I woke up bright and early the next day, a habit ingrained since childhood. I walk around to explore the train and when I am done basking in the sickening level of grandeur I sit in a plush chair in the dining cabin.
It doesn't take long before I see an Avox walk in and deliver a few plates of pastries and meats as well as pitchers of juice and water.
"Thank you. Would it be possible for me to get a plate of eggs? I'd like to get some more protein while I can. However the chef prefers to make it is fine." I ask him.
The Avox gives me a look of mild surprise before nodding and walking out. After I make a plate of sausage and 2 croissants he comes back with a plate of eggs over easy on a bed of what looked to be some sort of friend rice.
"Thank you very much." I say as I take the plate. I sit there with the only sound being the low rumble of the bullet train as I enjoy my breakfast. When I am about to eat my second serving of eggs and rice, Effie walks into the room with an obviously hungover Haymitch.
"Oh good you're up. Already starting breakfast I see? It's good you have an appetite. It must be such a new experience trying tasty food from the Capitol!" She says in her usual tone-deaf yet somehow sincere and well-meaning way.
"Good morning Effie, Haymitch." I say.
Haymitch just grunts in response as he sits at the table across from me while making a plate. The clank of silverware fills the room until I break the silence with a question towards Haymitch.
"How would you start a fire without alerting anyone?"
He stops grabbing food for a beat before continuing while replying "You don't."
"Come on man, you've got to at least try and mentor us." I say in exasperation.
"Listen kid, I've been doing this for a long time now. No matter what I say, or how I say it, it won't make a difference. I told you before, you should embrace the probability that you're going to die in a week."
Effie gasps in shock and scolds Haymitch for saying such a thing but he just shrugs it off.
I stare at him for a moment. He's a bit more apathetic than he was in the movie but it might have been because Peeta somehow convinced him to start being helpful his first night on the train. Should I tell him my intentions for the games? I don't see the harm in it. I would prefer for it to be a private conversation but it doesn't really matter. I'll be saying something similar live in front of the Capitol in the interview.
"Even if we work together? Katniss and I? You knew about me being Greg's apprentice, you should know about our… friendship."
"Doesn't matter. Yeah you might be capable enough to survive the bloodbath, but all alliances fail in the end. When it comes down to it, it all falls apart." He says with full seriousness for the first time.
"Even if I said I'd do everything in my power to help her? To help her come home?" I say quietly, staring into his eyes.
"And why would you make a promise like that?" He asks in amusement, like he couldn't wait to hear the answer.
"Because I love her." I say. What neither I nor the other 2 people in the room realized was that Katniss had just cracked open the door to the cabin and heard the tail end of my sentence. She froze at the door, waiting for us to finish our brief conversation.
That seems to throw Haymitch for a loop because his eyes widen and he stops chewing his food. After processing that for a few seconds he swallows, wipes his mouth and stares at me for around 10 seconds. He must have seen what he was looking for because when he picked up his fork and returned his attention to his plate he said "Dry twigs."
"What?" I ask.
"Dry twigs. A small fire with dry twigs the size of a pencil will make a good fire without any smoke. You have to constantly feed it but it's a good way to mask your location." He clarifies.
Katniss chooses this moment to walk in and inquires what we're talking about.
"How to make a smokeless fire. He says dry twigs the size of pencils." I respond with a smile.
She blushes a bit when she looks at me and looks away quickly. Distracting herself with all the food now present on the table.
"Smoke isn't the only way people find you with a fire. The smell is just as noticeable and that's not something you can hide away. Only make a fire if you are in a secure location or you don't intend on sticking around. Still, nothing I say will help you survive." He says.
"Then what are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to survive in the arena?" Asks Katniss with a hint of desperation and some restrained anger.
"Pass me that jam." He says.
"How are we supposed to survive?" She asks again. This time more like a demand.
"Give me a chance to wake up sweetheart. This mentoring thing can be… challenging. Now, can you pass the marmalade?"
He reaches forward still and Katniss chooses that moment to stab her knife between his fingers straight into the table.
Effie gasps in outrage and yells "That is mahogany!"
Haymitch drops his silverware in annoyance. "You want to know how to survive? You need people to like you." He says. As he does, Katniss' face changes from annoyed to baffled very subtly.
Oh, not what you were expecting hun? When you're starving, or freezing, or dying of thirst, a little something from a sympathetic sponsor can mean the difference between life and death. And to get sponsors… people have to like you. Something you both seem to have issues with. Pretty boy might have a better shot. You? Well…" He gestures to with his knife and shrugs his shoulders.
