WREAK HAVOC.
( the first day of training )

JULY 6TH, THE TRAINING CENTER

Ida Fernsby couldn't help but laugh at all the tributes around her. After the trainer had dismissed them for individual training, so many had gone off toward the survival skill stations, seemingly following the head trainers advice, but Ida knew it was futile.

All of these people would be dead soon, no matter how many edible plants they could name, or how many fires they built. They would be dead because taking them out would be child's play to her, and she could already taste victory.

"Let's go see what the careers are up to," Ida said to her brother. Alarico had spent the entire morning scaring the younger tributes, simply just by looking at them, and she could feel him getting too egotistical.

"Why? They won't be better than us, so what's the point?" Alarico asked, not really caring about them at all. The first thing his sister and him had agreed on was that they weren't going to join the so called "trained killer" career alliance, because they didn't need to. The Fernsby siblings didn't need to be babysat by District One and Two, and the careers could have fun and get their bloodbath kills all they wanted, it wouldn't stop Alarico from killing them with no effort the second they went to sleep.

"Because," Ida started. "They already are against us for turning down the alliance offer, which means we need to go prove that we aren't bothered by them. Get under some of their skin."

The boy just rolled his eyes and followed his sister over to one of the weaponry stations. District One and Two had been the only ones to come over so far, and if any other district was thinking about it they seemed to be keeping away in fear.

But that wasn't the case for them.

"Oh look who it is," Ida called out to the careers surrounding one of the dagger stations. "Barbie from District One. What, are you going to throw it or what? You're holding up the line." 

Wisteria scoffed at the nickname, it wasn't the first time she had heard it, and it was never one to phase her. If people wanted to believe she was some dumb blonde doll, let them. She was always one to prove someone wrong.

"It's not my station, but please, feel free to go first," Wisteria replied to the girl. The blonde stepped out of the way of the daggers, and motioned for Ida to grab one.

"I have manners, and you were here first. So whoever's station this is, go on."

Alarico hadn't said anything, but it didn't seem
to matter because just his presence had Niko standing up from his crouched position, and giving a cold look. Alarico was amused by the motion, smirking at it even. For people who trained to be intimidating, it didn't seem to really be working.

"Daggers are more of a girls weapon, so if it's not the blondes than I'm guessing it's yours, Two. So don't let us stop you," Alarico said to Elide, who had been standing off to the side letting Ida and Wisteria go at it. He hadn't even meant to frighten her, but whatever he had said caused the youngest career to take a step back as she avoided looking at him. In a second, Niko had already stepped in front of her and glared at Alarico for even trying to talk to his sister, but the boy just laughed at the sight.

"What's the fuss? I thought you careers loved to show off? My sister and I are giving you the chance," Alarico told them, motioning to the weapon station again.

Elide could see that they weren't going to let it go, and she cursed at herself for being stupid enough to go to this station to try and learn any sort of weapon to help her. The second she threw the dagger and missed, her secret would be out to the rest of the tributes, which is the exact opposite of what Niko and her had talked about. The younger girl already had to go through the embarrassment of having to tell both Wisteria and Vervain that she wasn't an actual career, and now she was about to prove it in front of District Four. And of course it had to be them, their biggest threat.

The Thornton girl sighed as she picked up one of the small daggers, and looked to the target about thirty feet away. Her fingers gripped around the cold metal, twirling it around to try and make it look like she had at least held one before, but just as she was about to throw it, the District Four girl chucked.

"You're holding it wrong, sweetie. Unless you were trying to cut your finger?" Ida asked her, growing tired of the charade and walking forward. "Here, I'll show you. You have to grab it like this."

In under a few seconds, Ida had grabbed one of the double sided daggers, twisting it quickly around her fingers without cutting any skin, and threw it thirty feet into the dead center of the red bullseye.

"Did you catch that?" Ida mocked the younger girl, who had put down her own dagger. Wisteria groaned in distain, which only made Ida smile wider. Niko was watching his sister, willing her to stand up for herself, or lie, or do anything to fix the mess she created, but Elide only stepped back behind him. It was clear that he would have to play the human shield for the rest of the training time, and his jaw twitched in annoyance. Vervain still had his eyes on Alarico, making sure he didn't try anything while everyone else was distracted, but the boy obviously didn't seem to care about anything going on.

"At least now you can understand why we turned down this, uh, golden alliance. But I think I like our chances, don't you, Ida?" Alarico asked his sister, before giving a cold smile to them, and walking off in boredom.

"Well, I guess we will see you guys around. Maybe we can all eat lunch together," Ida told them with a laugh, before she left with her brother.

