A/N: Alright so that was a little chapter where some tension starts to develop between a few of the characters and this tension is only going to grow and grow until it sort of explodes lol. Anyway, I like writing for Cato because I think it's interesting trying to get into his mind; his mind before he got into the Hunger Games that is! Anyway, here's chapter 6! Hope you all like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger games, only my OC's.

Panem High

Chapter 6: Survival Skills

"That had to be the most awkward and weird thing I've experienced in my life!"

Katniss and Rue nodded sympathetically as they sat with River in her room. The girls had just finished showering and changing into their district sweat clothes seeing as the Prep team still hadn't gotten their fitted clothes up to the tributes. Rue was dressed in a pair of black basketball shorts that had to be rolled up and a grey sweatshirt that had 'DISTRICT 11' printed on it bold black letters. Katniss was wearing black shorts with a grey t-shirt that was too big for her and said 'DISTRICT 12' in black letters. River had on black sweatpants with a grey t-shirt that said 'DISTRICT 7'. Katniss and Rue had gone down to River's room to check on the girl and had found her flopped on the bed.

"I mean what was that about anyway?" River asked desperately as she looked at the two girls for help.

Rue shrugged. "It sounded like Cato might actually like you."

River shot up from bed so fast she nearly fell over the side and Katniss looked at Rue as if she had grown a second head.

"That's not possible. Cato hates everyone except for the Careers. And he definitely hates us. He wouldn't like River," Katniss explained to Rue. River nodded in agreement.

"He's just being nice because I helped Clove out one time."

Rue nodded in understanding before pouting. "Well Kane doesn't really seem to like him."

"Cause Kane is an ass... no offense of course River," Katniss said.

"None taken. He was acting really weird today."

"I hope whatever happened between them doesn't continue," Rue spoke up. "Or else this is gonna be a long two months."

"River, if you're done sulking then we gotta go to the survival classes," Jayden called out through the door. Jayden had been kicked out as soon as he had finished showering and changing because River had needed girl-talk.

Katniss sighed. "C'mon, might as well get this over with."

"And you need your iPad for notes or something!"

"Crap," Katniss muttered

River smiled as she grabbed her own iPad. "I'll meet you guys down there."

After going back up to their rooms to get their iPad, Katniss and Rue made their way back down to the Training Arena where nearly all the tributes were at. District 5 and 3 were MIA, but everyone else was there. They were all standing in the 'survival' area that consisted of the classroom set up as Annie and Finnick started pushing desks together in pairs.

"What's going on?" Rue asked as she walked up to her older brother.

Thresh, who had been leaning against the wall talking to Peeta, looked down at his sister. "They said something about a seating chart and pairing us up, so that we can form bonds with people other than our District partners."

Districts 3 and 5 made their appearance and Enobaria snorted. "Finally, now we're going to give you guys your seating assignments! Up in the first two seats on the first row we're going to have Marvel and Rue, next to them it's Dustin and Skyla, and next to them we'll have Jayden and Clove." Thresh didn't look all too happy about being separated from his sister but didn't voice any complaints. The six that were called out all moved to sit in the first row of seats. "Alright in the second row it's going to be Shane and Tori, Hunter and Mike, and Blake and Danni." The six of them looked pretty happy with their partners before going forward to sit down. "Third row we're going to have Cato and Katniss, Thresh and Foxface, and Peeta and Glimmer." Peeta wrinkled his nose a bit and sent Katniss a look that asked her if she'd be okay. Katniss nodded and walked forward to take her seat next to Cato as Peeta sat next to Glimmer. "And in the last row we'll have Cam and Kira, Kane and River, and Conner and Alex."

When it was announced that Kane and River were going to sit next to each other, Katniss and Peeta rolled their eyes while Kane smirked.

"Uh-uh, that last row isn't going to work," Finnick cut in, before Kane and River could sit down.

Enobaria glared at the man. "And why not?"

"Kane and River are dating, and the whole point is to get them with people they don't normally associate with," Finnick replied easily turning Kane's smirk into a scowl.

Blight frowned. "If we change the back row we may have to end up redoing the entire seating chart."

"Then just switch my tribute out with someone else," Johanna said, trying to solve the situation.

