Firecracker: The 99th Games Book One

Training, District 1

Cerys had a mission on his way into training.

Or rather, he had three missions. Mission one was to learn survival skills. Mission two was to get really good with some weapon. And mission three was to ally with the tributes from Districts 7 and 11.

He wanted to bring Chou along, but she was right when she said it was impractical. It felt like he was giving up on her, but he had to start thinking like Mercy if he wanted to win.

The two parted in the elevator. Cerys got started with mission one: survival. He spent time at the plant station, running through it a couple of times before leaving it for the District 3 girl to use. Next, he practiced camouflage for a time. While there, he struck up a conversation with his trainer and learned how to start a fire and find water. Lastly, he headed to the snares section and learned how to trap an animal from the trainer there.

Mission one completed successfully. By the time the buzzer sounded to end the day, Cerys felt sure he was going to be okay in terms of survival essentials. He was no expert, but with luck, his alliance would cover his weaknesses.

Two days left, two missions. He had to make this alliance work. Just to check, he scouted the two districts he wanted to ally with. The two tributes from 11 were with the boy from 5, worriedly sitting with him as he worked on camouflage, something he seemed to positively excel in. The tributes from 7 had found the boy from 3, and all three of them practiced with knives.

Cerys left the training room feeling oddly nervous. Would his ideal alliance be left by the time he got around to asking them?

Maybe he would shuffle his missions around a bit.

The second day of training, after saying goodbye to Chou, Cerys sought out the District 7 tributes. They were with the boy from 3 again.

"Excuse me," he greeted. "I couldn't help but notice the three of you with the knives yesterday. You're all quite skilled."

"I'm not, but thank you!" the boy from 7 exclaimed. "You're...Cerys, right? From District 1?"

The girl from 7 fully glared at Cerys. He smiled at her, hoping to put her at ease, but it only made her glare more.

She doesn't like me. Already, Cerys knew this alliance was a lost cause. But perhaps he could salvage it. What were their names again...? He'd studied this with Mercy. "Yes, that's correct. ...Touma, right?"

The boy from 7 nodded. "Yep! Hey, good job remembering!"

"Thank you," Cerys said with a chuckle. "Say, is there room for one more in this alliance of yours?"

"No," the girl from 7--Kikue, if Cerys remembered her name correctly--said immediately, tone sharp. "I'm afraid we are a closed alliance. Thank you."

Touma seemed surprised to hear this. The boy from 3--Hinata, was it?--eyed Cerys suspiciously.

"Perhaps I have a skill you need," Cerys tried. "I spent all day yesterday learning survival skills. Surely we can--"

"We are not open to District 1," Kikue cut in, deliberately. "I'm afraid I have no trust for the Career districts."

"I assure you, I am the furthest thing from a Career," Cerys insisted.

"Oh well. Good luck finding another alliance," Kikue replied stubbornly. She took Touma's hand, jerking her head for Hinata to follow as she dragged him away. Hinata shrugged apologetically and followed her.