Percy Jackson the Tribute (Percy Jackson Hunger Games crossover)

The Careers

Well, obviously Cato and the others were enraged when they woke up spluttering, with pounding headaches, and a laughing Percy standing above them, but the pesky guy made it out alive, as he so often did. Once you acquire a Percy, you can never seem to get rid of it. After he showed them up again -- without knocking them out this time -- Percy explored the loot in the Cornucopia. He watched in amazement as Junior dug up all the mines from around the platform and set them up around the supplies. He was sure he had never seen anyone do something like that before, and the Gamemakers had to have been going crazy.

They worked to prepare their camp for most of the day before the Careers decided they were going hunting. Cato had a sword, Clove had her knives, Marvel had a spear, and Glimmer had the bow and arrows. She wasn't very good. He wondered why she was even allowed on the Career pack, as she seemingly didn't have any useful skills other than being sexy, but he wasn't going to say anything. One more useless member of the Career pack was always good in his book. The girl from 4, who he decided to name Fish Girl because she was from the fishing district, used an axe.

He sighed loudly, because he knew he had to go with them to make sure they didn't catch his friends. They were all itching to put their weapons back to use, except Junior, who stayed behind to watch the supplies. Percy wished he could stay behind and keep him company, but he couldn't let the Careers have the chance of killing Katniss or Rue. Not that they would be able to catch either of them, but he had to be sure. Which meant he had a night full of watching his companions slaughter innocent children and enjoy it. He shuddered. He wasn't sure he would be able to let them, even if he knew he should. He couldn't kill the tributes himself, so it was best to let them do it for him, but still... Ugh. Good thing he wouldn't have to live with himself afterward.

They gathered packs and filled them with food, water, and weapons before setting out just before darkness hit. Percy trailed after them, his hands in his pockets, and admired the beauty of the death trap he was surrounded by. The Careers were grumbling by the time an hour had passed, but they were patient, much to Percy's annoyance. The woods gradually got darker, but it stopped when it was about as bright as if a full moon were shining. It was dim, but relatively easy to see. Percy would've wondered about the mechanics of that if he cared; Annabeth and Leo both would have driven themselves insane. He got confused when the Careers started stumbling on roots, loudly brushing against branches, and reluctantly pulled out the flashlights. Why did they need light? He could see perfectly fine.

Percy heard a snap in the distance. He stiffened. None of the others seemed to have heard it. He watched them warily for a while as they wandered in the opposite direction. He heard several more snaps as time went on, and he hoped no one was dumb enough to build a fire. It was freezing, but it was better to be cold than killed by a pack of bloodthirsty teenagers.

He cursed under his breath when he heard the faint sounds of a fire crackling. He couldn't see the light from it yet, so maybe whoever set it could still put it out? But he knew they wouldn't. Why bother lighting a fire if you were planning to put it out? It sounded maybe a mile away, which didn't make a lot of sense. He didn't know how he knew how far it "sounded" and if he could hear everything in a mile radius, other sound pollution should drown out the simple crackling of a fire. He shrugged mentally. So could he focus and only hear what he wanted to listen for? He concentrated, and heard someone breathing next to the fire. He smiled to himself and continued to scan the nearby areas.

He froze. None of the Careers looked back, and he managed to catch up to them silently without them noticing. He had heard another person breathing, maybe two hundred meters away from the person by the fire. The breathing was quiet, as if used to stalking, but slightly strained, like they were upset about something. Anxious? Angry? Possibly frustrated with the dimwit a couple hundred meters away who was sending a beacon to any hunting Careers who happened to look. Luckily, they were still headed in a different direction, but if they followed the same path they were on they'd see the fire in a few hours. Percy bit his lip, searching for a way to misguide them without making it obvious. He was a great actor, but...