We Are C A R E E R S [64th Hunger Games!]

[Hey! So this is a Fanfiction idea I've had in my head for a while because I started to do some deep thinking in regards to the Hunger Games universe, and I started to think about the Careers and how they're portrayed as 'bad'. Then I got thinking, what if they're actually the good guys? I mean, they're sacrificing themselves do that the young, innocent children from their district don't have to die, right? So I thought I might just write a Hunger Games from a Career tribute's POV. You don't have to read it, but if you do then enjoy! 
Also, since I'm only doing it from one Career's POV, it'd be cool if someone wanted to join in possibly from another Career's POV, but it's cool either way. Yus. . . Enjoy!]



The other tributes I mean, the ones that refer to us as Careers, they despise us. Even now, as we stand in a circle formation around the Cornucopia, I feel their glares on me. Trying not to let it faze me, I position myself ready to sprint at a moments notice. My eyes rest upon a pack of knives right inside the mouth of Cornucopia. If I were quick enough, I could be in and out of the bloodbath in a matter of seconds, but when you're a Career, it is not a question of if, you simply must be.

However unfair the Career system is, you must admit that it works. The strongest of us are selected at the age of nine and put through a series of tests. I still remember the day I was taken; so young, so excited at the prospect of competing in the Hunger Games. I remember standing in line with all the other girls, I remember tapping my toes together whilst they examined each one of us in turn. 



I was allowed in because of a panicked decision to speak out. From that day on, all of my energy and time was dedicated to training. The more you sweat here, the less you'll bleed in the Arena. That's our motto. Let's see if it pays off. I exchange a glance with my District partner who smiles grimly back at me.



The boom of the cannon echoes throughout the Arena.

I dart forwards, already ahead of most of the other tributes. My eyes do not move from the pack of knives before me. Within a matter of moments, I am inside of the Cornucopia, strapping the belt around my waist hurriedly. Taking a particularly small blade in my hand, I twirl in a graceful malice, slitting the District Three girl's throat in the process. A river of red runs down her neck as she chokes on her own blood momentarily, before she collapses to her knees, hands clasping her severed throat as she sinks further to a curled up position on the ground before me. I feel the sensation of my stomach dropping as the remaining life drains from her face, but she shouldn't have snuck up behind me. 

Next, I move my gaze upwards to the bloodbath. All around me, children are brawling with one another over supplies, weapons. As the blood of the innocent splatters across the ground, even I have to avert my eyes. Cannon after cannon sounds and I don't even bother to count. Usually, most of the tributes die in the initial bloodbath, at least half anyway. Remembering this, I proceed to scan the area for any remaining backpacks, my eyes lingering on a green one with some sort of kit attached to it. I begin to jog towards it, taking care not to bump into other tributes as I speed past them. I'm so preoccupied with gathering supplies that I don't notice a boy tribute heading my way until he crashes straight into me, knocking the weapon from my hand.

We are both sent flying to the ground and I attempt to scramble to my feet, but the boy is considerably bigger than myself. He pins me to the floor with his feet, pushing down hard on my fingers. I feel one on my left hand snap and I want to scream out in pain. Looking up, I recognise the male as the District Three tribute, possibly seeking out revenge for his district partner whom I killed. Without a weapon, the boy still seems intent on killing me as he grabs a strand of my loose hair and winds it around my throat, proceeding to choke me. I gasp for air, surprised by this. My legs thrash madly as I struggle to get out of his grip, but I can't die, not yet. Suddenly, I move my head up to knock into his own. He instinctively clutches his nose as he cries out in pain allowing me to push him off of me. Wasting no time, I stab one of my knives into his chest. His eyes go wide as he screams out silently, unable to form comprehensible words. He becomes still in a matter of seconds and I pull the knife from him. Examining my handiwork, I force myself to suppress any feelings of guilt or remorse as I take my backpack and kit. I sprint the rest of the way into the forest, not even daring to look back.

