?" Vince asked Tisiphone.
Tisiphone gave him a dubious look. "The living room. He was shouting at the boy from Six."
Mercury groaned. "I wasn't-"
"I had to pull you away from him," Tisiphone said. "You were going to hit him."
"No-"
Vince's jaw dropped. "Mercury, you what?"
"I wasn't going to hit him!" Mercury protested. "I just- I wanted to- fuck, I dunno-"
"You don't know?" Bastet asked.
"I do!" Mercury said. "I don't really wanna talk about it, 'cause it's kinda private-"
"Mercury, you need to understand how this looks," Vince said. "You attacked another tribute-"
"I did not attack-"
"-and then disappeared for the rest of the night?" Vince finished. "And you won't talk about it?"
"I went upstairs to calm down," Mercury said. "Qibli can back me up!"
Vince tilted their head to the left. "Qibli's not here."
His heart sank. Vince was right about that. But they were wrong about everything else. "Okay," he relented. "I- I was mad at Tomo. I thought he'd be a good ally, but it didn't work out-"
"You were going to invite another person-?" Aveline started. "Sorry. Keep going."
Mercury huffed. "It didn't work out. Tomo wasn't… he wasn't the guy I thought."
(And it was humiliating, if he was being honest. Befriending Tomo was yet another bad call. How many more times would Mercury fuck it all up before he ran out of chances?)
"He, uh- it's a long story, but his dad… he killed my dad," Mercury told them. "And when I figured it out, I got pissed. Sue me."
Bastet squinted. "His dad killed your dad?"
"That's what I said."
"I thought he was from District Six," Bastet said.
"Like I said, long story," Mercury replied. "What, you wanna get into you and Aveline's whole thing right now?"
Bastet's gaze shifted from neutral to downright cold. Aveline started blushing furiously, which made sense. He wasn't sure why Tisiphone also turned red, though.
"See," Mercury said, "District Two's a fuckin' mess. I know I sound crazy, but it's the truth, I swear. Tomo's dad killed my dad. Anyone would get mad about that!"
"You're right," Vince said.
Mercury perked up. "See?"
"You do sound crazy," Vince continued.
"No!" Mercury insisted, his frustration hot in his chest. "I'm not fucking crazy! You said you wanted to know, and I told you-"
"And I don't believe you," Vince said.
Aveline shifted. "Well, maybe-"
"I just fucking told you!" Mercury said, his voice rising.
"I think you would've attacked Six if Tisiphone didn't stop you," Vince said, matching Mercury's volume. "I think you couldn't stand that she stopped you. I think you took it out on someone else instead just a few minutes later, on your way out of the apartment."
"I didn't!" Mercury shouted.
"You couldn't control your temper," Vince declared. "And I had just pushed you aside for Rumi. You were jealous-"
"I'm not fuckin' jealous," Mercury interrupted, "and we only fooled around because you asked me to-"
"You were rejected, humiliated, and you found Rumi alone and vulnerable-"
"Shut up!" Mercury shouted. He stalked over to where Vince still lounged on their throne of crates, his hands curling into fists. "I'm not humiliated!"
"-and you couldn't help yourself, could you?" Vince continued, a smirk starting to spread across their lips. "You were so mad you couldn't wait until the Games- you're not trained like the rest of us, you've admitted it already, so of course you don't understand the rules- and since Tisiphone had already sabotaged you once-"
Mercury's rage was fully ignited now, his blood burning with fury. "Shut it!" he shouted.
"-and so you killed Rumi then and there," Vince finished, staring back at him. Taunting him. "You did it. You killed Rumi."
"I DIDN'T!" Mercury roared.
The next moment was a blur. He lunged at Vince. Hands reached for his arms, dragging him back, and he flailed wildly. His knuckles met skin, and with a shriek, he was released. When he turned, Aveline had a hand over her nose, blood seeping between her fingers. Then he was yanked back again, shouting out as his head slammed against the wall. When he opened his eyes, Bastet had him pinned with a knife at his throat. His baseball bat, which he'd shoved in the back of his shirt, dug into his spine.
