(2 Chapters! Wooo! I own nothing, as usual. Enjoy!)
-Clove's P.O.V.-
The sudden wave of realization makes me want to throw up.
Instead, I grab Cato's wrist and choke out a few swear words. He looks a little startled at first, but manages to haul me back to reality. For the past few days, we've only had each other and our mentors, Brutus and Enobaria, to talk to.
"We killed half of these kids." I mutter. Cato nods, and I wonder whether it's really a big deal to him.
"Yeah, but we'll just talk to Marvel and Glimmer. No big deal." He reminds me. I roll my eyes and punch him in the gut.
"Brutus and Enobaria told us to make friends." I sigh. The elevator doors finally open, revealing a brand new training center. Cato shoves me out.
A drunk man that I think is from 5 is throwing up on the sword fighting station. Gloss and Cashmere are already hurling knives at orange projections. An old woman from 4 is teaching a younger girl how to make fish hooks. Johanna Mason, from 7, is destroying some projections with both her pupils. Cato scans the training center.
"I'm going to go join Gloss and Cahsmere. Coming?" he asks. I shake my head and start towards the team from 7.
"-it really helps if you know how to throw knives, and… oh, hello." Johanna Mason turns towards me as I approach her station. Instead of hateful looks, she grins. The girl from 7 who was in the games with me last year holds out her hand.
"I'm Willow. That's Alder." She says. I nod at the boy from her district.
"Clove." I tell her. Willow hands me a throwing axe.
"You know how to throw, Knives?" Johanna asks. I shake my head, trying not to grin at the nickname.
"Only knives." I reply. She twirls the weapon in her hands and sends it flying at a projection. Alder tries with his axe, but it misses by a few inches.
"Don't worry, kid. You wanna try?" Johanna motions for me to throw. I close my eyes and try to remember something about throwing axes, but I come up with the rules for throwing knives. Willow taps my arm just as I let the axe fly. It only sticks in the projection's arm.
"They're staring at you." Willow whispers. I whip around to see Firebomb, her little sister, Loverboy, and Haymitch glaring daggers at me. Well, not the little girl. She's too focused on the ground.
"Ignore them and go find your mentors." Johanna mumbles under her breath. I say goodbye to Willow and Alder and walk towards the knife-throwing station. Gloss is still there, but Cashmere has moved on to camouflage.
"12 was staring at me." I tell him. He glances in their direction and laughs.
"See that man with them? Haymitch? He's a drunk. Probably won't make it through the first night. Firebomb's sister, Primrose, she's thirteen, one of the youngest in the arena. Not a fighter." He scoffs. Feeling a bit better, I take a knife in my hands and toss it at the projection. Gloss makes a sound of approval, so we spend fifteen minutes throwing together.
"Where're Brutus and Enobaria?" he asks suddenly. I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants and look around the training center.
"They're… with Cato. Where are Marvel and Glimmer?"
"Last I saw 'em, Glimmer was flirting with Perfection Odair and Marvel was at camouflage with the Morphlings." Gloss answers.
"Thanks. I'll see you for lunch." I say, and head off towards the survival stations. There are quite a few to pick from. Primrose and Loverboy are at the medicinal plants station, the Morphlings are still at the camouflage station, the girl from 10 and the mentors from 8 are at the edible bugs station, everyone from 5 is at the edible plants station, Finnick Odair and the boy from District 4 are making fishing rods, the elderly woman from District 4 is still teaching the girl from her district how to make fish hooks, and the girl from 9 is tying knots.
Before I can choose a station, a rough hand drags me to the side.
"Cato! Get off of me!" I yelp. He doesn't let go, even when Atala gives him the evil eye. "What the hell do you want?"
As soon as the peacekeepers and trainers have looked away, Cato opens a closet door and shoves me inside.
"Oh, God, that's dark." I gasp as he shuts the door, leaving us in pitch black. A pair of arms engulfs me in a huge hug. It takes every muscle in my body not to fight back.
"Clove! We haven't seen you in ages!" squeals a familiar voice.
"Well, I haven't seen you at all, so can someone turn on a light?" I mutter. Cato flips on the switch, and a light in the closet illuminates and begins to flicker.
"Glad you could join us, Clover dear." Says another voice. The arms are pried off of me, only to be replaced by another pair.
"Marvelous!" I grin in excitement. When Marvel lets me go, I notice our four mentors.
Not one of them is smiling.
