My Demons Are Not Remotely Tackled--

Solar followed Harlow to the survival station. It was honestly the only thing that he knew that he would need assistance on, so his pretending was getting him somewhere beneficial in the meantime, even if it was hiding it from his mentor and his trainer. No doubt Stellina wouldn’t like the fact that she would have a blank slate with him. It was a risky move, not encouraging his own skill in the training room, but the last thing he needed was for Careers to point him out and target him. 

“I think edible plants might be better,” Solar said with a small smile. “I’m pretty good with my hands so I don’t think fire starting will be that hard.”

She nodded and walked over to the edible plants station. There were a few plants in the station, otherwise, there was a computer with all sorts of pictures of plants that they could browse through and learn about. Harlow had worked with some of the plants the previous year, mostly to make salves for healing, but didn’t go through the edible plants for a while.

“Some of the edible plants might have some healing properties, too,” she explained, moving to take a seat near one of the computers, “you can look through a few of the plants that aren’t here to find their uses and whether they’re safe to eat. One of the ways to tell is to take the plant apart and sort it into parts.” 

Harlow reached for one of the branches of a plant, carefully breaking it off and offering it to Solar before she took one herself. She broke off the leaves and berries of the plant to separate them into groups. “What you’re looking for are parasites,” she explained, “if there’s bugs inside, it’s a tell that the plant is rotting.”

Solar nodded along with her, frowning as she continued to explain things. He felt bad for deceiving her and hoped she understood his motives when he got into the arena. He couldn’t trust anybody. Not even his own District’s victor. His hands itched to grab a knife, anything to show her that he wasn’t just stupid. He was playing a part for a reason and he wanted her to know that, but he couldn’t. Maybe he’d leave a letter for her describing his reasons for doing what he was doing. Maybe, or if, he got out of the arena, he could explain it better in person. 

“Okay,” he sighed. “I don’t know how well she’s going to do with me considering I don’t even know where to start with any weapon. I had no reason to pick up anything.”

Lies. His skin crawled with the sickness of it.

“Starting small helps,” she replied, “it was what I did before I graduated to dual axes.” Harlow had no experience with weapons going into the training Center. She managed to get lucky with the axes, enough to get herself out of her Arena that year. But her time as a mentor afterwards? It appeared that was where her luck had run out.

“You’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t at least try something,” she offered, leading him toward the survival station, “some of the stations offer things you wouldn’t really expect, things that can help you in the long run when you get in the Arena.”

Once they arrived at the station, Harlow offered a smile to the instructor and then looked back at Solar, “So, we could start with fire staring, or look at identifying edible plants. Could even try and hit up the camouflage station, too. Which one sounds good to you?”

Cashmere sighed as she looked down at her arm. “Yeah, I’ll live.” Surely she had worse in her training days, but she hadn’t actually been injured by a weapon since the arena. It stung, but it wasn’t something that would require stitches thankfully. If that had been the case, there would have been a much bigger commotion going on.

“Thankfully,” she had to admit Harlow had a point. “Not sure what they’re trying to accomplish.” Perhaps the Gamemakers were hoping one of the tributes would get injured before the games. Wouldn’t that be a nice plot twist in their little game? “You should probably move though unless you want to be the next one injured…”

“Hopefully they realize throwing knives aren’t their forte,” she murmured. Some weapons weren’t for everyone, and hopefully, that kid realized it. At least Cashmere was all right; could have been a much worse incident had they been a little worse at their throw. 

Harlow nodded in agreement, stepping aside to steer clear of the knife throwing station. “Might not be as big of a deal for a Mentor from Five getting hit as it would be a Mentor from One.” It was no secret that the Career Tributes and Mentors were favored among The Capitol. They knew how to fight and knew how to play on The Capitol’s emotions. “We should probably both move in case there’s another stray knife flying around. I can take a look at that, too, if you want,” she offered, nodding toward Cashmere's arm.

Solar was thankful for Harlow’s gentleness, even though he knew she had her problems. District Five was well aware of their Victor’s issues and he wasn’t holding his breath for her to be of much use, but she was certainly attempting to be helpful. He gave her a small, gentle smile and nodded his head, sliding his hands into his pockets. He had to keep away from the combat and knife stations. They were dead giveaways and he didn’t know if he could fake not being good at those stations. He had to keep neutral. 

“That sounds good,” Solar said with a small laugh of his nose. “Is it like… fire building and stuff like that?”

