The next morning I woke up, showered, and dressed in the outfit that had been laid out for me. It was a simple thin shirt and pants, and thin shoes. I wasn't a fan of the shoes, but they were thin enough that I could still sense things through them. Then I proceeded to the dining room for breakfast. I was the first one there, and I served myself to the best of my ability. By then the others had begun to arrive.
"Morning." Aang yawned as he entered the room.
"Good morning." I replied politely. He sat and began eating. He was soon followed by Joo Dee and Bumi. A tired silence filled the room, broken only by the sounds of eating and drinking. After we had finished, Aang broke the silence.
"So, what's our strategy for training?" He asked Bumi.
"Do… nothing." He cackled, obviously amused with himself, while Aang and I gaped at him.
"We can't do nothing! We have to train, or we're dead in the arena!" Aang yelled.
"Just for today, wait and listen. Pay attention to the others, their skills and weaknesses. Look for possible allies, and likely enemies. Focus on simple skills that seem arbitrary, like knot tying or edible plants. And Aang, stay with Toph, lead her around, she'll need to learn the layout before she can do anything on her own." It almost sounded like he knew my strategy, knew I was faking helplessness.
"Alright, I guess that's better than nothing. But why do we need allies? Isn't it better to fend for ourselves?" Aang asked.
"No offence, but the two of you need all the help you can get. Toph can't navigate the arena by herself, and Aang, you look like you weigh less than a hundred pounds, and you aren't very muscular. Unless you're a master airbender, you may want to consider gaining some allies." Aang slumped in his chair.
"It's almost ten, you two best get going!" Joo Dee practically shoved us to the elevators. Aang grabbed my arm as we exited on the ground floor and guided me to the gym. Most of the other tributes were there, I counted ten, including Aang and I. There was also A woman there I didn't recognize. Aang leaned over and whispered in my ear.
"All the other tributes are here but the one from Six. There's also a woman here, I think she's the trainer." Just then the final pair walked in and the trainer began her speech. She introduced herself as Atala and told us about the training. I would be mostly self-directed. There were different stations for different skills. At the end of the week we would each have a private session with the gamemakers and get a score. She ran through the list of stations and then released us to train.
"Where do you want to go first?" Aang asked.
"How about the edible plants station?" Aang agreed and guided me in that direction. As we arrived, the man who ran that station greeted us.
"Hello there! Welcome to the edible plants station. My name is Lau Gan-Lan. Tell me, do either of you know much about identifying plants?"
"Not really." Said Aang.
"Nothing at all." I replied.
"Well, we'll start with the basics…" We worked at that station for the whole morning, memorizing the appearance and texture of leaves, stems, and berries. We only left when it was time to get lunch. We followed the other tributes to the adjoining lunchroom. Aang guided me to an empty table.
"Wait here, I'll get us food." His comment irritated me, I wanted to yell at him that I was perfectly capable of getting my own food, but that would have ruined my strategy, so I let him go. While I waited for Aang to return I felt someone approaching me from behind. I was pretty sure it was the boy from Five, since I could hear wheels. He stopped by my table to introduce himself.
"Hi," He said. "I'm Teo. I'm from District Five. What's your name?"
"Toph Bei Fong, District Three." I held out my hand and he shook it.
"Are you really blind?" He asked.
"Yes. I was born blind."
"Are all your other senses supercharged, like, do you have sonic hearing?" I giggled at the excited tone in the boy's voice. I was really in character, I never giggled normally.
"Not really. I do have a keener sense of hearing, but it's not enough to make up for the loss of vision." I lied through my teeth.
"Oh." He sounded disappointed.
"Are you the boy that's in a wheelchair?" I asked, as if I didn't already know.
"Yeah. That's going to be hell in the arena."
"Are your arms extra strong from having to wheel yourself around?"
"They're stronger than normal for my district, but no stronger than any of the Careers."
"Hey Toph, who's this?" Aang had returned, placing a plate of food on the table in front of me.
"This is Teo. He's from District Five."
"Nice to meet you, Teo. I'm Aang."
"Nice to meet you too, Aang." They shook hands and Aang sat down. We all ate in silence for a few minutes, Then Teo broke the silence.
"Do you two think you're going to make any alliances?" He asked.
"You mean like the Careers?" I asked.
"Sort of, I guess. But not in the let's-go-on-a-killing-spree kind of way."
"Maybe." Said Aang. "It would probably be useful. And our mentor had been telling us to."
"Maybe we could team up." Teo suggested.
"A blind girl, a kid in a wheel chair, and a skinny airbender against the rest of the tributes. That will save us all." Sarcasm dripped from my voice.
"There's strength in numbers." Aang added.
"The careers have numbers, too." I reminded him. "And anyways, how would we all meet up? I couldn't recognize any of you, or see where you are so I can join you." Silence followed my words. They weren't true, but I didn't want allies.
"Well, we could still train together. It's not like we have any other friends here." Aang suggested. We were about to enter an arena full of kids trying to kill us, and he wanted to make friends. I did not understand that kid. But I agreed, and the three of us finished our lunches. Then we went back to the training room and spent the rest of the afternoon at the knot-tying station. I actually learned how to make a decent knot, something I'd never done before. All in all, not a bad first day of training.
A/N: Hey guys, sorry it's been so long, I have been super busy. But I'm back now, so yay! Please review, I love all the great reviews I've been getting. The next few chapters will be in training, and I will introduce the other characters more. If you have any suggestions pertaining to this story, I am always happy to hear them, even if I don't read them. Also, if you are going to review, log in if you can so I can send you a thank-you PM. Love you all =D