Favor of the odds

"No. We'll be together. We fucking will." Chandlers hold on Jordan was desperate. "I can be sad, because we're going to have plenty of time to be happy. Just...im still working it the hell out." He couldn't let harm come to the boy, wouldn't forgive himself if he did. But what would Jordan do all alone in the seam? Life was hard enough already. "Trust me "

"No, listen to me." Jordan murmured. "In the games, we won't have time to be happy, we'll be too busy fighting for our lives. So in these couple weeks of training, I'm going to be happy and you are too, got it?" He took Chandler's face in his hands and kissed him deeply.

Chandler groaned his unrest into the kiss but otherwise he let it go. Training would being tomorrow, there would be interviews in between, this really was all the time they had.
Soon trainers began coming and going, taking their respective tributes off to there quarters.

In the days that followed, training had begun. Jordan was not bad with weapons and he was excellent in knowing which plants would be edible and which were not, but overall, the large room quite intimidated him.
Some of the other tributes seemed so... comfortable with the weapons. Like Zach, for example, wielding around knives like he'd been doing it his whole life.

Chandler had taken to a bow and arrow for the most part, but he also found himself frequenting the snares. It was a good place to survey competition without it being obvious. He noticed the large guy from 2 that Zach had been looking at. Chandler cursed as he watched how easily the boy picked up heavy equipment, confident enough in his power to even offer others help. What was this guy playing at? He hadn't really bothered to show off any of what Chandler was sure he could do. His movements were too precise for him to be anything but skilled. And then there was that tiny kid from 4 who Chandler had originally thought was all bark and no bite. The kid wielded a trident like it was an extension of himself. It almost made him feel hopeless, watching these people who had trained their entire lives for this. But his little group wasn't as bad off as others, even though they were stuck with the blind kid. Chandler scanned around for Danny, finding him feeling around the walls of the room. He seemed to be focusing, but on what Chandler didnt know.

Jesse Luno had never felt more utterly alone in his life. The other tribute from his district had barely been speaking to him, and he hadn't done so much as introduce himself to any other tributes. He would be on his own but he knew he'd just have to deal with it.
He didn't mind keeping to himself, but he wanted the others to know he was a threat. His district's main business was lumber. He had worked in forests all his life, chopping down trees. The axes in the corner for practicing were untouched so far. Jesse didn't believe anyone else was big enough to even lift them other than the one from district 2. But they were like an old friend to him, the most familiar thing in the room. He approached them and picked up the largest with ease, barely looking before throwing it and lodging it directly in the heart of the wooden target across the room.
That should suffice for showing them that he was a force to be reckoned with.

Seconds after the axe had embedded itself into the target, a long trident followed, lodging only an inch to the axe's right.
"I can do that too." The district 4 boy appeared beside Jesse, grunting a hello. "Infact, I can fucking do better. Can you? "

Jesse smirked down at the boy, honestly quite impressed with the way he'd handled the trident.
"That axe is about twice your size, kid." He teased. "But the trident throw was impressive, I'll give you that." He nodded.

"Pffft, being small gives me a damn advantage! There's less of me to hit with your fucking axe's!" Finn knew better than to even try and lift one, but it didn't phase him. He was going to win, and go home to his little brother who needed him. Infact, his brother was his reason for being here. Initially they had called Mathias in the reapings, but Finn volunteered, and so Finn is what they got. "Anyfuckingways, im Finnick Holloway, district damn 4, soon to be winner of the mother fucking third quarter quell." He spoke while stalking to the target, pausing to firmly plant his feet before yanking the trident free. "Just so you fucking know." Malicious words, but Finn's smirk betrayed them. So this big wood chopping mother fucker wasn't so bad, he thought, maybe he could bare an alliance afterall.

"Jesse Luno." Jesse chuckled as he eyed the boy closely. "District 7. And I hate to break it to you, but I plan on being this year's victor." He had no real reason he was fighting for other than the fact that he was not ready to die yet. "Have you talked to anyone else around here yet?" It would help to know the competition, he supposed.

"Fuck no. I have no reason to waste my fucking time with them, well, except in the arena." Finn glanced back out to the other tributes. "I especially want to see that mother fucking blind bitch go! And those damn love birds, what some stupid mother fuckers, they deserve this shit, they'll both die here." Finn had no pity, no compassion. All he cared about was getting home. "And the other fucking careers need to go too. That fucking big bitch and his cocky ass side kick could be a problem. The sooner they go, the fucking better."

