Clover Nguyen- District Eleven male (18)

The peril hung in the air like those summer days where you can feel the air itself coating your skin and sliding around as the sun wavered in the sky. I couldn't just ask Hlenn if I'd been rigged into the Games because of my rebel stuff. Even her body language couldn't tell me anything. I could tell she was nervous and skittish but that might just be because she was also a rebel. We both picked over our words obsessively before speaking, each getting more and more nervous as we wondered if the pauses themselves were making us look suspicious.

"I was hoping for some allies who…" I wanted guerrilla fighters. God forbid I literally used that term. What I wanted was plucky sneaky underground fighters who could effectively disrupt a much more powerful force. I'll just pretend it's the Careers I'm opposing. That's fair game, right?

"...who are focused on stealth and can move quickly," I hedged.

Hlenn scrolled through the notes and information on her pad. "I know for sure Persi is focusing on stealth. She was really hesitant on allying but if it's with a group that's very discreet and stealthy she might be convinced."

"Great!" I said. I wracked my brain for any brown-nosing I could relate this to. "Kind of like that movie Bonnie Drasco- you know, how that Peacekeeper spied on the rebel group and slowly wore them down and didn't even lose any of her men? Like that." It seemed almost traitorous to hype up the Capitol but in war you do what you have to.

"Oh, that movie was so good," Hlenn agreed. "I liked the part with the bombs."

Sneaky, I mentally complimented her. I could read between the lines well enough to know she was pointing toward Enzo, who'd blown up a table before the first day of training was over. "That one guy's a bomb maker."

Hlenn scrolled through her notes. "There he is. Enzo Charmont from Twelve. He's a bit more loud than you might like but I'm sure he doesn't want to get himself killed either."

That one I'll have to keep an eye on. Bombs were an indispensable part of my tactics but I personally didn't know much about them. If I had someone else who could do the fire-starting it would really boost my capabilities. It was just that watching Enzo, he didn't seem the type to sneak and hide. Well, if worse came to worst and he made a huge scene, Persi and I could just ditch him. I wasn't about leaving people behind but if he was going to be dumb I wasn't going down with him. That was assuming Persi even agreed to ally with me. I had a notion she was going to be the harder sell.

Persi Caraway- District Eleven female (15)

When Hlenn said Clover wanted to meet I was unenthusiastic but not entirely opposed. I didn't know much about him. I didn't know much about almost anyone from my District other than people I dealt with for store stuff. I spent almost all my time either taking care of the store or of my siblings and I just didn't have the time or energy for friendships. About the only thing I knew about Clover was I heard a rumor once he was mixed up in rebel stuff. I had no idea if it was true or not. That seemed like the kind of thing that would be obvious. Then again if it was, they'd all get noticed and killed immediately. Maybe not my smartest thought.

Clover was already at the table when I took a seat. There was a platter of weird exotic fruits and pastries between us, since Capitolites couldn't go five minutes without eating. Maybe if they didn't' barf it up after they wouldn't have this problem.

Clover held up his hands. "So I know you're on the fence about allies but I was hoping you'd let me make my pitch."

A job interview, is it? I'd never been to one. I'd certainly never been to one where I was the interviewer. I appreciated the hustle, though. I knew a lot about hustle. I could hear him out. There was no harm in just hearing what he had to say.

"The alliance I'm proposing is you, me and Enzo," Clover began. He saw me immediately check out and backtracked. "Enzo's not a requirement."

I ignored that angle for the moment, though I mentally pulled up a picture of Enzo and ran through some scenarios of being allied with him. He seemed loud, chaotic, and not too intelligent, though living to his age when he constantly set things on fire did require some expertise. I wasn't overly fond of the idea of allying with him, but on the other hand, if he did something stupid I could get out of there while the Careers were distracted with him.

"What's the point of this alliance?" I asked. My first inclination had been to go it alone but I was ready to pivot if that gave me better odds. There wasn't much in the world I wouldn't do if it gave me better odds to see my family again.

