Atalanta St Aubrin, 18
District Two

Atalanta could practically feel herself vibrating. Sure, she had to listen to all of the training center rules- the last thing she wanted to do was screw up and get on the bad side of the Gamemakers. But still, all she wanted to do was go. The training center was state of the art, better than any of the Academies'.

(And it was her very own playground for the next three days.)

As the tributes dispersed, Atalanta moved towards the other Careers, who had begun to group up. The others seemed nice enough based on their interactions the night before- it seemed like the Ones would be taking charge of the pack, which Atalanta didn't mind. She didn't want to be in charge, even with Capo beside her. It'd paint too large of a target on their backs.

If the Ones wanted to lead, they could.

"Good morning, party people," Adonis declared cheerfully. "We ready for day one of training?"

"Sure," Atalanta responded eagerly. "Do we have a plan for the day?"

"Sure we do," Gucci said. "Why don't we all pair off with somebody not from our own District? Get to know each other."

"I want to go with Calypso," Adonis declared. Damn, that was Atalanta's plan. Either of the girls were her first pick, and now her choices were Tavi or Gucci. Gucci was interesting- he clearly knew what he was doing. But Tavi, Atalanta wasn't so sure about- the boy seemed to be nothing more than a blank slate.

But surely, Atalanta could work with a blank slate.

"I'll go with Tavi, then," is what Atalanta settled on, and the boy's face didn't even shift as she called his name. If she could get a feel of him, it might be an advantage to her and Capo.

"Alrighty, I'm with Capo," Gucci said. "We'll meet up for lunch and go from there, yeah?"

Everyone muttered their agreements and scattered. Atalanta moved next to Tavi, waving at the boy who wore a deadpan expression.

"Hi," she said. "Good morning, I guess."

"Good morning," Tavi responded. "You weren't keen on spending all day with Gucci?"

Atalanta laughed- based on what she'd seen of him, Gucci seemed like a bit much. "Not really, but he doesn't seem so bad."

"Maybe, maybe not," Tavi shrugged. "What do you want to do?"

"Hmm," Atalanta pondered. She preferred swords, but she wanted to put Tavi in his comfort zone to see what he was capable of. "What do you favor?"

"Knives or swords," Tavi said- just what she wanted to hear. "You?"

"Swords. We should move quick, get first pick of the weapons."

Atalanta made a beeline for the swordsmanship station, Tavi following close on her heels. Another boy was there as they arrived before the racks upon racks of swords.

"I'm gonna get warmed up," Tavi declared, selecting a pair of thin, sharp daggers off the rack.

"Alright, I'll meet you there," Atalanta agreed. Tavi seemed agreeable enough, not like any of the others she'd trained with. It was clear he was here to do his job, and that job was to win, just like everyone else - Atalanta couldn't fault him for it. He could potentially be an ally, but Atalanta wouldn't count on it.

"Are you looking for something specific?"Atlanta asked, approaching the other boy, who she recognized was from Twelve.

"Eh?" Twelve asked. "Oh, no. I'm just looking."

"I see. Would you like some assistance?"

"Erm…" Twelve trailed off. he seemed reluctant, which of course he'd be- she was a Career after all.

"Oh- I'm Atalanta by the way," she beamed. "I just want to help, I promise."

"Okay," Twelve relented. "I'm uh… Orion."

"Nice to meet you, Orion. So what, you're looking for a weapon?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if you have experience with any type of weapon, I'd start there. Axes, pickaxes, knives, that sort of stuff," Atalanta explained.

"Yeah, I've been working in the mines for a few years."

"So you'd probably want something similar to a pickaxe, then. I don't know if you'd find that here, since these are mostly swords and knives. Let's see if we can find something more suitable," Atalanta reasoned, moving among the racks of weapons. She'd tried nearly all of them at one point or another, just to get a feel for the different styles. She'd much rather be able to adapt, rather than lock herself into one style of fighting or one particular weapon. Although she did favour her rapier, it wasn't the only weapon she could use.

"I'm guessing you haven't done much fighting before, right?"

