Why Bother? {Team Jazz}

[Ray]

Zynna Yondall

The Capitol. How exciting. Actually, Zynna felt slightly claustrophobic and overwhelmed, now that she was actually here. The city was much more crowded than District 9. It felt like there was hardly room to breath. Everything was so bright and busy and everything was happening all at once, too. Some might say it meant there was always something interesting to see. Zynna would say it meant there was always something distracting you.

When the train pulled up, there were people waving and cheering as she stepped down. She didn’t think anyone would recognize her, but clearly there were some following the games very closely. She was jostled along to the Training Center, where she would be staying until they moved her along to the arena, wherever that was. She moved along in a daze, hardly paying attention to what was happening around her. She thought she would be too scared and nervous about training to sleep, but the moment her head touched the pillow, she fell into a deep, restful sleep.

Zynna awoke expecting to see the rough wooden ceiling of her home, to turn her head and see Fara sleeping in the cot next to her, and her mother already up getting things ready to open the shop. Instead she was greeted by elegant silk fabric draping down from the ceiling in a canopy over her bed, white washed walls, and a huge luxurious room all to herself. It made her miss the small yet comfortable home she used to live in.

She threw on a soft gray T-shirt and black sweat pants, the first thing she grabbed out of the dresser. After washing her face and carelessly running a brush threw her hair, she made her way slowly down to where she hoped was the place she was supposed to be meeting her escort. She wandered around the training center, not really trying to get lost, but not necessarily trying to find her way there either.

Zynna walked through the dining area where a feast of a breakfast was set up. She ignored it and made her way to the door that would lead her down to the gym. “Not so fast!” her escort called, stopping her mid stride. “Zynna, dear, come eat something before you go to training.”

“I’m not hungry,” Zynna mumbled. Not entirely true, but she wasn’t going to feast on sausage and eggs while her family got whatever they could gather up. Her escort, whose name Zynna had not bothered to remember, gave her a stern look.

“Sweetie, I know you’re eager to practice, but you have to eat.” The escort seemed extremely concerned about Zynna, and that only made her hate the woman all the more. She spoke with the same high, annoying voice that all Capitolites shared, and she had such a sickly sweet tone of voice, always calling Zynna dear and honey in the most patient, loving way. It made Zynna want to plug up her ears with nails.

Zynna grabbed a roll out of the basket in the middle of the table. “There, happy?” She left the room before she could hear the escort’s answer. Nibbling on the roll as she went, she found the gym after most of the other tributes were already there. She finished eating before going inside, already feeling sick to her stomach. Just nerves, she told herself. She went in and leaned against the wall, sliding down into a sitting position. She glanced around the huge training area, sizing up the mix of people here. Most of them looked older than her, and probably stronger.

Some of the trainers at the different stations gave her odd looks, probably wondering why she wasn’t training. Whatever, they could think what they wanted. She might go try out a station, if she got bored enough, but right now, Zynna was content to just sit and watch. Who cared about training anyway? She was going to die, and an extra hour of practice wasn’t enough to save her life.

[Mocking James]

James' eyes opened slowly. They had sleep all in them and he wiped them out, not caring for the fact at where he was. He had remembered what had happened to him as soon as he had awoken. He, James Mocking, was in the Capitol. He laid in his bed for a couple seconds longer, enjoying the warmth of the blanket that was wrapped around him. He stood up quickly, looking around at the room he was in. It was big and looked absolutely stunning. And James hated all of it.

"Heh, never would have thought I would be homesick.." he mumbled to himself, looking through the drawers of a near by dresser. He settled on a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt. He looked around, found his leather jacket and his pocket watch, put on his shoes and walked out of his room.

James checked around the hallway outside of his room. It seemed like he was the only person around. Guess they left without me? he questioned to himself. James didn't mind though. His escort was god awful and his ears still hadn't gotten over the last time he had to listen to her high pitched voice. James couldn't understand why the people of the Capitol needed to have such a horrid accent. He thought about getting some breakfast, but decided that he was still full from the feast he had last night. A snack would suffice. As he stood in front of the elevator waiting for it to come, he grabbed a green object sitting in bowl with some other colored fruits. "Hmm, what is this?" James said aloud to himself. He remembered seeing it in a book he had stolen. The name finally came to him. It was an apple. "Ah, yes apples!" he said to himself as the door to the elevator opened. "I love apples!" he finished saying, just before taking a bite out of it. He started to chew it, then unceremoniously spit it out. "Ok, maybe I don't like apples..." he said, throwing it out of the elevator right before the door closed.


