A Game Of False Fates ✭ Cato Hadley

Sixteen - 'Cause You And I

12th July 74PD

Clio sits herself down on the giant couch in the victor's viewing room. She's early - the games don't start until one o'clock but she finds herself entering the room at twelve twenty-five. She'd tried to make her way into the large viewing parties happening in rooms just across from them, tried to use her status as the latest victor to sweet talk some of the rich Capitolian citizens into spending money on her sister, before she was informed by peacekeepers, standing guard at the door, that mentors are forbidden to speak to sponsors the morning before the Games. And so, she's ushered back to the viewing room and she watches Caesar Flickerman recapitulate the week's events - skimming over the reaping and the training scores and then the highlights from the interviews. The door opens when the digital clock face turns twelve forty and Brutus walks into the giant room, taking a seat beside Clio.

"Clio," he says, placing a comforting hand on her knee. "Breathe. She can handle herself."

"I know." She nods but it doesn't stop her from feeling sick and she watches the clock tick past twelve forty-five. Cashmere and Gloss enter the room, followed closely by Enobaria and Cato as they come and sit beside her on the large couch at the front of the room. She watches Finnick and an already slurring Haymitch stumble into the room and take two of the armchairs to the right of the couch before Luna walks in alone. Out of the corner of her eye Clio can see the redhead speak to Brutus and Enobaria as she sits at the edge of their couch. The others file in quietly between twelve fifty-five and one o'clock, not important enough to disturb Clio's thoughts as she stares at the Capitol seal on the giant screen fixed to the wall.

The digital clock face flashes thirteen-hundred before Panem's anthem blares throughout the room and the seal flashes once, twice, three times before the arena is unveiled and the announcer's voice booms, echoing throughout the barren field the tributes have been placed in. "Ladies and gentlemen, let the seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!"

The sixty second countdown begins and Clio holds her head up with her hands, leaning forward; wondering if her sister felt this sick watching her in last year's game as she feels right now. Her eyes find Clove easily before the tributes from Twelve fill the screen. The cameras are always focused on the Capitol's favourites and so naturally, those with the highest scores receive the most screen time. The victor's viewing room falls silent as each person processes the arena's environment as much as possible from the television coverage; all perfectly mirroring the behaviours of their tributes on the screen, whose heads can be seen frantically scanning their surroundings. They're placed on a small plain, and Clio notes that behind Clove and around to the side of the cornucopia are dense-looking woods and the other side is filled with a field of overgrown grasses, tinged yellow and housing a large lake in the centre.

A forest, Clio thinks, Clove has been dropped in a forest.

Forest arenas are neither here nor there for career tributes. They are the most common atmosphere to find yourself in and so careers - at least those from Two - are thoroughly prepared for the forest arena in their training at the academy. Finding sources of food and water are relatively easy as the small woodland creatures skittering about the undergrowth are simple enough to kill and cook, and the water sources are usually obvious. Clio is sure that Clove has already spotted the lake, and possibly also the small meandering river that flows along one side, depending on how far she can see past the cornucopia from her position. But the downside to a forest arena for a District Two tribute is that the familiarity of the woods can give certain outlier districts an advantage. Think District Seven and Johanna Mason for example, and as Clio thinks about the arena in her games, the woman walks in and takes an empty seat at the back of the room. Clio is certain that Clove can see inside the cornucopia as her eyes are fixed on the stacks of weapons and other supplies inside, completely ignoring the survival items strewn about on the grass - packs of food, water, weapons, sleeping bags. She's confident.