Thalia Cronin's Story

Upon hearing her name being called, the slim teenager stepped forward to loud clapping and cheers. She walked confidently up the center aisle to the stage with the beginning of a smile pulling at her lips. She walked at a good pace, not too fast nor too slow, as she gracefully made her way up the stairs to stand to the left of the speaker of her District. She tilted her head to watch as he moved to the other bowl, containing the name of the male Tribute; Hadrian's counterpart as well as one of her twenty-three opponents. She watched as he moved back to the microphone and parted his lips to speak, the paper with a single name on it in his hands.



The male that stepped forward appeared to be Hadrian's own age. He seemed rather indifferent to being chosen as the male tribute, Hadrian noted as he made his way to the stage. Hadrian kept her gaze forward and JiYong quickly disappeared from her line of sight as he took his place on stage.

The speaker announced them as the District 1 tributes and congratulated them as the crowd went wild, howling and cheering with excitement. Hadrian took one last look at the people in her District, flashing a small smile toward them, before turning and allowing herself to be taken away. This was the time she would have to say goodbye to family and close friends before the tributes left for the Capitol and, eventually, the Hunger Games.

Hadrian soon found herself in a room that reminded her of her mother's parlour, the decorative room where Hadrian and her mother would have long chats together over a cup of tea. She smiled at this fond memory as she stepped lightly over to a comfortable looking high-backed chair where she sat down, inhaling deeply as she prepared to see her family. Mere minutes later, the tall frame of her father stepped through the door, quickly followed by her mother who held Hadrian's young brother in her arms. Thus began a chorus of "We're so proud of you's" and "Do your best". Her parents didn't seem to care that their daughter would most likely get killed and this bothered Hadrian, though she hid it well. She exchanged embraces with her family, kissing her brother's forehead lightly, before it was announced that they had to leave.

" Make us proud," was the last thing Hadrian heard her father say before the large doors closed behind them. Letting out a breath, the seventeen year old mumbled to herself, " I'll try my best to make you proud, Papa."

---

Thalia stood completely still, much like the rest of the people in District 3, as she waited for the man on the stage to announce the female tribute. The anxious butterflies in her stomach kept fluttering about, seemingly becoming worse as the wait grew longer. The man walked over to the bowl and withdrew the name that would change her life forever. Her own.



The thirteen year old couldn't move for a minute, her eyes wide in shock as her worst fear came true. She had been chosen as a tribute. Everyone was dead silent as the girl slowly stepped forward, her footsteps hesitant at first before her steps became more natural. Thalia made no sound as she walked and took her place on the stage. A man yelled something nasty at the speaker about her being too young and was taken away by the peacekeepers immediately, the girl barely giving him a glance - not wanting to see who it was or if she knew him.

She never heard the male tribute's name being called as the only thought going through her mind was, " I'm going to die." She was quickly escorted to a room where Thalia had to say a quick farewell to her mother, father and grandmother. The words exchanged were very heartfelt and tears were shed by all but, in the end, the little girl from District 3 was left alone. Alone to face her fate.

Hadrian sighed as she found her way to the Training Center, not overly excited to 'learn' most of the things she had already learned back in District 1. She quickly decided to learn more about edible plants because there was a chance she may not get real food for a while. The slender teen spent an hour at that station before moving on to another; climbing. She spent an hour at each of the stations she didn't think she excelled in so she'd have the experience to aid her in the area. One after another, they continued. She saved archery, knives, and hand-to-hand combat for last but didn't do her absolute best in the training.

Finally, pleased with her day, Hadrian decided to leave off there and returned to the floor she was designated to for her District; 1.



When it came time for the judging by the Gamemakers, the pale teenage girl from District 1 was chosen to enter first. The order of performance went in order of District which pleased her as she stepped into the large area, wearing the standard training outfit all Tributes had to wear. With the exception of her District number on the arm, all wore identical outfits.. Usually.

Hadrian was showing her skills with her knife, hitting the target with deadly precision every time. Lucky for the mannequin that it wasn't alive. She kept her expression calm as she did so, hiding her annoyance when she was finally dismissed.

---

The small blonde girl had trained to the extent that she felt just that much more confident in her earlier thoughts on her entry into the Games. She hadn't done so well with any of the weapons, they were all so heavy and bulky to her. Knives were more easily managed for her but she still hated the thought of having to kill another person.