James hit the button on the panel for the training center. He was still wondering on what he should do, tatics wise. Would it be a smart idea to team up with someone from another District? Yes, it would be he thought to himself. So now that that had been decided, James would look for anther tribute or two to make a team. It'll be safer that way. Kyle would agree. he thought. The doors to the elevator opened and before him stood the TC. It was filled with interesting looking stations, but for now, James thought it would be a good idea to study the other tributes. He might be able to see what some of their strengths and weakness were and who would be a threat to him and who would not be. He noticed a girl sitting down on the wall, doing the same thing he was about to do. Hmph, looks like I'm not the only stupid one here. he thought slyly to himself I ought to go talk to her. From what he could see, she looked pretty had hair that was much like his, except it was obviously longer and had gold streaks in it. He walked over towards the wall she was sitting up against and put his back it it, slid down it and landed with a short "Omph". He sat in silence for a little, then turned towards her and stuck his hand out. "Name's James. Your's is?" he said in a friendly tone of voice. Being an asshole wouldn't get him any where. Not unless, of course, I was trying to court the girl. he thought jokingly to himself.




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[Ray]

Zynna Yondall

Zynna didn’t know how long she was sitting there. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes. She was just getting interested in watching another tribute try (and fail) to accurately hit a dummy with a sword over at the blades station. She smiled to herself seeing the trainer get frustrated trying to explain how to properly use the weapon. For a moment, she was tempted to go over and give it a try herself, just to see if she could do it. Of course, she didn’t, but it was a funny thought.

She turned her gaze to the other tributes in the training center. Some seemed to be doing really well. Some of them actually intimidated her. She breathed deeply and stared at each one, knowing that she would be murdered by one of the people standing in this room. Which one of you will by my killer? She was just about to get up to start training after all, when she saw him come.

Zynna saw another tribute enter the gym. She didn’t recognize him at first, but soon remembered. She matched his face to the name James Mocking, from District 12. She had watched and rewatched the reapings on the train before she got here, memorizing each tribute’s name and district, getting to know her competition. Her guess was only reassured when he sat down next to her and introduced himself.

"Name's James. Yours is?" He held his hand out to her, clearly expecting her to introduce herself and shake his hand. What a joke, she thought. If this guy thought she was going to act all happy to be here and play along with his little “let’s be friends” act, he was delusional. She thought people usually talked to each other to make allies, but she didn’t want any. She didn’t want to depend on anyone but herself in that arena. She didn’t need any allies to survive. Or did she? She glanced at him, sizing him up. He didn’t seem all that different from her. He was at least relatively normal, compared to some of the tributes of past games; But who was she to judge? He could be a psychotic freak who wanted to drink her blood for all she knew. She’d just have to bide her time and see.

She looked back at him for a few moments, before finally giving in.“I’m Zynna,” she said, turning back to the tribute at the blades station, who didn’t seem to be having any better luck. She sat for a little while longer, hoping that he would take a hint and leave her alone. Whatever he wanted, she wasn’t interested.

[Mocking James]

"I'm Zynna." The girl said curtly to James. She was blatantly distrustful of James and he didn't take any offense to it. He understood where she was coming from. Because, technically, he could be her grim reaper in just a couple days time. As it was the same for James. Zynna finally shook his hand, even though she would have rather not have, and turned back to what she had been looking at before James had arrived. James followed her eyes to see what she was looking at, and his eyes landed at the blade station. It was an embarrassing sight to see for someone who knew how to handle a sword; a female tribute was trying, to no avail, to hit a target dummy. The trainer looked thoroughly annoyed with the girl as he moved on and tried to show her the proper stance to take when blocking an on-coming attacker.

"No, shes doing it all wrong" James said to Zynna "If she were to try and block that way, she would fall straight on her ass." he sighed. "Look, I know you're probably skeptical about all off this" he motioned to the entire room "You don't trust me at all, do you?" James said. It was more of a statement then a question. He stared at some male tributes on the other side of the Training Center. They seemed to be pointing out other tributes, all female. They're probably all Careers thought James. He stared at her for a bit. Physically she didn't look super stong, but she could get by. She seemed smart enough to be quick thinking, but James was still unsure. He decided it was best to just let her think for a while. He sat watching a group of tributes try and learn the basics of learning how to start a fire as he waited for her to speak her mind.

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[Ray]

Zynna Yondall

Zynna couldn’t help but crack a small smile. "No, she’s doing it all wrong. If she were to try and block that way, she would fall straight on her ass." It was true, she realized, looking at the girl’s stance. So James knew a little about swords. Perhaps that made him a threat. Or perhaps that made him a potential ally. She was pretty sure that was what he was getting at. Why else would the tributes be talking to one another? Certainly not to make enemies.

