Favor of the odds

The first to be called was the largest tribute from district 2, Roman Roden, which was fine because he had been dealing with people his entire life back home. Even though he was to be training year round for the games, Roman always found himself out to the masonry workers. Even being a wealthy district, the workers still needed help. Not everyone in 2 was well off.
Roman took the stage with a humble smile, waving a hand to the roaring crowd. Camera's flashed, a large center stage light fell on him at all times, lighting his every step across the stage towards the famed Ceasar Flickerman. It was different meeting him in person, but Roman played it off as though they were long time friends.
"Hello Ceasar, everyone, thank you for having me here." His dark eyes swept the crowd, a handsome smile gracing his face. "Truly its an honor to be able to compete in this competition."
Instantly Ceasar picked up. "Oh yes, a very big honor indeed! For us too, you know! Why, district 2 has been bragging about you for a while now, how they are sure you are going to bring home a victory!" Ceasar was a professional, directing the conversation to keep it interesting.
"Well. my district is a very proud place, and the only home i've ever known. I promised to work hard and represent them while im out here, and with a ten I dont think Bane and I are doing too bad of a job." Another gracious smile for the crowd.
"Ahhh Bane, yes, your district partner! Are you planning to play well with him in the beginning, maybe an alliance?"
Roman rubbed one of his callused hands over his beard, not missing a beat though, as if prepared for this. "I can't really reveal too much here Ceasar, we want the people to have a great show! I can't be giving away any surprises. You'll just have to wait and see, I guess!"
The crowd swooned, pleased to think that Roman actually cared about the quality of their games.
"Oh, oh, oh! You are absolutely right Roman! Where was my head? Its awfully lucky you thought better of answering me. But can you tell us what sort of weaponry you like? Any other tributes you think may give us a show?"
"Sure Ceasar, why not?" Roman had to take a moment for the crowd to calm down before continuing. "I myself like to use my hands. And I know what you're thinking, brutal right? But I have a very wide range of abilities, so I could surprise you at anytime! Not even I know everything I can do." He glanced to the timer on the wall, his three minutes almost up. "And I think that team 11- or well, Zach from 11 may be a threat. The largest from 7 looks gruesome, too. Im not sure about the 4 kid though, he got a high score but I think his mouth is going to get him into something his ass cant handle!" Just as he finished a buzzer sounded, ending his portion of the interview. With one last wave to the crowd, Roman dismissed himself from the stage.

As Roman returned backstage, Bane took a deep breath and forced himself out to the chair beside Caesar.
He forced a smile, waving at the crowd as he shook hands with Caesar before taking his seat.
"Hello." Bane stammered, the lights and all the people making him awfully hot up here. "Nice to meet you, Caesar."
"The pleasure is all ours!" Caesar beamed in Bane's direction and Bane found the man was actually quite intimidating up close. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. After all, we'd heard so much about you a few years back from your brother!" Bane's elder brother was a former victor, had been Roman and Bane's mentor this year. "I have to say we're expecting great things from you, Bane. Plan on living up to your brother's legend?"
"Well, it certainly puts a lot of pressure on me." Bane gave a light smile and was grateful when the audience laughed. They seemed ready to laugh at just about anything. "But of course I plan on it. I'm not my brother at all, but I'm just as capable."
"And I'm sure you are." Caesar grinned. "But I have to say, Bane, you're not as intimidating as Dylan. There are some big guys out there this year. Like your fellow tribute from District 2 who we just spoke to." There was a brief applause at the mention of Roman. He had clearly been a hit. "Any worries about him? Think you'll be able to take down some of the bigger competitors?"
"Without a problem." Bane scoffed, slipping into his normal cocky persona which received another laugh from the audience. He smiled quickly, making it seem as if he had only been playing up the ego. "See, Caesar, a lot of those big guys are all brawn, no brains. Roman's not a bad guy but I'm not worried about him when it comes down to the end."
"Well I think we're certainly in for a treat watching you this year. Maybe you'll bring home another victory to your brother!"
Bane let out a sigh of relief as the buzzer sounded, waving at the crowd before heading off stage.

