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Forty year old Sage Walters, winner of the 2nd Hunger Games, had sighed heavily when it had been announced that this years Games, the 25th, would consist entirely of girls. The daughter of one of her fellow victors had volunteered for them. She hoped that Amethyst did well in the games, having watched her grow up.

At a knock on her front door, she rose to answer it. "Amethyst, please come in," she told the girl.

Amethyst walked in, seeing the winner of the 2nd Hunger Games. It must have been hard to win only the second Hunger Games, she probably wouldn't have gotten near enough time to practice, and that would be heavily to her disadvantage. She smiled, looking around at the victor's exquisite home. "Hello," she told her, "I thought it would be good to start training early. Besides, we're neighbors, so I can come here whenever I need." It was true, they both lived in Victor's Village since her mom won the games as well.

Sage gave her a small smile. "Come sit down," she told her, leading her to her living room and gesturing for her to take a seat. She sat back in her own chair, her brown eyes fixed on the younger girl. "What is it that you would like me to train you on?" She had seen the girl practicing everyday for eight years and knew what her strengths and weaknesses were. She wanted to see, though, if she could admit to what she needed to work on.

Amythest sat down with grace on a chair. She needed to be nice and graceful if she wanted people in the Capitol to like her! As soon as Sage asked her a question, she quickly replied. There was no use in lying: Sage had seen her practice for eight years so she knew all of her skills and what she was bad at. "Well, I'm pretty clumsy at times, and I sometimes curse after tripping... How could I improve that? Oh, I also want to know how to throw a knife accurately while running really fast. I only achieve 85% of the time."

She was impressed that she answered so quickly and honestly. "Your clumsiness I can do nothing to fix, in afraid. It is a part of you. That being said, you will need to be extra careful if the Arena is a forest. The tree roots could be the death of you. Cursing after you trip is a slightly easier thing to fix." She scratched the ears of the dog that rested her head in her lap. "Simply mutter it quietly and no one will be the wiser. As for your knife throwing," she paused to think, "I would suggest not throwing away your weapon if you can help it. You may not be able to get it back."

Good. Sage looked a small bit impressed that Amethyst answered so quickly. Okay, so she had to curse really quietly, she had no be extremely carefully, and she couldn't throw her weapons, because then she would lose them. Easy enough. She smiled sweetly, "If I don't get a good knife or multiple knives, make sure that you or whoever my sponsor is sends me a good one." At home, Amethyst had dozens of knives, and trains wit many. She even has a target in her room, and made a few dents in the wall from misses when she was younger. Now she knows that missing can be fatal.

"I will do my best to have things sent to both you and your fellow tribute. But you both must do well in training to want them to spend their money on you." The dog at her feet jumped into her lap, knocking the air from her lungs briefly. "I'm sure your mother has told you that even if you do well, sponsors do not always send things right away. You will have to prove yourself in the Arena."

"I know that you just can't sit there and expect presents. Mother has told me that so many times," She said blandly. "I know, I'll have to kill a couple of tributes, look good, work hard, and do all of that fun stuff to get sponsors." It would be that hard, she knew how to impress people, and could even start by impressing Capitol citizens that could become her future sponsors.

Sage frowned at her. "None of this is fun, Amethyst. You would do well to remember that." She met her eyes. "This will be the hardest thing that you ever have to do. No amount of training you do can ever prepare you for taking the life of another person."

Amethyst rolled her eyes, "I know. Both you, mother, and everyone else in Victor's Village has reminded me of that." Why was she not horrified that she was going to be killing innocent lives? Why did she even want to be in the games? Glory? Fame? Bragging rights? She would have waisted eight years of her life if she didn't enter the games, so she would rather just die than be a disappointment.

Sage watched her carefully. She couldn't remember seeing Amethyst ever showing bloodlust before. Sure she had been very into her training, but had she ever seen her like this. "Yes, Amethyst, we have reminded you of that. The question is, will you listen to us?" Her eyes became haunted with the lives she had taken in her own games twenty-three years ago. "If you win the Games, it will never leave you."

Sage seemed to be looking at Amethyst like she was a bit crazy. Who would kill for fun? Why would this innocent little platinum blonde with a heart in her cheek want to take lives? It was crazy, simply insane. She had trained for so many years, and she wanted to see an outcome. She wanted to win, she wanted to defeat. It was fine if she murdered a few. Amethyst just said sweetly, "I know that it will haunt you. I'm ready."

She sighed and looked down at the dog in her lap, who looked back up at her. He lifted his head and licked his mistress's chin, sensing that she needed comfort from her slightly shaking hands, which were hidden by his fur. Did Amethyst's mother know that her daughter was so eager to take another's life? "Thinking you're ready and being ready are two vastly different things, Amethyst. You will realize this when you get to the arena. Now, are you willing to make alliances with other tributes? This will help you early on in the Games, but you will have to turn on them eventually."

Sapphire smiled slyly. "Of course I am. I will most likely be with the career Districts to begin with, and if I see someone else that looks strong, I'll choose them on my team, but if I see anyone who will kill me in my sleep, I'll stay away from them." It was simple enough, and she had been over alliances iand such countless times.

Sage thought about how much better the girl in front of her was prepared for the Games than she had been. It was something she had often thought about as she was chosen to be a mentor, including for Amethyst's own mother. "You have thought about this a lot then," she told the girl. "Tell me then, how do you plan to survive in the arena if it is a desert."

She thought quickly: if the arena was actually a desert, she would need to prepare. "Well, the first thing I need is water. Deserts are hot and dry, and I would get thirsty easily. I would like to be near a good water source, or any other place that would supply me with the water I need," Amethyst paused for a moment. "I would also need somewhere to hide. In deserts, it's usually dry, open land, and a place to hide is rare. I would need to find that rare spot. I would also need to scope out the area, and know where all of the other tributes are. And I almost know for a fact that someone in the career group will know how to hunt, but if not, I can try to stab an animal."

"The other 23 tributes will be looking for water and shelter as well. What will you do if a stronger tribute has already claimed these things?" Sage asked immediately. It was her job to prepare the districts tributes and she meant to do her job. She hated sending them into the arena, but she had no choice. "How will you prove to the sponsor that you deserve their help?"