DISTRICT THREE TRIBUTE TRAIN (Eyes Of The Victor)

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Lucy sat in one of the chairs in a main compartment that looked out a window. she had Jasmine in her lap and had tears slowly going down her cheeks. she had tried to be happy on stage but after saying good bye to her parents she felt sad and homesick already. Her parents had given her a necklace that had a small diamond computer charm on it and had given her a matching one for her stuffed animal.
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She wrinkled her eyebrow as a district went by in a blur. She didnt recognize anything. She knew what each district did but she had never seen any of them! "This is stupid!" She said angrily, she held up Jasmine so she could see out the window too. "Do you recognize any of this? No! They should have signs or something!"
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Lucy turned away from the window and began throwing her stuffed animal into the air and catching it when it came down. Trying to amuse herself. She was still sort of crying but she was pretty sure there were no tears left for her to cry out. Was that a bad thing? She concentrated as she kept throwing it up and down and then made a pouty face when she missed and Jasmine fell a few feet in front of her.

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<br><div style="width: 350px; height: 50px; background-color: #000000;font-family: 'Josefin Slab', serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: 45px; line-height: 100%">Sammon Ahearn</div>
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<li> <a href="LINKHERE.com"><b>outfit</b></a>
<li> coded by <a href="http://z10.invisionfree.com/CAUTIONTOTHEWIND/index.php?showuser=42773">ericamay</a>
<li> notes notes notes</div></div></td>
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"I think it must be Ten." Ten was one of the districts Sammon hadn't spent so much time in but he did know a few people from the place. He slipped into one of the seats nearby, watching out the window as the land rolled by. "To tell the truth Nine and Ten just sort of bleed together, not much difference that I can see from one or the other." <p>

Catching sight of the matching necklaces Sammon had to smile and ask her about it. "Would that be your token I see there? Quite fitting if I do say so myself." He glanced down to the own addition from his hopefully not last conversation with his siblings; a silver hawk shaped into a ring now on his hand. His mind, always churning with somewhat useless information, pulled meanings associated with the bird up to the surface; observant, wisdom, courage, seeing opportunities. He hoped all of them managed to apply. <p>

He just didn't know what to do with himself at the moment. The games were all ready starting and, even though his stomach churned at the idea of it, his mind seemed to see the wisdom in coming up with plans. Hell, he even had a new sleeping schedule he was going to force himself into before things really took off just so he would be prepared to run on less extraneous sleep. Right now, however, he kept thinking to what shapes the arenas might take and just hoping that they didn't decide to toss a desert at them or something. Only time would tell.

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Acacia was a little late getting on the train with the two tributes and the first victor. He wanted to give the tributes some time to themselves before he came and properly introduced himself to them. Surely one of them had to know who he was, the boy most likely. He would discuss potential strategy with them, plans for their interviews, for their training. The same way he was taught and told. The female tribute during Acacia's Hunger Games was about his age, the two of them were relatively calm during their train ride. He was primarily concerned about Lucy. She was a child, she didn't belong here, this was brutal sport, not a game for children. These times had to be difficult for her, for the both of them, being taken from their families, thrust into this game, the odds were not in their favor, they were in no one's favor. It was up to him and Zilpha, the victors, their mentors, to get them through all of this. Acacia was in their shoes several years ago, he knew how they were probably feeling, what they were going through. They needed someone who was on their side and that's what he was. He was on their side and he would be until they either won the Hunger Games or died trying. A sigh came from the young man as he took off his sunglasses, stepping onto the train finally. It was back to the capitol for him.

He made his way up and down the train car by car, looking for his district's tributes. He knocked on every door, checked every compartment. Ultimately, he ended up asking a peacekeeper on the train where the two tributes were situated and he was pointed in their direction. Knocking on the door to the main compartment, where the tributes would be. Why hadn't he thought of this as the first place to check? It just seemed to pass him by. Acacia opened the door and stuck his head in through the barely opened door, seeing his two tributes in their seats. "Ah, there you two are. Been looking up and down this train for the two of you." he said as he came into the compartment, closing the door behind him. He walked towards the window and put his right hand on the glass, looking out at the blurry scenery as they moved. He could remember every single detail of his reaping day. He was sitting right where Lucy was, his female counterpart had taken to the floor, still a bit upset about leaving and being selected. The young man, Sammon, seemed a bit at ease, but not completely and who would be at a time like this? "The view never changes, no matter how many years pass, the view never changes." he said with a weak smile.

Turning to face his two tributes, he leaned a shoulder against the window, his hands folded across his chest as he looked at the two of them. They were a team, both at opposite ends of the age spectrum. How would this team work? Acacia was already trying to formulate a multitude of plans, He hadn't seen any of the tributes from the other districts yet, but he was sure none of them featured a tandem of a 13 year old girl and an 17-18 year old male. It put them at a slight disadvantage, but perhaps they could play this up. Sammon could be protective of his counterpart, take care of her, act like an older brother to her. The crowd would love that, the viewers would eat it up during the interview. That was how they would win over sponsors. Maybe these two had a shot after all. If they could keep up a brother-sister type act, they could win over sponsors, tug at heart strings, this was a potentially wonderful plan that he was formulating. "Alright you two....I'm Acacia, maybe you knew that already, maybe you didn't. Doesn't matter. What matters is you two. From here on out, it's all about you two. Lucy and Sammon, the tributes from district 3. I'll be with you every step of the way. You have my word. I want to see the two of you come home. I'm with you, you're with me. Right?" he asked as he crouched down in front of the two of them, so he was eye level with them.

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<br><div style="width: 350px; height: 50px; background-color: #000000;font-family: 'Josefin Slab', serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: 45px; line-height: 100%">Sammon Ahearn</div>
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<li> <a href="LINKHERE.com"><b>outfit</b></a>
<li> coded by <a href="http://z10.invisionfree.com/CAUTIONTOTHEWIND/index.php?showuser=42773">ericamay</a>
<li> notes notes notes</div></div></td>
<td><div style="margin-left: 5px; width: 250px; height: 65px; font-family: arial; color: #000000; padding: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 8px; text-align: jusify; line-height: 100%; letter-spacing: 1px; display: block;">Talk all the talk with a poet's style Tongue like electric eyes like a child Eye on your wives and the classic cars Live like a saviour live like the stars Talk all the talk with a model's smile Tongue like electric eyes like a child Buy all your highs and the classic cars Die on the front page just like the stars<div style="width: 255px; height: 8px; font-size: 8px; background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; ">----------------------------------say you don't want it</div></div>
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Hearing the sound of the door opening, Sammon looked up from Lucy and Jasmine, glad to see Acacia rather than one of the Peacekeepers manning the train coming through. That had to be a rather odd job to have, wouldn't it be? He supposed they must mainly be there to shoot down anyone who thought it would be a good idea to try and jump the train or something...actually he could probably absolutely make that run; in his mind at least. That wasn't even on the table, however and except to think that he could absolutely make it the thought didn't even linger in his mind as he knew full well what Acacia here had said on the reaping stage was true; it was his responsibility to go in those games and make sure Lucy made it out. That thought did help keep the other thoughts from wandering in and out of his mind so fast Sammon was almost unaware of what has passed through his mind. It was something to focus on. <p>