Finnick could be heard swearing before anyone could actually see him, but he wore his perpetual scowl onto the stage, his middle finger raised to the crowd at first sight. Fuck these people, fuck these games, fuck everything. What did these people think? His life was a game? Fuck em.
"Awh, Finnick! Why do you look so angry? And that hand motion!" Ceasar shook his head subtly, as though to say that wasnt a good idea. The thing was though, that Finn already knew it was a bad idea, but that had never stopped him before.
"Well im fucking angry because who the fuck are you people to decide I fucking need to damn fight too the fucking death to have the right to damn go home? You're all a bunch of mother fucking sons of bitches!" Most of what he said was being bleeped out by now, most faces in the crowd expression shock and horror, disbelief.
"Calm down there Finn!" Ceasar tried to pacify the crowd, looking to Finn in exasperation. "Why don't we talk about something else." Ceasar still hadnt quite finished when Finn cut in. "Well why the fuck dont we? You're the dumb mother fucker whos asking the questions!"
More astounded gasps issued from the crowd, only egging Finn on. "Im fucking here to kill people and fuck shit up! Not put on a show for you pig fuckers! I dont need this shit! I dont need your shity ass sponsors either. I can make it all by my mother fucking self, so you can all suck my dick!"
At this point Ceasar had began exempting symptoms of panic, trying to quell Finn's anger and keep the crowd from a riot. He still had a minute left.
"Well, you have made you're point! You are angry! Is there anything else we should know? Anything you might be happy about?" Finn even had Ceasar Flickerman grasping at straws on how to handle him.
Finn's eyes bore into the announcer, his mouth open for another string of obscenities to follow but the question stopped him.
"Yeah, mother fucker. You should fucking know I plan to fucking win! And that axe slinging son of a bitch can know I plan on thoroughly fucking him too. And these bitches out here can plan to watch it all. Now fuck you, goodmotherfucking night, cunt fuckers." Finnick left with that, storming off of the stage before his buzzer had the chance to go off. What did he care? What more could these people do to him? Not shit.

Several tributes later and the crowd was just now calming from Finn's interview. Just in time for Jesse to approach the stage. He shook Caesar's hand and took his seat, lounging back in the chair as if he was not in front of the entire Capitol, waving leisurely at the crowd.
"Well, Jesse, let's talk about that training score! A ten, tied for the highest this year! Do you think you might have put a target on your back with that one?" Caesar questioned.
"Well I'm already a walking target, being the biggest one here so I figured I might as well make it even bigger." He flashed the most charming smile he had to the crowd. He knew that after Finn's disaster of an interview, he had a lot to fix and a lot of sponsors he needed to earn.
"Would you mind telling us what exactly you did to impress the judges and earn such high marks?"
"Well Caesar, I'm sure you know most of my district works in the lumber industry. Even the smallest girls around town knew how to wield an ax before they could talk. I'll leave it a secret what exactly I did, but I'm sure you can use your imagination." He joked and earned laughs from the crowd. As he had hoped, most of the woman thought he was incredibly handsome. He prayed this would come to his advantage later on in the games when he needed sponsors.
"Well, Jesse, I hate to say it but despite your size, there might be some competition for you this year. Anyone you're worried about?"
"Well I think we should all be worried about Finnick." He chuckled and there were laughs of agreement from the crowd. "I'll be sleeping with one eye open tonight."
"I think you'd do well to watch out for him." Caesar laughed. "Best of luck to you!"
Caesar was still chuckling as the buzzer went off and Jesse blew a kiss to the crowd before returning backstage, quite pleased with himself.

Danny had been building himself up for these interviews since his name had been drawn. He knew it was something he would have to do, and so instead of just succumbing to his terror of it, Danny had been practicing.
And it payed off, at least up until he reached the chair. Once there though he kicked the side of it by accident, having only slightly miscalculated how far away from Ceasar's voice his seat was. "Oh wow, sorry! I didn't mean too-" Danny trailed off, turning his head to the sound of a laughing crowd. Yes, they were laughing, but it had yet to become malicious. More like they thought him, and his quick apology cute.
Danny tried to brush it off, eyebrows furrowing in frustration as he felt heat rising to his cheeks.
"Okay, Danny, district 11! I hear you have come to us not quite as prepared as everyone else."
Danny's head snapped up, his mouth hanging agape as he tried to work up a response for that. Its not like Ceasar was trying to upset him, only pointing out the obvious and trying to get Danny's feedback on it.
"Uh...I...Wow...Its not like im useless! I mean no one expects a lot out of me, I can take that as an advantage! You have to realize that I know how to live with being blind."
"Yes, you are absolutely right!" Ceasar continued quickly, knowing they only had so much time to try and reel Danny in some sponsors, even if they were only pity sponsors. "But life out there isnt normal! What are your offensive strategies for the game?"
This totally caught Danny off guard, leaving the boy to stumble over himself. "Just, don't you worry Ceasar, I...uh...I have a plan..."
"And im sure you do! We just can't wait to see it!" Ceasar truly felt bad for the kid, trying again to give the boy a question he could work with.
"What about other tributes, what do you think about them?"
"I...Uh...I really hate they are going to die. I mean...Its not really like im worried about being the winner, but it does suck to know that everyone im starting to like probably wont...uh...make it either."
"Ahh yes, that is indeed a saddening thing. But think of it this way, one of them is going to be set for life!"
Danny had just started formulating an answer to that when his buzzer went off, thankfully. Danny didnt want to think about the winner. no one was going to come out of here okay, not even the person who out lives the rest. Danny simply tried to give a wave to the crowd before shuffling his way back across the stage, wincing everytime he stumbled over something. Truly he needed that cane but his trainer had thought it better for him to go without it, make him look less vulnerable.