After about thirty seconds of continuous running, I eventually stop to allow myself to catch my breath. Settling myself down beside the trunk of a tree, I swing my backpack in front of me and begin to rummage through it. Inside, I find a box of matches, a length of rope, a packet of beef strips, some crackers and some sort of waterproof material all of which I toss to one side. It wouldn't matter anyway since I'd made plans with the other Career tributes to take over the Cornucopia; we'd have all the supplies we needed. I begin to load my supplies back in, leaving the beef strips. Finding that I am already hungry, I open the pack and pop one into my mouth, smiling a little at the taste. They were tender and lukewarm, not like the chewy stuff back home. Enjoying this moment, I lean back and let out a small content sigh. The sounds of the bloodbath are too distant to be heard; I would go back later and meet up with my teammates. 

A nearby rustle grasps my attention and I whip my head around, my hand travelling instantly to a knife. For a few moments there is silence and I allow my fingers to relax slightly, but several seconds later a female emerges from a collection of shrubbery wielding an axe. She sprints towards me at incredible speed, and before I can react snatches up my backpack, throwing it so that it thwacks against a nearby tree. I bring my knife up, intending to stab her, but stop as I recognise her,

"Sparkle?!" I stare at the District One girl in disbelief, lowering my knife almost immediately. My gaze travels to the backpack as I snap, "What the hell?" Sparkle doesn't answer as she continues to watch the bag intently. After a few moments, she looks back at me,

"Sorry, some of the backpacks are explosive. Poor Eleven got his arms blown off; he was screaming in pain till I came along," Sparkle smiles, showing off pearly whites, "Messy business though. . . Was that for me then?" she nods at the knife currently in my right hand and I go red, slightly embarrassed that I almost stabbed my own teammate.

"Thanks anyway," I murmur quietly, glancing around, "Where's Talon?" I ask, referring to her district partner. Sparkle shrugs and I sigh, rising to my feet. Sparkle stands too; she's much taller than me. I stand at about five foot tall whereas she must be five foot seven at least. Though she is older. . . 

Sparkle frowns at me and raises a hand to my neck. I flinch away instinctively but she just jerks her head towards me, "What happened?" Looking down, I see the red marks left by my own hair across my neck,

"District Three boy," I reply before taking my backpack into my arms, "I killed him though, and his partner," Sparkle nods approvingly before glancing around and turning. She gestures for me to follow,

"C'mon Wren, we should go. . ." Instead of answering, I simply follow, wincing as I feel my left index finger throb. In my head, I begin to wonder what happened to my district partner, is he even alive?

( This is really good! I like it ^^ )

(Thanks Alle! ^^ I'll write more later).

Within minutes, we reach the Cornucopia. I notice that the bodies have disappeared but blood is still splattered out staining the fresh green grass. All remaining tributes have scattered in fear that the next cannon will be for them and that their picture will be the next to appear in the sky. Sparkle seems to walk with a bounce in her step, and I soon see why. Out from the Cornucopia steps Talon, the District One boy. At seventeen, Talon was the oldest of the Careers, and of course the most handsome. He and Sparkle both shared the same radiant shade of blonde hair and similar dazzling turquoise orbs, each perfectly shaped. Sparkle had pulled her best friend into a tight hug,

"I found Wren!" she tells him with a smile, "But not Leonis. . ." I feel my stomach drop once more but swallow my irrational fears; Leon is trained, he'd be absolutely fine on his own.

"Hey Wren!" I hear Talon call me and I glance up. He seems to be giggling stupidly, "D-Did you see that boy running around with no arms?" his own remark is too much for him and he falls into Sparkle as he cackles with laughter. I scowl and shake my head disapprovingly at such childish behaviour. Making my way over to the Cornucopia, I look up in time to see Sparkle shove him away, attempting to suppress a smile as she addresses me,

"So, let's talk tactics," she begins, obviously trying to take charge. Talon's laughter diminutes into small giggles as he glances at Sparkle. I just stare at Sparkle as if urging her to say more. After several moments of awkward silence overlayed with the muffled sounds of laughter, Sparkle clears her throat, "Should we go and find Leon?"