I'm going to be killed, she thought as she went over the ropes course once more. The fire-making course was next, followed by the climbing one. Sure, she was fast and small but she wasn't the best climber and, now, she realized that quickly as she fell again. Giving up on that Thalia moved on to the edible plants station, finding this one a bit easier than the others. Maybe she could outlive the others by hiding and surviving on plants. It wasn't likely but it gave her a small hope of having a shot at surviving the Games.



Before long, the time to show the Gamemakers her skills had come. Thalia stepped into the room feeling more nervous than she had been the day of the Reaping. I can do this, the young girl thought as she walked further into the room and looked to those who would be scoring her. She showed them her speed as she ran the course known as the Gauntlet but, when she thought herself finished, was told to do the ropes course in addition to the Gauntlet. She took a deep breath and obeyed them, her sweaty hands slipping slightly just as she finished. She felt relieved as they dismissed her but wasn't looking forward to finding out her score.

Jemi leaned foward in her seat as she turned on the televison. It was the moment so many were waiting for. How had they done? Who was worth sponsoring? It was nerve wracking and exciting at the same time. Desperately, Jemi hoped that JiYong and Hadrian had done well. If they wanted her father's support, it was crucial they perform well. Then the moment was there.

"Now the moment you've all been waiting for.." An anouncer smiled widely, showing off pearls for teeth. Ridiculous. Her hair was a swirl of fiery colors.. yellow, orange, red.. and pink. The sight was ghastly. Jemi wished she'd just get on with it.

"District 1 tributes, JiYong Ashton Kwon scored an excellent score of 11." Anouncer Lily smiled and winked. "Hadrian Allardyce, scored 10 points from our dear judges." Jemi let out the breath she was holding. Good. They were good.

"District 2 tributes, Ian Smith achieved 9 points and Mallory Foster scored 11 points!" Lily patted her hair and glanced down at her note cards. "District 3's Logun Bell has 4 points and Thalia Cronin has been awarded 6 points."

Jemi was surprised that Thalia had managed to score at all. She was such a young, tiny thing. Apparently there was more than what met the eye. she pondered this for a moment and turned back to the screen just in time for...

"Seraphina Hayes from District 4 has achieved 7 points." Jemi nodded and was about to watch some more when her father came up the stairs.

"Yes, Daddy?" Jemi raised and eyebrow and muted the sound for a moment.

"Did you see JiYong's score?" he asked rowdily and Jemi nodded. "Phenomenal!" Then he lumbered out as his friends called to him. She rolled her eyes and switched on the sound. She had missed a couple of the districts.

"District 6's male tribute Leo Jackson scored 9 points and the female tribute, Lara Barkely, was deemed 5 points."

Then Jemi got up to stretch a little. She had been so tense before, still was actually. Then next few districts scores were pretty low and Jemi felt really bad for them. It didn't really matter if they were just waiting to show their strengths in the arena. The sponsers made most of their judgements on the training scores. Poor kids...

"District 11 tribute, Tommy Wong, has scored 10 points and the female tribute scored a 3." Lily the anouncer flashed her pearls at the camera and cleared her throat.
"Now for the last district, but not the least, male tribute Ryan Duncan scored 4 points while Evelyn Wynter managed to get 8 points!" Lily threw up all the notecards and stood, clapping enthusiastically. "There you have it folks, those are the training scores for the 76th Hunger Games. Stay tuned... and may the odds be ever in your favor."

That was that. Jemi put her head down on a pillow and tried not to think about the ones who had scored under five. The odds weren't in their favor, now was it?

Serafina acted fast. Launching off her square, she headed straight for the the nearest mountain; grabbing along the way a dark red backpack dangling from a rope, a sleeping bag and a small medical kit. She heard someone snarl behind her, she had taken some good supplies. She saw an arrow being shot at her, but she reacted quickly. Serafina got down low on the ground and began to crawl quickly through the snow. She did her best to ignore the screams as tributes were killed or injured. She finally reached the mountain and darted behind it. Blood stained the pure white ice and a few bodies lay on the ground. Serafina glanced away. She could not dwell on the misfortune of others. Still, she hoped that the little girl from district 3 had gotten away safely. She was too young to die. She had also gotten an OK score, and may make a good ally if times got tough. Serafina shook her head. What was she thinking? An ally? She had always been a lone wolf, friends were never an option. She started to make her way away from the cornucopia. She wondered what was in her pack, but it was too risky to open it yet. Footsteps. Someone was following her. She turned. No, she must have been imagining it. But she was still unsure. Serafina sat down for a moment to rest. She decided to venture a little further before dark. She ran to the next closest mountain, it was not far. She then dug a hole, which unless you were looking down at her, would be safe from the other tributes. She curled up in her sleeping bag with her pack close to her. She could still not shake off the feeling someone was watching her, though she knew it was probably just the gamemakers, watching them, day and night. Serafina did not know what she was going to do next, where she was going next, or who she should be wary of. All she knew was she could stay awake no longer. She heard the anthem play faintly, and the cannon shots for the dead tributes. She did not hear the exact number, though she could say it was at least a few of them. And then she fell asleep.

