[M] The 49th Annual Hunger Games {Nachthexe x Zulera301}

[Nachthexe]

A lump formed in Lanni's throat as she felt the train disembark from the station at last. It marked the beginning of a new journey, one that she was potentially not returning from. It was a frightening prospect and it admittedly left her rather unsettled. She was simply not ready to accept her death just yet. She had much to live for, even if death was merely the medical process of the body ceasing to function at all. It was like clockwork or a computer and if it was abused or poorly cared for then eventually it would break down. It was with care that the shelf life of a product could be prolonged. This was no different.

The Capitol at least had a way of spoiling their Tributes before they stared death directly in the face. Lanni found herself rather fond of the train's upholstery already so she could only imagine what it was like in the Capitol. She supposed that she would find out in a rather short time. how long was the journey? About a day? Supposedly the Capitol timed it just right to have all Tributes arrive at roughly the same time. It was clever really, no doubt the careful and precise work of some of Panem's skilled specialists. It was undoubtedly one of those small aspects of the whole thing that the tiny girl could not help but to admire.

"Exactly. These specimens have taste." Lanni responded to Chip, taking care to put special emphasis on "specimens". In truth, it was largely what the Capitol folk were to the majority of District 3. Their lifestyle remained so vastly different, almost alien even. It was almost like they were not even part of the same species at all. Nonetheless, they were a species that Lanni knew that she would have to unfortunately grow accustomed to in the coming weeks. Only the other Tributes would remain familiar, despite the circumstances that were bringing them together.

At least the other Tributes were a specimen that Lanni knew she had a chance of understanding.

She nodded as her partner made a suggestion of his own. "He's correct, you know." She seconded as she took a glance towards Marcus. "I would love to become acquainted with the other Tributes and the almightly Wiress who will be mentoring us." The demands of both halves of the District 3 pair was the only cue the Escort needed to drag himself to the next car where Wiress was no doubt killing time. It also left Lanni with plenty of relief, even if just to be away from the high energy radiated from the Capitol folk for a short time.

"Now that we're alone I suppose we have some research to do." Lanni finally turned towards her partner. Naturally, they had probably already shifted to exactly the same wavelength quite some time ago. If one of them was going to come out alive then they would have to study their opposition closely. They had exactly a week to learn everything about their opposition: their strengths and weaknesses, their quirks, and even what made them tick. Why not begin now? It was encouraging enough for the girl to turn on the telescreen and take a seat.

The Reaping Footage began, starting with added Capitol commentary of course. It was only mildly interesting to Lanni who much preferred to see what the commentators had to say about the Tributes themselves. Sure enough it began to play through, beginning with Districts 1 and 2. They unsurprisingly received much praise from the commentators, but the girl fully understood why. The four Tributes were working out to be the standard Career flock: bold and willing volunteers who were ready to smash some skulls in if it meant honour and glory. The District 1 pair in particular also carried the sex appeal that was so common in their District. There was simply no denying that Jewell from the year previous had been gorgeous, a fact that even Lanni who remained indifferent about sexuality could admit.

"Oh hey, it's us. Somehow I seem more dorky on television." Lanni jested as the footage shifted to District 3. The commentators themselves seemed uncertain exactly what to say about the pair, but perhaps it was because they remained so focused on the technology that had chimed out the Tribute's names in the first place. As far as the girl knew they and District 5 were the only Districts in Panem to use such a high tech contraption in their Reapings. A point of envy for others perhaps?

The District 4 pair was significantly much harder for Lanni to read as they flashed on screen. They appeared built as so many from the District were, yet there was fear written all over them. The girl took it to mean they were a possible non-threat, but it was also far too early to tell. Surprises were frequent in the games. Nobody was quick to forget little weak and helpless Kyla who had worked out to be one of the deadliest Tributes in the 44th games. She remained as a prime example that nobody was to be underestimated and certainly not counted out until their face shone in the sky.

"These two could be possible allies I think." The District 5 pair. They caught Lanni's attention almost immediately. They appeared the type who were possibly about as clever as she was. With four brains together they were almost destined to be a formidable force in the arena. At least until that inevitable moment that they were forced to sever the alliance. It would happen eventually. It always did.