Scooping Jasmine up and, rather than handing her back properly, deciding she made a better hat for Lucy to wear for the moment, Sammon worked on getting his thoughts properly in order for what he did want to make sure he discussed with his mentors. "I think we're all on board with that." He answered with a grin, inclining his head to his mentor in greeting. "If not we'd best get on pretty quickly, yeah? Only way to get through things at that." Sammon let his nerves out with a good cleansing breath and sat up straighter in his seat. Now was the time to get to work. If he was going to get himself and Lucy out of this he was going to absorb every little bit of information he could get from his mentors (and any other source, really but this was the kind of source to be trusted). <p>

"So, exactly where do we start?" That was a question Sammon simply didn't have an answer for. Strategy? Watching the other tributes to see what they were up against? What he and Lucy were particularly good at? Now there was a question he hoped had a decent enough answer. There were a few things that were coming to mind at least so he was rather glad that he wasn't at a complete loss on how to keep himself and Lucy alive. After all, there weren't too many people he knew who could catch him and there weren't too many tight spots he couldn't get out of if he were backed into a corner. In the back of his mind though, Sammon couldn't help but remember Acacia's own game and what he had to do to his fellow tribute. At least that wasn't going to be something that was on the table this year.

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"That's a good question Sammon, where do we begin? When I was in your position....well, I wasn't too receptive at the time. I do recall telling my mentors what I excelled at. So I suppose we can start there. This way, I can get to know my tributes a bit better. We'll work on one thing at a time, We have some time before the games, but we have much work to do. So right now, tell me about yourselves, what are you good at, what do you falter at? We're going to play to these strengths, try to weed out the weaknesses, or at least make them seem less apparent to the other tributes, yeah?" he said as he rested on one knee, resting his arm on his knee as he leaned forward a bit. It was a hard thing for the mentors, at least for Acacia, to get to know his tributes. He didn't want to get too attached to them in fear that they wouldn't make it home from the games. At the same time, what good was a mentor who kept his distance from his tributes? How was he supposed to help them out if he didn't know them in the least bit? It was a double edged sword, Acacia would have to bite the bullet though. He wanted these two to get home. He wanted all of his tributes to come home, but that wasn't possible. Would it be possible for these two to come home? Acacia hoped so, it was his job to educate and prepare these two as best as possible.They would only be as successful as he had them ready to be. Once they were in the arena, they were essentially on their own.

At this point, Acacia shifted his weight, opting to take a seat on the ground, rather than on a chair. Folding his legs Indian style, Acacia wanted to learn everything possible about these two, anything that he might be able to use to their advantage. His mind already began formulating ideas during their reaping, hopefully whatever he was told by the two of them would help supplement these ideas. The fact that these games were going to be team based was both in their favor and against it. Lucy's age compared to Sammon's would allow Acacia to market them as a brother and sister type duo. People had trouble resisting an older tribute being protective over a younger tribute, especially if they hailed from the same district. Acacia would hopefully do his job properly and receive enough funding to get the two of them what they needed to survive, their lives depended on it. Acacia didn't want to fail Lucy or Sammon, nor their families. He knew it, he was basically responsible for them up until the games actually began. There was only so much he could do, but he was going to do everything he possibly could to make sure they were adequately prepared for what lies ahead. Acacia had been doing this for several years now and in those several years, he hadn't mentored a tribute to victory. Of course, when you had a one in twenty four shot of winning, the odds were not going to be in your favor. He had a feeling though...these two might be able to get the job done, they just need their mentor to be the best mentor possible.

A sigh came from him as he ran a hand through his hair slowly. He never liked the Games, nor did he like the time leading up to the games. "Let me say one thing....you two have seen the games. You know what they're about. If I had it my way, the both of you would be home, with your families. Now we all know we can't have it my way so here we are. It's alright to be scared, if you're not the least bit scared, then you haven't realized the gravity of the situation. What we need to do, in this short time we have together, is to lessen this fear. I'll make sure you guys are ready to go every step of the way. We'll start with your strengths and weaknesses while we're on the train, like I said before. Then we'll check out the other tributes, who to avoid, who to gravitate towards.The most important parts of our time will be training, your interviews, and your demonstration. We nail two of those three and we'll be in good condition heading into the games." he said as he stood up off of the ground. Acacia paced around the train car for a little bit before looking back at them over his shoulder. He stood in silence for a moment before speaking up again. "I'm sorry. This gets harder and harder each year. I'm not accustomed to this job, not yet. Several years of doing this and I'm still not ready. However...I'm going to work hard to make sure you guys are back on this train, heading home."

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<br><div style="width: 350px; height: 50px; background-color: #000000;font-family: 'Josefin Slab', serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: 45px; line-height: 100%">Sammon Ahearn</div>
<br><table><td><div style="margin-left: 5px; width:160px; height: 410px; border: #E8E8E8 1px solid;"><div style="width: 150px; height: 400px; border: #ffffff 5px solid; background-image:url(http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t223/Lorna_Green_Dee/full_left_column_Sex_LessonsA-640x360-1-1-1-1-1.jpg);"></div></div>
<br><div style="margin-left: 5px; width: 150px; height: 65px; background-color: #000000; font-family: arial; color: #ffffff; padding: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 8px; display:block;"><div style="margin:15px;"><li> ? words
<li> <a href="LINKHERE.com"><b>outfit</b></a>
<li> coded by <a href="http://z10.invisionfree.com/CAUTIONTOTHEWIND/index.php?showuser=42773">ericamay</a>
<li> notes notes notes</div></div></td>
<td><div style="margin-left: 5px; width: 250px; height: 65px; font-family: arial; color: #000000; padding: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 8px; text-align: jusify; line-height: 100%; letter-spacing: 1px; display: block;">Talk all the talk with a poet's style Tongue like electric eyes like a child Eye on your wives and the classic cars Live like a saviour live like the stars Talk all the talk with a model's smile Tongue like electric eyes like a child Buy all your highs and the classic cars Die on the front page just like the stars<div style="width: 255px; height: 8px; font-size: 8px; background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; ">----------------------------------say you don't want it</div></div>
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"And we'll work hard to make sure we are too and so you can look forward to a nice retirement." While he wondered how anyone could ever grow accustomed to such a job or even talk about being so, Sammon laughed, though feeling a bit of that fear Acacia had mentioned bubble up just at the mention of it being okay and, really, advisable. That was a nice freedom to have at least. Excel...what did Sammon Ahearn excel at? Now, just a moment his mind had been reeling through idea after idea and all of those ideas did have his skillsets in mind but simply being presented with the question caused his mind to dry up in a split second. Did he even excel at anything other than talking too much and being a gangly ginger? They had both most definitely seen the games and Sammon knew full well that was just not going to cut it no matter how much it seemed to work for him for day to day life.<p>

