100th Hunger Games

Chapter 5

Winter Forest's POV: (District 7)

"Learn as much as you can, work with both weapon wielding and survival techniques. Find what you're good at and use it to your advantage." Marie, the mentor for the female tributes of district seven, tells me. "I have to go help the other girls now, so you can return to your room. Just make sure you meet Genevieve and the other tributes by the elevators at ten."

And with that, Marie wishes me luck for my first day of training and leaves me alone in the hallway by my door.
I walk into my room, which is even bigger than my room on the train, if that's possible, and lay down on the enormous bed that is mine until the games begin.

I think back to the opening ceremonies that took place last night, when Mavis, my stylist, dressed me in tight brown body suit and painted the texture of tree bark all over my body. It had been an okay costume, better than some of the girls from my district who were dressed all in paper or actual bark, but not quite as eye catching as some of the light up dresses on the district three girls. Overall it had been a good start, but I'll have to be unforgettable in my interview if I'm to have any chance of making it out of the mini games alone.

I suddenly find myself thinking of home, of my mother and father, who were always in the forests, harvesting lumber for the Capitol, who only ever came home after midnight, who worked so hard to make sure I never had to take any tesserae, and it was all for nothing because I was reaped anyway. But what really breaks my heart is my little sister, Jen, having to watch me in the games, possibly two if I'm lucky enough to survive the mini games.
Tears trickle slowly down my face, but I wipe them away, and force myself to get it together. If I show up to training with a tear-stained face no one will take me seriously, I'll be labeled as weak, and that would pretty much ruin my chances of survival. I pull myself together and think about what I'll say in my interview.
I get lost in my thoughts, and before I know it, it's ten. I smooth out my shirt, which has become wrinkled from my laying on the bed, and walk out the door, meeting up with Genevieve at the elevator. I am the first to arrive.

When the other eleven tributes join us, we split up, each choosing one of the elevators, because thirteen people cannot fit into one elevator, and ride down to the basement where the training room is.

The district three tributes are already standing in a circle around a tall woman when we arrive, and as soon as our district number has been pinned to our backs, we join them, while Genevieve returns to the seventh floor. The woman in the center of the circle begins to list off the training stations, and rules for training. I try to pay attention at first, but I find myself examine the tributes around me. To my left is a girl with electric blue hair, and to my right is a tall girl with long dark hair who keeps looking at the girl next to her, who has long blonde hair and freckles. I know them. I've seen them at school from time to time. Everyone knows that they're friends, it's unfortunate that they're in the games together.
I glance around the circle a few times, taking in the appearance of the district three tributes, and before I know what's happened, the woman in the center of the circle releases us, and I'm the last one to move.

Once I realize this, I quickly walk over to a training station to avoid looking stupid any longer, and find myself at the sword station. I figure this could be good, as most district sevens are good with an ax, being from the lumber district, and there can only be so many axes at the cornucopia. Though I do take a moment to watch a district seven girl throwing axes for a bit. She hits the target every time.

I turn my attention back to my own training, and hesitantly pick up a sword, and the instructor guides me through the movements I can make, and laughs when I tell him I'm afraid I'll chop my head off by accident in the games. After a little while, I become quite good with the weapon, I even get to the point where I can chop a dummy to bits in only a little over a minute.

I thank the instructor, and am about to move on to another station when it is announced that it's time for lunch. I file into the lunch room with the other tributes and sit down by myself after getting my food; coconut-pineapple chicken on rice, and a slice of red velvet cake. I'm about to take a bite when two people sit down next to me.

"Hello, Winter, right?" One of them asks. I realize that the girl to closest to me is the one who threw the axes, and the other was standing next to me in the circle of tributes. I nod cautiously. The girls smile.

"Well I'm Rayna, and this is Willow." The girl with the dark hair says.

"We saw what you did back there with the sword, it was pretty impressive." Willow adds. "We were wondering if you wanted to be allies."

"Really?" I ask uncertainly.
"Of course. Four can win this round anyway, right?" Willow says kindly.

It surprises me to have an alliance offer at all, let alone on the first day of training. I thought I'd be alone in the games.

"Alright." I say. "Allies."

The rest of lunch goes by quickly, and then training starts again. Although we are now allies, Rayna, Willow, and I head to different stations, so that we can all learn different things that can help us in the games under various circumstances, at least that's what Rayna says, and she seems to be in charge.

I head to the fire making station first, because I've already worked with a weapon today, and the instructor talks me trough the long and arduous process of making a fire without matches. I don't start a fire right away, but on my fourth try I finally manage to get a spark and set some of the kindling on fire. I do this over and over again with the same result, to make sure I would be able to make a fire in different weather and temperatures.

Once I've finally mastered fire making, there's only a couple hours left of training so I decide to try throwing knives. After about a half an hour, it's clear that I'm no good at this, so I move on to the edible plants station.

The mix of poisonous and edible plants confuses me at first by after about an hour, I'm finally able to identify a few edible plants, at least in the pictures they show me. The instructor decides I'm ready for the actual test which includes identifying actual plants, not just pictures, and I get 8/10 right.
I take this is a victory and thank the instructor before moving on to spear throwing.

Although I'm not great with a spear, I can hit the target in the leg if I'm not too far away. I might be able to get along alright with a spear, but I know I'd do much better with a sword.
Just before, training ends for the day, Rayna and Willow pull me aside.

"I've been thinking, and since there are no careers in this mini games, and the district seven tributes tend to be more experienced with weapons, especially axes, we are kind of the career tributes of these mini games. I mean none of us want to kill like they do, but if we have a big enough alliance we could be very powerful." Rayna says just as the gamemakers announce that the training day is over.

"Yeah I guess, but who else should be in our alliance?" I ask.
"We don't know yet, but keep an eye out." Willow says. I nod.
And with that, we return to the seventh floor together.