Districts 6 through 8 once again were hard for Lanni to read. District 9 stood out, though, providing her with a bit of a shock as soon as the boy had stood up to volunteer shortly after the girl had been reaped. Still more peculiarly they were definitely siblings. With names like Santhe Skyshire and Thatcher Skyshire there was simply no assuming otherwise. They also looked nearly identical, strikingly so. "That pair could be compelling to confront. Siblings, and a volunteer from an outlying District no less. Their District has been nothing but bloodbath fodder for years and suddenly it produces these two. I can just read the anticipation all over their faces." The small District 3 girl decided. Allies? Probably not. Formidable opponents? Quite possibly.

Would District 10 become a repeat of District 9? Allegedly not as the footage seemed to confirmed. It produced a pair of young children, probably no older than thirteen, who were scared out of their wits as they finally made their way atop the stage. The poor dears were probably already doomed and Lanni could not help but to feel sorry for them. Districts 11 and 12 at least appeared to be of some interest. District 12 in particular seemed to be well-equipped this year, luckily producing an older boy, Marsh Greengaze, who appeared to already be rather hardened to the realities of scarcity. It indicated that he was possibly clever and resilient, a definite threat unless they could somehow sway him to their side.

As the footage finally concluded Lanni leaned back and sighed. If this was what she was up against then using her wits was definitely a necessity. It had never been a hindrance for her before and it certainly could not act as one now, otherwise she would end up as nothing more than a corpse; another statistic in the Capitol's sadistic game. "So, Chip, now that we have that out of the way what do you think? Any thoughts or concerns? Anything we derive we can certainly address to Wiress later."

[Zulera301]

Chip couldn't help but crack a smirk at Lanni's choice of words. There were hefty punishments that came from talking ill of the Capitol or its extravagant citizenry in public, but there was nothing inherently offensive about the word "specimen". It was fitting though, and karmaic in many ways, to Chip at least. The Capitol dehumanized boys and girls by even calling them "tributes", and so a little of the same medicine, even if in private, felt vindicating, in a way. Not that he'd ever say it publicly, much less to any of their faces, but still... it was satisfying in a petty sort of way.

Whatever the case, it was game time. Some people might have thought that the games only began after the gong rang and kids began rushing towards the cornucopia and murdering each other for weapons and gear. Others might have thought the mindgames began at the training center when tributes could first see their peers in action face-to-face. Chip knew better, knowing that the mindgames began once they saw their opponents on screen for the first time. While he was normally not one to pay attention to people, this would be one of those times where he broke that rule. These people were now the most important 23 boys and girls of Chip Sangster's life, because knowing them—knowing who they were and how they operated—could literally be the difference between life and death.

He wished they could skip all the Capitol fluff that came between each reaping, although on rare occasions those clowns said something worth listening to. Not this time though, because of course not, Chip mused. On the other hand, it wasn't like they had anything better to do on this train ride to their doom, so there was no point in complaining, and thus Chip just waited it out.
The tributes though—this was when he even leaned forward in his seat to see what they had in store. District 1 produced Azalea Markett and Viktor Williams, who seemed the usual gung-ho tributes. Nothing too unusual, but perhaps they didn't need to be. In nearly every game these days they performed well and made it into the final 25% of tributes still alive, and a couple years ago District 1 produced a pair of bubbly tributes that had not only ended in a victor, but the two of them together had literally killed more than half of the tribute pool that year (52.17%, according to chip; 12/23).

District 2 produced Rafe Terrn and Lenina Cross, who were similarly gung-ho, although it seemed they were more about brawn before beauty. Not ugly, since the Capitol statistically favoured pretty tributes and statistics were there to back this up, but they looked a lot more like fighters than their District 1 counterparts. That didn't stop Chip from assuming they'd still form an alliance with them though.
And then came District 3, and Chip smirked. "I'm just as dashing on TV as I am in real life." he flashed a grin of surprisingly white teeth, although his tone indicated he was probably more joking than actually thinking he was all that and a bag of chips. But he only really watched his own segment to see if there was anything his own body language had given away, being quite pleased to find nothing.