One thing he did excel at, however, was that he could mentally recover just as fast as he could naturally find his tongue which could easily challenge the speed of light in a footrace if either competitor actually possessed feet. "I know how to think through a scenario quickly and generally logically so I can cope with things pretty quickly as well. I'm generally pretty personable so the parade and the interviews shouldn't be much of a problem and I like to think that if there's any need to work with anyone else besides Lucy here in the context of the games I'm a decent enough judge of character even though I know full well it'd definitely be a test to my coping abilities to lose an ally or be forced against them...but if it's what has to happen to get her home that's what it is. I'm definitely not going to be the strongest person in there but I have enough biology awareness to know where to hit and how to hit if I get trapped in close quarters and I have to kill someone." Oh...oh that was the first time something like that had dropped out of his mouth before. That left an almost coppery bad taste in his mouth but, true to what he had said, Sammon managed to brush the distaste aside as his thoughts filed right back into order. It wasn't him that would be killing anyone, not really. He might be forced to do the physical act but that blood was on many other people's hands before it was on his. It was something he would just have to know to be true in order to get to the end of things.<p>

"And...have you ever walked around between the warehouse district and the teeny tiny music player factory and looked up seeing someone running along the rooftops building to building? That's me as well so I suppose that can definitely be applicable. It's pretty hard to corner me considering I can usually use some pretty unexpected ways to get out."

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Esmeralda had been told that her tributes were on there way to the train. She had gotten on herself. That she was escorting the two of them to there death. It was the same this year as it was last year. Only last year it had been Ivy Finch coming home, not the kids that she had brought over. This year she was going to try to make it a little bit different. She had been thought this numerous times, but there was a young girl. It hurt her to see it. But she went on into the train compartment. "Ahhh I see you have met your victors from the past years, I however am not a victor, but your escourt." She tried to sound cheerful, but it was sickening how the president wanted to bring back the games. But it was one she had to do.

She went on with her life, and helped earn money for the kids that there district had sponsored. At least this district had money. It wouldn't be terribly difficult getting the members of capitals to aid in bringing home a weak, innocent little girl. There play on it was the boy tribute was like a big brother for her. She figured that would work.

"I do hope that the favor is in your court, I have a feeling it might be, you see your entirely to cute to turn down, I am hoping to get a lot of sponsors to help you." She whispered to them. "So have we gone over the information on the games yet??" She waited for a moment. "No well the silence is enough, I am terribly sorry the two of you got picked, but the rules are clear, its the hunger games, the president has to make sure that the people have a sound message, that your being punished, or your district is for the past crimes." She told them. "I expect the pair of you to fight hard." She explained. "I also want you to make allies." She said. "It will be hard, But I'm sure you can do it."

"That's the kind of attitude I'm looking for." he said in response. Acacia turned back around to face his two tributes. The games were just days away, days. The time felt like it got shorter and shorter each year, but in reality, it was the same time every time. At least the attitude in the room wasn't a negative one. Sammon himself seemed especially raring to go, which was better than just being apathetic about the games. Acacia just wanted one victor, one victor from his district besides himself, one that he guided to victory. He might get it with the two of them, but who knew? The career tributes were always the favorites to win and why shouldn't they? They trained all their lives for these moments. Always having volunteers during the reaping, It was ridiculous. He couldn't imagine training all of his life for the Hunger Games. That was all those kids in the career districts were concerned with and what if they weren't reaped or too late to volunteer? Then what? What did they do then? Fall back on whatever it was those districts were known for besides producing career tributes? At least Acacia could work within the district, as he did after he returned home from his victory tour and all of that nonsense. Then he was thrust into the role of mentor, expected to help produce another victor, to guide tributes in the way he was guided. The first few years were tough, as he could only offer advice to his tributes, and that was all. He wasn't adept at procuring sponsors, getting his tributes what they needed and they paid the ultimate price for that.

Now that he has gotten the hang of it, the job didn't get easier. In fact, it got harder. He needed to play to the sponsors, promise things he couldn't deliver. His tributes still suffered, but he was getting them the sponsors they needed. Of course, the sponsors always leaned towards the media darlings or the career tributes. The district 3 tributes never garnered too many sponsors, not even Acacia had many sponsors during his games and yet, he won. While he wouldn't rely heavily on the sponsors for his most recent tributes, he would do what he can to make sure they got what they needed from him. Acacia started back towards his tributes, his interest piqued in what Sammon was telling him. He reminded Acacia of himself as a young man, though that wasn't too long ago. His intelligence might just be able to get him and Lucy out of this alive. Acacia continued to listen, his eyes focused on Sammon as he spoke. "You say this now, but when the time comes for your entrance and your interview, we're going to make sure you're adequately prepared. I don't care how much of a non-problem you'll think they'll be. When they come around, you're going to be better than you initially thought." spoke Acacia his arms folded across his chest. He brought his right index finger as he kept on listening to the young man before him. He might of had the most potential out of all his former tributes.

"There it is. There it is." he began as he paced around the compartment slowly. "You know you might have to kill someone, so it's better to get it out now rather than come to that realization in the arena. You just took a big step forward Sammon. Now ultimately, I cannot force you to align yourself with any of the tributes. I can only suggest who to align with based off my initial thoughts. In the end, the decision belongs to you and Lucy. I will trust your judgement. Since I obviously won't be there in the arena with you, it's your call as to who to align yourself with. Just...be careful, you may think they're your friends, but who knows when they'll turn on you. If you choose to align yourself with someone....keep an eye on them....constantly." spoke the District three mentor as he took a seat across from the two new tributes. "And no...they don't allow me to wander around these days. It's business only with the capitol, can't have one of their victors walking around on their own, unattended, these days. However, if what you're telling me is true, then we might be able to use this to your advantage." Acacia said as he leaned forward in his seat, his eyes gazing towards the window for a moment. "I think we'll be in good shape...but training will still be very important, top priority when we arrive at the capitol." added the victor.

