okay, last train ride, next up we're arriving at the capitol (i know, already?)

i'm so ready for the actual game heh

anyways, hope you enjoy! leave a review and let me know what you think!

Palladia Asquith, 17

district 1 female

"I knew it would be you."

Noble's words bounced around in Palladia's mind, refusing to leave her alone. It followed her from stage to the rooms for goodbyes, where Iridia had sobbed into her chest about never wanting Palladia to go into the game. The latter just shrugged, and muttered something about duty that made her mother sob and Iridia to get this guilty expression on her face. Which then causes Palladia to quickly reassure her sister she wanted this because what's done was done. Although she might not have the motive to go into a game, she was more than capable, as the trainers never failed to remind her in the academy.

"I knew it would be you."

The words followed her when Rhodrio and Art came in and pulled her into a tight hug. Art patted her on the back and told her that he had no doubt she would come back, while Rhodrio ruffled her hair and claimed that he knew Iridia would chicken out anyways. While Palladia might be the most underlooked sibling out of the triplet, she was definitely the most decisive, the one who could go the furthest in life (even if the furthest she gets is the game, at least she made it. She wasn't a coward, she had a sense of duty to her family and she was going to fulfill it).

"I knew it would be you."

It followed her on the train as they all sat around the large electric fireplace in the living room, where two couches shaped like an L were placed in front of a television. Noble sighed dreamily as he fell backwards onto the couch, arms spread across the back while Palladia sat stiffly on the other couch, back straight and legs flat against the ground. Channel and Jameson followed, and Jameson gave Noble a kick to the shin until he sat up and made room for the older victor to take a seat on the same couch. Channel excitedly took a seat beside Palladia, personal space apparently not a word in her dictionary.

"Nice to see you again, Channel," Noble winked at the girl, who won last year's hunger games. Palladia remembers training with her in the academy in previous years, she was always a sight to behold. On the surface she may look like any other rich blonde girl, but when she fought, she fought with a certain ruthlessness Palladia saw reflected in Noble.

Channel blushed. "Aww, you too, Noble. I didn't know you were going to volunteer!"

"Last year, I thought I might try something new," Noble grinned broadly, and Palladia once again tried to figure out what it is behind her partner's trusting smile that made her gut twist in a knot.

"I never would've expected this from our golden boy," Channel raised an eyebrow and then it was Noble's turn to blushed and look away.

"Maybe there's some steel under the gold," Noble flashed his trademark lopsided grin and Palladia turned just in time to see Jameson (an older guy who, if Palladia remembered correctly, won the 135th Hunger Games) coughed and rolled his eyes.

"If you two are done flirting, I would love to get on with our planning session," Jameson spoke calmly, but his words left no room for argument and Channel seems to know so as well. "I know you only won last year, Channel, this is your chance to prove to the academy that you're a decent mentor. Your recent skills should aid us, as the head gamemaker is still the same lady."

"Yes, of course," Channel nodded, and Jameson got up before pulling down a whiteboard rolled up on top of the television. Palladia shared a look with Noble, who just grinned in response and he leaned forward in anticipation. Palladia turned her attention to the white board as Jameson began.

"This year's Head Gamemaker is Vesta Harvey, and as we all know, she is a nature lover and would highly likely implement some sort of nature within her arena again. Although criticism of her game might make her change her taste, I recommend the survival station. Get a good sense of what your arena is going to be like, that will help you immensely as all victor could tell you," Jameson turned to Channel, handed her a marker as she got up.

"What he said. Plus, it's important to sniff out the competitor, especially in the outer districts. I won through sheer power, and I don't think district one had ever since a tribute as amazing as me," Channel grinned and Palladia shared another look with Noble. Jameson coughed. "You just gotta do what I do, you know what? We can rewatch my game again from last year, I will have you know-"

Jameson coughed more loudly. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Channel blinked at him and hummed in agreement. Jameson gestured towards the door that leads towards another cart. "In the hallway?"

"Sure, of course!" Channel smiled broadly at Palladia and Noble before following Jameson out, and then the cart fell into awkward silence.

"Well, we got one shit show of a mentor," Noble voiced Palladia's thought out loud, but she wasn't rude enough to actually say the words. "Hopefully Jameson will pull through."

"I have heard nothing but success stories from Jameson," Palladia shrugged, her posture slightly more relaxed now. "Almost all of his tributes come back to One, he has a charm with a lot of sponsors and a way with words that makes everyone believe him."

Noble nodded, and the two of them fell silent again, before the words blurted from Palladia. "What do you mean when you said you knew it would be me?"

Noble turned towards her, hands relaxed behind his head as he kicked his feet onto the coffee table. "It means exactly what you think it means. I knew it would be you on stage with me today. I knew it would be you who walked into the arena with me."

"Why do you have so much faith in me?" Palladia had been second more than a few times, it was one of the curse of being a triplet.

"You're nice but your brother is nice."

"You're pretty, but your sister is prettier."

"You have skills… but you know your brother and sister show a lot more potential than you."