"No," I reply quickly, fairly confident in my teammate. Both of the tributes from One stare at me as I expand upon my answer, "We should rest... Go out at night. Y'know, look for easy pickings?" Talon obviously agrees with me as he nods his head vigorously. Sparkle sighs heavily, twirling her axe within her right hand,

"Fine," she nods, a thin line appearing on her brow, "You two rest, I'll guard," I murmur a quiet thanks before pulling the sleeping bag from my kit bag. Whilst Talon lays himself out in the sunshine, I select a spot inside the Cornucopia to lay down. Settling into the closest thing I will have to a bed for the next few weeks, I become silent as I wait to drift off,



My ears perk up at the sound of Talon's voice. The two obviously believe I'm out of earshot.



I fume as Sparkle joins in. Small, fragile, weak; words I hear often. I mutter vulgarities under my breath as I pull the covers over my head, unable to fall asleep as taunts echo inside my head.

It had taken me about ten more minutes to eventually settle down, but I awake with a start as music filled the whole Arena. Crawling out from my cosy spot within the shiny metallic shelter, I see both Sparkle and Talon huddled up together watching as the names of fallen tributes appear in the sky.



A lump forms in my throat as the images of the girl and boy I murdered appear above us both looking cold and indifferent, almost proud. The tribute continues.



Eleven out of twenty-four tributes down already and the games have only just begun. I spot Sparkle and Talon murmuring and pointing, identifying which were their own kills. As I clear my throat, they both turn to look at me, blinking at me several times before actually saying anything,

"So Two, how many did you get?" Sparkle asks with a raised eyebrow. Did she just call me Two? I cough once before answering,

"Both of District Three. . . Have I been asleep long?" I frown as I notice the considerably darkened sky, remembering it to be much brighter not long ago,

"The audience were getting bored, so the game makers decided to mess with the time. Let's go entertain them," Sparkle rises from her cross-legged position on the floor, her axe still clutched in her right hand. Talon follows shortly, a machete in his own. Both such large destructive weapons whereas I favour knives. Small and deadly, kinda like me. I twirl one absent-mindedly within my right hand, attempting to stretch out my left but I wince as I feel my broken finger strain itself. I shake the feeling and proceed to follow my teammates away into the forest where we would become hunters.

Proceeding to the sea of forest, the moon's radiance is the only thing that helps us to see. Wren trailing a little far behind me and Talon, I somehow feel both uneasiness and secureness.

"Hey Talon," I say in a small, whispering voice,"why do you think she's been chosen as one of us? I mean, she's kinda small."

He glances to Wren and turns to me. "That again, huh?" Talon sighs.

"What?" I reply to him quite loudly, but returns to my whispering voice, "I mean..." I let out a deep sigh and adds, "Alright, you made your point. I won't say it again."

I feel the slight breeze touch my skin. My blonde hair swaying with the wind. The leaves and branches creates a swishing sound and I lift my axe to the side of my head, protecting myself from the wind. As we continue to walk, I hear two clinking sounds, hitting the metal of my axe. I'm being targeted.

"Wait for me." I state to the two of them, and heads out to the tribute who targeted me.

As Sparkle makes her way towards the apparent threat, I glare daggers into the back of her head, stopping as I remember that Talon is still here and probably watching me. Flicking a loose strand of my ginger hair from my shoulder. I remember back to the near death experience involving the District Three boy where I had almost reached a tragically premature end. Taking the hair tie my big sister Thorn gave me as a goodbye present, I pull my thick tresses back into a messy ponytail. No one will be strangling me again anytime soon.

With a subtle glance at Talon, I murmur, "I'm going too," before setting off shortly behind my teammate possibly hoping to assist in some way and at least gain their approval, not that I need it.

[Sparkle's POV]


Sprinting over a small distance, I gain some grounds to my new target. How dare that person try to kill me? I silently walk, a few times stepping on dead branches, giving out my location. I stop in my tracks and survey the area. The grass and soil having pressured and a few footprints. Based on the prints, it was woman. Unbelievable. Now, the only thing I need to know is her location. Think. The way that the arrow bounces off. Right! It bounced off not slid down. We were in equal footing. Once again, I walk silently and covers only a small distance, making sure that I wasn't going to be lost. I stop once again in my tracks, inspecting the area. There were no foot prints or pressure on leaves and the soil. Seeing as this is becoming pointless, I turn my back and see something gleaming and is heading straight towards me. A closer look, it's an arrow aimed to my head. Quickly, I crouch and starts running towards my unknown target. I see the woman panicking and trying her best to reload her bow with an arrow and probably plans on firing it to me again.