She would need someone to fight with her. Zynna was able enough, but she wasn’t as strong as everyone else. She couldn’t talk her way out of the Hunger Games. She didn’t know if she would be all that good of a fighter, and if James knew how to fight, he could be an asset to her. The only problem was, she didn’t know if she could trust him. He could be the kind of person who would stab her in the back the minute she stopped looking.

It seemed as if James could read her mind. “Look, I know you're probably skeptical about all off this. You don't trust me at all, do you?" He said, voicing her exact thoughts. He didn’t ask it as a question, though. He knew for sure that she didn’t trust him, but he was sticking around anyway. Why? What was his reasoning behind all of this?

Zynna took a breath and turned to him, looking him straight in the eyes. “No, I don’t,” she said frankly. “I don’t trust you at all, but these games aren’t about making friends and trusting one another, so knock it off. Just get on with it and tell me what you really want. Then I’ll decide whether it’s worth it to keep talking to you.” She knew she probably shouldn’t have laid it all out there like that. She didn’t want to be rude, or accidentally make someone dislike her. She didn’t need any enemies out here right now.

[Mocking James]

James saw from the corner of his eye, as he watched the group of tributes make a tiny fire, Zynna let loose a tiny smile. Good he thought to himself. She doesn't hate me. I can work with this. James turned his head to Zynna as she began to reply to his previous statements. She took in a deep breath of air before she started talking.

“No, I don’t,” she said in frankly. “I don’t trust you at all, but these games aren’t about making friends and trusting one another, so knock it off. Just get on with it and tell me what you really want. Then I’ll decide whether it’s worth it to keep talking to you.” Zynna obviously wanted him to cut the shit and get straight to the point, but that would be hard for James. He was actually trying to be sincere. He wasn't looking forward to what was going to happen to both of them.

He looked at her and nodded, coming to the conclusion that it was best not to annoy her, seeing this could be the only shot he had at landing an alliance. "Alright, I'll come clean. I want you and me to team up. The odds will be better for us that way." he said in a calm low voice. He couldn't bring himself to be forceful. It wasn't that was James was weak, that was not the case at all. James just saw no need to be an ass to someone who could be possibly be saving his life in a few days. "So what do you say?" he said to her, looking directly into her eyes. "Are we a team?" he gave a flash of his usual devilish grin to her, trying his best to lighten her mood. "I mean, it would be a bonus for you, getting to see this very handsome face of mine all the time." He said in a jokingly cocky tone.

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[Ray]

Zynna Yondall

“Alright, I'll come clean. I want you and me to team up. The odds will be better for us that way." Zynna debated that with herself for a little while. Where the odds really better if you had an alliance? Sure, you had people fighting with you, and sure they may help you last longer. In the end, though, if you’re going to die anyways, does how long you last before that really make a difference? She didn’t think so. Some of the tributes in past games seemed comforted to not be alone, but Zynna couldn’t see that happening for her. In the end, twenty-three out of the twenty-four people here would die. It didn’t matter to her who killed her, or when. If the end product is the same, why did it matter?

Zynna shook her head slightly, trying to clear her head. She wasn’t sure what she wanted anymore. Alliance, or no? She did know that people tended to steer clear of bigger alliances, attack the loners. Maybe she didn’t want to be alone after all. She considered started considering his offer seriously.

"I mean, it would be a bonus for you, getting to see this very handsome face of mine all the time,” James said, pulling her out of her thoughts. She couldn’t help but laugh at that. It felt good to laugh. She hadn’t been able to in so long.

Zynna nodded quickly, before she could change her mind again. “Alright,” she said, smiling. “We can team up, but try anything, and you’ll find a knife in your back.” Whoa, did I seriously just agree to an alliance? she thought. Well, it was done, and she couldn’t take it back. This would be good for her, she decided. If it turned out she could trust him, well congratulations, she was a good judge of character. If he ended up killing her, so what? She was going to die anyway; it didn’t matter to her who was the one to land the killing blow either way.

[Dancin]

My God, amazing how we got this far
It's like we're chasing all those stars
Who's driving shiny big black cars
And everyday I see the news
All the problems that we could solve

The first day of training dawned with a certain amount of unease in my stomach; I wasn't exactly charismatic, so this time would be mostly spent by myself. After a few moment of peace in my warm bed, my Serge stuck his nose in my room and frowned.

"Get breakfast and then get downstairs. You aren't going to win the games by sleeping the day away." He said, his voiced laced with distaste. Anger and embarrassment burned hot in my stomach colouring my grey cheeks pink. Serge looked at me for another moment and then ducked out of the room, undoubtedly to go encourage Midas.

