Fleur Pettifur, 17

District 6, She/They

June 10th, 97 ADD

7:47 AM

"Come on."

Fleur buried their head in her hands. "Do we have to?"

"Yes." Chase was resolute. "We almost got caught here yesterday. And we're running out of food and water."

"But Esper sent us stuff."

"It won't keep us going for long," Chase replied. "And you know how the Games work. Things get pricey the longer things go on."

Fleur sniffled. "But…"

"And people won't waste their money on tributes who don't do anything," Chase pointed out. "Let alone tributes who don't even try to win."

Fleur lifted her head. "We have to?"

Chase nodded. "We have to."

"I'm not ready," Fleur whispered.

"I know," Chase said, and Fleur heard some sympathy in her voice. "But there's no choice. We should get going early, before the Careers start sending people out again. C'mon. We'll go together."

Fleur sighed.

(Chase was right, and they knew it. But that didn't make her any less scared.)

Chase packed up their few belongings as Fleur helped straighten up the room- Chase said they shouldn't leave any signs behind that they were here, and Fleur agreed. Once everything was all set, she and Chase prepared to venture out of the inn.

Chase poked her head out the front door. "All clear," she whispered to Fleur.

Fleur's heart hammered against their ribs. "Those were Careers yesterday, right?"

"Yeah," Chase whispered. "A guy and a girl. Shouldn't have talked so much if they wanted to get the jump on us."

"What if they're out there now?" Fleur asked.

"They're not," Chase replied. "But let's get moving before they come back, right?"

Fleur nodded. Chase started to slip out the front door. Fleur stood just behind the doorway, paralyzed, until Chase took her hand and pulled them forward.

She squinted in the bright morning light, glad now that she had her hat to keep the sun off her face. Slowly, she began to make out their surroundings: short wooden buildings, dusty roads, mountains in the distance. They hadn't gotten a very good look at the arena on the first day- her memories were still a blur- but the town looked pretty similar to Fleur's idea of what District Ten looked like. Minus the people, anyway, and maybe not so well taken care of.

Chase led her out of the ghost town by the hand. Every few minutes, she would leap towards a side street, dragging Fleur with her. It made Fleur's chest tight and their breathing hard every time Chase did it.

The first time, it was just a trick of the light.

The second and third time, it was one of the ghosts.

The fourth time, Fleur leaned their head against the building they'd pressed up close to in trying to hide, Chase's hand clammy in hers.

"False alarm," Chase muttered. "Ghost again."

Fleur tried very hard not to hyperventilate. "It's okay."

Chase took a closer look. "Are you sure?"

(Fleur closed her eyes. Crouching in an alley like this made them remember. She didn't want to remember. Not the hairpin clenched tight in their shaking hand, not the sensation of metal piercing muscle, not the feeling of Colin Malone's hands on their shoulder, their arm, their waist-)

"Fleur-"

Fleur yanked her hand out of Chase's. "I- I- I can't-"

"What's happening?"

They opened her eyes. "Let's get out of here," she pleaded. "We need to get out of here-"

"I agree," Chase said, her eyebrows pressed together tightly. "Can you make a run for it?"

(There was nothing Fleur wanted to do more.)

They nodded.

"Okay," Chase said. "Three, two, one-"

Fleur took off, Chase right on her heels. They rushed past the ghost Chase spotted in the street- a tall, pale, sneering boy with a cut throat and a D1 on his chest- down the road, and right out of town.

Eventually, they slowed.

"Okay," Chase said, panting. "We need to find water. If we can do that, maybe we can also get fish or something, I dunno."

Fleur struggled to catch her breath. "I've never really liked fish," they commented.

Chase gave them a look. "Doesn't matter. Food is food."

"Oh. Right," she said, immediately regretting the comment.

Chase ignored them, taking her hat off and fanning herself with it. "Water," they muttered. "Water, water, water… what the fuck did the trainers say about water…"

Fleur thought back. "Follow the animals?"

"Don't see any animals."

She pointed at the dirt. "There's a lizard."

Chase perked up. "We can eat that!"

"What?" Fleur asked, balking. Before they could protest any further, though, Chase had lunged forward, hands outstretched, towards a small orangey-brown lizard. The lizard skittered away, and Chase tore after it, leaving Fleur no choice but to try to keep up.

"This is going to lead us to water?" Fleur called.

Chase dove into the dirt, sticking her fist into the air triumphantly. The lizard thrashed in her hand as she grinned. "Got it!"

Fleur frowned. "It's kind of cute…"

"Remember what we said about food," Chase said.

Fleur sighed. "Right."

Chase returned to looking at the lizard. "We should probably cook it, yeah? Yeah. We'll make a fire."

