The Hunger Games--A Roleplay (Advanced) discussion

This is basically one giant, open gymnasium. Over a seven-day period tributes come here to train in the art of survival and prepare to fight to the death. It's the perfect time to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents and to form strategies. Use your time wisely.

Stations that are readily available include:

• First aid
• Terrain/resources
• Basic survival skills (starting fires, making shelters, etc.)
• Climbing
• Tying knots and other traps (nooses, nets, ect.)
• Camouflage
• Plants (edible, medicinal)
• Long-range weaponry (bows and arrows, spears, knives, javelins, etc.)
• Close-range weaponry (knives, swords, axes, ect.)
• Blunt weaponry and bludgeons (clubs, maces, etc.)
• Hand-to-hand combat (wrestling, fist-fighting, etc.)
• Weight training
• Running (sprints, long distance, over uneven ground, etc.)
• Stealth and stalking
• Animals (behavior, fending off attacks, edible vs dangerous, etc.)
• Navigation

Another soft ding! Another sound of sliding doors. Natalie stepped out of her own elevator, brushing nonexistent dust from the sleeve of her black-and-red jumpsuit. She looked around with eyes as gray and hard as steel, cataloging all the other tributes as she walked slowly off towards the edible plants station. All of this: the weapons, the climbing rings, the weights--all of it was new to her. But she figured she might as well start with plants, The arena would be as natural as possible, after all.

The sound of feet on wood drew Natalie's gaze from the yellow flowers--dandelions--in her hands. She eyed a small girl at the running station; watched her run and fall and jump up, run again. Poor thing. She was too young to be here. They were all too young. Her face expressionless she caught the tribute's eye and gave a passive, passive wave before turning back to the plants. Why not? They were both probably going to die anyway.

Natalie raised her eyebrows. She recognized attempts to stifle laughter--some people weren't as good as her at keeping things in. She looked back down at the plants, memorizing names and appearances from the bundles and labels as she prepared to speak. Ferns, violets, sunflower bulbs. Roots, juniper berries. Something else she couldn't remember--a lovely white flower. "Something funny?" Natalie said finally, voice monotone as she signaled that she had indeed heard the attempt at a laugh.

Tristan wiped as much sweat as he could off of his forehead and flicked it on the ground. He'd spent an hour practicing his hand-to-hand combat. He thought he'd won, but it was more difficult than anything he had done in a long time. It worried him, a little, but he tried to shake it off and look confident in his abilities.

"Maybe not a feast," Natalie said quietly, "but a meal all the same. Knowing this could save your life. Or mine." And with that she stood, stretched her legs, and moved to the sparring ring. She needed to learn to fight--and talking with someone else, finally having a conversation, was making her nervous.

From across the room, Natalie was having a hard time with her instructor too. He'd pinioned her at least three times in the past fifteen minutes, and she'd hardly been able to keep him away, let alone land a blow. As the back of her head came into painful contact with the ground once again, she let her eyes stray to the camouflage area and the lone tribute there. How she longed to succeed at something! Maybe she would go there next.

Mediocre, Natalie thought immediately, watching the girl. She's doing it all wrong. Just then the instructor delivered a hard kick to her side and she fell once more. Damn! I'm getting out of here as soon as I can.

That had done it. Natalie jumped up, stumbling a little, said goodbye and good day to the instructor, and briskly strode over to the camouflage area to join the ignorant tribute.

Brielle's hands were shaking as the elevator took her up to the training center. Her escort last night had simply said to make sure she was up there before 10 am. She was there early and there were still others earlier, she saw as the elevator doors opened. She twisted her ring she had found the day the war had tappered down...the day the news her father had been declared dead. It was elegant, beautiful, and perfectly exemplified how everything seemed. Beautiful.
As she exited the elevator, she gasped. Weapons she had only hear legends of were in this room. She looked around at all the stations. She knew she'd have time, but she'd have to prioritize. Survival. We're all kids, we most likely will be hesitant to kill. Survival should be most important, she thought. No one was by the basics of survival, all too eager to touch a weapon for the first time. She walked quickly over to the fire starter table. She had made plenty of fires in the house before, though small and unnoticable because, well, there were drunk people in the house, and even she knew alchohol doesn't mix with flame. The instructor smiled at her and whispered, "Glad to see a bright one over here. So far it's been how to fight. Not survival. Fire starting is simple in theory, but it depends on what you have to work with..." She nodded politely and attempted to make a fire, but she could see it would take practice and work...

