Cross blinked rapidly, staring up at the slightly drunk looking man as he glanced irritably over the two of them.

"You're our tributes?" He grunted, a brow raising and head tipping back so he was looking down at them from an angle. "You look so small." He pointed at Cross, as if accusing him of a crime.

"I-I-- I cant help it sir." He spluttered, slightly surprised that those were his first words.

Horror ignored him, his burning red eye resting on Nick, who was currently far more interested in the fabric of his jacket to bother making eye contact. "You. Boy."

Nick let out an irritable sigh, tilting his head up to stare at him. "What?"

The man blinked, almost looking offended as he stared at him. "You seem like more of a fighter."

He held up his middle finger in response.

Horror let out an amused laugh, glancing around. "I'll never understand why they think children can fight in something like the Hunger Games. But oh well, people never change. Now... Where's the whiskey?"

Lust gave the two an apologetic look as Horror stumbled over to the table full of snacks, mumbling under his breath. "I'm sorry about him. Ever since his win he sort of lost it. He spends all his winning riches on alcohol these days."

Horror glanced over at Lust, his expression going sour as he grabbed the tall bottle of whiskey. "You're dressed a little skimpily, aren't you?"

The skeleton blinked, glancing down at himself. "Oh well uh, sorry? It's the Capitals style these days."

He grunted, rolling his eyes and pouring himself a glass. "Capitals huh? Listen here kids, here's your first survival tip out there."

Cross immediately perked up, leaning forwards a bit and paying more attention.

Horror sat down on a seat, scratching around the crack in his skull for a moment before taking a large gulp of whiskey. "If you want to live, you'll need sponsors. And sponsors are people that like you because of the impression you give off. A little package from them could be the difference between life and death. So I suggest you look at little slut here's style and think would I look good in that outfit?"

"Maybe Cross would." Nick said with a snicker. That was the first time he'd ever spoken with any emotion.

"I-I would not!" Cross yelped in protest and shaking his head rapidly. "I'd rather die!"

Horror laughed out loud, staring at Cross. "Maybe we'll tip off Emily about that for the tribute parade."

"Don't you dare!" He hissed, his face flushing slightly in embarrassment.

"He's kidding sweetheart." Lust reassured, whacking Horror over the back of his head with his hand. "Stop teasing them."

Horror let out a drunk yelp, gripping onto Lust's wrist to stop him from slapping him again. "Maybe I'll just tease you later."

The smaller grunted, pulling his hand out of the taller's grip. "In your drunken state, I don't even want to know what context that was in."

"Mm, you'll find out later." He muttered before lurching to his feet suddenly, scratching around the shattered part of his skull again. "You know what? I'm gonna go back to bed."

"Huh?" Cross looked up at him in alarm as he grabbed onto the full bottle of whiskey. "But aren't you meant to mentor us? Tell us what to do and how to win?"

"I just did." He rolled his eyes. "Sponsors kid, sponsors."

"Th-That can't be it! What about fire making and hunting and how to fight?!" He called out.

"You'll learn that in the training room. Now shut up, you're giving me a headache." He groaned, shaking his head and winking at Lust before stumbling out of the room.

Cross sat there in shock, not quite believing that that was the single piece of advice he'd tell him. "We're going to die--"

"Oh shut up Drama Queen." Nick said, pushing himself to his feet and stretching his arms over his head. "So do we have rooms, or do we just sit here all day?"

Lust looked over at him, smoothing down his clothes a little bit. "Oh no, the journey will only take another hour or so. Then you'll be lead to the facility in the Capital where you'll then be shown to your rooms before dinner tonight with Horror and I. And then you'll also meet your personal stylists."

"Personal stylists?" Cross blinked.

"Don't you know anything?" Nick glanced over at him. "We get our own personal stylist to mess about with us and 'make us pretty' for the people to enjoy looking at."

The smol shivered, pulling one of the overstuffed pillows to his chest. "H-How will they style us?" He asked softly.

"Well you watch the Games each year, don't you? We'll be dressed up to represent District Twelve and what it's famous for. So coal mining." He sneered. "They'll probably shove us in overalls and smear coal all over our bodies."

Cross shuddered at the thought, shaking his head. "That doesn't sound fun."

"Tell me about it. We get coal miners and the District One people get to dress like Gods." Through the shadow covering his face Cross could see a smirk form on Nick's face, his white teeth showing.

He offered a weak smile in response, relaxing a bit in his chair. Maybe Nick wasn't as bad as he thought he was. He just needed to give some time to get to know him. Not that it would matter, they'd have to kill each other in the end. That is if they hadn't already been killed by other people.

Lust stared at the two, silently walking towards the door. "I'll go after Horror, you two eat some snacks if you're hungry, okay? It won't be much longer until we're there." And with that he disappeared out of the room, the sound of his boots clomping against the floor ringing out as he walked.

Nick glanced over at all the table, scanning over the food.

There were plates piled up with little triangle cut sandwiches. Flavours ranging from cheese, ham, tuna and salad, chicken, hummus and more. All crustless, white fluffy looking bread with not a single blemish on them. They didn't look real. Dishes of grapes and fresh shining fruits were piled high, some looking more like they belonged at a tropical beach instead of in a train. A few plates of cocktail sausages and mini foods were also laid out, making Cross' mouth start to drool.

The darkly dressed boy stepped over, picking up one of the tuna and salad sandwiches and popping it into his mouth. "Yum."

Cross stayed sat still for a moment before caving in and pushing himself up to his feet. He padded over to Nick's side and looked down at all the delicious looking snacks. "I feel like an important person, for once."

"You'll be important till you die now." Nick said, grabbing a bunch of grapes and picking one off to eat it.

"Not for long then." He muttered, picking up one of the cheese sandwiches. "I'll probably be the very first to die."

"Nah, there are people far more pathetic than you that'll be in this year. I heard there's a twelve year old in district eleven, so you've got to be better than them."

"I'll take that as a compliment." He sighed, looking out of the train window just in time to see the trees disappear and the giant silhouette of the Capital lurch into view. "There it is!"

Nick jolted in surprise at his outburst, whipping around to see the incoming capital as well.

It was huge, at least twenty times bigger than the whole of District Twelve. Massive buildings carved out the sky, domed and spiked roof dipping in and out between the fluffy white clouds that floated overhead. Smaller but still over the top houses were packed around the tall palace-like buildings, all of them being eccentric colours. It was the complete opposite of the rugged wooden shacks of his village. It made them look even worse than they really were. Fields of green grass could be seen stretching across the Capital's centre, minuscule people milling about. They looked like ants from this distance.

As they got closer, Cross noticed how the Capital was surrounded by water, the train tracks passing right over the edge where the land dropped off to a cliff where the water poured off in torrents. It was really a sight to behold.

"There it is." Nick said, stepping next to the smaller -who currently had his face and hands pressed against the glass- "The Capital..."

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Curious: wot do you think of Nick, and wot do you think his plans are?

A bit of bonding and Character development yey

Currently I'm on a role writing this book, one chapter or more is being written a day which is so much better than my last book lmao it took two months to write 15 chapters last time.

Let's pray I keep up with the fast writing

🙏🏻

-Jess-