𓏲 . SURVIVAL GAME . .៹♡
                                                           CHAPTER FIVE
                                      ─── INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT

The days of training flew by, and with each passing moment, the bond between the tributes seemed to grow stronger. By the last day, the bond between them was stronger than ever. Surprisingly, they all got along quite well. Velren especially got along with Finnick Odair right away. A friendship developed between them as they honed their skills together and prepared for the upcoming Hunger Games.

After the sun sets and the moon rises, Velren lay motionless in his bed, the dark shadows of the night enveloping him. The room was silent, only the soft breathing of the young tribute audible. Normally, Velren didn't have nightmares; his nights were peaceful and undisturbed. However, on this evening, after the last training day , he was haunted by a terrible dream.

 The nightmare took Velren back to the cruel Games he had survived two years ago. The arena was no ordinary one; it was a dark jungle area, populated by dinosaurs. The memory of the horrific events echoed in Velren's mind as he recalled the moment when his ally from another district was murdered before his eyes.

 The images were as real as if Velren were reliving them. The screams of his ally, the blood splattering on the ground, and the anger rising within him. Velren saw himself, seeking revenge on 15 innocent people whom he held responsible for his ally's death. Bow and arrow, as well as a trident, became his deadly tools as he roamed the arena, driven by an insatiable thirst for vengeance.

Velren's eyes snapped open as he jolted upright in bed. His body felt aflame, as if he had a thousand tiny burns consuming him, and his heart raced. He breathed. Water ran down his exposed skin, and his  hair clung to his face.

He turned his head to his side, where his sister lay under the silky covers, breathing peacefully. Then, he sat at the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands. He breathed again. It was only in that moment that he realized how much his body was trembling. A forced sigh escaped him.

Velren's fingertips navigated through the darkness until they touched the fabric of his coat. With a quiet determination, he put it on and headed towards the door. The confinement of the room almost suffocated him, and the longing for fresh air drove him to the roof.

As the door opened, a cold breeze greeted him. It played with his  hair and carried the scent of the night. The sky over the Capitol was an infinite sea of stars, and the city seemed to be lying under the blanket of sleep.

Velren took a deep breath, grateful for the silence and tranquility. His steps led him to a secluded part of the roof. There, he leaned against the railing and closed his eyes, hoping to think of something other than his cruel, blood-soaked thoughts. Suddenly, he felt a familiar presence. Without turning around, he knew it was Finnick.

Finnick intended to go to the roof where Velren stood, appearing tense even though his body was peacefully positioned. His hands were behind his back, legs apart, and his eyes closed. Finnick considered saying something, but ultimately decided to turn around and go back inside.

Velren opened his eyes, revealing a mix of vulnerability and determination. "Don't go." his soft pleading voice stopped Finnick , and he turned to face him again. "I didn't want to disturb your peace." Finnick admitted, his tone softer.

Velren gave him a small, understanding smile."I appreciate the thought, but your presence doesn't disturb me. " he said. There was a brief pause before Finnick spoke again, his voice filled with concern. "You had a nightmare,right?" "You could say that, yeah." came Velren's response after another brief pause.

"What was it about?" Finnick asked. Velren swallowed, the words of the nightmare sticking in his throat. "It..." he trailed off. He was afraid to tell him; what if Finnick thought differently of him afterwards? "You don't need to tell me." Finnick said, understanding his hesitation. "I don't need to know."

Velren was grateful for his words. They both looked up at the night sky now and observed the many stars, which were so clear and distinct. There was nothing but silence in the air now. It was pleasant for some unknown reason.  

After a while, accompanied by the calming night, Finnick broke the silence with a cautious suggestion. "How about you sleep in my room tonight? Together, we can try to chase away those dreams."

Velren looked at Finnick with surprise, but the offer felt like a welcome salvation to him. "Yes, I'd appreciate that," he said, grateful for the gesture. They left the rooftop and made their way to Finnick's room. 

As soon as they entered the room, Velren sat on the edge of the bed and began to take off his boots. In a daze, he furrowed his brow when he noticed Finnick grabbing a pillow from the bed. "What are you doing?" he asked, still sleepy.

