Samuel Bright
The First Prodigy
Full Name:"I'm Samuel Bright, but most people call me Sam."
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Straight
District: "My home is District 2. That's why I've been training with weapons long before they announced the Hunger Games."
Age: "I was fourteen when the war ended and sixteen when I entered the games."
Appearance:
Standing at 5'8", Sam still has a robustness to him that gives away his strength. His sandy blonde hair is short at the sides but long enough at the top to start curling. It sits neatly, in a way that seem to tempt people into trying to ruffle it up. He has fair skin but it tans easily to become a more golden beige. His eyes are brown, orangey in tone.
Personality:
"I try not to be too serious, even when staring death in the face. It's Acacia that's truly the funny one though." With Sam's district partner constantly shooting off terrible pun after terrible pun the options are to either laugh or groan. Sam chooses to laugh, and will do the same to anything he finds even remotely funny. He will willingly charge into battle with the goofiest grin on his face, full of energy and optimism that things will go exactly as planned. Nevertheless, Sam did pay attention during tactical classes at the academy enough to contribute to plans even if his tactical knowledge is better suited to actual warfare than the Hunger Games.
Crush:"When I was 12 I watched our of my window back home as a certain 14 year old soldier marched off to war. She inspired me to work my hardest so I could follow her. " Acacia
Alliance: "We made the first true Career alliance! I would protect my allies with my life."
Reaped or volunteered: "I gave training to be a soldier my all but the war ended before I even reached the front-lines. I couldn't let all that go to waste, so it only made sense that I volunteered for the games instead."
Parade outfit: "They put me in a suit that looked like a rock. Weird that they didn't put Acacia in one the same."
Interview angle:"I told them all about my training! I thought it was exciting but some of the audience looked a little bored."
Weapon of choice: "Give me a sword, any sword."
Fatal flaw: "It ended up being not looking where I was stabbing." Sam also failed to be aware enough of his surrounding to detect Khali sneaking up behind him.
Mentor: "We had to fend for ourselves."
Training Score: "I was very happy with my nine."
Death: "It seems our fate was sealed the moment I killed that kid."
There was a slight bite to the air when they all arrived in the area, but Sam paid it little attention . In front of him lay the cornucopia and its supply of weapons and he searched it until he spotted the sword he was sure was left for him. It was imperative that he reach it before anyone else. Even someone well-trained would be at a disadvantage against an armed assailant if they lacked a weapon.
The moment the gong echoed through the arena he leapt from the pedestal, unfaltering as he ran towards the blade and swept it up in his hands. With weapon acquired, now was the time to take stock of the situation. His allies were spread around the cornucopia, all still breathing which was a good start. Various non-careers were scrambling for bags or teaming up with their own allies but one group in particular caught his eye. His face twisted in to a frown as the District 3 pair, who already earned suspicion for being mentored by last years unpleasant victor, turned on the district 4 kid out of nowhere. Such traitorous behaviour so early on in the games was definitely not good sportsmanship. Sam began to move towards them as Tyko fell to the floor, throat cut. Cypher had the brains to run immediately, but Siria remained in place long enough for Sam to bring his sword down, giving him his first kill.
The bloodbath continued around him but Sam was unconcerned with hunting down the other tributes. That didn't seem to matter when a frantic Jacinta attacked, knife in hand, but he made short work of the inexperienced tribute. By now the living tributes around the cornucopia were beginning to thin out and with one last thud of a tribute falling Sam and his allies regrouped. He was buzzing with energy as they discussed where to go, finally experiencing the battle-thrill he'd been taught about.
They found a patch in the Southern forest, which seemed perfect for their camp. Sam and Prince wrestled with their tent and by the time Acacia and Genesis had their's up, and had created a firepit, Sam realised that they'd set it up wrong for the second time. They were going to have to start again. He shook his head at the mound of fabric that was supposed to make up their beds for the games but quickly switched to a cheerful thumbs up when Acacia announced she was going for a walk.
"Don't die!" The chipper tone of his voice showed that he wasn't really worried. Acacia was, after all, a soldier from District 2. In Sam's eyes, she was invincible. Besides, her squad must have called her the 'death-defying demon' for a reason.
"But don't have too much fun without us, either!"The Career boys finally set their tent up correctly, a feat that Sam honestly though was more impressive than any fight he had ever won. At this point Acacia hadn't returned and Genesis was starting to look worried.
"She can't have been gone that long! It didn't take us that long... right?" The answer seemed to come from well past the tree line, the awful snarling of a pack of mutts.