"No, not really. A few scuffles here and there, but… that's about it," Orion said. "And I've never fought with a real weapon."

"Of course not," Atalanta responded. Twelve had been tumultuous for years now- she probably knew that better than anybody. A few years prior, her parents had been involved in a bomb event which had resulted in a collapse in the mines; one of her final straws with them. How could they say they wanted freedom, to allow everyone to live their lives as they saw fit, and then go and knowingly kill so many innocents? The Capitol wouldn't do that, Atalanta knew that much.

"I'd recommend starting with something like this," Atalanta said, picking out a large hammer from the wall of weapons. "It's similar to what you're used to, but weighted like a real weapon."

She handed the hammer to Orion who took it with ease, turning it over in his hands. "Yeah, it is. Thanks."

"Of course. If you need any help training, just come find me, I'd be more than happy to help. And if you're looking for an alliance… well, maybe we could arrange something."

"Okay," Orion nodded, stepping away. "What do you mean by that?"

Atalanta just shrugged. Sure he wasn't a Career, but Orion was certainly imposing, and could have his uses. "Maybe we can help each other."

"Oh?"

"Think about it and get back to me, how about that?"

"I… Alright," Orion nodded, turning away with the hammer in hand.

(Atalanta wasn't just here to win the Games. No, she was also here to play them, and she would play them right.)

Sabai Aboli, 16
District Seven

Sabai wasn't happy about being in the Capitol. Really, who would be? But at least it was more interesting here than she expected.

Of course she knew the Capitol would be busy, with all the hustle and bustle which she'd only ever seen through their TV back home. But it was even larger than she'd imagined, the city as vast as the forest, the trees made not of wood but metal and glass instead.

And not only were the people and the landscape interesting, so were her fellow tributes.

Sabai had only really conversed with one- Tanwen from Twelve the prior night. The other girl seemed standoffish and not exactly pleasant, but that didn't bother Sabai so much. She didn't need to ally with the first person she spoke to, as her mentor had explained. So, she'd taken up a position in the corner of the room, intent to see who else might make themself an ally.

Sabai hadn't seen or heard anybody particularly interesting yet, although she had watched the Careers split off into pairs. She wouldn't imagine aligning herself with them in a million years, but based on every other Games, she knew to keep an eye on them. If she didn't make herself a threat, it was more than likely they'd just leave her alone, content to pick out the larger threats.

(Content to catch those who threatened them in their webs, and Sabai Aboli did not intend to find herself trapped.)

Despite starting at the bug identifying station, Sabai found herself wandering. She was supposed to learn new things to aid her in the Arena, instead of hammering home what she'd spent her entire life learning. She'd practically lived and breathed insects her entire life, and Sabai hadn't expected to be branching out now.

But it would be necessary if she wanted any chance at survival.

Her parents had taught her lots about survival- living in the middle of the woods, miles from any form of civilization, meant that her wandering away and getting lost would be an incredibly dire situation. She'd spent countless nights with them, camping out in the forest on research trips. She knew how to find water, how to put up a tent, even how to forage food for herself if necessary.

(What didn't Sabai know? That was where she should start.)

As she wandered the seemingly countless stations, one caught her eye- trap making. She'd never done anything like it before, but Sabai suspected it could be an incredibly helpful thing to know. She was capable of plenty, but she wasn't particularly physically imposing, so if she could avoid engaging in fights with the other tributes, Sabai would jump at that advantage.

"Hello," Sabai declared, approaching the station. There was another tribute there- the girl from Five, as the number on her jacket declared. "What are you doing?"

"Buildin' a trap," Five responded. "Wanna join me?"

"Sure," Sabai shrugged, kneeling down to take inventory of what supplies had been given to them- mostly sticks, rope, tarps and leaves. There were also some dirt pits built into the floors, likely for practice.

"What kind of trap are you making?" Sabai asked curiously.

"This one, it's some pitfall thing," Five responded, sliding the schematic over. "It's pretty neat, huh? I'd have built one at home if we had the dirt to put it in."

"You didn't have dirt?"