It didn't take long to notice how many other tributes had been eavesdropping the entire time, and Niko closed his eyes trying not to lash out.

"Good job, Elide. You lasted a whole hour."

"Fuck off, Niko. You throw the goddamn stupid dagger!" Elide hissed back at her brother, honestly trying hard not to cry at what had just happened, and how much she utterly just screwed herself.

Niko grabbed one of the daggers in complete anger, before looking at his sister and throwing it without breaking eye contact with her. He could hear the thud as it landed where it needed to, and he glared even more because how hard could it possibly be for her to just hit the target? Vervain whistled lowly and clapped slow seeing the dagger land in the bullseye of the dummy's head, but Niko didn't care for flattery, and he walked away from them before he did something he would regret.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

"Stop following me."

Estrella glared at the back of her brothers head. His never ending string of insults hadn't ceased, and he had been going at her all morning. The last thing she wanted to be doing was following her asshole brother, but Canyon, their mentor, had told her to see if whether or not he was joining in an alliance. And if he was, which one he joined into, because if he decided to go with the careers, it was going to cause a problem for her. It was going to be hard enough to try and kill him off herself, but having to go through a bunch of meatheads to even get to him would prove to be much, much harder

"I'm serious, Star. Stop following me!" Orion hissed out again, stopping at the sword station. She could faintly see Niko, the tribute from District Two, hacking at a poor trainer covered in heavy armor, but she refused to let her brother out of her sight. He wasn't going to do anything without her knowing about it.

Estrella shrugged her shoulders at Orion, hoping he would take it as she had nowhere else to go, and sat on one of the higher mats. She could feel his glare piercing right through her skin, but she had stopped letting it scare her a long time ago. It was one of the reasons she continued to not talk around him, hoping he would continue to see her as the same bleeding little girl he remembered, and not one that was ultimately trying to find the best way to murder him. She knew if she opened her mouth, she wouldn't be able to stop, and god knows the things she would say to him.

"Whatever," Orion said. "You're just proving to be the bitch you are, dog pun intended."

Estrella just strained a bitter smile at him as he picked up one of the swords, tossing it between his hands to test out the weight. She was hoping he would make a fool of himself, with Niko there to see it and make it impossible to join the careers, but luck was never on the girls side because it turns out her brother was much better than she remembered. He ignored the open trainer and went straight for the circle of plastic bodies, cutting off their arms like he was cutting through butter, and knocking the heads off their bodies so fast she almost missed it. It was so easy for him then, to just hurt and maim and tear apart anything that was in his way, the dummies falling to pieces at his feet just like she used to when she was little. He disgusted her, and watching him only made the hatred in her body boil over.

She took the chance to study his every move, what hand was his dominant one, which foot stepped forward when he went to attack, the way he blocked when a trainer decided to throw a few offensive attacks, she studied it all. And she noticed she wasn't the only one either, as Niko had won his fight and decided to watch alongside with her. She knew in that moment things were about to get hard for her, and her chances of ever laying a finger on him grew lower and lower the more impressed the older boy beside her looked, but she refused to let it stop her.

She refused to get walked over all over again.

So Estrella took one more glance as Niko went up to Orion, likely offering for him to sit with the careers at lunch, and headed out of the training center. A Peacekeeper pointed the way to the bathroom when she asked, and the minute she stepped onto the marble floor she went to the sink. Her hands splashed water on her face, attempting to sizzle out the heat she had under her skin, but it was an inferno, and it was much too late for anyone to put it out.

"I heard what your brother said to you, and ouch!" A voice said behind her said. She swung around and came face to face with Ida Fernsby frowning at her. Estrella knew fake empathy when she saw it, so she just scoffed at the girl and went to leave. Why would the guard even let her in here? Wasn't it a hazard to have two tributes alone in a small room where one could injure the other?

It took Estrella a moment to realize she was thinking about her hurting Ida and not the other way around.

"Hey, I was just seeing if you were okay. If my brother ever said that to me, wow, we both wouldn't live to make it to the arena I promise you."

"Yeah well you don't need to worry about a thing my brother says to me," Estrella deadpanned, looking at the girl who seemed surprised when she talked.

"So you do talk, interesting."

Estrella just rolled her eyes and attempted to walk out again, but Ida put her hand against the door to prevent her from opening it. "Why won't you talk to Orion, then?"

"It's none of your business," Estrella answered.

Ida smiled, her eyes burning with amusement, which caused Estrella to flush. Why was she looking at her like that?

"Apologies for prying, I just can't help but be curious," Ida told her, slowly raising her hand from the bathroom door, but Estrella made no move to open it again.

"Well, if you must know, the only thing I plan to ever do to Orion is kill him. I see no point in talking to someone who is already dead," Estrella said.

