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jsehungergamesau · 3 months

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Against All Odds

Chapter 5

The elevator dings onto floor 7 of the building and everybody is let out. The space is larger than three houses back home and lavishly furnished with beautiful hardwood and glass pieces. Everyone pours into the living room and Chase immediately throws the “shirt” off to the side allowing himself to breathe again.

He flops down on the dark green couch and groans. Shock waves of pain ripple through his bare chest as he breathes. That corset was far too tight, what was even the point of that?! He was still skinny without it, but maybe it was to make him “slender” he heard some of the prep team throw around that word. Back home it was seen as an incredibly good thing if you had a few pounds to spare.

A cold chill sends shivers down his spine reminding him he was still bare-chested. Something that he really didn’t like being unless he was with Stacy. It was just normal with her. Sure he knew she admired him- hell she was the most beautiful girl in Panem to him- but she never ogled him or made him feel like his exposed skin was fresh meat.

“Where in Panem are some comfortable clothes? Preferably my comfortable clothes?!” Chase shouts out to the room, not giving a shit if he was being rude or not. He was being sent to his death in a week, what did he care about other people's feelings?

"There are clothes for you in your rooms if you wish to change." Teefee huffs at his poor manners. Honestly poor manners or not, he deserves a lot better than Teefee’s awful attitude. And honestly, walking to his room might as well be walking back to District 7. Thousands of miles away and utterly unobtainable. It wasn’t going to happen.

“I’m not moving from this couch, Teefee.” Chase says as chucks a pillow in her general direction.

Jameson uses his cane to bat the pillow so it doesn't hit her, but she just huffs again and waves at one of the servants standing at the ready by the wall. The young man goes off without a word, most likely to Chase's room to fetch a change of clothes. He hears Ivy chuckling as she takes her shoes off and discards them on the floor, kicking them away with a groan. “Need a hand, Brody?”

“Yeah…” Chase groans. “And some new pants. “

Chase watches Jameson roll his eyes as he whispers to Teefee causing Chase to grow a genuine smile on his face. The man hobbles over to join Chase and Ivy on the couch, carefully sinking into the cushions with a groan. His leg must have been acting up. His face immediately lost most of its tension now that pressure was off of his leg.

"You both did good." Jameson reiterated, looking tired but the robotic voice from his chest had a neutral cheer that lightly called back more to a Capital accent. "Tomorrow is the first day of training. We'll talk more about it at breakfast tomorrow morning, so for now you can relax and scrub your makeup off. Teefee said dinner will be ready soon."

When he finished talking, the servant returned with two sets of clothes, one on each arm. Handing a matching simple soft yellow shirt and loose black pants to each tribute.

Ivy is the first to take the clothes, taking off the choker they gave her and pulling out any bobby pins that are hidden in her hair and discarding them on the floor. Teefee lets out another huff making both Chase and Ivy grin at each other as Ivy continues to do it.

Chase smiles at the attendant in thanks and throws on the shirt immediately. At least it’s yellow and soft. But it doesn’t reek of maple or pine, it smells of odd flowers and soap. It’s not his. It’s not normal. It’s Capitol. He stands up as he smooths out the shirt.

“I’m gonna go change out of these pants, do you want anything? Anything to eat?” He smiles over at Jameson.

Their mentor leans his head back and closes his eyes, waving Chase off as he props his leg up on the coffee table, "In a minute. Wipe that paint off your face, you look like you stepped out of a bad romance novel cover."

Chase gives a light chuckle though he's not quite sure what Jameson means. Wandering to his new bedroom he tugs off the wooden abomination that calls itself a flannel and struggles for a few minutes to untie the decorative harness around his hips. If he had a knife he would not hesitate to slash everything to pieces, but he manages. He tosses off the pants and puts the new ones on quickly. They’re soft and hardy, bringing him a sense of warmth that only his friends and family could bring.

He goes over to the sink and the water comes on like magic. Like it knows he’s there. Chase splashes the rose-scented water on his face and begins to scrub with bare hands, washing the skin-colored paint down the drain. He pats his face down dry with, what he can only assume is one of the fluffiest, warmest towels he’s ever experienced.

The boy looks back up at his reflection, he looks more like himself, now that everything is off. The dark circles are back under his eyes and his skin looks rough once more. The callouses on his hands are mostly gone but they’re still rough and ready to handle an ax. He doesn't bother with the strange shower- all of the buttons confuse him- so he just dunks his head under the sink tap to wash the products from his hair.

When Chase finishes he gives a soft smile to himself before going back out to the central living area, grabbing two of those orange fruits from a bowl on his way out.

Ivy must have gone back to her own room to change so he offers the orange to Jameson as he takes his place next to him on the couch.

Jameson opens one eye and quietly takes the offered fruit with a small smile. Chase realizes he took his thimbles off and they’re resting on the coffee table next to his leg. Jameson quietly peels the skin off and pops a slice into his mouth.

