Bliss Davonte

"Chapin Davonte, would you say that your ancestor Uli Davonte is a role model for you when you're in that arena?"

Chapin smiled and laughed at the question. "Uli Davonte hid out in trees until everyone else killed themselves off to win. I am not proud of that, I am not like that. I have to answer your question by saying no. He is not a role model for me personally. But if anyone else is going to be like him, it's just going to make it so much easier for me." He ended this with a maniacal laugh that made everyone nervous.

Chapin Davonte was a handsome kid - smart, well built - he was one of the favourites. Yet with that one comment, it turned everything charming he had once said into something deeply sinister... and hey! That was his game plan. The Capitol loved everything he did. When he was thrown into that arena, he was true to his word. With vicious blows and a tendency to leave a victim incapacitated to die a slow and painful death, he became a symbol for bloodlust. It was no surprise when he turned on his District 1 ally and stabbed her in the back (literally) after realizing it was only the two of them left. He was a victor and had unknowingly paved the way for his family to attempt to follow in his footsteps.

The Davonte's had produced two victors in all their life in District One. The first, was Uli Davonte back in the 89th Hunger Games who won by sheer luck. And the second, and what seemed to be the last, was Chapin Davonte back in the 120th Hunger Games. They have been a steady force in the district, and is happily known as one of the oldest families there. However - this did nothing to help them in the future years, where it seemed like nobody could continue the family tradition.

The Davonte's had four children - an oddity in a world where children were used as entertainment and food was scarce. This was not the case for the Davonte's however as both Angora and Rontae had high paying jobs. Angora was a valuable seamstress and most of the designer outfits that needed hand stitching ended up in her lap. Rontae was a precious stone setter; his careful and unwavering eyes and steady hand ensured hundreds of different types of jewellery were finished. His brother, Chapin, had been reaped for the 120th Hunger Games and he had won before committing suicide one day in his home in the Victor's Village. Angora and Rontae were not violent people by far, most would call them loving, but everything changed when it came to the Hunger Games.

As far back in her memory as possible, all Bliss remembers is watching the Hunger Games. As a child, they would give her nightmares, and often times she woke up drenched in a cold sweat with dreams about a kill they had witnessed earlier. The mere idea of being thrown into an arena full of people that wanted to kill you was not entertainment in the slightest for her. However - this kind of behaviour upset both of her parents and her four older brothers. These games were their lives and Bliss was a disgrace to everyone. The Davonte's were not the only family with this in mind in District One. This was how they were raised, how they were taught. From birth it was drilled into everyone's minds that winning these games is the largest honour anyone can do. It became everyone's elusive dream - her classmates turned a blind eye to the fear of death and thought only of the rewards and fame. Everyone forgot these games killed twenty three people each year, including all her brothers.

Once the seed was planted, it took no time for her brother's to start training among themselves. When Bliss attempted to join them, she was turned away. She was instead taught how to sew with her mother. She would watch from the corner of her eye as Noel, Faine and Pirro attacked each other with sharpened sticks and rocks. They joined with other kids that had the same dream, and all her parents did was smile at them. They encouraged this, even if Bliss, the youngest at 6, did not. And this was for good reason. The year Bliss turned 8, Noel had volunteered to be the tribute for District One. Everyone congratulated him of course, and all her brothers were green with envy that their brother would be getting all the glory. When the family went to say goodbye to Noel, Bliss knew she would never see him again. He may have yelled at her plenty of times, but he was still her oldest brother. She clung onto him and when they came to take him away, Bliss started to cry. The next couple of weeks were hell to Bliss - she was forced to watch the games she loathed, but there was an even bigger reason not to watch this year.

"Noel, when you're in that arena, are you going to just as vicious as your uncle was? Remember everyone! This boy has victor blood already running through him! Why did you feel the need to volunteer? Wasn't having a victor in the family good enough Noel?"

Noel sat quietly for a moment, before raising an eyebrow at the interviewer. "I'm the oldest one in the family, and after... and after Uncle Chapin killed himself, our family name was destroyed you know? If I volunteered and won, our good name would be restored. I don't want his memory forcing me to live out my life worrying about what others would think. I want to go in the arena and claim my own prize without thinking about Uncle Chap once."

Noel was kinder than him at least. Whenever he killed, he made sure it was a death blow. Quick and hopefully painless. Despite what he had said during the interview, he could not help but think about what Chapin did in the arena and used his tactics to survive until top four - until one of the remaining tributes stabbed him in the stomach and left him to die - just as Uncle Chapin would have done if they had been forced to face each other in the arena.