Blair stepped out of her elevator tentatively, waiting until the doors closed behind her before making her way towards the large training center's hub. Her breath was already coming quickly, her heart pounding against the black fabric stretched too tight over her chest. She realized her hands were balled in fists with a sharp pain as her nails dug into her skin. There were so many people- just kids- and in days they would be hunting her down, probably killing her. Her thoughts wandered instinctively to Dorian. That lovely little boy, so perfect- no she couldn't think about it. The decisions she had made, it was all just too much. For now, she had to focus. She had to find some way to get back to her baby. For the first time, Blair's gaze turned towards row upon row of wepons, then back to the children around her. No, she couldn't do that. She couldn't hurt them when they were just like Dorian. Some of them only years older then he. A first aid station, empty except for a bored looking instructor stood closest to her, so she strode over silently.

Brielle looked around as she heard another person enter. This girl looked so mature, sad, and weak. Brielle gave her a sad smile. She knew to respect her elders, and as of now, this new 'tribute' as they called them, was her elder. Period. So when she said, "Hi," she didn't regret it or whisper. She had taught herself manners, and picked up some from the nicest part of her district.

Blair looked up and saw that a young girl's "Hi" was directed at her. Blair smiled sadly at the girl, her eyes softening as she took in the small individual's pretty appearance. It seemed strange to her that such a child, knowing her fate would spare kindness her own family did not. She faltered slightly, managing a soft, "Hello, sweetie."

The girl that came in actually had responded, which surprised Brielle quite a bit. "I'm Brielle. I'm 14 and from District 3. Figured we're all kids and hopefully we'll shown restraint in well killing each other, so survival seemed pretty important." The girl was slender, and definetely skinny. She had that motherly look about her, and it drew Brielle towards her.

Autumn wandered in. She was scared out of her mind at that moment. Coming from District 12, everyone was expecting you to die, which is a lot to put on a fourteen year old's shoulders. She had actually eaten very well on the train ride here and had gotten a new pair of clothes as well. The actually smelled clean and fresh, which she hadn't had for a long time now. Her stylist had suggested her wearing her hair down with braids flowing into it at random spots. She quite liked it actually.

Looking around, Autumn's eyes automatically shifted over to the climbing. She was very good at it, since her district was surround by a lot of trees and were good hiding spots. Of course, this had rock climbing, but it couldn't hurt to try it. She walked over to it and harnessed herself in, feeling eyes on her already.

Tristan grabbed a quick drink of water and headed towards the climbing area where a girl was harnessing herself in. "You like to climb, do you?" he asked, smiling a little bit. He made a mental note that she could be hiding in the trees during the games.

Flipping upside down, Autumn looked down at him in wonder. He seemed nice at the moment, but who knew what he was capable of. "Yea, I guess..." she said quietly, continuing to climb higher, wanting to be able to observe everyone without being noticed.

Calico was automatically attracted to the Close Range Weaponry station. He didn't pay attention to the rest of the tributes, unless they caught his eye. When they did, he just gave them looks like jealous?
He had no interest in any of them to be honest. They were just going to kill him...well, he intended to kill them first, but everyone's intention was obvious. As Calico looked at the different knives, he smiled. This is going to be fun. he thought, touching the blade of the sharpest one, intrigued.

Ding! The elevator chirped at her once more, pausing a moment before the doors slid open. Katrina stepped out, glancing around at all of the tributes. Some looked scared, others confident according to their expressions. She smirked, tilting her head to the side. Where to? she thought. She decided she wanted to go somewhere she could watch the others, yet practice at the same time. Knives it is.

Natalie mirrored the girl's movements, running her fingers in maroon pain and mixing it with black to create rather convincing fake blood. By making a wound look worse than it is, she thought, maybe I can trick someone into attacking me during the Games and surprise them when I turn out to be okay. The more she thought about it the more she liked the strategy, and Natalie began painting her arm to perfect the technique.

Calico stiffened, feeling a presence behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see a girl, of normal proportions with wavy, dirty blonde hair. His expression slid into a poker face, revealing next to nothing as she continued toward table at which he stood. He looked back to the knife he held, and twisted it between his fingers. He pretended as if she were invisible, as he stood, observing the difference in weight the curved blade held to the ones he had at home.

Katrina took on her character, a sweet, charming girl who could charm her way to the victors' circle. "Hello." She picked up a sword and weighed it, going through a couple moves to get the feel. Her hair swished after her as she spun with the sword, the show being what gave her the nickname 'Hurricane Katrina' from her trainers. "My name's Katrina. Care to share yours?"

"I'm, uh, I'm Blair-" She fidgeted, running a hand through her tousled hair out of nervous instinct, "Blair Cooper, from District Nine." Blair stepped closer, walking around the table to stand a polite distance from the red haired tribute girl. She rubbed her arm where the short sleeve of her tight uniform exposed her emaciated skin. She knew pain and heart ache enough to see it etched in Brielle's otherwise jovially fetching face. You poor child- She thought, longing to take this girl into her arms and hold her tight until the pain went away. Dorian- she could only hope without her he should grow into a child as strong as this one.