“Part of it,” she replied, walking along with him toward the station, “there’s other stations that delve into other things in more depth, like navigation and tracking. Could be useful to help you get to where you need to go, or find food. Shelter building, some basics in plant life too. What you can and shouldn’t eat.”

Solar had seemed lost in the Training Center, unsure of where to go and what to do. Sometimes just going for the bare basic stations helped and then they could sink into the harder stations. “Later on you can probably give weapons a try. Stellina’s pretty good at helping out with combat and stuff like that. So I’d try and find her when you get the chance.”

TTWTASK: Paint Me Like One of Your Capitol Girls

@ttwstarters

This was the part he had been dreading. 

Every bit of him wanted to go over to the knives and start chucking them at the targets. Every ounce of his willpower wanted to go over to a trainer and lay him out. His father’s words played in his head like a skipped record, repeating over and over to eternity. Conceal your strengths. Reveal them later. Then kill them all.

Solar felt sick. 

He walked into the room when there were already several tributes training. He noticed and knew a few of them from before the chariots, but he didn’t feel like approaching them. He had to pretend to be meek and not understanding what was going on. Solar searched the room for the easiest one to goof up on purpose. As he stood there, he realized that his awkward standing around was probably making him seem even more inept, so he opted to stand there, looking as lost as possible, until someone finally approached him.

Solar looked up, confusion and apprehension etched on his face on purpose. 

“I… don’t know where to start,” Solar said quietly.

Harlow had intended to get down to the Training Center around the same time that Solar and the girl from Five would go down. She had seen the girl off, watching her head for one of the weapons stations when she had spotted Solar arrive. He looked lost, unsure. It was a lot to take in, a lot to choose from, and Harlow knew they Training didn’t give them a whole lot of time to learn much.

She walked over to Solar, offering a smile to him. “We can start with a more simple station,” she offered, “Survival’s a good place to start. Tends to get overlooked, but is essential for a lot of different environments.”

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Cashmere exclaimed as she felt, what she assumed was a rogue dagger, graze the side of her arm. Someone clearly didn’t know what they were doing or got distracted. Novices shouldn’t be left unsupervised or well, allowed to touch the weapons.

“Well?” She asked the person beside her. If they were a tribute she had a lecture prepared. Mentors and other team members needed to be reminded how to look after their tributes and bystanders, well they would wake her side naturally. “Accidentally killing people is supposed to wait until the games start.”

Usually, Harlow steered away from the weapons stations, but she had decided to give the throwing axes a try, since it had been a couple of years since she held one. She was approaching the station when she heard an exclamation. A few other people had slowed in what they were doing, some either trying to hold back chuckles or just staring in surprise. Harlow seemed to be the only one who cared enough to walk over and make sure Cashmere was okay.

“You okay?” she asked, glancing toward her arm where the dagger had seemed to graze her skin. “Good think they had shit aim..”

The Parade. Solar was dreading it. What the hell was he supposed to do at the Parade? His outfit already looked absolutely ridiculous and he didn’t know what he was going to do when he was out in front of the entirety of the Capitol. After all, the majority of them wanted to see him die in the bloodiest way possible. What would parading him in front of all of these people and in front of the President himself mean in the long run?

Solar stopped walking once Harlow did, looking at her curiously and turning toward her. He crossed his arms, already feeling trapped in this large place. He couldn’t go home. He wanted to see his parents again. He wanted to tell Vesta it was going to be okay. But it wasn’t. He may never get to. In fact, he was sure he never will, no matter how hard he tried. 

“Harlow,” he sighed, his voice low. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this.” Keep the lie going, his father’s voice in his head reminded him. “I don’t know how to do anything. I can climb a little bit. I can work some wires but… I don’t know what else I can possibly do to beat any of these people. I feel like I’m already dead before I even hit the tubes.”

“Solar,” she murmured softly, but she understood his position here. She swallowed, dropping her gaze a moment before she tried again. “I was in your position coming into this, too. I volunteered for my best friend and I knew I was going to die going into that Arena. I had no skills other than tinkering here and there. But I picked up some useful skills in training, managed to learn how to use a couple axes, and I made it through The Games. You can do this, I know you can.” Someone had to be in his corner.