“Do you want anything more to eat? I can grab you something if you want.” Chase offers, just simply holding his fruit for now.

Jameson makes a face and shakes his head, about to sign again before remembering he doesn't have his translators on, and instead making a vague gesture towards the dining area that seems to read as, Yeah, but if you go over there they'll start talking to you. And I don't want to deal with that right now.

“Okay,” Chase leans back and closes his eyes. Someone will wake him when dinner is ready, he supposes. The chatting in the dining area was a low drone of white noise to Chase as he rolled the orange in his hands. Feeling the texture of the skin and its slight give.

After a few minutes of quiet, Jameson taps Chase's knee to get his attention. He opens his eyes and turns to his mentor with slightly raised brows in anticipation.

“Dinner?”

Jameson shakes his head with a grin, sitting up a bit to turn more towards Chase. He pauses a moment, not really sure how to start, but taps out in code on Chase's knee to the effect of, "Learn something new?"

“Uh, sure.” Chase nods. “But I’m not the brightest so I hope you’re a good teacher.”

Jameson gives him a small smirk before shifting to fully face Chase, one leg tucked under himself while the bad one hangs over the side of the couch.

He starts off by pointing to himself and using one hand to spell his name. "J. A. M. E. S. O. N." Then points to Chase and spells out his name.

With a smaller grin, Jameson tilts his head as if asking if Chase was still interested in learning the basic alphabet.

“Yeah, I think that would make things easier to communicate.” Chase nods and signs his name into his lap getting the feel for the language.

The two men take some time to learn how to spell Chase's name and half of the alphabet. Jameson is very patient and never seems to get upset or bothered when Chase fumbles. He just gently shows him the sign again and off they go. They practice until Teefee announces it's time for dinner. Then Jameson uses his cane to help him stand with a bit of effort, turning towards the bedrooms presumably to go get Ivy.

Chase takes a seat at the dining table and waits about thirty minutes, fiddling with Stacy's ring hanging from the chain that Tigris gave him.

Eventually, the two walk out and join the others at the dining table, which was laid with a feast of hams and vegetables and hearty roots.

Jameson sits between Chase and Ivy and quietly plates himself some food. Glancing at Chase with a look that said, "Don't bring it up" and glanced at Ivy quickly to indicate what he meant. Ivy looked like she had been crying for hours. And she might have been.

Chase nods and passes a few of the fruits over to the two of them. He puts a few deserts on his plate first followed by various meats and breads. The capitol was awful, fucking awful, don’t get him wrong, but man if he was fed this well every day, he’d definitely be more susceptible to the garbage propaganda that they spew out.

If the stylists and prep team notice the down energy in the room, they are very good at pretending not to. Chatting away with Teefee about silly unimportant things. Like if they had the exact shade of teal lipstick they wanted or not. Or if so-and-so were still having an affair that everyone seemed to know about already. It's all just noise. And the tributes from District 7 both old and new, sit quietly in each other's comforting company. Some of the last things from home they have are each other.

Chase eats most of his dinner in silence. He finds the random chatter to be distracting, uncomfortable even. He wants to get away from the fur and glitter and feathers that were so alien to him.

“Well, I’m fucking exhausted,” Chase says wiping his mouth with the back of his hand specifically to make Teefee gag. He’s honestly surprised that she hasn’t chastised him for swearing as much as he had. Maybe after 10 years of mentoring District 7, she was forced to get used to it.

"Mmmm... same. We did so little yet it was so much." Ivy looks over at Chase with the same tired eyes he has. She has eaten all her dinner and a few desserts before just resting her head on her arms just staring either off into space or at the luxury art pieces on the wall.

“Hey, why don’t you go to bed and get some rest? You deserve it.” Chase gives a small smile and squeezes her shoulder when he stands.

Ivy lifts her head from her arms and shakes her head. “I'll get nightmares, there's no rest in that.. plus what about you? Aren’t you tired?”

Chase shrugs “Nightmare-filled sleep is better than no sleep at all. Training starts tomorrow, and if you’re exhausted during training, people will notice.”

Ivy groans, and Chase can tell she wants to argue more, but she sighs in exhaustion.

"I hate that you're right, Brody." She pushes herself away from the table and stands up. "But you better get some rest as well! I won't be able to teach you how to shoot if you're tired."

“I will, don’t worry.”

Her lips form a tired smile as she grabs her dirty plate, and lets the attendant take it from her. For the first time her thank you is kind to the servant, and just like that Ivy walks back to her room.

Chase could feel the exhaustion and fatigue crawling over him, but he decided he needed to get the rumor mill started.

Back in 7, it was the easiest way to get what you wanted. People in the shops talking about their neighbors, then it would be the paper mill workers, then the crafters, then it would be the loggers until everyone knew about how the Mayor was cheating on his wife. It can’t be that different here. His eyes landed on the two who were leading the gossip earlier, they seemed like easy enough targets.