"I'll sleep on the couch." Finnick answered him as if it was obvious. He began to prepare, getting ready to toss the pillow to the foot of the bed, avoiding eye contact with Velren. "Don't." Velren said to his surprise, grabbing his arm, and when his green eyes finally found his brown ones, he pleaded with him softly. "I want you to stay."

Finnick watched him for a moment, as torment flashed across his eyes.  "Please." Velren whispered, absolutely drained, every part of him spent from the day. The oldest tribute continued to stare at the youngest before slowly giving in and putting his pillow back on the bed.

In one swift move, he pulled back the covers, and they both wearily climbed in before Finnick wrapped the blankets around them. Velren allowed himself to be pulled towards Finnick's chest. In any other situation, Velren would have likely pulled away, possibly even pushed Finnick off. But, for now, Velren let it happen. In this moment, he needed someone by his side, and Finnick was proving to be very adept at providing comfort.

As Velren's head rested on Finnick's chest and Finnick held onto his hand on top of his chest, with his other hand protectively holding Velren's back, Velren could feel the unmistakably gentle heartbeat in Finnick's chest. Soon, Velren's own heart found its rhythm, and their breaths both became heavier. Velren felt his eyelids fluttering closed, on the verge of falling back asleep.

Together, they slept peacefully through the night...

Velren sat next to Celestia the next day, waiting for their district to be called. His hand was in hers, warm, calloused, scarred. As they sat there and looked at the other tributes, Celestia vaguely wondered how they were supposed to kill these people. These people who had become her fellow victors, her allies, her friends.

"Decided what to do for the Gamemakers yet?" Velren asked, and lowered his head a little to look her in the eye, his hair falling into his forehead.  Celestia shook her head. "Not a clue. What about you?"

"After my training days with the friendly fish boy..." he said, referring to Finnick, which made his sister laugh. At this, Celestia met Velren's gaze and looked deep into his brown eyes, which appeared black in some lights. What none of them knew, however, was that Finnick's gaze was fixed on the two siblings.   "...I have an idea that I think might work."

"District 4." a male voice called out from the speakers as Celestia nodded without further inquiry. "Finnick Odair. Report for individual assessment." Velren watched as the blonde made his way to the assessment room. As he passed, Velren gave him a small thumbs up. Finnick smiled at the boy and whispered "Good luck" to him before he disappeared behind the corner.

The minutes Velren waited there until the announcement for District 13 came were the longest and at the same time the shortest minutes of his entire life.  The whole idea of conducting these sessions was utterly ridiculous.

 They had all already been in the Games, and everyone knew their talents. Previously, people had joked about what they might do during the session. Things like playing cards, taking a nap, simply singing the alphabet, or telling a few jokes to the Gamemakers.

"District 13." the voice echoed through the training center finally. "Velren Black. Report for individual assessment." With one last look, Velren let go of his twin sister's hand and gave her a reassuring smile as he walked to the door, leaving the woman alone.

As he went in, Katniss left the room, and as they passed each other, Katniss wished him good luck. He scanned the room when Katniss was gone. The room was full of weapons, dummies to try out, targets for weapon accuracy and much more.

"Mr. Black, you have ten minutes to present your chosen skill." Plutarch told him, and crossed his hands behind his back as he looked at the man. Velren nodded and walked over to the knot station to get two ropes for his hideous, wonderful idea.

Velren grinned and tied two complicated knots that resembled nooses. Then he walked over and picked up a trident and a dark grey bow and a quiver of arrows, but did not use them, instead placing them on the ground beside him. The Gamemakers gave him a puzzled look, but he paid them no mind.

Next, Velren dragged two  dummies  down from their place on the wall. He placed them on the floor and went to the stealth station, where some of the other tributes, no doubt the morphlings, had made a huge mess.

He found a partially filled container of blood-red berry juice that would serve his needs. Velren held his body in front of the dummies  to make sure the Gamemakers couldn't see them.  With his finger, he carefully painted a few words on the forehead of each of the dummies.