"Who are we going to switch her with?" Annie asked, scanning the group.

Haymitch, who had been largely silent through the entire process, soon had a particularly evil smirk spread across his face which most of the tributes caught. "Why don't we just switch my tribute with River? I'm sure Katniss wouldn't mind sitting with Kane and River wouldn't mind sitting with Cato."

Haymitch was an evil, evil man.

Kane looked like he was ready to get up and strangle the mentor for even suggesting the idea, while Katniss hid a small smile, silently applauding her mentor. Cato wasn't at all secretive of the smirk on his face while River looked pretty okay with the entire thing. Finnick looked over at the man with a raised eyebrow. He knew exactly what it is that Haymitch was trying to do. He wanted to poke and prod at whatever it was that had caused Cato and Kane to nearly have it out during training and he knew that the Hawthorne girl was at the center of it. Finnick knew exactly what Haymitch was doing.

And that was exactly why he had agreed.

"I think it's a good idea. River and Katniss, please switch spots."

The two girls got up to switch, Katniss giving Kane a triumphant smile while Cato looked up at River as she sat down beside him.

"Perfect! Now let's begin!" Haymitch said trying not to laugh as Kane glared his way. "The people sitting next to you are going to be your partners for Survival courses for the remainder of your time in Tribute Housing. Get to know them, get to like them, because they may be the difference between you surviving and failing out there in the Games. We're going to be teaching you various survival skills like making fires, finding water, making shelters, first aid, etc. We will teach you the basics and how to use these skills then you will practice these skills with your partner until you have perfected them. Then we will take you outside of the Tribute Housing to practice your skills in actual real-life settings. During these tests we will not assist you and you must rely solely on your partner."

All of the tributes started murmuring uneasily as they looked at their partners.

"Today we're going to start with something simple: creating fire," Annie spoke up. She gestured to Blight who turned off the lights while she turned on the Smart-Board, showing a slide-show having to do with making a fire outdoors. There were pictures of leaves, sticks, and pine cones. "In order to make a fire out in the elements, you'll need something that'll actually catch fire. Don't grab rocks or something else like that. Leaves and pine cones burn nicely, as do sticks. In order to make the fire you can either grab two sticks and rub them together or grab a rock that can be used as a striking rock," Annie explained as she changed the slides.

Most of the tributes had been using the iPads to type away whatever notes they thought were important except for River, Foxface, and Katniss.

"To keep the fire contained you should use rocks to form a small pit so it won't spread and keep all the leaves, twigs, or pine cones in it. As soon as you get the fire set you can cook, keep warm, or use it as a torch, depending on what you needed the fire for. In order to put the fire out you should pour water over it," Blight added on.

Katniss raised her hand into the air. "Yes, sweetheart?" Haymitch asked in a patronizing tone.

"Pouring water on fire makes smoke billow and makes it more obvious to other schools where we are."

"She's right; dirt is more effective," Foxface agreed immediately.

Enobaria looked impressed. "Well looks like there are some kids with brains in this batch after all."

"Katniss and Foxface are both correct," Johanna said stepping forward. "Water does make the smoke billow after putting out fire, while putting dirt on it doesn't have the same effect. It's a quicker and easier way to put it out without being noticed if you don't want to be. Now those are the only things we can really tell you about making fire, the rest you need to learn from experience so there are stations set up on the mats where you can practice making fire. Don't set each other ablaze, please? We don't want to use the Medical Wing just yet."

"Do you want me to try?" Rue asked as she tried not to laugh in amusement at Marvel trying desperately to make fire with the two sticks in his hand. To Marvel's credit, he wasn't the only one having difficulties, but Rue just found it amusing that he was trying so hard that he had actually started talking to the sticks as if that would help. He was at the point of begging and making agreements with the two pieces of wood.

Marvel looked up at Rue and gave her a determined look. "I've got this! I'll make fire!"

Rue shrugged and wondered if she should tell him that he was about to break the sticks in his hands from the force of—

SNAP!

"Aw damn it!"

Oh well, too late.

"I'm convinced this is impossible," Jayden grumbled as he handed the rocks over to Clove at the same time she had handed the sticks over to him. The two had been alternating methods of creating fire with minimal success. They had already created a nice little pit with leaves and pinecones but they had yet to get a spark to actually make the fire.

