The Hunger Games: Fight To Survive (HTTYD/Animation Crossover AU)

Training Begins

Sleep never came easy for me. Even with my exhausted, aching body begging me to rest, to finally charge up after a long day, every time, the realm of nightmares lurked within, waiting to strike the instant I closed my eyes. It didn't happen all the time, but when it did, it always hit me at my core, afraid to fall asleep again.

So, it wasn't surprising when I shot up from the bed, gasping deeply after my mind conjured up the usual images of fire and blood. Low breaths occupied the room as I clenched his fist against the blanket, repeating my mantra to calm my rapidly beating heart. Once I felt the tension dissipated, I sighed, falling back in bed, and staring at the grey, dark ceiling. I threaded my hand through my sweaty hair, closing my eyes to find any sleep. But alas, I could feel the dream lingering in the corner.

Never had I wished more for the sight of a black cat, gently caressing his fur through my fingertips. Or even the presence of a large hand belonging to a large, redhead man, awkwardly ruffling my hair in his own way of comfort.

I thought I would start missing my dad and Toothless much sooner, but maybe it was a good thing I started to in the privacy of my room. I wondered how Dad would have thought about my performance at the Parade. I wondered if Toothless understood that I wasn't home anymore. I hoped Dad was taking care of him well. He wasn't always fond of Toothless, but I'd like to think he warmed up to him eventually.

School probably felt different now. Not because of me, but because of Astrid. She was one of the popular students there. It would be shame if she didn't come back. I hoped Heather still had a nice hangout with Dagur. At least she didn't have to worry about him anymore. I never thought of her as someone who had a rough time sleeping, but with her two friends in The Games, I could imagine such a thing.

I hoped Gobber was looking out for Dad during work, making sure he wasn't overexerting himself. Just to distract himself from the thought that his only son was in The Games. I wished I could talk to them, though I wouldn't know what to truly say. That I was fine. That I was barely holding on. That I was scared. That I wanted to go home.

The night went by, and all I could do was lie there, looking at the ceiling, as thoughts about District 7 spun around my mind, wondering, and hoping. It wasn't the best way to go about it. But it was way better than sleeping with the nightmares.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Welcome tributes, to your first day of training." A young male, looking around in his early 30s, stood on top of a small platform, greeting us as we stood around him. His hair was dyed light blue and in an undercut style. He was wearing a matching black tracksuit jacket and trousers, with white and red stripes, along with the Capitol logo on the left side of his chest.

"My name is Ibis and I'll be your head trainer and overseer during your time here." Ibis introduced himself. "In the next week, you'll all enter The Hunger Games, but only one of you will return. Who that is will fully depend on the skills you'll acquire for the next three days."

He then goes on to explain each of the training stations situated within the centre. As he did, I looked around, not only seeing some of the stations mentioned, but also the tributes I was standing next to. We were all wearing a black shirt, trousers, and boots, with the same white and red stripes as Ibis, and the number of our district on the sleeves.

Since I had viewed the other Reapings, I could now put a name to their faces. All the Career tributes stood next to each other, already planning to form an alliance, just like every year. I saw Astrid, who stood about three steps from me, focused on each word being said. My eyes soon landed on Azula. She may have stood far from me, but I could tell she was listening with disinterest with her arms crossed.