Hi! Thank you so much for reading! We just heard from Crimson and now we will go back to our lovely Scarlet and see her thoughts on the first day of Training. 

I'm hoping to hear yours!

Take care and stay safe! ~CANGEL

***

Scarlet Wolfe

     Scarlet's entire body ached, and her brain throbbed as she sat at the table of their dining room for supper. She could barely keep her eyes open as she shoveled another meaty scoop of soup into her mouth. Most of it slipped down her chin, landing in the cloth napkin on her lap.

     As she looked up from her bowl, she saw that Penelope had already left the table. Her brother was still there, sitting across from her, but Crimson looked equally worn out, his sharp eyes dulled with fatigue, and his posture as slumped as hers.

     Scarlet stared at the glass of water in front of her plate. Her mouth was dry despite the soup, but just the thought of setting down her spoon down, extending her arm across her plate and having to lift it up, bring it to her mouth and place it back on the table exhausted her too much to do anything to even consider it.

     "Have you ever been so exhausted before?" she asked, as she attempted to drag another spoonful of her soup to her mouth and distract her from her desire for a cold drink of water. She needed the calories, even if all she wanted was to faceplant right into her pillow.

     Crimson's lips curled into a faint grin. "Not even in my dreams."

     They fell into a weary silence. Her mind drifted back to the training sessions, replaying the techniques and skills that she had learned.

     "What did you think of the others?" she asked, her voice low despite no one else being in the room. There was something about being in the Capitol that made her feel like someone was always watching and listening.

     She hadn't expected Crimson to answer her, so it was a surprise to see him respond with more than a brush off. "The Careers are strong, no surprise there. Though they didn't even look at the survival skill stations."

     Scarlet rolls her eyes. So arrogant. That would be their downfall. Scarlet would see to that.

     "District 4 is trying to join their alliance."

     Scarlet frowned into the bowl of soup in front of her. She'd assumed District 4 was already in an alliance with the Careers given that that was where they stayed all day...Along with Crimson. Was he in an alliance with them? Was he trying to be in one? Or was he just gathering information?

     Despite the questions that arose, Scarlet kept them to herself. She knew that Crimson wouldn't give her a straight answer and she knew that his actions tomorrow would tell her more truth than his words ever would.

     "I saw that group of three pairing up from the out districts."

     Scarlet felt her brow furrow as the troubling sight of the three male tributes came to mind. Keenen, from District 5, Derrick from District 6, and Flax, from District 8. She'd seen them run into one another at the rope climbing station and she had expected the normal few muttered words between tributes, but since that moment, they hadn't left each other's sides as they moved from station to station.

     At sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen years old, she didn't want to run into any of them in the Arena, especially if they were working together.

     "District's 5, 6 and 8." Was all she said in response.

     She knew her brother well enough to know when he was fishing for information. She wasn't as loose lipped as Penelope was and if he wanted more information from her then he would have to divulge more of his own.

     "If they stick together, they could be a real threat."

     Scarlet shrugged. "Well, at least you'll be safe seeing as they'll never attack the Cornucopia."

     Crimson raised a brow at her words and her obvious attempt to get him to confirm her suspicions of him joining the Careers alliance. The corner of his mouth kicked up as he stood, wiping his mouth with the napkin. "Goodnight, Scarlet." He said, as he pointedly ignored her words.

     Scarlet watched Crimson's retreating back as he left the dining room. He had been friendly with District 4 yesterday and both the Careers and District 4 today. She was nearly certain that he wanted an alliance with all of them.

     What she didn't understand was why they would want to ally with him. What did he offer them that they didn't already have? The Careers never took allies that were useless to them.

     Crimson was a twelve-year-old boy from District 14, the only district to never produce a Victor, or even a tribute that had performed well enough in the games to give hope to others that followed. He wasn't without skills, but he certainly was nowhere near as skilled as they were. He wasn't tall and muscular, with a body that promised strength and potential use of deadly force.

     What were they getting from him?

     No matter how she turned it over in her head, she couldn't figure out the answer. Scarlet's fist clenched beside her thigh, her nails digging into her palms. Scarlet drew in a breath through her nose and forced herself to let it go. For now.

     If her brother managed to take all six of them into that Arena in an alliance with him... That alliance would have disastrous ramifications for her and everyone else in that Arena.

     Today, Scarlet had laid low in the training center like she had intended. Tomorrow, Scarlet had originally planned to antagonize the Careers. But now, she would have to antagonize District 4 as well. Allowing them to grow any closer was not an option.