"Not really, I mean most of Five is concrete and metal, and I lived pretty deep in the city."

"Huh," Sabai remarked. She'd grown up so isolated; she could hardly imagine coming from somewhere so opposite from everything she knew. "That's nothing like my home."

"Yeah, isn't Seven all trees? My brother told me you all live in giant tree houses, which sounds pretty awesome."

Sabai barked out a laugh. If only they all lived in giant tree houses; that would've been thrilling. "No, but I sure wish we did."

"Well, my brother is a fan of tall tales, so I can't say I'm surprised he was lying," Five shrugged, attempting to secure two sticks to each other with some kind of unrecognizable twisting knot. "So what's your name?"

"Sabai. Yours?"

"Loezan, nice to meetcha," Loezan grinned toothily. "You any good with knots?"

"Sure, let me try," Sabai offered, taking the sticks and rope from the other girl. "Do you also not have rope in Five?"

Sabai snorted. "Well, we do, and I can tie knots, I've just never been very good at reading. Or following instructions. So I guess I should've picked another station."

"Maybe," Sabai remarked, pulling the instructions closer. Deftly she followed them, securing the sticks to each other, handing the contraption back. "Here, it attaches over there, I can hold it up if you want."

"Sure," Loezan agreed. Together they worked, chatting on and off- more on than anything, though. Loezan had a lot to say, which Sabai didn't mind. It was much easier to listen than to carry the conversation herself, she found. Her interaction with Tanwen had not been as pleasant the night before, so Sabai was glad that not everyone would be so standoffish.

Covering the top of the trap with leaves, Loezan sat back satisfied. "We did a good job, huh?"

"I guess so, as long as it works," Sabai said, scratching her head. She rarely worked with other people, much less other people her age. But working with Loezan had been easy, as if they were reading each other's minds. The last thing Sabai wanted to do was make any hasty decisions, but perhaps…

(Perhaps Loezan could be an ally… or even something more.)

"I know how we can test it," Loezan declared. "I'll be right back."

Sabai couldn't even get a question out before Loezan had taken off, disappearing into the training room. She sat patiently waiting for a few moments before Loezan returned, dragging another person with her: her District partner, based on the Five also plastered on his jacket.

"Sabai, this is Klein, Klein, this is Sabai," Loezan declared. Sabai waved, and the boy waved back half-heartedly.

"What did you want me to help you with?" Klein asked, rolling his sleeves up.

"We just can't get the tarp secured all the way. Could you take a look at it?"

"Yeah, sure," Klein responded. "Can I step on it?"

"Yep, I didn't actually dig a hole under it," Loezan declared, shooting Sabai a look of knowing. She had, of course, definitely dug a pit out under the trap.
Sabai tried to keep a straight face as Klein put one foot onto the trap, and then the other- and then he went crashing down, falling only a foot or so with a loud yelp.

"Shit!" Klein exclaimed, standing knee-deep and entirely unharmed in the hole. "I should've known."

Loezan giggled loudly, and Sabai couldn't help but join her.

"Well, I guess it works," Klein chuckled as he easily climbed out of the pit. Sabai felt bad for him, but he seemed to be just as amused as they were. "Good job."

"Thank you," Loezan responded proudly. "Sabai helped too, with the knots."

"I did, yes," Sabai agreed. "Perhaps you should visit the knot-tying station next."

"Yeah sure, we can go there next," Loezan grinned. "C'mon, let's go!"

Sabai couldn't even protest before she was being dragged away, leaving Klein in the dust in search of the knot-tying station.

Sabai wouldn't have complained anyway.

(How could she complain about having a chance at friendship?)

Adonis Priest, 17
District One

"So you aren't big on weapons, eh?" Adonis asks, leaning against the weapon rack.

"Not really, I prefer my hands," Calypso shrugs, waving her taped-up hands. "I can use some weapons, though."

"Cool, cool," Adonis nods. "I get that- being able to actually fight even if you're weaponless is a good skill."

"You think so?"

"Sure, yeah. I mean, even if you're skilled with a weapon, it's not like you'll always have one. There's been Games where nobody got any weapons at all before. But if you can fight with your body, then you're never weaponless."