Noel was one of the biggest boys in the group at fifteen. He proved to be brutal in the ring, snapping necks and stabbing anyone that came close to him during the first day bloodbath. He made it to top four before a sneakier tribute fell down on him from a tree and stabbed him in the stomach before running away. Noel fell down and bled to death slowly and Bliss had to watch the light from her brother's eyes seeping away - she wanted to do something but knew that was impossible.

At first, people treated the family differently. They were quiet and walked on eggshells around all the children, but before long things were back to normal for everyone but Bliss. The image of Noel dying haunted her every breathing thought and he returned to visit her in her dreams. She grew so paranoid of the world that she forced Faine - now the eldest - to start teaching her defence with weapons. She dreamed of her name being drawn out of the ball when she turned twelve and she refused to go into that arena without being ready. Faine, also scarred by his brother's death, did as she asked. It was now her mother looking out the window at the rest of her children screaming death cries at the other and pretending to kill.

Bliss was a quick learner. Before long she could handle a variety of weapons from a spear to a bow and arrow. But what came naturally to her were knives. Any and all knives felt like home grasped in her fist. She could throw a knife into a target with deadly precision. She also learned to keep up with the boys. If they were going to run another mile, so would she. Unlike a majority of twelve year olds, she felt prepared if her name was called out during her first reaping. But that never came. Year after year she waited for her name to be called and when it never did, she always felt an urge somewhere inside of her to volunteer, which was strange. The more she became familiar with weapons, the more blood thirsty she became.

The interviewer actually had the nerve to laugh at Pirro's last name.

"Another Davonte eh?" he said as a greeting, and it was all Pirro could do to not shoot him an evil glare. "I guess when your brother couldn't do it, you told yourself you could and you ended up being reaped. What great luck!"

Pirro coughed, and then just as he was about to say slanderous things, he realized he was supposed to be charming and good natured. That was how everyone decided he should be featured, so with much difficultly, Pirro plastered on a smile, "I understand where you're coming from. But unlike my brother, I did not volunteer, however I do hope to clear our family name if I win." If. He was playing it modest.

"And if you don't?" the interviewer asked, suddenly curious.

Pirro flashed the crowd an award winning smile. "I have a younger sister." This drew laughs; this made them fall in love with him. Until he was ripped apart limb from limb in under ten seconds.

When she was fourteen, Pirro's name was drawn out of the ball. He refused volunteers - he had the same frame as Noel did - and the Capitol all fell in love with him. Pirro gained fame for his good looks and having the same genes as an old favourite. It had been harder to let him go, but Bliss managed to not cry as she hugged him goodbye. He had been her closest brother due to being so close in age. Pirro, always the good natured sibling told her that even if he died, she would always have Faine who had never been drawn or had the guts to volunteer. It was also that much harder for Bliss to watch him die. Like Noel, Pirro made it to top four. However, the main difference her brothers was that whereas Noel was up front and brutal, Pirro was incredibly sneaky and cunning. Nobody ever saw him coming. It wasn't even another tribute that killed Pirro - it was one of the gamemaker's strange twists that killed him. He was there one moment - and then ripped to shreds the next.

''"Bliss, sweetie, your brother died knowing it was for a good cause." It was all her mother could tell her after they watched Pirro die.''

Bliss looked at her in shock. "How can you say that?" she demanded, standing up and looking her mother in the eye.

"Because they both knew what they were getting into."

"Just-- just--- just stop talking," Bliss pleaded, by her mother kept going.

"I was sure Pirro would have won if only that area wasn't rigged. I was so sure he would be a victor Bliss. So sure we would be living in the Vic-"

"SHUT UP!" Bliss yelled angrily, before she ran out of the house and kept running until she was out of her breath and her lungs felt like they were on fire. It had started to rain, but Bliss didn't care. She didn't even notice she was crying because it blended with the water falling from the sky. That, was when she made a promise to do whatever she could to make sure her brother's didn't die in vain.

This, sparked something inside Bliss. Instead of crying, she remained cold faced as she re-watched the scene over and over again. Her parents grew worried, though they became distant. Both could start to feel the effects of losing two children. Bliss often heard of her mother making mistakes in dresses - she never did that. Her stitching was always flawless. Bliss soon became focused on only one thing and one thing only. If she was not chosen in her next one or two reapings, she was going to volunteer. She needed to get into the Hunger Games. She needed to avenge both her brothers and to prove to herself that she could do it.

Bliss Davonte is quite temperamental. She gets angered very easily, especially at the mention of her failed and dead brothers. Some would argue she's not quite stable, as is rumoured she tried to stab herself with one of her mother's needles to see what real pain felt like. She feels no real ties to her family any more, not after Pirro died. All she does is train, and train and train - so that when her time comes, she'll be able to win.