“Did you hear what Oiolyka did for her party?” The man says to the woman with a similar face.

“Only that it was a complete disaster. She didn’t even show up in the right colors and she was the one who insisted on the dress code.” She says, leaning in closer to the man with a conspiratory smile, “Do tell.”

“If you want some real drama, come to the districts,” Chase smirks, cutting into their conversation. “You won’t believe what goes on there.”

One of the two perks up and looks at Chase up and down then gives him the fakest smile he has ever seen. The man practically struts over like a model in front of cameras, holding a glass of something Chase can't even begin to guess what. Something colorful and way too sparkly to be consumed, Chase thinks. The man's extravagant moon-themed outfit and makeup are a show in and of itself as Chase tries not to get distracted by how ridiculous it is.

"No offense, but District gossip is always so bland and boring, it's always 'so and so stole this from this person and got karma' or 'this person ran from a peacekeeper, and it turns out they were sleeping together.' Like- we get. Been there and done that. Boring."

From behind, the woman comes up and punches the man's arm with a stern look. She looks just as ridiculous as her moon counterpart except her outfit and makeup are themed to the sun.

"Oh shush Lameer! You wouldn't even know good gossip even if you were looking at it!"

"Ow!! Dema!!" He squawks.

"Don't mind my brother, handsome!” Demali's attitude immediately changes when she looks at Chase, “Please, share if you'd like of course, and don't leave anything out!" Her shimmering yellow eyes were lovestruck and smitten. Chase has seen that face about a hundred times, especially when girls hung around the drop site. He and his friends carried big logs around working up a sweat, it always made the girls back home go wild.

Lameer just scoffs, rolling his eyes and taking a sip of his drink- but still looking at Chase expecting a story.

“Someone nearly killed Ivy over a grade.” Chase lies through his teeth, but it’s to get the word out about Ivy. Anything to help District 7. He looks back to the man, with a solid smirk. “That juicy enough for you?”

The twins act as mirrors, looking at each other and then back to Chase with wide eyes. Both filled with intense morbid curiosity. It seems like Jameson tries to make an effort to ignore the exchange, but Chase does catch a glance of his ear tilting towards their conversation.

Lameer scowls at Chase, taking another sip of his drink, this time louder and longer but he doesn't disagree or leave. He stays and listens. "Who- who doesn't kill these days." He says dismissively.

"The redhead!?" Dema gasps genuinely, it's so animated Chase thinks it's fake for a second but judging by both their eyes- he's got them hooked. "But she's gorgeous! And the confidence she presented at the ceremony made my jaw DROP! But I wouldn't imagine- Please do tell~" Dema says, scooting closer to Chase, grabbing his arm in awe. Chase puts his hand over hers- not forgetting his own fake image of being a charmer- and smiles up at her.

“Well, you see, Ivy is so smart, brilliant even. You’d mistake her for District 3 if she wasn’t so good with an ax. Anyway, not the point, her brilliance is the point. I don’t know how it works here in your glorious Capitol schools, but if you’re smart, like as smart as Ivy is, you’re practically guaranteed a good job one day.”

Chase watches as Dema, in awe of his words, clearly falls for every little thing he says. He could say he went to the moon and she’d believe him. Well, maybe not that far but still. He looks over to her brother and then back to her.

“I don’t think your brother over there seems very interested, maybe I shouldn’t continue.”

Demali gasps in horror, "Well you can't just start and not finish! That's so rude, Chase!" She bats her golden eyes at him and Chase thinks for a second her eyelashes will fly away like a dragonfly. "Pretty please?"

Lameer rolls his eyes but looks at Chase, still intrigued. Perfect. "Oh just- just continue! Like what Dema said, it'd be rude not to." Lameer says trying to not seem interested, but his mask is slipping and Chase knows he's got them both.

“Oh, alright. Only for you.” Chase smiles and grabs her hands. “So this girl, she worked out in the forest with me. I didn’t know her all that well, but she also wasn’t the brightest in the world. She tried to hide a bunch of live squirrels in Ivy’s bag in hopes that one would bite her and make her sick. Obviously, it didn’t work because Ivy saw that her bag was moving, and let the squirrels loose. I think the girl got expelled, and the peacekeepers found it more funny than dangerous so she’ll be stuck in the woods with me. So it’s not all that bad for her.” Chase laughs.

The twins burst into identical high-pitched laughter that sets Chase on edge.

"There's no way that's true, darling." The brother countered while pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "How would they ever find the time to do such a thing?"

"What makes you so sure, Lamey? It's District 7! I'm certain they find so many ways to fill up their empty lives!" Demali giggles. "Isn't that right, love?" She smiles brilliantly, bouncing on her toes.

“Oh most certainly. The peacekeepers can be a bit…tough while we work but the second that shift is over, we know how to have fun. Music, dancing, love.” Perfect, a segue into his own life, his strengths. Time to market himself. He forces his face to remain in a bright smile.