Fae wrote: "Katrina took on her character, a sweet, charming girl who could charm her way to the victors' circle. "Hello." She picked up a sword and weighed it, going through a couple moves to get the feel. He..."

"No." he replied simply. Grabbing the knife by the blade, he aimed for the bulls-eye, and hit the red circle in the middle. Calico figured he wouldn't be able to do that just as perfect with a spear or gun...but right about now he liked the odds. He smiled, and looked down at the other knives, noting the curve and shape of each one before choosing the next best one.

ℰᏤε wrote: ""I'm, uh, I'm Blair-" She fidgeted, running a hand through her tousled hair out of nervous instinct, "Blair Cooper, from District seven." Blair stepped closer, walking around the table to stand a p..."

"Lumber, right? We're explosives, tvs-tech savvy and whatnot." Brielle studied Blaire. She seemed nice enough, maybe 17. She started a fire with the damp wood the instructor gave her. "Can you give me something that's really hard to start a fire with, sir?" she asked. She smiled at Blair, "I start all the fires at our house, for cooking, warmth, etc. My parents died, my aun and uncle are worthless. I've picked up a few things." The instructor gave Brielle a stone, a couple of sticks, and leaves.

♫ಗುಲಾಬಿ♫ wrote: "Fae wrote: "Katrina took on her character, a sweet, charming girl who could charm her way to the victors' circle. "Hello." She picked up a sword and weighed it, going through a couple moves to get ..."

Katrina smiled. "So, your the lean, mean career type, huh? That's fine. I know quite a few of those." She slashed a few more times, then set down the sword. "I think I'm one of them." She seemed to consider her words before adding, "But maybe not. You never know with me." She shrugged, picking up an ax.

Calico ran a hand through his hair, and his arms tightened with the stress of everything. He was already tired of the games. Everyone was working up some angle, and everyone was so fake, including him. "Those aren't exactly words of endearment." he chided her, giving her a cocky smile. "And I'm Calico.

Brielle heard chatter coming from some rather big "tributes" over by the weapons. One guy looked irrated, and it made her laugh. She quickly looked down and continued making a fire...

Katrina grinned. "No, but you're someone who will either kill me or be killed, so I'm sorry if I'm harsh." The kind glint turned to cold, she went from loose to on her guard, and her smile went from friendly to a cat playing with its meal. "Hurricane Katrina, at your service." She mock bowed, anticipating a question, yet at the same time not.

Fae wrote: "Katrina grinned. "No, but you're someone who will either kill me or be killed, so I'm sorry if I'm harsh." The kind glint turned to cold, she went from loose to on her guard, and her smile went fro..."

Calico felt as if people were staring at him, but he didn't pay it much mind. He was only focused on Katrina, for now. He watched her with mock amusement, but noted the many things he was learning about her personality and tactics. "Your incredibly blunt." he commented, turning back to the blades. "Its not a very common trait in girls."

Katrina cocked her head to the side. "I suppose I am. About the common part, I never have been, and provided I survive the games, I never will be." She smiled tightly and grabbed the sword she used earlier, setting the ax down. Katrina sliced and slashed at thin air, stepping in a tight circle as she continued her routine.

Calico didn't respond, but was lost in thought. He wondered incessantly whether it would be a good idea to have her as n ally. She was smart, obviously. Her looks would most likely help when it came to the whole sponsors thing he had heard about, if it was even true. But he had the feeling, that she could hold her own, just the same as he. Calico pondered the thought, and came to the conclusion that she could kill him, just as easily as he could her.

Brielle finally coaxed a small spark out of pile of sticks, then whipped her head as she heard a slash. Her gaze lingered on the girl using the sword, and noticed the accuracy and percision. She made a note to self, 5 foot radius...preferably 10. She shivered, and she didn't even notice she lost her small spark.

Back over in the camouflage area, Natalie had made herself completely invisible. Painted over with lush, full shades of green and brown and gray, she blended in perfectly with the forest simulation provided at the ring. From here she watched the other tributes, picking up on strengths and weaknesses, attitudes. Her eyes continuously strayed to the tributes over in the knife fighting ring, obviously Careers. Already forming a prior alliance. Fantastic for her.

Katrina kept continuing her name giving routine, coming to a stop at the inward spiral with a final twirl, grinning. "I think I'm done here. It was nice meeting you, Calico. I look forward to seeing you, provided you're alive." She set the sword down, winked at him as she took her character back up, and headed over to the survival skills.

