District 12 Train

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Leda only had to say one goodbye. She'd waited in the assigned area for her brother, who had run in, looking appropriately agitated. Leda had bit her lip and hugged him, told he'd have an easier time only feeding one mouth anyway, and that she'd try her best to come home but doubted she'd succeed. Neither of them cried, really, although she could have sworn she saw some tears in her brother's eyes. It wasn't like she was leaving much behind. They said goodbye and she was escorted off to the train, where she shuffled off to her room. She sat in silence on the bed for a good while, unsure how to proceed. "What now?" she asked herself out loud after nearly twenty minutes of nothing, tired of the silence. This is the games, focus. Reapings, train, mentoring... find your mentor.

Leda pulled herself off the bed and opened the door. She made her way to the dining cabin and paused. Was someone gonna tell me this was here? It was covered in more food than she had ever seen in her life. "This is practically enough to feed a whole district," she spat. How come the Capitol can put this and more on every train but not, oh, I don't know, keep their districts from starving to death. Seriously, I know we're being punished for the rebellion or whatever, but it's been almost 40 years. They can't dump their scraps into a bag and ship it off to the people who are dying before they even get reaped? Leda refrained from complaining too much out loud not because she was worried about getting in trouble, but because it was pointless. She wasn't going to sit here and strike on all this food, though. If she was going to die, Leda was going to take advantage of all her last few days had to offer. She filled a plate with pastries and fruit and pretty much everything she could fit, and sat down to eat. She figured the mentor would probably come into the dining car eventually, and if not, she'd go look for him after she ate. Leda started to eat her food, trying not to stuff her face and make herself sick but not bothering to try and be polite. She'd heard stories of people who hadn't eaten for a while and then eaten a lot, and it didn't sound pleasant, but she was probably going to die within a week or two. The time to throw away dignity and eat as much as humanly possible without throwing up was now. After a few bites, Leda decided she should probably make more effort in trying to survive than just putting meat on her bones. "Helloooo?" she called out loudly. "I'm pretty sure there's supposed to be a mentor on here!"

Subject: Re: District 12 Train Tue Apr 01, 2014 1:12 am

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---District 12 Mentor---Male---39---

Nikolas' breathed smelled of vodka as he laid there totally passed out on the bed in his quarters. Normally he was up bright and early and making the lives of his tributes so very, very pleasant. But then again that was when he knew he was going to be a mentor, instead of being called in last minute to take the place of the person who took his place...another boy whom was also ironically named Nic. No, Nik was not supposed to be here and so he spent his whole night drinking and well...living life to the fullest. The activities of the previous night blurred together but well it was definitely something that probably shouldn't be repeated even if he could remember more then a blur.

Nik wasn't actually sure how he even got on the train in the first place, he didn't even really remember the reapings too much either actually. He must have drug himself here and there though because who else would have drug his sorry ass here but himself? The bed was comfortable though, and the room was quiet...for awhile at least. That is until the voice called out that echoed throughout the train and entered into his ears. 'So this is what it is like to be on the other side of this?' His thoughts sort of moved slowly around in his head as his eyes started to open up and adjust to the light. Normally this was something he had the pleasure of doing to his tributes, yelling loudly throughout the train to get their attention, but these were usually on the days where he hadn't indulged himself in the drink just a little too much.

As Nik dragged himself off of the still made bed he passed by the mirror, his reflection staring back at him and almost seeming unrecognizable as the dark circles sat underneath his eyes and his face looked more pale then normal. He just looked tired, tired and a little hungover. The door whizzed open, he would have slammed it open if it wasn't all automatic but unfortunately he just had to imagine that it whooshed open in a more angry matter even though it was just an inanimate object. "You!" Nik raised a finger and pointed at the girl who now stood in front of him. "Do you know it's not polite to just yell. We have to use our indoor voices. Didn't your mother ever teach you that?" Nik shuffled over to the food table and grabbed a glass of ice but instead of grabbing a drink to poor he just put the glass against his forehead, letting the cool surface hit against his bare skin and cooling it down a little.