"What about water?" Fleur reminded her.

"True. We need something to wash it down with," Chase mused. "I'll just put the lizard in the bag for now, then."

Fleur turned away as Chase killed the little lizard and shoved it in their backpack. When she looked back at her ally, Chase was dusting off her hands and squinting. "Didn't the trainers say something about, uh… grabbity?"

She tilted her head. "You mean gravity?"

Chase snapped her fingers. "Yeah!"

"Oh!" Fleur said, remembering. "They said water flows according to gravity, right? So if we're going downhill, that's a good sign."

Chase nodded. "We find a hill, and then go down it. Easy!"

With that revelation, they started walking again. The more she and Chase walked, the more they discovered that the arena had a fair number of hills. By all means, this seemed like a good thing to Fleur- more hills meant more possibilities of water.

Somewhere in the middle of their walk, Chase looked at Fleur sideways. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"About what?"

Chase jerked her thumb back the way they'd come from. "The stuff in town."

"Oh." Fleur swallowed. "I, um… not really. Sorry."

To her relief, Chase shrugged. "It's okay. Not my business, really."

"Thanks."

"Yeah."

Fleur looked at Chase, grateful, but Chase was already focused on the hunt for water again. As if it really wasn't a big deal.

Fleur smiled to herself and kept walking.

Tomo Metellus, 18

District 6, He/Him

1:24 PM

By midday, the scouting party had left. The agreement was that the three of them- Jest, True, and Jude- would probably be gone all day, so no one would start worrying unless cannons fired or the sun went down and they were still absent. Tomo had given Jude his binoculars, figuring he would get the best use out of them today, but now he had nothing to fiddle with.

And he could really use something to fiddle with.

(Tomo couldn't shake the sense of dread that had taken over every waking moment. He was in the Hunger Games. He would have to kill people. He didn't want to kill people, but he didn't want to die. If he didn't kill people he would die. It was a moral conundrum whose answer escaped him, and his inability to solve it made his head spin.)

(What did he value more? His life or his ethics?)

(What did it say about Tomo Metellus that he could not answer that question?)

A hand thumped his shoulder, knocking him out of his contemplation. Tomo jumped, startled, and turned over his shoulder to see Jem.

The Nine boy smiled. "Ready?"

Tomo sighed. "Yeah."

Jem patted his shoulder, much more gently this time. "I know it's tough. The Careers are scary guys. And one of 'em is… someone you know."

Tomo nodded, glum. "Yeah."

"It's just what we gotta do, yeah?" Jem said. "Either they come to us, or we go to them. And we don't want them comin' to us."

Tomo glanced over to where Chevre and Wisdom were talking. He lowered his voice. "I don't want to hurt anyone," he murmured. "It- it feels wrong."

Jem considered this for a long moment, Tomo watching him anxiously. "I do see what you're gettin' at," Jem replied. "It's not something I'm excited about either. As for wrong, well, it's the rules of the game, right? This isn't real life, it's a game."

"It feels real," Tomo muttered.

"It is," Jem conceded. "I didn't say that good. It's definitely real life, it's just… not normal times."

"You could say that."

"I can and I do," Jem replied. "But here's something else. It feels wrong to attack someone, I agree. But it also feels wrong to me to go down without a fight. It feels wrong to be bullied."

"But what if we're starting the fight?" Tomo asked.

Jem raised an eyebrow. "Did you start the fight when the Two kid went at you?"

Tomo didn't have an answer for that.

"It's…" Jem trailed. "None of it's good. It's not. But you have to pick an option or you're done for. Fighting back- seizing the day- is what feels right to me. It's what makes me most hopeful for the future."

"Lesser of two evils," Tomo said.

Jem nodded. "Yeah, that."

(Tomo didn't want to pick any evil.

But that didn't make Jem any less right.)

Tomo exhaled. "Right."

"Let's take it day by day," Jem suggested. "Things change so fast here."

Tomo nodded. "Like your back."

Some of Jem's good cheer faded. "My back's fine," he said.

"Are you sure?" Tomo asked. He'd seen a fair amount of wincing when the Nine boy thought no one was looking during breakfast. And he was used to seeing Jem hunch and slouch, but since reuniting two days before, Jem's posture had noticeably stiffened and straightened. Tomo suspected that slouching made the skin stretch.

"Yeah," Jem muttered. "True patched me up again this morning. Don't worry about me, okay?"

"Seems only fair," Tomo observed. "You were checking on me just now."

Jem nodded. "I appreciate it, I do. But I'll be fine. Let's go talk with the others, then?"

Tomo nodded again, and the two boys rejoined Chevre and Wisdom.

