Zachary Ebonate

Jump that hurdle when we come to it || Zachary & Roman || Track

roman-palmroy-blog

Although running isn’t my strong point compared to swimming, I had to admit that I was good at it. Anything the Academy has to throw at me, I embrace it and follow through for I know it’ll help me one way or another in the Arena. This sprint might just be exactly what I needed to see how good I’ll be in the bloodbath when everyone wants to grab a supplies.

All of a sudden my opponent stopped. Tired already? My pride gets the best of me. I burst into a laugh. We barely ran two miles. And that’s when it hit me. What a good actor. But that’s not enough to get me to quit. Fooling me is a very bad choice.

I sprinted faster than I did earlier. I put my self into a position where I’m running towards a needed necessity and someone wants to snatch it away from me. Fuck that. I passed the boy, this time, the finish line near my reach.

#hurdlejumping #closed #sorry :(

With him meters in front of me, and closing in on the finish line. I had to take control of this, and win. I saw the smile on his face, I saw the cocky little smile that had formed when passing me. He was far too high on a podium, and needed to be knocked down a peg or two.

I put all my energy into a final burst and ran straight into him, knocking him on to the floor and leaping over the finish line.

"Whoops." I laughed as I turned to look at him in the eyes, he was not happy. The peacekeepers could see something brewing and led me away from the station, one of them slapping me on the back of the head as I left.

Jump that hurdle when we come to it || Zachary & Roman || Track

roman-palmroy-blog

The boy running beside me was good, to say the least. I wonder what he had to keep away from in order to be so fast. Could he be trained? I don’t know, but I couldn’t wait to find out what he had to offer in this track. No matter, I’m often ordered to run around the Academy’s Island twice or more everyday. This should be easy, hadn’t I had a pretty descent opponent next tome.

It appears someone’s turning this into a competition. So be it. I merely smiled and ran even faster, often either next to him or in front.

Damn. It seemed I picked a fight with the wrong guy. He could handle himself on his legs, definitely trained. I could see it. This was as natural as breathing to him, but I couldn't go down without a fight. One of my only rules in life, that.

When I saw him breaking away, I stopped moving all together, faking that I was winded. He looked over his shoulder at me, he must have been laughing, but his laughter was improperly placed. Moments later I had taken over him, and had broken into a fast sprint. Moving further and further away with each coming second.

I didn't put myself on a winning pedestal just yet, anything could happen.

#hurdlejumping

Jump that hurdle when we come to it || Zachary & Roman || Track

roman-palmroy-blog

Rude. It’s like he didn’t even recognize my presence by not talking. I wonder if mom was right in saying that some people from the Outlying Districts were undignified. I ignored it and focused on what I’m really here for. A three mile sprint. God knows I need to lose a few pounds due to the new found appetite the Capitol gave me.

I stepped on to the starting line, and stretched my legs a little. Whatever course he desired, I’m more than ready to fulfill its needs.

#hurdlejumping #training36

The second the beginning whistle sounded, I set off. Sprinting towards the finish line, 3 miles around the track. I just pictured the peacekeepers chasing me, and that helped quite a bit. A 3 mile sprint would be a piece of piss for me. I used to ran 5 just to escape.

Half a mile in, Roman was still by my side, so I pushed on. Having to win.

#hurdlejumping

Jump that hurdle when we come to it || Zachary & Roman || Track

After finishing with the plants and poisons, I walked over to the track. I knew I had good stamina, I just wanted to push myself to the limit. Walking up, I noticed another boy there, and simply nodded. Not needing to introduce myself. This wasn't a mothers meeting.

I pushed the button and lined up on the start of the track.

Eat your greens! || Zachary & Fay || Plants + Poisons

fayharper

"Then why don’t you try it out?" I bit my lip and dragged another plant over to where we were sitting. This one was a vine with small, heart-shaped leaves sparsely growing from the stem. I checked out the posted again.

Also not an antidote.

I groaned and tossed it at Zachary, who was flipping through the book again. “Try that one on for size.”

I looked a bit closer at him. He was Kyera’s district partner, which was was so odd to me considering how sweet she had been. The singing fairy princess and the asshole. What an odd combination.

"I would, but I'm on a strict no shit looking plant diet, thanks though." I laughed, smiling for real this time. I picked the antidote up and inspected it, pulling the leaves off.

"Curl these bastards up and they're definitely edible! Not sure about the rest of the plant though." I chewed one of the leaves and then looked at Fay. "There you go, proof." I smiled, and threw the rest of the plant on the table.

