Six of Crows characters in the Hunger Games

The Arena

Kaz

It disturbed Kaz that there was just one water supply. Obviously, it made sense - the game makers would want to cause conflict - but they would be out in the open and completely vulnerable. Sadly, dehydration was a bigger worry at the moment, so when night fell, they could make their way down, hopefully unnoticed. After discussion, they had decided to wait at the cornucopia for the half hour it would take for the sun to set. Moving up toward the forests sprawled across the mountains was stupid, since they couldn't possibly make it in time, and they would again be out in the open. It bothered him not to have a solid plan. That all they had to go on was to stay in the mountains in the day, and come down to the water at night. 

Matthias and Inej were the only ones who had any knowledge of any kind of survival in an environment like this. It had been part of Matthias's training, and Inej had picked up some skills from her time in the caravan, when they had been far from civilization. Kaz had learned a little from his week of training, but not enough to keep them alive. It bothered him, having to depend so fully on others. At least, if he had to trust anyone, these were the people he would most rely on.

Inej sat by him, at the mouth of the cornucopia.

"I don't like it here. The valley is our only source of water. I've been talking to Matthias, and he agrees that the forest is probably the only place we'll be able to find food."

"I'll think of something. If we spend the day in the mountains and the night in the valley, we won't be at risk as much."

"I still don't like it, though. Anything could go wrong." Just then a cannon went off.

"You have to remember that they're all in the same situation as us. Worse, in fact - they've never been to Ketterdam." Except Pekka Rollins. "Most of these people are just pigeons. We're all survivors, we have to be. They've had a week of training." Kaz didn't know why he was trying to comfort her. It was all true, but he'd never bothered before; it was a waste of energy, and had no gain. Except seeing the worry vanish from Inej's face. How could she trust him so much?

At that moment, the sky lit up.

"That can't be real," Inej muttered. 

"Shh. This is important!" It showed who had died. And who was still alive. The girl from one had died. The boy from three. Both from four and five. The boy from six. Kaz's fellow tribute from seven. Wylan and the girl - "Ada", Inej whispered - from eight. The girls from nine and eleven. The boy from twelve. 

"That's more than I predicted. Good. That means we have a better chance. Thirteen people died, only six left." He allowed himself to feel a little hopeful. They had a chance. 

Now that the sun had set, it was vital to get moving as quickly as possible, so they could get water and be up in the forest by sunrise.

"So, we're going down to the river now. As we now know, both Van Eck and Pekka Rollins know us, so I suspect they'll have predicted us and will be ready. So, Wraith, I'm sending you down first to sort anyone there out. Here," he threw her a knife, "It's not as nice as your old ones, but it will do. Then, coming from different angles, we can go down." It was in no way perfect, but they had limited time, space, and resources, and all he had to do was keep them alive. He would worry about Inej, but couldn't let that get in the way. If he was being honest with himself, it was a test for him, too. To see if he could still trust himself to be able to put her in danger without compromising the job.

Even after a week with his leg healed, he was still surprised when he could walk down the slope with no pain. Inej had given the signal, so hopefully all had gone well, they were safe. The resounding cannon helped, but Kaz was still wary. Anyone could have tortured the signal out of her, then disposed of her. A part of him collapsed at the thought. He needed to stop feeling for her, worrying about her. It made him weak. She had been taken hostage because of it. He couldn't let that happen again.

As he reached the bottom of the hill, holding a staff, similar to the ones he'd practiced with through the week, with iron tips. It didn't have the comfort of his cane, but it was similar enough that he didn't have to learn to fight with in a whole new different way. He scanned the grass, finding Inej in the shadows, more by instinct than actual eyesight.

"Hello, Wraith. Everything go to plan?" Inej nodded, opened her mouth to speak, then Nina jumped in.

"Please can we get some water, so we can go and get food? I'm starving!" Inej rolled her eyes, then said:

"Fine! If you're starving." They walked off, Nina wrapping her arm around Inej. Kaz tried to block out the pang of jealousy that came whenever Inej chose one of the others over him. It was his fault, after pushing her away so much, but still... it hurt.