Zach patted Danny on the back as the boy returned before he himself headed out, waving to the crowd with a soft smile, greeting Caesar with a kiss to the cheek.
"Hi!" He grinned brightly, wanting to come off as likable as possible.
"Pleasure to meet you, Zachariah."
Zach cleaned up well, in a suit and tie with his dreads tied back in a long ponytail. He didn't look quite as raggedy as he usually did.
"Not sure if you heard Zach, seems like one of our District 2 tributes thinks you're someone to watch out for, despite your low score in training. What have you got to say about that?"
Zach blinked, not being prepared for this question since he hadn't been paying attention during Roman's interview.
"Well I guess you can't judge a book by it's cover, Caesar. I might have a trick or two up my sleeve." He smiled, regaining his composure.
"Now that low score wouldn't be a strategy, would it?" Caesar arched an eyebrow, eyes glinting in the bright lights surrounding them.
Zach gave a sly smirk, shrugging his shoulders.
"I don't know Caesar, I guess you'll have to watch and find out."
"Of course, of course." Caesar nodded with a wave of his hand. "Now, you have had the... some may call it the misfortune of being brought into the games with a disabled tribute at your side. How do you feel about Danny?"
"I think he's lovely." Zach spoke honestly. "And I don't think he's as weak as everyone thinks. He's certainly got some skills the rest of us haven't. Everyone might want to watch out for him." He was hoping to help Danny's reputation, maybe get him some more sponsors. They could definitely use them.
"Well you're certainly a sweetheart, aren't you?" Caesar seemed to think Zach was being nice out of pity, which was not how Zach had wanted to come across, but before he could clarify, Caesar had changed the subject back to something Zach had been hoping they could avoid.
"Now earlier, like I said, when we spoke to Roman he seemed to think you were a threat. And what do you think about him?"
"Well, he seems like a pretty big threat himself. He's a Career, after all." Zach nodded, fighting the blush that wanted to rise to his cheeks at the thought of Roman. "Of course I'm threatened. I've learned to treat everyone like a threat, that's the only way to make it out of here alive."
"Of course." Caesar nodded as if he understood when Zach knew he couldn't. He had never been sent to fight to the death. As always, Caesar turned it back to a more pleasant topic, something he thought the people would like to talk about. Romance.
"Now I can't help but notice you get a bit flustered when talking about that certain District 2 tribute. Would there be a reason for that?" Caesar gave a knowing grin and red came flooding to Zach's face. Thankfully, the buzzer went off just then. Caesar barely had time to wish Zach luck before the boy had hurried off the stage, kicking something on his way back. Of course they had had to bring up a romance that was not there in the first place. And now he looked like the pathetic poor boy pining after the big strong Career tribute.

Roman cursed as the buzzer for Zach sounded before he was able to finish. He had wanted to hear what the kid had to say, not as though anything could be done about it, but Roman still found himself drawn to the boy. Maybe in another time and place things would be different.
Chandler took a moment before hitting the stage, fixing his tie and trying to build himself up for this. It was his last chance to get Jordan some help in the arena, and by God he was going to work it.
As soon as he stepped on the stage he was enveloped in lights, the crowd had just exploded at seeing him. At the time Chandler wasn't sure why they were already so hyped for him, being he had gotten less than a six as a training score, but it didnt take Ceasar Flickerman long to remind him.
"Ah! Chandler! Our district 12 volunteer!" He almost couldnt be heard over the roar of the people, rippling with excitement below them.
Chandler waved to the crowd, giving a wide smile as he remember that yes, he already had a slight advantage. These people waited all year for this blood bath, add some doomed teenage romance in there and damn what a show. Chandler hated them for it, but he continued to smile, Jordan heavy on his heart.
"Tell me now, what would cause you to volunteer hmm? Its a rare thing we get a volunteer from your district." Ceasar's charm was catching, and Chandler picked it up. "Well, I normally wouldn't have done such a thing, you know? It's not much of a life back home, but its a life. I'd hate to come here and never see 12 again." He paused so the crowd could pity him, but what they didnt know was that he was getting ready to drop a bomb on them.
"But anyways, I did volunteer because they, well damn, they called Jordan!" The disgust still made its way onto his face when he thought about his lovers terrified trip to the stage on reaping day. "And I'd rather come here and die protecting him, than sit at home and watch someone else kill him. I mean, look at him when he gets here, you'll see. He's something to die for, his worthy of that."
Dead silence. The crowd had been stunned into what looked like cardiac arrest, but then they erupted, in a flurry of outraged sobs and horrified weeping. Ceasar was waving his arms at them, attempting to soothe them before all of Chandler's time was wasted.
"Oh! You mean to tell me that you two are lovers?" He was playing it up, hoping Chandler would say something to pacify the crowd.
"Yes, I've loved Jordan ever since I realized how cold I was without him. Thats another reason I couldn't stay while he went, I would damn freeze to death!" Chandler laughed softly, his focus on the swooning people, some wiping tears from their eyes, some even chucking along with him.
"This must be very hard for you. What if it comes down to just you two?" Ceasar leaned forward, the audence catching their breaths.
"I...uh..." Chandler was reeling, his heart having just hit the bottom of his stomach. Who the hell was Ceasar flickerman to ask if this was hard? Chandler wanted to cold cock the man. When the buzzer sounded to cut him off, he wasnt sure if that really hadnt just been the sound of his insides shattering. He couldnt make it off the stage fast enough, still trying to wave to the awe stricken crowd before disappearing.