Calypso nodded. Adonis liked this, liked the Capitol, and especially liked the other Careers. They were all so interesting; trained, yes, but trained differently from her. And because of that, they were certain there were plenty of things they could learn from them.

(And if Adonis could learn from the others, she could beat them, too.)

But that wasn't an issue- not yet at least. They still had days before the Arena, and then hopefully more days of the Careers sticking together. But Adonis wasn't necessarily counting on that happening. In fact, quite the opposite; if she expected the Careers to break up right from the start, then they'd be prepared for when it happened.

Adonis Priest couldn't predict the future, but at the very least, they could be prepared for it.

"So, you wanna spar then? I've been itching for training- being stuck on that damn train sucked. Couldn't even run or anything."

"Sure," Calypso agreed. The girl was quiet, but she had more words now that they were one on one. Adonis had hoped they'd get paired off together first, and they had been. Even though she and Gucci were close, it still couldn't hurt to have another Career close to them- the last thing either of the Ones wanted was for the entire rest of the pack to gang up on them. At least if Adonis could befriend Calypso, it'd be an even match.

And Calypso seemed eager to get away from her District partner, Tavi. Adonis didn't know why yet, but hoped to know soon. Something about the boy just seemed off, and the last thing Adonis wanted was a wild card.

(If he was going to be a threat, then he'd need to be taken care of, put down like a dog. And Adonis wanted to be certain of what Tavi was capable of, before anything else.)

"You know, I hardly ever tape my own hands," Adonis said, moving to the bench at the side of the sparring ring. "Think you could give me a hand? Yours look great."

"Alright," Calypso agreed, and Adonis offered their hands out as Calypso began winding the tape around their wrist.

"You're not all that close with Tavi, eh?" Adonis asked. Idle chatting never hurt anybody, and perhaps Calypso could tell them what they wanted to know.

Calypso froze, mid-taping. "I'm not, no."

"Shouldn't you want to do District loyalty and all that shit? Stick with your own?"

"Not everyone has to stick with their own," Calypso retorted. "Just because we're from the same place doesn't mean we need to be entirely loyal to each other."

"Sure," Adonis agreed. But there was something more here- they knew it. "I mean I love Gucci, but if it came down to it…"

"You could kill him?"

Adonis froze this time. They never particularly wanted to consider it, but if they wanted to win, Gucci would have to die. It had loomed over them for the better part of a year now, like an impending storm, the winds howling their warning just before the deluge started.

(And now that it had started, the storm was inescapable no matter where they ran for shelter.)

"I would have to," Adonis reasoned. "I'm prepared to, if it comes down to it."

"I see," Calypso finished, moving on to their other hand. "We're all prepared to do the worst to win, and yet we're all still expected to ally with each other. Our destruction is guaranteed because of our training."

"And our training is what sets each of us apart. Either you're good enough to survive, or you die."

Calypso nodded. "So, you want to know about Tavi because you want to be able to beat him?"

"Well, yes," Adonis admitted. "I just… I don't want any wild cards. At the very least, I'd like to be able to anticipate them, and beat them if necessary."

"Well," Calypso sighed. "He is just as determined to win as you, and he'll do anything to make it happen. He keeps to himself mostly, but he trains relentlessly. He's a good fighter but he's vicious. Sometimes too much so, from what I've seen."

"Nah, he can't possibly be as determined or relentless or as vicious as I am," Adonis grinned, flexing their free arm. "Why do you think I got the spot at seventeen?"

"Because you're the best?"

"Exactly! Just like you, and him, and every other Career who made it here this year. We're all the best from our homes, but then who's the best between us?"

"Whoever survives," Calypso answered, finishing the taping. "There you go."

"Thanks," Adonis grinned, flexing her fingers. Calypso had given her exactly what she wanted to hear about Tavi. He was sure to be a formidable opponent from the sounds of it, but Adonis welcomed the challenge.

Because Calypso had said it herself.

They were the best.

Aneira Emmer, 17
District Nine

Aneira Emmer was familiar with annoyances.