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Leda raised an eyebrow as the man she assumed was supposed to be her mentor staggered into the dining car scolding her. "My mother's dead," she said flatly, "and has been for a while. Sooo...." Leda shrugged. "Nope. Not that it would have stopped me. Being polite isn't exactly my number one concern right now." She popped some sort of berry in her mouth and chewed it carefully before swallowing. Part of her wanted to scarf down as much food as humanly possible, but she was trying to force herself to savor it and enjoy every morsel. "So are you gonna teach me something, or what?" Leda said without looking up as she examined an odd-looking vegetable on her plate. "As much as I'd like to storm out and insist that I can do it all on my own, I need all the help I can get. I have zero people skills- actually I pretty much hate everyone, to be honest-, I can kind of fight, but not particularly well compared to some of the other tributes I've seen in the games, and I don't play well with others. My only skill is probably that I don't expect to have a huge problem with the ethics of killing someone or only looking after myself, and I guess I know how to scavenge for food, or I would have starved to death long ago. So, yeah, sorry that I'm the farthest thing from a tribute you can work with, but I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me how I'm meant to get out of here alive." Leda finished her rant and took a breath, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling. She was resisting the temptation to get into a worthless screaming argument with him, but that didn't mean she knew how to be a nice, normal person. The man was clearly drunk or had been recently, which did inspire a lot of respect from her, but she was desperate. Sure, she didn't have much to live for, but that didn't mean she was ready to die. Leda sighed. "Oh, and my name's Leda. I'm 18 years old, I live in the Seam with my brother, and all my life I've been a survivor, but I've never had to survive in an arena specifically programmed for my death with 23 other people trying to kill me, so that probably isn't much of an advantage."

Subject: Re: District 12 Train Tue Apr 01, 2014 1:10 pm

Nik continued holding the cold glass against his pounding forehead. He really shouldn't be here right now, or maybe he shouldn't have drank as much as he did. Neither was here nor there though because here he was and he had indeed drank that much. As Leda began her rant he just let her speak even though with every word that came out of her mouth it only caused the dull pain to keep resonating in his head and for him to notice just how vright and obnoxious the lighting was on this train car. As she finished, Nik raised his hand as if trying to signal he yielded or somrthing...just something to get her to stop talking for the moment. Just a moment so he could get the pain to stop. "Stop! Such a headache. Leda was it? Let me tell you something, good news for you is that you don't need to be the strongest or even the best tribute out there because I can tell you this...you won't. Sorry to burst your bubble kid but there's at least a quarter of those teens who are cold blooded killers who will try and make mince meat out of you. But all you have to be is smart. Are you smart Leda? Because if you aren't well then I guess you're doomed. But if you can put together a pretty coherent thought then maybe you might last longer then the bloodbath. Oh and you know, the ability to run more then a brisk jog. This ain't day camp out there, but as long as you can run faster then the tribute next to you or at least faster then my dead grandma' corpse you'll be fine. I got all the confidence in the world" Nik looked up at the ceiling and the fluorescent bulbs caught his eyes, blinding him as the pain surged up his spine. "And can someone lower the god damned lights! What are we staging a photo shoot or something?" His voice boomed and echoed throughout the train.

((I'll make this pretty when I get home lol. At work, impossibru to type on my phone lol))

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Leda stayed quiet as her mentor responded to her rant, narrowing her eyes. She knew there was practically no chance of surviving, but she was still going to try. She had never been one to give up. Her brother sometimes teased her about her stubbornness, but they'd stayed alive this long, hadn't they? When the mentor had finished, she shook her head. "Street-smart, sure, but not so great with arithmetic or anything like that. As for running... I mean, I'm not about to win any races but, yeah, I can put one foot in front of the other and go forward." Her mentor complained about the lights and she smirked. "Well we've got quite a hangover, haven't we?" Leda muttered, remembering the odd night when her brother would come home woozy after a night out with his mine buddies and regret it the next day. She looked around for a light switch, something she had discovered in her own room before, as she spoke.

"I don't think I need more advice than that on the actual Games, then. They're different every time. All you can really prepare for is common sense, fighting, basic survival skills, and luck, I guess. What I definitely know I struggle with immensely," she replied, feeling around the wall in the corner. "is the Capitol, and, you know, being likeable." She found a dial and turned it, seeing if the lights would lessen up, but they didn't seem to be affected. The air got colder, which was actually rather impressive to Leda, but that wasn't what she was aiming for. "I suppose allies as well, if I need 'em. You're clearly not much of a people-pleaser yourself- uh, no offense -but you made it through somehow. How does one keep the urge to slap and/or strangle every ridiculous person in the Capitol at bay long enough to... how shall I put this... make friends?" Leda rolled her eyes, and finally found a knob that dimmed the lights when she twisted it to the left. "There. I helped you, you help me, yeah?"

Subject: Re: District 12 Train Tue Apr 01, 2014 3:11 pm

"Yea, yea fine...I guess you scratch my back I scratch yours. Luckily for you, street smarts is all you need. When I was in the games I was just a poor kid from the seam, barely even cleaned because my family couldn't afford the warm water to bathe all 6 of my siblings. My arms were scrawny and I looked like a glorified toothpick in the Capitol. But if your head is on right and you follow your survival instincts you can go far. As for friends....well I wouldn't know much about that. I was no threat and had no allies. I worked on my own and it worked perfectly well for me. The trick is learning to bite your tongue. Plus us poor seam kids already know one part of the arena well enough." Nik grabbed some sort of pastry and took a large bite, trying his best to nurse his hangover just a little bit. "Just try to learn how to use a weapon or something in training, I don't want to be known again for having some flailing kid as a tribute again...its quite embarassing."