Districts 4 and 5 were always wildcards, ranging from bloodbath fodder to cunning menaces. This year's lot looked like the former, although if District 5 survived the bloodbath perhaps they could be allies? they were a tech-savvy district whose intellect could often almost keep up with District 3—almost.
"D5M? D5F? or both?" he turned to her, "I mean, I admittedly wasn't paying attention to their names." He remembered details about their appearances though, and if nothing else, they would both no doubt have a number 5 on their uniform to symbolize their district, just as Chip and Lanni would have a number 3, and so on.

He didn't expect to see much of anything from 6-10, and while he almost sympathized with the somewhat frightened looking children that were reaped from District 10, he was still coming off of a spike in intrigue from what he saw in District 9.
"Taking a page out of Zefira's book from last year?" he raised an eyebrow. While he hadn't paid much attention to too many names for his own games, he had studied past ones well enough to remember several key names, and Zefira... well, that was a tribute that was very difficult to forget considering that she had somehow puppeteered the arena in a weird sort of way, and had definitely not feared death. These twins seemed not to fear it either, and so to his own slight surprise, he mentally registered this.
"Threats so far: D1, D2, D9."

He had expected trouble from District 11, considering they almost never went down without a fight. Sagittaria had been an extremely cunning tribute, and since Chip knew District 11 hadn't produced a victor since her win, that she was no doubt still the one mentoring them. Granted, it had only been 5 years, and he figured that another victory would soon be theirs soon enough. Hector Lombardi and Lucina Dragmire didn't look quite as threatening and nihilistic as the District 9 twins, but also had that rugged look to them that warned Chip that they could form an alliance with one or more of the other districts, with District 9 being his prime assumption at first. And then District 12 happened.

Iris Coaler looked like something the cat dragged in, like much of District 12 so often did, and her partner Marsh Greengaze looked like one of those hardy fellows from District 11 given the strong and stoic look on his face coupled with a rather robust build. There was a glint in that girl's eye that definitely spelled trouble though.

"Lots of strong-looking tributes this year," he concluded in response to Lanni's question as they both leaned back to absorb and process all the information they had just viewed. He might want to view it again in a couple of hours, but for now it was time to take it in. "1 and 2 are the usual contenders, but that's all they need to be half the time given their records. '11 and '12 were kind of expected. they'll probably make it to the final ten or eight if I had to guess. There's something to be said about those girls from '12..." in the last five years the girl from District 12 had placed remarkably high, although this year it was looking that the boy might be a larger threat. Still and all, District 12 had also produced players like Joss and Fenris so it wasn't like District 12's antics were a girls-only thing by any means. Marsh was likely going to join these ranks.

"To be honest, my biggest concern though, is not with them or with the careers. I'm worried about those District 9 twins. It's like the district spent years of sending up fodder tributes to finally earn being able to send a threat like this. They'll give Zefira a run for her money if my assumptions are correct." He figured Lanni would know who Zefira was, especially since it was just under a year ago when she was alive and killing it (literally) on-screen.
"And what about you? Think my calculations are sound, or would you add more?" He was certainly not trying to be rude, and not even trying to say that his conclusions were absolute. Like any statistician or analyst, he found it best to share data and theories and review them with peers before settling on conclusions, and who better to share his findings with than his newfound ally and partner-in-crime?

[Nachthexe]

There was admittedly only so much that could be deciphered about the Tributes from the Reaping, but it proved an interesting start. Certainly Chip had taken some initiative in sizing up the competition and Lanni couldn't help but to smile. Some of his conclusions, at least the ones he mentioned aloud, even appeared to be much the same as her own. It was refreshing to have somebody so cooperative as a partner if she was being forced to play the Capitol's game; if they continued to work together then there was a possibility of at least one of them returning home. Two brains were better than one and would perhaps even save them from having to confront the others directly. The older boy probably even already realized it.

"Who cares? They will end up deceased and six feet under when all this is concluded." Lanni retorted with a shrug at her partner's remark about not being to recall the names of the District 5 pair. As much as she hated to admit it there was definitely truth to her statement. All but one pictured on the screen would be dead within a few weeks. There was simply no sense sugarcoating that truth that remained constant in the tiny girl's mind now. It hardly put her in a position to make friends beyond the strictly professional. If either of them were going to pay any heed to the District 5 pair at all then it was simply best not to grow too attached.