Jordan made his way onto the stage, grabbing his lover and kissing him on the cheek as they passed, making sure the crowd saw. He could tell it had been hard on Chandler out there but the man had done great and Jordan wanted to keep it up, get them more sponsors.
Jordan was nervous as hell, trembling as he shook Caesar's hand and took in the loud cheering of the crowd. He was so scared that he barely heard Caesar's first words to him.
"Jordan! What a pleasure! I have to say, I wasn't sure what to expect from you two but we just got the chance to speak with Chandler and he was a joy, wasn't he?" He spoke more to the crowd who roared in approval at Chandler's name. "We all know now that he volunteered to come protect you. How did you feel when he did that?"
"Well, I wasn't happy." Jordan sighed. "I..." Words were escaping him. He had to sound charming, in love, and scared all at once and he was finding it impossible. "I was pretty pissed at him, honestly." He admitted finally.
"And why was that?"
"Well, because I'd been hoping I could win and get back home to him. But now, there's not a chance we'll get to spend our lives together like we'd hoped." He had been planning to play it up for the audience, but the truth of his words hit him in the gut and it was all he could do not to cry. The crowd reacted properly, some of them still not done crying from Chandler's interview.
"Now, Jordan, do you plan on letting him protect you? What if it comes down to just the two of you?" Caesar asked the question that Chandler hadn't had time to answer and Jordan swallowed hard before thinking up an answer.
"I have no intentions of letting him die protecting me Caesar. And if it comes down to the two of us, I'm making sure he's the one who gets to go home." He finished as the buzzer went off and waved at the crowd as he headed offstage, heart aching.

Chandler didn't have time to argue with Jordan about his interview, they were all immediately separated afterwards. The next time they saw each other would be in the arena.
Chandler tried to sleep, he truly had but nothing came of it. By the time they were pestering him to get up, he had not closed his eyes for more than ten minutes. All he could see with them closed was death, the on coming murder he was to face tomorrow.
And it was here.
They took him to a tiny room and suited him up. No one really spoke but to say good luck, always with some pity in there voice for the doomed lovers of 12. Chandler was placed into a pod, and after ten seconds of waiting, it heaved upwards. At the end of the tube there was a bright light, and then forest fresh air. Chandler cursed as he tried to adjust his eyes to his surroundings, ignoring the scenery in favor of scanning the large circle of tributes for Jordan. It seems they had all arrived at the same time, and a look to his right told him he was in trouble. It was the district 2 male, shoulders already squared in anticipation for the bloodbath. At his left was the other tribute from 7, the smaller one. Chandler simply continued looked for Jordan, not sparing one glance at the cornucopia.

Roman was ready as soon as the air hit his body. A quick look around told him there was plenty of forest, and a large lake off to one side of the valley they were all circled in. And then the Cornucopia with its endless supply of resources, the stuff that they would desperately need to survive out here. He noticed that at his left there was one of the lovers from 12, nothing to worry about, but to his right was the kid from 4. Finnick, Roman believed he was called. The boy already had daggers for him, eyes flicking between different tributes and weapons. Roman decided then to try and avoid this one. There was no reasoning with Finnick Holloway.

30 seconds on the clock. Everyone knew not to move before the gong sounded, that would only result in premature death. All the pedestals were rigged with land mines that would explode if you stepped down before time.

Danny had no way of actually seeing what was happening, but he imagined they were near some kind of woods, he could smell pine and ceder. But there was also the smell of fresh water, meaning that if he ran in the wrong direction, he could very well drown or be caught. Either way it was death. Danny tried to focus on the sounds around him, nervous puffs of breath to his right, even and calming breathing at his left. The cornucopia would be directly in front of him, he knew that much. Shaking himself off, Danny crouched down, acting as though he too would dart for the cornucopia.

One bag in particular at the mouth of the cornucopia had caught Finn's eye, in it he could see the head of a trident. If he could only get his hands on that, he could win. Just to the right of that happened to be a rack of axe's and a large sling pack of throwing knives. He knew there would be competition at the mouth especially with those prizes sitting there. His eyes flicked around, judging who was going to run and who was going to stay, who he would kill first.

10 seconds left on the clock.

Zach was crouched down, poised to run as fast as he ever had towards the mouth of the cornucopia. He had his eyes on several of the bigger threats, like Finn who was glaring at everyone around him and the large man from seven, hungrily eyeing the axes in the cornucopia. Zach shuddered to think of all the terrible ways he could die if he wasn't successful in his journey. But he had to be. He just hoped Chandler, Jordan and Danny remembered the plan and hid successfully.