Of course she was; their parents expected them to always save face, no matter the circumstances. So much so that they hardly caught a break, unless they were fully and entirely alone. But in public? To show anything but polite poise was unthinkable.

But, Barbie Iskakova was pushing her to her limit, and she'd only been here an hour.

"So you've got some pretty neat shit in Six, eh?" Rowdy asked, taking a bite of his lunch.

"Absolutely we do, some of them junk sites are huge… old cars and trains, n' all sorts," Barbie responded, despite the fact she was still busy stuffing her face with food rather barbarically. "Picked most of my own bike pieces outta there myself!"

"Your… bike?" Aneira asked. She'd seen bikes before, but none of them seemed particularly mechanically intensive. But the way Barbie spoke of her beloved bike, it seemed both more intensive and likely more dangerous.

"Aye, my bike. Or, well, I share it with my pops since we built it together," Barbie explained, wiggling her eyebrows off-puttingly. "I'd totally take you for a ride."

Aneira shook their head as politely as they could manage- going for a ride on Barbie's bike sounded like the last thing she wanted to do. And that was saying something, considering she'd been reaped for the Hunger Games.

"Sounds a bit too intense for me, sorry," Aneira apologized, shooting a desperate look at Rowdy, who was taking in the scene before him with amusement.

"Ah, there she is," Rowdy declared, as another person slid into the table next to him. Forte, the tribute from Eight. She was a very welcome sight to Aneira- Barbie was at the very least, interesting, but came off a little too strong for her liking. Not that Aneira would declare that to her face though- the last thing they wanted to do was make enemies. Especially out of people who could be very valuable allies. But then again did she really want Barbie as an ally? Could she expect the other girl to watch her back and-

"What would you like to do for the rest of today, Nye?" Forte asked, snapping her back to the lunch table.

"Well, um, I wouldn't mind trying something new?" Aneira responded. They'd spent much of the morning bouncing between different survival stations, giving the combat-oriented ones as much space as possible. They weren't a fighter, that much Nye knew And could they really start now? No, if Nye was going to survive, they'd do it on their own terms.

(Was she prepared to die on those terms, though?)

"How about we go to one of those plant stations, and we can leave these two to their own for a bit? Get some more one on one time?" Forte suggested. She seemed to have a lot of those- suggestions, as well as opinions. The girl was loud like Barbie, but in a different sort of way. Both were entirely foreign to Nye, and despite spending most of the day with them both, she could still hardly wrap her mind around it- how were they allowed to be so wild and unruly?

"That sounds okay to me," Nye agreed. A reprieve from Barbie and Rowdy wouldn't be so bad. She'd been with Rowdy since they'd stepped on the train. While she was finding him much more agreeable than she'd initially thought, it was still off-putting, finding herself so closely aligned to somebody who she'd thought of as an enemy for so many years.

"Yer gonna leave me all alone with him?" Barbie huffed.

"You aren't even allied with us officially, you just happen to be here. You don't need to be stuck with me," Rowdy responded sharply.

"Well I s'pose that's true," Barbie mumbled. "Then I guess I'll see y'all around."

With that, she got up from the table, taking her tray with her and disappearing into the cafeteria.

"What was that for?" Forte asked, exactly what Nye was thinking.

"Well, it's true, and we're not just going to take anybody in as an ally," Rowdy responded. "She might come back, she might not; either way gives us time to think about if we want her."

Nye nodded. "So are you going to join us for training, then?"

"Nah, I'm gonna go have a look around. I'll catch up with you guys later," Rowdy announced, getting up from the table as well.

"Guess that's our cue to get back to it, eh? If you're done with your food, I can take your tray," Forte said. She spoke a lot, and quickly; Aneira couldn't even get an answer out before Forte grabbed her tray. "C'mon, let's go!"

Nye trailed behind the other girl as she dropped their trays off, and they returned to the training room. It wasn't too busy yet- everyone else was still wrapping up lunch, but Nye didn't mind that. It had been so loud and busy before lunch, with the clanging of metal on metal from the weapon stations, and the chatter of instructors and tributes. She could feel a headache coming on- the last thing they needed was a headache, right now of all times.