"District 9 seems the type to play this game solo, so not quite like Zefira. She had allies and there's no guarantee this pair will. In fact, they look the types prepared to rip the others apart regardless of the expense to themselves. Beyond that I could not say what exactly motivates them, but be careful." Lanni went on to explain. Of course she knew who Zefira was and somehow this pair seemed different, but she supposed that only time would tell. The arena could often be unpredictable as past games had proven. "I can deduct that you and I are largely in agreement about these Tributes already." She concluded just as she spotted a familiar face enter the compartment. It was none other than Wiress herself who quickly took a seat across from the pair of Tributes.

"So far I would say your observations are conclusive." Wiress began, "I see you two are already good at this and living up to our District's reputation."

"The years of being forced to watch the games has paid off." Lanni admitted with a wide smirk upon realization that the Mentor, probably hardened and traumatized by her own time in the arena, had just complimented her.

"It can, but actually living it is a rather different experience, of course. I obviously do not know what the Capitol has planned for you, but one piece of advice that is useful to follow is this: always pay attention to your surroundings, whether if it's to keep track of the others or to derive new and creative ways to use the environment itself to your advantage."

"I figured as much." Lanni conceded. Pay attention to one's surroundings and use the environment. It was solid enough and the young Tribute definitely knew that her Mentor was onto something. It was how nearly every District 3 Tribute fought and she doubted she was about to break from tradition like the pair last year had. They had been physically capable and also competent with their weapons. The girl doubted she had it in herself. She was a thinker and a creator rather than a destroyer while Chip was, well, Chip. If they wanted any chance at survival whatsoever then they would have to outsmart the others and rather effectively so.

[Zulera301]

Chip listened to Lanni's assertion and nodded. "well sure their names won't matter in the long run, but we might want to still consider an alliance with them; if nothing else, that's 2 less tributes we have to worry about getting on our case about things—at least for a while. Besides... the less attention they had, the more likely they might be able to run off and become like the notorious and nefarious Clemont Ishiko and Hikari Kuro, who did that exact thing four years ago to great and fantastic effect. Chip still thought one of them should have won, but what was gone was gone, and there was no point shedding tears over that.

"Zefira had allies, sure," Chip reminded her, "but as the final minutes showed after Fenris and Kana had died, she seemed perfectly fine working alone. I'm pretty sure those grenades and bombs she made were just her working alone too. If '9 works alone, great. But we should always anticipate alliances or worse. Statistically it'd be better for us to overestimate our foes than to underestimate them." He wasn't so much trying to tell her she was wrong, but was more just adding his own input on why he thought the way he did. Chip's thought process wasn't always clear-cut and thus he was always happy to spell out how he had gotten from point A to point B to point C and so on. He didn't intend to sound as belittling as he sometimes or often did.

Chip couldn't help but feel vindicated as they were lauded by Wiress for their cunning. That was not a victory over Lanni or a victory for her over him, but more just a victory in general for District 3 living up to its old notorious wily repuitation. Chip planned on making sure that reputation continued by any means necessary. Outsmarting Districts 2 and 1 was often easy as long as they didn't just resort to brute force to overwhelm them. It was the outer districts such as '11 and '12 that were often the threats of the mind, which made them also particularly dangerous becasue their cunning was also lethal in other ways, and some of them, especially from '11, were quite strong. Smash and Kamau came to mind once again on that front.

"But if you want some truly sound advice both to leave a name for yourselves and possibly propel yourselves to victory..." Wiress added, snapping Chip out of his thoughts, "take a leaf out of Clemont and Hikari's books, except make sure your biggest threat is also gone before making your move."
While they were less known in other districts, right near everyone in District 3 knew and remembered the notorious Clemont Ishiko and Hikari Kuro, both for their cunning ingenuity in building lightning machines, but also for managing to evade most of the games altogether, almost outsmarting the Gamemakers too in that regard. Even cooler still was that similar to Zefira, they were tributes of few words, and so whatever secrets they had utilized for those machines went with them to their graves. That was also very much what they and Zefira had in common.