A grin rose on the Fernsby girls face, yet again surprised when the other girl opened her mouth, but very much not disappointed.

"Well, then you just got a whole lot more interesting," Ida answered back. The two girls were looking straight at one another, only a few inches apart in the tight room, but Estrella was no longer worried about the two of them killing each other.

"Glad I entertain you, then."

As she left the bathroom, Estrella could feel a burning gaze, and only a moment passed before Ida was following her once again and hooking their arms together. "Come on, you're sitting with my brother and I."

Estrella hoped the girl couldn't feel the entirely new fire under her veins.

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

"I think after the compulsory exercise I should shoot one of the bows."

Apollo looked at his sister across the table, wondering if somehow The Capitol food had caused her to lose brain cells.

"Actually, that's the worst idea I've ever heard. Let's not do that," Apollo told Artemis, before swinging his head and making sure no one else heard her.

"Why not?" She argued back. Apollo had gone back to eating, and ignored her. The girl kicked him from under the table which led him to cry out, capturing the attention of the table next to them, and they quickly dropped both their heads down.

"You know why! The second you show any type of skill, it's an automatic target for the careers. Either they'll ask you to join them, which for the love of god I would hope you would deny, and then they'll kill you, or, they will just skip the alliance part, and just immediately kill you."

"It's better than them looking at us like a piece of meat, ready for them to come and devour!" Artemis hissed out.

"No actually," Apollo replied. "I am perfectly fine being a piece of meat. Just one big piece of chicken that no one thinks to worry about, but in reality I am undercooked, and could potentially kill you."

Artemis just looked at her brother with confusion, not understanding why he felt the need to use the analogy, and just sighed in defeat. She hated doing nothing, which is what it felt like every station they went to. Both of them already knew about edible plants, and how to make fires, and Apollo was an expert in herbs used for healing. They already knew everything the survival stations had to offer, and avoiding the weapon stations just to stay off the careers radar was stupid to her. They were a target since their names were called at the reaping, whether she shows her skills with a bow or not.

"Can we sit with you?" A small voice asks.

The Nephus twins turn to see the tributes from District Ten, Finch and Colt Bradley, who both of them recognized from the elevator the night before. Colt looked uncomfortable and ready to drag his sister away, waiting for the both of them to deny her request as if the night before had never happened, but Artemis simply smiled at the girl, and nodded.

Finch smiles wide and sat her tray of food down beside the older girl, and Colt slowly sat next to Apollo. He didn't seem to know what to think of the twins, knowing they seemed nice and only wanted to help in the elevator, but also still not ready to put his defense down, especially when he had to think about his little sister.

Apollo launched into some story to tell Finch, Artemis annoyed that he decided to drop the conversation they were having completely, but she was happy that the girl came to their table. It made her feel good, knowing she was actually able to help with something she had never been good at.

"Um, I just wanted to say thank you. For last night," Colt suddenly said. Apollo and Finch were too caught up in whatever they were talking about to hear, but Artemis looked up at him. She could see how grateful he was, and she smiled at him.

"It was no problem, really," Artemis replied back, but she knew she didn't have to do what she did, and Colt did too.

She could feel him staring at her as she rolled a piece of food around her plate, not as hungry as she thought she was. Her thoughts were running a mile a minute, and his stare wasn't helping, but before she could do anything about it, or say something that didn't sound like a damn robot, the lunch alarm rang.

"Lunch is now over, please report to the training room for a required training activity."

Finch looked scared after the announcement, but after glancing at the older girl, she managed to keep her tears in, and stand up. Apollo pat her on the back and started telling yet another story as he walked her out of the lunch room, and Artemis was stuck walking alongside Colt. It wasn't as awkward as she thought it would be, and she sighed in relief when he just gave her a smile when they accidentally made eye contact.

Up ahead, a few tributes started murmuring in confusion, and both of them stepped forward to see what they were looking at, only for them to be met with the sight of a huge metal circle in the center of the room that hadn't been there before.

"All tributes, please take a seat."

Everyone shuffled to find an empty one that wasn't beside one of the careers, but it proved an impossible task when they decided to spread out all around the circle. Artemis grimaced when she sat down right beside Vervain Voss, but was a bit more relaxed when she saw Colt had taken the seat on her right. There seemed to be a seatbelt, so Artemis clicked it into place before glancing around for her brother. She spotted him about eight seats to her left, sitting next to Finch and Minerva Thatch from District Eight. He gave her a thumbs up, and she just shook her head. She could never understand how he always knew exactly how to act, and how to appear so unbothered and calm all of the time.