"Alright then, find an antidote." I gave her a quick challenge and threw the book aside, leaning forward.

#eatyourgreens

Eat your greens! || Zachary & Fay || Plants + Poisons

fayharper

I was taken aback suddenly by his snarkiness.

"Excuse me for introducing myself," I responded. "Is being late another habit of yours?"

I wasn’t going to admit it, but after North and Mondo and Kyera were all so sweet, it was kind of a nice change of pace to talk to someone who didn’t mind talking back. There was a wilted flower sitting next to me, so I picked it up by the stem and tried to locate it on the poster, seeing if it was an antidote. It was nowhere to be found on it, so it must have been poisonous. I set it down next to Zachary.

"Well, I like my sleep. So what's not to love?!" I chuckled, then looked back at my book.

Picking up the wilted flower, I sniffed it, and then threw it back on the table. "Decoy, looks poisonous, is actually extremely harmless. You could shove this fucker into your veins with a needle and you'd be totally fine." I forced a smile and threw it back onto the table.

"Next."

#eatyourgreens

Eat your greens! || Zachary & Fay || Plants + Poisons

fayharper

I stretched my arms out and popped my knuckles after my rock climbing session with Kyera. Ugh, never again. My feet were firmly on the ground and I hoped to god they’d stay there for a good amount of time. That awful harness was off my body and gone and I was ready for another station.

Glancing around, I noted that there was only one station that wasn’t crowded; the plants and poisons station had only one boy there, who I didn’t quite recognize. I hadn’t seen him earlier this morning and I thought I may have seen him in passing during the Parade. He must have gotten here late.

I sat down next to him, staying mostly silent and picking up a poster laying on the floor that indicated the different kinds of antidotes for each poisonous plant. “I’m Fay,” I said offhandedly. “District Five.”

#eatyourgreens #training36

After reading another page, I finally looked up at the girl that had just joined me. I had never seen her before, which is fairly obvious. But not even in the parade or reapings. I flipped the page over and then looked back up at her.

"I don't recall asking, but Zachary. Seven." I bit my tongue afterwards, Michaelangelo had told me to try and be polite, but it wasn't working too well. "Sorry, habit of mine. Being rude."

#eatyourgreens

Eat your greens! || Zachary & Fay || Plants + Poisons

Farren slammed my door open mid-morning, waking me up with a loud shout. I fell off of the bed and rolled onto the floor, wrapped in my blanket. She rushed me into the shower and then threw my training outfit at me, clapping and rushing me all along. No doubt Michaelangelo had put her up to this, with me missing my schedule.

I ran straight down the stairs after grabbing a bread roll and burst into the training center, I was late so all of the stations were filled up, bar the plants and poisons station. I quickly walked over and picked up a book, studying the images. Time to learn.

Yay, trees. || Zachary + ? || Stables

I jumped down from the horse-drawn cart and almost ripped my entire outfit off instantly. Just before remembering that I would then be naked in a room full of other tributes. And that would not be a very thrilling experience. I quickly looked around at the other tributes socializing and swallowed the lump in my throat. Being social was never my strong point, and to be honest, I didn't want to start practicing right this second.

I walked away from the cart and towards the elevator, only to be stopped moments before I stepped in.

#open babies

maliaaugustine-blog

tributes for the 36th annual hunger games!

Off the Tracks || Train || Zachary & Kyera

I dart my eyes back to him. I didn’t need another person telling me what I should and should not have to do. My entire life consisted of mother telling me to do one thing, Willow and Rae highly convincing me to do something else, Cal walked all over me with his flowery words, and everyone else in between always had their say with me. And now, a complete stranger is giving me advice that a no-brainer could have told me. “Thanks, but I can manage on my own,” I say softly, avoiding eye contact.

Michaelangelo’s eyes lit up at the switch in conversation toward something he loves. “You two are going to love it,” he sings, his hands flying up jazz-hands style. “There are beautiful outfits, delicious food, exciting people! The whole shebang! What would you like to know?” Michaelangelo leans in to Zachary as the two carry off on their own tangent.