Acacia's head turned toward the compartment's door as it opened, instead of a peacekeeper, it was someone Acacia had little contempt for. A sigh came from Acacia as Esmeralda came into the compartment. Standing up from his seat, his arms went back over his chest as she came in. "Yes, we've met, and yes, they know you're their escort." he said to Esmeralda. Acacia wasn't the biggest fan of the district three escort, but like he, she had a job to do. Now they had to work together, again, as they had for the past few years now. If he had it his way, she wouldn't be here. However, Acacia had no say in the matter. "We've only just started discussing the possibilities of allies Esmeralda. There's only so much we can discuss in the little time we've had together so far. Once we get to the capitol and see the other tributes, then we'll start seriously discussing allies, but for now, let's just focus on the two of them, alright? We're talking about their strengths, what to focus on in training and such. I don't want to discuss anything regarding interviews and allies until we get to the capitol, okay?" he said to the escort, growing a little frustrated. Esmeralda rubbed him the wrong way, always had, even when he was a tribute. Now he was working with her, not his ideal situation, but he would just have to accept it.

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<br><div style="width: 350px; height: 50px; background-color: #000000;font-family: 'Josefin Slab', serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: 45px; line-height: 100%">Sammon Ahearn</div>
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<br><div style="margin-left: 5px; width: 150px; height: 65px; background-color: #000000; font-family: arial; color: #ffffff; padding: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 8px; display:block;"><div style="margin:15px;"><li> ? words
<li> <a href="LINKHERE.com"><b>outfit</b></a>
<li> coded by <a href="http://z10.invisionfree.com/CAUTIONTOTHEWIND/index.php?showuser=42773">ericamay</a>
<li> notes notes notes</div></div></td>
<td><div style="margin-left: 5px; width: 250px; height: 65px; font-family: arial; color: #000000; padding: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 8px; text-align: jusify; line-height: 100%; letter-spacing: 1px; display: block;">Talk all the talk with a poet's style Tongue like electric eyes like a child Eye on your wives and the classic cars Live like a saviour live like the stars Talk all the talk with a model's smile Tongue like electric eyes like a child Buy all your highs and the classic cars Die on the front page just like the stars<div style="width: 255px; height: 8px; font-size: 8px; background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; ">----------------------------------say you don't want it</div></div>
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Nodding at what Acacia was saying to him about interview prep and it being a step forward admitting what was going to have to be done in order to make it out of that arena alive. "I don't exactly look forward to making connections with the other tributes but I don't think I would do very well trying to keep aloof or anything from the rest of them before we go in either so either way I'm going to have a problem so might as well go with potential alliances in mind so at least there would be some benefit from the problem." It was going to be hard to kill a person anyway so there was simply no way to win on that front. "But we know ultimately it's only the two of us we can trust to watch one another's back's, right Lucy?" He smirked over to his partner in this venture, giving her a teasing hair ruffling just like he would do to his actual sister. <p>

The idea of having to play by the Capitol's rules even after the games was something that worried Sammon and also something he wasn't going to allow himself to think about. From what Acacia had just said it wasn't something he would like, to be certain, as the idea of <i>not</i> being allowed the freedom to roam even in the confines of what he all ready was able to was not exactly motivation to get in there and survive to see that happen. The thought was violently pushed out of his mind as it was something he simply couldn't allow himself to deal with now. There were more important things now. <p>

"Are there things you'd recommend over others as far as training goes? I mean, anything we should hide we're good at and anything other tributes might not pay as much attention to we should study up on." Sammon knew one thing he intended to do was absorb as much as he could about plants and bugs to eat. There had been far too many tributes simply waste away when the arena's environment was vastly unfamiliar and if he was going to go out he was going to go out with as full of a belly as he could manage. Dying due to ignorance was not something he was going to let himself consider and definitely would not let Lucy suffer from either. <p>

Any thoughts of what kind of cricket would be especially nutritious, however, was knocked out of his mind as their escort made her way in. Now, what was her name? That always slipped Sammon's mind as he had always tuned out most everything except who's names were called during the reapings. Acacia answered that soon enough, though, Esmeralda. That was right, Esmeralad Derallo. Once the first part slide into his mind the rest of the name fell in right after. Along with that, Sammon couldn't help but notice the atmosphere shift slightly and, quite frankly, the idea that the mood of the train could go down when they were all ready on their way to murder fest 85 was ridiculous. So, to change that, he stood up and properly introduced himself, offering his hand to shake with the escort. It always paid to be polite. "Hello Ms. Derallo, glad to meet you."

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Esmeralda looked towards Acacia as he stood. At least he knew how to give a lady a greeting. Though the way he was standing it was almost as if he was completely closed off to her. Oh well she had a job to do and that meant making sure that District 3's children were taken care of from start to finish. She hoped that finish didn't come to soon. That she would be able to get them home safe. All the escorts though felt the same way. It was a good thing that the games weren't more then once a year. Though she was sure that this year would be almost a downfall for the districts. All the children were just so young. Did they really have to kill them? When Acacia spoke she placed her fingers against her lip for a moment. His attitude was one that she didn't want to put up with but knew she must. "You don't have to get to the capital in order to see the other districts chosen ones." She said as she held up a disc that contained all the other district's volunteers as well as there pickings. "I have it all here." She told him almost with a sneer in her voice. She really didn't have the time to deal with his rudeness. "I have a feeling your going to like the other districts." She said with a smirk. There was another group of kids from another district. Then there was Tamara and Panther. They needed to partner with them.

"We can focus on the two of them." She said with a smirk. Esmeralda however knew that the two of them might want to watch the videos. "If you want." She tapped the disc and placed it into the viewer. "We can discuss you both while you watch." She wasn't sure what her plans were just yet. But she knew she would be able to get Sponsors, Sponsors, Sponsors.

She turned to the young gentlemen from District 3. She nodded and shook his hand. "Pleasure to meet you." She nodded, that alone would get him points from sponsors. "Alright what shall we discuss?"

Acacia sighed quietly as he turned his back to Sammon and Esmeralda. Seeing the way she was greeted by Sammon made him think back to when he was in their position all those years ago. He had greeted her the same way Sammon had. He returned to his seat, sitting back down, arms folded over his chest and one leg crossed over the other. His gaze was focused on the window. The young victor was taking in the blurry scenery once more, as he did every year on his way to and from the capitol. He tried the pick out random things as they sped along towards the capitol, but like every year, he couldn't make out a single thing. Acacia should of been focusing on his victors, but right now, he couldn't. Right now, he wanted to be in the capitol rather than on this train. Acacia wanted to be away from all of this right now, but even if he left the train compartment, he would of still be on the train. If they were in the capitol, he would have more places to go to. On the train, his only options were the other few cars of the train. Even then, he wouldn't be completely alone, there would be peacekeepers all over the train, guarding it, so that the selected tributes didn't try to make a daring escape. Acacia wondered if he would of helped any of his tributes escape, it might of proven futile. You can't escape the capitol and he could only imagine the punishment he would receive if he aided in such an escape.