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Leda nodded. "I can use a knife, sort of, although I mostly just stick to punching people in the face." She sat back down and ran a hand through her hair. It was funny to imagine this guy as a twig, but she wasn't really in the mood to smile. "I don't flail," she said sharply, scanning her plate for what to eat next. "So, I realize I didn't catch your name..." she trailed off, unsure what else to ask. She didn't yet know whether she was planning to fake being a nice enough tribute or screw it and show the Capitol and the rest of the tributes her true rude self. She also wasn't sure whether to try to acquire allies or not. As much as she had trouble tolerating other people, she wasn't stupid. Leda knew there were plenty of other people more skilled than she, and having those skills on her side would obviously be an asset. She didn't worry about betrayal because she didn't trust anyone regardless, it was just the being charismatic part. Her mentor apparently didn't think allies were worthwhile and she wasn't completely sure they were, but she didn't really want to end up like him anyway.

"How many people did you kill in your games?" Leda asked delicately after a pause, figuring it might be an uncomfortable subject. "I'm assuming you must have killed some. Does it still bother you now?" She ate a strawberry off her plate while she waited for his response, contemplating her own morality and whether she'd be willing to kill someone. Probably, she thought. Maybe not a 12-year-old, but definitely someone I disliked. Random people... maybe. To get home. She swallowed the strawberry and pushed her plate away from her. For what seemed like the first time in her life, Leda was actually full. That's the advantage we have over careers, I guess. Kids from the Seam know how to deal with starvation.

Subject: Re: District 12 Train Wed Apr 02, 2014 3:48 pm

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---District 12 Mentor---Male---39---

Nik broke down and grabbed a bottle of clear liquid, it would stop his symptoms anyways...not help make him any better but he certainly would feel better. Plus feeling nostalgic warranted a little bit of the drink. "Nikolas Lagana. Nik for short though. And don't worry if you don't remember me at all or my games....it was a very very long time ago, long enough that there was absolutely no way in hell you would have even seen them." He tipped the clear glass up letting the clear liquid he just poured fall down into his mouth where it burnt as it made its way into his stomach. "Yea you gotta kill at least one person to go home you know. It's kind of the rules." His gaze trained down now as he spoke up. "I only killed one, stayed hidden until the very end, I knew I couldn't beat them all in a physical fight but if I hid I stood a better chance. I strung up the lone survivor, the female from District 2. She was vicious and mean, no wonder she single handedly killed her entire pack in their sleep. Though she had her wounds I gave her a few more...in more....vital areas. At first she screamed at me, told me to cut her down and fight me like a man and not a coward with a sword fight. Then it turned into crying as the color drained from her face as she begged for it to stop. Then the cannon." Nik stood up, making his way towards the window which in the far distance he could see them starting to approach the tunnel going towards the Capitol. "I don't regret it and I don't think about her. But I did at first. Now I feel bad for her....that she broke down like that." Nik then turned towards Leda, his serious face turning into a wide grin. "I mean what a way to go. She must have been so embarrassed getting taken down by a scrawny kid from District 12 like that. Quite embarrassing."

Nik went for another glass of vodka, all the memories came flowing back and well he also liked the stuff so of course another shot wouldn't hurt. "Anymore questions you have Leda, the poor girl from the seam, with nothing to lose?"

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Leda listened carefully as Nik described his kill in the Games, trying to imagine herself doing the same thing. Once he'd finished and asked her for more questions, she shrugged. "I don't know. I've never been good at asking for help anyway." Leda let out a bitter laugh. She was pretty sure something was missing. She looked around, but there was no sign of her district partner. "Have you seen the other 12 tribute?" she asked, puzzled. Had he already accepted his imminent death or was he trying to fight it out on his own? He'd volunteered, so she doubted it was the first option unless he was suicidal or had some sort of death fetish. "He volunteered, didn't he? Maybe he just has a death wish." She put the thought out of her mind for the time being. Focus on yourself, she told herself. That's what you've done most of your life, don't stop now.

Leda didn't really know how to make small talk, but the silence in the train car was slightly uncomfortable. Nikolas definitely seemed to have an alcohol problem. So are my choices die or end up an alcoholic? she wondered. "Got any random advice that hasn't come up yet, I guess?" she said after a pause. Leda stood, pacing around the train car. She figured they must be arriving at the Capitol soon, which was nerve-wracking. Every second brought her closer to death, although she realized that was true regardless of the Hunger Games. "Tips on pretending to be a decent person?"

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