"And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Something's going to go wrong, Kahei can feel it. It's like a twisting sensation in her stomach, and she can't get rid of it no matter how much she tries. It just burrows its way deeper into her body, lodges in her spine, and she knows what's going to happen. It was like this last year too, with her brother.

"And this year's tribute, Wong Chiuwai!"

"And this year's tribute, Wong Kahei!"

Yep, there it is, the unclenching and all. This was bound to happen, after all.

A scream sounds from outside the square, and Kahei suspects that her mother has fainted. Her father, too, has probably broken down into sobs as well. But no emotions come to Kahei, not even when she makes her way onto the stage and shakes hands with the mayor and her mentor. Nothing, no emotions, not a single drop of sadness or fear.

Or even anger, at the Games for destroying her family. No, Kahei suspects that she may be in some kind of shock, the kind that's so deep that the pain only hits months later, and by then, for Kahei, it will be too late. Too late to feel, too late to even live. Months in the future, she'll be dead, decaying in the ground of wherever the Arena is.

No one volunteers for her. She didn't expect anyone to. No doubt, if her brother had been alive, he would have volunteered for her. But how could she expect that, when she didn't even for him?

She lets out a small, bitter smile. And now karma has come to take its revenge. But she's not worried, not really. She's just scared of losing, because that will mean never getting to see her parents again, never avenging her brother, and yes, why not admit it? She's scared of dying.

Her mentor is called Park Chorong, and she seems like a kind, sweet woman. It's funny, because Kahei has been described as kind and sweet as well. She wonders if the Games changed Chorong in any way, but there seems to be no physical sign of such a change. Maybe it's on the inside, just like Kahei's was.

You become a different person, she thinks, stepping into the elevator after Chorong. It'll never be the same again, not after what you've seen.

A sudden thought strikes Kahei, and she turns to Chorong. "Did you know my brother?"

Chorong starts, backing up against the elevator wall. "Oh, I-I don't know," she stammers, eyes darting around. "Wh-what year was he?"

"Just last year."

"No, I wasn't a mentor last year." Chorong seems to gather herself again. "And in any case, I wouldn't have mentored him."

Ah, that's right. The mentors are split up by gender. Kahei nods, and they exit the elevator, entering another room with couches and tables. Chorong disappears off to somewhere, and a few moments later, Kahei's parents rush in.

"Baby," her mother cries, holding Kahei as close as she can. "Baby, I'm so sorry... I should have never brought you into this world, if I knew this was going to happen."

"No one knew." Her father sounds like he's about to break down at any moment. "Baby, you have to win. You have to win, okay? For your brother, for yourself, and for us."

Kahei nods, combing her fingers through her mother's hair absentmindedly. "I watched his Games. I've learned."

Chiuwai had made a fatal mistake last year, and that was teaming up with no one. His Games were in the desert, and after hours of agonizing dehydration, the only person he'd stumbled upon had killed him. Kahei remembers screaming at the TV, screaming at him for his stupidity, screaming for him to run. 

But of course, he'd never made it. Not in his condition.

"I'll make friends," she reassures them. "Allies, I guess. But I'll..." 

She'd been about to say that she'd come back, but she's not sure she can. She doesn't want to promise anything empty, give her parents false hope and then have them completely break over losing both their children. "I'll try my best," she finally says, reaching up to grab her father's hand. "I'll make you proud of me."

She has to, otherwise she wouldn't know what to tell her brother.

ughjesrjgfdf i'm moving in tomorrow... we have to drive like 6/7 hours so i'm leaving at like 5 or 6... i don't want to go!!! i haven't spent enough time at home thjsegxkrgdf brb crisis pending