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➸ Five years later The 74th Annual Hunger Games.
THE TRAIN HAD PULLED OUT OF THE STATION, quickly leaving District 4 behind in the distance. All of the District 4 Victors, apart from sweet, old Mags whom they'd let stay home and rest, sat around the table in the dining cart with the two tributes, Magnolia and Kai. The girl, Magnolia, was 16, the boy only 12 years old.
The mentors conversed with the two tributes, to get to know them better, as well as make them comfortable. "Do either of you have any useful talents?" Sebastian asked. "I work with my dad on the docks. I help him make a lot of the nets, so I'm quite good at tying knots." Magnolia replied.
"That's great. Setting traps with rope can be very beneficial in the Games." Garrett replied. "What about you?" He asked, looking at Kai. "I'm not too sure, I spend a lot of time using knives, but it's just to gut fish to sell." The younger boy said hesitantly.
"It's okay, that's a great place to start. I'd only ever speared a few fish before my Games. Just try a lot of things in training, see what works best for you." Haven spoke sympathetically, Kai's face relaxing at her words.
Haven felt a pang of sympathy for the young, innocent boy. As the group kept eating, she flashed him a soft, reassuring smile. The Cleary girl always felt especially drawn to the younger tributes, feeling a need to protect them, despite knowing the inevitable was going to happen.
Each time they lost a tribute was just as soul crushing. Haven hadn't grown used to the heartwrenching sadness, but she'd learned to expect disappointment, as there had only been one Victor from 4 since Sawyer's Games, Annie Cresta.
Although all of the Victors returned with their fair share of trauma, Annie had dealt with some particularly horrible things. She'd witnessed her district partner get beheaded, which was nothing short of utterly horrifying. The redhead ultimately won after a dam broke, the other tributes drowning, Annie surviving because of the swimming skills she possessed from growing up in 4.
Haven felt particularly drawn towards Annie, the two friends often spending quiet afternoons walking along the water together, distracting them from their looming inner demons.
The person that Annie had found the most solace in was Sawyer. While Annie felt mentally pained and damaged after her Games, Sawyer felt a similar way physically, after the loss of his arm. The pair were able to empathize with each other in a way none of the other victors could, becoming a source of comfort for the other.
➸
THE CHEERS AND SCREAMS of the crowd echoed through the air as the first chariot left the Tribute Center. Haven, along with the rest of the District 4 mentors and Theta, stood inside the center watching the large screen.
"You're the only person I know who could create something so beautiful out of fishing nets." Haven said to Theta as they watched the District 4 chariot leave. Magnolia and Kai wore tastefully draped shimmering blue tunics, with delicate silver fishing netting over top. The tributes' heads were adorned with silver headpieces covered in small shells.