Finally Velren tied the nooses around the dummies' necks and hung them up. Then he picked up the trident first from the ground, where he had put it down together with his  dark grey bow and his quiver of arrows.

With a skillful movement, Velren threw the trident, which whizzed through the air and stabbed the head of a dummy with impressive precision. Then he  picked up his dark gray bow and his quiver with arrows from the ground. Velren notched an arrow into his bow and let it fly straight into the other dummy's head.

The forehead of one dummy had the words 'CORIOLANUS SNOW' in dripping red paint, while the forehead of the other dummy had the words 'CARLISLE SNOW' in dripping red paint. Many of the gamemakers looked much paler and groaned in horror at his performance.

"Thank you, for your consideration." Velren said with  a victoriously smirk on his face before he bowed elegantly and mockingly to them. Then he turned on his heel and walked in the other direction.

"YOU DID, WHAT?" Jenna's voice sliced through the air, filled with disbelief and frustration. Velren sighed and looked down at his lap as he sat on the living room sofa while Jenna paced in front of him. The woman was currently distressed and angry after Velren recounted to her and the others how the training session had unfolded.

In all honesty, Velren had no idea why she was so mad. It's not like they could kill him or something. They were sending him off to his death anyway, what would be the point?

"Oh God. Oh God!" Celestia exclaimed in shock, her hands covering her face as if shielding herself from the repercussions. "Velren, do you know what you've done?" "Why the hell would you do that?!" Jenna yelled again, giving him a stern look he had never seen directed at her. The room felt tense, and Velren knew he had crossed a line, but he couldn't understand why everyone was reacting so strongly.

"I did what I had to do, Jenna." Velren replied with a nonchalant shrug, maintaining his calm demeanor. "It's all part of the game, right? Besides, they were just dummies. It's not like it's going to change anything."

Jenna stopped pacing and glared at him. "Velren, this is not a joke! You've just antagonized the Capitol, and worse, the Snows. Your actions have consequences, not just for you but for all of us. Did you think about that, Velren?"

"That was just for the show. It's fine." Tobias  calmed her down and turned to Adrian, who seemed to find amusement in the situation, sitting cross-legged with a smirk playing on his face. "I would have done anything to see that." he said.

Velren chuckled, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ceaser Flickerman on the TV. He was speaking, but it was muted. "Tobias, unmute the TV. The evaluations are in." The entire mood in the room changed as Tobias pressed the remote. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are here to present the scores for the tributes of the 75th Hunger Games!"

The ratings came in. First a photo of the tribute was shown, then the score was faded in below it. The career tributes were, of course, in the eight to ten range.  Most of the other players averaged a five.

But the surprise came when Peeta and Katniss appeared on the screen, their scores an impressive twelve. Velren couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the unexpected turn of events. "Twelve? Seriously?" Adrian muttered, his eyes narrowing at the screen.

Velren, usually confident, felt a tinge of unease. "What in the world did they show the judges? That's a perfect score. Something's not right."  he asked.  "It could be a Capitol strategy, a way to force them into the spotlight. " Tobias explained to him.

As the tension refused to dissipate, the inevitable moment arrived for District 13. Velren Black's nerves were palpable as the image of his face flashed on the screen. He wasn't sure which way the results would fall after what he did. "For Velren Black." Ceaser's voice resonated as the score slowly materialized beneath it. The room held its breath as the number revealed itself. "A score of... thirteen! Oh my lord, this is the first thirteen ever given in Hunger Games history!" 

 The shockwave swept through the room, and Velren felt a chill run down his spine. His mind raced, realizing the gravity of the situation. A thirteen had never been awarded before, and in the previous Games, he had only received an 11. Now, he knew he was in serious danger, as this score made him an exceptional target for his fellow tributes.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Ceaser announced his sister's score. "And for Celestia Black... a score of... nine!" Velren, still under the influence of his own shockwave, turned to his sister. He sent her his typical warm smile anyway. "I'm proud of you." he said.

━━ AUTHORS NOTE

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