"Oh... we should go find her."The three Careers took off through the trees, though Sam still remained mostly unconcerned. Acacia could handle these mutts no problem. As the snarling grew louder they yelled encouragement to each other, finally making the last charge forward to where Acacia was cornered against a cliff face. Sam yelled out a battle-cry and sped towards the nearest cougar mutt, swinging his sword at full force. When the last mutt fell, and they fought to catch their breath, Acacia was the first to break the silence.
"You... you could have died, you... you idiots.. why did you put yourselves in danger?"
Nobody answered at first, but Sam maintained eye contact with his district partner. There was far too much to put into words.
Because what's the point in allies if not to guard them with your life. Because these games would be a whole lot more miserable without my squad at my side. Because even the strongest soldier can fall to ruin without their friends. Instead when the moment was over, Sam laughed.
"I happen to enjoy being an idiot! Now, please, let's go back to camp."The Careers slept well after all that excitement and, having taken first watch, Sam didn't wait until the sun had climbed well past the horizon. Immediately it was time for a hunting trip. He and Acacia, not making the mistake of travelling alone this time, wandered through the forest in high spirits, listening for any tell-tale snapping of twigs and hoping to catch the scent of smoke from a fire. They didn't notice either of those, only an unpleasant drop in temperature. Eventually it grew so cold that they could simply walk across the once fast-flowing river they came to.
"Maybe we should try another direction." Sam began, "It 's way to cold here for..." He cut his sentence short as they both spotted a pair of tributes, who seemed to be enjoying themselves. As they picked up speed the first flakes of snow were beginning to swirl in the air, but by the time they reached the spot the tributes had been that swirl was blinding. A shadow scurried near Sam, too short to be Acacia, and he swung out with his sword. Blade met flesh and the cannon fired.
"Cay, we've gotta go!" The snow was soaking into his clothes, and if they didn't move now he wasn't sure he would be able to move at all. They stumbled home blind, kept together only by the sound of each other's voices. Somehow, the tents eventually loomed in front of them and, after a stretched out moment where Sam's numb fingers couldn't grab the zip, they were shivering inside next to Prince, who looked a whole lot less frozen. It was Acacia that noticed their missing piece, Genesis.
"She's not in the other tent?" He gasped, as Prince explained her flustered getaway. Acacia didn't hesitate to rush out, back into the icy storm. And of course, Sam didn't hesitate to follow, despite the fact that his blood felt like it had turned the consistency of a slushee. With Acacia in front, the wind felt a little less cold but, with his feet dragging through the snow, it wasn't long before she disappeared into the white.
"Acacia!" He yelled, trying to regain his bearings, before her shadow appeared out of the gloom once more. This time she carried a shivering Genesis in her arms. Breathing a collective sigh of relief they made their way back to camp, where Acacia promptly burst into the worst lecture of all time.
"What did I do to deserve that?" Sam grumbled, but he couldn't hide the fact that he was smiling.
"It was worse that all that lecturing you did when those District 3 kids kept beating you in that shooting game." With that, their alliance felt restored and even stronger than before. When Sam eventually succumbed to exhaustion, all thoughts of splitting out between the tents had been lost. He fell asleep with his legs sprawled over Prince's, whilst he hugged Acacia's arm like it was some sort of teddy bear. After all they'd been through, they were no longer just allies - they were a family.
Any hopes for a restful day were rudely shoved aside by their wake-up call, an unpleasant hissing from all sides. Those mutts were back.
"We must smell really good if they decided to come back for more." He grumbled,
"Well! We'll just have to take them out like we did before." They scrambled out of the tent, weapons ready, but the hellish sounds and the occasionally shadowy flicker amongst the trees were the only obvious sign of the puma mutts. Time seemed to slow as they pressed in together, back-to-back, and waited. With no further warning, mutts burst from the trees in every direction and the fight began. It wasn't long before Sam could no longer see his allies for fur and teeth and claws. He swung his sword until his arm was getting tired and then swung it some more, ignoring the pain for bites and scratches. He flinched at the sound of a cannon and again at a second one, but it wasn't until the final mutt had fallenthat he could afford to think any more on them. The first thing he noticed was that Acacia was still standing, which was a relief. Then he spotted Prince. His friend was lying, unmoving, besides the tattered tent.
"No.." Just crouching besides him was enough to confirm that one of those cannons had been his. Meanwhile, Genesis, alive or not, wasn't anywhere to be seen. It wasn't until they found a trail of blood to follow that they spotted her body, throat cut and with a message spelled out beside her.
