⋆𝑫𝑨𝑵𝑮𝑬𝑹𝑶𝑼𝑺 𝑮𝑨𝑴𝑬⋆

𝑷𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒍

Arcadia's POV

I sat uncomfortably on the couch cushions, leg bouncing up and down anxiously. We had only been on the train for a half hour, but it felt like an eternity. District 4 was one of the closer districts to the capitol, but the ride would still be around 3 hours. Apollo sat across from me, trying to talk but I was openly avoiding him. I was still angry at him for volunteering. Either none of us would go home or only one. 

The train itself was the most expensive place I ever stepped foot in. The walls were covered in beautiful floral wallpaper, and the floor was carpeted with an expensive blue rug. All the furniture was mahogany and the chairs were cushioned with plush blue velvet pillows. Each table had a bouquet of blooming flowers of assorted colours. I pushed myself away from the table and walked around to explore the rest of the room. There were tables set buffet style with enough food to feed a family for a year, and every plate had unique dishes and assorted desserts I had never seen in my life. On the other side of the room, there was a stand with top-shelf liquor and fancy glasses of all sorts. I scoffed at the luxury of one single train cart. There were people in the districts who were staving daily and dying, and the capitol had more than enough to go around for everyone. 

I found my stomach growling slightly at the sight of the platters of food. Cakes and pastries, pudding and cookies. I remember Mama buying a cake on my birthday, a specialty treat only for special occasions. But here, things considered "luxury" are standard.

"Help yourself," a voice says from behind me. I quickly spin around and lock eyes with the one and only Finnick Odair. 

Finnick offers a smile, which I completely ignore and stare blankly at him instead. Persephone is also in the room, and she turns her head and joins the conversation.

"Honestly dear, you should eat as much as you want. So skinny and small. Please have a plate," she rambles, reaching past me to put pastries on a shiny white plate. She handed it to me and I hesitantly took it from her. 

"Persephone please leave," Finnick retorts, flashing that nauseating toothy smile at the escort. Persephone looks taken aback for a moment but then quickly skips away. 

"She's an irritation," he grunts, immediately dropping the smile when the door closes behind her, "I'm sorry this happened to you," he adds sincerely, changing the topic. I scoff.

"I don't need your sympathy. I'm here already so it's not going to help," I grumbled.

"Okay fine. But I'm going to help you in every way we can," he said. I looked at his face and wondered if he was being serious or not. As far as I was concerned, the capitol "golden boy" was not ever serious. When I looked, he seemed genuine and I slightly smiled at him.

"Thanks," I remarked. Finnick then told me to go to the other room so we could discuss the games, and I put my plate down and trudged back to the other room. Apollo was still sitting there, but another man was with him. This man has dark circles under his haunting blue eyes and sharp cheekbones. I know who he is already. His name is Caspian Ledger, victor of the 49th Hunger Games. When I walk into the room, Caspian snaps his head up and gives me a small smile, which I halfheartedly return. I slump onto the couch beside Apollo and look expectantly at the two mentors. Caspian clears his throat at the awkward silence.

"We were just about to look at the other tributes," he mentioned, looking at Finnick who nodded curtly. He got up out of his seat and grabbed a remote from one of the mahogany tables. Caspian pressed a couple of buttons on the controller and turned the television on. I caught Caspian making a subtle "help me out" look at Finnick, who sighed and got up to stand beside the other victor. 

"So um, from District One," he began, and Apollo and I watched intently.

From District One, the tributes as always were threatening. Volunteers, as I had suspected. The boy, Mac had volunteered before they even asked. He shot his hand straight up and walked onto the stage with confidence. He was tall, maybe 17 or 18 and he had visible muscles showing through his white button-up shirt. I made a mental note that he would probably kill me with no mercy if he had the chance. The girl, on the other hand, was a bit less intimidating. Her name was Willa, and she was blonde and very pretty. She volunteered as well, and she flashed a white smile and waved to the crowd, happy to be going into a violent, brutal game. 

Finnick played the next video, District 2. The pair from Two were even more terrifying than the previous district had been. The boy was all muscle and he was big and tall. His hair was buzzed and he grinned menacingly when he stepped onto the stage after volunteering. Caspian said his name was Collard. The girl tribute, Taryn, didn't smile at all instead, she glared at the camera and blew a kiss to the crowd. I swallowed uncomfortably as she pretty much stared into my soul as Finnick talked about her.

I made a mental note that District 3 would not be much of a threat. The girl tribute, Deecee was hardly older than I was, maybe 13 or 14. She started sobbing uncontrollably the moment her name was called, while the male tribute, Flint, tried desperately to calm her down. He wasn't very old either and he was all bones and no muscle. Although they were weaker, Caspian told me to remember that the tributes from 3 were usually very smart.

We skipped our district because neither of us wanted to hear our mother crying and relive the depressing moment.

From District 5 was Cedar and Abrill. Cedar was 16, but he was not very strong or muscular. When his name was called, he showed no emotion, but he gave himself away when his chin started wobbling. Abrill was quite the opposite physically. Her short stocky build was evidence that she was quite strong and had a much better chance of winning than her partner did. 

District 6's tributes were both very skinny and small. The boy, Osiar, was around 15 but he had no meat on his bones and was shaking when he got onto the stage. The girl, Lucressa, has the same figure, and there wasn't much else to this pair.

The tributes from District 7 stood out to me in particular. Both tributes were smiling when their names got called. It was an act, but it still made me feel uneasy. They were both around 16 or 17 and were both very muscular from the work they did with lumber. Chase, the male, has dark skin and extremely visible muscles, and I noted that he would probably be very good with weapons. Candella had flaming orange hair and was a bit shorter than Chase, but still had a fair amount of brawn to her.

The District 8 tributes caught my eye as well. The tributes, Flynn and Nora were both very good looking and I could tell that they would get many sponsors easily. Flynn was also very burly and he would probably have a fair chance of winning. Nora has blonde hair and an angel face, I knew she would be popular at the capitol.

Districts 9 & 10 were nothing special. They didn't stand out to me at all in particular. When Caspian played the next video, 11, it captivated my attention much more. The male tribute, Thorn, looked exactly like his name sounded. He was tall and muscular, around 17 or 18 and had a stone expression. He looked intimidating, and his eyes were narrowed angrily. The girl, Tilsea was around the same age, except she was much shorter. Thorn and Tilsea hugged each other, similar to what Apollo and I had done.

From District 12, the male tribute, Leone, had an innocent face and was trying his best not to cry when his name was read from the slip of paper, while the girl, Cassia had a much braver expression. When the video finished, Caspian cleared his throat.

"Okay, so from what we just watched, what are your thoughts?" he ventured. I thought about all the tributes we looked at just now and tried to remember which ones stood out to me. While I thought, Apollo talked.

"The pair from One and Two. They're the only ones who volunteered other than me," he said. I nodded my agreement.

"The Careers. You guys have an advantage since District 4 is technically a career district. Allying with them would be a good option," Finnick added, looking at me when he said it. 

"The pairs from Seven and Eight. And the boy from Eleven," I said quietly, adding my opinion to the conversation. Finnick nodded his approval and spoke again.

"One and Two will always be the capitol favourites. I think the two from Eight will be popular this year as well. We're going to make sure that they adore you two as well."