Jordan did indeed remember the plan. He had looked around and spotted Chandler before anything else. Then his eyes fell on Danny. He planned to run and grab Danny before finding Chandler and making a run for it. But Chandler was right beside the huge boy from District 2... hopefully Roman would be more focused on running for the cornucopia.

Bane was quite pleased with his position. He was directly in the center of the line of tributes with tributes who's names he had not bothered to learn on either side of him. They were harmless and if they got in his way he would take them down immediately. He located Roman and the District 1 tributes since they were aligned, after all, though he didn't need their help. He was already picking out which weapons he would claim from the Cornucopia. They were Careers, and they always got the best available.

Jesse found himself quite excited to get going, heart pumping fast. He located Finn as he watched the clock count down from 10. That rack of axes looked very inviting. He was no murderer, but he was violent by nature and was eager to see just how powerful he really was with one of those.
Finally, the clock ran out and the buzzer went off.
The 24 tributes were off.

Jesse dodged several smaller tributes on his way to where Finn stood. He crouched in front of the boy.
"Hop on!" He shouted, gesturing for Finn to climb onto his shoulders. Together, they were going to be unstoppable. But Finn was so small, he did not want him getting lost in the bloodbath. He wanted his ally right by his side.

Jordan panicked as the buzzer sounded, frozen for a moment before he ran to retrieve Danny, practically throwing the boy over his shoulder.
"It's me!" He called out so the boy didn't panic as he scrambled to find Chandler.

Zach took off, barreling through the panic of tributes. Clearly, some had been faster than him and gotten to the weapons first, as he could see the first tributes falling in the distance. But he made it to the cornucopia, grabbing the first bag in sight, praying it had necessary supplies. He looked over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't about to be killed before leaning back down to gather weapons. He grabbed several throwing knives, his personal favorite, and then got a machete and several spears, remembering they were the weapons that Chandler and Jordan favored. He was just finished when someone barreled into him.
Bane looked up at him with a snarl. Zach took it as a warning and ran from the cornucopia as fast as he could, panting heavily but relieved that he made it out unharmed.

"Im not a fucking baby!' Finn did climb to Jesse's shoulder's shoulders though, not wanting to waste any time. He had a bag in his hands that he had snagged from beside his pedestal. "I want that fucking trident! And the axe's are right beside it!" Finn tore the bag open, retrieving from it only three small throwing knives. It was enough though, for him to sling one at the largest tribute from 2. He wanted to clear a path for Jesse, keep people out of there way until they reached the real toys. Roman had seen it coming though, enough to duck down, but Chandler hadnt been as lucky. The knife stuck into his upper arm, leaving him stunned for a moment, long enough for Finn to retrieve another knife. Chandler was gone before he could throw it, wrenching the knife from his arm and darting right by them, throwing the weapon back in there direction only for it lodge into the ground at Roman's feet.

Roman cared nothing for the knife, leaving it in favor of the cornuopia. He hated what he was about to do but he had too. They would need the supplies. Taking up a large spear in one hand, and a machete in the other, Roman went to work on his fellow tributes, chopping away at anyone who was not making a run for the tree lines.

"Oh shit! Jordan?" Danny could hear death already, pained gurgles and pitiful pleas of help. But nothing stopped the whistle of weapons, the thud of bodies dropping. There wasnt anything he could do but simply be carried, and he hated himself for it. "Just drop me, find Chandler!"

Chandler, by now had made it through the pedestals. He could feel wind off of weapons that flew by him, only missing him by inches every time. He had seen Jordan though, seen where he was headed. "Im coming." He told himself, glancing back just in time to see Finnick's trident pierce the chest of the other tribute from 4.
Chandler picked up his pace.

Jordan furiously looked around for Chandler, heart pounding in his chest as he watched the bloody scene unfolding around him.
"I'm not dropping you!" He shouted at Danny. They were in an alliance. And that meant something, at least to Jordan. Maybe he was too soft for this. "Chandler's fucking running for the cornucopia." What was he thinking?" Jordan didn't want to run after Chandler, Danny on his back making him too much of a target. All he could do was run to the edge of the forest, hiding behind a thin cover of trees while still able to keep an eye on Chandler.

Zach too had caught glimpse of Chandler on his way back, cursing at the boy for not going along with their plan. He grabbed Chandler by the back of his shirt collar.
"Come on! We had a plan!" He hissed. "I've got everything! You're going to get yourself killed!" The careers had reached the cornucopia now, it was a death wish to go near it. Zach took one of the throwing knives from the bag and threw it at a tribute who was coming near them, landing his shot perfectly. They were far enough away from the cornucopia now that the general area around them was clear enough for Zach to stop and toss the bag he had at Chandler.
"Did you see where Danny and Jordan went?" He questioned, keeping an eye out all around them as he scooped up the dead body of the tribute he'd just murdered. They'd need whatever food they could get.

Jesse reached the cornucopia quickly and let Finn down before grabbing the nearest ax, turning around and swinging it, not caring who he hit. It turned out to be one of the Careers, one he hadn't met from District 1, now sliced right in half. Well that was good, one of them down. He slung a bag over his shoulder, tossing a trident at Finn and picking up another ax, now having one in each hand as he guarded the Cornucopia like he owned it. He did look quite menacing, standing at the entrance.

