CHAPTER TWO
impressions

⌦ .｡.:*♡

┊͙✧˖*°࿐ IVY HAS NEVER WORN ANYTHING like this before. It's a foreign idea to her, and the material feels odd against her skin, softer and lighter than anything she's ever worn before. Her stylist, whose name she could not remember, has decided to tailor her costume for the Opening Ceremony around her name. Ivy has never liked her name more than she does now, she doesn't even want to think about the awful getup she could have been forced to wear if her stylist hadn't had taken something to base her ideas off.

She is wearing a long brown dress, that falls to the floor and trails a bit behind, that is covered in fake ivy leaves. Ivy assumes that the original idea was simply the brown dress, but the ivy adds an extra touch to it, and she hopes it will allow potential sponsors to remember her easier. She is wearing a cape, of sorts, that is attached to her shoulders and again at either wrist. Her hair is done in a simple braid down her back, with a few ivy leaves that are strategically placed in.

The whole concept is a little ridiculous — the riding around on Chariots thing, but Ivy supposes she has little other choice.

She walks with her stylist to where the Chariots await, with the eerie presence of two peacekeepers behind them. A few of the other tributes are already there, including Rye, the career pack, and a few others. The ordeal was to take place indoors, in a huge building that Ivy was sure she couldn't even imagine the amount of people that would be able to fit in there. The deafening cheers coming from where the Capitol citizens are waiting gives Ivy a good indication of the sheer amount of people that we're going to be watching them, shouting even though they hadn't even seen any of the tributes yet. Ivy tries to ignore it, and walks slowly over to her chariot, unused to walking in high heels, and stands next to where Rye is standing.

Rye looks undoubtedly nervous. His usually messy hair is gelled back so that it's out of his face, and Ivy notes that his outfit is similar to hers, with ivy plants covering his costume. Even the chariot matches, Ivy notes. Ivy plants are strung all across the front of it. It looks somewhat tacky, Ivy thinks, but she supposes that's exactly the sort of thing the Capitol would like.

"Hey," Ivy greets Rye with a warm smile as she steps onto the chariot. She can't help but feel sorry for the boy, she too is nervous but isn't showing it as much as he is. Ivy feels bad as she towers over the child. She has always been quite tall for her age, and in heels, she's even taller than the small boy, who couldn't have been much taller than five foot three. Rye smiles back at her, nodding his head in acknowledgement, but he doesn't say anything. Ivy cannot blame him.

Sylva and Thorne approach the two tributes, coming up behind them to offer them some final advice before the Chariot Ceremony is to begin.

"Remember, you two, you want to make an impression," Sylva tells the two. "So, if you can, engage with the audience. Smile, wave, anything. Okay?"

"Okay," Ivy replies, while Rye just nods. Noticing Rye's nerves, Thorne pats him on the shoulder, and says, "If it gets too overwhelming, just hold onto the chariot and try to look straight away, or focus on an individual person on the crowd. Try not to think about the rest of the crowd there." Rye nods at this. Ivy finds herself looking down, finding it unimaginable to have to go through all of this at the age of only fourteen.

The Opening Ceremony is to start soon. Ivy looks at the other tributes, and can immediately tell which will be the most popular. The girl from Two, Reva, has barely anything on, except for a tight silver body suit, that's strapless and shows off her cleavage. The boy from Four, Morgan, is similarly wearing close to nothing, with a fishing net making up most of his costume. Ivy is grateful that she isn't wearing one of those costumes, and can't shake the fact that they aren't too much older than her. She tries not to think about it too much.

When all the tributes are in their right spots, Ivy nearly jumps as the loud Capitol music blares. It's loud and obnoxious, and Ivy watches as the Chariots in front of her begin to move forward, each pulled by two horses. Ivy gasps slightly as her Chariot rolls forwards, and for a second she clasps onto the chariot with both hands, her knuckles turning a pale white shade.

And then she is bombarded with the whole of the Capitol, no, the whole of Panem, watching her. She looks around for a second, anything that Sylva had told her beforehand slipping from her mind. She catches sight of herself on a huge screen, and that sparks something in her mind. She begins to smile, and waves to the audience. She wonders if Marigold is watching from home, and when the thought of her best friend crosses her mind, she lifts both arms up in the air like she used to when she would run through the fields of Nine with Marigold. Ivy's cape is blown backwards, and it's an odd sort of experience to hear people scream your name, but soon the Capitol's attention is drawn back to the Career Districts. Ivy places her arms down again, continuing to smile at the audience. Rye isn't doing too much, but occasionally manages to muster a small wave or a smile to the audience. Ivy tries not to think about it.

Soon, they reach the end of the pathway, and then it's all over, and the quiet seems to ring in Ivy's ears. Thorne has to help her off her chariot, offering her a hand. She uses her free hand to pick up her dress, and carefully steps off the Chariot. Her legs feel numb, but somehow she's still buzzing from the energy of the crowd. Any thoughts of the Games are gone from her mind for a second, and she cannot help but think of Marigold.

She is glad Marigold will get to see her at her most beautiful before she dies.

⌦ .｡.:*♡

IVY CANNOT SLEEP, THE EXCITEMENT from the Opening Ceremony only wearing off in the early hours of the morning. Moreso, her bedroom in the District Six Suite in the Training Centre has kept her awake for ages, as she has spent the whole night exploring the hidden features of it and taking an hour long shower to test out all the high-tech settings.

