Chapter Four: I've Got Nothing For You To Gain

The next day they were in the Training Room. The Trainer blathered on about what to do in the Center. The tributes were set free to work on what they wanted. Torin and Rayne just stood there a minute, not sure what to do. Rayne looked up at Torin. "I'm going to work on knots." She half smiled. "I'm really good at knots, and I do this thing with a rope where I tie a hood at the end and I can throw it. It'll help me to catch fish that's for sure. And if I need to, it can also beused as a weapon." said Rayne.

Torin nodded, Rayne had an interesting talent. "Okay, I'll just work with the spears and tridents." He shrugged. "I don't really have a talent that's different like yours."

Rayne frowned softly, thinking, she looked sheepish. "Well... you can throw the spear really far."

Sighing, Torin shook his head. "Yeah, but I'm sure lots of people can, but I'll just work on my spear and trident skills more."

The two first went to knot tying; both were superb at it. Rayne however excelled at making small intricate knots, while Torin was extremely quick at tying. Rayne got up after she had tied a hook to a rope, and went over to the mannequins. Demonstrating what her weapon could do, Rayne hastily wrapped the rope round and round the mannequin's body. She finished by pulling the rope up through the noose, which caused the hook to embed deeply into the mannequin's throat. As she tugged roughly, a chunk of the neck came with the hook. Pleased with herself, Rayne gave Torin a curt grin.

Torin smiled wide, clapping for her. Another clap sounded and Torin turned to look, seeing Era watching Rayne. Rayne skipped over to Torin, still ginning. "How'd I do?" she asked.

"Wonderful. You should do that during the games." said Torin, giving her two thumbs up, along with a crooked smile.

"Excellent work Torin!" praised Era. "Andis this your partner?" She looked at the little girl, her eyes examining her. Was she a friend to Torin, or perhaps someone to be weary of?

Torin turned to see Era, who was only standing a few feet away. Ear stood there smiling, waiting for his answer. But before answering, he swallowed deeply, an attempt to clear the lump in his throat. "Yep, she's my district partner."

With that confirmed Era felt a little better, but now she had to ask another question that was nagging at the edges of her mind. "Hey, aren't you going to team up with the other careers?" Era asked her brown eyes curious.

Torin looked at the other two career districts; honestly he really wanted nothing to do with them. Didn't even train like them, like he should, unlike River, who took pride in being a career. Rayne seemed to have the same opinion as Torin. So, Torin really didn't care about being a career, he'd rather do his own thing. "Nah, I don't really care about being a career." He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Era looked relieved at that. "Okay." She smiled. "So, what are you going to train on today, sexy?" Her smile now transformed into a playful grin.

Torin almost fell over himself from the nickname. Rayne giggled. He pinched his fingers, not doing well to hide the blush. "Uh, well I was going to work on my spear throws. What about you?"

"Oh, I was thinking maybe working with a weapon of sorts. A knife maybe, but I don't really know." Era looked unsure.

Torin nodded. "Okay." He looked at Rayne. "What else are you gonna work on?"

Rayne pointed to the camouflage station, "I'll be over there." She gave a little smile, and skipped away, leaving Torin and Era completely alone.

Torin blushed brighter as Era laughed. "She's cute," said Era, her eyes finding Torin.

"I guess…" Was all Torin could manage to say to the beautiful girl standing in front of him.

Era's partner came up to them, a deep frown on his face. "What's going on here?" he asked.

"Oh! Maverick, hey, we're just going to train together. You can join if you like." Era looked at Torin. "Would you mind, sexy?" She grinned.

"He can work with us if he wants…" Torin mumbled.

Maverick looked at Torin, his dark blue eyes taking him in. Maverick crossed his arms. "I'm going to leave, Era, do what you like." And with those words, Maverick left.

Ezra huffed loudly, "He's such a sweetie."

