[color=palegreen][h2]ʜᴇᴋᴀᴛ ʙᴀᴋsʜɪ[/h2][/color]
It was a long moment before Hekat let her hand fall from the window, but when she did, it curled into a fist at her side. She squared her shoulders once more, eyes closing momentarily as she got herself under control and turned to face her companion. In the distance, the rumble of thunder was a constant background noise.

She opened her mouth to say something to Zolkin, but before she could get a word out their mentor stepped forward. Hekat's lip curled slightly as she looked over the diminutive woman, but she quickly smoothed her expression. Arlene Fisher—she'd won the Battle more than a decade ago, and that accent marked her as one of the wealthier people in Sector Five. She'd won the Battle, though, so there was clearly something lurking under that motherly exterior and curiously relieved tone , but she couldn't be more different from Hekat herself. She'd be of limited use, but there was no reason to antagonize her right off the bat—so Hekat ignored the use of 'cutie pie.' For now.

[color=palegreen]"Mrs. Fisher,"[/color] she greeted with a nod, folding her hands behind her back. [color=palegreen]"Hekat Bakshi. A pleasure to meet y—"[/color]

She was cut off when the black-haired woman bounced forward to fold her into a brief hug. Hekat blinked, still parsing the gesture when their mentor moved on to give the same treatment to AJ. "Oh, please, darlin', call me Arlene! We're gonna have to know each other pretty well before the Battle, aren't we?"

Hekat exchanged a glance with Alva as Arlene turned to lead them on a tour of the train—a glance of shared resignation. Having Arlene as a mentor was going to be...interesting. The three moved through the train, Fisher keeping up a constant stream of commentary on the various rooms. For her part, Hekat glanced around, but her main thoughts were on the strategy she'd use once in the Battle. Allies? Likely not. Only one person could win, and Hekat wasn't small enough, cute enough, or friendly enough to inspire die-hard loyalty. Sponsors, though...sponsors could mean life or death in the arena. She'd just have to pick a facet of her personality to play up that [i]wasn't[/i] 'constantly annoyed.'

[color=palegreen]"Mrs F—Arlene,"[/color] she cut in once they reached the dining car. [color=palegreen]"What exactly can you tell us about this year? What can we expect once we get to the Training Center?"[/color]

The mentor paused, giving the candidates an empty smile. "Well, it's the same as always, really...you'll have to find out for yourself about the Arena, but the rules are all the same. And you'll be at the Training Center for about a week, maybe more, depending on how they do the training this year...we'll just have to see!"

Hekat refrained from sighing, but her eyes did narrow. She knew the information the mentors were allowed to give to their candidates was extremely limited, but there had to be more than that. 'Of little use' was right.