Calico rolled his eyes, she was quite a figure. He wasn't sure if her arrogance was an act, or a form of self preservation...or if she was really that air headed. Either way, whichever equation, she was good at what ever she was trying to pull off.

He again, didn't respond, and focused on his own thoughts as he looked around the room. He was disappointed, and pleased, to find many eyes on him. Disappointed, because anything he did would not go unnoticed. Pleased, because they were considering him competition.

Calico responded to their stares, with a smile.

Her eyes followed the Career girl as she left the knife ring. From Two? Perhaps, Natalie couldn't remember. Nonetheless she peeled herself away from the simulation, moving briskly over to hose herself off.


Almost a full five minutes later a dripping, steel-eyed seamstress made her way calmly over to basic survival skills. Now it was time to observe and catalog.

Katrina, upon arriving was now brushing up on her skills while getting a feel for the others. There was a girl there who seemed to have seen her little routine, and another girl who just strode over. She smiled kindly and began to watch the girl attempt to start a fire. This is obviously a strength for her, Katrina thought. "Hi, there. My name's Katrina. What's yours?" Her character was back, charming as ever.

Natalie glanced up from the match in her hands, sparing the Career--Katrina--a glance. She couldn't tell who the tribute was addressing, her or the other girl who was skillfully coaxing a fire out of damp wood. Impressive. She herself set her match to dry wood and watched it flare, jerking back at the surprising heat and intensity of the flame.

"Brielle. District 3. Just practicing my fire building skills." Katrina seemed so sure, and that bothered Brielle. But she seemed nice enough, plus Blair was still here.

Blair nodded, warming up to the girl, "Explosives... have you used them before?" She thought this would be a reasonable question, one without any touchy subjects or complicated answers. She picked up a couple of sticks and followed Brielle's movements, managing to get a few small sparks to flicker off the flint, but nothing more.

"That's cool. You're really good, from what I can tell. I'm from District 2, though now that you mention it, I think I'll go get some practice in myself." She flashed Brielle a smile, and knelt by an unoccupied pile of wood.

Brielle ignored Katrina, she'd rather talk to Blair, "In school, we've learned a lot about them. How to deactivate them, how to make a simple wired one. In the factories, we usually wire tvs. Sometimes explosives. Before the war, some of the older kids were captured by the Capitol and rumor has it they made bombs or deactivated them." The instructor saw that Brielle was excelling, so this time he gave her only a couple pieces of wood, a string, and a handful of leaves. In no time, Brille started to make a contraption, similair to a bow, specifically to create friction. ((it was on MythBusters))

Cooper crouched down at a pile of wood near Blair and Brielle, listening. "You learned all that in school?" He flashed Brielle a small smile, then turned back to the wood. In no time, he had a small flame burning.

Now she turned to Katrina, "Thank you. You seem pretty comfortable with a sword," and returned a coy smile. At least Brielle had some advantage over this girl. She could tell she was dangerous.

Blair looked at the boy who had spoken. He was probably around her age and well muscled. She backed away despite herself, inching towards a collection of shrubbery at the edge of the plants station.

Coco wrote: "Cooper crouched down at a pile of wood near Blair and Brielle, listening. "You learned all that in school?" He flashed Brielle a small smile, then turned back to the wood. In no time, he had a smal..."

"Yeah, being from District 3, they teach us rather quickly, then throw us in the factories...you're District 7, right?" she said to the boy who had just come up. She could make fires pretty fast, this guy took mere seconds. As she created friction with the bow like contraption, she got it moving quicker, but to no avail. She tried putting a little spit on in, and she could feel the heat growing.
Blair had left, over to the plant station, but Brielle was firmly planted until she could get a flame out of this thing.

Cooper looked at Blair, who had walked away. His mentor's words echoed in his head- make friends. Cooper called out to her, "I'm Cooper. District Seven."

Then Cooper turned back to Brielle. "Yeah. Lumber."
He looked down at his fire, which was now dying out. Cooper slowly got up and looked around for another skill to work on.

She heard the boy talking, but her focus was elsewhere. It was tedious, but this was the most difficult it could get. Finally, a spark showed itself. Just a little more, c'mon..., she thought. She saw a little tiny flame, and lit the leaves, then built up the rest of the fire, until it was glowing. She sighed in relief. She sat and enjoyed the warmth before putting it out.

She let out a small breath and walked back to the small group that had formed around the fire table. "I'm Blair," She said, looking down- any where but at his face. It one thing talking to the sweet little district three girl, but this strong seven boy was telling all her instincts to run. She forced herself to stay, however convincing herself to take the scorn all in good time when they found out her secrets.