(If she couldn't even train properly, how could her allies see her as helpful? As somebody worthy of keeping around?)

"Well, here we are," Forte declared as they arrived at their destination, turning back to Aneira. "You alright? You've been quiet."

"I'm okay," Nye responded firmly. They would be fine; the headache would pass if they pushed through it.

"Okie dokie," Forte beamed. "Let's get started then. You know, we don't see as many plants in Eight as I'd like."

They started at the edible plants station- or more accurately, Forte did. Nye sat nearby, only half paying attention, more focused on the pounding in their head. With every beat of their heart, the pulsing grew stronger, until it intensified further. The thrumming pushed on the backs of their eyes- they needed a moment, just a moment to herself.

"I- um, I need to use the washroom," Nye finally declared, pushing herself to her feet.

"Okay, you're lookin pretty pale, do you need anything?" Forte asked, more seriously than anything she'd said the rest of the day. Aneira could only shake their head, before they took off for the bathroom as quickly as they could manage. They nearly stumbled into somebody as she pushed through the door- she muttered a weak apology, moving towards one of the stalls.

It was too much. It was all too much- the reapings, the Capitol, the pain, god the pain… She wanted her family, her home, everything she'd ever known back.

(Aneira Emmer was not ready to die, so far away from everything she'd ever loved.)

They collapsed to the ground before one of the toilets- their stomach rolled, but they tried desperately to keep lunch down. The cool tiles of the floor helped some, and she pressed her sweaty hands firmly into the hard surface.

And that was where they stayed for what felt like only a few moments or maybe longer, sucking air in and out, resting their head on the wall of the stall, motionless.

Until the bathroom door swung open and a familiar voice rang through the room.

"Hey, it's me, I brought you a water since you didn't look too hot there," Forte said, hovering near the entrance to the bathroom, Nye could see her feet, shifting back and forth with nervous energy. "Do you mind if I come in?"

Aneira didn't particularly want anybody to see her like this, much less a near complete stranger. But… did she really want to be alone, right now of all times? Forte seemed nice enough, and out of all her potential allies, Nye liked her the most.

"No, come in," Nye settled on eventually. Forte approached, stepping into the stall and sliding down the wall to sit facing them. She offered them the water.

"Thank you," Nye said, taking the cold bottle. "You didn't have to do that."

"I didn't have to do it, but I did. We're allies, we gotta stick by each other," Forte responded, brushing her brightly coloured hair over her shoulder. "Besides, it's nice and cold in here, unlike that damn training room. I don't think half the Districts know what deodorant is."

Aneira choked out a laugh. It felt mean to laugh at the others, but Forte was making an effort to help.

(It seemed, for the first time in years, somebody actually cared about Aneira Emmer.)

"Not as bad as a jam-packed classroom of farm kids with no air conditioning, in the middle of summer," Aneira responded, taking a sip of the water.

"I can't even imagine that," Forte said solemnly. "Farms always look so appealing on the TV though, all those cute animals."

"That's a good point," Aneira nodded. "It'd be worth getting all gross for them."

"If you could see any animal, what would it be?"

Aneira paused. People in Nine kept some animals, but certainly nothing like the livestock of Ten.

"I think I'd want to see a cow," Nye settled on; they'd always liked the look of cows on TV.

"Good pick. I'd wanna see a zebra."

"What's a zebra?"

"They're like… these mythical striped horses," Forte explained, her eyes sparkling. "They're totally real, or they totally were real, but I'm sure I could find one if I tried hard enough."

"I bet you could."

"See, you get it. My dad always told me he'd find me one when I was a kid, but he hasn't made good on that promise yet."

"Maybe one day he will."

"I sure hope so," Forte nodded. "You ready to get back to training? They're probably looking for us. I mean, I'm hard to lose with all this hair."

"Yeah, I think I'm ready," Aneira nodded, finishing off the bottle of water. Forte dragged herself off the floor, offering a hand to them. Nye took it, letting the other girl haul them up.