Before her, there was a round button about four inches wide, and she squinted trying to figure out what it was connected to.

"The rules are very simple. In front of everyone there is a button, and after random periods of time the button will turn red, which is when you will press it. This activity is to measure all of your reaction times. The last person to press the red button each round loses, and this will continue on for twenty two round until only one person is left, who will be announced as the winner. After everyone fastens their seat belts, the exercise will begin."

Everyone seemed less tense after the explanation, realizing it wasn't anything too hard. Artemis was even thrilled, knowing this is another thing she would excel in. Apollo seemed to sense this too, because he shook his head at her, telling her to not win, as it would make them a bigger target. But when Vervain looks right at her, then continues to look around to taunt someone who was actually worthy competition, Artemis decided that enough was enough, and she would prove just how much competition she actually was.

She already had a target on her back, who cared how big it got. Nothing she did would make it go away.

The trainers had started the equipment, and at the last second everyone seemed to realize they had started to spin around slowly. A few gasped at the feeling, and it was an immediate advantage to all of those who were paying attention to their button as it glowed a bright red. Artemis shot her hand out instantly, and she saw the two boys beside her do the same a millisecond later. A groan appeared to her right, as Mercury's chair scooted back. He had been too focused on making sure his little sister didn't fall out of her chair and had been the last to press the button.

After his chair slid back, the circle spun just the tiniest bit faster, and some of the younger tributes laughed, some of them smiling for the first time in days. This round it took longer for the light to glow, but Artemis presses it as soon as it came on. Everyone waited to see who would go back, and Hari sighed when his chair slid back. This continued on, and Artemis barely blinked, afraid she would miss the light turn on. The next out was Caldwell, then Finch, and then followed by Orion. Each time a tribute was eliminated, the faster the circle started to spin. Many started to be bothered by the motion and would momentarily close their eyes to try and stop the dizziness, but it would just cause them to miss the light by a fraction of a second, but that was all it took.

Minerva started cussing when her chair slid back, followed by Colt, who Artemis could feel slide back next to her. She risked a glance at him, but he didn't seem too bothered and right as she looked away, she could see him wink at her in her peripheral. The way her heart jumped into her throat almost caused her to miss the button when she went to hit it.

Solstice was the eighth person out, followed by Vesper, then Mars, then Juniper. They continued to spin faster and faster, and Artemis thought about how cruel this was to do right after they had all eaten, but being cruel was what The Capitol always did best. When Niko was the next person to slide back, he looked like he was about to throw up.

Artemis had a full on fight with her digestive tract, willing all the food she ate to stay down just for a few more minutes, but the nausea didn't go away, and she was forced to continue on. Alarico was the next out, followed by Aurelia, then Chitto, who all looked too out of it to be too upset at their loss. Artemis could feel someone's eyes on her, and she glanced up to see Apollo, who looked like he was about to strangle her. She knew he wanted her to bail, but they were too far into it, and she felt like she had something to prove. When the light turned on that time, her twin didn't even attempt to push it, and his chair slid back as he gave her one more pleading look. Vervain was the next to go and she could hear his loud curses, and the glare on the back of her head when he realized she was still in the game.

Good, he could glare at her all he wanted.

There were six people left, including her, and it seemed that all of them took note that only girls were left.

"You know what they say," Ida Fernsby mocked. "All brawn, no brains."

The girls snickered at her comment, and even Artemis found herself laughing slightly. The boys didn't seem to like her comment though, a few of them insulting her right back, but she ignored it and pressed the button as soon as it lit up.

Vendetta was the next person out, then Estrella, and finally Ida who found the situation so amusing. The only people left beside her was Wisteria and Elide, and Artemis sighed when she realized she had to be left with two careers, or well, a career and a half after the show earlier that morning.

The three girls all stared at their buttons, and just as Artemis started to see a LED light up, she went to press the button, but at the last second she pulled back realizing the button was green, and the trainer had told them to press the button when it was red.

Both Elide and Wisteria had pressed their buttons, not seeming to care about the color, and Wisteria smirked at Artemis as she saw she didn't even press her button, but the smirk soon turned to a frown when both her and Elide quickly slid back.

"What the fuck!" Wisteria yelled out, not understanding what happened.

"At the beginning of the exercise, we specifically said to press the button when it was red. Congratulations to our winner Artemis Nephus, from District Three!"

At all the glares she received from those around her, she realized her brother might have been right.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

this was a loooong chapter
omg but thank you to everyone
who is reading!! i really hope i am
making this enjoyable and not
super boring, and i'm continuing
to write your characters right.
i love writing this story and
i'm trying to update as much
as i can while i have the motivation
🥺🥺🥺

━━━━━━━━━━━━