Why won't she just run away? Is she stupid? She'll get killed by me! Pathetic. I rush to the girl, closing the distance between us. I knock off her weapons and knock her down to the ground, her letting out a small groan. I can see her terrified expression. Understandable as she is to face her imminent death. I smile at her because this is what is taught to me.

"You know, trying to kill me is a bad idea." I say to her. Getting a closer look at her face, she's a District Ten girl. I plan on talking to her more before her death but the audience always comes first. I swing my axe down and chop her right hand off. She lets out a loud scream and glares at me. Ah, yes. This is it!This is what is supposed to happen. I smile once again and cut off her left hand. Once again, she screams but louder. I want to kill her already but the audience always comes first. I proceed to both her legs and cut them off. The girl lets out a small groan and didn't bother to scream. She knows that there is no one to help. And she no longer wanted to suffer. I see her tears flow down her face, a pained expression, both mentally, physically, and psychologically. It's quite clear that she is worn out, not mentioning that what I see now is disgusting. Good thing that my swings are clean. If dull, it's much more painful. Ten will surely be dead in a few minutes. For the sake of the audience, I decide to leave her alone and let them witness the girl's death.

I stop moving as soon as I hear the scream. Hopefully, Sparkle has this one under control. Several moments later, I hear the familiar boom of the cannon and instinctively, I jerk my head upwards towards the sky.



I swallow hard as I see the face of a young girl appear in the sky, younger than me even. Twelve down and only twelve more to go, but at least Leon is okay. Focusing my attention back, I see Sparkle heading my way and nod at her in an approving sort of way. I'm sure she put on a good show,

"We should move out, let the hovercraft take the body away," I call out to her as she is still a distance away. Glancing back, I can see Talon jogging his way towards us. Still, I miss Leon. . .

[Sparkle's POV]


I return to the two of them, a smile plastered on my face. Arriving at Talon, I place my hand to his shoulder and say, "That's another one for me! You're gonna lose at this point."

He brushes my hand off and comments, "You're covered with blood. I suggest you don't do that." Talon sighs and I slightly chuckle. Turning to Wren, I ask her a quick question. "I'm just a little curious but why shouldn't we look for your partner?"

Wren's POV:

My eyes travel upwards to the left as I contemplate the question and attempt to form a sufficient answer in my head. The truth is I'm afraid of finding Leon half-dead and bleeding from the head because he tried to act the hero, but I can't let them know that,

"He's probably trying to find us," I say in a calm, uninterested voice,"S-So we should probably stay near the Cornucopia. .  ." my voice trails off as my sentence finishes and I look at the two, expectantly waiting for their reactions. 

[Sparkle's POV]


"I see. . ." I reply with an uninterested tone. "Well, he could be. Not that I really mind." I smirk with this comment of mine and adds, "If he don't meet with us though and end up dead, just means that he's not good enough." I shake my head and look at Talon. He looks at Wren and turns to me and smiles, "Have to agree with Spark, Wren. We don't need useless people so I suggest for him to come to us quickly." he smirks and his arrogant personality starts to surface. "And I think you really don't want to be with us, people who are underestimating you and are going to ignore you." he smiles and his expression starts to become serious.

"Alright, joking aside" I say, my expression the same as Talon's, I reply to Wren's second question. "I do think that it is better to return to the Cornucopia but I suggest we climb some tree and wait for tributes to gather at the Cornucopia then we simply strike. We can also provide the audience some entertainment too. . ."

Wren's POV:

My expression becomes a deathly glare as I lock eyes with Talon, refusing to break my gaze for several moments. I then glance at Sparkle momentarily before moving my gaze towards the knife I have just pulled from my pocket.

"Fine," I reply haughtily, watching as the knife spins in my left hand. Grabbing it by the handle, I stop the circular motion rather suddenly, "If you two can even get up a tree that is," I spin around, allowing my tresses of red hair to bob along as I walk. Back turned to the arrogant, District One tributes, I smirk to myself quietly. If they thought I was weak, they were in for a big shock. Everyone knew that the tributes from Two trained the longest and the hardest. We might not have been the best-looking, but at least we could survive.