Chevre looked up from the drawing Jem had made in the dirt. "So," she said, not bothering with any pleasantries, "I'm not sure how far we'll get before we hear back from the scouting party. But we can start with what we know. We know the layout, and we know there's six of them."

Jem crouched, reacquainting himself with the markings in the dust, and Tomo took a seat next to him. "The scouts will tell us about layout. Let's talk about the people."

Chevre nodded. "I spoke with the Four girl at the party the other night. Tisiphone. Her district partner is Brizo."

"And you talked to the Two boy," Jem said, looking at Tomo.

"Mercury," Tomo supplied. "He didn't speak about the others very often, though. I, um… I don't think he's close friends with any of them."

(Was this a betrayal? Reporting on Mercury like this?)

"So that leaves us with the Two girl, Bastet, and both of the Ones," Chevre said. "Just based on scores, the ones to really look out for seem to be Bastet, Brizo, and Invincible. They all scored tens during their private sessions."

From there, Chevre and Jem got into the details, with occasional contributions by Wisdom. What each Career fought with, who got what training score, who was the most dangerous. Tomo tried to add to the conversation when he could, which resulted in appreciative nods from Jem and a quick glance from Chevre before they surged forward. The more he sensed that he was more out of his depth, the more Tomo's mind started to wander.

(It was very possible he'd see Mercury again. Maybe he could try to explain things again, how his father wasn't a bad person and how Tomo tried to be good too, how all of it was just a big misunderstanding.)

And as he let his mind wander, his gaze wandered, too.

(It was just… he liked spending time with Mercury. It made him feel not so alone, like when he was with his dogs. He missed his dogs, too. Both Mercury and his dogs… they made him feel like everything could be okay, and that him trying was enough. And he liked that feeling.)

At first, the sight just over Wisdom's shoulder didn't register; he was too lost in thought, and without his binoculars.

(Was there a chance he could have that feeling ever again? That enough feeling? Amidst all this horror and suffering and death, could he find that again, if only for a moment? Was that so much to ask for?)

Finally, the shout reached his ears, and his gaze sharpened. "What is that?"

"What's what?" Jem asked, following his line of sight. Chevre and Wisdom turned around, searching.

It was a person, cresting the nearest hill. They were sprinting at full speed, with what looked to be a baseball bat raised above their head. And they were screaming bloody murder.

Tomo's heart sank right into his stomach. "Oh, no."

"Is that…?" Wisdom asked, squinting.

Tomo stood. "It's Mercury."

Aveline Averone, 18

District 1, She/Her

1:52 PM

After two days of trying, Aveline had finally managed to get some time alone with Bastet. Together, the two of them were heading down one of the roads leading out of town, searching for signs of other tributes.

"So," Aveline said, looking over at them. "I've been meaning to talk to you, actually."

Bastet didn't return the look. "About what?"

"Oh, you know," Aveline teased.

"I don't."

Aveline's smile faded. "Don't tell me you forgot."

"About what?"

"The other night," she said. "You and me."

Bastet raised an eyebrow, their gaze still fixed on the dusty road. "When you got drunk?"

"I- yes," Aveline said, her cheeks heating up. "I didn't mean to."

"Of course not. You never mean to do anything."

The insult landed. "That's not true," Aveline muttered.

"Prove it, then," Bastet replied.

Aveline stewed. "When I entered the competition to Volunteer last year, I meant to get rid of the competition between us," she said.

"No, you didn't," Bastet said.

"I did."

"You didn't-"

"You didn't believe me," Aveline countered. "But that doesn't change it. Just because you can't see the good in anything doesn't mean I'm lying to you all the time, Bastet."

Bastet's jaw tightened. "Competing with me held you back."

"No," Aveline said, earnest, "it made me better-"

"It made me worse," Bastet snapped.

Aveline drew back. "That's not my fault."

"You don't know what it was like," Bastet said, their voice razor-sharp. "Being compared to you my entire life. I wasn't enough even when you were dead. You don't know how that feels."

"So tell me," Aveline said. "Just- talk to me. Please."

Bastet stopped walking. Aveline stopped too. Bastet stared at her for a long moment, working their jaw. Aveline held their gaze, trying to see what laid behind her eyes, but Aveline had never been good at that.

"That's the worst part," Bastet muttered.

"What is?" Aveline asked, hopeful.

"She was fucking right," they said, her voice low.

Aveline reached for them. "Nyx?" she asked. "No, she wasn't-"

"And I can't even hate you for it," Bastet said- ignoring her or not hearing her words, Aveline wasn't sure. "I want to. I've tried, and I can't."

Aveline took Bastet's hand and squeezed it in hers. Despite the heat, it was cool and limp. "I never got over you," Aveline said slowly. "I kept trying to move on without you, and I couldn't. It- it was like I was stuck. It was awful."

