The Hunger Games: Bad Beginnings

Chapter 9: Phoenix

A/N: That's Phoenix (but imagine her with longer hair)⬆️ She's portrayed by Phoebe Tonkin.

Day 7

Name: Phoenix Kentwell
District: 2
Initial Scoring: 11
Weapon Of Choice: Throwing Knife
Weakness: Dependent
Judges' Comments: Phoenix is remarkable with a blade. She is very skilled and has a high chance of winning. Unfortunately, she is incapable of finding independence from her sister.

* * *

THINGS have been going pretty slow lately. It's only us and a few other tributes left, and Venus has been really on edge.

"What are you two doing!" she yells at Gem and Sapphire.

They've been throwing rocks at the side of the Cornucopia for the past 20 minutes, trying to see who can throw the farthest.

"They're just kids, V," I say.
"I don't care! We still have four days, at least, and they're driving me crazy! You know what? That's it. I'm done," she says and throws her hands up in the air. Venus picks up her axe and starts walking towards the girls.
"Woah! No, V!" I grab her by the arm and lock her in a bear hug.
"It's fine, P! I'm just gonna hurt Gem a little bit. Just one swing, that's all I'm asking!" She says, trying to shake out from my grip.

At this point, Gem and Sapphire have stopped throwing rocks and started to scurry for their weapons. They know that if Venus gets loose, there will be no stopping her.

"Calm down," I say to Venus, tightening my grip around her. "We still need them. Numbers are everything out here. If we keep them a little bit longer, you stand a better chance at winning."

With these words, Venus stops moving, and I know I can let her go. Venus has always had a sort of off switch, same as my father. If you remind her that she needs to be the best at something, even if it's at something as stupid as cleaning her room the fastest, she'll do anything to make sure she wins.

"Fine," Venus says, and starts to walk away. "Dad would've done what he needed to," she mumbles under her breath, and my mind wanders back to our home in the Victor's Village of District 2.

* * *

My dad is just like Venus. He won the 23rd Hunger Games, back when training first began in District 2. Ever since we were born, he would pit us against each other, saying that competition was key to survival. Venus always beat me at everything, and it was clear that my dad liked her more than he liked me. To him, raising a champion was always more important than raising a family.

That's why my mom and I got so close. One day, after one of my dad's obstacle courses, we came home and my dad took Venus out to the yard to throw axes with her. I sat on the windowsill and watched, feeling discouraged. My mom came to sit with me, and held me in her arms. She told me that strength isn't always the best way to beat people. She taught me that sometimes, just knowing how someone thinks, can prove more effective than going head to head with them.

From that day on, I learned how to get in Venus' head, and I started winning some of the competitions. It was great, and my dad finally started paying attention to me. That was until one night, I heard him yelling at the top of his lungs in the kitchen. When Venus came to bed she was crying. I asked what had happened, she looked at me and I saw the big black eye, shining in the dim light. My dad had been so angry about her losing the competitions, he had hit her right across the face. I couldn't bear to see my sister hurt like this, so I stopped competing all together. I started working with our youngest sister Clove. I taught her how to throw knives, and we let Venus do what she needed to do. Ever since then, I've vowed to never let my dad get to Clove. It was too late for Venus, she would always fight at all costs, but Clove could be different. She had to be.