"Thank you," Nye said.

"Ah, don't worry about it. And we don't have to mention it to Rowdy either," Forte grinned. "Let's get to it, then!"

Aneira allowed herself to be dragged out of the bathroom by the enthusiastic girl.

(The enthusiastic girl who cared. How funny was it that Nye only found someone like that here, in the face of death?)

Klein Souhei, 17
District Five

Of all the places in the world Klein had expected to end up, this was not one of them.

"Rock climbing? Seriously?" Klein asked, turning to Loezan.

"Yeah, I mean, you don't have to do it, but I wanted to do it and you let me pick which station we went to next," Loezan explained, clambering into the safety harness. "So you can go do something else, if you really want."

Klein sighed. He would've loved to climb, but with his leg still acting up, he doubted it was a good idea. He'd been meaning to track down Credence, but Loezan was keeping him plenty busy so far.

"How about you two climb, and I go find Credence," Klein suggested. "I don't want to screw this thing up more and be hopping around in the Arena."

"That would get you killed," Sabai added seriously. "You should get that fixed as quickly as possible."

"Fine, okay- but if your leg can handle it, you gotta climb with us another day, okay?"

"I will, Loezan," Klein agreed, and with that he set off into the training center. There were what felt like hundreds of stations, everything one could think of and more. Klein wasn't so sure about the Capitol, but training wasn't so bad- lots of things to do, and people to see.

(But was this all just a distraction, from what was to come?)

Klein turned his attention back to his search. He hadn't seen the ginger boy once today, not even at lunch, which was somewhat curious. He figured all of the tributes were forced to eat, but apparently not, since Credence had been missing.

But where could he be?

He seemed to like robotics and mechanical type stuff, so perhaps Klein should start there. It seemed like a safe enough bet, but Klein wasn't entirely sure where he'd even find those stations. He could ask somebody, but Klein wasn't exactly keen on that idea, so he would just continue to wander until he spotted the boy.

It didn't take long til Klein had rounded a corner, moving into a part of the training center he hadn't been to yet. It was quieter here, compared to the busier survival and combat stations- these more hidden stations were clearly much less popular, shoved further back in the dark corner of the center. This was exactly the kind of place Klein would prefer to be- out of the way, left to his own devices to do what he pleased.

And soon enough, he caught a glimpse of something: a shock of bright hair, seated behind a work station. Credence was staring intently at whatever contraption he had on the table- Klein couldn't even begin to guess what it was, but as he approached it was clear the other boy was utterly enraptured by his work.

"Uh, hey," Klein said after a moment of lingering. "Credence, right?"

"Huh?" Credence exclaimed, looking up from their work, a look of recognition flashing across his face. "Oh, hello."

"Hey," Klein waved awkwardly. He couldn't help but feel like he was intruding, interrupting Credence's work. "You said you could help with fixing up my leg, yeah?"

"Oh, um, yes of course, I should have everything here to do that," Credence said, jumping to their feet. Curiously, they now leaned on a cane, which was nowhere to be found the night before. Perhaps disabilities weren't in with the Capitol this year, Klein thought, as he pulled up a chair taking a seat.

"What're you working on?" Klein asked, peering down at the contraption. Even now, upon closer inspection, he still had no idea what the thing was.

"Oh, not much. It's just a simple motion detector alarm," Credence explained, hauling their tools awkwardly in their free hand. A wrench slipped from their grasp, which Klein caught with ease, placing it on the table. "Ah, thank you."

"No problem."

"So, let me see," Credence muttered, sinking back into their seat. Seeing him now in his training uniform, Klein could see how thin the boy really was. It was as if a gust of wind could snap him in two. "Could you detach it for me?"

Klein shrugged. He didn't like to take it off. He'd spent long enough feeling helpless and being at the whims of other people, and he had vowed to never find himself in such a pathetic state ever again. But… if it meant having his leg fixed, if it meant guaranteeing his potential freedom in the future…

Deftly, Klein loosened the fixtures which held his prosthetic to his body, offering it to Credence. "Careful, it's heavy."