Bastet nodded, eyes vacant.

"But we're here now," Aveline said. "And Nyx is gone. You don't have to compete with me anymore, and we can forget-"

Bastet pulled their hand back. "I already tried," she said.

Aveline blinked. "Tried?"

"I can't just move on, Aveline," they said, some of the hardness returning. "I already told you that. It doesn't work like that."

"But we're together again," Aveline pleaded. "You and me, against the world-"

"We're in the arena. It can't be us against the world anymore," Bastet said. "That's gone. And it didn't go great for us anyways."

Aveline squeezed her eyes shut, pushing back memories of bullets and bombs ripping District Two in half. "Maybe not for long, but still-"

"That's not worth your life," Bastet interrupted. "We're in the Games, Ave. We don't get to both walk out of this-"

"But there's still time-"

"But it's not enough!" Bastet shrieked.

"You'd rather have nothing?" Aveline asked, astonished. "You'd rather be miserable for the rest of your life than risk a few good days?"

"Yes," Bastet said. "Yes. I would."

Aveline tilted her head. "Then what's Tisiphone?" she asked, her voice soft. Unaccusing. She knew Bastet better than to incite any sense that they needed to defend themself.

"Strategy," Bastet answered. But Aveline caught the hesitation.

"Not a replacement?" she asked.

"No," Bastet said. "She- she's not anything like you. She's just… different."

"You're using her?" Aveline asked.

Bastet exhaled. "I don't need to explain this to you."

"Try," Aveline persisted.

Bastet gave her a look. "Tiss is an investment towards winning," she answered.

The logic felt cold to Aveline, who did like the Four girl. "Hmm."

"I'm going to win this, Ave," Bastet said. "And I'm not letting anything get in my way."

Aveline almost smiled at that. "I know," she murmured.

"And if that has to include you," Bastet said, drawing in a deep breath, "then so be it."

Aveline studied Bastet's face: the cool brown of their eyes, the roundness of her bottom lip. The beginning of a curl, cut too short to be anything more than a beginning, peeking out from beneath their wide-brimmed hat. The freckles that had appeared the last few days from being in the sun. The smudge of dust on her cheek.

(All Aveline had ever wanted to be was a hero. And in chasing her desire, she had spent years hurting the person she cared about most. It wasn't all her fault- their trainer had punished Bastet for Aveline's successes, and Nyx's actions were her own- but Aveline still had plenty to make up for.

Maybe she didn't need to be a hero to everyone. Maybe she couldn't.

Standing in the arena, with death lurking around every corner, Aveline found that the only hero she really wanted to be was Bastet's.)

"I understand," Aveline said.

"You do?" Bastet asked.

Aveline nodded, still half-lost in her own thoughts. She smiled. "Yeah. I do."

Jem Piper, 17

District 9, He/Him

2:01 PM

"Shit," Jem muttered. Because Tomo was right; the boy from District Two was currently hurtling towards them, weapon raised overhead.

"What is he doing?" Chevre asked. "Does he not see-"

"He doesn't care," Jem replied. He looked at Tomo. "He's here for you?"

Tomo stammered in response. "I- I don't- I don't know-"

Jem pulled Seven's dagger out of his belt loop. "Get behind me. Chevre, be ready. Wisdom, get the bat away from him-"

"Me?" Wisdom asked.

"Yes, you-"

Instead of stepping behind Jem, Tomo stood in front of him, raising his hands in the air. "Mercury!" he shouted. "We won't hurt you!"

"Don't make that promise," Chevre said, "look at him-"

Tomo ignored her. "We can talk about this!" he pleaded. "Mercury!"

Mercury was close enough now that they could make out his words. "No!" the Two boy shouted. "No more talking!"

"Tomo, get out of the way," Jem said, the dagger shaking a little in his fist.

"This is a misunderstanding!" Tomo shouted. "We- we can fix things!"

"NO!" Mercury answered.

"If he doesn't want to fix it, there's no fixing it," Chevre said.

Jem gritted his teeth. "Wisdom, remember, get the bat, I'll go on the other side-"

"He'll kill me," Wisdom scoffed. "Let him have Six-"

"Fuck no," Jem spat. "We're not giving him what he wants, are you insane? What'll he do after Tomo's dead, shake your hand and give you a free stack of papes?"

"Jem's right," Chevre said.

Mercury was close, now the baseball bat raised over his head. A jolt went through Jem as he realized the end of it was spattered with blood. He might, against his better judgment, have started to wonder who that blood belonged to, but he ran out of time.

"YOU KILLED MY FATHER!" Mercury shouted, zeroed in on Tomo. "PREPARE! TO! DIE-!"