Danny could only stumble over his words, urging Jordan to let him go once in the cover of the trees. "Did you see Zach though? Did he make it out okay?" Zach was his district partner, the only thing he had left of home. "I can't hear them! Is the blood bath still going?"

"They're over in that direction. Im sure Jordan knows where im at." Chandler pushed himself up, staring at Zach in disgust before simply shaking it off. In the games anything was legal, maybe not liked, but legal. "I thought I saw him disappear into those tree's." He pointed down the line, to trees adjacent with what had been Danny's pedestal. He just wanted to be able to put his hands on Jordan before anyone else could.

Roman approached Jesse at the mouth, the white of his eyes contrasting with the carnage of blood and human pieces clinging to his person. "Cornucopia belongs to the careers." He wasn't afraid, death was a natural part of things. If it happened oh well, Bane could take care of himself. If not, they were set for the games.
"Fuck you mother fucker!" Finn appeared from behind Jesse, trident poised to throw. "Im a career, you get the fuck out of dodge!" He hadn't even finished speaking before the trident had left his hand, spiraling at Roman's chest. Roman moved to block with his machete, but the momentum of the trident was too much for the blade, snapping it and finishing its drive. The impact of the machete had thrown the trident off course though, earning Roman only a gash in his shoulder. The boy responded by letting his spear fly, done with trying to reason with them.

Jordan did set Danny on the ground now.
"Zach is fine, he's got supplies. They're safe now." He let out a breath of relief, leaning out from behind the cover of the trees to get the attention of his lover. "Over here!" He called.

"You won't be looking at me like that when you're starving and I can feed you." Zach spoke simply to Chandler at seeing the boy's look of disgust before noticing Jordan. "Come on." He muttered, approaching the trees where Jordan signaled to them.

Jesse let out a growl, sounding like an animal as he dodged Roman's spear, wielding his ax threateningly. Bane came barreling in just in time, shooting a bow directly into Jesse's bicep. Jesse shouted in pain, swinging his ax, but missing as the small boy ducked down. Jesse took Finn by the arm and ran from the cornucopia. The Careers had won this time. But he would be back.

Chandler had began a jog, anxious to be with Jordan again. Breaking through the trees he barreled into the boy, arms tightly wrapping him in an embrace. "Having the fucking time of your life?"
Danny heaved a sigh of relief as he heard Chandler's voice, grateful it hadnt been a career.
"Is Zach with you? " The blind boy picked his head up, listening closed to distinguish Zach's foot steps.

"Damnit." Roman cursed at Jesse's retreating form, glancing down at his shoulder. "I shouldn't have missed." At his point, he may actually enjoy seeing Finn and Jesse's death. "Thanks, Bane." He did appreciate having the boy around, he was small and skilled. Bane could do things Roman could not because of stature. The boy began picking through the cornucopia, separating food and weapons. It seemed they had enough of everything, especially knives. Twirling one of the blades in his hand, Roman thought of Zach, wondering if the boy had made it out okay. He hadnt seen him in the carnage surrounding the blood bath, but nothing promised he wasnt laying in the forest dead somewhere.

Finn held on tightly to Jesse as they moved through the brush, his eyes catching the arrow protruding from the lumber jacks arm. "Damn forest fucker, did you fucking get hit?" Finn had been able to grab up other bags, not knowing what was in them, but knowing whatever it was would come in handy. All in all he managed five bags that felt like they contained food or light gear, but he had also managed to snag a spare trident before being carried off. "You need to find a fucking spot to sit your ass down!" He despised that they had lost the cornucopia, but they would be back, and until then they were fine. Those fuckers would get what was coming to them.

Jordan let out a soft noise that sounded like a sob as he pressed Chandler close to him. The reality of their situation had just set in for him...
"Don't leave me like that." He murmured softly, pressing his face into Chandler's neck and inhaling deeply.
"I'm here." Zach nodded, patting Danny's shoulder gently. "I've got some weapons and whatever's in this bag, I haven't had the chance to look yet. We've got to keep moving and find a better hiding place then. I've got us some food whenever you get hungry." He added this last part as an afterthought, planning on telling Danny it was an animal he'd caught if he asked since the boy couldn't see it to know any better.

Bane nodded at his partner as he helped him organize their supplies. The ax boy had pissed him off, but at least he'd got one shot in. At this point, Carter, their fellow career from District 1 stepped into the cornucopia, sprayed with blood, his long black hair damp with the substance.
"Fucker with the ax got Tyler." The man spat out. Tyler had been the other tribute from District 1 who's body was lying in pieces just at the entrance to the cornucopia. This wasn't good, they were down in numbers already.
Bane cursed softly. Jesse and Finn were first to go, he had decided.