Watch out. I'm coming for you two. "This is personal?" Sam exclaimed in horror, as Acacia swore revenge. Carefully, they carried Genesis back to their, now very sorrowful, camp. They reminisced about their allies and said their goodbyes, and then the Capitol hovercraft sunk down and carried them away. The Career alliance had begun to fall.
The two Career's cannons were the last heard for a while, with only four tributes remaining. Instead, the arena was dilled with an announcement that the feast was coming. It provided the perfect opportunity for Sam and Acacia to finish off the last of their competition so they waited, hidden in the bushes, for the other tributes to arrive. One came, but not from where they expected them too. Striking from above, Sam raised his arm just in time to protect himself from a frantic strike. The attacker fled with Acacia hot on their heels, whilst Sam crouched down again to wait for their final opponent. It was only a moment later that the tip of something sharp touched his neck and, before he could attempt to spin away, he was held fast, his sword twisted from his hamds.
"Scream for Acacia, or else you die." The District 5 girl, Khali, spoke right into his ear. This was the tribute that was making things personal, and Sam was hardly going to do what she told him.
"I'll die then." He hissed. Acacia was far stronger and more skilled than this villain, of course, but Khali was planning something devious. Sam would not allow himself the shame of playing any role in his partner's downfall. He would not rank his own life above Acacia's. To his disgust, Khali didn't even follow through on her threat.
"Acacia! I have your precious little prodigy. You have a minute to get here before I stab him!"
She wouldn't play into this girl's whims though, would she? Acacia had every chance of winning once he was dead, and Sam would be happy knowing she had followed the path to victory. That would be the best outcome. The sound of footsteps indicated that that was not the outcome she had planned, but that was fine too.. Cay could just run in and run Khali through with her spear. She definitely wouldn't do anything foolish like...
"Let him go. Kill me instead." She was here, and she was on her knees.
Sam was about to argue when Khali spoke again. "Too late." Pain radiated from his neck, not only the sharp pain of that dart parting flesh but also a burning that let him know he had been poisoned. He sank to the ground, Acacia's shout echoing round his head as he fought to stay conscious. When he forced his eyes to refocus they did not show him the sight he was supposed to be seeing. Instead of Acacia slaying Khali, Khali had his district partner's spear in her own hands.
"No!" He cried out as the spear was plunged into Acacia's stomach. Horror and adrenaline forced him shakily to his feet, reaching for the sword he'd dropped.
"Love you, buddy. Get that punk for me." Acacia told him, before she fell, and Sam knew that despite the poison rushing through him he would do all he could to do as she had asked.
"Love you." He responded, though she could no longer hear him.
"Oh, how touching. Are you going to avenge your love? I would never allow anyone to forget about the dishonour she brought to your district. Yours too." Khali was taunting him, as if she hadn't already stabbed him, poisoned him and killed his district partner.
"I will avenge her." He would replace his sapped strength with some of Acacia's, and take this villain down.
"When I go home to my district, I'll make sure no one ever forgets her bravery. The only person who ever brought dishonour to their district is you!"Khali responded only with rage. "You'll die for what you did to Ashley!"
It suddenly made sense. How personal Khali's attack was, the figure in the blizzard. Khali had killed his district partner as Sam had killed hers. But Sam killing Ashley had never been personal.
He fended off blow and blow, even landing strikes himself, but it wasn't enough. Eventually, he could fight no longer and fell to the ground.
"You have shamed your district, your family, and above all, Acacia. Go to hell. This is for you, Ashley!"
"I'm sorry..." He whispered, before Khali's blade entered his heart and the cannon fired. For what, the audience would never know.
Sam's Relationships
Alliance: | ◆ allies | ◈ neither allies nor enemies | ◇ enemies | ❖ betrayed
Feelings: | ♡ romantic | ✿ very positive | ✓ positive | ▣ neutral | ✘ negative
【 D1 ◆ ✿ 】 Prince: Failing to put a tent up together is an excellent way to bond. Sam would gladly put his life in Prince's hands.
【 D2 ◆ ♡ 】 Acacia: Sam is constantly in awe of her. It was her that inspired him to become the so-called Prodigy.
【 D4 ◆ ✓ 】 Genesis: Another beloved ally. It was an honour to fight alongside her.
【 D5 ◈ ✓ 】 Ashley: Killing Ashley wasn't personal, he was just a kid. Sam feels kind of bad about it now, but they made up in the afterlife.
【 D5 ◇ ✘ 】 Khali: She made things personal and caused him and Acacia to suffer. He did have a little bit of sympathy for her losing her district partner, but seeing her as a mentor makes it hard to be sympathetic.