"Stop it," she spat. "Or I'll kill you right here."
His chest heaved. "They're lying," he insisted. "I didn't fuckin' do it. They're wrong."
Mercury and Bastet both looked over at Vince, who had now gotten off their throne and dusted themself off. "I think it's clear, from that demonstration," they said loftily, "exactly how much of a loose cannon Mercury is. Why, he just attacked me. Who's to say I'm the first member of this alliance he's attacked?"
"I am," Mercury said. "I- I haven't, I swear-"
Wordlessly, Aveline raised her bloody hand.
"That was- I didn't mean-" Mercury said.
"And maybe you didn't mean to hurt Rumi, either," Vince said, their eyes glistening. "But now they're gone. And you, Mercury Vidovic, are to blame."
Mercury turned to Tisiphone. Bastet pulled the knife back so he could move. "You saw me leave," he pleaded. "You saw."
"I saw you go towards the door," she murmured. "And Vince's room would've been on your way out."
He looked at Brizo. His last hope for redemption.
Brizo stared back at him, his jaw set.
Fuck.
He pulled the baseball bat out of his shirt.
"I don't wanna hurt anyone," he said. "I never have."
(Nine's eyes, slashed apart by Brizo, stared right at him.)
(He was afraid that if he turned around to face her, he'd see Jupi instead.)
"Let me go," he said. "I'll leave. I will."
"It's five against one," said Vince. Of course it was Vince. "You betrayed us. We have every reason to kill you."
"Then I'll fight back," Mercury threatened. "You wanna take those odds? I bet I can fuck up one, two of you guys real good."
That was enough to make both Aveline and Tisiphone hesitate. He tightened his grip on his bat, looking at Bastet. "You wanna kill your district partner right now?"
Bastet's mouth pressed into a thin line.
He looked at Vince. "You're wrong about me," he told them. "The real Rumi-killer's still runnin' around. I hope they get you too, fucker."
Vince smiled. "We'll see about that."
Bastet interrupted them. "Because you're my district partner, you get five seconds before I kill you."
Mercury couldn't help it; he smiled, just a little bit. "You've always been a charmer, eh?"
"Goodbye, Merc," she said. They lifted her chin. "Five. Four-"
Mercury took his bat, flung the door open, and sprinted like his life depended on it. Knowing Bastet, it did. As he dove behind a building, a throwing knife whizzed past his ear. He kept running and didn't look back.
(There was one thing Vince had been right about; Merc wasn't like the rest of them. He didn't train. He didn't Volunteer for glory, like Vince, or bloodshed, like Brizo. He Volunteered to figure out his history. Mercury wanted no more part in their fucked-up little group. A part of him had known that all along. Yesterday, seeing what Brizo did to that girl, confirmed it. They didn't want him? Good. He didn't want them either.)
(Mercury Vidovic could have his own path in these Games. He'd accomplished what he came here to do: he discovered the truth about his dad's death.
So now, there was only one task left.
Vengeance.)
Wisdom Garland, 16
District 3, He/Him
6:16 PM
Just when he was starting to debate how difficult it would be to survive by himself, Tomo let out a shout.
"There!" he said, pointing at the horizon. His binoculars- which he'd received as a sponsor gift that morning, and had barely left his face since- were glued to his eyes. Wisdom squinted in the direction he was pointing, and made out a hulking figure.
"What is it?" Jem asked.
"I think that's Jest!"
Jem let out a whoop and pumped his fist. Wisdom rolled his eyes.
"Anyone with him?" True asked.
Tomo fiddled with the lens. "Um… yes! Looks like two others."
"Jude?" True asked.
"Chevre?" Wisdom asked.
"I think so?" Tomo said.
"Well, if it's Jest, let's start walkin'," Jem said. "He wouldn't have anyone else with him."
And, as it turned out, Jem was correct. Both halves of the group picked up the pace as they recognized one another in the distance. Jude even broke out in a grin as they ran up to True and Jem, hugging each of them tightly.
Jem smiled wide enough that he almost hid a grimace. "Easy, little guy."