Torin chuckled as they walked over to the weapons rack. He grabbed spear, weighing it. Era watched him, curiously. Wondering how good Torin was.Judging from the ripple of muscles in his arms, Era could tell he trained frequently. She found herself anticipating the moment when Torin would send the spear flying through the air. Torin stood a ways from the mannequin, his eyes studying his target. Era watched as he brought his arm back, releasing the spear. The spear embedded itself deep within the head of the dummy. Era was amazed. "Wow, Torin! That was amazing!"Exclaimed Era as she made her way to Torin's side.

An embarrassed, sheepish look took over Torin's face. The once hard and determined expression fading as the girl approached closer. He pinched at his fingertips, which were pretty badly bruised from how nervous and scared he'd been lately. "Thanks, but it's not that big a deal. I mean, it was probably a lucky hit."

Era sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Sexy, you got to be more confident!" A half smirk touching her lips. "You were pretty confident during the chariot rides. You need to be that Torin again."

Torin looked down at the bruised pads of his fingers, then at Era. Maybe he should be more confident in himself. He put his hands down at his sides. These games were really changing him. Era gave him a genuine smile, and in return Torin squeezed out a crooked grin. This girl was special to him, and it pained him to think that he could lose her.

"So, sexy, what can you teach me with that spear?" She leaned on his shoulder, looking up at him through her glasses with big brown eyes.

Air caught in his lungs. He couldn't remember how to breathe, how to think. He was stuck in that moment.

"Sexy?" Era raised an eyebrow. "Torin, you okay?"

Torin blinked owlishly, his surroundings flooding back to him. "Huh?"

Era laughed, straightening up. "You going to teach me how to throw?"

"Oh! Oh, yeah. Sure." Torin went to retrieve the spear.

The two other career districts came over. "Hey, you're good with a spear." Said a girl. "I'm Violet and this is my partner Lux." She gestured to a dashing brunette. "We're from district one."

"And I'm Danny, and this is Mar, we're from district two."

Mar looked over at Era. "Hm, you're not a career." She said.

"No, but that shouldn't matter." Era said, slightly offended.

Mar sneered. "Well, it does. You shouldn't he hanging around a career without being a career."

Danny gave Mar a look. "Careful, Mar. Don't stir up trouble."

Era glared at Mar. "I can do as I please. There are no signs that say I can't."

Torin touched Era's arm. "C'mon, Era… calm down." His sea green eyes met her dull brown ones. Era sighed, nodding. "Let's go to another station." Torin looked around, seeing Rayne at the plant identification area. "Let's go see Rayne, kay?"

Era nodded. "Yeah, sure." They both went over to Rayne.

"Hey, Rayne. How's it going over here?" Torin asked, not quite sure what exactly was going on, but Rayne seemed to be good at it.

"It's going great. Apparently I'm pretty good at this. I have a good memory." Rayne giggled. "I'm best at sea plants, though. And of course I would be, because me and my sisters and mother usually dive for certain plants that could be eaten or used for medicines." She gave a cocky little grin.

Torin playfully pushed her. "Oh, don't get so cocky, little girl." He smirked at her.

Rayne pushed him back. "I'm not, it's just all true, so I let people know it." She said.

Chuckling, Torin shook his head, then looked at the screen that Rayne was working on. "Let me try." He said. Rayne stepped aside and let Torin go. Torin tried to keep up, his fingers would clumsily stumble across the keys and he just wasn't good at it at all. He threw up his arms. "Whatever, I can't do this…" He pouted angrily, crossing his arms.

Rayne looked at Torin smugly. "Not so easy, huh?" She asked, leaning forwards on her tiptoes.

"Hmph… my fingers just weren't fast enough." He wiggled his long, slender fingers near Rayne's face.

Rayne raised an eyebrow. "Sure, says the guy with the fastest knot tying time. Admit it, you just suck at this station."

Era huffed and stepped up to the monitor, pushing Torin aside. "Move over, sexy. Let me show you how it's done." Era pushed up her glasses and began to work on matching the plants, her fingers working quickly on the keys. Torin and Rayne watched in amazement.

