A/N- Finally! I'm sorry I've been painfully slow with uploading this chapter! Exams, unfortunately, restricted me from writing, but huzzah! They finished! I would just like to say a really huge thank you to the lovely, lovely reviews you guys have given me. Honestly, anything you guys say means an incredible amount to me, and I just wanted to let you all know how grateful I am for my readers and all the positive feedback. I'll try not to make this A/N too long so, thank you guys for being patient and here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Naturally, survival of the fittest entailed every aspect of being fit. The Careers were physically adept, even more so with their weaponry skills, but one thing they prided themselves on beyond that was their instinct. Survival instinct.
It made picking off the weak that much easier. Because where there were smart, abled tributes, there were weak, stupid tributes to falter before them.
The Career pack exulted in their first night in Arena.
They had chased a duo of girls, laughing, jibing, until one fell and presumably broke a leg. They had lost them in the night's darkness, but nevertheless the taunting had given them something to feed off of. Like a cat with her prey: the entertainment was prized, the kill a necessity to the game.
Glimmer had spotted a trail of smoke, illuminated by the glow of a measly fire from a hundred yards away. Running, nimble and quite, suppressing their laughter in pursuit of fresh kill, the Career pack made their way to the source of the smoke.
At the sight of the frizzy blonde, huddled over her fire for warmth, feeble, pathetic, the Careers flashed their murderous glances in her direction. Cato unsheathed his sword. For a moment, he regarded it, and the others expected him to make the swift movement forward and finish off the petrified tribute. But instead, he grinned at the blade and passed it towards Glimmer.
She didn't miss a beat before taking it, her breath catching for a moment as Cato glanced at her. Her eyes fixed to him, a small smile tugging at her lips, not expecting him to pass the task of slaughter to her. It was a morbid thing to be grateful for, even more so to be flattered by, but Glimmer couldn't supress her admiring gaze towards Cato as he turned back to watch the small tribute girl cowering in front of her fire, Clove and Marvel both awaiting her annihilation eagerly.
Glimmer grasped the heavy metal in her hands, and stepped forward. The others chuckled lightly behind her, crossing their arms, already amused by the tribute's expression of terror. Glimmer wasted no time in her taunting; she was lithe and quick and with one movement darted to the tribute girl, impaling her in the stomach with the sword. The Career pack listened with satisfaction as the girl let out a plea for help and then an ear splitting scream, and looked to Glimmer, the last person she would see. Glimmer made out the glisten of tears in her horror filled eyes; fear and disgust and distress painting every inch of her features. And then Glimmer pulled out the bloodied sword and the girl hunched over, dead.
She paused for a moment, the image of the girl's terrified face prominent in her mind, before lifting her sword up and turning to her Career pack. They cheered before chortling, already beginning their string of mockery for their latest victim, the bloodthirsty looks in each of the others eyes still burning.
The canon's boom signalled their success.
The four of them ran forward, away from the scene, ready for the body to be collected and to find shelter for the night. Almost forgetting the fifth member of their alliance, the Career pack turned back around in unison to face Peeta, who straggled behind.
"You better not slow us down, lover boy." Clove remarked, sneering as he stumbled over a tree root and tripped forward towards them. Cato squinted in the darkness at the blonde, and walked to his side.
"She's right, I don't see you contributing." His hand trailed down to his sword, a motion that was becoming habitual as much as it was becoming Cato's most threatening gesture. Peeta staggered backwards, and held his hands up in protest.
"Wait, wait. While you guys, uh, while you dealing with that girl back there- I saw Katniss go this way, I swear." Peeta pointed forward desperately, praying he could muster some conviction to his words.
The Career pack regarded each other, sceptical, though still hungry for another chase. They wordlessly concluded to follow Peeta's directions, seeing nothing to lose. Peeta breathed a sigh of relief at their cooperation, tense in their presence, before following after them once again.
After their confrontation with, who they considered, the weakest member of their alliance, the Career pack began moving forward again, chasing their next victim and continuing laugh about the last.
"Wait, did you see the look on her face?" Cato's voice boomed through the forest, unafraid, calling out to Clove and Marvel who lead the path on the forest dirt track, the terrain was rough and overgrown; making it hard for the Careers to walk huddled together. Cato spoke over their remarks and guffawing, his own voice laced with laughter. Clove and Marvel smiled, chortling again for Cato to hear their amusement.
Glimmer paused for only a heartbeat as she pictured what Cato was describing. She did see the look on the girl's face. It had been contorted with pure fear, the nightmare of such a cruel fate; killed too young by others just as scared and as clueless as you are. Glimmer smiled to herself and swallowed coolly. It was a good thing she wasn't frightened of death, then. It was hard to be when you knew you had the upper hand, it was also a good thing that such an image, an image that could so easily become a mirror to her if she were to falter at any point, did not affect her in any way. At least, she wouldn't let it.
Glimmer span around in her boots, and hunched forward, giggling, her voice high and mocking as she imitated the girl she had killed "Oh no, please don't kill me!" Glimmer beamed up at Cato, who towered above her even more so as she crouched, continuing mimic the girl. Cato delighted in her joking and ceased walking, holding a branch out of his face as he ducked under a tree.
"That's actually a pretty good impression." He said, leaning into the girl below him, and Glimmer burst into another round of giggles. He chuckled back, savouring the moment; the feeling of victory and power and dominance. Glimmer and he could make fun of the girl, because she was their kill. The gamblers and bet makers back in the Capitol would have put money on them. But more than that, there was a pleasure in sharing his enjoyment with the girl next to him. She'd already proven herself strong and willing, if not cutthroat in her approach to the games, and it was nice. The competition was nice, the feeling of unease in her presence as well as the total sense of security. For once in his life Cato was unsure. And oddly, he took pleasure in it.
Cato turned back to face Peeta, who had just caught up, his patience thinning. "Hey, lover boy, you sure she went this way?" Cato pointed forward, the merriness in his voice all but gone for the presence of the boy.
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"You better be."
Cato watched as Peeta continued after Marvel and Clove who had already walked ahead. He smiled at Glimmer, proud of his own intimidation and she rolled her eyes. "Are you sure we shouldn't just kill him now?" She mused, her eyes trailing after Peeta. Her voice had become more of a whisper, hushed and smooth. Cato raised an eyebrow, no longer surprised by the girl, simply impressed.
He nodded in Peeta's direction, before cocking his jaw upward, authoritative and certain. "Nah, he's our best chance of finding her." The 'her' in his sentence was becoming a hated mention within the group. Glimmer pursed her lips together and a sly smile tugged the edges of her mouth. The two looked at one another for a moment, knowing the other had the same plans for Peeta's fate. The length of their gazes grew and the pause between their conversations seemed more than time to collaborate plans on their next target. Cato's eyes bore into Glimmer's own, their smiles faltering slightly, the intensity of their stares increasing. Finally, Cato broke the silence. He patted Glimmer lightly in the stomach with the back of his hand.
"Come on, let's go." He gestured ahead, clearing his throat, before following the trail after the other Career tributes. Glimmer laughed nonchalantly and kept close to Cato's side, though she couldn't escape the feeling of things left unsaid.