Cato and Glimmer: After the Games
Prologue
"The butterflies in his stomach have wings like razor blades."
"Cato, you don't jab at that corner like you're playing a fool." Hector - Cato's mentor - scolded as the built like a tank Victor of the 70th Hunger Games took the sword from the six year old boy's hand. The mentor swung the sword before chucking it on the blue dummy's bull's eye. "Aiming for the artery isn't your game. You need to focus on the center to get the good meat. Do you understand me, Cato?"
Cato Masterson nodded at his mentor's advice. Like any other child in District Two - he was one of those that were trained for the Hunger Games for the sake of bringing pride to their District. The six year old child was on his third month in training and frankly, he was doing quite well with the occasional praises from District Two's Board of Career Tribute Judges. The judges were betting on Cato to volunteer soon due to his outstanding performance; therefore, making his training processions a little bit harder than that of the rest of the kids that were being trained for slaughter. He was about to receive the sword from his mentor until he heard it. A shrill, monstrous yet childish groan coming from behind him.
The six year old turned to find the most dashing yet deathly Career Tribute-trained girl. She was wearing her blonde locks in two fishtail braids, her eyes gleamed in the light of the hot sun that beat down them, her jaw line quenched in both anger and resentment. She was holding a mere kid-bow and a small yet sharply immense arrow. Once he resented his eyes away from the bombshell, he turned over to the target that the other tribute was aiming for. One small arrow was sticking out of the blue dummy's head. He grinned to himself, ha; another amateur.
With a point of a finger to the little girl, Cato asked his mentor, "Master Hector - who might that be?"
Hector turned to his trainee's direction before nodding over to the girl that Cato appointed to. "That's Glimmer Gaze; District One's most lethal yet goddess-like Career Tribute-trained kid. She's passed to be one of the three best volunteers coming from the lips of District One's Board of Career Tribute Judges."
"She's that good?" Cato laughed under his breath, seeing that his mentor's words were nothing but a joke. "She can't even shoot straight."
Hector grinned mockingly before leaning over and whispering against Cato's lips. "Why don't you teach her? Show them how good District Two can take down luxury barbie dolls."
Cato grinned up to his mentor before responding, "I will take that challenge, Master."
Before Hector could even say anything, Cato had began to trudge up to the other Career Tribute trainee. He tapped the girl's shoulder which caused the little blonde girl to jump in surprise and turn to point a sharp arrow at Cato's jaw.
"Do not touch me," The little girl known as Glimmer hissed with a burning passion of hate.
Cato could only cockily grin as he slowly moved the arrow away from his jaw. "I'm not here to make you mad," He told her. "I'm here to help you."
"Like I need a help from a boy from Two," Glimmer retorted like she was an adult. The little girl had came to District Two for a little Career Tribute alliance field trip and frankly, Glimmer hadn't expected that she was going to meet such repulsive boys - especially this boy that she's currently talking with. "I can do this on my own."
"Your elbow is ranged too low," Cato answered seriously as he took the girl's right elbow and began to raise it, ignoring the girl's complaints. "You won't get a decent target if it's too low. Move your body to the side a little bit." He grabbed the little girl by waist and twisted her around which earned Cato an immensely hateful glare from the District One girl. "Now shoot."
"I'm not taking this," Glimmer shook her head in dismay, continually glaring at the boy who think he's so much better than her.
"Just shoot." Cato whined which caused Glimmer to arch an eyebrow at him before shaking her head and turning her attention back at the target. With a few breaths and a whisper of luck to the bow, Glimmer let the arrow fly. She watched cautiously and with just the right precision, her arrow had hit the bull's eye. Impossible. It was the first bull's eye she could ever hit in the history of her training months.
Glimmer turned over to the boy of which she knew not his name of. She glared at him heatedly before asking, "Why are you grinning like an idiot? Cut it out!"
Cato widened his grinned before he cracked up into laughter. "What did I tell you?"
"You repulse me," Glimmer spat at him with a frown. "What's your name anyway, punk?"
"Cato," He replied to the other once he had calmed himself from his fit of sheer laughter. "Cato Masterson. District Two's Board of Career Tributes Judges highly recommend me as their soon to become Victor."
For the first time since Cato and Glimmer had met, Glimmer smiled. This smile, however, caught Cato off guard and made him forget almost everything he had trained for. That small yet ravishing smile hit Cato like a big yellow school bus. His knees buckled like bouncy Jell-O and a warm shiver went down his back. But the worst thing that he could ever feel were the butterflies that seemed to flutter angrily in his stomach. For some reason, the butterflies in his stomach pained him deeply like it was cutting his stomach to pieces. The butterflies in his stomach have wings like razor blades. Blades as sharp as the ones he held for training.
"I'm Glimmer Gaze," Glimmer introduced herself nonchalantly. "I guess that makes the two of us as one of our Districts recommended volunteers."
"Uhuh," Cato said rather a bit too absent mindedly.
Glimmer grinned at Cato. Such a revolting thought to see this young boy falling at her feet like she just won the Hunger Games itself. "Well, thank you for your help, Cato." Glimmer put the bow back on its stand before finally saying, "See you in the arena."
He'll see her in the arena all right. And this time, he wasn't going to play coy with her like she had with him. He was not going to make some beautiful district one "goddess" make him look weak. Not anymore. If he were to meet this Glimmer girl in the arena; she was going to get it - hard.
A/N: How do you guys think the Prologue went? This is just a little child hood thing Cato went over upon meeting Glimmer. Chapter One will proceed to Cato's POV and the continuation of the story of All for the Games. Opinions on this prologue is well appreciated and if you have suggestions for this sequel, don't hesitate to review me or send me a message. Thank you for reading and I hope you guys liked it!
- EMPG22HoPe