For Willow. For Stacy. Can’t leave them alone. I promised. I promised.

Lameer taps one of his many rings against his glass, smiling so mischievously. "Well, for starters, way to go Ivy! Our brilliant queen and second, you surprised me darling~ You gave me a good story to tell at the next party!" Lameer boasts, taking another sip at his glass and winking at Chase.

Chase hopes his skin doesn't visibly crawl. “Oh, I’m so glad! Do you want another?” He smiles picking up his own glass of shimmering liquid from a tray offered by a servant and swirls it lightly. “I mean it’s not quite as interesting but, hey, it’s a story.” Chase tries to take a sip but immediately his body wants to reject the sickly sweetness. He forces himself to swallow it down alongside his pride.

"Oh well, aren't you spoiling us!! Please, darling, tell us while I go get my sister and I a drink." Lameer says walking away with such power and confidence.

"My usual please!" Demali calls back and then giggles like an innocent schoolgirl. "Is the story about you and Ivy?! Tell us! Tell us!”

“Oh no, nothing that interesting I'm afraid. I think those are stories for another day. I was going to talk about my baby and fiancée.” Chase pretends to take another sip while waiting for their reaction.

Demali covers her face with a faint gasp, her eyes sparkling, "You have a fiancée?”

"You’re a father?!" Lameer says quite loudly coming back with two fresh drinks in his hand. Almost dropped them with how stunned he was. Chase held back a smirk, this was going better than he could have ever planned.

“Oh, yeah, back in Seven, that woman who was sobbing at my reaping, that’s my fiancée, Stacy. She’s pregnant with our child.“ He watches as intrigue gleams in their eyes. Like moths to a flame. They were definitely going to tell all their friends tomorrow, and those friends would tell everybody they knew. Chase smiles towards the twins, his eyes sparkling as he holds his bleeding heart in his rough hands, “She's my whole world, ya'know. Beautiful and smarter than I could ever dream to be. It's a miracle that she said yes to me in the first place.” He’ll keep the bulk of everything between them secret, but those little moments he’ll give out. The Capitol will eat it up. Hopefully.

Lameer wipes an actual tear away this time, setting both drinks down next to his sister to applaud for Chase, "Awwww! You're gonna be a daddy?! Oh, how bittersweet.”

“Well, if I have enough sponsors and enough luck, I think I might win.” Chase forces his mask to stay up. He takes a deep breath and continues. “I have to win.”

"And you will win!! I'll bet on you to win- I will cheer for both of you!!" Demali says, snapping her fingers happily.

“Well make sure to tell your friends that District Seven is gonna take it home this year.”

The twins laugh again as they walk away, chattering nonsense as the other members of the prep team and stylists follow them out the door. As soon as it closes on their conversation Jameson turns around and gives Chase a smirk. "You really think you can keep that act up, Chase? That was exhausting from here." He laughed through his nose, but his body language implied that he was impressed.

Chase groans, letting his head hit the table as soon as he sits back down. He wraps his arms around his face blocking out any light that might hit his eyes. “I don’t have a choice. I want to live. I want to go home.”

Chase can't see it but he hears Jameson stand. The young man gently pats Chase's shoulder as he walks away from the dining table.

“Goodnight, James.”

°○°○°○°

"Remember, while you're training, try to keep your strengths close to your chest. The others will be watching to see what you can do. So instead, try to focus on upping your skills in other departments. Learn something new that'll keep you alive." Jameson explained that morning at breakfast and Teefee reiterated in a higher pitch while riding down the elevator with them.

The combat and survival training was located under the tribute center. It was filled with fighting rings, target practice, and obstacle courses. Alongside them were different stations to teach basic survival. How to start a fire, how to properly cook trapped food, identify plants and berries, how to treat a wound- the list went on. Each station was manned by a trainer from the Capitol ready to teach those who wanted to learn.

Chase looks over at Ivy and gives a small smile. He’s already decided that he’s going to focus on the basics of survival training. He’s good with an ax and okay with knives. But it’s the basics that he needs to focus on. Finding food, shelter, water. He can’t rely on sponsors for everything. He’ll be fine. He’ll be fine.

She smiles back at Chase, taking his hand for a moment and squeezes it. A sign of reassurance that Chase returns easily.

Stepping onto the training floor, most eyes glance in their direction. Some only briefly and with disinterest. But others were laced with a mixture of curiosity and hunger.

Chase watches the already forming Career pack from afar, assessing the biggest threats. They’re all definitely younger than him, with the youngest looking about 15. His eyes lock onto the District Two boy for just a moment, but Chase quickly looks away and focuses back on the knots on his hands.

“Two keeps staring at us,” Chase whispers to Ivy.

The District Two boy's intentions are unclear to Chase because every time he looks at the boy, he turns his head away, going back to what he was doing before. In this immediate case, it was throwing knives at dummies.