Next on the agenda before the Games is Training, which Ivy is hesitant about. In the morning, she makes her way to the Dining Area of the District Nine Suite. There, Sylva and Thorne are waiting for them, but Rye has not yet come. This isn't surprising to Ivy — she could have sworn she heard him crying loudly in his room after the Ceremony.

"How are you feeling today, Ivy?" Thorne asks the girl. Ivy is grateful they are her mentors — while they've been helpful in regards to strategy for the actual games, they are always decent enough to check in with how she's doing.

She smiles at them, taking a piece of toast from the centre of the table onto her plate. "I'm doing okay this morning. I think the Opening Ceremony went well."

"I do, too," Sylva smiles. "You made a good enough impression to last with the sponsors, but not too much of an impression to put a target on your back."

Ivy nods along, supposing that's true. "So, what should I do for training today?"

"Well," Thorne starts. "I would spend some time practising with knives. They're probably the most common weapon at the Cornucopia, so it would be good to know the basics. Survival skills are useful too, so maybe try some of those. Anything you can find about finding food will do you well."

"Alright," Ivy says. Thorne has a good point — she doesn't have much previous skill in anything, so it would be good to learn some basics.

"You can try out other weapons, like archery, if you want," Sylva says. "But if it doesn't stick with you, don't worry about it. If it does, remember to work on something to show the Gamemakers."

"Right," Ivy says. "So will that be my strategy, then? Don't stick out too much, just enough to do well?"

"Yes, I think so," Sylva says. "And if you meet anyone in Training that you think could be a potential ally, remember that that wouldn't be a terrible idea. If you don't think you could trust any of them enough, that's alright, too. Just don't go around making any enemies."

"I'll try not to," Ivy says, a hint of a smile tracing her lips.

⌦ .｡.:*♡

THE INSTRUCTOR IS TEACHING IVY how to make a fire. Ivy sits cross-legged on the floor of the Gymnasium, wearing a pair of black leggings, a loose-fitting grey T-shirt, and a pair of grey running shoes. On her sleeve, she has a "9" embroidered on, standing out. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail, her blue eyes observing the Instructor carefully.

She is sitting next to the girl from Six, Agatha, whose bright red hair is similarly pulled into a ponytail, kept out of her face. The Instructor is teaching them how to make fire, a skill Ivy thought might be useful to know.

"So to make a fire using sticks, you'll need two types of sticks, softwood and hardwood," the man explains to them, demonstrating the sticks, and then carving a notch into the side of the hardwood stick. "Now, you'll want to place the spindle in the notch. Then you spin the spindle back and forth rapidly to create friction, like this, and then eventually you'll have fire, which you can transfer to some dry leaves. Got it?"

Ivy nods. "I think so."

"Good," the instructor smiles. "Would you like to try?"

"Sure," Ivy says, taking the sticks from him. It takes a while, but eventually she gets a fire started, and the instructor congratulates her. She does it again for the practise, then decides to move onto the next station.

The girl from Six follows her. She's fifteen, she tells Ivy, after introducing herself by name and district. She's nice enough, but Ivy does feel sort of put off by the likelihood that this girl will be dead soon.

"Where do you think you'll go next?" Agatha asks her, her voice soft and laced with nervousness.

"Hmm," Ivy replies, scanning the arena with her eyes, landing on the edible plants and bug section. "Maybe over there," Ivy says, pointing at the station where no other tributes are at the moment.

"Okay, good idea," Agatha says, following Ivy to the next station, and Ivy assumes Agatha wants her as an ally, given how she's been following her around all day. Although no formal deal has been made, Ivy supposes Agatha wouldn't be the worst ally — they seem to have similar standings in terms of skills, and Ivy is certain that she can take on Agatha if it truly comes down to it.

It's a disheartening thought, really. Ivy and Agatha start to test themselves on their knowledge of edible plants and insects, working on the large screens in the training centre where they separate the poisonous things from those that are safe to eat. Ivy is happy with her score, whereas when Agatha gets hers, and realises that she has failed the test, she lets out a small giggle. Maybe if Agatha had been from Nine, they would've been friends, but Ivy tries her best to push the thought out of her mind. When she finds herself smiling at the girl, she has to remind her that in a few days, Agatha may try to kill her, or she will have to try kill Agatha. The thought leaves a sour taste in Ivy's mouth, and when she moves on to knife training, she tries her best not to talk too much to Agatha.

⌦ .｡.:*♡

author's note !
heyyy guys!! how are y'all doing ? i'm not sure how i feel about this chapter — i don't hate it but i don't love it either, tbh. i always find the build up to the hunger games a little boring, so i've decided to keep the most important parts of the build up :)) there won't be too many chapters left until the actual games start, which i am both excited (and scared) to write about but anyways!!

also, if you ever want music recommendations while reading this i'm telling you now that the whole evermore album perfectly captures the vibes of this (you can thank me later)

anyways, i would love to hear y'all's opinions <3 what do you think of ivy so far, and the other tributes? do you have any favourite characters (i'm a personal ivy & marigold defender) ❤️‍🩹