Mercury swung right for Tomo's head. Tomo started to move, but he was too slow, fuck-

-and then Tomo was gone.

Jem's head snapped to the left, where Chevre had yanked Tomo to the side, out of the brunt of Mercury's swing. Wisdom, with one last grudging look at Jem, grabbed the bat and hung on for dear life. As Mercury tried to tug it free- Jem could see the Two boy was stronger, it wouldn't take him long to overcome Wisdom- Jem saw his opportunity.

As Mercury yanked the baseball bat from Wisdom, he rocked back, losing balance. Stowing the dagger safely in his belt loop, Jem shot forward, slamming into Two's side. They fell to the ground, Jem landing on top of Mercury.

"The bat!" Jem shouted. "Wisdom!"

This time, Wisdom obliged without argument, dragging the weapon away from Two. Mercury continued thrashing, and in such close quarters, Jem couldn't help but take a few blows. One fist smacked into his jaw, another into his shoulder.

"Mercury!" Tomo shouted. "Stop!"

"No!" Mercury responded, lashing out at Jem over and over again. In between dodging Mercury's fists, Jem could've sworn he saw tears in the other boy's eyes.

Jem fumbled for the dagger again, taking one more blow to his chest before shoving the knife to Mercury's throat.

"Stop," Jem demanded. "Or you're dead right here and now."

(He hoped no one saw his hand shaking.)

Mercury's fists stilled. "It's his turn," he said with a snarl.

"Turn?" Chevre asked.

"He needs to fucking pay," Mercury said.

"Tomo didn't do anything," Jem said, trying to remain calm.

"He lied," Mercury insisted. "And- and his dad should have to know what it feels like. He should know what it means."

Chevre crouched next to them, looking Mercury in the eye. "Doesn't that make you just like him, though?" she asked. "You're stooping to his level."

Mercury stared back at Chevre. "Wh… what?"

"You're becoming the man who killed your father," Chevre replied. "Is that what your father would want?"

Jem was close enough that he could see the resolve crack in Mercury's eyes. "I… I don't…"

"Now, here's what is going to happen," Chevre said. "You're going to tell us everything there is to know about your alliance. If we're satisfied, we'll consider releasing you to them."

"Wait," Tomo said. "Consider?"

Mercury's lip curled. "I'm not going back to those fuckers."

"We have every reason to kill him," Wisdom stated. "How do we know he won't attack again? And we need to prove ourselves-"

"We will prove ourselves," Jem interrupted, still pinning Mercury down with the knife. "Tomorrow. But if he thinks we're gonna kill him, he's not telling us shit."

Mercury eyed Jem. "I talk, you don't kill me? That's the deal?"

"You talk and don't kill Tomo, and we don't kill you," Jem replied. "That's the best you're getting."

"And you'll use what I say against them?" Mercury asked.

Jem hesitated, then nodded.

The beginnings of a smirk formed on his lips. "Good."

Slowly, Jem eased himself off Mercury's chest, watching for any signs of attack. When there weren't any, he drew the knife back.

Mercury sat up, matching Jem's hesitation. "Whaddya wanna know?" he asked, glancing at each of them until his gaze settled on Tomo.

(That was when Jem noticed the ghost lingering behind Mercury. At first, he didn't recognize her. Her clothes were bloodied and much of her facial features had been slashed apart or dented in. Jem wanted to turn away, but then he caught the 9 on her vest, and he couldn't stop staring.

Shazia. That ghost was Shazia.

Does that mean...?)

"There are five of them, now?" Chevre asked.

He nodded, still staring at Tomo. "I'm not with 'em anymore."

Tomo crossed his arms.

"What's their system?" Chevre asked. "How many guards do they leave at the Cornucopia?"

"Two," Mercury answered. "At least, when I was there. They might have to change that now."

Jem finally focused, dragging his attention away from the ghost. "Do they have each other's backs?" he asked.

Mercury snorted, then started laughing.

"Do you think this is a joke?" Wisdom asked.

"No," Mercury answered, a smile still lingering. "But no, they don't got each others' backs. Not everyone's."

"Not yours," Tomo murmured.

Mercury eyed him. "No," he said. "Not mine."

Tomo didn't respond.

The two boys stared at each other. Jem glanced from Mercury to Tomo, becoming increasingly uneasy in the charged silence.

"So the group isn't as united as they'd like to seem," Chevre pushed. "They don't work well together."

Mercury exhaled. "Depends on who ya ask," he said. "But I hear whispering. I don't know what's going on, exactly, but there's a bunch of stuff that doesn't feel right." He looked at Tomo again. "Which is why I was gonna go off with you."

Chevre cut Tomo a glance. "You were going to ally with him?"

"I told you that, yes," Tomo answered. "I thought, maybe- maybe he could come with us."