Noble studied her with one gaze, and Palladia instantly understood what Art meant when he said that Noble was so easy to talk to. He has one of those faces, a look of comfort that made Palladia want to spill everything and know that Noble will just pull her into his arms and mutter soothing words. "You're more than meets the eyes, Palladia. I am never one to miss someone with potential."

"You're putting your faith in the wrong person, that's my sister," Palladia looked away, and Noble sighed.

"Your sister is dim witted-" Palladia tried to protest but Noble shushed her. "She may have shown more skills as a child, but you have shown more growth. You are willing to adapt to your surroundings, she isn't. I watched your competition, I've seen the two of you fight in that ring. If I want anyone to be my partner in the games, I want it to be you."

Palladia opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of the door hissing brought them out of the moment, and Palladia sat up straight again as Channel strided in with a scowl on her face and Jameson looked like he would rather be anywhere else.

"Anyways, what was I saying?" Channel got back to the whiteboard, all traces of excitement gone.

"You were talking about stronger outliers," Palladia pointed out politely, and Channel nodded.

"Yes, outlier tributes. It doesn't matter how strong they are, how much potential they show, they do not have a sense of loyalty to the career alliance. Do not let them join under any circumstances, eliminate them in the bloodbath if possible, and size them up during training…"

Palila O'Donnell, 17

district 4 female

"...strong outlier tributes are an asset, if you think they show potential, you should take them into their careers. But don't be hesitant to cut them down if needed," Diya stood in front of Palila and Trent, dark eyes studying the two tributes with intensities Palila wasn't used to. Trent sat stiffly at the dining table, drinking every word with hunger in his eyes. Palila sat quietly, leg bouncing and she had to place her hand on her thighs to try and lessen the shaking.

She doesn't really have regret with volunteering, it was what she had planned to do even before Mack had suggested it. His suggestion was just the final push that made her settle on her decision. Plus, it was a chance to prove to the others in her district that she has what it takes to make it in the game. It was her chance to prove that she was worth it.

"...district 4 has always been a little bit out of loop when compare to district one and two, but don't worry, I have no doubt that the two of you will fit right in with the rest of the careers," her eyes lingered longer on Palila than comfortable before Diya turned to Trent again. "Well, maybe one more than another but really, I think the two of you will do fine."

Diya walked out of the cart after that, and Palila stared after Diya blankly, wondering if she had just gotten attacked by her own mentor. Not that it matters. But now that she was left alone in the cart with Trent, she was quite unsure of where they would go from here, which was highly uncharacteristic of her but there was something about Trent's presence that made her wary.

"So… how long have you been with the academy?" Palila leaned forward on the dining table, and Trent blinked, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Since I was eleven," Trent grunted, grabbing one of the pastry off of the three layer tower. Palila nodded, and when he didn't offer to add anything else, she offered her own story.

"Well, I joined the academy when I was fourteen," Palila started kicking her feet back and feeling her posture relax as the mentor's prescenes left the room. "My parents didn't really want me to because they think it's a waste of money and stuff. But then this random person accidentally tripped me and I broke my wrist so I convinced them that I need to be able to defend myself so a simple trip doesn't kill me."

Trent raised his eyebrows. "You know that's called bullying, right?"

"What? No," Palila wove his concern away. "It was an accident. They did shoved me into a locker a few times, but I was in their way. And then I accidentally tripped on his foot. It's my fault really, I should've been watching where I was going."

"Bullying," Trent supplied again, taking another pastry before looking up at the thoughtful look that had crossed Palila's face. "I saw your file. You're only seventeen."

Palila blushed, pushing the thought of bullying to the back of her mind for now. "Well, I will be eighteen in a few months. I wasn't really going to try to get the volunteer spot, but my friend convinced me to. You know, he never got to volunteer for his year, he's a trainer now in the academy, by the way. So he told me how he regretted not taking his chance when he could, so I thought why not achieve his dreams for him, you know."

Trent still looked skeptical, but he remained silent.

"And so I got into the fighting ring, although my other friend, Plover, they're the medical staff in the academy, think I lost my mind. I didn't. It isn't like I'm incapable, I trained way more before the official volunteer fighting thing, so I actually stand a chance. And I did it. Really, I'm also doing this for me, because a lot of people looked down on me, but I think I can do it." Palila looked up at Trent, only to see him mid-bite into the scons. He swallowed his bite and nodded.

"Okay," Trent didn't offer anything else, and Palila wondered why luck would bring her a guy who could only respond in one word answers. Not that it matters, she could talk enough for the two of them.

"What about you?"

Trent shoved the rest of the scons into his mouth and took a sip of water. "Um.. I'm eighteen. I volunteered because it seems like the right choice."

"Why is it a right choice?" Palila leaned forward again in interest, and Trent just shrugged.

"I guess I'm trying to prove a point to someone too," Trent looked away then, before standing up. "You know, I'm not really one for emotional talk. We're all here for a reason, right? We want to win. So I will be more than willing to talk strategy with you, and my loyalty will be to you first when we're with our careers, but I'm not here to make friends."