"Just keep going." Jesse muttered at Finn as they made their way through the forest. The ax he held was getting quite tedious to carry with his arms aching. Finn was right, he needed to find a spot to sit down and get this damned arrow out of his arm. He made sure they were deep into the forest before picking out a small clearing to sit their things down in. He sat down himself, roughly tearing the arrow out of his flesh, cursing softly in pain. "There better be some kind of bandages in one of those bags you've got."

"Don't worry tenderfoot, im fine, and im here."  He tried to keep Jordan coddled to his left, afraid the bloody gash in his arm would further alarm the boy.  "But you gotta pull it together okay?  If not Zach's going to turn us all into cannibals and I'd rather eat rabbit, you know? "  He chuckled softly, as though the situation was humorous.
"How did you manage to find food so quickly?  Danny blinked up at him, blind eyes a pale blue.  "Wow...I'm really lucky to have you."

"Tyler shouldn't have gotten himself killed.  Its his own fault."  Roman snapped in irritation.  It hadnt even been an entire day and he was wounded, one of there team members rotting on the ground. "Lets gather out stuff and go set up camp.  They wont come get the bodies until we're gone."  Roman began lifting the weapons, carrying them to the edge of the lake that sat to their left. The sooner camp was made, the sooner they could make a game plan.

"Just fucking be happy I got the damned bags."  Finnick flopped down in the grass beside Jesse, setting his bags out to be sorted.  "All you fucking got was weapons, we cant eat that shit!"  In three of the bags he found food, bags of fruit and dried beef, bread rolls and a canteen of water. In the other two he found matches, a rain coat, a compass, and lucky for Jesse the last thing Finn pulled from the bag was a first aid kit. "Alfuckingright, at least we got something going for us."  The boy popped the lid, unfurling a bandage for Jesse's arm.  "Come the fuck here!"  Finn was still the one who moved though, taking a canteen of water to cleanse the wound  before wrapping it up tightly. "I'll take first watch if you want to fucking rest. Everyone will still be shitting themselves from the blood bath, plus I have a trident so we're fucking fine." He leaned against a tree, tilting his head back with a groan.

Jordan stood upright, taking a calming breath and nodding his head. Chandler was right, now was not the time to be a baby about things. He looked to see what Chandler meant about Zach and had wide eyes at the dead tribute lying there by Zach's feet.
"Oh." He blinked and Zach merely raised a finger to his lips at the two of them before pointing at Danny. What the boy did not know wouldn't hurt him.
"Someone missed who they were aiming at and got this deer instead. I picked it up on my way back. I'll have to find somewhere to set up fire and cook it first but then you can eat." Zach spoke to Danny. "Let's go see if there's a cave or anything nearby. We're pretty close to the edge of the forest, not safely hidden." He picked up his things again, knowing he'd have to hurry and get the meat off of this boy's bones before the hovercraft came for the bodies.

Carter appeared slightly irritated at Roman's attitude, but he and Bane carried the rest of their supplies over to the lake without a fight. Soon, they were all set up and Bane took a seat beside the piles of food.
"Looks like everyone else went for the forest." He noted. The rest of the living tributes had gone to hide in the cover of the trees. He was pleased that they were the threat everyone was trying to avoid. They had no need to hide.

"How do I know you're not going to stab me with that trident while I'm out." Jesse smirked, eyeing his bandaged wound. "Thanks, though." He nodded, leaning against the same tree as Finn, debating if he should take that rest or not. He would need a lot of energy for later...

Chandler shook his head, picking up the bags so Danny and Jordan wouldn't have to carry anything. "So are you okay Tenderfoot? Really?" He himself was still slightly shaken after the blood bath.

" Yeah, but it doesn't look like they got much. They'll have to come out here eventually. If not," Roman glanced out to the forest. "We can have a hunt."

"You fucking don't. " Finn shot Jesse a sidelong glance, quoting what Jesse had said to him on the first day. "But you're just gonna have to fucking trust me, because lets fucking face it, we'll need eachother. " Finn trailed off, reaching for his trident at the sound of movement to his right. Moments latter, a mop of read hair appeared through the brush. "Hey, don't shoot at me or anything! Im Elvis yeah." A pause as the boy tried to think of a reason they would befriend him. "Im from 3, technology and stuff, yeah. I can pull my own weight. Just dont shoot, yeah."

"I'm good." Jordan nodded. "Just got worried about you." He looked to his lover, for the first time noticing the gash in his arm. He gasped. "Are you okay? Who got you?" He reached out to gently touch the man's arm.

"Sounds fun." Bane smirked, busying himself with sharpening some of the knives in their pile since he had nothing better to do. This seemed like it would be easy. He could already see himself winning, returning him, all the glory...

Jesse's eyes had just slipped up when the redhead entered their clearing. He sat upright, gesturing for Finn not to hurt the kid yet. He remembered seeing the boy's training score. A seven, which was pretty impressive.
"What else are you good at, kid?" Jesse grunted at him. "Not much technology out here." If the boy was useful, they could keep him. Maybe he'd be good at hunting or something, he and Finn weren't much good at that.

