Author's Note: I do NOT own anything other than my own ideals and characters.
Okay, so this is a lot longer than my other chapters. *shrugs* I don't know, I was in the mood to write a little more I guess.
"There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent."
~!* Lao Tzu *!~
Why does she have to stay inside my head all day long? Why can't I just stop thinking about her? Why do I feel like I won't have the strength to kill her when we get inside the arena? Clove was right – I can't kill Elora because I still care for her. I wish we never had to face one another in the Games. I-
"Cato, are you okay? You look kind of sick," Clove states, knocking Cato out of his thoughts.
He shrugs responding, "I'm fine, just tired." Not really. Why do you have to always be right, Clove? Why do I feel the way I do? Cato takes a glance in Elora's direction at the table and sighs. In his peripheral vision he sees Clove smirk slightly and asks, "What?"
She shrugs, shaking her head, "You. Just you, Cato. You and your mixed feelings for her. I'm a girl too Cato and a friend. You can talk to me, ya know." Clove stands and makes her way out of the doors, heading to her room.
Cato keeps eating thinking about what his fellow tribute, and friend, had said. Glimmer, the girl from District 1, perks up when she notices that Clove has left. She replies, "So Cato… you and Clove, huh? You two together? I mean, I can always be your 'friend' too."
Cato rolls his eyes and snaps, "We're friends. And no, I don't want you as a 'friend' Glimmer. We're the Careers and we have to work together until the end, I'm not here to make friends with you. We're only allies until everyone is dead and gone and we're the last ones alive. Now, I would like to eat my food in silence. I need to think about what we're going to do in the arena and who else we need in our group."
Glimmer grumbles under her breath about him being a jerk and whatnot while Marvel chuckles at Glimmer's facial expression.
Okay… so I need to have a talk with Clove and tell her about Elora. Maybe we can have her in our group, also that one boy who threw the stone. Elora's brother could be in our group as well. Cato sighs once more, glimpses at an empty seat where Elora should have been, and stands up. She's already gone…
"I'm going to head back to our rooms, okay guys? I'm tired from all the stuff we've done today. Oliver, you want to stay and chat some more or do you want to come with me?" I ask.
Oliver replies, "Nah, it's okay sis. I'll stay and talk some more with Katniss and Peeta. I will be up there in a while."
I shrug, "Suit yourself." Good. I wanted to talk to Clove anyways. I stand and make my way outside of the big double doors. Once outside I powerwalk to the elevator and hit the number 2 button. Hopefully she's here. I hear a ding, wait for the doors to open, and walk to where two Avoxes stand. I politely ask, "Have you seen a girl with dark brown hair pass this way? I was hoping if I could talk to her."
They two young boys look at each other and nod their heads in the direction of a gold door.
"Thank you!" I smile and sprint to the door, eager to talk to my longtime friend. I knock on the golden door and wait for an answer. The door opens a tad a head pops out. "Hey Clove, I know this is kind of sudden and all, but I was wondering if we could talk…?"
Clove nods and opens the door wider. "What did you want?" she asks.
I huff and throw my arms in the air, "Why did you have to volunteer to go into the games? Why? Why are you and Cato not talking to me, why do we have to fight in the Games together? How come Cato is glaring at me and you're not? Are you guys mad or something? Did I do something wrong? Am I not your friend anymore?" I notice I can't breathe and let out the air I was holding in.
Clove smiles sadly and replies, "It's not that we're not your friends Elora. We don't want to have to kill you in the arena. Well I don't anyways. Cato… well he's not been himself since he saw you on that chariot. I don't know what's going on inside that head of his. I'm pretty sure he still cares for you, but he doesn't tell me anything anymore. I wouldn't mind talking some more Elora, but I don't want you to get into trouble. Tomorrow in the Training Center we can't act like we talked to one another. I don't want the other tributes to know that we know each other, okay?" Clove sighs and continues, "You're still my best friend Elora; always will be."
I nod in understanding and whisper, "Does Cato… I mean… well… Clove…" I glance at her and crinkle my eyebrows together. "You will always be my best friend too, Clove. I guess I should go. Cato is probably making his way up here as we speak. I will see you in the Training Center tomorrow."
She nods her head and walks me to the door. "See ya."
"Bye," I retort. I go back to the elevator and hit the button for my district.
I lay in bed and can't fall asleep, again. Way to go Elora. You're up again! Why is it that you can never get to sleep? Oliver better be in his room… he's the only one who can make me go to bed. I plant my feet on the floor, walk to my door, open it, and head to Oliver's room. I make out faint snoring and giggle lightly before knocking. I hear a 'come in, it's locked' and laugh a little harder. I laugh out, "Olli, let me in. If your door is locked, then I can't come in. Duh!"
"Geh 'e a 'inute," is his reply before unlocking the door.
