To the Death

@ Stage Doctor
Ramona followed Ryker to the dining room. As soon as her gaze landed on the Avox, she looked at her feet. She knew about them, what happened to them. It made her sick just thinking about it. Ramona turned away slightly, not wanting to see them. They were supposed to be slaves to the tributes, but she'd felt that they'd suffered enough to take any orders from them.

@ ToxicInsanity
It was then that Ryker walked over, and took the things from one of the avoxes, and dismissed him with a smile. "Go take a break. I'm sure you have been going insane with all of the tributes coming in today- much less with what you have been doing for the Capitol before this all started," Ryker said, finishing the set up of the table for the one Avox.

@ Stage Doctor
The Avox looked so thankful as he walked away, that Ramona walked up to Ryker and smiled. "That was sweet of you." she said quietly, starting to help him. "I feel so... bad for them. It makes me sick just thinking about what happened." Ramona kept her voice silent, aware of the others in the room. Luckily, the clinking of the glass cups and plates kept the conversation between her and Ryker.

@ ToxicInsanity
"Well, sometimes I can understand why the Capitol does it- major criminals who committed murder or rape. But the majority of the time, with the bullshit 'crimes' that they are convicted of... It's just idiotic," Ryker said, shaking his head. He finished setting the table with Ramona, then, and pulled out the chair he was behind, before waving for Ramona to sit down in it.

@ Stage Doctor
Ramona sat down and bit her lip, looking at the food. She'd ruined her appetite. Besides, her stomach was filled with nerves, whether she wanted to admit it or not. "So, we have training tomorrow. I know that might not be what you want to focus on right now, but it'll help some of my nerves if we have a plan, you know?"

@ ToxicInsanity
"Well, I think that we should go in there tomorrow and focus on learning. Let's not show them any of our cards with what we can do. Let's leave that to the other tributes' imaginations. Do you know what I mean?" Ryker began, as he took his own chair beside her. He took a bite, and then continued," Let's try to learn as much as we can. I'll focus on learning how to shoot a bow, and maybe some things in the environment that are edible, and which are poisonous. What do you think you can look into learning tomorrow?"

@ Stage Doctor
"I think learning to set traps is a good idea. Snares and stuff. Also, basic survival skills would be handy. Using knives might also come in handy." Ramona used her fork to push her food around, still not bothering to eat. "I'm just... I don't think it's really hit me yet. That we're in this. I don't know what will happen when it does."

@ ToxicInsanity
Ryker sighed, and nodded. "Well, I feel like it has hit me... Just that I'm not letting it get to me. But you do need to realize pretty quickly that it IS happening. Before we get shoved into the stadium. Because you going into shock during the actual competition would be a terrible thing to happen, and would probably get one if not both of us killed right off of the bat. But yeah, why don't you learn to use knives, and maybe a bow. That way you can pick other tributes off from a distance to avoid a close hand-to-hand confrontation. That, and so you can hunt game if they have it in the stadium. Snares would also come in handy, though. Do you maybe want to split up and try to teach each other certain things as we go along? Although, I wouldn't suggest that with combat related skills just in case."

@ Stage Doctor
"Yeah, survival skills would be good to learn. I'll try my best." Ramona put down her fork, staring at him. "And I'll try my best to survive. I won't be a burden." She gave him a small smile, then looked back at her food. "We'll go as far as we can together... then split when the numbers are few. One of us is going to go home, I'll make sure of it." Ramona needed to be confident. Otherwise she wouldn't make it.

@ ToxicInsanity
"You won't be a burden. You'll be all the help in the world, and one of us WILL make it out of these God forsaken games alive," Ryker said, nodding, before going back to eating once again. Holly came over, then, and began her dinner as well, while saying," So, tomorrow will be your first day of training in the Tribute Center. Once you get down there, you will meet your trainer from the city. He will go over the plans you two have and try to add some of his own wisdom into it to give you a better chance. SO, get a good night's rest, and a good meal tonight."