She was pleased to hear her score was so high as, being a Career, it would be expected of Hadrian back in her District. She hoped her's and the male's were scores that impressed their District as she forced a smile to her face, glancing back at the television screen with only half her mind on listening to the other's scores. The one's with really low one's, 5's or lower, would most likely perish in the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. It happened every year.



As Hadrian rose into the arena to stand on her platform she had to blink several times to allow her eyes to adjust, just in time to be able to survey her surroundings. Then, suddenly;

"Welcome to Liberty Province! Let the games begin!"

She was off her platform instantly, aiming to get one of the backpacks before someone else did. A small body ran into her and she, being taught from an early age to fight, lashed out with her foot to force the person away. Her eyes shifted for a moment as she saw the tiny blonde girl from District 10 fall to the ground, crying out in pain as she grasped her side. Probably broken a few ribs, Hadrian thought as she turned back and dodged a punch by the male from District 9.

Hadrian managed to reach the backpack, her hands immediately slipping through the straps to pull it onto her back as the little girl from District 10 reached her, her small eyes scared as she tried to wrestle the item from the much taller, and stronger, teenager. Without a second thought, Hadrian reached out to tightly grab the girls head in her hands and gave a sudden twist, effectively breaking the neck of the young child. Syla, her brain drew up from its memory of the scores. She dropped the body of the girl to the ground before glancing to the people fighting around her.

She felt a sharp pain on her left shoulder and turned, ducking another hard blow by the male from District 7. The Career quickly punched him in the stomach to wind him before sprinting away, her eyes on the District 2 female. " Career time," she mumbled to herself as she quickly thought of the alliance that Districts 1,2 and 4 always came up with. What was her name again, Hadrian couldn't remember as her eyes glanced around the area; taking in the blood covered snow on the ground as she moved.

" District 2!" She called as she came closer, her light brown eyebrows raised. " Allies?" She hoped the girl would agree and, maybe, would tell Hadrian her name.

---

Thalia frowned, her eyes growing troubled at this as she kept her gaze on the scores. It wasn't high or the lowest but.. it definitely wasn't the best. Now, her thoughts went to the arena..



"Welcome to Liberty Province! Let the games begin!"

She was standing on the small circular plate that stood in a ring with all the others but, instead of heading for the bloodbath, the young girl decided she'd rather die of the cold or lack of food and water than be beaten to death at someone's hands. Thalia jerked back and turned to the woods, sprinting like her life depended on it as she raced toward the sparse trees and the mountains that lie behind them. She'd find a way to survive as long as she could but she didn't see surviving as a long-term thing for herself.

The blonde girl found a few trees that were close together and created a small space that could shelter someone small from the elements, at least for a short period. She quickly crawled inside the small space, her teeth chattering as she leaned against a tree and wrapped her arms around her legs. She'd stay here for a short time before she would return to the Cornucopia, she planned. Surely there would be something leftover for her, hopefully.

Cannon shots rang out and Thalia tried to count them to focus on something other than the cold that seeped into her body. She'd always wondered how a Tribute felt when they were a survivor of the initial bloodbath and she felt herself grow horrified but relieved. Afraid because it meant she was still a contender to fight to death.. Relieved because she had escaped with her life, for now.

But Thalia wondered if there'd be a chance of allying with someone as she silently crawled out from the trees and into the snow outside. It was darker and as good a time as any to return to the Cornucopia and search for something to keep herself alive. A jacket, a blanket, even matches. Warmth would be great but food and water would be better as she licked her already cracking lips, the moisture in her throat had dried up too which left it dry and feeling parched.

The small girl blended in as she darted from shadow to shadow, only her pale hair seeming odd in the blackness.