     It would be an easy goal to accomplish...in theory. Whatever Crimson wanted, Roe and Loach were not one of the Careers this year. They were fighting for their place in the alliance, but not once did Scarlet observe them being welcomed by the rest. That would make it easy for Scarlet to drive the wedge in further between them.

     The only problem was that she doubted Crimson would leave their side tomorrow. Especially since Scarlet had let her thoughtless comment slip out tonight.

     Scarlet sighed. Stupid. It was so careless of her. And now Crimson would be on guard even more than he had already intended to be. She dropped her head to the table and knocked it against the hardwood table twice before raising it once more staring at the remaining contents of her food in front of her. She should eat it. She needed to eat it. But she couldn't stomach another bite.

     Standing from the table, Scarlet walked out of the dining room with heavy steps and stiff legs. Even though no one was around, she kept the pain off her face as she walked through the darkened empty rooms to the hallway that would lead to her bedroom.

     Before dinner, Penelope had given Crimson and Scarlet both a single blue pill to take, promising that it was designed to make tributes' muscles relax and heal after intense workouts.

     As Scarlet trudged through the dimly lit hallway, the promised effects of the pill seemed more elusive than ever. Her muscles still throbbed with every step, and the heaviness of her limbs refused to dissipate. She was beginning to think that that promise had been a prettily wrapped lie just to get them to take the unknown pill.

     Reaching her bedroom door, Scarlet hesitated for just a moment. Her room didn't offer a respite. Not quite yet. Before she could sleep, Scarlet had one very important task to perform. She needed an interview strategy like Cassandra had advised.

     With a heavy sigh, she opened the door, finding her room bathed in soft moonlight that filtered through the sheer curtains. Scarlet shuffled across the room to the foot of her bed. Thankfully, she had already showered and changed before dinner, so with little care or thought, she plopped down onto the ground.

     Only after her legs settled against the cool hardwood floor did she stare at the blackened screen of the television screen and realize that she had forgotten one key detail.

     The remote.

     A sleek silver device that was perched on the television stand just to the right of the television that was five feet away from her. Scarlet willed herself to rise, but as she stared at her perfectly manicured toes, they didn't move in the slightest.

     She let her head fall back against the footboard of the bed as she stared up at the ceiling. Frustration simmered beneath the surface of her exhaustion and motionless body. Even her fingers refused to move at her command. She closed her eyes, hoping that perhaps, the remote would magically find its way into her hand, but as the seconds ticked by, her hand still empty against the floor, she opened her eyes. The remote's presence so close yet so completely out of reach seemed to mock her from where she lay.

     Growling to herself Scarlet briefly considered calling out to Penelope or Crimson for help, but just the thought of admitting defeat to either of them grated against her pride. Still, as her head lolled to the side, her eyes found the door to her room, still cracked open the barest amount where she apparently had forgotten to close it.

     Oops.

     As she eyed the open door, a thought wormed its way inside her head. There was someone that she could call for assistance. It was just...Scarlet lowered her eyes to the ground as the muted and sorrow filled grey eyes of the Avox on the train came to mind.

     It felt wrong to utilize them the way that the Capitol intended. As tools and slaves.

     But it felt even more wrong to put those feelings before the logic that dictated she get a solid strategy laid for her interview before tomorrow. The sooner she made her decision on what she wanted the audience and all of Panem to see, the more time she would have to think of various answers to the possible questions she would be asked.

     Scarlet wasn't like her brother. She couldn't rely on her gut and instinct to get by the interview. For her, it would have to be a meticulously planned affair in which Scarlet couldn't deviate.

     With that in mind, Scarlet swallowed the guilt that laid heavy in her heart and called out, loud enough to ensure her voice would carry out of her opened door. "Hey! I need some assistance in here."

     The words hung in the air for a moment, as Scarlet watched the unmoving door. Her heart pounded in her chest as she waited, unsure of what response, if any, she would receive.

     As Scarlet opened her mouth to call out once again, the door shifted open, and a figure stepped into the room. Even in the darkness of the room, Scarlet could see their plain grey, shapeless clothing and she could see the defeat that shined in their eyes and hung heavy in the air, announcing who they were without uttering a word.

     An Avox.

     As the Avox stepped into the room, Scarlet watched as they bowed their head demurely, strands of her dull blonde hair fell into her face before she stood up straight, awaiting orders.