Then Torin crossed his arms. "So, I could have done better." He grumped.

The three of them worked together for three days at different stations. Rayne proved she was good with her hook and string numerous times. Each day she improved more and more. Era did well on the plant matching station, her memorybeing much better than Torin's. And Torin got better with the trident and spear. The three usually ate together, not really wandering to far from each other. Then the day come that the three had to present themselves individually to the Gamemakers.

Torin was nervous and worried. He pinched at his fingers, shaking some. He wanted to get a good rating but at the same time he didn't. A high number meant lots of sponsors but also more enemies. Torin could deal with a middle number, that would be okay, he guessed.

He watched as Rayne left, wishing her luck. Torin sighed as his turn soon came. He breathed in deeply, gathering confidence. He walked into the room. His eyes looked around the room, landing on the spears and tridents. He chewed at his lip before he went to grab one of each. He went over to the dummies, standing a good distance away. He brought the spear back then threw hard, the spear dug deep into the dummies neck, Torin heard a few claps, but it wasn't nearly enough to please him.

Torin gripped the trident and threw it like the spear, the trident pierced the dummy where its eyes would be, then he ran up to the dummy, grabbed the trident and pulled upward, ripping most of the dummies stuffing out, he looked to the Gamemakers, expecting more praise. Only a few more clapped.

"You are dismissed, Mr. Ross."

Torin eyebrows knit together in frustration as he stormed out of the room.

After dinner, everyone was waiting for Torin and Rayne's scores.

Orzela was practically jumping in excitement. "Oh, Rayne, I know you'll get a good score!" She gushed.

Finnick and Torin sat on a couch. Torin was still pretty angry with the lack of interest from the Gamemakers but he assumed it could have been worse. He lounged on his half of the couch, pinching his fingertips.

Finally, the scores started. Of course the first two career districts got high scores. Torin leaned in when Era's score came up. He softly clucked his tongue when she only got a four. Rayne's score was about to be shown, she got up excited. She got a score of nine. Rayne and Orzela squealed in happiness.

Torin's score was six. Rayne came down from her high, looking apologetically at Torin. "Sorry…"

Torin smiled at Rayne. "That's okay. I didn't really do anything they probably haven't seen already." He shrugged.

Finnick frowned at Torin. "Don't think like that…" He said. "Six isn't that bad, it's pretty good."

Zeta rested her hand on Torin's shoulder. "I'm sure we can work with that."

Roxxanniea nodded, smiling. "Yes, it's a very good number when you think about it."

"Not as good as it could have been…" Torin sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"Well, we can work hard for the interview." Zeta said, smirking.

The next day Torin and Rayne were eating breakfast quietly. Torin only nibbled at his breakfast, not really interested in it. He was still thinking of that six. Why couldn't he do better? Torin looked over at Rayne, who was eating, hungrily at a piece of bacon. He was happy she got such a good score, but still jealous. He took a bite, almost savagely, of his toast. Torin would show those Gamemakers.

"Are you still upset?" Rayne asked.

Torin shrugged. "Nah…" That was a lie. "I'm fine. I'm excited for the interviews." He said, changing the subject.

"Orzela says my dress is going to be super cute!" Exclaimed Rayne. "What are you wearing? Do you know?"

Torin rested his head in his palm. "I assume I'm going to wear what any guy wears. A suit."

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Rayne got up. "Look, Torin, not all guys wear just a suit. I'm sure Zeta will give you something amazing."

Torin grimaced. "I'm not too sure I want that."

Rayne giggled, and left to go to her room.

Finnick came up to Torin, sitting next to him. "Hey, Kid. I heard you were ready for the interviews." He smirked.

Torin huffed, sinking down in his seat. "No." He grumped.

Finnick chuckled some; he could tell Torin was upset about the scores still. "Torin, its okay to have a six, I mean, that's a pretty good score." He gave the boy a reassuring smile.

Torin sighed, sitting back. "I guess so."