Almost as if Wiress knew this considering her next remark. "and if not them... try that spunky District 12 kid, Zefira Saratoga. I'm sure she'll get a slew of people that wish to emulate her and her actions in the upcoming years, but it also takes a certain level of smarts and finesse to be able to imitate anything like that. District 3... has both. I have full confidence in your ability to succeed as well." This remark was not directed at any one of them in particular, but both of them. As long as one of them one she would be happy, since there was no way to save them both. There was only ever one victor, as Rye Grove and Sagittaria Svenja learned in one of the hardest and most painful ways. Not that Chip didn't like Lanni, but he didn't want to get too close, lest there be any of that kind of attachment.

"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us then," Chip smirked, licking his lips. "we've got this though. Unless they throw us into a water arena, there's no way we could end up as bloodbath fodder. And even then..." he thought back to Lever Mendez, the District 3 boy who had allied himself with the most unlikely companions: Lodan Tracey from District 8, and adorable little Lynx Chantrea from District 12. It was things like that which made Chip's statement for allies ring that much truer. Even if it wasn't an organized alliance, the notion of a ragtag team definitely appealed to him if nothing else. Time would tell when all was said and done though.

[Nachthexe]

Alliances in the Hunger Games were always tricky. If one was not careful then there was always the possibility of prematurely ending up with a knife in the back, rather literally. It had Lanni thinking carefully about whether allying with anybody besides Chip was even beneficial at all. She supposed that only time would tell as there was simply no knowing just what challenges the arena itself would present this year. It varied every year, allowing the Gamemakers to retain an unpredictable pattern for their Tributes. The small Tribute only hoped that whatever they had planned for the 49th games would not be a repeat of the 48th. That arena had been particularly brutal for its utilization of mental challenges as well as physical ones. It was truly no wonder that rumours had begun to spread about the insanity of Layla Aranai.

"We should speculate carefully about whether we want allies." Lanni pondered, noting a distinct nod from Wiress. "There is the possibility of betrayal to consider and I would be bluffing if I declared I did not want a District 3 Victor." Of course she intentionally omitted certain details as to remain more neutral as long as her partner remained alive.

"You two seem to already be devising a strategy, but you should not underestimate the advantages of having allies in the arena. Just think about it." Wiress advised.

"You're correct I suppose. If we're destined to die then we should at least go out in a magnificent bang like Clemont and Hikari did." Lanni chuckled and eyed her partner. There was no mistaking that during the duration of their games the infamous District 3 pair had not secured a single ally. No, they had stuck to themselves, nearly evading the games themselves until the very end. It had truly only been the actions of the Gamemakers that had forced them into confrontation with the others. The tiny girl remained fairly convinced that they could have potentially won as well had it not been for forces like Valendria working directly against them.

There were simply many factors to consider in the games. It all worked out to a rather complicated affair as Lanni was quickly learning. Watching them was indeed one thing, but directly participating was another entirely. The more Wiress spoke the more the tiny girl realized she was right. "There's so many factors to consider here and each will determine how we play this game. It's like one monumental game of chess, except with much higher stakes." She admitted, "I also doubt they will throw us into a water arena as that was done in the 47th. The Gamemakers, and probably the Capitol audiences as well, like variety."

[Zulera301]

Chip couldn't help but also wonder if there would be mental challenges, or aspects of the games that would tear a tribute down mentally. If either of them lost their grip on the situation, they would no doubt fail given that brains over brawn was basically the modus operandi of at least 99% of District 3 tributes. If they had another arena like the nightmare from the 48th, they would not doubt struggle, because breaking down their minds was the best way to take down District 3 when there wasn't any overwhelming brute force to be had. For what the District 3 tributes often had in brains, they lacked in brawn (and thus the reverse was also true), so brute force was often enough to do them in if their adversaries could get past the mind tricks.

But then there were alliances, and those were a mind trick all on their own. Districts 1 and 2 had no trouble trusting each other until they were the last ones left, since to them it was practically tradition, and it was rarely ever broken. In fact, in the last 5 years only one career tribute had broken that tradition: Krystal Saffron, that District 1 girl from the 44th Hunger Games, who had sided with the eventual victor and her partner, however briefly.

