Evening everyone... Finally got round to editing chapter 4.
Little update on life – I'm reading 'Gone' by Michael Grant (which I recommend, because it's awesome) and rereading Harry Potter after watching Deathly Hallows and building Hogwarts castle out of my old LEGO :D That was a pointless fact.
Someone asked if you were going to get to Danty in the next chapters. This is about as close as the two of them are going to get. It is mentioned in 'Hunger Games' that most tributes aren't that close to each other, and it's not surprising if they don't know each other and know that one, maybe both, are going to die. So sorry, I'm sticking to this version of District partners, and you aren't really going to get to know her.
I don't own the Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins does. :)
Chapter Four: Training
Danty and I only met briefly when we came down to eat. She was just as sullen as normal, though the prominent bags under her eyes had faded slightly. We exchanged a few polite greeting before Mags arrived to take me away.
"Good luck today," I said as I was leaving.
She smiled slightly and nodded at me. "You too."
Mags led me to a small room with cushioned chairs and a table with cups of coffee on it. I reached for one, but Mags pushed my arm aside.
"You won't have coffee in the arena. You won't have any sort of brain-stimulant in there. The training you're doing today is meant to prepare you for your time in the arena, so you have to act like you would in the arena. You will be tired, accept that and move on with the combat."
I crossed my arms and pouted slightly.
Mags ignored me a continued. "So what weapon are you best with?"
"A trident," I answered immediately.
"Okay then, today you need to work with everything but a trident. You already know how to use one. Go with the weapons you don't know – swords, maces, spears, knives. They're the ones that are going to be in the Cornucopia. Make sure they're deadly – don't waste your time with weight lifting."
An avox girl arrived with a tray brimming with food. I kept eye contact with Mags as I reached for a bread roll, but she didn't stop me this time.
"Stick to the Careers. Get to know them. Give them advice. Make them believe that although you didn't volunteer, you are just as deadly as them."
"And tomorrow?"
"It depends. If can you can, learn a few survival skills. Edible plants and things like that. But there is a large chance that the Careers will invite you to spend the day with them again. If they do ask, go with them. You don't want to offend them if they are most likely going to kill you."
The bread was good. It was roughly the same as the loaves we had at home, but it dough was softer and the seaweed had a more subtle taste. It probably came from one of the upper-class bakeries close to the town centre.
"Should I ever use a trident?"
"During the private sessions with the Gamemakers. Show them what you can really do then – but don't let anyone know. If there is a trident in the arena, it will be good to have it as your secret weapon." Mags paused while she filled a plate with eggs and toast. We ate in silence for a little while and then she asked, "So what are you doing today?"
"I'm learning deadly weapons and cosying up to the Careers."
"Excellent. Now go back to your rooms and get dressed in whatever Xenya has left for you."
The clothes that had been left out for me were simple. A dark blue t-shirt made of soft cotton and black trousers that provided excellent mobility. I grinned when I noticed the fish designs around the hem of the t-shirt. Apparently my general style was 'fish-boy'.
Danty was dressed similarly but not identical. Her plain purple top was decorated with fish, like mine. Someone had scraped back all of her hair in a high bin at the back of her head. It didn't compliment her face much.
The elevator ride was quick, and in seemingly no time at all we were standing in the ring of tributes, listening to the head trainer's instructions. We could go to any station in any order. Mingle with any other tribute. But if we hurt a tribute, there would be serious repercussions. He stopped talking a gestured for us all to leave and go about our business.
I followed the Career pack to the weapons section of the gym, and experimentally pick up a spear. It was lighter than my trident, but appeared to operate in the same way. I raised my arm and aimed for the dummy. The spear punctured its belly and smiled in satisfaction. If they had spears in the arena, I would be fine. I grabbed another one, which pierced the dummy's head. The third went through its neck and the forth stabbed into its heart. All of them were kill shots. I went to retrieve the weapons, and noticed with satisfaction that some of the Careers were edging towards me.
Jewel was the first one to approach me openly. She was sweating slightly, and her hair was stuck to the edges of her face.
"You've been working hard," I said pleasantly to start the conversation.
She grinned. "I've barely started yet." She picked up a sheath of knives and tied it round her hips. I watched with wide eyes as she grabbed three in both hands flicked her wrists, sending them flying towards the practice dummy. I winced slightly as one dug into the eye.
"That's amazing," I said, faking awe. I could do so much more with a trident.
She shrugged and patted my arm. "I saw what you can do with spears. That is a talent."
