How to light a fire
While Clove sits at the firemaking station and lights another fire with her matches, she decides to kill Glimmer. As soon as the career alliance breaks up in the arena, she will be at her throat, preferably with a knife. Maybe even sooner, if she manages to do it unnoticed. And then she's gonna cut up that pretty face...very slowly.
It have only been two days in the training center, and she already hates the girl with a passion. It's not only that she's blonde and pretty and taller than Clove. Her whole behaviour, as if the only fact that she's the female district 1 tribute makes her the queen, sets her off. Glimmer is not even an exceptionally good fighter, just average for a career. When she practices at the archery station, Clove often barely holds back a snort or laughter. It's nothing compared to her own knife throwing skills. The training in district 1 can't be too hard when that's all they have to offer.
But what Clove bothers the most is Glimmer flirting with Cato. It's so obvious that she felt like vomiting all over the training floor at numerous occasions. The way she's always agreeing to him when he suggests to switch stations. How she looks at him with her lips curled in what she believes is a seductive smile. Touching his arm when they stand close together. Clove believes even Marvel figured it out on the first day. But it seems like he couldn't care less.
And she shouldn't care either. She should just go with the alliance and then take out the rest when it breaks up. She knows she can do it. If the others underestimate her, even better. But she would feel much more reassured with Cato to back her up.
She has tried to suggest this idea to him, to keep up the alliance even if the others step off. But it seems impossible to have a minute alone with him. The career pack is always together, eating, training, talking. She knows this is part of the strategy to intimidate the others, but today, she couldn't stand it anymore. Before she does something she will regret later, she excused herself and has been making fires the last hour. The tributes from district 8 joined a while later, but as they haven't bothered her, she just ignores them.
From her station, she watches Cato train with the spear. He can pierce a dummy from fifteen metres away and she can't help but be impressed. She saw him train before, in their district, but she can't seem to get enough of it.
Glimmer is at the hand-to-hand combat station with Marvel and Clove can't help but admit that this is something she's good at. What she lacks in force, she makes up with speed and a way to target the most vulnerable body parts. Marvel doesn't stand a chance. Clove makes a mental note to herself not to let her get too close. Take her out from afar with a knife, that's how she's gonna go.
She concentrates on her fire again, which is soon burning steadily. Mostly it's stupid to light a fire in the arena because it reveals your position. But they plan to take over the inventory at the curnucopeia anyway, and who would dare to walk straight into a pack of careers? They would be dead before they had time to regret their mistake.
When she looks up again – to cast a glance over to the big male tribute from 11, she tells herself – Glimmer is talking to Cato with a hand on his arm, a light smile on her lips. Clove can only see his back, but he doesn't seem to mind. They look like they are just about to disappear into a deserted hallway to make out. She doesn't put it beyond them. After all, what does it matter when they all could be dead in a week?
She tears her gaze from them and returns to her fire. She desperately wants to throw some of her knifes, but that means to return to the weaponry stations and risk a conversation. Even more, she'd risk to throw a knife in Glimmers direction if she loses her patience. And god knows what happens to someone who wounds another tribute before the arena.
It's not worth it, she tells herself, and instead turns to sharpen one of the smaller knifes. That usually calms her down, and it fulfills it's purpose this time.
Her mind returns back to the alliance. She is still seeking a way to make a deal with Cato that survives the usual career pack. So he's attracted to Glimmer, so what? That thing surely won't survive the arena. She's the better fighter and she's still his district partner. That has to count for something.
She wonders if there will be a chance to talk to him about it. She could have talked about her plan in their apartment, but even then, there are always their mentors around them. The thought of him turning her plan down in front of them seems unbearable. If he sees at her as too weak to benefit from such an alliance, she doesn't want them to know.
She's probably expecting to much, anyway. She's part of the careers, so what else does she want? A district partner is nothing more than another rival. She isn't from district 12 after all, which tributes cling to each other like they're merged. She's a career. She would kill anyone to win.
Yet she can't get rid of the thought that if she can't win, he should.
She's had enough of the firemaking, so she gets on sharpening the other knives she keeps in her jacket. The training center begins to empty as it gets time for lunch.
"You coming?" Cato looks at her expectingly.
"Go ahead. I'm gonna do some knife throwing." She thinks she can't stand another shallow conversation during lunch.
"Allright", says Glimmer with a smile and turns to leave. It takes all of Clove's self restraint not to throw a knife in her back. 'Wait until the arena', she tells herself.
Cato looks at her with a somewhat curious expression on his face, probably because her thoughts have been showing on hers. She glares at him and he turns away with a shrug of his broad shoulders.
Soon she's the only one left in the center. Like the tributes, the trainers of the various stations have left to eat. She takes a moment to enjoy the silence. Then she turns to the round targets at the knife-throwing-station.
This is her skill, the discipline where she outplays everyone else, even the older ones at home. Knives have always held a special fascination to her. She's had training with other weapons, but in the end nothing kills someone as good as a blade. It can be used for longer distances as good as in close combat, though she prefers the former. She's not very tall, so she likes to eliminate her enemys as soon as possible. And when the others underestimate her due to her light frame, even better.