"Well, you lot can watch the other tributes. I can't stomach watching our own reaping, let alone eleven others." he said with a hint of disgust in his voice as he stood up. Acacia was barely on time for the district three reaping earlier that day and that was because he wanted to spend as little time at the reaping as possible. He never watched the other district's reapings, he just couldn't stomach it. It was bad enough that Lucy, a young child was selected as the district's female tribute, he couldn't watch the other tributes being selected, torn from their families. How could anyone just watch that? Acacia knew it served a purpose, to see which tributes would be ideal for allegiances, but he couldn't deal with that right now. There was an internal conflict going on right now inside the district three victor. He needed to be here, in this car, talking to his tributes, but at the same time, he wouldn't be able to handle watching these other district's reapings. Acacia liked to view the other tributes at the capitol, before, during, and after the parade, to size them up in person. Esmeralda on the other hand, had something else in mind. For a moment, Acacia debated on just going back to his compartment on the train and leaving the tributes alone with Esmeralda for a little while, let them get to know her and at the same time, watch the other tributes. He decided against that though. He needed to be with the two of them, to guide and educate them. It wouldn't be good for their mentor to leave them like that.

Acacia went to leave the train compartment, but before he did, he looked over his shoulder at the two tributes. The young girl, Lucy, and the older Sammon. Acacia couldn't leave their side. He would have to tough it out and provide the support they needed at this time. Lowering his head a bit, he turned back around and retook the seat he had been sitting in not too long ago. His leaned against the arm rest, letting his head rest in his hand as he looked toward the viewer. " Never mind...I'll stay." he said quietly as he kept his focus on the video viewer. How much longer would it be to the capitol? It seemed like this train ride was taking forever, but then again, after the reapings, these train rides felt like an eternity. It was the ride home that seemed quick. "Sammon was telling me what it was he was good at. I wanted to explore that, so we could start developing a training regimen. We haven't discussed much and actually....we were waiting for you. I didn't want us to get too deep into conversation without you being present." spoke Acacia as he turned his gaze towards Esmeralda. Acacia wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. The capitol would be looming and soon....the games would begin. The clock was ticking and time wasn't on district three's side at the moment.

So far, Zilpha had been very quiet.

It was true, everything Acacia had said to the tributes so far. Everything about the things they were good at, the interviews themselves, and overall was doing a very good job taking charge of the situation. Zil, meanwhile, had compiled copious notes about the whole ordeal, focusing instead on watching each one as they answered the questions from her fellow victor. Sammon seemed to be trying to digest everything that was being thrown at him, and while his eagerness was certainly appreciated, she couldn’t help but wonder if he would be able to bring this eagerness into the actual Games themselves. It was one thing in the beginning when you were still stealing yourself for the inevitable of being thrown headfirst into a life or death situation, but it was a completely different story when you were actually there. Zil had mentored many who had become overwhelmed with the reality of their situation, and had frozen up when they needed it most.

But she was hoping there would be some sort of change this year. Upon the arrival of Esmeralda, Zil had to repress the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn’t that she outright hated the woman; she was to play an integral role in escorting the tributes and preparing them along with Zil and Acacia- still, after all she had seen in the past, she was a little less than fond of the Capitol, or its citizens. Esmeralda just had the unfortunate luck of being the Capitol citizen closest to her at the moment. Once again, Zil did what she did best and merely listened, taking in every sentence that came out of the young woman’s mouth. It seemed that while she was still as oblivious to the obvious nervousness and the fact that so much was on the line here (She was used to this after dealing with quite a few escorts in all her years as mentor) but at least she seemed as if she legitimately wanted to help.

Her eyes traveled back to Acacia, and she couldn’t help but smile proudly, even though this was quite possibly the most ludicrous time to do so. Out of all the children she had mentored, and out of all the hopeful prospects she had seen, only Acacia had done what many deemed impossible and won the games. She hadn’t had to work with him too incredibly closely; Acacia was always a well-spoken and easy to like kid, but he had done the impossible and outlasted the other career tributes; and it had come down to little Acacia against the career pack. Zil could not have been prouder. There were always things about his games that she had issues with- the fact he killed his own district counterpart was the largest. But he had done what needed to be done to survive, and she could not fault him. Zil had worked extremely hard to get him what she could during his games, and she had had to use every ounce of charisma in her broken down body to get him the food on his last day (by then the cost of an apple was astronomical) but it had paid off. He had won, and that was all that mattered.

Now, he was seen as her son, her protégé, and yet still her little tribute from district three, even though he had grown into a fine man, considering the trauma he had to endure in his own games. She was pulled from the thought suddenly as her eyes fell on the young tribute for this year, and she gave a small smile. ”make sure you listen to Acacia; he’s my star pupil.” she said quietly to the boy, before shuffling her notes and deciding it was high time she interject with her own thoughts on the matter.

She turned to Acacia, that small smile on her features widening for the tiniest space in time. “he reminds me of you Acacia.” She said quietly, before turning back to the boy and reading through the notes she had been jotting down as they had spoken. “being logical in the games is something that will come to your advantage, because half the tributes tend to go on emotion or sheer survival, which can help, but if you can out-think your opponent, you’re nearly halfway there. If you’re nimble enough to stay ahead of the others than fantastic, but remember that there will undoubtedly be tributes who can hit you between the eyes with a dagger from twenty yards away. You’ll need all the creativity you can muster in those games.”

”Also, I may be getting ahead of myself, but don’t spend too much time training in the weapons department. There’s no way you’ll be able to catch up to the career kids in a couple of days, but try and find a weapon that works best for you; knife, bow and arrow, scythe, spear, I don’t care what your weapon of choice is, but whatever you’re best at, take note and look for it in the arena. Make sure to hit the edible plants station to make sure you know what can be consumed- there’s nothing worse than a good tribute who ate the wrong leaves. Acacia and I did well on our interviews, so you should be well prepared by the time that you go up for your interviews.”