"Can you teach me how to do what you just did with those knives? I've never seen anything like it." Flattery always got people on your side. Mags would be proud of me.
"Sure." She passed me one of the knives. "Hold it lightly – don't grasp it. It'll never leave your hand like that. Keep the bottom of the handle tucked under your little finger. And then just... flick." Her knife shot forward and lodged into the dummy. I tried, but mine fell uselessly onto the ground. I retrieved it. Jewel stepped closer to me and adjusted my hand position. This time, the knife hit the dummy's chest and then fell down, creating a long wound down to its stomach.
"Perfect," Jewel said and applauded me. I grinned and bowed.
We stuck together after that, practising a few more knife and spear throws. She led me over to the section with the maces, spiked clubs and – to my pleasure - tridents, where her district partner, Bryd was talking with Demon, from District 2. They were both friendly enough and asked if I knew how to use any of the deadly weapons behind them. When I lied and said I'd never tried, they immediately started showing me the proper techniques, revelling in the chance to show off. I tried to keep my face calm as I watched Demon handle a thirty-kilo war hammer as if it was a feather and then completely take off a dummy's head, while inwardly thinking how gruesome the Games are going to be if there was a hammer in the arena. Cloud, the other girl from 2, joined us with a bow in hand. She proved to be lethal at shooting, hitting moving targets from over fifty feet away.
"So what are you good at?" she asked scornfully once she destroyed all the archery targets. "I haven't seen you do anything apart from throw a few spears."
Jewel, Bryd and Demon looked at me curiously. I shrugged, trying to think about what I could say without mentioning a trident. "Well, as of today, I can throw knives and break bones using a spiked club."
"You can't do anything else?"
I was about to tell her that I could cook an amazing fish stew, but then I stopped. Mags had told me not use a trident but I didn't see what other option I had. The Careers weren't going to want me around if I was a hindrance. Besides, what were the chances of a trident being in the Games? They'd never been used before. With a sigh, I grabbed the heaviest, deadliest trident on the rack and strode over to a row of sandbags hanging from the ceiling.
Fishing with a trident and fighting with a trident were extremely similar. The exact same jabbing motion that was used for spearing fish was used for attacking an opponent. The heavy piece of metal on the end of the handle that was usually used for hitting fish's heads so they died could be used to smash an attacker's skull. I demonstrated this, and more, until the five sandbags were just small heaps of dirt and scraps of cloth on the ground.
"I can do more than that," I said when I was finished. "But there isn't anything left to practice on." I casually leaned on the trident while my breathing returned to normal.
They stared at me with eyes as wide as saucers. There was no doubt about it – I was in with the Careers.
"Can your district partner do that?" Bryd asked at last.
I looked around the gym to find Danty. She was working silently at the camouflage station with the District 7 tributes. Although I didn't have any feelings towards my partner, I didn't want to leave her stranded and alone. I opened my mouth to tell Bryd that she could and should join us, when I realised I wouldn't be doing her a favour. She came from the poorer part of District 4, where they only fished with nets. She wouldn't be able to use a spear, a trident or a harpoon. If she was with Careers in the arena they would turn on her and kill her immediately. It was unlikely – but possible – that Danty would win if she was left to her own devices. Sometimes the quiet, sneaky ones won. But she had no hope of winning with the Careers.
"No, she can't. Leave her be – she'd just be a hindrance." The Careers shrugged their acceptance and went back to swinging weapons.
At lunch, the tributes ate with each other in the big cafeteria next to the gym. The food was just as good as all the other meals I had had in the Capitol. I didn't get a chance to think about whether I should sit with Danty or my new allies because as soon as we were in the room, Jewel clutched my elbow and steered me towards the biggest table with the other Careers. I tried to smile at Danty as she walked past, but she either didn't see me or ignored me. The conversation was standard Hunger Games stuff – our costumes last night, the upcoming interviews, the training scores we were hoping to get, what the arena will be like, the other tributes – but it was different to the conversations with Mags I'd had. Those were all about strategy and defence, with an undercurrent of fear. The Careers couldn't wait for the Games to start; they were all excited about what might happen in the arena this year. They were very openly competitive with each other too. As they talked there seemed to be a psychological battle going on as each of them tried to make everyone else uncomfortable. It was the most fun I had had in a long time.
Mags met me at the elevator at the end of training. I told her that I'd used a trident to win the Careers, and she didn't seem to mind that much. She said she hadn't expected me to follow all of her rules anyway.