"Really," Chevre said.

"Yes," Tomo answered, getting defensive. "Look, like you said- he's useful. And the more the merrier, I thought." He looked at Jem.

Jem shrugged. "I would've been okay with it."

(With Shazia lurking over Mercury's shoulder, though, he thought it was best he hadn't agreed to that.)

"Of course you would have," Chevre muttered. "But that's not what happened. Anyway." She focused on Mercury again. "Who's the weak link?"

Mercury ignored her. "I can't believe I would've gone with you," he told Tomo.

"It's not true," Tomo said, his cheeks getting ruddy. "I don't know what else to tell you."

"So you're tellin' me the pieces don't fit?" Mercury asked.

"They don't-"

"Answer the question, Mercury," Chevre interrupted.

Mercury groaned. "Weak link? Uhhhh… like, worst fighter?"

"Yes."

"Tisiphone, I guess," he replied. "Haven't seen her fight much, though, I dunno… Brizo's not real great either, he's just got a lot of, uh… energy."

Chevre nodded. "So we should target the Fours."

He shrugged. "Aveline's nice, you could probably appeal to her and stuff. Bastet and Vince, though, those two are fuckin' pieces of work. And they can hit you from far away. I wouldn't fuck with them if you can help it."

"Got it," Jem said.

"When do they leave?" Wisdom asked. "To go search for tributes- what's the schedule like?"

Mercury launched into an explanation, full of "uhhhh"-s and corrections. Jem hoped Chevre was getting this down in that big brain of hers. In the meantime, Jem took a moment to study Tomo. The Six boy's posture was always rigid, but there was a special tension to him this afternoon. Jem could almost see the conflict in Tomo's head. He resolved to talk to him about it again when he found the time.

"So yeah, that's everything. I think," Mercury added.

Chevre glanced at Jem. "That's all of my questions."

"In that case, we cut him loose," Jem replied. He looked at the Two boy again. "A very nice partnership we had today, huh?"

Mercury shrugged, but his smirk started to return. "I hope you get 'em good," he replied.

"We'll do our very best," Jem said. "Just like you 'n Shazia, huh?"

Mercury frowned. "Shazia?"

Jem gestured to the ghost. "My district partner," he said.

Mercury's eyes widened. "Oh. No, it wasn't like that- that was Brizo, I swear. By the time I saw what happened, there... there was no kinder option."

Jem gave him a long look.

"I don't even use a sword," Mercury said. "I use that." He pointed to his bat, which Wisdom still guarded.

Jem looked at Shazia, uneasy. Her eyes didn't leave Mercury.

(Whatever the ghost was, it wasn't Shazia anymore. Shazia was beyond all this. He had to believe that.

And he wanted to believe Mercury on this, too. He wanted to believe someone had shown her a little bit of mercy in the end. Shazia deserved that much.)

"Alright," Jem said tightly. "If you come for Tomo again, reminder that all bets are off."

Tomo inclined his head. "I'd like to part on good terms."

Mercury looked bewildered by this. "No."

"A handshake," Tomo tried.

Mercury stood, wiping dust off his pants, and looked up at Tomo with a jut of his chin. "Your dad's a murdering copper," he said, "and you can't even think you might be wrong about him. I know the truth, Metellus. And I'm not giving up on it just 'cuz you wanna pretend otherwise."

Jem sucked in a breath. Tomo stammered, struggling to find words again, before he managed, "Even- even if he- if he did, if he did that. I'm not my father."

"Good thing you're not," Mercury said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Or you'd already be dead."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Tomo spluttered. "I tried to help you, I really did."

Mercury looked him up and down. "You did help me," he answered. He scowled. "If you win, go back and ask him. See if you can deny it then."

"I will," Tomo said.

Mercury stepped back, thumbing his nose. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, fuck you."

Tomo's chin trembled. "I-"

Mercury turned over his shoulder and stalked off, baseball bat swinging in one hand. To Jem's relief, Shazia followed.

Jem turned to Tomo. "Are you alright?"

"No."

Jem patted his shoulder. "I probably wouldn't be, either."

Tomo's chin trembled again. "He's wrong about me. And about my father," he said. "I'm not a liar and neither is he. I don't like feeling judged by him. And I don't like that he refuses to hear what I have to say."

"For what it's worth," Chevre said, "I'd trust your claim over his any day of the week."

Tomo looked at her. "Really?"

"Yes," she said steadily. "He attempted to kill you while you were surrounded by three allies. Possibly the worst tactics I've ever seen."

Jem snorted. "Yeah."

"But I do owe you an apology," Chevre said, directing this at both Tomo and Jem. "I underestimated how much of an asset you'd be, Tomo. I'm glad I was outvoted, and that Jem saw the potential in you. That information was a gold mine."