I shake my head at his words and walk through his door. Oliver falls onto the bed with an 'oommgoobed' and I plant myself right beside my brother, yet again, to get some sleep. I giggle before nodding off into a dreamless sleep.
I'm nudged gently awake by my brother. I sit up, rub my eyes, and say, "What ya want? We needed at the, uh, thingy?"
Oliver chuckles and answers, "Yes sis, we are needed at the 'thingy' – a.k.a. Dining Hall." He shuffles around for a while searching for his training suit. "Found it! Okay Elora, get up and get ready. Take a shower, you probably stink." As he says this he holds his nose and fake gags.
I gawk for a few seconds but then realize he has insulted me. "H-hey! I do NOT smell that bad…" I sniff my underarms and cough lightly, "Okay, maybe I do stink a little, but not as bad as some people I know when they don't shower for a while." I stare accusingly at Oliver and watch as he acts shocked.
"Me, smell? Never! My dear sister, that was but a long time ago when I was younger. I didn't know what it meant to shower after playing outside for hours on end," he replies nonchalantly.
I roll my eyes and stand. I stretch, make my way to the door and open it. I look over my shoulder saying, "I will be ready in a few minutes. See ya in a bit." I shut the door before I hear his retort and make my way to my bathroom.
It doesn't take me but 10 minutes to get ready. I pull my hair up into a ponytail and pull on the black and red training suit. I look into the mirror and sigh. I mumble, "Get ready for day 3 Elora. After this, we have interviews and then another day before we go into the arena. You can do this, be strong for Olli." Determination sets into my eyes before I make my way to the Dining Hall to eat breakfast.
Oliver is sitting in a chair with a plate filled with purple blobs. I shake my head at the sight and wonder where the others are at. "Hey, where are Petunia and Johanna? Aren't they going to see us off?"
"Nope. 'Aid 'hat we would be 'kay by 'selves."
I stare and repeat, "Okay, I'm going to repeat this and hopefully you will be able to tell me without having food in your mouth. Where are they at?"
Oliver swallows and then replies, "I said – 'they said that we would be okay by ourselves'. They also told me to tell you that after today we will have to show our strengths to the Gamemakers to get sponsors. Johanna said to make them remember us. Oh! And Petunia brightly stated that we will have interviews in a couple of days and that we need to act our 'best, best, best' and to be 'happy, happy, happy'. Ugh, why can't she just be normal?" He sets his spoon down and wipes his mouth off.
I shrug, "I don't know, Oliver. Maybe that is normal to her. But, okay. We have to show our skills to the Gamemakers. What are you going to do – tie ropes, throw knives?" I stuff a piece of toast into my mouth and drink a big glass of orange juice. I hope it's Orange Juice. "It's orange juice, good." I see Oliver stare and I reply, "Sorry. I thought it wasn't going to taste like orange juice."
He chuckles, "O-kay. Umm, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'll think of something though. What about you, have you thought of anything?"
"Nope, not really. I may shoot a couple of arrows thru some dummies. Or I could throw a couple of knives at them instead." I shrug, "I'm not too sure yet." I laugh and continue, "Come on, we better head to the Training Center. We wouldn't want Petunia getting on to us, now would we?" I strut to the gymnasium with my brother in tow.
Before we reach the double doors a man steps out from them and stops to inform us of a few things. He clears his throat before saying, "Wonderful for you two to join us. Today will be your last day to train, so make it worth your while. Now, after the training is ended you two will be escorted back to your rooms that way you can talk to your mentor on what you think is best to perform in front of the Gamemakers. You will have the afternoon and the beginning of tomorrow to know what you are going to do. The private sessions start tomorrow around noon, though your mentor will tell you that later on tonight." The lanky man nods his head, "May the odds be ever in your favor." With that he stalks off to do whatever those types of people do.
I mentally sigh and pull at my ponytail. I turn to Oliver while pushing the doors open and whisper, "'May the odds be ever in your favor'? Really?" I hear him silently laugh behind me as we walk in the gym. I shake my head in disgust, but keep a firm look on my face.
"Hey guys," comes a voice from the left side of the gymnasium doors.
We turn to the person and come to notice that it's none other than Peeta. He gestures us over and we obey. Katniss is talking to one of the instructors at the sword section.
"She wants to learn everything she can before we have to show what we're made of to the Gamemakers. I don't blame her either. Let's go over and see if we can do better than she is." Peeta chuckles at a move Katniss makes and we snicker along with him.
She better be able to handle a bow better than she can a sword. But she did say that she can shoot pretty well, so I will just have to trust her words.
"You! You stole my damn knife," a voice echoes throughout the training grounds.