"Mmm?" Ivy doesn't look away from her knot at first, but when she looks up to see the boy Chase is referring to she is quick to look away. "Oh, you're right. Maybe he's just studying us like the others? Or can you tell that it's something else?" She whispers at Chase, going in to practice on another knot.

“He smiled at me at the parade and he’s the only other 18-year-old here. Do you think you can work your Ivy Charm on him? Get him on our side? James said we need more allies and he's already eyeing us.”

"A Career with us? I mean- it would give us an advantage." Ivy mutters softly as she keeps sealing glimpses at the boy. His all lean muscular body and tall stature come off as a little intimidating, but he's still just a kid like the rest of them. "He- he doesn't seem like a talkative kind of guy but I can try." Ivy shrugs.

“Thanks. You’ve definitely got more charm than I do.”

"Should I just- train almost next to him til he says something?" Ivy suggests, getting up and casually stretching.

"I don't know, you're the one who's good at making friends." Chase yanks the rope a bit too hard leaving a small burn on his hand. "Just, be safe. Come back to me if you think he's trouble.”

"We're in a whole new forest, Brody" Ivy takes a quick, subtle breath and nods. "But I can do it."

Ivy finishes stretching and Chase watches as she casually walks over to the station the boy is at, keeping her distance by one dummy apart. He watches the trainer briefly walk her through, then she starts throwing her own knives.

At first, it seems like the boy from 2 is just going to ignore Ivy, but from a distance, Chase watches as after they both empty their hands of knives the boy saunters over to her. Seemingly at ease and relaxed. Well, as relaxed as someone probably could be in a place like this. But it's forbidden for the tributes to fight each other outside the games. Still, this boy looked like he was almost prowling towards Ivy like a wild dog on a hunt.

There was almost a light laugh in the boy's tone as he spoke. It didn't seem to fit in his throat and Chase strains his ears to listen to their conversation.

"You're pretty good, Seven! But you're using too much of your shoulder." The boy takes back the set of throwing knives from the station observers once they are collected and holds one up between himself and Ivy. The blade glitters under the stark white lights and a shine is reflected back into his bright green eyes. "It doesn't take much force. It's all in the wrist." He grins, turning and throwing the knife into the chest of the dummy, off-center.

The boy gives her an almost charming smile, but something about it doesn't sit right with Chase. "Try again." Two says, passing one of the knives to Ivy with the handle facing her. The boy seemed friendly enough though. The interaction was bizarre to be sure, but maybe it was just because he was a District 2 career. They aren't exactly known for being helpful to people from the “lower districts.”

Ivy gives the boy a matching grin as she throws the next knife and hits the outer ring of the target. "Guess I never thought knives would be harder to throw than axes." She giggles and bats her eyelashes. Chase was impressed, she was a lot better at this than he thought.

“They're a lot lighter, it's okay. Like this.” The boy squares up to the target and extends his arm with a knife to aim before pulling back and hitting the target in the center.

Ivy asserts her presence and takes a small step toward him with a small smile, "What's your name, Two?”

The boy grins down at her, holding out a free hand to shake, "Anti. Anti Slate. I would ask the same, but I think your uh, stylist was a bit.. on the nose with the embellishments of your costume."

“He told me it was an opportunity he couldn't ignore. Poison Ivy, he nicknamed me~" Ivy says as she throws another knife at the dummy, but it skits past its shoulder. "Cinder is my last name.”

"I've been told it's always the pretty plants and flowers that are the most deadly," Anti says, balancing the tip of a knife on his finger. "Do you think that's true, Ivy?" He asks with an almost impish grin as he tips the knife to catch the handle- turning and throwing it in a single fluid motion. This time, sending the knife into the center of the dummy's throat.

Chase can't help but jump.

But Ivy isn't phased at all or pretends to not be as she picks up two more knives and replies, "They could be! Nature's deadliest plants are always so cleverly disguised to be beautiful." She smiles at him again almost flirtatious, "Though, if you know your way around... you won't be as endangered~”

Anti takes the other knife from her, absently twirling it between his fingers with precision. "Would you be willing to show me?" He asks with a raised brow. "Show me which plants I can eat without choking." Anti lowers his voice and Chase can't catch what he whispers to Ivy before he straightens his back and throws the knife again- lodging it into the target's leg.

"Tempting, I will admit~" Ivy smirks, unaware that she copies Anti when straightening her back and throwing her knife at the dummy, lodging it in its chest. Through the heart. "Though if I may add, considering where we stand, how do I know my teammate and I won't end up like that dummy?”