Tomo raised his binoculars to the sky. "Thank you, Mr. Myrellis-Verilla," he announced, "and all the sponsors responsible for sending this to us. We're very grateful."
"You got that from sponsors?" Jest asked. "Wow."
"Yes," Tomo replied. "Would you like to see it?"
Jest shrugged, which Tomo took as a yes. Seconds later, Tomo launched into an explanation of how the tool worked while Jest nodded along silently.
Meanwhile, Wisdom walked up to Chevre. "You're alive."
Chevre smiled. "Don't get too enthusiastic on me now, Wisdom."
"I was making an observation."
"An observation," she agreed mildly. "You're not injured either, then?"
"No," he replied. "Only Jem. And you three?"
Her eyes widened. "We're fine. What happened to Jem?"
Jem caught wind of their conversation. "I'm fine, really," he insisted. "True took real good care of it. It's good."
Chevre eyed him. "Okay."
Wisdom surveyed the group. Seven of them now- himself, Chevre, Jem, True, Jest, Tomo, and Jude. All things considered, not a terrible alliance. He still would've liked to be alone, but his logic from training had not changed. For now, his odds were best in a group, particularly if he could find a way to hang back during any combat. And now that there were more people, he didn't have to spend all his time putting up with any one individual for an extended period of time.
"Sun's getting low," Jest observed. "We should find a spot to stay for the night. There's a valley back the way we came that could give some decent cover."
As he made the suggestion, Jest's eyes darted between Chevre and Jem, as though he wasn't sure who to take orders from. Curious.
Jem nodded. "If everyone's good with that, let's do it."
No one put up an argument, so they gathered their stuff and headed in that direction. Jem led up at the front with Jest, with True right behind them. Tomo had started showing Jude the binoculars. Chevre hung back with Wisdom towards the rear.
"Is Jem telling the truth about that injury?" Chevre murmured. "He's fine?"
Wisdom shrugged. "I only saw it once," he replied. "He's been able to keep up with the rest of us perfectly fine. I think we would've noticed by now if there was a problem."
Chevre nodded, thinking this over. "Oh. I've been hoping we would find you again- I took something from the Cornucopia for you."
"For me?" Wisdom repeated, caught off guard.
"Yes, you," Chevre said. "Didn't you tell us you knew chemistry? Acid, and all that?"
Wisdom inclined his head. "I would be an expert, yes."
Chevre smiled and thumped her backpack.
He raised his eyebrows. "You found supplies for me?"
She nodded. "And some things to get you started. Anything else you need, I was thinking we could try to get from sponsors. Maybe we could ask our Mentors to pool our funds for it- I'm pretty sure Mallory would be willing, and probably Esper and Senna too."
"Potentially," he replied. "We'd need to see what I could do first. Have you already looked at what substances are included?"
"Yes, but I only knew some," Chevre said.
He raised his eyebrows. "You knew some?"
She smiled. "I have my own tricks, Wisdom. There are lots of ways to make something explode."
He gave her a long look, something like… approval…? washing over him. "If you had started with that, back in the Training Center," he said, "we would have allied much more quickly."
She laughed- a high-pitched, admittedly grating sound- and they continued on their way.
As the sun began to settle beneath the horizon again, Jem called everyone's attention. "Alrighty. Let's get talking about the plan, huh?"
By some instinct, they'd arranged themselves in a circle. Wisdom found himself again sitting next to Chevre, with True on his other side. He'd already started investigating Chevre's supposed chemistry kit. On first glance, there was plenty he could use here. The rubbing alcohol had already sparked his interest… now, if he could just figure out a method of electrolysis, however crude…
Jem leaned forward, taking a long stick and dragging it through the dust. After a few moments, a drawing of the Cornucopia was laid out before them. It was a better drawing than Wisdom would've expected, frankly.
"So there it is," the Nine boy said. "In terms of numbers, we've got the advantage. But they're better trained, so we gotta play it smart, yeah?"
Chevre nodded. "I'd like to scope it out beforehand," she said. "In case anything has changed."
True gave her a look. "Like?"
Chevre pointed at the sketch of the General Store. "We're relying on four entrances and exits," she said. "But for all we know, they've barricaded two of them. Or maybe they've changed locations entirely."
