AN: This story is heavily influenced by the song "If I die Young" by The Band Perry, I would suggest listening to it, its beautiful You will see some quotes from the song throughout the chapters as well! Thanks for the reviews it honestly means the world to me :O
Chapter Two: Worthy
Cato POV
I haven't seen her since that day in training, the day when she proved she was worthy to be noticed. And noticed she was. At once talk of her spread like wildfire, the classrooms alight with fierce gossip at the hands of other girls. Their desperate tones filled with malice as they discussed her poor origins. I tried to ignore their words as they were born from jealousy, but my curiosity always won out. I had already known she was the daughter of a quarry miner. It was hard to ignore as the Academy rarely made exceptions to a person of her class. When she was admitted questions arose, and anger erupted by some members of the academy council, my parents included. I already knew they thought lowly of the girl from the quarries, but until now she had spent her time under the radar, brushing just beneath their thoughts. There was no hope for her now, to go back under. She had condemned herself without knowing.
Clove POV
I noticed their stares, the whispers that I left in my wake in the school hallways. It didn't faze me for a second, let them talk, this was my victory. It had gone farther than pinning Kaylin to the ground that day, I had clasped onto the ignorant faces of those who had doubted me and forced them to acknowledge that I could do this, I stood a fighting chance. The elite citizens of District 2 and their spoiled, pretentious spawn were fooling themselves if they thought I would let them take the glory. They were born and bred for this, coddled with special treats, read bedtime stories of glory about the Hunger Games, and when their head fell to the pillow they dreamed of this. They wanted everything the Hunger Games offered, but it was a childish want, a foolish one. It had fed their narcissism and delusional thoughts of invincibility. But I was ready; I had faced reality and my fate along time ago. I didn't just want this; I needed this. I knew there was no going back now, but I was ready.
Cato POV
She wasn't ready for them. I could tell the moment she slipped out of the door quietly, her footsteps fading with the soft pattering of raindrops, breaking at the surface of the hot pavement. It was as if she folded into herself, her mind and thoughts held deeply within her, paying no attention to the outside world at all. As if she thought that if she could just become smaller maybe the world would let her disappear. Maybe that's how she had been so invisible to all of us for so long.
We turned the corner as soon as she was far enough from the training centre, and Cinder was the first to gain her attention, she called out to her, "Hey Quarry Kid! Where are you going so soon? We never got to congratulate you for the little stunt you pulled the other day." Our little group of four snickered at her words. We were all aware we had not come here to congratulate her, and as she her dark eyes scanned our faces she reached the same conclusion. It would be a terrifying sight to any normal 15 year old kid, 4 careers trained to kill with their bare hands, all leering in her direction. But this was Clove and despite how little I knew of her, I had gathered that she wouldn't back down. Her eyes held a cold steely look of indifference, as if she had encountered this type of situation rather frequently. She let out an impatient sigh and boldly walked towards us. Her steps halted as she stood 3 metres from us. She waited staring expectedly at the group of us, her eyes lingered on mine a little longer than necessary and I felt my eyes shift to the pavement. Feeling that for some strange reason I couldn't maintain eye contact. The tension in the air was so intense, I could almost taste it. A taste as sharp of one of the knives in her cherished collection. Finally she spoke, soft and even. As if not to antagonize the group but the make it clear, she was not backing down either. "Well, thanks for your congratulations," she continued, "the head trainers choice of tributes this year should be…interesting."
Interesting. It was a neutral word, one that held no connotation of good, or bad, but everyone in the group absorbed the implication of this word, and none had felt the need to dismiss it. "Interesting? Hardly!" replied Cinder. Clove narrowed her eyes ever so slightly and her brows pulled together. Cato would have found this comedic maybe even endearing if not for the situation. "How do you figure?" she retorted.
Ambiguity has never been a strong suit for us careers and Cinder broke the surface at once, diving into what we all knew was inevitable. "Oh please, its clear the tributes will be Cato and I, if you think your scrawny ass could wiggle your way into my place, then you're stupider than I thought." "Oh?" Clove questioned, "You aren't scared of a little competition are you?" I regarded the way Cinder's jaw clenched but she remained composed. "No I simply wouldn't want you harbouring under the delusion that a quarry kid could ever take the spot of one of us," she spat, "that's pathetic." Clove's trademark smirk slid into place as she cleared her throat. "No more pathetic than you Cinder. Tell mee, how is it that you can look into dear old daddy's eyes every morning and you still don't see that all you are is a weapon to them, just like those you wield everyday in training? You're just a tool Cinder, nothing more. They fatten you like a pig for slaughter, but still hold onto the hope you might reap in some rewards. And on the slim possibility you win they get the money and the luxury without ever experiencing any inconvenience. So tell me, how do you convince yourself they love you when they are so ready to ship you off to the slaughterhouse, huh? You're no better than an animal, all of you. Trained to kill, and born to die. And if you try to think anything else you're stupider than I thought," she ended with a new kind of cruelty, and turned to walk away. Cinder's body tensed, her muscles clenched with anger, Clove had unravelled her. She hit her where it hurt and Cinder was sure to return the favour. She reached for Cloves thick ponytail and pulled viciously.
Clove POV
I felt my head being pulled back and reacted at once twisting Cinder's arm with my free one. I spun around to face the four of them converging on me, I tensed ready to spring. I regretted fiercely not having a knife on me today, how could I have been so stupid? I know in this situation it would be a good idea to consider my chances, fight or flight. But this meant more then here and now. If I chose flight they would win, and I might as well never show up to the training centre again. It was hopeless and I knew that, four careers against one. But I was Clove and no way in hell was I going to go down without a fight. I would show no weakness, they weren't worth that much.
I could handle the first few blows. I was a career after all and I had long grown used to being injured. A kick to the ribs, a punch to the face but I still stood in all my bloody glory. They grew more annoyed as I maintained my smirk throughout the beating; even managing to throw a few punches myself. Relishing in the crunch of cartilage I received when my fist connected with one of their noses. And then there was Cato, who I couldn't seem to figure out. He just stood there as if he was reluctant to join in. Even so, subtracting Cato from the situation I still found the odds were not in my favour. But I took it all, without a grimace of pain or even the slightest whimper. After about 5 minutes he called for the group to stop. They looked hesitant but Cato clearly held a position of leadership over them. They turned to walk away, Cato with the parting words "She isn't worth it."
I was now sporting a black eye, a split lip and judging by the searing pain in my torso at least one broken rib. I stood up, brushing myself off although it was useless at this point. I reached for my hair gathering the loose pieces and securing it in a tight ponytail. I limped, starting in the direction of my house. The sun was just beginning to set now and I could see it bleeding against the horizon, I laughed quietly to myself because it was all I could do not to cry. By the time I arrive home I know my father will be there waiting on our ratty couch. Most days I leave immediately for home, just enough time to grab dinner and slip out of the house before he comes home but after my little interactions today I know that precious opportunity has escaped. A sniffle escapes my damaged lips and I scold myself, its been so long since I cried and I refused to let it be at the hands of those spoiled rich kids, or my drunk father. I was better than them, I was better than this town, hard as the stones it mines from the earth. I was worth more than this place and I was ready to leave it in the dust. All it held was ghosts now and I was tired of being haunted.
AN: So this Chapter I wrote to establish both Cato and Cloves lives and relationships. I promise there will be more interaction between the two in the next few chapters I know it's a bit strange as well the way Clove is depicted as both very strong and very weak at times but I wanted to establish a more realistic, dynamic character for Clove. Anyways thanks for reading, and please review