"Aww, you think I'd be that cold, Poison Ivy?" Anti presses a free hand in mock hurt to his chest. Ivy raises a brow. "You're probably right,” He relents, “But I think you two pose a bigger threat than you think." He grins looking over to Chase which makes Chase's blood run cold. But he's still talking to Ivy when he says "He seems pretty strong, yeah? Could probably cut through someone like a tree if given the chance. And you," He smiles wickedly when he turns back to look directly at her two pairs of brilliant green eyes locking, "You seem like you can handle yourself. Clever as well. So why not keep my enemies close?" Anti leans back on his heels, twirling a knife around his fingers and sending a wink to Chase across the room. Anti holds out the knife between them both, tip facing the floor, "Think about it." He says cooly, letting the knife drop and point of it sticking right into the floor as Anti walks off to join the girl from his district.

Chase watches as Ivy looks down at the knife, picks it up, and throws it at the dummy with a small burst of emotion. It hits the very center.

It seems like Ivy is going to stay at knife throwing for a minute so Chase keeps weaving the rope in his hands into different types of snares. He's not very good at it. Ivy's encounter with Anti was a lot, to say the least, but Anti was obviously capable of holding his own. Maybe he could keep them both alive longer?

Chase looks up to check out the other tributes they will be up against soon. The tributes from Six at the camouflage station, both from One doing poorly at archery- a small collection of the younger tributes lined up to try the obstacle course.

It hits Chase again that the majority of kids this year were under 18. Maybe 17 at the oldest but still, it made his chest tighten. All of their odds were supposed to be better than this. That 14 and 15-year-olds should have had a few more years before they got really nervous about their names being drawn. But what did Chase know, really? They probably had their own families they needed to take the tessere for. And besides, he thought his own odds were better because he had friends with larger families who needed more than just him and his dad. Despicable. Maybe it's good that he was the one picked.

Chase is brought back to attention as a body crouches beside him, takes a piece of rope next to his foot, and walks away. The knot-tying instructor calls out to the boy to stop but he keeps walking.

Chase curiously watches as a boy with a number 4 and a long braid going down his back strides over to a girl with the same number on her uniform. He hands the thin rope to her and they share a few words, the boy's back still to Chase. He watches as the girl ties the cord to the top of a trident, just under the head of spokes, and hands the weapon over to the boy, who nods and takes a position by another set of targets. He throws the trident with such force that it nearly knocks the dummy over, but with a yank, the practice dummy flies back towards the boy who is waiting with a knife in his other hand.

Chase blinks as the boy drops both the knife and trident, leaving the dummy to collapse as he swipes his braid decorated with a few small beads off his shoulder. Chase only catches the profile of the boy's face but he had to admit that he was... handsome. Light brown skin and pretty eyes to match.

Like the boy from Two- Anti- when the boy from Four glances at Chase he immediately averts his gaze, but this time the tips of his ears turn pink from… something. Some other emotion Chase didn't have time to pin because Ivy was walking back over to him.

“Hey Iv.” He says finishing off the knot of the noose he was making- much to the bemusement of the trainer. “Anything good from Two?”

Ivy shifts, slightly uncomfortable as she crouches next to Chase again. "Umm.. the whole thing felt kind of off, to be honest." Ivy clears her throat but he still catches the slight warble. "His name is Anti Slate. He's clearly good with knives and is very strong. I felt it in his handshake- like he could easily snap my bones if he wanted to… He asked if I could show him what plants are good to eat or to avoid. Towards the end though.. he said I seemed like I could handle my own. So ‘why not keep my enemies close’." Ivy whispers rubbing the back of her neck, "He kept eyeing you though, even winked. The whole thing was fucking weird.”

“I saw that.” Chase sighs, “Well the career pack doesn’t look quite as deadly this year. I’ve had my eye on the boy from One, and he’s missed all the shots he took on the bow. But we’ll have to wait and see for his evaluations if that’s true.” Chase hands over the rope to Ivy, letting her have a turn. “I think we should practice fire starting next.” He whispers.

Ivy sighs clearly trying to move on from the moment. "Yeah.. yeah ok! I can get behind that.”

“Then after that, you have to teach me edible plants before you teach Anti. I know we’re a team but I want to help you hunt and gather.”

"Aw thanks, Brody! Plus if we separate, which will happen at least once I'm sure, it'll be one less thing to worry about." Ivy says practicing how to tie a knot tight to a post. "Here's a general tip to keep in mind: No matter how hungry or thirsty you are, stop and check what you're about to eat. That impulse could be the death of you if you don't think twice.”

“I’ll always run it by you, don’t worry.” Chase nods over to the fire-making station behind them. He really needs Ivy to show him how to survive, and apparently throw knives. Since when was she adept in knives?! Good thing she has so much empathy, or else he’d have a knife in his back from day one.

They move over and find someone already at the fire station, a skinny girl with dark skin and hair up in two buns. She glances nervously at Chase and Ivy approaching but she looks back down at her own hands, trying her best to use a flint and steel in shaky fingers. She couldn’t be younger than 12, but even then she looked 10, maybe even nine due to her stature. Chase felt his heart break into pieces as she shook.

