smells like innocence lost [pisces/dom/zenia/jade]

Finding an alliance was an absolute necessity in the Hunger Games. At least, that's what had been drilled into her since she was old enough to remember. And many Victors did have alliances in the earlier part of the Games, so she couldn't really refute the logic behind it. Unfortunately, that was proving harder than she'd realized. Maybe she just wasn't that approachable? She had been using up most of her time bored out of her mind at the plants station. That annoyed scowl she'd always worn while bored probably wasn't that convincing. The fact that she felt some of them were a little annoying and needed a good punch to the face wasn't helpful, either. She grimaced at the memory of Arabella. There was a certain kinship that she didn't fully understand with the girl. She'd had no family, and Jade had an awful one. She was still annoying, though, and whenever she remembered the other girl she was a mixture of angry and...something else she couldn't really describe. She'd thought about asking the other Careers, but seeing the girl from District Two had caused her to rethink those plans. That one obviously had a death wish.

Which wasn't leaving her with many options and time was going by a whole lot faster than she'd anticipated. And slower. Jade grabbed her plate, and searched for a table. She preferred one where she was alone, which wasn't exactly a good sign. She may know how to talk to people, and play a part well, but she'd grown up in such a way that she didn't easily form connections with other people. In fact, she preferred to be completely alone over being with other people. They were all meant to be her enemies. Even back in the District, they were all merely competition and future marriage partners - which her parents would take care of.

With a small sigh of irritation, she realized that her preferences were going to get her killed. If she kept choosing to be alone, or wanting to knock out anyone who talked to her, she wasn't going to make it very far. Even for someone trained, the arena wasn't a place for solo play. Her eyes scanned the place and found a trio of tributes. Looking them over, she almost immediately regretted her decision and wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave them be. One, a girl she'd seen volunteer on the screens, had an injury which would likely effect her usefulness in the Games. That wasn't a good sign, was it? It was certainly a mean thing to think about the girl, and back in District One she'd likely be nicer. She tended to be nicer to those she felt weren't trying to compete with her. This was the Hunger Games, however, and she needed allies that would make sure that she survived and that they would not.

Even she couldn't help but frown at that thought. Now faced with these kids, she realized that thinking that way was wrong. She'd watched the Reaping on the train, and it hadn't completely sunk in as she had, though the one with the crying toddler had certainly pulled on her heart strings more than any of the others. Now, it was slowly beginning to sink in. If she was going to choose allies that she needed to depend on, she also had to ensure that they died in order for her to live. It wasn't something she wanted to think about, so she took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts aside. It wasn't a good thing to focus on at all.

Jade made her way over to the table of three and sat down beside the District Four kid. He came from a Career District just as she did, and she felt a little more comfortable nearer him rather than the rest. She hadn't caught any of their conversation, and could only manage to frown down at her plate. The food here was even better than it was in District One, and that was saying something. District One being so close to the Capitol was one of the richer Districts, and her family was among the top one percent in the District, so she'd had her own share of good food growing up. That was, perhaps, the only real good thing about her entire life. Even the richer Districts couldn't compete with the Capitol, however, and that was likely by design.

That didn't make her any more eager to eat the food sitting in front of her, though. Every time she looked down at the Capitol food, she thought about the Hunger Games. She thought about why she was here in this place in the first place. Being a Career who'd trained her whole life for this moment, this was something she should have already been prepared for. She had discovered soon after the Reaping that it wasn't the case. She felt afraid whenever she realized the trouble she'd gotten herself into. Her family weren't the loving sorts, and it had been drilled into each of the Morin children that their only worth would be as Victors. They would accept nothing else, and they had been trained from the moment they could walk.

It made for little affection, and she was close only to her two younger siblings. The rest were all at each other's throats for the most part, as they competed for their father's acknowledgement. And now here she was. She had won, or that's what she had first thought when she stood on that stage. Ever since then she had slowly begun to realize that she hadn't won at all. Deep inside, she was struggling against the truth. She didn't want to know that the only reason she had always wanted to enter the Games was for her father's love. If she won, he'd have to be proud of her. He'd have to love her. That's the real reason Jade Morin had stood up on that stage proudly, and she was slowly beginning to realize that it wasn't enough.

That she shouldn't have sacrificed her life for her father's love, but she wouldn't accept it. She wouldn't think about it at all, so she turned toward her fellow tributes, cleared her throat, and pushed those thoughts away. "So, why don't we fight together?"

Well, that was straight to the point. Usually, she wouldn't do this. She'd think about it first. She'd act like a proper lady. All charisma and elegance and smiles. Not today. Not when she was trying her very best not to think, and what better way to chase those thoughts away than setting up a proper alliance?

 

What was she doing? Was this the right choice? Jade wasn't so sure. One quick look at two of these tributes should have sent up red flags. Would they be able to fight? She highly doubted the boy from nine or the girl from three could handle a weapon all that weapon. The boy from four was something else - a career, someone she may be able to count on. She didn't focus on him too much, but she looked at the two others. She wasn't sure what they could bring to the table. If they were good at things that she wasn't - then they could be good allies. If they had struggled their whole lives, learned survival skills - well some Victors were like that, weren't they? Those tributes could help get her further than she'd be able to get on her own, and then at the end she could stab in the back and make it back home. The thought was enough to almost cause her to cringe - but she didn't. Wouldn't allow herself any sort of weakness.

It was too late for weakness now. The days were growing shorter and shorter and they didn't have much more time left. Weakness was for the beginning of their stay in the Capitol, and reserved for those private moments in her room. Now, she couldn't even afford that much. It was getting closer, and she had to mentally prepare herself if she was going to make it out of these Games. It wasn't time to be weak. Weak kids didn't make it out alive, now did they? Her mind thought through the previous Games, but if there were any she'd forgotten about them. It makes sense, of course, for weak kids would be boring to her and she wouldn't have interest in watching their Games. She preferred the strongest ones. The warriors. The Careers. Like Beck was okay. A Career from District Four, wasn't he? She'd only gotten to watch his Games a couple of times, unfortunately. She'd watched the girl from One who recently won more often.

Her eyes looked around the table, absorbing the kids that would make up her alliance. If they were going to be on her side, Jade felt they would be particularly dangerous. She may not be the only one deciding to stab each other in the back. She still felt that the boy from four was the biggest threat. She should be able to hold her own against the other two. The boy from four was an unknown. A possible threat. It made her realize that maybe her choice was correct: it might be better not having an alliance full of fighters. Sure, it helped when they could all put in equal weight against other tributes and mutts, but when it was just them? Would she be able to win for sure if they were all fighters and chose to kill her?

No, it was better having underdogs on her team. Well, so long as they were useful underdogs, and that was yet to be proven. There was no time to find out, either. If they were useful, that kind of ability could only be shown in the Games. There was no way to know how good someone was at trapping, fishing, and firemaking while they were here. She would just have to wait and find out and hope for the best. So, she put those thoughts aside for now, and looked down at her plate. Without her realizing it, she'd been simply poking at a piece of steak ever since she had sat down. With a frown, she slipped the bite into her mouth and chewed it slowly.

Jade mulled the situation over in her head while she chewed. She was too proper to speak with a mouth full, after all. Even if her parents weren't very good, they'd hired people to ensure their kids had proper manners. It was a show, of course. They were a rich family and they wouldn't have their kids look rude to their guests, now would they? So, just as the thrill of fighting had been brainwashed into her, so had manners. Once finished, she looked them each over one more time.

"What are your strengths?" Have any of you thought about what you're going to do in there?" Might as well talk some form of strategy since they were a team.