Palila blinked in shock as Trent strolled out of the dining cart without a glance back, and she wondered for the second time why she had to have an emotionally unavailable tribute as her partner. She would take over excited and eager to kill over whatever Trent was. Hopefully the careers this year are less shallow than him. They might all be here to win, but there are no rules that say they can't make friends along the way.

She ignores the little voices in the back of her mind that claims that no friends made in the hunger games are permanently. She had seen tributes win a game because she gained the loyalty of a group of people that protected her till the end. She had seen a tribute win a game due to her beauty, and everyone fought over her like Helen of Troy before she stood victorious over the rest of the dead body.

Anything was possible in the game, she just had to believe that she could win.

Thorn Lehman, 15

district 11 male

Fawn came to visit Thorn in the goodbyes. Her words were frantics, her eyes unfocused, begging him to take care of her sister. He had agreed, if only so the girl stopped crying and clinging to him. He was never comfortable when a girl cries in front of him, he just wasn't quite sure what to do. Does he pat their back? or does his whisper nonsense into their ears to make them see that everything is going to be okay even if it wasn't going to be?

Thorn was saved from that anyways when Fawn pulled away and wiped her tears and muttered her embarrassed apologizes. She was out as soon as she was in, and Thorn sat by himself in the room before they took him away again. No one else came to visit him.

Aurora was fun to be around when she wasn't overshadowed by her sister. She walked around the train from the front to the back multiple times in wonder and Thorn stopped following the thirteen years old after the third time she walked through the train, instead choosing to grab a plate of lunch and bringing it to his designated room. He ate slowly, savoring every taste that he had never had the pleasure of trying. It was as if he had opened a door to a world he hadn't known existed.

Around one hour into the train ride, Aurora came into his room, disregarding his protest as she plopped down on the bed, hair wild and almost to her hips. He had never seen her hair down before, it was always tied tightly in a braid.

"Can you braid my hair, it got messed up when I almost died between train carts," she pouted, and Thorn blinked. "It's okay if you don't know how to braid, I can ask Kassandra."

"No, it's okay, I can braid your hair," Thorn tried for a smile as Aurora automatically sat herself down on the ground in front of Thorn, and he tried to run through every lesson he had ever been taught about braiding hair. There were a lot of girls in the orphanage, and the orphanage mistress had taught him how to braid hair when he was twelve, and he had been a quick learner. From then on almost all the younger kids would go to him to have their hair braided. It was such a small detail that brought joy to his heart, as he felt as if though he was doing something for those kids.

"Did you think you would get reaped?" Aurora asked quietly as Thorn combed through her hair with his hands, untangling her dark hair. "Cause I didn't think I would be reaped. But I was. My sister says that it is almost impossible for me to be reaped as I only have my name in there twice, but didn't Primrose get reaped with her name only in the bowl once?"

Thorn never paid attention to history, as it was never a class he had a particularly strong interest in, but he still hummed in agreement. "Yeah, I guess. Some will call this lucky, others will call this unlucky."

"My sister told me she told you to protect me," Aurora changed the topic. Thorn froze, braid half done in his hands. Aurora turned around and he grabbed the end of her braid before it fell apart completely. "Don't."

"Don't?" Thorn questioned. "What do you mean don't?"

Aurora just shrugged. "I want you to live your own life first. I've grown up with more money than I could ever use, and I have all of my desires granted. I've lived life the way I wanted for the last thirteen years. I'm not afraid of death."

"That's what everyone says before death stares them in the face," Thorn offered half heartedly as he continued on with the braid. Inwardly, he was glad that Aurora lifted that burden off of his shoulder. He would still want to partner with Aurora though, as he had seen her in action and knew that she has capabilities that could allow her to thrive in the arena, but it was nice knowing he doesn't have to throw himself in front of her if she were to get killed. "I'm afraid of dying."

"Dying is not the end, Thorn," Aurora looked straight ahead at the wall, pulling her legs to her chest. "I see dying as a way to start over. Do you believe in incarnation?"

"No."

"Well I do," Aurora huffed at Thorn's quick response. "I think we all have some sort of past life before us, and I think I lived a long life before this if I feel so okay with dying early on. Even if I die, I will see my sister again in my next life, I can feel it. It might take a while, and she might become my younger sister next life, but Fawn shouldn't worry so much. I have no regret with this life, she shouldn't either. If I die, and you go home, you should tell her that we will meet again."

Thorn stares numbly at the young girl in front of him, who seemed ready to stare death in the eyes and say 'I'm not afraid of you'. He finished her braid slowly, thoughts still whirling within his mind.

He knew death was just around the corner for twenty-three out of the twenty-four tributes that were about to go into the games, and if by some chance he was the victor walking out of the arena with his life intact… well that was a thought for when he did walk out of the arena with his life intact.

"Done," Thorn whispered quietly, and Aurora grinned happily back at him as she patted down her hair. And before he could overthink it… "Do you want to ally with me in the arena?"

Aurora flashed him a large grin and she nodded excitedly. "Sure! It would be like the team-up my sister is insisting that we never do! Let's do this!"

Thorn smiled, knowing that he at least had one person on his side before walking into the Lion's den.