I slipped into the shower, bathed quickly and got dressed in a simple black jumpsuit. When I ventured out of my room a few minutes later, the hallway was deserted; the dining room was too. I snatched a roll off the table, slathered it in goat cheese, apple slice and pine nuts. I munched on the sweet sandwich down the hallway and into the elevator, licking my fingers before I pressed the button to the training center.

As the elevator descended, my stomach flew into my throat; not entirely because of the sudden drop in height. My heart was folding in on itself nervously, as though trying to make itself smaller. I felt like throwing up again. I wiped the palms of my hands nervously against my pant legs.

The doors of the elevator slid open and the training center came into view. It seemed that everyone was already there, and I felt slightly guilty for being angry with Serge. The Careers were training furiously, and though I knew that typically I would be one of them, my body refused to move towards them. Two other tributes, neither of whom I recognized were talking against the wall. Neither of them seemed tense, but their words couldn't exactly be described as chatter. My eye kept getting dragged to the pair because the boy was exceptionally good looking.

I tripped over my feet as I made my way to the Self-Defense station because I kept glancing at him. I blushed furiously and hoped that he hadn't noticed. You shouldn't care about him Ally, you will probably end up dying at his hands. My brain scolded me, putting pressure on my chest like an iron clamp. I forced my gaze away from the boy and tried to pay attention to the trainer who was talking to me. I wondered idly if he thought the girl he was talking to was pretty. Stop that!

As they spoke, I started learning self-defense; despite my knack for tripping over my own feet, I learned quickly and managed to parry the trainers attack by forcing his wrists backwards on themselves.

"Not bad," He said, nodding slightly as he massaged his wrists. I tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. The trainer asked me to wait for a moment while he helped another tribute, and I allowed my attention to wander to the boy and girl still standing against the wall. My brain was fuzzy, being pulled to a lower level of intelligence my artfully swept hair.

Before I realized it, my feet had moved me the twenty feet to where the two of them were standing. I glanced between them, silence stretching out tortuously. My face burned with embarrassment as I met the eyes of the beautiful boy. My mouth opened for a moment, the words I had planned on the half-conscious walk over falling out of my head.

"Never mind." I muttered quietly before turning on my heel and stalking back to the Self-Defense station. I punched a dummy, and it wobbled feebly, drawing the eyes of the trainer to me. I shook my head in reply to his ready stance, I wasn't in the mood to train anymore. I'll just nip upstairs and chuck myself out the window...

And when a situation rises
Just write it into an album
Singing straight, too cold
I don't really like my flow, no, so

[Mocking James]

Zynaa laughed at his last remark and answer his question. “Alright,” Zynna said, smiling. “We can team up, but try anything, and you’ll find a knife in your back.” As Zynna finished her sentence, it felt as if a ton of bricks had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't even care that Zynna still didn't trust him fully. She had trusted him enough to say yes to his request and that's all that really mattered. James smiled happily, not able to hold in his pleasure. "Thats fair enough. Great, so its official." he said, just really wanting to say it aloud then anything else. "What are you going to training in, I was personally thinking that we should..." James let his sentence trail off as he noticed a girl at the Defense Station quickly look away from him. "I think that girl over there is interested in us." he told Zynna. Before he was able to say much more, the girl turned around quickly and started to walk towards Zynna and James at a fast pace. She looked nervous and unsure about whatever she was about to do.


The girl was incredibly white, and it was an odd sight to James. Its not that she wasnt pretty, she was pretty, but he had come accustomed to seeing people having some sort of tan, dark or light. He had tan skin himself and usually, he and everything in District 12 were always covered in a fine layer of coal dust. She had long brown hair that flowed around her as she walked briskly walked toward himself and Zynna. She didin't look quiet "filled out" yet, but she was tall, probably taller then James himself. Her arms and legs looked as if they didn't have much meat on them, and the same thing went for the rest of her body. She was skinny a gangly. By the time she had reached James and Zynna, he had already summed her up. She seemed she could be possibly useful. Or maybe not.


The girl was standing in front of him, looking directly at him. Not saying a single word. James looked at her with a quizzical look, waiting for her to say something to him. "Nevermind" she finally manged to whisper. She turned around and nearly ran back over to the Defense Station. She look incredibly embarrassed. James was baffled by the events that had just took place. He took a quick glance at Zynna, who looked just as puzzled as him, and he jumped up and walked over to the girl. He bumped into her lightly and smiled as she turned to see who it was. "Oh hey, sorry about that, didn't even see you there! Have we meet before?" he asked her jokingly. He stuck out his hand and said kindly "Names James. What was it you were going to ask?"

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((OOC- SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG!!! D: You have no idea how busy I've been. Also, Im to tired to add colour. I'll do it next post, I promise.))