The instructor woman greets them with a warm smile and gestures to all of the supplies in front of them. No matches or lighters in sight, but there was kindling, sticks, twine, a small collection of stones, and a warped piece of glass- the woman showed them how they could use unconventional tactics to get a fire going.

The girl- from 12 by the number on her uniform- kept darting her eyes from her own work to Chase and Ivy. Too nervous to speak first so Chase gently cleared his throat.

“Here, take a deep breath, it’ll help with your hands. And move closer, you want the sparks to hit the grass first then move to the bigger sticks.” Chase doesn’t know why the instructor isn’t telling her any of this. He scoots over towards her and guides her hands closer to the kindling. Every part of this feels like an antithesis to everything he’s learned. In 7, you learn everything you can to not start fires. To not destroy the entire district's economy and cause everyone to either burn up or starve. Fire was bad everywhere, but they were, unfortunately, devastatingly common in District 7 during the summer months.

The girl looks at him warily, but takes a deep breath, cheeks puffing out as she does what he says. There is a single spark for her efforts. She gasps in delight and does it again, this time the sparks catching onto the dry grass. She let out a cheer and smiled brightly at Chase who added some dry twigs.

"Thank you." Her voice was quiet but genuine. Soft-spoken. "You're both from Seven, right?”

“Yeah, you’re from 12? What’s your name?” Chase adds a few more sticks to the fire letting it all grow and catch to the bigger logs.

The girl nods, "Nima. What's it like being in the trees all day?" She quietly asks, before quickly adding as a second thought, "What are your names?”

“Uh, well it's quite a view once you get up top. And Chase, Chase Brody. And this is Ivy.”

"Nice to meet you, Nima! And yeah, the view is incredible, especially for sunsets." Ivy says, trying to work on starting her own small fire.

"That sounds nice!" Nima says, using an extra stick to poke the logs around a little. "There's a big fence around 12. We're forbidden to go into the woods, there are wild dogs and bears in there." She explains, voice getting softer like she's walking away from them. Nima throws more grass into the flames and watches as it burns and curls into ashes.

The instructor warns them to not make the fire bigger as they retrieve a small canister of some kind. With the press of a button a small spray of light green foam coats and put out the fire quickly. They clear away the ruined logs and give them fresh ones to try again.

“Oh yeah, we see bears too from time to time.” Chase picks up the conversation for once, “Most of the time it’s behind district lines, but sometimes a bear will wander into our logging forests. Those are the best days to work on shifts.”

He doesn't say it out loud, but the specific reason he loves it when bears wander through their section of the woods is because it scares off the peacekeepers who threaten them to work. The peacekeepers get chased around on the ground while the lumberjacks get to rest up in the trees and enjoy the longer lunch break and show.

Nima's eyes widen slightly, "Really? That's kinda cool." She looks back down at the flint and steel in her hands, this time getting a spark to catch the first try. "My pa tried going past the fence once, to try and hunt in the winter. But he was chased out by.. something." She knit her brows together trying to recall the memory, "Whatever it was, it had teeth.”

“Is he okay? I mean, can he still work in the mines, or…” Chase looks at the small girl and then back to Ivy. Her eyes meet his and she narrows them slightly in warning but it's too late. There’s no way he’s gonna let her be all alone during this. If Nima is gonna die, let her die surrounded by friendships and with her stomach full. He's talked to her for maybe 2 minutes and has already made up his mind.

Nima shakes her head, "The infection killed him." She said it so simply, so detached. "We don't go past the fence anymore.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Well um, my mom died when I was young too.” Chase adds a few more branches to the kindling and lets it grow again. “So I kinda get it.”

Ivy looks at Chase with worried eyes as she finally sparks her little fire, adding more dead sticks to it. "How old are you hun?”

“Twelve.”

Shit. She’s just a kid. They’re all kids, but she is a kid. Chase scoots carefully closer to her, knowing that he must be seen like a big predator in her eyes so he tries to remain open.

“Hey, why don’t you come with us to the next station? Once Ivy can get a fire started she’s gonna teach me how to find edible plants. You should join us.”

Nima looks back and forth between the two of them and Chase has to do pretty much everything he can not to scoop her up and take her with him. She eventually nods, lighting up Chase’s face.

Ivy smiles at Nima and Chase, "I'm more than happy to teach you as well, hun! With all our skills, we can keep each other safe." She says sweetly, Ivy's fire keeps going out too quickly so she puts a bigger log on it.

“Iv-don’t smoother it. You gotta add a small fuel first. Here, try some pine needles.” Chase helps Ivy before he looks down at Nima again as she is focusing on her fire.

He silently hopes her death is swift. That she dies in the first ten seconds so she won’t have to be scared and alone for days and days. But maybe she could come with him and Iv, she’s so small and helpless in his eyes. Chase can’t help but latch onto the small girl and want to protect her.

