#hubrisheld

even 12 year old perseus odair knew something was wrong the moment no one stepped forward to volunteer. he locked eyes with his brother from across the crowd, and he could see the worry in his eyes, too. all those fears became reality when his name was drawn, announcing him as the male tribute for the 67th hunger games. even after his name was drawn, no one stepped up to volunteer, even though he'd heard who had been planned to step forward as volunteers for that year. instead, it ended up being percy and a 17 year old female volunteer.

he was taken to a room to say his goodbyes. first came mags, who brought him snacks and some of his things to take with him. after that was finnick, who immediately told him he was going with him. he insisted it was his fault, but wouldn't elaborate to percy as to why. he made it very clear that he was going to be his mentor, and that he was going to be by his side the entire time. it was the one comfort he had leading up to the start of the games.

during his training, he caught the eye of a district one tribute named clarisse la rue. she, along with many of the other tributes, made it well known that there was a target on percy's back. not only was the the smallest and the youngest of the tributes, but he was also a legacy the brother of a former victor.

finnick spent the next few days training percy. thankfully, finnick had already taught him how to fight just as a precaution, as percy's smart mouth had a tendency to get him into trouble. he also prepped him for interviews and warned him not to mouth off, though percy still made snide comments in his interview much to finnick's frustration. when it was finally time for percy to enter the arena, finnick gave him his necklace to take as his token, making him promise to bring it back to him when he wins.

when percy emerged from the tube and into the arena, he was met with the sight of a beach with large, choppy waves behind him, and what looked to be the ruins of a city looming in front of him. between them and the city laid a supply camp, with weapons gleaming in the sweltering sunlight. percy's eyes darted around, taking stock of his surroundings. he knew he needed to get his hands on a weapon a sword, preferably but as he glanced to his left and saw clarisse's gaze focused on him, he also knew that avoiding her was top priority. if he wasn't careful, his time in the games would be ending before he could ever reach the supplies.

as the countdown finished and the horn blared, percy took off running, but not in the direction that everyone seemed to expect him to. instead, percy ran towards the water, diving in and swimming towards a large cluster of rocks. he breached the water as he came up for air, hiding between the rocks as he watched the clarisse and a few others reach the supplies and take out the first batch of tributes. five tributes fell there, and he could hear clarisse yelling to the others about finding him. percy stayed where he was, well hidden, for as long as he could.

as night fell, percy finally emerged from the water, shivering. while he was used to being in the water for extended periods of time, even he knew that he needed to get his body temperature up. as if on queue, a cannister attached to a parachute descended from the sky. inside, percy found an emergency thermal blanket, a breathing apparatus, and what looked like just the hilt of a sword, along with a note from finnick. the note wished him luck, told him he was watching, and told him to 'show them what he could do' . curious, percy studied the hilt, and upon closer inspection, realized there was a button on the bottom. pressing it, it began to expand, growing until it became a full, gleaming bronze sword. well, percy thought. at least he wouldn't have to worry about stealing one from the supplies now.

hiding became easy with the help of the supplies he was sent. the breathing apparatus allowed percy to stay underwater longer, and he would emerge from the water at night, tucked away in a hidden alcove, and used the emergency thermal blanket to regain his body heat while he cautiously slept. he was also able to catch fish for food, which kept him from straying too far from the beach.

it didn't take percy long to realize what was happening with the water. by the morning of the third day, his alcove was nearly completely submerged. the water levels were steadily rising, which meant that percy was being pushed further inland and closer to the other tributes. he knew it was only a matter of time before he'd come face to face with the others, and he was determined to be ready when he did.

two weeks passed within the arena, and percy moved further into the city as the water levels began to rise. he was able to hide out of the water as time progressed, now able to move between ruins and the water with more ease. after the two weeks had passed, the capitol made it clear that they were frustrated with his ability to hide, as the water suddenly retreated. percy had a feeling he knew what was coming, and he turned out to be right: a large tidal wave slammed into the ruins, taking out most of the remaining tributes. percy was able to survive thanks to the training he'd gotten from his brother growing up, which made him more able to withstand the rough water. 21 days into the games, he and clarisse were the last ones standing.

the water levels were so high that nearly the entirety of the ruins were submerged. that, coupled with shark-like muttations that the capitol released into the water forced both percy and clarisse out of the water and into the open. now, percy had no option but to fight. clarisse was ruthless, coming at him relentlessly with an electrified spear. percy, who had now gotten his hands on a shield, as well, fought just as relentlessly, though he was fighting to survive, not to kill. at one point, clarisse thrust her spear forward, and it got lodged in the shield. as percy twisted, he snapped the spear in half. the lost of her weapon did not deter her, however, and clarisse lunged at percy. percy moved instinctively, and he thrust his sword forward, lodging itself in clarisse's stomach. he immediately released his grip on the sword, hands trembling as clarisse tumbled into the shark infested waters. the canon sounded, and the announcement came through: perseus odair was the victor of the 67th annual hunger games.

he didn't remember losing consciousness. one moment he was still in the arena, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up in the medical bay of the training center, finnick sitting at his side. hands still trembling, percy pulled the necklace from around his neck and handed it back to his brother, who simply wrapped his arms around him. percy finally allowed himself to break down in that moment, the gravity of everything that happened coming crashing down.

the next few weeks passed in a blur, and percy struggled to hold his tongue and control his anger, but did his best. the people of the capitol dubbed him as panem's favorite son, and they seemed to love the fact that there were now victors who were brothers. interviews and the victory tour finally ended, and eventually, percy found himself back in district four. he was given his own home in the victor's village, but that house remained empty, percy instead deciding to remain in his brother's house. sleep became scared, his nights plagued with nightmares usually of him being hunted down. he would visit the capitol quite often, as his brother spent a lot of time there. he attracted quite a lot of attention for simply having been the youngest victor in the history of the games, so even as he was forced to parade around lavish parties in the capitol, percy did his best to stay out of the public eye.