Clover leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I'm so glad you asked. That's actually the reason you might be interested. I want to put together a small and nimble team that will focus on stealth and quick, disruptive efforts and then running away before anyone knows we're there."

"Do you have experience with that?" I asked.

Clover seemed to consider what to say before launching into a prepared answer. "Back home I used to do some, you know, teenage hooligan stuff. I got good at avoiding the Peacekeepers," he said with a sheepish smile.

Hm, makes sense. Then something clicked in my head. Ohhhh… you mean like? I let the question go unasked since there was no good answer.

"Why me?" I asked.

"I heard you were interested in stealth," Clover said.

"How do you know I'm good at it?" I asked.

Clover ran his hand over his hair to stall. "Okay, also there aren't many unallied Tributes left," he admitted.

I didn't see any reason to be offended by that. Of course he would prefer the best Tributes if they were available. "Who would you have wanted if it wasn't me?" I asked.

"Yarrow," Clover said. It was a solid answer. Yarrow had barely said a word since we got here. I barely knew anything about her but I did know she was able to be discreet.

I had to admit he was doing a good job. Clover struck me as a well-prepared and intelligent potential ally. It wasn't like I was committing to an entire Games with him. I could leave whenever I wanted. I didn't even think he'd be mad at me.

I went in for a harder blow. "Can you promise me I have a better chance with you than without you?"

Clover sighed. He regarded his hands for a minute. "No," he said. He looked up at me. "I can promise I'll have your back as absolutely long as I can, and that if I can't win I want you to since we're partners. I can promise I know you have to put yourself first and I'll never be mad at that."

Wow. Had he said yes I would have walked. Instead Clover had revealed himself as possibly the most valuable thing any ally could be: honest. We both knew where we stood. As long as we had a better chance with each other we would stay. As soon as we didn't it would be like we'd never known each other.

Enzo Charmont- District Twelve male (18)

No way had I ever thought that someone would want to ally with me. I definitely never thought someone as smart-looking as Persi would want in. She always seemed like one of those kids with a million littler siblings who got stuck taking care of them all day since they were more mature. I felt the saddest mixture of pity and jealousy for them. I'd always wondered if a bit of my crazy came from knowing just how uncertain life was. My family was among the richest in Twelve but that didn't matter if what you had just didn't have a cure. Money kept my sister around longer than she otherwise might have persisted but in the end Andrea just faded away.

Anyway. This was no time to be thinking about Andrea, not that I ever had much say about when she popped into my head. Anyway, Persi and Clover somehow thought I was the one to round out their alliance. I was a friendly sort and besides, might as well try it out. This was my first time in the Hunger Games. I had no idea what would work. Maybe it would be this.

"What kind of things do you need for your explosions? Clover asked as we parlayed in the Eleven lounge.

"One thing a lot of people overlook is fertilizer," I said. I noticed Clover started to nod and then stopped himself. Maybe he'd gotten into a few shenanigans of his own? "I suppose they won't have that in the Bloodbath though."

"I'm not going into the Bloodbath, just telling everyone," Persi said, holding up a hand.

"Probably smart," I conceded. "Me? You only live once, you know? Go big or go home."

"They'll definitely have chemistry stuff in there. Poisons, too. Are there explosive poisons?" Clover asked.

"Try to find a first aid kit. Hydrogen peroxide is good," I said. "Oh, that reminds me. I know a bit about first aid. You can probably guess why."

"Don't worry about grabbing food. I know some plants and I'm going to learn more," Persi said.

"I'm going to focus on martial arts," Clover said. He nodded to himself. "I suppose that means maybe I should go in."

"Only if you want," I shrugged. "I risk my own life but that doesn't mean you have to." Persi smiled. I was glad to see she had some sense of humor.

"That sounds solid, then," Clover said. "Persi will work on keeping us fed, I'll try to get swole, and you just keep doing what you're doing."

"You got it."

Persi's form was not too hot on allies but I thought you know what this works so let's try it. If it doesn't work out she'll ditch.