He couldn't help but think of home. Of Stacy and little Willow who will be joining the world soon if he was there or not. Chase wondered what she would be like. Will Willow have her mother's eyes or his? Will she be a ball of sunshine and energy or more reserved and quiet? Chase looks at Nima and gently wonders what Willow will be like when she gets older.

If she gets older.

If he gets the chance to see her grow up.

"Make a spark and put small fuel so it stays lit, right?”

Shaking himself from his thoughts Chase responds to Ivy, "Uh- y-yeah." He clears his throat. "Yeah. Spark on the grass, small twigs, and then larger as it catches.” Chase abruptly stands, wanting to get away from his own thoughts, “Let's try out the plants.” He holds a hand out to Nima as an offering for her to join.

The frail girl hesitates but takes his hand, following him and Ivy to the next station with a small smile.

The three tributes walk over to the plant identification station which is just a big screen with various plants and their effects. A matching game of sorts.

Okay, a matching game. This should be easy. Chase picks a plant that he thinks is safe and matches it with what he assumes to be its match, and a big red X flashes up on the screen showing that he failed. Okay, okay, this is the first round, no pressure. He tries again. And again, and again, and again. And every single time he fails the screen shines red onto his face. He looks over at Ivy with a sense of helplessness but makes sure that Nima doesn’t see. Why is he failing? Why can’t he get this? It’s just plants! He’s worked with giant plants for the last five years! How is this so difficult?!

After a few more failed attempts and reassuring pats on the back from Ivy that felt more demoralizing than intended, Nima taps on Chase's arm, "Can I try?" She asks quietly.

Cheeks flared red in embarrassment and hoped another failed X would cover it up. Chase just steps aside with his hands up in defeat.

Nima steps in front of the console and can barely see the screen in front of her. Standing on her tiptoes, she swiftly begins matching the different plants together. Each time the pairs match they flash green. She's not as quick as other tributes, whom Chase has seen playing this, but that's mostly because she was so small she had to reach farther to click the buttons.

Chase's shoulders slump in utter defeat and Ivy pats his back again, "Hey hey it's ok! No one is perfect at anything on the first go plus a lot of plants look more alike than you realize!” Ivy said, trying to cheer up her district partner.

Once Nima finishes the game, the whole screen turns green with a big check mark. The girl beams, turning and smiling brightly at Chase and Ivy, "I got it!”

Chase can hear Ivy holding back a laugh, “Good uh- Good job, honey! You got them all right!" Ivy looks over at Chase who is probably looking absolutely dejected at the fact a 12-year-old got them all right on the first try. "Well uh heh.. what you lack in skill, you make up for in great sparkling personality at least!!" Ivy says, trying so hard to cheer up Chase, but she can't stop a snort from coming out.

Chase sighs and gives back a smile to Ivy. He knows she means well. He knows she’s joking but it still cuts deep. He looks back towards the axes, maybe he should have a go at that, to prove that he’s worthy of something. But then he looks down at Nima, her cute little face and big brown eyes. He kneels down to her level and gives a smile.

“You’re pretty good at this, you know anything about first aid?”

Nima smiles shyly, hands folding behind her back, "Only some. My mama is a healer, and since most folks can't afford the doctors they go to her. She taught me all about plants and even how to use some of them for medicine." She puffs her chest a bit with pride as she talks about her mother, "She's really kind and smart. She even has a medicinal herb garden growing in our windows back home.”

Well, looks like they got their own little pack going. Ivy and Nima could get food so he wouldn’t starve to death, and Chase could protect the two of them. They’d make a good team as long as they outlast the others. Yeah. Yeah! With the two of them, Chase could stand a chance. Nima could stand a chance.

“Well, Ivy and I have an alliance. Do you want in?”

Nima's eyes widen in shock, quickly looking around the room to see who heard before locking eyes with Chase, "You're being serious?" She seems weary, and cautious as if she's waiting for the punchline to a cruel prank.

“I’m being serious.” Chase smiles and gives her hands a small squeeze “I’m no good at the smart things, first aid, finding food. But I’m strong and pretty good at protecting the people I care about. So what do you say, kid?”

Please say yes. He thinks, begs to himself. He can’t let this kid die. He can’t let her be scared and alone. He can’t let the Capitol win this time, and take this child’s life.

Ivy stands behind Chase, putting both hands on his shoulders and smiling at the small girl from District 12.

A small smile creeps across Nima's face, "O-Okay." She whispers, bouncing slightly on her heels at the prospect of people wanting to protect her. "We can make a plan at lunch.”

In the corner of Chase's eye a shadow darts out of view. When he glances to see who it was, they were already gone. He tried to shake it off and smile brighter at Nima, "That sounds good. Shake on it?" He asks, putting his hand out between them.

Nima laughs, a light twinkling sound as she clasps her hand in Chase's, shaking as firmly as she could muster.

#chase brody #ivy cinders #writersofjack #hunger games au #jse hunger games au #jse fanfic #mod v #jacksepticeye #jse egos

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