pet projects | kassia, cachi, alpha, cordelia

The food was probably the craziest part of the entire experience. Kassia knew that the Capitolites ate like royalty every day, but the dining hall in the training center had something of everything. Even food that Kassia would never have dreamt of before. Mysterious drinks and piles of deserts lined one side of the aisle, healthier food and a compilation of vegetables sat at a gargantuan salad bar on the other, and various fried delights called out to her with a beckoning smell from the edges.

She knew that she really needed to be strategic about what she ate now, so she decided to pile her plate high with pasta, chicken, and salad. However, the sight of a bright piece of red velvet cake was just too irresistible. For trying to survive, she had a full plate of nutrients, and if she was going to die, at least she'll die after eating the best-looking piece of cake she'd ever had.

No one else was in the dinning hall yet. Kassia had come early in an attempt to catch a few before it got too crowded, but it looks like she got there a bit too early. It wouldn't hurt to get to know someone outside of a crowd, especially after how spooked she was watching the reaping recap. There were too many careers with a viscous glint in their eyes and too many strong-looking workers from more labor-intensive districts. Even Linnaea freaked her out a little with the crystals, candles, and creepy energy she emanated. After talking with Atticus for a bit, she understood that this was how it always went. Powerful careers and strong laborers took the weaker people out first, making the games a battle between them and leaving people like district three out in the dust.

Kassia knew she was grouped right in with the weaklings in the eyes of the other tributes. Volunteering didn't change the fact that she hadn't worked a day of physical labor in her life, and typing on a keyboard might not be what saves her in the arena. Therefore, she needed people she could be friends--or at least allies--with who could protect her.

Focusing again on her plate, she started backwards with the cake. Scooping up the red velvet, she placed it her mouth and let it sit for a moment. She took a deep breath, realizing that it was probably the best thing she's ever tasted before swallowing it again and forcing herself to move onto the pasta and salad first. The rest of the cake will come later, after pasta, and then infinite amounts of desert after she wins.

After taking a few bites, she pulled out the notebook she'd been carrying around and keeping notes in. Notes about the different types of edible plants, about first aid, and of course, about the tributes lined the first few pages. She had spent all of her first night watching the recap, writing in little inscriptions about everyone.

On one side of her page, she had a set of lists titled Terrifying, Should Get to Know, Confusing, and It's Sad, but Probably Going to Die NGL. Twirling her fork into the spaghetti, she began to place the noodles absentmindedly in her mouth, her eyes scanning the page from her preliminary reaping notes.

Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her and some footsteps. Quickly closing the book, and slurping up a hanging piece of pasta, she hastily dabbed a napkin at her mouth to get rid of any sauce before turning to greet the newcomer to the table.

"Hey!" She said as they walked closer, one of the only other tributes in the dinning hall. "Want to join? It's a bit boring sitting here all alone."