She was throwing all sorts of advice at the boy, she knew; but once they got their they would be in a whirlwind of things, and she wanted to have his undivided attention so she could get out the first crucial points of the games. ”I can assure you that Acacia and I will work our hardest to make sure you have the proper sponsors, but you’ll have to put in work as well. But first thing’s first, we size up your competition.” The suggestion by their escort to watch the tapes was met with an approving nod, and she steeled herself to see the crop of competition in this year’s pool. Acacia wanting to leave was to be expected, she knew how he hated the reapings. But she also knew he wouldn’t leave his tributes alone, so she settled on stroking his arm in a motherly sort of way, before the television turned on and she began taking furious notes. The lethal looking girl from District 2. The Intelligent seeming lady from district 5. The shifty eyed boy from 6. The powerful and well-muscled youth from 9. And…. ”He looks familiar..” she said quietly to Acacia as the boy from eleven was called and made his way onto the stage. Something about the way he walked, held himself… ”he looks like Rue.” She said quietly, almost in awe.

Quickly, she composed herself, and turned to the tributes again, this time seeing what they would have to say on the matter. ”Alright mr. Ahearn, let’s see your people judging skills. Any of them catch your eye?”

It was time to see what made the kids tick.

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<br><div style="width: 350px; height: 50px; background-color: #000000;font-family: 'Josefin Slab', serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: 45px; line-height: 100%">Sammon Ahearn</div>
<br><table><td><div style="margin-left: 5px; width:160px; height: 410px; border: #E8E8E8 1px solid;"><div style="width: 150px; height: 400px; border: #ffffff 5px solid; background-image:url(http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t223/Lorna_Green_Dee/full_left_column_Sex_LessonsA-640x360-1-1-1-1-1.jpg);"></div></div>
<br><div style="margin-left: 5px; width: 150px; height: 65px; background-color: #000000; font-family: arial; color: #ffffff; padding: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 8px; display:block;"><div style="margin:15px;"><li> ? words
<li> <a href="LINKHERE.com"><b>outfit</b></a>
<li> coded by <a href="http://z10.invisionfree.com/CAUTIONTOTHEWIND/index.php?showuser=42773">ericamay</a>
<li> notes notes notes</div></div></td>
<td><div style="margin-left: 5px; width: 250px; height: 65px; font-family: arial; color: #000000; padding: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 8px; text-align: jusify; line-height: 100%; letter-spacing: 1px; display: block;">Talk all the talk with a poet's style Tongue like electric eyes like a child Eye on your wives and the classic cars Live like a saviour live like the stars Talk all the talk with a model's smile Tongue like electric eyes like a child Buy all your highs and the classic cars Die on the front page just like the stars<div style="width: 255px; height: 8px; font-size: 8px; background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; ">----------------------------------say you don't want it</div></div>
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Oh tension, the place was absolutely full of the stuff and Sammon found himself rather surprised that it could be upped beyond the initial situation of 'hop aboard the train so you can go kill people or be killed'. He was rather glad that it seemed to be dealt with and that Zilpha was here to speak up and keep things on track though. They were a working team, even if there did seem to be a bit of the old awkward turtle flapping about unevenly between some. He gave his other mentor a smile and a nod, understanding what she was getting at. "Believe me, I fully intend to listen to anything and everything that might be useful." <p>

To be honest with himself, Sammon wasn't sure if he was being logical or was just ignoring all of the flaily spazzy feelings deep inside until he found himself alone and could allow those flaily spazzy feelings out to flail and spaz freely. It was probably safer that way plus at least he could soak up words of wisdom from those around him so that <i>was</i> probably the most logical thing for him to do. "Fear projectiles and be creative. Right." He could do both of those things pretty well and hopefully he could stay under the radar of the other tributes well enough not to be their first choice in targets. Getting to the best projectiles first was an idea but Sammon would have to make sure his aim was as okay as he thought it was before really considering that. Plus he had a feeling the best thing to do with all those weapons scattered in front of the tributes at the cornucopia would be to get the hell out of there and make sure Lucy did as well. <p>

Sammon nodded at the rest of her instructions as he mentally checked over the requirements he would probably need in weapons; something light enough to run and jump with, something with some versatility to it as to perhaps hunt or craft more useful things with. The knives were pretty tempting in his mind but he wasn't going to let himself focus on them at all as there was a good chance he wasn't going to be able to get his hands on them. As for the plants, that was something Sammon knew very well he was going to pay attention to. Death by poisoning wasn't something that looked all that pleasant and then there was the thought that it wouldn't actually kill you but just make you sick and that wasn't an appealing idea either. If he was going to end up dying in this horrible thing it had best be quick instead of lingering and due to his own ignorance. <p>

But now was the time for their first taste of who they were up against. Sammon forced himself to settle back and turn to the screen to face who he would be up against. District One played out easily enough, then District Two...Polly McBaine was definitely familiar in his mind and it didn't take Sammon long to place here. Oh that was going to be a potential problem there. It was strange watching his own reapings and Sammon couldn't help but let his mind wander to all the other people that would soon have to watch it replay and what they would be thinking; his family, Joe and his family, Jeniiva and Wren, it wasn't exactly a good image going through his mind at that.<p>

All of that was blown clean out of the water as District Four's reaping got to the drawings and that horrible person on screen read off Joseph Wilson after Marina Morgan had come up from the crowd. "Oh <i>shi-</i>" his explication cut off as someone volunteered after the camera had panned to his friend's absolutely stunned face. At that moment Comet Rowls was the best person ever for doing what he did as far as Sammon was concerned but soon enough the next reaping went on. Makenna Garrett, he didn't know her well but it was enough to twist his stomach again and remind him that just because Joe had avoided the fate the Games could still send in other people he definitely did not want to see there. As if to rub the point in, there was Rowan Blackwood. Sammon didn't recognize the name at first but as soon as the cameras panned to the guy he remembered and a bad taste came into his mouth. The other districts drifted past and Sammon couldn't help but feel glad when they finally ended. <p>

He looked up as Zilpha decided to test his people judging. Well, a few he all ready knew the answer to. "I've actually met a few of the people involved so might as well start with them I suppose. Polly, the District Two girl came off just as 'pleasantly' as she did in her reaping so she's someone to stay clear of as best as we can I'd say. Rowan, District Six, is...slippery. Don't trust him. Makenna though...I met her once on my way back from work, nice enough, a bit timid perhaps." That was not going to be a good reunion. "Anyway...the guy from District Four, Comet, I really don't know what to make of that since Four <i>is</i> a career district and they do have volunteers like that now and again but he just volunteered for my best friend. I might have a weakness there because I feel like I should thank him for what he did." He sighed, shaking his head and clearing his thoughts. "As far as possible allegiance material is concerned I would think him, District Five, possibly the younger kids since we have Lucy and any of them that survives the first day have to be fairly clever, and District Nine seems like they would be quite popular but I don't know what to make of them other than performing for the crowd."