"What do you say to working together?" Jesse murmured, his voice low as if someone could be listening. "I'm the biggest one here, I'd be a good shield for you. And you could definitely come in handy for me too." It would be useful, having at least one ally. Plus, the boy was entertaining and... well, he wasn't bad looking, that was for sure.

"Hah!" Finn shook his head, snickering still. "Yeah, we can work together, and you can be a fucking shield until you axe me in my fucking back one night while im asleep." Honestly he hated to turn it down, having an extra pair of arms would be nice, especially strong arms like Jesse's. "How the fuck do I know you wont fuck me over? " there was no way of knowing that, no way Finn could let his guard down around this brute of a boy. "Do I fucking look stupid? " the boy nudged Jesse's chest with the butt of his trident.

"You don't know I won't fuck you over, but you're just going to have to trust me." Jesse grinned slyly. "Because let's face it, neither of us stand a chance alone. So I say we work together until we're the last two standing. Then we can fight it out."

Finn swore at the man, lip curling with the realization that Jesse was right, too much competition for one person to survive on there own. But at least this is Jesse, he is the only other tribute Finn had cared to introduce himself too, the only one toying with the axe's, and as a plus Jesse is the most attractive person Finn had ever seen. All of that had to count for something, right? "Fuck you and your fucking valid ass point. You have a damn deal." The boy rotated the trident in his hand, using its tip to point at Jesse's throat. "But dont fucking let me catch you slipping on me, forest fucker."

"Forest fucker, I like it." Jesse snickered softly, snatching the trident from the boy's grip. "Same to you, though. No turning on me. We've got to be able to trust each other if this is going to work." He could think of a very nice way for them to get to know each other quite well...
He shook the thoughts out of his head, aware that there was training to be done. Hopefully there would be time for other activities later.

"Why would I take my fucking shield out if he's doing his job?" Finn reached for his weapon, and upon being unable to reach it, decided to scale Jesse's torso. He plucked the trident from the mans hand, giving a defiant smirk before hopping down and disappearing to another part of the training room.
Danny groaned inwardly, having listened in on the conversation. How could they compete with those two on a team? It could only be worse if the district 2 team joined them.

Jesse grinned, shaking his head as he watched the boy walk away before heading off to learn about the different types of plants and berries that could be eaten. It was an area he was weak in and figured he'd better learn.
Zach approached Danny, watching him before speaking up.
"Eavesdropping?" He questioned. "What were they saying?"

"Uh, they say that they are teaming up. I think it was the big guy from 7 and the mean one from 4. " Danny was better today, not as nervous about what was happening. "The one sounded a little aroused, kinda happy. And the mean one. ..well, thats the nicest he's been since getting here. They're gonna be a problem. "

Zach nodded his head.
"They are." He agreed. "We'll try and take them out as soon as possible. Come on." He took Danny's hand, leading him over to where Chandler and Jordan were testing out various weapons. "Have you guys gotten the hang of anything so far?" He questioned.

"If nothing else I can swing machete and I know how to set snares as traps. Thats about it as of right fucking now." Chandler sat back on his hands, his attention on Zach. "What about you? What can you and Danny do to show for today?"
Danny rubbed the back of his neck in embarrasment. "Oh wow...well I know what everyone sounds like now, and I know what ive heard...plus I know movement...." Still nothing that he could defend himself with.

"I can use just about everything in this room, I'm not worried about myself." Zach nodded, looking to Danny. "We'll find you something to use. Jordan?"
"I spend a lot of time out in the woods, so I've got a pretty good handle on all the plants and whatnot." He nodded. "And I'm not bad with spears, I guess." He and Chandler had to hunt for most of their food back in District 12.

"But team 2 can fucking do better, the big lumber jack guy and the kid from 4? They seem pretty fucking well equipped. So we need to get a damn game plan going." Chandler fell back with a groan, eyes closed tight in frustration. There was a moment of silence before Chandler bolted upright, eyes wide on Zach. "The big boy from 2 likes you. Maybe we can work with that!"

"Wha-?" Zach stammered, cheeks turning scarlet. "He does not!" He shook his head furiously. "We've got a fine enough game plan. Just keep practicing."

"No we fucking don't! We have a blind kid to carry and I fucking have a lot at stake here! " Chandler's hand grasped for Jordan's. "Just go talk to him, shit. It wont fucking hurt you! Maybe he'll let something vital slip."