"I doubt it," Wisdom said. "That would be irrational."
"But the barricades thing makes sense," Jest rumbled. "Worth checking it out."
Jem nodded. "I agree."
"I can scout."
Six heads turned to look at the smallest member of the alliance. Jude sat criss-cross applesauce, studying the drawing intently. They nodded. "I can look."
"Jude-" True started.
Jude looked up at Jem. "That's what you brought me into the alliance to do," he said. "Right? You said I should spy on them. I can do that."
Chevre gave them a nod. "If you're sure, I don't see any problem with it," she said, agreeing with Wisdom.
Jem hesitated. "You shouldn't go alone."
"I'll go with," True said.
"I can go too," Jest added.
"No more than that," Chevre said.
"Alright," Jem relented. "Tomorrow, Jude, True, and Jest go scout the Cornucopia. Me, Chevre, Tomo, and Wisdom stay here and make a plan for how to take it down, and also make sure we get food and stuff. Let's set up watches and call it a night."
Tomo spoke for the first time, looking up from where he'd been fiddling with his binoculars. "What will we do if anyone finds us during the night?"
"Same as we'd do during daytime," True answered. "Fight."
Tomo didn't look pleased by that, although Wisdom wasn't sure what answer he was expecting. Whatever the Six boy was thinking, however, he held his tongue.
The rest of the evening's business was settled quickly- the Eights had first watch, Jest and Tomo would be taking second, and Wisdom, Chevre, and Jem would be getting up early for third. Wisdom spent the rest of the night investigating the chemistry kit. The further into it he got, the closer he got to smiling for the first time in days.
(If he could use this the way he wanted, the Cornucopia would be no problem.
And neither would the rest of the Games.)
Bastet Avarne, 18
District 2, She/They
8:39 PM
After sunset, the Capitol anthem rang out. Bastet looked to the sky without much enthusiasm. They hadn't heard any cannons during the day, and as she'd suspected, no faces revealed themselves among the stars. Eighteen other tributes were still out there.
Including Mercury.
(Bastet was more conflicted on the subject of Mercury than she cared to admit. They could acknowledge that their alliance was likely better off without him- or, at least, somewhat more functional- but the question of Rumi still felt unresolved, somehow.)
(Particularly because she hadn't forgotten their conversation with Vince during training. The one about Rumi being nothing more than a spectacle they could use, claiming their intentions were the same as hers with Tiss.
But if Rumi was a spectacle and nothing more, why have tears in their eyes when accusing Mercury? If anything had been a spectacle today, it was Vince's accusations. And that was not lost on her.
So Bastet was determined to remain wary. Perhaps, against all odds, Mercury had been right.)
They turned back from the sky. "This is ridiculous," she said. "We need to get our shit together."
Vince nodded their agreement. "We do."
"So we're done arguing with each other, then?" Bastet asked.
Vince tilted their head to the left. "That argument was a necessary one, was it not? A valued member of our alliance was killed by someone in the alliance. Matters needed to be settled."
Bastet resisted the urge to scoff at the word valued. "And now they're settled."
(If there was a traitor among them, Bastet did want to know who it was. But Vince's method of throwing dramatic accusations around the room wouldn't get them any further.)
Aveline smiled. "And tomorrow is a new day. Surely we'll do better."
"As long as we go beyond the town now," Tiss added. "It's definitely cleared out. We're wasting our time patrolling it."
Aveline nodded. "We can make a new plan in the morning."
Bastet glanced between the two of them, caught off guard by all the agreeing. "Yeah. Sure."
After that, there wasn't much else to do besides sort out watches. No one seemed particularly interested in talking any further. Bastet took the first watch- in case Tiss was wrong and there were tributes still lurking around- outside the General Store, occasionally taking a lap around it to look down the streets leading further into the arena.
(All the while, the girl from Three followed them. Bastet tried to ignore her and her pleading eyes. Bastet couldn't do anything more for her. They'd tried to make it quick and put her out of her misery, but the ghost girl was relentless, and they didn't know what to do about that. What did she want, remorse? Bastet didn't regret what they'd done to Nyx, and they refused to regret what they'd done to Three, either.)