“Climbing can be a good skill. Could keep you safe from the other Tributes and Arena dangers in there. And working some wires can help you with making some traps. A couple of Victors had won Games making traps.” They were from District Three, though, not Five. “When we get to Training, we can try a couple of things, see what sticks, and go from there. You have time to learn some new things, and I promise, Stellina and I will be there to help you every step of the way.”

“Most,” he said. “Except for the Careers, right?”

It was a bit of a biting remark but he couldn’t help it. Not that he was bitter toward them for any reason, but the fact that they were getting most of the attention in the room was a little bit disheartening, not that he wanted to be shrouded in attention. He had already been groped enough today. 

“I don’t even know where to start with any of this, Harlow,” he said. His nerves were beginning to crawl into his chest. “I’m a mix of… amazed and afraid and I don’t know what to do with any of that.”

The smile on her face faltered. He wasn’t wrong, it had been who she was getting at. The Careers always got most of the attention, most of the best critiques over the years and all of the praise. It took a lot more for the smaller Districts to make an impression, and that was discouraging. 

“Let’s just worry about one thing at a time,” she offered, “focus on the Parade tonight and how you’ll carry yourself when you go out on the chariot.” She stopped walking when they were well away from the crowds and out of earshot of the people. “It’s a lot, I know, but this is just day one. It’ll settle once the Parade’s calmed down and we get into training.”

“I’ll try to remember, thank you,” Solar said with a nod. He wasn’t sure if he would, because when he got crowded, he usually clammed up. He was good when it was just a couple of people. When it was a whole room full of these slimy goblins, he had a bit more of an issue with it. “but yeah, I could guess that much. I kinda still feel their hands on me.”

He kept walking with her, thankful to have his mentor at his side to blockade others from his bubble. Her question prompted a small smile and a nod. “Yeah, a couple,” Solar said. “Dunno if I want an alliance though. It’s not like I’m up to par with any of these people, you know?”

She offered a sympathetic look. Of course she knew the feeling, hated that they were so touchy feely and how they just felt obligated to touch them like they were objects more than people. Harlow only felt it worse after she had received her first golden envelope. She hoped that wouldn’t fall on Solar if-- when he got out of the Arena.

“That’s fine,” she replied, “it’s up to you what you want to do in that regard.” Harlow had won her Games without an alliance, so she believed if Solar didn’t want one, then he could make it out of there. “I wouldn’t say that,” she replied, “we’ll see what you can do in training and go from there. A lot of the other kids are going in not knowing much, either. So you’re on the same level as most of them.”

Solar was uncomfortable from the second he walked into the place.

He never thought the Capitol as an exquisite place, either. He had this image of it being nice to look at, but everything seemed so… much. There wasn’t a word to place upon it and it was nothing positive. His parents were staring dead down the center of a gun where the end result would be the possibility of both of his children dying. They knew that Vesta didn’t have a chance of living long unless they could afford treatment, which they couldn’t. Now, Solar was a tribute in the Games, with a one in twenty-four chance of returning.

It seemed even lower knowing that the sister of Katniss Everdeen was in the arena.

Still, Solar had one good thing going for him and it was the fact that his father had trained him in secret since he was young. Like any other Career tribute, that was what they did in their spare time. It was the only thing his Dad had ever known. It was the only thing he could pass down to his only son and it was proving to be a right choice. Now all Solar had to do was wait, bide his time, and fake his entire demeanor until the end.

Fool them first, then kill them.

The weight of that was stifling.

Still, as he finished with his stylists and he was dressed and ready to go, his scalp itching from the gel and his face hurting from the shaving and plucking, it didn’t stop random people from the Capitol he didn’t know grabbing a hold of him and squeezing on him. One of them grabbed him by the bicep and squeezed.

“Ooo, this one has muscles!” she squealed. “Such a strong boy from the power plants!”

“…please stop touching me,” Solar said as he attempted to shrug away from them, only to see someone cutting in. His first thought was that they were going to also be analyzing him, so dread filled him instantly.

Harlow always got anxious around the start of Games season. But she had told herself she was going to make a better effort to avoid the bars this season. Just as she had tried to do previous years... but Harlow did try. She didn’t touch the bar car, didn’t go for the alcoholic drinks on the train. She even bypassed the bar when they arrived at the Tribute Tower, making sure the kids got to the Remake Center before she would meet with the other Victors and catch up with them.