It is that moment I see a glint from something outside and we pass through a tunnel. Haymitch tenses involuntarily before forcing himself to relax.
"And so it begins." I can hear him mutter.
I stand up to the window and gaze out to see the sprawling city that looks slightly alien to my 21st century mind. The metals are all made of a shining metal and everything looks uniform, broken up by the occasional building with extravagant curves and bends. "Woah." I let out without even knowing.
"Kat, you gotta come check this out." I offer my hand to where she's sitting before turning my attention back to the strange sight.
There is a pause before I feel her take my hand and we soon see hundreds if not thousands of Capitolites surrounding the train station, waiting to catch a glimpse of us when we get off.
"Smile and wave. They have to like us, remember?" I mutter to her as I raise my hand not holding hers up to wave at the people only now seeing us that the train is decelerating. I put on my best likeable, roguish grin as I wave to the screaming people and I feel Katniss stiffly raise her other hand to do the same.
When they see use both standing together and waving at them we get a large cheer in celebration and throngs of people attempt to move closer to our arrival point.
===
When it's time to disembark we are greeted by a team of stylists each. What proceeded was the most degrading experience of my life. They started with stripping me naked and spraying me down with numerous foamy soaps and gels. I could feel my body burning from the chemicals in the soaps but I was told that meant it was 'working overtime to clean years of grime off my skin.' I almost throttled the puny shit but then I felt someone apply wax to my chest and my rage was then quickly focussed on the asshole that damn near ripped my heart out along with my chest hair.
'I'm 16 you fucker! I just started growing that!'
When they were about to start shaving off the stubble on my face, I heard a strong "Leave it like that." From a place I couldn't see.
With that, my humiliating experience came to a close. They had cut my hair, nearly gave my skin chemical burns, and shaved me to look like a prepubescent boy again. Thankfully they didn't touch the arm or leg hair. It's gonna be a bitch when the armpit hair starts growing back though. So fucking itchy. I have to thank whoever it was that saved my glorious stubble. It's not much but I'm damn proud of it. I never could grow a real beard in my last life and in this one, I fully intend to grow one.
When I get shoved into a sterile white room I sit down and fiddle with the leaf pendant around my neck. It's a relatively heavy chunk of steel but once I put it on, it felt like it belonged there. I was worried they would confiscate it because it could technically be used as a fire starter. Hopefully they won't notice, like what occurred when Haymitch did something similar.
That's when the door opens and in walks an exquisitely dressed woman with darker skin and a large, pale blonde head of hair. Unlike most of the residents of the Capitol I have had the displeasure of seeing, her style isn't loud in color and clashing with everything. Instead, she wears a nice flowy black top with matching bottoms with pretty large heeled boots of the same color. She wears a few items of jewelry on her rings and neck and she has a unique style of makeup around her eyes but it all somehow goes together.
I'm broken out of my thoughts when she gently approaches me. "Hello, my name is Portia." She says with a smooth and calm voice.
"Liam." I say.
"I'm sorry this happened to you. It's probably been a jarring few days. I'm here to help you in any way you need." She says with sympathy and a small smile.
I raise my eyebrow. This is nearly the same introduction Cinna gives to Katniss. Did they rehearse their lines together? It was always theorized that Portia was Cinna's ally in the rebellion but there was never any confirmation. It does make sense for her to be allied with him since she did help design the iconic 'Girl on Fire' look. Hopefully this time it'll be more than just the girl on fire though.
"Most people congratulate me when I meet them." I say in a slightly cheeky tone.
Her smile grows and she gives the faintest nod, one I probably wouldn't notice if I didn't have the reaction speed of a cracked out Spider-Man.
"Well I don't really enjoy congratulating kids going off to fight to the death." She says with no lighthearted tone.
"Anyways, tonight is the Tribute Parade where we show you off to the world. A chance to catch the eyes of some influential and potentially helpful people." She says, getting back to business.
"So, how are we making coal miners sexy this year?" I say with sarcasm but also a smile so she knows I'm not being a brat about it.
"Haha… no we're going to be going a different route this time. Coal miner outfits are done and dusted, if you forgive the pun, Cinna and I intend on showcasing a… different aspect related to your home. Something that will make an impression. Something they'll remember."
I snort at her pun and then say "And what would that be?"
"Coal."
"...you're not gonna light our chariot on fire are you?" I ask, playing up my shock to amuse her.
"Hahaha, no not that. Ha, I don't think you'll have a hard time getting sponsors." She says, looking at me with a more analytical gaze than she did before.
===
I was dressed up in an all black outfit, with black etching giving the outfit a somewhat future-medieval vibe to it. It had gemstones that looked to resemble scales along the arms and legs and the collar was raised to give off a somewhat noble look.