@ Stage Doctor
"Okay," Ramona stood up, grabbing an apple from the basket in the middle of the table. "I'm going to hang out on my room. See you guys later." She walked out the room, but not before turning back to look at Ryker. She couldn't let him down. Or his brother. Or her own father. The thought and sudden determination made her smile. She looked in her room and was still amazed at the size. Everything looked so clean and impressive. Ramona sat on her bed and bit her lip, thinking.

@ ToxicInsanity
Ryker waved her off as she walked out of the dining room, before he turned to Holly, and began talking quickly. A while after the two ended their conversation (More like interrogation), and Ryker rose from the table. He wished Holly a good evening and sweet dreams before leaving, and heading towards his room. On the way there, though, he passed Ramona's room and saw her sitting on her bed. He stopped and slipped into the doorway, with a smile on his face. "Hey.... I just wanted to stop by and tell you sweet dreams. I can't wait to start training tomorrow- mainly because I have a lot of faith in you, and in what we will be able to learn and do to handle ourselves in the field. I really do have faith in the possibility that we go far in this competition."

[Hey, I'm going to be going to Ireland for about ten days starting tomorrow, so I won't be able to reply. Sorry!!!]

@ Stage Doctor
(Don't sweat it, friend. Have fun in Ireland!)

"Thanks, Ryker. I know you'll do well. But I'll carry my weight in this alliance, okay? We'll make it to the end, I know it." Ramona smiled, looking at him with a determined expression. "I... I know I've already said this, but if I had to have anyone on my side in an insane killing spree of a competition... I'm glad it's you." She averted her eyes after that, blushing slightly. Stop, stop, stop! Ramona thought, looking down at her lap.

@ ToxicInsanity
"The feeling is mutual," Ryker said with a smile. He then yawned deeply, and covered his mouth with the back of his hand as he did so. He looked at the clock nearby in the room, and then said," Well, I think that I'm gonna go and hit the hay for the evening. If you need anything, I'll be in the room right next to yours. Have a good night!" With that, he stepped out and headed into his room. He stripped off his shirt, and climbed into the huge luxurious bed. Within a few minutes, he was out like a light...

@ Stage Doctor
Ramona smiled as he left, then tried her best to sleep. No matter what she tried, she couldn't fall asleep. She couldn't tell if her aversion to rest came from the nerves or the nightmares. Whatever it was, Ramona opted to go back to the kitchen and find some water. She tried her best to keep quiet, and to get in the mood for training (and have some fun), Ramona pretended to be sneaking through the arena. She reached the kitchen, and as she pulled a glass from one of the cupboards, she imagined a cannon going off. As she got closer to her room, Ramona's smile from her game started to fade. Now back to figuring out sleep, she thought, walking into the room and shutting the door.

@ ToxicInsanity
Meanwhile, Ryker was deep in sleep, his nightmares running rampant in his head. It involved a lot of knives- specifically being tortured, and suffering slow and painful deaths from it. At one point, he felt the pain so badly, it actually jolted him from his sleep, causing him to yell out loudly and shoot up in the large bed. He was breathing deeply, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he tried to gather his composure.

@ Stage Doctor
Raymond heard a loud yell as soon as she shut the door. She jumped away in surprise, then let her calm down. She'd heard about the guards and the invisible fields around the buildings; no on could go in... Or out. Ryker must be getting those bad dreams too, she thought. Ramona opened the door and slowly walked to his room, to check on him. She knocked on his door softly. "Ryker? Are you okay?"

@ ToxicInsanity
Ryker jumped out of the bed in a flash and was at the door. He ran his hand throug his hair, and tried to wipe some of the perspiration off of himself- but it was futile. He opened the door, and sighed. "Sorry, did I happen to wake you? I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to. I won't let it happen again."

"No, don't be sorry. I have nightmares a lot, too. That's why I'm awake." Ramona smiled at him. "Are you okay? I know how real they can feel. You don't have to tell me about it, but it might help." She leaned against the door frame. Ramona was starting to get tired, but knew the nightmares would come back if she went to bed.

@ Stage Doctor