     "I..." Scarlet hesitated for a moment. It felt so wrong to treat them this way, after all, they were people, no matter the crimes that they had committed. Yet, to treat the Avox's as anything other than things, was to be put at risk for joining their unfortunate fate. "I can't move my body right now. Get me the remote."

     The Avox bowed and without protest or even a pause at being asked to do such a mundane task, they went to the television and grabbed the silver device. The girl brought it to Scarlet, setting it down in the palm of her opened hand and stood straight.

     "That's all I'll need tonight." Scarlet said sharply, eager for the girl to leave.

     The Avox nodded once more, before turning to leave.

     "Hey!" Scarlet called out, unable to shake the guilt that welled in her as the weight of the remote settled in her hand. The Avox turned, stopping just inside the door, silently awaiting more instructions. "I don't like it when you're outside my door all night. It's creepy. If you have no other tasks to do tonight, go get some rest, or something."

     The girl's eyes raised upwards, meeting hers for the first time since being called in. Relief and understanding shone from them. Scarlet couldn't show any kind of outright kindness to the girl, but maybe she could at least show the girl that Scarlet would, if she could. With a final bow, the Avox left, shutting the door behind her. She hoped the girl could rest, but she had done all that she could.

     Pushing aside the guilt that still gnawed at her, she focused on the task at hand, turning the television on with a click of the button.

     Scarlet located the recordings of the past Hunger Games in the historical channels. And she began to watch the interviews from last year.

     By the end of the twenty-six interviews, she had found that she'd been able to determine the angles of six of them ranging from sexy, charming, witty, sweet, nice, to humble.

     There was just one problem. Scarlet wasn't nice. And she wasn't sweet. And all the tributes that were twelve and thirteen played one of those angles.

     She hadn't started out playing any of the angles—not from the moment that she'd been reaped, and even if she wanted to play one of those angles during the interview with Caesar, she knew she wouldn't be able to. Scarlet wasn't charming or particularly humble. She wasn't innocent or well-mannered. She had no patience to pretend to be something that she wasn't.

     Scarlet wanted to be seen as someone fierce. Someone ready to enter the Arena. But if she tried too hard, it would only look like she was giving herself false hope. Like a child trying to make themselves feel better about her odds in the Arena.

     Scarlet pinched the sides of her nose and rubbed it.

     What could her angle be?

     What would make her memorable in the narrow minds and fickle hearts of the Capitol?

     When no answers appeared, Scarlet played yet another set of interviews from a Hunger Games a few years before.

     The problem that Scarlet was having, as she tried to determine what separated a good impactful interview from a boring and soon forgotten one, was that Scarlet remembered everything. Good. Bad. Boring. Exciting. How was she supposed to know what someone else would remember when it had never mattered to Scarlet.

     By the sixth set of interviews, each from different Hunger Games, Scarlet's eyes could hardly stay open. She wasn't sure that she had been awake for the last two interviews.

     She tosses the remote to the ground and rubs her eyes. It didn't matter if she found an angle that fit her or not. Much later and she wouldn't be able to function tomorrow.

     She looked up from her spot on the floor, staring at the paused television screen. Her blood boils as she stares at the face frozen on her screen. His golden skin and sparkling white teeth that shone in the Capitol lighting and his green eyes that sparkled and mocked her.

     Fish fodder.

     How she bet he would laugh at her now, thinking that he had been right all along and that there was no way she could ever do well in that Arena.

      She felt like smashing the television into a thousand pieces just so she wouldn't have to see his face again and if she could move, that was likely what she would have done.

      She wanted to make him regret his words. She wanted to make him see that she was no one's easy kill. Especially not District 4's.

      She wanted...

      Scarlet opened her eyes and stared up at the screen.

      At Finnick Odair and the charm that he had used to win the hearts of all of Panem.

     She wanted to be even more memorable than he was.

     She wanted to outshine the Goldenboy himself.

     Finnick Odair was one of the youngest Victors in Hunger Games History. He'd won the 65th Hunger Games two years ago in eight days. He'd killed six tributes.

     Scarlet's lips curled as stared up at the screen.

     Anticipation slowly replaced the fury inside of her.

     Because she knew exactly what she was going to say in the interview. And she knew exactly what angle she'd be playing as she delivered her speech to Panem and answered Caesar's questions.

     The only question she had to worry about now was, just how wicked could one twelve-year-old girl be in three minutes? 

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Oh no! I'm actually a bit nervous about what Scarlet has planned! But that being said, Scarlet will likely have no problem nailing 'Wicked' as her interview strategy, right? 

Take care and stay safe! ~CANGEL

Stay tuned for more!!