[Talon's POV]

"What did you just say?" I ask her, my hand forming a fist, clenching it so hard that my nails might dig through my palm. What I hate the most is being underestimated. The machete that I hold in my right hand, I handle tightly. I want to kill her so badly.

With her back away from us, I plan on taking her out but Spark grabs my hand tightly and disagrees with my actions. She rarely rejects my idea though this time, she might be right.

"Don't even try it. She's useful." My partner says to me in a whispering voice. Without a reply to her, I back down and continue to follow Two. With her in front of us, I feel myself as being inferior.

Wren's POV:

Hearing Talon's reaction only causes me to smirk more. I stifle my chuckling quickly as not to let on that I'm finding this amusing. I glance behind me however, hiding my smile as I see how worked up he is. Sparkle seems much calmer however. I feel like telling then I was joking, but think it best to leave it. We soon near the Cornucopia and I approach a medium sized tree that surrounds it. With a deep breath in, I take ahold of a branch and begin to scale it with ease. My small size allows me to move quickly and easily and within seconds, I am perched up on a branch, legs swinging as I look down at my teammates,

"Coming up?" I call in an almost taunting way, but being careful not to smile as not to provoke them any more. I have already pushed my luck too far.

[Talon's POV]


This girl is pushing her luck too far. "For sure, she's going to be killed by my hand." I say enough for Spark to hear my comment. She just looks at me, with an emotionless face. Is she also looking down on me? No. That's impossible. I slightly chuckle with my thought and continue to climb. I went first as Spark let me and when I reached a branch, I slip but manages to hang onto something. Spark lightly laughs, enough for me to hear and Two held her hands out. "I don't need it." I tell her and continue to climb and finally, sitting on the branch. Sparkle follows and climbs, faster than me, and sits besides me. "You know, that's pathetic." she comments to me while lightly punching my shoulder. She looks at Two and comments, "I have to admit, you're fast." Spark says while smiling at her. The way the two of them acts pisses me off. "Women. . ." I mumble to myself, sighing in irritation.

Wren's POV:

"Mhm," I reply very simply to Sparkle's compliment, not allowing the half-hearted praise to go to my head and I focus my attention on the Cornucopia clearing. Surely no one would dare approach the Career camp, especially not at this time of night and especially not when there were presumably four (or three in this case) healthy tributes) waiting for them.

Several minutes of silence means the atmosphere becomes slightly awkward, but I do not move my gaze from the silver object. Suddenly, a figure steps out from the trees, limping just a little. A knife readies in my hands and my eyes narrow as I close in on my prey- WAIT! I almost shout as I recognise the figure. My eyes widen and I instantly begin to make my way down the tree, allowing myself to drop down the last few feet. I approach the sandy-haired figure at a jogging pace, ready to lunge at him,

"Leon!" I call with a small smile as I continue running. Leon's eyes widen as he moves his head to look, his expression brightening considerably as he recognises me,
"Wren!" he laughs rather happily. The joyful note in his voice makes me want to laugh and pull him into a tight hug, but they are still watching us. I stop right in front of him and we both hold eye contact for several moments.

[Talon's POV]


A moment of silence. That is what I want and need yet was destroyed by that Two girl! Saying his partner's name in such a loud voice, she's giving away our position. Irritated by this, I climb down the tree and face them. "I know that you two just met. I am happy too but can't you shut the fuck up?" I unintentionally yell at them, thus making what I said no sense.

[Sparkle's POV]


What an idiotic partner I have. I slightly chuckle at his pathetic actions and enjoyed his antiques. Having such a bad temper might be a disadvantage to the person but to a bystander, it is simply hilarious. I let out a slight laugh but immediately covers my mouth. Talon glares at me, probably noticing that I laughed to him. He turns to Leon and Wren and simply glared at them, not even moving an inch. Seeing as this is pointless, I simply say hello to Leon and resume with my watch. Being killed in the first day is a no-go.

