take us to the .:top:. || { lulu }

[patrick ran the race
yeah he ran until the time ran out
oh no, i'm in some trouble now]

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Very often, the Rex household was nothing short of a zoo. District One was famous for its big families, because parents liked to churn out children at least once a year to be sure to maximize their chances of having one Reaped for the Hunger Games. With so many children constantly chucking weapons and insults every which way, disorder was an integral part of everyday life. This was why Leonidas, the second oldest Rex, often took a moment or two to pat himself on the back for maintaing his undivided focus at all times, whether on training, on his studies, or on planning for his future. He refused to allow the constant cacophony produced by his various angry siblings to distract him from his purpose, his goals. Leo was the pinnacle of concentration and poise at every second of the day, and in his opinion, that was a pretty damn fantastic feat.

Even so, it was nice to get out of the house once in a while. That particular morning found the older teenager at the mountainous outskirts of the district, with a group of other Careers his age. Training in the mountains was a vital part of any Career's regimen; climbing taught strength and endurance the likes of which nothing else could, and you never knew what type of terrain the arena would throw at you. If you weren't prepared for anything, you didn't belong in that spotlight. You didn't deserve the glory of fighting your way to fame and victory. In the Hunger Games, there was no such thing as luck—at least, that was what Leo had always been taught.

They would be ascending the mountain in pairs, and the first team to make it to the finish line at the rocky summit would be deemed winners. "Remember, you may not leave your partner behind, and the two of you will need to work as a team if you are going to win." Leonidas groaned inwardly. This exercise was pointless; in the arena, teamwork got you a knife in your back. He hated the thought of relying on anyone else, being slowed down by anyone else, possibly forfeiting victory because of the mistakes of someone else. There was only one name on his list of trusted people, and that was his own—not even a one of his siblings made the cut. Not Tigerius, and certainly not any of the younger ones.

Apparently, though, this list was going to have to expand to include Petalite Shore, at least for the time being. He knew her well enough, and she wasn't too incompetent, for a girl; most of the chicks in their training class had fallen victim to his suave charm at least once, but never Petal. It was to her credit; the other floozies needed to stop getting distracted the minute he gave them a wink, because that just showed they didn't have the focus necessary for a successful Career. Petal Shore would do, he supposed, for a simple trek up the mountain—but if she fell even a step behind, he was going to drag her up the slope himself.

"Born ready," Leo grunted in response to her inquiry, rolling his eyes. "Now you better be; I won't have you slowing us down because you broke one of your pretty little nails or got a leaf in your hair or some shit like that." The Career boy shot her a challenging gaze as he positioned himself to take off running. "Can't let daddy dearest down, now, can you?" He gestured mockingly towards the training instructor he knew to be Petal's father. Hopefully this beauty queen had inherited his physical prowess. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The whistle blew. They were off.

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