Zander Cheyanne - D1 - Fin

Affluence was the one thing that the Cheyanne’s know well.  They were district one royality, which apparently meant something in the world of Panem.  However, this family was a little different.  They didn’t put emphasis on the fact that they were rich.  No.  They put emphasis on the kids they raised.  Each one had something unique about them that their parents saw from when they were young.  They were a rather large family, which meant that there was enough room for them to have their own individualistic thing that they might be into.  Some were bread to be warriors, and others were bread to be socialites.  It just depended on what they were gravitating towards when they were young.  They themselves had the choice.

Zander was the second child of the Cheyanne’s, and there were many others behind them.  It was safe to say that the parents were rather busy, making sure that some of their kids were able to fully carry on the legacy that they worked hard to build over the years.  Their first child became a very popular socialite, but they noticed that Zander was a lot more active than his older sibling, so they decided that he would be a warrior instead.  He would be enrolled into a career training program and they hoped that he would bring honor to the family by winning one of the hunger games.  They just had to hope that he would be reaped.

Depending on what they chose for you, you either spent more time with the father, or you spent more time with the mother.  If you were considered a warrior, then you spent more time with the father.  So that is what Zander did.  He spent time watching his father train and exercise throughout his early years.  Sometimes he had him participate in some of the activities.  Whether it be running around the property that they owned or learning how to properly swim.  They were small steps to shaping Zander into a warrior that one day would win his own hunger games. 

Zander cherished his time though that he spent with his father.  They were close, because whether Zander would believe it or not, that was his fathers intentions.  His father didn’t believe in disciplining him if he did something wrong.  Instead, he wanted to support him to make him realize that it was okay to ask for help.  When Zander got older, he realized that this was actually the kindest thing that his father could have done for him, because he learned that people were cruel.  Especially in a district like one.  Most of the kids his age didn’t treat him well, mostly because everyone was taught that here in one, everyone was competition.  Zander’s father didn’t want that for his children, and he wanted them all to support each other as much as they could.  It was hard for other families to grapple his techniques, but they didn’t care.  They all just thought that if Zander did get into the games that he would be eaten alive.  He would be too soft.

However, Zander did teach himself how to be vicious.  He appreciated his fathers way of doing things, but he had to pick up on some things by himself.  Mostly because kids in the training classes didn’t give him a chance to think about what he was going to do next.  They were relentless, throwing everything they had at him.  This broke Zander a bit, realizing that kids were cruel, and if he was going to do well in the games, he was going to have to be cruel too.  His fathers disposition would always carry him through his personal life, but when it came to being a career, emotions were weakness.   Soft emotions.  Hard emotions were strengths.  You couldn’t feel a thing like love or compassion when you were in the arena.  It was killed or be killed in there, and that was something that Zander had to make peace with.

The years passed and siblings started to join him in his training classes.  Of course, when they were at home, they were all close, though in public, each kid that was chosen to be a warrior was vicious to each other.  There were days when Zander had to take on a sibling, and those days were the worst.  He couldn’t show remorse after all.  He didn’t want to hurt his own blood but he didn’t have a choice.  If he went soft he would have never heard the end of it from the others in the class.  One spar session, he actually broke his sisters nose, which he wanted to stop and make sure she was alright, but couldn’t.  They told him that he had to continue with the fight.  He apologized to her before knocking her out with a swift strike to the head.  When they got home, it was needless to say that things were awkward.  Zander counted the days before she talked to him again.  23 and a half.  It felt like an eternity.

Each year passed, and when Zander was eighteen, he was sure that this was his chance to be reaped.  He was ready to go into the arena and conquer what his parents had picked for him to do.  Win.  However, at the reaping ceremony, his name wasn’t called.  He was shocked to say the least, but instead of casting him aside, his parents simply shrugged.  They knew that there was a chance that he wouldn’t get reaped, and as much as they wanted him to, they could live with him not being reaped.  They had more than enough kids to find their chance at glory.

So what did Zander do?  He decided that take up his own Career Trainer position.  However, he did have his own way of doing things.  On the battlefield, he would be ruthless, and off the battlefield he would be compassionate.  If one of his students went on to be reaped, he wanted them to be ready for anything.  However, he still wanted them to have a conscious as well.  This was probably a mistake, but oh well.  This was his chance to show people that his fathers kindness was not weakness.

Once and for all.