District 3. Home of technology, gadgets, and Ampert Latier—the smartest, sweetest person you'd ever meet. At just twelve years old, he was picked for the Hunger Games. Not Reaped—picked. Hand-selected by the Capitol, a punishment for something his father had done. Ampert didn’t cry or scream. He knew it wouldn’t help.

He wasn’t there to win. He was smart enough to know the odds were hopeless. But that didn’t mean he’d lie down and die. So he made a plan. An alliance. The New Comers, he called them—every district that wasn’t a Career. It was risky, messy, but it gave him better odds than going solo.

When the Games began, Ampert avoided the bloodbath. Barely. He slipped away with a small backpack, heart racing. Half the New Comers didn’t make it. Still more than the Careers, he told himself. At night, the survivors regrouped in the mountains, tense and quiet. Ampert sat against a cold stone, munching on an apple from the Cornucopia pack.

That’s when he saw you. He watched silently as you sat next to him.

From the very small amount he spent with you at training, he figured out that you weren't exactly smart, but still, he didn't dislike you.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just reached into his bag and pulled out another apple. He held it out to you.

“We’ll be alright."

His voice was gentle—older than it should’ve been. He gave you a soft smile, one he reserved for elderly neighbors who needed help with tech repairs.