Thor
Thor Odinson had no plans to enter the Games.
To start with, he didn’t know how to fight. He was strong, yes- freakishly strong, his brother always liked to remind him- but untrained. He also didn’t think he would be able to kill anyone. It just wasn’t in his nature. Besides, his name was only in the running seven times, and there were nearly thirty thousand residents living in District Five. All of that goes to say that, when he walked into the factory on Reaping Day, he did not expect to find himself on the stage.
District Five didn’t have any kind of central square or marketplace to hold the Reaping. It was just too big. Being the district of transportation, they had a sprawling system of trains just to get around their own district. This had lead to them becoming the largest District not only in size, but also in population, because they simply had so much room to grow. There was just no square big enough to hold all of the eligible tributes, so once a year they shut down production in the largest factory, moved out all of the machinery, and gathered in there.
Thor arrived on time- barely- only because of his mother’s intervention. Without her, he probably would have slept through the whole thing. As it was, he arrived only seconds before the doors closed, and he was sure he looked like a mess.
His brother, Loki, gave him a disbelieving look as he took his place among the other seventeen-year-old boys. They were less than a year apart in age, and despite Thor being the elder of the two, his brother always seemed the more mature. “Shut up.” He muttered, clasping his hands behind his back and trying to look as though he had not just been running through the streets to get here.
Loki smirked. “I didn’t say anything.”
“But you were going to.”
Loki hummed in agreement. He didn’t say anything else, because at that moment, Odin was taking the stage.
Their father was the mayor of District Five. He had been for as long as Thor could remember, having been appointed by the Capitol when Thor was just a baby. He had a reputation for being wise, strong, and- unfortunately- for giving long speeches.
(Honestly, Thor thought. When he became mayor- as he was sure he would- he would waste less time on speeches. It was ridiculous.)
“Many welcomes to all our residents of District Five. And a warm welcome to our friends from the Capitol as well. I, Odin Allfather, am honored to announce…”
And on and on it went. Thor zoned out after only a few minutes, focusing instead on finding his friends in the crowd. He was the youngest one in his friend group, aside from Loki of course. Fandral, Hogun, and Sif were all eighteen, while Volstagg was nineteen and therefore not eligible for the Reaping.
He and Sif had dated for a while when they were thirteen, before she realized she preferred girls over boys. Their friends never ceased to tease them about it. Thor never failed to blush.
Finally, it was time to call the names. “I can’t wait to go home after this.” Thor muttered to his brother. “Do you think I can convince Mother to make us a roast duck for dinner?”
Loki gave him a disapproving look. Thor sighed. His brother could be such a wet blanket sometimes.
“Our female tribute from District Five… Gertrude Yorkes!” Odin called. Thor couldn’t see her through the crowd until she was almost to the stage, a mousey brown-haired girl who couldn’t be older than sixteen. He looked away, uncomfortable at the thought that they were sending her away to die. There was a smattering of applause around them, but Thor couldn’t bring himself to join in.
“And the male tribute from District Five,” Odin continued, drawing a name out of the other bowl, “is… no, there must be some mistake.”
Thor’s head snapped up to look at his father, a furrow in his brow. There were no mistakes with the Reaping. To even suggest such a thing… the Capitol wouldn’t be happy.
“The male tribute from District Five is Loki Odinson.”
Thor’s entire world stopped. Beside him, he felt Loki go rigid. No, this couldn’t be happening. Loki’s name was only in seven times. Seven names in ten thousand. The odds of his name being drawn were astronomically low.
But then, his traitorous brain reminded him, the odds were that low for every one of them. And somebody’s name had to come out.
Loki was almost to the stage. He glanced back at Thor, a desperate plea in his eyes. Thor was moving before he knew what he was doing.
“Stop!” He shouted. Loki froze in place, as did everyone else who had been craning their heads to see him.
A dark look passed over Odin’s face.
“You will not take my brother.” He insisted.
“The boy was reaped.” One of the peacekeepers told him. “He has to go.”
Thor looked to his father for help, but Odin just shook his head. He had never looked older than he did in that moment. While Thor was practically shaking with emotion, Odin just looked… calm. “My son, do not do this.” He pleaded.
Well. Fine, then. If Odin wasn’t going to do anything, Thor would have to do it himself. “I volunteer to take my brother’s place.” He announced.
A wave of shock rippled through the crowd. Still, Thor couldn’t bring himself to feel any regrets as he marched past his brother, not daring to look him in the eye for fear of what he might find there.
“Thor, you idiot!” Loki hissed, pushing his brother backwards. Thor’s back slammed into the wall of the Justice Building, but he made no move to fight back. “You’re going to die out there.”
“Better me than you.” He argued. “At least I have a chance- and don’t look at me like that, you know it’s true.”
Loki’s expression softened slightly. His eyes were wild with emotion- anger, betrayal, gratefulness, relief. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I did.” Thor insisted. “You know I couldn’t just let them take you. You’re my brother.”
Loki sighed, all the anger suddenly draining away. “I’ll miss you.” He said simply. “Don’t die out there.”
“I won’t.” Thor promised him. “I’ll come home to you and Mother. I’ll make our father proud.”
Mother came next, ushered into the room as the Peacekeepers led Loki away. “Oh, my darling boy, I’m so sorry. Stay safe for me, Thor.”
After a long and tearful hug, followed by a kiss on the forehead, it was time for his mother to leave. Thor sat down in his chair and glanced at the clock. He had a little over an hour before the train would leave for the Capitol. He hoped his father wouldn’t be long; there was so much he wanted to say to him.
His father didn’t come.