hiraeth || a hunger games au

Chapter 3

Arriving at the Capitol was a beautiful sight if you could put past all the unethical things about it. The tributes were given a day then the opening ceremonies would begin. During that free day, they would be getting to know how the games would work so that they could dive into training right away. The free day went by fast and Angus found it quite boring not being able to leave the apartment type building he was staying in. It most likely felt like a prison to the other tributes.

On the contrary, Alex was being pushed around the entire day of the opening ceremony by her team of designers. She sat in a chair as her hair got styled into a warrior-like updo. Next, she was taken to another room and fake gold armor surrounded her. Chainmail was draped on her shoulders. Looking in the mirror she saw the entire outfit, a gold chest plate, and sleeves. Gold satin was the skirt with more chainmail over it. A gold spiked headband that could be compared to rays of the sun was placed on her head. Bobby pins were stuck in her hair to keep the headband in place.

Alex was ushered into an elevator then walked over to the chariots. Many other tributes and their teams were arriving at the same time. The chariots were the same as all the other years, a sleek black metal pulled by horses . As Alex walked over to her designated chariots she saw an Avox mending to the horse. A voice called her name and she spun around only to find it was her fellow tribute from District 3. He was dressed the same as her minus the skirt and heels. She opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by their stylist telling them how the parade was going to work and how they should act. As the stylist talked Alex pet the horse and nodded along, not actually listening.

"....understand?" The stylist finished and the two agreed. Alex looked at all the other tributes. She sees the District 11 girl, Jacqueline, was it? The girl looks up and sees Alex; she gives a small, awkward wave. Alex blinks in shock. Did she just wave? The girl turns back to whoever she was talking to before.

Eventually, the parade was about to start, the two climbed into the chariot. They could hear the chatter of the people of the Capitol. The chariots started moving, starting with the first District and Alex and Marley following. The horses started trotting and the two waved to the people of the Capitol as they cheered everyone on. Their chariot pulled into the circle and as the District 12 chariot came to a stop President Morris stood from her chair and walked up to the stone podium to talk to the crowd. Morris waved to the crowd in a very regal manner.

"Welcome tributes! We admire your courage and sacrifice. And we, the Capitol, wish you, a Happy Hunger Games! And May the Fates forever hold you in their hearts!" She announced and smiled at the crowd as they went wild.

Alex remembered the President's background as she made her speech. Morris was once from District 12 which is known for being poor. She rose to power after the former President Snow was assassinated. They say that her goal before she became power-hungry was to stop the Games. But now, she was welcoming a new set of tributes for the very thing she wanted to destroy.

The chariots started moving again and the two tributes were taken back to under the stadium seats. They exited the chariot and followed as the stylist congratulated them on looking amazing.

It was the third day of group training and Angus was perfecting his spear-throwing skills along with hand-to-hand combat. He was hoping that if he got it just right, he would get a high enough score to not be a target and also not be sought after. But also high enough so that people send him gifts. He noticed how the people from the higher Districts were learning more basic skills like fire building (the things he already knew from living in District 12). While he was learning the weaponry side of training.

Angus was about to leave the station he was at but then someone else walked up and grabbed a spear. A thought flashed through Angus saying that maybe this newcomer was going to kill him before the Games started. The guy had no intention of doing so and focused on what Angus had been doing moments prior. He was tall, a couple of inches shorter than Angus though. Angus vaguely remembered him from looking at his and the girl's parade outfits and thinking they were overkill.

He was about to leave the stopped; he could learn how this tribute throws it then if they were to meet in the arena he would already know how he fights and could undermine him. So Angus went back to throwing and also watching the other tribute who was doing the same thing.

Jocelyn picked up a bow and arrows, she had been practicing for most of the time turning the training sessions. She found that she liked the weapons better than the spears and daggers. Although, she could technically use an arrow as some sort of stabbing device. She had learned basic hand-to-hand combat skills from one of the instructors. She was currently at the archery range which was tucked into a corner of the large room full of different stations.

Alex was currently struggling with starting a fire, it was a lot more difficult than it seemed. She was about to give up when she noticed the two District 4 tributes getting into a fight. She put down the stones she was using and watched as Peacekeepers jogged up and pulled them apart. Alex knew they would get the lowest scores and probably killed first by a "random occurrence".

Marley was done throwing spear and he was certainly done watching the District 12 guy throw them too. Neither of them had noticed what the other was doing. Marley walked off to try out of the climbing wall before they would be sent to a room to await the private sessions to begin. He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do for the session and realized he should plan that out before going in. He pondered what he was going to do as he scaled the wall.

Thirty minutes later, all the tributes were in one room sitting on benches except for the District 4 kids. The room was almost dead silent except for a few whispers which one could only imagine were alliances forming.

It didn't take very long for Marley to be called into the room. He walked through the hallway and the doors opened immediately and closed right behind him. The room was nearly empty and very large with a viewing room several feet off the ground. He stood in front of the view platform and a man he assumed was the director of the games said, "Mr. Barte you have ten minutes to present your chosen skill.

Marley immediately makes a beeline for the throwing knives knowing it's a safe bet. There are three knives laid in a row. He throws one, it misses the middle of the target shaped like a human. It throws another one, this one gets closer. The third time he throws one it hits the center of the head. As quickly as he can he goes over and picks up a spear. He shoulders it for a moment then throws it and it hits the middle. By the time he had done that and one other thing it was time for the next tribute. Marley walked down another hallway, he was greeted by Peacekeepers ready to escort him to his building.