Finnick slapped Torin on the arm. "Yeah! Cheer up! You gotta do good on the interview, you could get more sponsors." He went quiet for a bit, pursing his lips. "Torin, I want you to be yourself during the interviews, don't try to be sexy or anything. It'll get you in a lot of trouble. Be yourself, because being you will keep you safe." Finnick half grinned." And any who, you're a nice guy, and" A mischievous glint came into the older males sea green eyes. "Girls like a guy that's sweet, as well. And you're shy; girls think that's super adorable."

Torin blushed softly, looking down. "I guess." He pinched at his fingertips. "I'm nervous, what if I trip or mess up?"

"You'll be fine, I'm sure of it." Finnick sat back, shrugging. "And if you do trip, I dunno, do something boyish and cute. Girls will go crazy for that."

Torin scowled at Finnick, he wasn't supposed to be cute, he wanted to seem dangerous to everyone, not 'boyish and cute'. The other tributes would just laugh at him, see him as some weakling. "Hmph." Was all Torin gave in response.

Finnick chuckled at that. "Hey, kid, you wanna go for a swim before dinner?"

Torin grinned, that meant he'd get to swim all day! "Yeah! Of course!"

The two went to the pool and swam for as long as they could. Torin felt so much better, so much calmer. Swimming was like therapy to him. It always made him feel so good. Torin swam around slowly, just enjoying the water. He came to the middle of the pool and turned onto his back, eyes closed, letting the water lap at his floating body.

Finnick got out and turned to Torin, watching him for a moment before interrupting the boys peace. "Hey, kid, time for dinner, we gotta get going before it gets cold."

Torin sighed before swimming to the edge and getting out. "I wanna swim a little longer…" but his stomach growled in disagreement. Torin blushed.

Finnick laughed loudly, eyebrows raised. "Your stomach has other ideas, and anyway we've been swimming all day, food sounds good right now."

Both males dried off and left the pool room, going to their apartment area. They both went to their separate rooms to change and clean up some. Torin was first to finish, coming out of his room. Rayne stood outside the door, waiting for Torin. She looked over to him when he came out. "Where have you been?" she asked curiously.

Torin jumped, grabbing at his chest. "Geez, Rayne… you almost gave me a heart attack…" He said, letting out a heavy breath.

Rayne frowned some. "You didn't answer my question, Torin. Where did you and Finnick go today? Me and Roxxy were looking for you."

Torin pursed his lips, pinching at his fingertips. "Um… just… walking around the training center…"

Rayne put her hands on her hips, head tilted, her features skeptical. She took in Torin's stance, his expression; it was easy to tell when Torin was lying. She sighed then gave a half smile. "Okay, Torin." She walked off. Torin didn't have to tell her anything he didn't want to.

Torin looked down, feeling bad for lying to Rayne. He chewed at his lip some and decided to make his way to the dining room.

Roxxanniea scurried over to Torin. "Torin, dear! Rayne and I have been looking for you… did you do your lessons with Finnick?" She asked. "I was going to give you a few lessons myself… but I couldn't find you… I was going to teach you gentlemanly things for an interview."

Torin gave her a slight smile. "Sorry Roxxy… I… was preoccupied with Finnick's lessons." He looked at Roxxanniea's crystal colored eyes. "I know a lot of things about being a gentleman, but thank you, Roxxy."

Roxxanniea gave Torin a smile. "Well that's good, wouldn't want you acting like some ruffian." She said, giggling.

Finnick walked into the dining room, hands in his pockets. "Hey, what we got to eat? I'm starving." A grin grew on his face.

Roxxanniea shook her head, smiling, "Food."

They all sat at the table, eating happily. Torin ate hungrily, enjoying the rich tastes on his tongue. Dinner finished with a lavish dessert. Now that Torin was full, he was happy, but he was also a little sleepy. He wanted to sleep. He pushed away from the table and yawned. "I'm going to go to bed."

Everyone wished him goodnight and Torin went to his room, closing his door and flopping on his bed to fall into a deep, peaceful sleep.