"It was," Wisdom admitted.

Tomo's chest puffed out a little. Jem hid a smile. "Thank you," Tomo replied.

"Thanks," Jem echoed. He patted Tomo one more time, then clasped his hands together. "Alright. Now that that's over, and there's no more strategy to figure out 'till the rest get back, we've got food to find. Let's get to it."

(After all, they had a day to seize.)

Patrek Torres, 15

District 11, He/Him

8:29 PM

The sky, for the second night in a row, revealed no new deaths. When the anthem faded, he glanced at Mendi, who looked silently at the stars.

"Nothing again," he mumbled.

Mendi nodded.

Patrek's eyes flicked to Tiernan, whose bloody face lingered several feet behind Mendi.

(They hadn't talked about it much. But they hadn't talked about anything much. It had been a quiet two days, and given where he was, Patrek was perfectly fine with that.)

"Do you think we'll see her again, too?" he asked.

Mendi's eyebrows rose, confused, so he clarified. "Bryony."

Mendi shrugged.

He nodded, looking back at his feet.

"I saw her," Mendi said. He looked back up, surprised to hear her speak. Her brows pinched in a way that suggested she'd surprised herself, too.

"Today?" he asked.

"No. On… on the first day," she answered.

"Oh. Right. You mentioned that," he said.

Mendi breathed out, long and slow. "I, um," she said, "I don't think we want to see her again. Like that. Better to keep sleeping."

Patrek's throat constricted. "Was she like him?" he asked, gesturing at Tiernan's ghost.

She shook her head in a vehement no. "Laying down. And someone put her hands over the hole. Not as much red, but too much."

He nodded, taking this in.

(Patrek had been familiar with death since he was a small child, but not like this. Patrek's knowledge of death was of sallow skin and withering muscle, and lungs that couldn't catch enough air. The only violence he knew was when the body fought itself. Not carnage.

But if he wanted to see his father again, he would have to become acquainted.)

(It wasn't new information. The reality of the Games had always been clear to him, but it was different now that Bryony was dead. It felt closer. He didn't like that.

And maybe that was why, despite all the reasons he should've parted ways with Mendi days ago, he'd stayed.)

(And kept ignoring that little voice in the back of his head.)

(It'll have to end eventually, Patrek.)

(It's for Dad, it's for a good reason.)

(You need the money more. For his treatment.)

(Why Tiernan? Why does he only follow her?)

(Where's Bryony?)

"That makes sense," he answered.

She nodded. For a moment, he thought she would say something else, but she was cut off by a voice upriver.

"This looks like a good spot over here-"

Patrek froze. Mendi's eyes grew wide, flashing under the moonlight.

"Yeah, I bet we can dig up some worms," a second voice said.

"I already told you, I'm not eating worms."

"Fine," the second voice answered. Patrek didn't recognize either of them. "But we could fish with 'em, maybe?"

His breathing started to pick up, and he struggled to calm it. Mendi crept backward, away from the voices. Patrek held out a hand, trying to tell her to hide, but she wasn't looking at him.

"Do you know how to fish?"

"I made a fish hook in training."

They were getting closer.

Mendi shrank back into the scraggly bushes and few trees that lined the river. Patrek cursed and tried to follow, but in his haste, he brushed against a bush and knocked his hat off, sending it to the ground with a thud.

"What was that?" the first voice whispered.

"Is someone there?" the second voice called. "I- I have a weapon, and I'll fuckin' use it."

Patrek's breath hitched in his throat. Next to him, Mendi's hands curled into claws, then fists. He scrambled for something, anything, then found a hefty rock. He clutched it close to his chest.

"We're not afraid of you!" the second voice shouted.

"Let's just leave," the first one urged. They raised their voice. "We'll leave you alone. Unless you're a raccoon or something. Then Chase might eat you."

"I would," the second voice, Chase, said. Patrek was too panicked to place the name with a face. "Are there raccoons in the arena?"

"I don't know."

"We can find out later," Chase said. She dropped her voice, but it was still audible enough that Patrek caught her words. "Okay. On the count of three, we turn and sprint really fucking fast that way, and hope it was just a raccoon. Okay?"

The first tribute didn't speak their response.

"Three, two… one. Go!"

Footsteps pounded against dirt. Patrek half-rose, rock in hand, just in case, but the footsteps quickly faded. He moved just fast enough to catch a flash of pink hair, and then they disappeared.

Neither he nor Mendi moved from their shrubbery for at least ten minutes.

Eventually, it was Mendi who broke the silence. "Gone?" she whispered.