At dinner, Cade and Mags instructed me and Danty about the training session tomorrow.
"You need to swap places," Cade said. "So today, you" – he pointed at Danty – "worked at the survival stations while you" – he pointed to me – "worked with weapons. Tomorrow you need to swap over. There's no point going into the arena with only one set of skills. What if you get into a one-on-one fight with another tribute, Danty? And what happens when the Careers break up and you have to survive on your own, Finnick?"
"What if the Careers don't want me to do them?"
"Then go on your own. Tell them that your mentors ordered you to. Make up an excuse and then learn what plants are edible."
"But Mags said not to upset the tributes."
Mags shook her head. "Cade and I were talking to today and we decided you both need equal skills. So you're both going to try different things tomorrow?"
Danty and I nodded.
"Good," she said. "You better get some rest."
I did as I was instructed the next day. After a brief discussion, Jewel and Demon joined me at the survival stations while Cloud and Bryd stayed with the weapons. The day was uneventful compared to the day before. I learned a few basic skills – such as how to snare animals, how to tell the difference between an edible mushroom and a poisonous one, and the correct method of using mud to camouflage yourself. Jewel loved the camouflage station, saying that she used to paint in her free time in Distrct 1. Demon worked silently at each of the stations and he was the best at all of them. I started to regret asking for some company; Demon was gaining skills that would make him a formidable enemy.
At lunch I discovered that Cloud had invited the girl from District 9, Alys, to join us.
"She's amazing with a sword and knows a lot about the other tributes," Cloud said as Alys sat down. "She'll be a great help."
"Where did you learn to use a sword?" I asked. District 9 didn't usually produce anything worthwhile in the Hunger Games – too much poverty.
"My Uncle had one. He never told me where he got it, but I used to practice with it when we both had a spare moment."
"You're welcome here, then," I said and grinned. She blushed and looked at the table before looking back.
"Where did you learn to fight like you did yesterday? I was watching you... with the trident. It was amazing."
"Just from fishing. As long as you know how to hold a trident in the right way, you can do practically anything with it. I'd never tried properly fighting with it until yesterday."
"That makes it even more impressive."
"I am very impressive." Alys laughed and then was swept up with today's topic of conversation: the private session.
There wasn't much point in keeping my strategy a secret. I was going to go in and bash some dummies with a trident and then throw some spears. The others all had pretty clear strategies. Jewel was going to do knife-throwing, Alys was going to demonstrate how to wield a sword. Demon didn't say what he was going to do, but it probably involved bludgeoning a few sacks of straw.
After lunch, Alys joined Jewel and me at the survival stations. Demon had gone back to the weapons section with the other two.
The last station we went to was the one I enjoyed most. Unluckily, it was completely useless. Why on earth would you need knot-tying in the arena? I thought as the trainer applauded my work. But as pointless as it was, I excelled at it.
A loud voice coming from the speaker announced to the room that training was over for the day and all the tributes started packing up slowly. I noticed Danty – covered in sweat – heaving a huge battle axe back on the stand. Maybe she had picked up some skills that would keep her alive.
I waited for her to finish packing and then walked with her to the elevator.
"How was your day?" I asked in an effort to start a conversation. After all, we still had a few more days before we were going to be forced to kill each other.
"Good." Obviously I wasn't going to be able to get much out of her today, but I persevered.
"Which weapons did you try out? I saw you with the axe at the end of training."
"Only the axe and the spear. But the axe was too heavy for me to do much with, so it wasn't useful. I'm okay with a spear though."
"That's good. I'm terrible at all the survival skills apart from knot-tying. Which, I'm sure, is going to be a great help in the arena."
She laughed slightly and I felt like patting myself on the back. "I was useless at knot-tying. But I liked the other things."
"So what are your plans for the private sessions?"
"I haven't decided yet," she said evasively.
"Is it a secret?" I grinned. "If it is – I'm really good at keeping secrets; you don't need to worry about me telling anyone." I winked.
"I would tell you if it was," she sighed. "But I really don't know. I'm probably just going to swing a spear around a bit and then tell them which plants are safe to eat."
I smiled kindly at her as the elevator doors slid open. "You'll do fine, don't worry about it."
"Thanks, but you don't need to lie. I know I'm not going to win. I just want to die quick and easy."
"That's a pessimistic view. It's the Hunger Games, and you're from District 4. You've definitely got a chance."
Before she could reply, Mags and Cade were hurrying us in different directions to talk about our tactics. I still caught her brief smile before she turned the corner.