"Even the careers know to keep their allies at a distance," Chip reminded her, "we don't have to become lovers with them the way Rye and Sagittaria did half a decade ago, but the less tributes we have on our backs, the better. I get this lasting impression the Gamemakers won't let us off too easy if we all try to run and hide. Not after '47 anyways..."
There was a lot to be learned from the past Hunger Games, and so while Chip had only been 11 back when '44 had been live, he had still been attentive, especially since '44 had been hard to forget, and he knew that the following year, he would be eligible to get dragged into the games. And now here he was, 5 years later, glad he was at least somewhat knowledgeable on said games.

The arena though... Chip was good at spotting patterns, and there were certainly patterns in the Hunger Games arenas insomuch that they rarely ever did the same kind of arena twice. He heard that they had supposedly built two exactly identical arenas for the 11th and 12th Hunger Games just to throw people off, but very few of the early games were worth watching simply due to how much had changed since then. The career tributes had formed fairly early on, with District 2 starting up academies only a year or two before District 1, but even then it still took them almost a decade for the academy-trained tributes to start rearing their heads.
But the arena. Chip had a few points to make there too after hearing Lanni speak.

"Based on patterns from the last half-century of records or so," Chip rounded up, "arena types don't usually cycle back around for another decade or so, unless people start catching on and they decide to throw people for a loop. I doubt that will happen though, so with that in mind, let's look at our last six years. '43 was a forest, hence it was unsurprising that a District 7 tribute claimed the victor's crown. '44 was a jungle, '45 was an urban wasteland that would have been great for us—just like it was for Clemont and Hikari. '46 was that dense woodland, '47 was the seaside scuffle, '48 was that mire of fear... so that eliminates a lot of landscapes. Maybe something mountainous? savanna? grasslands? no, nothing too open; that'd make it end too quickly..." he seemed to almost be talking to himself there for a moment.

"but I digress," he snapped back to reality. If there was one benefit to a logical mind over an emotional one it was that these types had no trouble seeing things as they were and responding logically and accordingly. "It seems at this point there are still too many variables. The arena, the cornucopia supplies, and even the tributes. Sure some might look scary or weak, but not really even the training scores can give us a real impression. Only the battlefield itself could do that."
Plenty of tributes, including some from District 3, sometimes played the scoring system to get people to think they were weaker than they actually were. The only ones who didn't were the cockiest of the careers, who saw the numbers as an end-all solution to who was strong and who was weak. Unsurprisingly (at least if Chip's data was correct), these were the ones that seldom survived. Chip did not want to become part of that statistic, and so he aimed to stay vigilant and to not underestimate anyone—or anything.

[Nachthexe]

With some luck they would be thrown into an urban landscape. It was oftentimes the arena itself that made a difference in whether certain Tributes lived or died. The trends seemed to make it obvious enough to Lanni; Victors like Kiva of District 6 was testament to the fact alone. She had been young then, but being forced to watch the Games with the eventual chance of being reaped almost always made one attentive. It was necessary if one wanted an opportunity to live. Suddenly, it all appeared to pay off. So far.

"We have just have to try to think of something they've haven't used in awhile. Mountain remains logical, but is it practical? Perhaps half the Tributes would waste away from Hypothermia if they climbed up high enough." Lanni suggested with a shrug. The Capitol wanted excitement and in their eyes that often meant Tributes confronting each other directly, or perhaps even the Gamemakers themselves triggering deadly traps. Either way, anything short of fighting to the death was considered anti-climatic in the Capitol's show. "Regardless of what we're confronted with, though, we simply have to circumvent the others."

So far, Lanni found herself feeling about as confident as she could in her current situation. Certainly she would have to outlive twenty-three others if she wanted to see her District and family again, but was that not enough to continue fighting? Nearly everybody thrust into the Games had their own intentions of returning home and their motivations for doing so. The tiny girl quickly realized that she was no different. Perhaps even the moment her name had been drawn from the electronic lottery she had become nothing more than another statistic, but god be damned if she went down without a fight. "Chip, when we arrive in the Capitol I am going to remind everybody present to never underestimate District 3. This year we will transform into something memorable, perhaps even something that will take a notable position in the Capitol's betting games." She mused as she stretched in her seat.

"Now that is the sort of confidence I like to see!" Marcus beamed from across the compartment, "luckily for you both we will be arriving very soon!"