"Think so," Patrek answered, his heartbeat finally back near a normal pace. He cleared his throat. "Maybe we should go more downriver for the night."

Mendi nodded vigorously. "Now?"

"Sure," he said.

At his suggestion, they spent a few minutes cleaning up and scuffing up their bootprints, trying to erase any sign they'd ever been there. Then, he started leading the way downriver, stopping frequently to listen for the other pair of tributes. Mendi stuck close behind him, and Tiernan behind her.

(It'll have to end eventually, Patrek.)

(He knew that. The little voice in the back of his head was right. He and Mendi couldn't stick together forever.

But tonight, he was glad their truce held up.

He tried not to guess how much longer it would hold before the little voice was proven right.)

Brizo Windrake, 18

District 4, He/Him

11:45 PM

When he woke up for his watch, he found Tisiphone sitting outside, watching the stars.

"They're almost the same as home," she said as he approached, still looking up.

He glanced up. "Yeah?"

"Yes. Look, the Summer Triangle. There's Vega-" she said, pointing to it- "and there's Deneb-" she traced a line between them- "and Altair. And we can make out Spica in Virgo over here, and there's Regulus in Leo… wherever the arena is, we're not far from Four at all."

"I never would've guessed," he said. "Where'd you learn that?"

"My mother taught me to read the sky," she said. "For navigation. She never took me sailing, though."

"Why not?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It's dangerous."

Brizo had never been much of a sailor himself, but he'd heard enough stories to know that was true. "I'm sorry about your mother."

Tisiphone's gaze snapped to his face. "What?"

"Your mother," he repeated, confused. "You, uh, you said she never took you. In the past tense."

"My mother is fine," Tisiphone insisted, her sudden intensity catching Brizo off guard. "She's fine. She's back in Four with my sisters and my brother, taking care of the lighthouse."

Brizo backed away. "I'm sorry," he said. "I misunderstood."

Tisiphone searched his face for a long moment before relenting. "It's okay," she said, relaxing.

"You can go back inside if you want," he offered.

She gave him a look, and he was afraid he'd messed up again. Thankfully, he hadn't. "Is Aveline still next to Bastet?"

"Yes," he admitted. 'Next to' was an understatement- Aveline was curled up by Bastet's side. Bastet slept on their back, but their head had rolled to face Aveline.

She rolled her eyes. "Right."

"I, uh, I don't really… get all that," Brizo said, scratching his head.

Tisiphone sighed. "Bastet likes to make things complicated."

"Oh."

"Honestly, I don't really know, either," Tisiphone said. "I'm just, um, trying to take it one day at a time. You know?"

"Yeah," he answered. "Me too."

She smiled. "At least one person in this alliance gets it," she said. "It's nice that things aren't so… complicated with you. And never have been."

He nodded. "I trust you the most," he replied.

"Really?"

"Yes," he said. "The others are all… well, you saw them yesterday with Mercury."

"I did," she agreed. "It's hard not to get caught up in it."

"I'm glad I don't have a district partner like Mercury," he said.

"Same," she said, shooting him a grateful look. "At least Bastet doesn't seem too torn up about it."

"Yeah," he replied. "I guess they weren't close."

"Not at all," she said. She smiled. "Not like District Four."

Hearing that was an absolute relief. "Right," he agreed. "We won't do anything like that. We can stick together."

She nodded. "That sounds perfect."

He didn't say anything else for a while, and neither did she. But it wasn't like when he spent time with Aveline or Vince or Bastet, or even Mercury, where the silence stretched between them until crossing it felt like crossing the entire arena. It was comfortable. They didn't talk because there was no need to say anything at all.

(He looked up at the sky again, picking out one or two of the stars she'd shown him. The storm in his head had never been quieter.)

Eventually, she sighed. "I should go sleep," she said.

"I'll see you in the morning," he said.

She gave him a small smile. "Yeah. See you in the morning."

Tisiphone slipped past him and back into the Cornucopia, shutting the door softly behind her.

Brizo watched her go, then turned his eyes back to the night sky.

kills:

aveline: 1
bastet: 1
mercury: 1
mendi: 1

alliances:

aveline, invincible, bastet, tisiphone, brizo
wisdom, jest, tomo, true, jude, jem, chevre
chase and fleur
valentina and aescelin
patrek and mendi
mercury

featured ghosts:

alistair armont, d1, 82nd games (killed by aurelia charm)
shazia burnell, d9, fool's gold (killed by mercury vidovic)
tiernan merle, d12, fool's gold (killed by mendi navar)

oh look, no deaths! what fun! i am so kind and benevolent. let the accusations of evil rb die right here and now! also shoutout to goldie for betaing i apologize about that one clause haunting you (teehee)

yeah that's all from me. see you next time with day four :D

rb