When I left my room to meet up with Katniss at our chariot, I could see her in the same outfit. Her collar was more flared and her hair was styled in intricate braids.
She looked stunning,
When we came together, I took her hands and whispered "You look beautiful."
Her icy demeanour thawed a little, and she blushed as she muttered back "You look handsome as well."
Cinna takes the moment to gently join the conversation and starts explaining how the first works. As he does he keeps looking between us, searching for something.
"So it's not actually fire?" I ask, honestly curious about it. I had never seen such a thing that behaved exactly like fire but wasn't fire.
"Nope, completely harmless." He says with confidence.
I take the moment to gaze around at the other tributes. I can see the Careers from Districts 1 (Marvel and Glimmer) and 2 (Cato and Clove) chatting together, already planning an alliance.
I also see the male tribute from district 5 and both from 6 having a discussion while the girl from 5, who I remember is referred to as Foxface, is standing alone on the other side of their chariot, waiting for it to start.
Then my eyes land on the tributes right in front of us. District 11's Thresh and Rue. They are dressed in overalls to signify their District's agriculture, and I can see Rue standing close to Thresh the entire time. When I look up I see Thresh eyeing me with wariness. Probably spooked that someone was staring at them. I just give him a solemn nod, not one of posturing but just acknowledgment and neutrality. He seems to get what I mean as his eyes lose some of the suspicion and he gives me a nod in return.
Eventually the parade starts and District 1 heads through the giant door to the hall. Katniss and I take our places on the chariot as Cinna and Portia both step forward with their 'matches'.
"Don't be afraid." They both say.
This time, it is Katniss that reaches for my hands and says "We're not afraid." I can feel my stomach doing backflips as she does so.
I unknowingly have the dumbest schoolboy smile on my face and Cinna and Portia exchange looks of amusement but also silent communication. Like they just discovered something important.
As District 6 leaves for the door our chariot starts to move. Eventually, when the announcer calls for District 11, I glance over to Katniss and say "From this moment on, we do this together" as I squeeze her hand.
She does the same to me and replies "Together."
When our District 12 is called we roll past the large gates and immediately hear gasps around the crowd. That follows with an applause that absolutely dwarfs what the earlier districts received. When we get approximately halfway to the President's podium, I look over at Katniss and say "Let's give them a show" as I raise our interconnected hands into the sky.
The crowd goes wild once more as we start smiling and waving to them. Some even start to throw roses at our chariot, something typically only reserved for Districts 1 and 2. I pluck a red rose out of the air and exaggeratedly present it to Katniss. There were 'awes' and 'oos' all around us as the crowd started cheering in approval.
When we stop moving, arriving at our section, I get my first glimpse of the human shart that is President Snow. He is gazing at us like we just told him he couldn't kill any more puppies. There was an intensity that felt disturbing.
"Welcome tributes! We welcome you and we salute your courage and your sacrifice." he says gazing right at our chariot. More specifically right at Katniss.
"We in the Capitol wish you a Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor." He finishes his speech with a line I've heard repeated dozens if not hundreds of times in my life and yet somehow, it gives me chills when I hear it now from his mouth.
===
As all the tributes' chariots are escorted to the stables for the horses, we meet back up with Haymitch, Effie, Cinna, and Portia.
"That. Was. Fantastic" Cinna says with a wide smile as he approaches us.
Effie is already going on about how everyone is talking about us and wanting to know more. We mingle with our team, until Haymitch tenses and we turn to see the Careers from 1 studying us intently. Haymitch takes control of the situation and tries to get us walking to the elevator to our rooms. Tomorrow is the first day of training. One of the more important days until the Game begins.
As we make our way over to the lift, we pass Thresh and Rue. When we get into hearing distance, I hum the 4 note mockingjay song. "Hmm, Hm, Hmm, Hmmmm."
They both look up when they hear the familiar song popular in their home but only see our retreating backs as we step inside the glass lift.
//
A/N: A lot of the dialogue is straight from the movie. Some may hate that and I totally get it.
I'm trying to not just stick to the source material, making this a clone of the movie but with a different guy this time, I just really liked the dialogue in the original.
Particularly anytime Haymitch speaks lmao.
I felt like they really got the essence of the characters of Haymitch and Cinna across quickly and efficiently in only a few lines so I used them/reappropriated them. Let me know if you think I should avoid such in the future.
Thanks again for reading! I hope you're enjoying it!
//
P.S: Image of MC is in the comments for this chapter as well as chapter 1. Image is of him at 16.