[Zulera301]

Always the statistician, Chip began mentally going over records and recollections pf past Hunger Games. "I actually think a mountainous landscape was used in '42, which was only 7 years ago. Niles Lincoln's games, I believe." He had been the last District 2 victor before Layla, although since Layla's partner Ryker had been the son of victor Luca Szasz, naturally his father had elected to accompany Ryker as the mentor for the two of them. Niles didn't seem too upset about 'missing out'.

"either way, we definitely need to try and lay low to avoid the others. It worked for Clemont and Hikari, and they became some of the most infamous tributes in recent Hunger Games history, right beside Zefira." It was true that District 3 revered Clemont Ishiko and Hikari Kuro as legends, but even more infamous than them nationwide at this point was Zefira Saratoga,the silent, deadly paint-faced assassin that District 12 had produced the previous year. She was the talk of a lot of Capitol commentators not only for what she did in the arena, but because if the audiences of District 12 were anything to go by, she had started a trend. many of the boys and girls at the reaping crowd had had painted faces, as if they were trying to emulate her. Iris, the girl who had actually been picked, didn't paint her face, but she had a devious little smirk that reminded some people of what the outer districts were capable of. Her partner Marsh didn't exactly seem like cannon fodder either, and so Chip mentally noted to avoid them as well. And he wasn't even ready to get started on those maniacs from District 9.
"If nothing else, we have to also remember that just because we get a favourable arena doesn't mean it won't also favour other tributes. '5 and '8 also favour urban settings, and I've heard that despite being focused around grain that even '9 is actually fairly urban unless they're out in the fields. So we should be careful what we wish for, especially with what luck's thrown at us from '9 this year."

It didn't really make sense; those claims that District 9 was urban. But, it wasn't like he had ever been there or seen any of it on TV apart from the Justice Building. He supposed that urbanization made sense in a way considering that there would no doubt be lots of jobs involving the processing of grains, and given that there were 1001 ways to use things like wheat and corn alone, he fathomed that there were a myraid of other possibilities too.

"But hey, I'm with you on that one," he smirked at Lanni's declaration. If Clemont and Hikari are past and gone, then we just need to bake sure we one-up Zefira and remind the Capitol why District 3's always one to watch out for. We've got a record to keep, you and I." Most years District 3 did pretty good in that regard, producing wily tributes who would practically reverse-engineer the arena to their advantage. Given how analytical these two were, both of their surroundings and about facts and statistics, they would likely go far. The next week or so of the training center would be a good way to judge the characters of those around them. The careers would no doubt present themselves at face value, while others such as '5, '12, or '11, might vie more for mindgames and the like. District 3 was notorious for the latter strategy, and that was the approach Chip planned on taking.

Soon the Capitol came into view though, and it was more magnificent than anything Chip had ever seen. But more than admiring the scenery, it put Chip's mind into overdrive as he started contemplating possibilities. They would make their first physical impression with the Capitol when they stepped off that train, and Chip wanted his to be a good one—not only for District 3's sake, but also because he wanted to get sponsors and wreck face in the arena so he wouldn't just be another statistic. It still didn't stop him from looking out the window like a child gazing out at the first snowfall of the year though... even if he wouldn't admit it.

[Nachthexe]

Lanni simply nodded in agreement. So far, she and Chip appeared to be in agreement. It was healthy, particularly if they intended to remains allies. The girl was yet to see any reason to vie otherwise. The boy, early on, regardless of what happened remained an important lifeline. It was rare for lone wolf Tributes to last long unless they were exceptionally strong or clever. The skillsets of each were, of course, also nearly impossible to gauge before ever meeting them in person and it left much to anticipate. The next week was going to be fascinating for that reason alone. The girl could sense it.

The Capitol, though. It quickly caught the girl's attention as it came into view. Much like her partner, she stared upon it in awe. She was eager to take in all the sights of the architectural marvel she would likely never see again. Despite the nature of its creation, she couldn't help but to remain impressed. "If I come out of that arena intact then you better hope Snow allows me to design some sites for this incredible work of craftsmanship." She light quipped to Marcus.

Marcus chuckled. "Perhaps that can be arranged."

"Well, let it be!"