Leon's POV:

Wren spins around instantly as Talon shouts, presumably to meet his glare with her own. The atmosphere is simply very quiet for several seconds before I scratch the back of my gsad sheepishly and chuckle, "Sorry. . ." Wren looks back at me, apparently displeased by this. I nod a greeting back at Sparkle.

Wren's POV:

"Everyone already knows we're here Talon, they can see your ego for miles," I shoot back at him, lowering my voice for the second half of the sentence. My words cause Leon to snort and then wince, clutching his side. Frowning, I turn my attention back to him and move my gaze down to his hip, "Show me," I demand and Leon obliges after a large sigh. Lifting his shirt up a little, my eyes widen at the wound on his side still in the process of healing,
"Owch,"
"Yeah, I had a run in with the District Seven boy and . . . Well, let's just say chopping down trees all day meant he was pretty handy with an axe. Lucky I had this," he swings his club in a circular motion and I shudder as if imagining what death by club would feel like.

(Bump!)

(Sorry!! Just had our connection connected...}

(It's fine, the spam was just annoying me).

Wren's POV:

"Maybe we can fix it," I murmur, glancing over to the mouth of the silver monster where supplies are piled high. Leon shrugs a little,
"I cleaned it. Let's wait until morning," he smiles crookedly and I nod back slowly. Hopefully, Talon did not hear what I said and I lean in to whisper,
"I'm upset with you for leaving me with these two," Leon frowns at this,
"Sparkle's not so bad. . . They giving you a hard time?" I shrug, not wanting to sound whiny and he gives me a comforting smile.

3rd POV:

Receiving Leon's nod, Sparkle simply returned to her boring over-watch. Though not as entertaining, the sight of the moon is enough for her. Also noticing the wound of Leon, she agrees with what the District 2 boy said. Talon, hearing what Wren said, was annoyed. What does that girl think she is? We're the one having a bad time because she's here with us. The District 1 guy thought as he gritted his teeth. Taking a step forward to the two, Talon was cut off by her partner by the girl throwing a rock to the boy's back.

Talon glared at his partner... hard. Never did Sparkle hinder him from his actions. Even though she always laugh when I do things that entertains her, why's she doing this now? He thought, confused by the actions of his partner. The two gazed at each other, as if communicating, though using only eyes not voices. Sparkle cut off their contact and continued lookout. Nothing happening, the girl fastened a herself with a rope, attaching it to the tree branch, taking a nap. Talon, however, was puzzled by the girl's action. His anger subsiding, the District 1 kid leaned on the tree, observing the movements and conversations of the two.

Wren's POV:

Eventually I just shake my head and follow Leon's gaze towards Talon who seems to be watching us intently. I narrow my eyes a little, but I remember that I'm not intimidated by him. Turning back to my partner, I speak,
"You should get some rest," Realising its useless to argue with me, Leon sighs and nods at me before retreating to the Cornucopia for a nap. I make my way towards Talon and lean on a tree adjacent to his,
"Hi Talon," I smile, but it's a false smile where I curl up a corner of my mouth. My eyes travel up to Sparkle who seems to be napping but I don't wake her.

3rd POV:

What's Sparkle thinking? Things. Many things are jumbled up in Talon's head. Though lost in his thoughts, he noticed the District 2 girl, sparking a conversation. "What do you want?" He huffed, glaring at Wren. I guess a conversation might be a good once in a while. He thought as he sighed, feeling a little bit irritated by his partner's action.

Wren's POV:

I feel my eye twitch as irritation builds in my temple. Folding my arms, I allow my eyes to drift back to the tall blonde boy almost twice my size. His tone disturbs me, "Nothing," I reply with an innocent air about it, before I lower my voice with a sneer, "I'm not afraid of you," I try to sound tough, but the statement is almost laughable. Why shouldn't I be afraid of him? He's bigger than me, and he's holding a machete.

3rd POV:

"Oh yeah?" He replied, with a smirk on his face. Talon spun his machete, making himself more intimidating in the presence of the shorter girl. "Why should you even be afraid of me in the first place?" The blonde guy teased, then a slight chuckle followed. "Being afraid of me means that you are an inferior being. What a pathetic girl!" Talon let out a loud laugh, but stopped as he noticed that he is once again being loud. "Pathetic..." He whispered, though enough for the girl to hear.