I shiver, knowing who the voice belongs to. Cato... you sound so… so cruel. What has happened to you? I take a look in Oliver's direction and he looks as surprised as I am. "That's Cato. He's from District Two. He sounds horrifying." Peeta and Katniss glance at me and then I feel a tap on my shoulder. Turning my head I glance at what Oliver's peering at. It's a little girl about 12 years old and she's holding the knife in her hand.
Peeta says softly, "Her name's Rue." His says this more so to us than he does Katniss.
I've seen that girl acting as a shadow behind Katniss. It's like she looks up to her in some way. I smile, "She's good at climbing. If there are a lot of trees in the arena, I'm sure she will be them." Oliver nods his head in agreement. I giggle softly and notice the look on Cato's face when he turns around to see what some people are laughing at. He looks menacing. I mean, utterly, totally ominous. His eyes blaze with hatred, it's unreal. A shiver runs down my spine and I turn away, mortified. I snap, "I'm going to the hand-to-hand combat section. I need to get rid of some of my stress. You guys can stay here if you want." I head in the general direction of the section and am greeted by a burly man around his mid-thirties. I nod my head in reply and get in a fighting stance.
The man raises his brow and smirks at my stance. "Spread your legs a little more and put more weight on your back leg. You need to be balanced. If not, then you will go down fairly easy. Do as I do." He demonstrates and nods when I adjust to the stance. "Now, always keep your hands up. You leave your face unprotected then someone could easily injure you. And if your hands are down then you can't see when to block your enemy's motives… Good, there you go." He moves towards me and I back up a little. He says, "When someone comes in your direction, switch your feet. If the person's right leg is in the front, yours should do the same. If their left leg is in front, your left leg should be in front as well. Notice I am in the same position as you are – like I'm mirroring your actions. I don't know if you will strike to my core or below my waist and that's a good thing. You never want your enemy to know when you will attack. Keep a straight face at all times. And never look away from your opponent. They could come at you any second."
I nod in understanding and ask, "Not to be rude or anything, but can you teach me a few moves in case I get in this kind of position in the arena? I'm ready to spar. I have a lot on my mind right now." I glance down but then remember what he just told me. Never look away. I look back up in time to see him heading in my direction. I clench my jaw and steady myself. Wait for it, wait for it. He throws a punch and my left hand flies in front of my face to block his punch. I let out a grumble and throw my right arm out to punch his jaw.
He blocks and lets out a laugh, "Good, good. But can you block this?" He executes a round kick and my right arm launches out to protect my ribs. I grab onto his leg and swing him to the left side of the mat. Stumbling a few steps he breathes out, "You're better than I thought you were, girl. Did you really want me to teach you anything or did you just want to blow off some steam?"
"My dad taught me how to protect myself when I was little. I'm sorry for not telling you that I just wanted to fight. I'm stressed is all." I walk cautiously towards him and hold my hand out, gesturing that I am ready to stop. He puts his left hand out and I grab onto his arm and flip him over my shoulder. "Though you're bigger than me, I can still take you. Did you get those muscles for just looks or can you actually fight? Oh and you never let your guard down." I face him and smirk. The big man launches to his feet and growls lowly. I hear a few gasps but block them all out. Now's not the time to lose focus. Keep going; don't look away from your opponent.
I spring away to the left and kick the man in the gut. I hear a grunt at the impact but then I'm suddenly on the ground. I let out a little 'oof' and get back up. We launch a few more punches and kicks until we're both exhausted. A 'ding' sounds and we stop mid-punch. We glance at one another and the man bows.
He lets out a shaky breath and takes in a big gulp of air before stating, "That's all the time we have, girl. You did well. And yes, I did get these muscles to look good, but I can fight as well. Don't underestimate your opponent, like I did in the beginning. When the time comes, you will have your enemies running in fear. Good luck in the Games."
I bow in respect and walk off the mat replying, "Thank you for letting me blow off some steam. I feel better. And you weren't bad yourself." I'm sweating heavily and I'm pretty sure that I reek. Tributes that were in line move out of my way as I walk to the nearest table holding water. I grab a cup and gulp the water down, feeling the coolness going down my esophagus. I pick up another one and drink that one slowly this time. I sigh and sit down on a nearby bench. That took a lot of stress off of me. But I still feel like crap. Ugh, how is that possible? I lay my head in my hands and look up when a shadow crosses between me and the light.
"Nice job," the boy, Marvel I think, responds.
"Yeah, for a girl your size," a snarky reply from a girl I think is named Glimmer. The Marvel boy chuckles at her remark and I cringe at the girl's voice. Ugh, sounds annoying.