The food in front of me was starting to make me queasy, but I manage to clear off the first plate. I was beginning to feel sick with myself for having eaten so much food, when Oren notices. He nudges Farren lightly with his shoulder and nods subtly to me. “Are you okay, Kyera?” Farren asks sweetly, but softly so as to not disrupt the Capitol conversation. My eyes fly up, unaware that I had been noticed. I nod my head nervously, squeezing my hands into fists on my lap. “Just feeling a little motion sickness,” I lie. “Excuse me,” I say softly to the table once more, and head straight for a door to the next cart. “That’s to the bedrooms and bathrooms, right?” I ask with a weak smile. I get a nod from Farren as I walk over. Instead, my knees are weak from the nausea from the eating, the disgust I felt, and actual motion sickness that I stumble onto the wall. The mentors look up, almost rushing over when I wave them off and trudge through the next car, looking for a bathroom.

Michaelangelo chewed my ear off about The Capitol for the next hour, but if I am going to be perfectly honest with you, I didn't mind. It was intriguing, their lifestyle was so much more different than ours, it sounded like a whole new planet. He told me about the food, the buildings, the clothes, the voices, the entertainment. All of it. I absorbed every ounce of information happily, and I never thought that this strange man could ever hold an interesting conversation.

Part of the way through describing the trends of the clothes, he even pointed at the mask on my lap and winked, "I used to have a little something just like that back in the day, fashion baby, fashion." I chuckled at the thought of Micahelangelo prancing around The Capitol with my mask on, and almost teared up a little bit.

When I looked around the table next, it was empty apart from me and Michaelangelo, I had been so interested about The Capitol, I hadn't noticed everybody else getting up and leaving the cart. Michaelangelo checked his watch and his eyes met mine, "We shall have to finish this conversation another time, dear. I have somewhere to be." He stood up and kissed my cheek before leaving the cart with a hop in his step.

I wiped his make up off of my face and stood up chuckling, then left the train cart.

#Train36 #closed

Off the Tracks || Train || Zachary & Kyera

I grab a couple of plates when Zachary arrives next to me. I shake my head with a small smile. “I’m okay,” I tell him as I grab the small tongs and start picking up little bits of food. As delicious as some of them look, I’m stuck between actually having an appetite and just mindless eating.

"I’m just protective of my sister. That’s all," I shrug lightly as I fill up both my plates rather quickly. The two mentors both ask for water, opting out of weird Capitol drinks and alcohol for the time being.

"I’ll have water, too," I say softly before I return to my seat to place the plates of food in front of the mentors. "Eat up," I say with a smile.

"Alright, but she won't need protecting in the arena, just saying. You gotta do this for you, not her." I smiled weakly and grabbed 3 glasses of water, handing them to both the mentors and Kyera. I decided to try something new and grabbed a glass of a clear alcoholic liquid, then sat down in my seat.

I began digging in to all of The Capitol's luxurious foods, and found it hard to stomach some of it. Most of it was so rich, and sickly, but I finished the plate with a struggle. "Let's skip this talk for a little while, and just be relaxed." I smiled, turning towards Michaelangelo.

"What's life like back in The Capitol?" I grinned, "Enlighten us!"

Off the Tracks || Train || Zachary & Kyera

I’m trying to grasp the conversation and the advice, but I feel like I don’t know anything nor do I have any questions, so I just sit quietly.

By now, I’m just fidgeting in my seat, getting restless. My eyes gaze away from the table and I spot a table full of delicious-looking food. I gulp and debate whether or not eating is a good idea. The anxiety that I’m already feeling isn’t helping and eating would only cause more anxiety. I give in and softly excuse myself from the table to grab some food.

"Would anyone like water or food?" I ask politely as I push in my chair.

After dropping my mask onto the table, I Stood to my feet and walked to Kyera's side. I had made her mad, and I needed to make things right. I didn't really want to go into the Capitol with no friends. That would not be nice.

"I'll help." I exclaimed to the rest of the team as I joined Kyera by the table and grabbed a plate. "I'm sorry about what I said, earlier. About your sister. Was meant to be a joke, that's all."

I bit into a slice of an apple and then grabbed a glass, "Michaelangelo, what's your poison?" He pointed towards a thick, gloopy, green liquid that held a striking resemblance to snot. "Uhm, this?" He nodded largely and then turned back to his conversation with the mentors.

I poured Michaelangelo his drink and then looked towards Farren and Oren, raising an eyebrow, "Drinks?"

Off the Tracks || Train || Zachary & Kyera

"Whoa, there, Zachary," Michaelangelo trills. "No need to get defensive, boy. Just saying that there are other things to consider in the Games if you want to win." I wrinkle my face in disgust at his brief description of blood and guts of a body. My stomach churns a little at the mental image and I try to push the thought away. Why was this boy talking about this already?