On one of her laps, the door on the other side of the Cornucopia opened and shut. Bastet reached for her brass knuckles, slipping it onto their hands, and crept around the corner-
Tiss's eyes went wide. "It's me-"
Bastet scowled and lowered their fist. "What are you doing?"
"I couldn't sleep."
Bastet gave her a look. "Well, I'm busy."
"Oh." Tiss reached for one of her long, dark brown braids, fidgeting with the unwoven hair at the ends. "Well, um- I just wanted to say something, really quickly, and then I'll leave you alone."
"Yeah?"
Tiss nodded, finally looking Bastet in the eyes. "I'm sorry."
Bastet's eyebrows rose. "What?"
"For yesterday," Tiss rushed. "I- I think I was being too much, and I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable. It really wasn't any of my business. And things have definitely felt different, the last few days- at least to me- and I… I hope they can go back to how they were."
Bastet took that in for a moment.
(Tiss was right. They'd been more distant the last few days, distracted by Aveline. And they had snapped at Tiss yesterday. They were losing her. Bastet had put too much work into this to let Tiss slip away now. She needed a loyal ally in the arena. And she needed a way to keep Aveline jealous.)
(Which was definitely the only reason Bastet wanted Tiss around. And anyone who claimed otherwise- especially Diana- could fuck right off.)
"I would like that," they finally said. "I mean- we're in the arena now, so things are a little different, but… I like what we had during training."
(There was more truth in that statement than Bastet would've liked to admit.)
"Me too," Tiss said, her brown eyes big and dark.
Bastet smirked, sidling a few steps closer. "You are trying to distract me from watch, Tiss," she accused.
Tiss blinked. "I'm not, really-"
"Well, it's working," Bastet said, running a finger along Tiss's chin.
Tiss jumped, grabbing Bastet's hand and pulling it away. "Oh, god, I'm sorry," she said immediately, "the brass knuckles- they startled me-"
Bastet shrugged, winding her fingers through Tiss's. "It's okay," she said. "Let me make it up to you."
Tiss started to smile- god, she was so shy- and Bastet pulled the taller girl down a few inches by her braids, pressing their lips to hers.
(And- and she liked it. A normal amount. There was nothing more to it.)
By the time Tiss pulled away, her freckled cheeks were flushed red. She touched a hand to her mouth. "Okay."
"Better?" Bastet asked.
"Yes."
"Good," they said. "Then go back to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
Tiss smiled and nodded. "Goodnight."
"'Night, Tiss."
Tiss slipped back into the General Store, shutting the door quietly behind her. Bastet watched her go, lost in thought.
(This girl wasn't her fresh start. By nature of the Games, she couldn't be.)
(But for that brief moment, Bastet was able to forget about the Games. About Mercury and Vince. About Aveline. And it was nice.)
(Too bad Bastet Avarne was in too deep to have nice things.)
Jude Finnegan, 12
District 8, He/They
9:36 PM
Once night fell, the others dozed off quickly. Then it was just him and True, staring out at the wilderness, hoping nothing would come to hurt them tonight.
(It was hard for them to stay focused. The ghosts were more active at night, and his eyes followed them across the hills, struggling to discern whether they were his or the Capitol's.)
True nudged their shoulder. "Whatcha thinking about?"
Jude blinked. "Oh. Nothing."
"You sure?"
Jude looked over at her. The older girl had taken her hat off and tied her braids up in a ponytail. It made her look more like herself, in Jude's eyes- maybe that was just because it was how she'd worn it during training- but he liked it. So much was hostile here. The small touch of something familiar… it helped.
They looked back at the hills, pointing at the nearest silhouette. "Can you see that?"
True squinted. "The ghost?"
They nodded, relieved. "Yeah, the ghost."
"Yeah, I see her." True leaned forward a bit. "She looks… old, don't you think?"