Chandler glanced down at his arm, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to recall what happened exactly. Getting hit had only set the reality of everything in stone, all Chandler had wanted wass to get the hell out of there. "I think it was Finn, from district 4. The district 2 guy was right beside me, and I saw him duck. I guess Finnick was after him but fucking got me." Now Chandler found himself wondering how that little mother fucker had the confidence to attack one of the largest tributes out there. "It doesnt hurt though, im fine."

Roman pushed himself up, taking a spear in hand. "Well then, lets have some fun now. No one will expect us to be on the prowl this early." The sooner they ended this, the better.

"What the fuck are you thinking? We dont fucking need anyone else to damn worry about!" Finnick snapped at Jesse, knuckles white with the tight hold he had on his trident.
"Oh shit." Elvis whispered under his breath, not sure if this had been a good idea after all.
"I can uh, Im really good with snares to trap food,yeah. And I know all the stuff thats bad to eat. I uh...I know how to find shelter, yeah...I..."
Finnick was shaking his head furiously, a string of curses leaving him. "Lets just fucking kill him, you splinter dick! Get your fucking head out of your ass! For one of us to live, he fucking has to die."

Jordan eyed the wound apprehensively as finally Zach decided that a small cave they found would be good shelter. They set up camp inside and dumped out the bags Zach had grabbed. Jordan went through them, hoping he'd find a first aid kit or something. He sighed in relief as he pulled out a water bottle, cleaning Chandler's wound before bandaging it tightly.
"Don't go off without me, alright?" Jordan murmured. "You can't leave me yet."

Bane grinned and grabbed his bow and bundle of arrows.
"I'm always up for a hunt." He nodded, ordering Carter to stay back and keep guard over their food and supplies.

"Well what's the difference if he dies now or if he dies in a few days when he's captured us some animals to eat or some shit?" Jesse shoved Finn gently in the arm. "He could be pretty useful."

"Hey, im here to keep an eye on you, remember? If im going anywhere its only for a little while, and only to keep us safe." Chandler gave his lover an appreciative smile, gently prodding at his arm. It was strange to think another kid had done that. "Anyways, I need to go try and find us something to eat, something tells me i'll only be sick if we go with Zach's dinner plans." Chandler spat at the thought of eating another human being. "Zach, can you and Danny stay here while we go look around?"

Roman carried his spears hoisted over one shoulder, a newly found machete in his other hand. "Okay, so I think I saw some of them him hit the tree line in the direction." Roman pointed over to their right. "But I think axe boy and the 4 kid went in the other direction." It would be better to take Jesse out now, while he was injured.

"And he could get us fucking killed!" Finn shot back, glaring back at the green eyes he could see peering at them through the bushes. "But what the fuck ever. I'll just fucking get the hell out. You can save yourself and that fuck head." Finn hadn't wanted any allies to being with, but he kind of liked Jesse, the guy was good company.
But still, not worth dying over.
"I have some antiseptic too, and some nuts and berries too eat for now, yeah. Plus I got some wire for snares." Elvis slowly stepped from his cover of bushes, convinced he was safe for now.

Zach rolled his eyes.
"I can, but it'd be much simpler if you just eat the food I brought." It was nothing new to him. And they were all going to be murdering each other, anyways, why not get a decent meal out of it?

"We'll go that way." Bane pointed towards their right, the tree line. He wanted to be extremely well rested to take on ax boy. He wanted to really give it to those two. He headed off in the direction of the trees Roman had pointed to, bow and arrow at the ready.

"Finn, calm your ass down." Jesse nudged the boy. "He's harmless. And if he puts us in danger I'll let you kill him with your damn trident." He gestured for Elvis to come and sit down, watching him closely.

Chandler scowled at Zach, looking back at the dead tribute with disgust. "I'd like to keep a little of my damn humanity thank you. I might have to kill, but im not going to fucking eat them." It was enough to have to see death, but to consume one of the people he had trained with? Fuck it.
Danny blinked at them, slowly crawling backwards. "What do you guys mean? Oh wow, shit, what are you talking about?" There is no way they were talking about eating another human being....Right?
"Hey, Zach? What's he mean?"

"Alright, that way it is." Roman followed Bane towards the tree line, trying to be as quiet as possible as not to give them away. Honestly he hoped that Zach wasn't there anymore, but he chided himself for it. Zach was going to die in these games, everyone was going to die. And besides, why should Roman care?

Elvis plopped down across from Jesse, offering up a nervous smile. "Like I said, I have this antiseptic stuff here, yeah." The boy pulled a bag from his shoulders, slinging the flap open and pouring the contents out. "Besides that I have my wire," He placed it off to the side. "And these nuts and berries." He was still moving things around, looking for anything else that could be useful. "I have a mesh net too, yeah." As he held the net up, Finn snatched it from him. "Fuck yes! I can work with this shit!" He was already moving, pulling the net with him as he went. At a large tree to their left, he strung the net up, rigging it to catch anything that stepped in its radius. "Well," Finn stepped back, looking up at his handy work. "Thats a fucking start." The red head still wasnt worth it, though.