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Acacia's gaze turned to his mentor, Zilpha, well, former I suppose, no matter how you looked at it, she was still mentoring Acacia. At first it was during the games, now, it was with mentoring. There was still much to learn and who better to learn from than the woman who helped him get to where he was currently? Zilpha was helping him help their tributes and he couldn't be more appreciative of the woman. She was the only person that he actually listened to, because frankly, she knew him the best. She knew what he was capable of, what he had been through, and how to cope with everything. It was a bond they shared, because they were both victors, victors from the same district. They knew exactly what they had gone through during the course of their own games. No one else but the victors knew what it was like, which is why most of the victors got along well. Zil and Acacia though, they shared a bond beyond the bond of both being victors. She was like a mother to him, now, he had a mother, who was alive and well, but she and Acacia had drifted apart, as he did with the remainder of his family. The bond between his mentor and himself was strong though. She was the one who's opinion he cared about and she was the one who took care of him before, during, and after his games. Acacia would never, ever, forget what she did for him. In turn, he tried to be the best person he could be, the best mentor he could be. Bringing home a pair of victors would solidify that in his eyes. Though chances were slim in achieving the victory for district three, he would try his best to make sure their tributes got home to their families.

He couldn't help but blush a bit when Zil had called him her star pupil. Acacia ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head gently, his eyes focused on the floor below. "Hey now....I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for Zilpha....besides, she's been doing this longer than I have, so if anything, listen to her more. We'll most likely tell you the same things, but they sound better coming from her mouth rather than mine." spoke Acacia as a small smile crept across his lips. It had been the first time he smiled since the reaping earlier today. It felt nice to smile, it was something he was naturally accustomed to, but for the past few hours, he hadn't had much to smile about. Reaping day wasn't exactly his favorite day. In fact, he wasn't a fan of Reaping day and the days that followed afterwards. It was only after the games were over and he could return to his somewhat normal life that he was happy. These days, the days leading to the games were the days he dreaded. Thankfully, Zilpha was there to support him, she was way better at this than Acacia was. Still, Acacia had a job to do, whether he liked it or not. "Either way....you don't have to worry, Zil and I will take care of the both of you as best as possible. You can trust us." he added as the color that had appeared on his cheeks started to slowly fade away. Things were starting to get real. Before they knew it, they would be at the capitol and training would begin for the tributes....and then the games would begin.

Zilpha knew what she was talking about, she had much more experience guiding tributes than Acacia had. She knew where the best stations to train at, the best course of action in terms of training. While Acacia was strong in some aspects of the training process, he still had not quite developed the eye, to pick out what would be the best things for the tributes to focus on. He made educated guesses based on his conversations with his tributes as to what they should focus in. Now, he wasn't too too good on picking out these strong suits, but he has getting better and better as games came and went. With Sammon and Lucy, he felt he had a better sense of how to guide them and of course, Zil would back him up, let him know what she thought. He would advise the pair of tributes to take heed of what both of them had to say because there was a chance that whatever Acacia said would backup what Zil had to say or vice-versa. As Zil went on about the games, being logical when they began, and all of that, he started to think about his own games. He didn't want to remember those days, but they would be forever etched in his memory. The heat, the intensity of the games, the death of his district's female tribute by his own hand. These things would never leave Acacia and should Lucy and Sammon make it home...they would most likely suffer the same fate. Shaking himself out of his daydream state, he didn't have much else to offer. "Oh yes....there is no shame in hiding....not when your life is on the line." was all Acacia had to say.

As he sat next to his mentor, his mind was put to ease as she rubbed his arm. She knew he wasn't a fan of this part of the training, but it was a necessary evil. They had to see who they were up against, who would look best to align with, all necessary to start their training off right. Besides Lucy, there were three other kids drawn into the games via the reaping. They seemed to be about her age, with their counterpart being close to Sammon in age. So they weren't the only district with a child drawn to represent them, this might play out well for them. Of course the career tributes were the ones to be careful of. They always were. "Don't feel like you have to thank that tribute from four. You can show your appreciation by coming home for your friend. It's thoughts like that that will get you killed. I understand it's hard to keep thoughts like that out of your mind, but for the sake of your life, try to keep them out." Acacia said as he sat up a bit in his seat. For the most part, he agreed with Sammon's choices of possible alliances. The children, if they made it out of day one, might prove to be useful in terms of sponsors. Acacia sat back, leaning his head towards Zil, looking towards the viewer. "That boy from nine looks strong, I think Sammon might be onto something with aligning ourselves with him. I'll talk to their mentor....she won last years games. I'll see what I can do." he said, speaking to Zil quietly.

Watching Sammon was a whole experience for Zilpha. The way he seemed to recognize some faces caused the woman to take more notes than normal, mainly because she wanted to see who could potentially be of help. Most of the tributes in the games would prove to be deadly to Sammon in one way or another; the career kids knew how to kill mercilessly, the tributes from five tended to be very cunning and sneaky, sevens were good with axes and were usually powerful, and so on and so forth. Her goal in all this was to see how Sammon thought; which way would he want to take his alliance.

She was not disappointed in the answers he had to give. For the most part she agreed with his assessment. Six seemed like he would just as soon shake your hand as slit your throat, so she nodded in approval at that. When he mentioned five, Zil looked back at her own notes for a moment, seemingly lost in contemplation. “Five tends to produce intelligent, sly tributes. If you met her once before, an alliance could be to your benefit, but make sure you keep your weapon with you at all times.” She said simply, before he moved on to discuss how he felt for the kid in district four.

Throughout his short speech about his need to thank the boy from four, Zil remained quiet, never looking up from her own notes, yet it was plain as day that she was listening, taking in everything he had to say and absorbing it all. Once finished, Acacia immediately began to explain that this wasn’t the way, and Zil sighed almost impatiently. Her goal was to make sure her kids came home, and while she had to give Acacia credit for trying to explain to him the nice way, Zil had long since abandoned all pretense of babying her tributes. She would offer all the support in the world, but they needed to know what they were up against.

”let me explain the way things work in the Hunger Games, Mr. Ahearn.” she said not unkindly, but there was something commanding in her tone all the same. ”This district four boy may have volunteered for your best friend, but this particular tribute does not know you. If you stop to thank him for any reason, the only sound of welcome any of us are going to hear will be the canon that fires as you drop dead. In the arena, all traces of humanity must be put on hold; appreciation, gratitude, mercy- especially knowing that there is a fairly good chance the careers will team up again. If you can’t kill him, so be it, but you had better pray to whatever you believe in that someone else does it for you.” the words were said simply, with no animosity. It was harsh, but it was the truth. Sammon was a boy, but he was the oldest of the pair, and she had to make him understand the nature of the games.