Jude took a closer look. True was right. Where all the other ghosts had been in their late teens at the oldest, this one had curly white hair and deep wrinkles around the corners of her eyes. She was short, and her back hunched a little. She was covered in burns that had sizzled holes in her clothes and open skin, so many that the 4 on her clothes was barely readable, but she didn't seem to notice them. Instead, she hobbled along with a small smile on her face.
"Yeah," Jude said. "She does."
"Oh, duh," True said. "The Victor's Quell. She could be from that."
Jude watched her wander away, white curls bobbing on her shoulders. "Maybe."
True sighed. "I don't like them either."
"Really?"
"Nope," she said. "They keep… making me think about where this is all headed."
"The Games?"
"Yeah. Like what'll happen to us," she said. She gestured at another ghost- a boy with an ax in his chest. "I don't like thinking that'll be me. You know?"
Jude nodded. "I feel bad for them," they murmured.
"The ghosts?"
"Yeah," he said. "They'll never go home."
True shifted. "I mean… that's not right, though, is it? They got sent home in the end. They just got brought back again."
"I guess," Jude said. "I just don't like thinking that they're trapped here."
(He didn't want to be trapped here.)
True exhaled. "Yeah. It sucks."
He nodded.
"Were the other two nice?" she asked.
"Jest and Chevre?"
"Yeah, them."
"Yeah," they said. "Jest gave me a piggy-back ride during the Bloodbath."
"Good," True replied. "I knew I liked him. And Chevre?"
He shrugged. "She's okay. She's nicer than Wisdom."
"Not exactly an accomplishment," True pointed out.
Jude almost smiled. "No. But it's enough."
"It's enough," she agreed.
"I didn't know Tomo was in our alliance," they said.
True nodded. "Sort of a last-minute development, yeah. Don't think Chevre's happy about it, but… as long as he doesn't try anything, I don't have an issue with it, y'know?"
"Yeah," Jude said. "He's nice. He showed me his binoculars."
"He's obsessed with those," True muttered.
"I thought they were cool."
"You should see if you can borrow them tomorrow," True said, "for scouting."
"Good idea."
Suddenly, True became much more serious. "And you're okay with scouting tomorrow?"
"Yes," Jude said.
"You're sure?"
"It was my idea," Jude replied.
"I know," True said. "I just wanted to make sure."
Jude nodded, trying not to show his anxiety about it. Because- like they'd said- it was their idea. Jude wanted to be useful. He wasn't dumb- he knew that an alliance like this wouldn't bother with dead weight. They needed to be part of the team, which meant doing what Jem had asked them to do all the way back in training: spy.
"I'll be careful," Jude reminded her. "And you'll be there. And Jest."
"Mmm-hmm," True answered. "Just don't want you getting hurt."
"I'll try my best," Jude said.
"Good." True looked over at them, meeting his eyes. "I'd be pretty upset if I found out someone hurt you, bud. 'Kay?"
"Okay," he said. "But I don't want you to get hurt either."
She blinked, looked back out at the hills. For a moment, her gaze rose to the stars, and Jude couldn't tell what she was thinking. Eventually, though, she focused back on him.
"Sounds like a deal," she said. "District Eight's in this together, yeah?"
He smiled. She reached over and tousled his hair. They tried to lean out of her reach, but they didn't mind, not really. Not one bit.
(He'd been afraid of the parts of the arena that would be beyond his imagination. But they had never imagined this.
And for once, that was okay with Jude.)
kills:
aveline: 1
bastet: 1
mercury: 1
mendi: 1
alliances:
aveline, vince, bastet, tisiphone, and brizo
wisdom, jest, tomo, true, jude, jem, and chevre
chase and fleur
valentina and aescelin
patrek and mendi
mercury
featured ghosts:
berenice kavanaugh, d3, gilded cage (killed by esper myrellis-verilla)
shazia burnell, d9, fool's gold (killed by mercury vidovic)
zinnia urkyztrum, d3, fool's gold (killed by bastet avarne)
mags flanagan, d4, 75th games (killed by arena event)
okayyy that's everything from me today! first chap of 2024! thank you goldie for betaing! will update the blog (i think i forgot to last time) soon and ummm. yeah that's it from me. see you next time with day 3!
rb