Credence chuckled, gesturing to the table. Klein placed the now detached limb onto the table, and Credence set off to work.

"So, how did you get into this line of business?" Klein asked after a few moments of watching closely. He didn't dare risk letting the other boy sabotage him under the false claim of assistance, but he couldn't bear the silence. At least Credence seemed interesting enough to pass the time with.

"Well, I was taken under the wing of the man who owns the company that makes these," Credence explained, as he worked. "Dr Hendler saw- well, uh, I don't know what he saw in me, exactly. But he seemed to see some kind of potential."

"So you… what? Were taken in to work for him?"

"No, I was adopted," Credence corrected. "And I don't have to work for him if I don't want to. In fact, most of the time he leaves me and… my lab partner to our own devices. He thinks we're much more innovative when we're allowed to build whatever we want."

"Huh," Klein sighed, folding his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair- god, he could go for a smoke right about now. "So you… invent things?"

"I specialize in robotics, but yes," Credence nodded.

"So you just invent new robots into existence?"

"Well, uh, that's one way to put it, yes."

Klein laughed. Automation, robots; it all just reminded him of the factories and power plants, and he'd always hated those places, even before what had happened to him and Haruko. Dangerous, deregulated places where children worked for next to nothing just so the bosses could pocket more money.

"So your boss guy, what's he like?" Klein continued. "One of those suckers who pockets more money than he knows what to do with?"

Credence shook his head, looking up from his work just to shoot him an incredulous look. "Not at all. Dr. Hendler is a good man. He helped manufacture the cure for the pandemic in Two out of his own pocket."

"Oh, I see," Klein nodded, though still unconvinced. He wasn't surprised Credence was a bootlicker, but for some reason Klein thought he'd be smarter than that.

"What about you? What is your home like?" Credence asked awkwardly, clearly wanting to get away from the topic of his adopted father-mentor-bossman.

"Five? It's a shithole." Klein barked out a laugh, the sudden noise causing Credence to jump. "An awful, crowded, stinking city."

"That sounds… unpleasant."

"It is. But it's my home, so I put up with it."

"Why not… change it?" Credence suggested, quirking an eyebrow. "You seem… like a strong enough force to enact change."

Klein shook his head. He'd thought about this, time and time again, but it simply wasn't possible. It wasn't possible to change a place like Five, which didn't want to be changed, free people who had only been raised and curated to follow.

(All Klein Souhei could do was take control of his own existence. And now that he was free, he would rather die than go back.)

"Can't. Can't change the place, or the people," Klein explained. "Even if I wish I could."

"Why not? Anybody can make change, even if it's only a miniscule one."

Klein shrugged- maybe that was true, but others had tried, and failed, and died for it.

(Like Haruko. And Klein would not make that mistake again.)

"Maybe, maybe not," Klein eventually responded. "I'm happy without changing the world, and I'd be happy with it."

"Hm," Credence hummed. "Maybe we are just vastly different people, Klein Souhei."

"Maybe we are, Credence Voltaire."

"Either way, the repairs are complete," Credence announced, leaning back in their seat. "It's not… well, I could do better work with my lab at home, but I did what I could with what's here."

"Thanks," Klein said, taking the limb back, and quickly reattaching it. "Are you… looking for allies, by any chance?"

"Allies?" Credence perked up, his eyes widening. "You want… me as an ally?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind having you around. For on the road maintenance, and all that," Klein laughed. "You don't have to give me an answer-"

"Yes, yes absolutely!" Credence exclaimed. "Oh- I'm terribly sorry for interrupting you. But yes, I would like to join your alliance."

"Okay then. You've already met Loezan, but she's brought somebody else in as well," Klein explained. "Lets go get everyone introduced, I guess."

"Alright," Credence nodded, a grin spreading across his face. "Thank you, for this opportunity."

Klein shrugged. It was the least he could do. Even if Credence wasn't particularly physically imposing, it was clear they were smart. And even if they were a bootlicker, Klein didn't think he'd mind keeping him around.

(And at the end of the day, what else were allies but means to an end?)