Farren shifts in her seat in surprise at Zachary’s onslaught of questions. Even I’m a little taken aback by the boy’s bluntness.

"Actually," Farren begins. "Being alone wasn’t too bad for me, personally," throwing a curve on the question. "I’ve been isolated all my life so the Arena was hardly anything new to me. That’s not to say that I wasn’t paranoid, though," she continues. She readjusts more comfortably in her seat. "And for having someone there, time and time again, it might make the Arena more bearable, but being alone has its benefits, too." She shrugs lightly and smiles softly. "The latter just requires a little more courage and a little bit more focus."

I nod at her words, soaking them in. This piece of information may actually be helpful for me.

I was stupid, but I wasn't dumb. I knew that what I had asked definitely had some emotional ties with Farren, and that simply saying those things brought back a wave of memories. I nodded my thanks towards her and smiled, "Thank you,Farren." I calmly said with a tint of regret in my voice. Yes, I killed, and yes, I enjoyed it. But that doesn't mean that I'm gonna torture my own mentor with unbearable questions.

I turned back to Michaelangelo smiling, "Yes sir, Mikey sir, I chuckled, and smiled in his direction, then grabbed my mask and sat with it in the palms of my hands, underneath the table, rubbing my fingers over the intricate details carved into it.

"Alone can be bad, but also good. Having company can be good, but also bad. Got it." I repeated, boring it into my memory. I had to pick Farren and Oren's brains as much as I could if I wanted to win.

Then it hit me. Did I want to win? I volunteered to get away from this place, I win, I'm thrown back here, and most likely thrown into prison.. Damn.

Off the Tracks || Train || Zachary & Kyera

I immediately scoot away from him. The reality is that 23 of us will die, but I refuse to accept that reality so soon.

"Listen, just because you’ve killed before, it doesn’t mean you know how to fight. You’ll be going against tough Careers, people who have been training their entire lives for this. Your arrogance is clearly a weakness," Michaelangelo says. "Of course, I’m just speaking from what I’ve seen. I’m sure your mentors know more than I do."

"Don’t underestimate everyone else," Oren finally speaks. He turns to me. "What about you?"

I gulp, the lump in my throat still stuck. “I uh… I don’t know if I’m good at anything,” I mutter under my breath. Farren smiles comfortingly. “There’s something you can do that evens out your chances. You just don’t know it yet.” I smile weakly, unsure of that.

"At what point did I state that I could fight? I know fair well that there are people going into that arena that could rip me limb from limb without even batting an eyelid." I had been told stories of people that could have gotten a kill, but their 'morality issues' forced them to stop, and in turn they died.

"I'm just saying that if it comes down to me standing over a body with some bloody blades and blood dripping from a cut in my abdomen, I'm not going to pussy out of taking someone's life. I have the ability to kill and it not affect my mentality at all."

My District partner surely had some hidden skills, everyone does. Even if they don't know it, each and every person has a hidden skill set, they just need to find that certain skill out.

I turned towards Oren and nodded, "Yeah, that makes sense now I think about it. Underestimating someone could lead to my demise, or worse." I chuckled, turning back towards Micaelangelo.

"Alright then, Farren. I've got a question for you, if you don't mind. "What's it like being in the arena, all alone, at night. Nobody to hold, nobody to cling on to as the moon rises, nobody to cuddle up to if it gets a bit chilly. What's it like?"

Off the Tracks || Train || Zachary & Kyera

I roll my eyes. This boy needs a humility check. “I was just… Nevermind,” I sigh, exasperated. I certainly hope that I don’t have to work with my District Partner that much if he was already getting on my nerves. I take a few deep breaths and let it go. I can’t afford to stress and freak out right now, but with the way he’s acting, I can’t help but feel belittled, even if I know that’s not his goal.

"Well, strengths, first, obviously, silly boy. Then weaknesses and what we should avoid when we present you to the public," MIchaelangelo repeats. "Tell us about yourself before you ask what your mentors can do for you. They’ve done it before so they’ll cater to your needs."

"Strengths first? That's fucking easy." I laughed, "I've killed, which is fairly obvious by now I think." I turned towards the two mentors and smiled. "Mentors. Care to advise me on anything else? That's more or less the only strength I have."

I could tell I hadn't gotten off on a good foot with them, so I'd be lucky to have any sponsors, let alone any help from my team.