Once a couple hours had passed, Harlow made her way back down toward the Remake Center. Solar seemed to have already emerged from the center, looking styled up and ready for the Parade. Harlow offered a sympathetic smile, but stepped in to try and get him away from the Capitolites.

“There you are,” she told Solar, giving him a brief glance. Follow my lead. “I was looking for you. Stellina has an idea about strategies for you, I wanted to make sure you were there to hear it.” Giving a nod of her head over her shoulder, Harlow started to guide Solar away from the group until they were out of earshot.

“You okay?” she asked quietly, “Sorry, I should have warned you they could be touchy feely... Games season gets almost everyone excited here.”

Aspen was sure her team would do their best, but it wasn’t like anyone on District Nine prep team or escort had experience with a Victor. She knew she could ask Vivian though if she needed. Otherwise, Aspen was content in her ability to weather any storm. The arena hadn’t killed her, so this wouldn’t kill her either. Everyone else had been so helpful and welcoming, so she wasn’t worried. One day at a time.

“Right, I forget that in six months someone else will be the new Victor.” It still seemed surreal that she was a Victor. Soon the games would start and she wouldn’t be such a big deal to the people of the Capitol. Aspen was glad that the spotlight wouldn’t always be hers. “Until then I’ll just smile and nod. Fake it till you make it, right?”

Six months. Harlow knew time was already flying with the Victory Ball going on now, but already, six months later, they would have a new Victor. The cycle felt never ending, it just kept going and going. Rinse and repeat. never mind the kids that died, no time for anyone to breathe and process anything. It was all very routine and honestly, the more she thought about it, the more it made Harlow sick. 

“There you go,” she teased, looking out toward the crowd before them. A few people had already been looking their way, gazes mostly focused on the new Victor than Harlow. “Want to go talk to people, or have them come to you?” she asked, looking over at the girl. Either way, she was going to have her ears talked off most of the night with all the Capitol citizens eagerly wanting to talk to the newest Victor. 

Oakley sighed, shrugging her shoulders slightly as she scanned the crowd once more.  Birch was at Lael’s side again and that didn’t make her feel any better.  Maybe she should have gotten drunk.  Would that make it feel better?

When Harlow questioned her, she focused her attention back on the older mentor.  “I don’t know,” she admitted.  “That’s the worst part…I really don’t know if things are okay or not.”  She frowned.  “I guess I’ll figure it out as I go.  How are you though?  Hopefully your night is going a bit better than mine.”

Whatever had been going on, Oakley had been keeping things vague. Harlow got the message, she more than likely didn’t want to delve too deep into it. She gave a small nod of her head, “I hope things get better for you from here on out,” she offered, taking a sip of her drink.

“I’ve been okay. Just sticking to the sidelines. The heels they put me in are going to be murder, I can tell.” With that, Harlow lifted part of the long skirt of her gown just enough to show Harlow the shoes she was wearing. “Pretty sure they’re going to be kicked under a table at some point tonight.”

Time. Aspen sighed because that seemed to be the cure for everything. Then again, when her family had been murdered, time had lessened the pain of that. Life before the Reaping had been alright. Aspen had been alright. “Time, right…” Aspen hadn’t even thought about what was coming up in another six months and the reality of what mentoring meant, but she didn’t want to either.

However, Aspen was ready to go so she let Harlow lead her through the crowd. “The whole thing has been kind of overwhelming.” Right from the start, in District 12, it had been overwhelming. “Even back home it’s overwhelming. I am hoping it gets better.” District Nine would get used to having another Victor Aspen was sure. What she regretted was that in another six months the extra food and perks the Capitol showered on the winning District would disappear and then what?

“If you need any advice, your team should be able to help you,” she offered, “otherwise, some of the other Mentors can offer some input here and there.” While it was strange for other Districts to help each other in The Games-- with the exception of alliances-- if a young Victor was without much guidance, she had seen some Mentors step in and offer advice. Hell, she had done that for Dwight the previous year. Even for Aspen herself, and she hadn’t been her Tribute..

“It will,” she assured her, “might take until we have a new Victor, but again, it’s all in time.” Of course, there was more to being a Victor than just mentoring, but the poor girl didn’t need that crash course right now. Not when she was already feeling so overwhelmed. Harlow had walked with Aspen into the mansion, sticking to the outside of the crowd to avoid them getting swarmed and surrounded by all the people. “You might have a few more questions thrown your way about your first year Mentoring and being a Victor, but then the focus moves on to the newest Victor.”