train ride to purgatory [talon/parker/nixie]

I was a mentor now. That was something I hadn't really thought about when it came to the Hunger Games. I was supposed to help these kids win the Games. The responsibility fell on me, and if they died early, I'd look bad. I had an idea of how I was going to approach things though. I'd mentor them the way that felt most efficient. Even if they weren't, I'd treat them as careers.

I didn't know either of them. I just knew that they were both picked by other people at the reaping, and there was a good chance that neither of them were happy about it. This was the total opposite of dealing with volunteers, I would imagine. It was probably even different from dealing with chosen tributes. Volunteers chose their fates. Reaped tributes knew that when they were chosen, they were the ones going in if no one else wanted to.

These tributes weren't even reaped. They were chosen by people who wanted them to take their place, possibly out of spite. I'd imagine that would be quite stressful. Regardless, I knew the best way to approach things, at least in my opinion, was to treat them as if they wanted to be here, even if they didn't.

When they had both made it onto the train, I gave them a few moments to get their bearings before I spoke up.

"So," I started. "I'm assuming neither of you exactly want to be here?"

I might as well check first, right? It would certainly make my life easier if they did want to be here. Consoling fearful, angry or upset people wasn't exactly my strong suit.