Lanni rose her fist in the air just as the train halted to a complete stop. Her heart sank. Suddenly there was very little to celebrate as once again reality slam dunked directly into her. Unease began to creep up on her as if thousands of butterflies fluttered within her. "Well, this is it. Welcome to hell?" She uttered to Chip. "This is where we make a good first impression." Wiress nodded as the girl spoke, ushering her towards the doorway of the train that began to open up to frantic crowds beyond.

The cheering that almost immediately flooded into Lanni's ears was nearly deafening. She remained silenced herself, instead witnessing everything drowned out by a distinctive chant that so many Tributes previous had surely been greeted by. "DISTRICT 3, DISTRICT 3, DISTRICT 3! OUTSMART THEM ALL!"

I can try. I can certainly try... Remaining speechless, Lanni glanced towards the crowds and smirked. Never underestimate us, and especially not me... She began to wave towards the crowds, furthering capturing their attention. A few of the men in particular responded with catcalls, leaving the girl flustered.

However, it was only a moment later that the girl approached her partner. Still wearing her same smirk, she shoved herself towards him. "No geniuses get far without their sidekicks!" She taunted as loudly as her voice would allow, "Ladies and gentlemen, buckle up and prepare for a shocking experience!"

Remembering Clemont and Hikari well, the crowds gasped. Would the District 3 Tributes of the 49th Annual Hunger Games live up to the reputation that the District had constructed for themselves in recent years? Most of all, were the physically non-intimidating pair prepared to pull off exactly the shocking experience they suddenly promised? Only time would tell, and upon entering the Tribute apartments Lanni felt herself at unease once more.

[Zulera301]

Chip definitely was able to keep his mind at least somewhat at ease with the notion of Lanni being his ally, at least for the bulk of the games. He didn't think they would both get as far as the endgame but he was quite fine if they both did. Both of them seemed to be taking a very curt and professional approach to the games, which was very fitting of District 3. Even Clemont and Hikari had something similar when he thought about it. There didn't seem to be any real enmity towards District 6 when that fight broke out; just two sides trying to survive in a game where survival rested upon eliminating all other competition.

That was honestly how Chip intended to look at the games. If in the unlikely event he had to turn on Lanni it would just be business. If she did the same to him, it would mean she outsmarted him in turn which would mean she was worthy of the victory. Any of the other 22 tributes that he killed would just be business. He didn't know who they were and didn't really care to. Not because of a dislike or distaste for any of them, but because he was taking that cold, professional approach that a lot of career tributes (especially those from District 2 it seemed, based on his statistical collections) seemed to. Nothing was personal to him in these games. It was just business.

"Welcome to the first day of the end of our lives," Chip muttered with the same sort of grim satire that many tributes took. "As Sagittaria Svenja once said: May the odds make it true that when you're mortally wounded in an excruciatingly painful manner, that your body goes into shock so you don't feel anything when you die."
Chip might have been something of an introvert, given his closed and quietly analytical personality, but he wasn't shy. When the crowds cheered and whistled (and he was pretty sure at least two women blew him kisses), he raised his eyebrows at first, but then raised his arms into the air, cheering alongside with them. The chant was clever—befitting the tributes and people of District 3—and it amused Chip and stroked his ego a little. Not that he was a terribly egotistical person to begin with, but there was a bit of District pride there, and being proud of one's wits was nothing to be ashamed of in his eyes.

"Support District 3!" he chanted, wondering if that slogan could somehow be used somewhere for them, like a marquee on or over/around their chariot outfits or something. Their only competitor in the flashy lights-y department was usually just District 5, and to imply that '5 was smarter than '3 (at least to a District 3 citizen) was laughable at best and a criminal act at worst. Whether out of courtesy or out of genuinely believing it, Chip hoped to have a word with his stylists about that beforehand if he could. If not, well, he could always make it up as they went.

The tribute tower was a marvel of architecture all on its own. Technically there were 13 floors, not 12, since there was a floor for each District, and with entry halls and other facilities including the basement training center, the Capitol was certainly not going to shaft District 1 of all places by skimping on floor space. The tributes all entered in differet areas, which may have explained why Chip and Lanni didn't see any of the other tributes entering the building. He swore he caught glimpses of some of them, but tonight would grant him a first real look at them, and tomorrow would mark having to actually meet them and see who they were and how they operated.

"you ready for a week of fun?" he nudged Lanni, that same type of dry humour emanating from his tone.