She imagines Glimmers face on the target as she aims for first two knives pierce her eyes, the next her nose and the last her mouth. After that, she feels considerably better.
She forgets time as she throws knife after knife at the marks, varying the distance and the angle. Nearly every knife hits the black spot in the middle, and she feels herself smiling, pleased with herself. She can already see herself in the arena, taking out the other tributes. The bloodbath is when she will shine.
"Not too bad", she suddenly hears a voice behind her. She swirls around, the last knife still in her hand. There in the door stands Cato, leaning against the frame. She wonders how long he has been watching.
"You think?", she asks cooly, trying to hide how much his appreciation pleases her.
"Saw you train at home. Knife throwing's your thing, right?" He steps into the room.
She grins and wirls the knife around in her hand. "I like knives."
"You're good", he says with a look on the targets. "But I didn't expect you to volunteer this year", he continues. "You're pretty young."
"I'm sixteen", she says with a flair of anger.
He shrugs his big shoulders. "Still young. Why didn't you wait?"
What can she say? She knows it wasn't expected of her, although she's the best girl in her age class. Usually the tributes wait until they're seventeen, most volunteer at their last year. But she doesn't think much of the boys her age. The male tributes of district 2 are often the leaders of the career packs, and when she goes into the arena, she want's to be in a pack that's strong. Or so she tells herself. So when it was sure that Cato would volunteer, because it was his last year and no one would dare to challenge him, she stepped up.
She throws her braided hair back. "I'm better than them, so why should I wait? They could've challenged me."
"Sure", he says. "But maybe you could've grown a bit more."
She feels fury rise inside of her and bits back: "Why do you care? Maybe you hoped to have one of these stupid girls that do everything you say? Maybe you just didn't expect to have a real rival?"
He crosses his muscular arms in front of his chest. "Rival? You're no rival to me."
The knife sirrs through the air before she has time to even think about it. It misses Catos head by mere inches and hits a dummy behind him. To her anger, he doesn't even flinch.
Only as he turns to yank the knife free does she realize her mistake: That she is now weaponless. She remembers the tribute that stole Catos knife yesterday. What would he have done to him if there hadn't been peacekeepers there? It's against the rule to hurt another tribute before the arena, but she doesn't put it beyond him. She has provoked him and they are alone. A look on the clock shows that lunch time is far from over.
"That was stupid", he says as he moves up to her, the knife in his hand.
Against her will, she backs up until she can feel the wall behind her. A part of her wonders if he really came back early from lunch to get into a fight with her. Did she play straight into his hands? But why? If he wants to get rid of her, he'll get enough chances in the arena.
"I wasn't aiming for you, I would've hit you if I had." She can feel her heartrate increase as her panic grows. Still she holds his gaze, trying to appear calm. It doesn't help that he's more than a head taller than her.
"You shouldn't provoke me", he says. The knife looks small in his hand, but still threatening so close to her neck. There's less than an arm's length of space between them.
She leans her head back. "You can't hurt another tribute before the games."
"Can't I?" There's the hint of a smirk in his face, she notes instantly because he almost never smiles. It almost seems like he teases her.
"That wouldn't really be smart", she returns. "You need me."
"Career pack's big this year. You're good, but we could do without you." She's almost one-hundred percent sure he tries to provoke her.
She snorts. "Sure. Just rely on Glimmer's archery talent and you'll all be fine. Just keep an eye on the big boy from 11." Against her instinct, she leans forward, almost against him. Her lips pull up into a grin. "On the other hand, you could just listen to me. We can win this."
It just slips her lips and she instantly expects him to say 'There's no we.' Instead, he lets the knife slide down and looks at her with a more serious expression. "What do you mean?"
"This year, the winner's gonna be from district 2."
"Sure. Cause I'm gonna win."
She scowls at him. "Don't be to sure of that. The last years, it was always district 1."
He shrugs. "They just got lucky."
"Well, this year they won't. We'll make sure." Clove emphasizes the last words and looks at him intensely.
She can see interest in his expression. "I'm listening."
She puts all her concentration in explaining her plan. "When the alliance breaks up – if we're both still there – we could have each other's backs. We're from the same district, we can ensure that 2 has a winner. We could form our own personal truce...until there's no one else left." At this thought, she smiles.
"So...", he gazes at her, "you mean, we kill everyone else and then I'm gonna kill you?"
"No." She returns his look. "We kill everyone else and then I'm gonna kill you."
He moves closer until his face is only inches away from her own. "I'll do it quick", he promises.
"So will I." She grins. "Deal?"
He raises his head. "Deal."
"One more thing though", she adds.
Cato frowns at her. "What?"
Involuntary, she clenches one of her hands into a fist. "I get to kill Glimmer."
He shrugs. "You can do with her whatever you want."
Clove smile widens. "Good."
He doesn't care fo her at all – only now can she feel truly satisfied.
She doesn't think of the arena yet. She only thinks about one thing: They're gonna win.