When Acacia mentioned nine to her, she nodded gravely. ”It isn’t just that he looks strong, he’ll get sponsors based on his physique.” She said wryly, looking toward the screen and shaking her head.[b] “But there’s also the chance the others will see this and will be gunning for them from the get go so as to get the “favorite” team out of the way.” She turned to Acacia and shrugged. ”Kill the fan favorite, and the sponsors will have to pick a new one, so it opens up the possibilities for others to get life saving items. I’d be careful Acacia; but we may be able to capitalize if we do a double cross.”

Zil was getting into the groove of the games, and it was becoming more and more evident. An elderly, motherly woman sitting on a train discussing ways for her two young charges to murder other children to ensure their own survival…

Yes, because that wasn’t twisted at all.

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<br><div style="width: 350px; height: 50px; background-color: #000000;font-family: 'Josefin Slab', serif; color: #ffffff; font-size: 45px; line-height: 100%">Sammon Ahearn</div>
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<li> <a href="LINKHERE.com"><b>outfit</b></a>
<li> coded by <a href="http://z10.invisionfree.com/CAUTIONTOTHEWIND/index.php?showuser=42773">ericamay</a>
<li> notes notes notes</div></div></td>
<td><div style="margin-left: 5px; width: 250px; height: 65px; font-family: arial; color: #000000; padding: 5px; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 8px; text-align: jusify; line-height: 100%; letter-spacing: 1px; display: block;">Talk all the talk with a poet's style Tongue like electric eyes like a child Eye on your wives and the classic cars Live like a saviour live like the stars Talk all the talk with a model's smile Tongue like electric eyes like a child Buy all your highs and the classic cars Die on the front page just like the stars<div style="width: 255px; height: 8px; font-size: 8px; background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; ">----------------------------------say you don't want it</div></div>
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"Just as long as you don't start spouting off anything opposite then I am golden." Sammon smiled, glad to see that Acacia and Zilpha seemed to work pretty well together and they wouldn't have to be put through another strained relationship as he was somewhat sensing from Acacia and their escort. He nodded to them both, sure that he could trust them to do whatever they could to get him and Lucy out of this. They wanted them home, too, after all and was a connection to home to boot. Sure they also wanted to be able to retire all ready but Sammon wouldn't blame them for that at all as it would mean he managed to live to see another day. <p>

"Oh, I know it's wrong thinking for the games to do so and I'd only ever consider it if it would be something that might garner some sponsorship." He said to clarify his practical stance on the Comet issue. It would be nice to tell him such things but there were certain priorities that simply had to come first and that was namely Lucy and himself. If it wouldn't cost him anything Sammon would do it but unless such a time came up he wasn't going to have the leisure of such a thing. "Plus yes, he's more than likely going to be with the careers and I am certainly not going to be anywhere near that Polly girl when the time comes for anything involving canon fire unless I'm well hidden and have a perfectly clear shot." If it comes down to it Sammon accepted that he was going to have to kill whoever he came into contact that wasn't going to benefit him any way. It was a horrible way to think but he was simply going to have to put being the better person on hold when it meant survival. <p>

He nodded along with what she said about the potential for the double cross. "If it ends up we reach a time where it would be in our favour I can do that." After all, there was a good chance for any person to get killed in the very first hours. There wasn't any reason to be attached right now.

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Lucy really did not understnad what they were talking about, so she went back to playing with Jasmine and smiling. She loved her stuffed animal. "Will you guys protect Jasmine while im in the games?" She asked suddenly. Then widened her eyes. She hoped she wasnt interrupting their super important talk.
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"Im sorry for interrupting!" She said louder. She didnt want them to get mad and start yelling at her. That would be really scary. They were all really tall and she was short and little. She looked back down at Jasmine and began playing with her floppy ears.
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Lucy got up on impulse and gave both of her mentors a hug and then went over and gaver her escort a hug a well before flopping back down in her chair and staring absentmindedly out the window again.

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Things were starting to get more real than Acacia would like them to be right now. All this talk of the other tributes, double crossing, allegiances, it was starting to get to him a little bit. Yes, it was his job as a mentor and former victor to talk about all these things, but for some reason, right now, he couldn't comprehend all of that. He needed to be here though, helping these two deal with the fact that there was a chance that the two of them may not come home. Acacia always had faith in his tributes, each of them always had the potential to come home, but never did. How did he manage to do it? Some people attributed it to luck, right place, right time, and all of that. Others claimed that there was more to Acacia than met the eye. Even now, years after his victory, he still don't know how he did it. What he did know what that he was responsible for making sure these two were properly trained. Acacia was good at that part, and getting sponsors, but as for actual advice for during the games? He blanked at first before eventually finding something to impart upon his tributes. His tributes trusted him, he gave them reason to trust him, he wanted to see all of them come home, but alas, that wasn't possible. This year though....it was very possible.

Acacia looked over at Lucy, who had finally spoken up, and offered her a smile. "Of course I'll protect Jasmine while you're in the games honey. In fact, Jasmine will never leave my sight, wherever I go, she'll come right along with me. You have nothing to worry about Lucy." spoke their mentor, in an attempt to reassure the young girl. This was something that never sat well with Acacia. He didn't really know how to handle the younger children. Their mentor needed to be strong, for them. How could they have faith in their mentor, the one who was supposed to help them out, if he looked weak? He was in their shoes years ago, scared, being unable to accept of the fact that they had been selected to participate in the games, it was one of the worst feelings in the world. They were being forced to grow up so quickly and it wasn't fair. Acacia was not a supporter of the games, yet, he was as connected to them as anyone else who participated in them. It was a cruel cycle they were all a part of, reaping, the games, the possibility of death, repeat. it was enough to make anyone feel weak, especially the victors.

That's when he felt the hug, his heart melted. It wasn't right, Lucy was just a child, Sammon was becoming a man, curse these games. Acacia went to speak, but found himself silent for a moment. That's when he knew that he needed to do everything short of going into the games himself, to get them to come home alive. They just needed to outlast the others. It was quite feasible, if they played the games right, avoided whatever the gamesmakers sent after them, and had help from their mentor, they might be able to join him back home. Lucy wasn't the only child that was participating in the games, so he needed to prove to the sponsors that Lucy was special, that Sammon was different. He could play up the older looking out for the younger, a brother-sister relationship. The sponsors would eat that up. Of course, there needed to be a back-up plan, should that one fail, something the two of them could do in the arena. "If the opportunity to kill arises, something that puts you in an advantageous position, you'd be right to take it. The other tributes are all thinking the same thing. Eventually, it's going to come down to 'someone needs to die and it won't be me'."" spoke the district 3 mentor to Sammon.

View Full Version: DISTRICT THREE TRIBUTE TRAIN