I retort sarcastically, "Why thank you! That was my first time ever doing any of that kind of thing! I didn't think I could get that big, burly man over my shoulder. I thought he was going to crush me to shards. I was so scared!" I let out a sardonic laugh, stand up and reply, "Please, 'for a girl my size'? You honestly think you could have taken that man without using a sword or spear? I highly doubt it. Actually, I think he could destroy you with or without a sword or spear. That's my general opinion anyway." I smile, bat my eyelashes, and stride towards Katniss, Peeta and Oliver. I hear something about Glimmer getting told off by me and I groan. Now I'm going to be a big target by them and everyone else in here. Great Elora, just great!
We all headed in different sections to learn a few things. Oliver is great in spear and knife throwing, Katniss is pretty good in the edible plants, Peeta shows his strength in the hand-to-hand combat, and surprisingly enough I'm great in the Fire Making. Dad you would be so proud of me for being able to excel in that. And you would be so proud of Olli as well. He's doing wonderful.
The gymnasium doors open up and lunch is ready, this time in the dining hall. All of the tributes stop what they're doing and go to the dining hall to eat. Oliver, Peeta, Katniss and I talk a little during lunch, but we're interrupted by a guard letting us know that we're to show our special talents in front of the Gamemakers.
I scrunch my eyebrows together and whisper to my brother, "I thought we were going to do that tomorrow?"
He shrugs and responds, "I guess the man was mad that we were late for his speech with the other tributes and wanted us to feel a little better about performing later on. He was being a jerk."
"He told you something different," asks Peeta.
I nod solemnly, "Yeah, he did. He said that we were to perform tomorrow, not today during lunch. Oh well, I guess. We can just get it over with sooner than later, right Oliver?"
My brother replies with a grunt and a nod of his head.
They call each one of us district by district. The boy is to go first, followed by the girl. Oliver will be the thirteenth tribute and I will be number fourteen. When they call Oliver I tell him good luck and to do something really good, maybe with knives or spears. He responds with an 'okay' and is escorted to the Training Center. A few minutes go by and I'm told to go next. I turn to Katniss and Peeta and tell them good luck when I stand.
I glance around the gymnasium in search of something and find what I'm looking for. I pick up a few small knives and set each one between my knuckles, three for each hand, leaving the spot by my thumbs empty. I glance up at the Gamemakers and notice that they're watching me intently. Goodness, wait until they're drunk and then they won't pay attention at all. Poor Katniss and Peeta. I strut to the middle of the gym and find my targets. Two dummies are strung right beside one another. I take a few steps back and then launch in a full sprint. I jump and throw the knives in my left hand to the dummy on the right. They land right smack in the middle of its neck, knocking the head off its body. I then throw the knives in the other hand, hitting the dummy on the left right in the middle of its heart, before landing gracefully on my feet. I then walk to the swords, spears and axes and pick up a double headed axe. I make my way to the dummies and cut off a few limbs from each one's body. My eyes land on a dummy farthest to my right and I throw the axe across the room. It meets the dummy square in the 'third eye' and the force knocks it to the ground. I go around to the dummies that have knives in them and tear them out. I then walk to the other dummy with the axe and pull that out as well.
Clapping erupt the center and I glance to see that some of the Gamemakers are giving me a standing approval.
I nod in thanks, set all the weapons back in their designated places and reply, "Thank you." I walk out of the doors and make my way to the elevator. Passing the Avoxes, I hit the 'up' button and wait for the elevator doors to open. I grumble under my breath, "At least they could have made the elevators a little more advanced. I don't like waiting for them…" I hear a throat being cleared and I instantly know that one of the Avoxes is chuckling at my agitated response. I reply, "I'm not that funny am I?" I glance to the Avox, smiling, letting them know that I'm not angry.
The blue eyed Avox shakes his head at my question. He would have smiled, but didn't want to get in trouble. However, I could see that he was smiling with his eyes.
"Good. Thank you," I laugh and hear the elevator ring. I wave a goodbye and hit the number 7 plastered on the button. I reach the seventh floor in no time and I head straight to the front room where everyone is waiting. Instantly I say, "I'm going to take a shower and then head to my room to take a nap. I'm really tired. Could you please wake me when it's dinner time?"
Johanna and Petunia laugh and then say simultaneously, "Okay." They glance at each other and giggle softly.
Oliver says, "I'm going to my room too so wake me when there's food." He walks passed me and says under his breath, "They're kind of messed up on wine. But they should be okay once we're done napping. They only had a few drinks before you came, but they're already tipsy."
I shake my head, let out a soft chuckle, and go to my room to get clean. Once I'm done getting cleaned I go to my temporary closet and pick out something to sleep in. I slip a t-shirt over my head and some silky pants over my legs. Sighing, I tear open the covers and slip under the sheets.
Wow, this one was way longer than I expected it to be. XD Oh well! *laughs* I hope you guys like this one.
And if you guys ever have any suggestions or anything, let me know. I mean, I already know what I'm planning on doing, but I could also incorporate some of your ideas as well.
~!*CuteSango07*!~