"How do they expect us to set a fire indoors?" Clove asked as she hit the rocks together, trying to get a spark.

"I think they want to see us struggle."

"So, I'm guessing you don't know how to set a fire either, do you?" Peeta asked Glimmer, who was looking at the sticks and rocks as if they were foreign objects. When she shook her head Peeta sighed and nodded. "I figured as much. I don't know how to do this either."

"Really?" Glimmer asked, excited that she wasn't the only inept one.

Peeta grabbed the rocks and started banging them together while talking. "Yup, I just use fire to bake bread and cakes. I don't ever have to make fires."

"You bake?"

"Yeah, my family has a shop."

Glimmer had her eyes opened wide. "Is it 'The Seam' downtown?"

"Yeah, that's us."

"I love your cupcakes! Those are my weaknesses!" Glimmer exclaimed excitedly.

Peeta blinked in shock, before grinning. "Thanks, I actually make them myself."

"That's so awesome! Can you—" Glimmer cut herself off and looked down. Peeta looked down and noticed a small little spark in the leaves and pinecones. The two shared a look before they both bent down to start blowing on the spark softly to get it to spread. It spread and soon they had a small little fire going.

"Yes! We did it!"

Foxface watched as Thresh tried to set the fire. It wasn't working however, because Thresh wasn't taking his time, and instead was rushing through the process in order to set the fire. The boy looked up from his work and noticed the red-head watching him. He narrowed his eyes a bit as if concentrating on something before handing the sticks to Foxface. "You know something I don't, don't you?" He asked, though it was more of a statement.

Foxface merely smiled and took the sticks from his hand and rubbed them together for a few minutes before getting a spark. She then started blowing on the spark until it grew. As soon as she was done and the got a fire, she looked at Thresh and nodded. "I may know a thing or two."

"I can do it if you want," River suggested while she looked at Cato struggling to set the fire. She had originally reached for the sticks but he had gotten them first, assuring her that he could do it. And that was over five minutes ago. Cato had already snapped both sticks in half from the force he was using and was reduced to using the smaller pieces to try and create the fire. River had offered help before but he had declined. She didn't know if it was a male pride thing, but she let him continue trying until it looked like he was going to snap the small pieces too.

"I've got this," Cato assured as he concentrated on the sticks in front of him as if staring at them long enough coupled with the rubbing would help them spontaneously catch on fire.

River pouted as she rested her head in her hand as she sat cross-legged and put her elbow on her knee. "You sure? I think I can help."

Cato looked up at her and was about to argue when he noticed her bored expression as she watched him try. It killed his man pride a little on the inside but instead of saying he could do it, he caved and offered the sticks to the girl. "I could use some assistance."

"Instead of assistance how about advice?" River asked, noticing how Cato had deflated slightly when he told her he needed help. She took the sticks out of his hands and replaced them with the two rocks. "Instead of using the sticks I think you might be better with these. Hit them at an angle aiming towards the fire as if you're scrapping them together."

Cato nodded in understanding before following her directions. He hit the rocks together two times before he saw a small spark shoot out from the rocks before disappearing. Blinking in surprise he continued hitting the rock until a larger spark appeared and fell on the leaves and pinecones. He bent down and started blowing on the spark before it grew and started burning the leaves and pinecones. Cato looked at the fire with a proud smile before looking up at River who was beaming at the boy. "You did it!" River congratulated.

"Thanks to your advice, I did," Cato replied back still smiling at the girl. "How'd you know how to do that?"

"My little secret."

"Oh you have secrets?" Cato asked, raising an eyebrow and grinning wider. "And what kind of secrets do you have?"

"They wouldn't be considered secrets if I told you," River responded with a laugh.

Cato smirked. "So looks like I have to be a bit of a detective to figure you out, huh?"

"That's right Sherlock. Give it your best shot."

"What the hell is she doing?"

"She's talking to Cato, get over it," Katniss rolled her eyes as she glared at Kane. She had already set their fire and was studying everyone else's group. Marvel had moved on from the sticks to the rock and had hit his own hand, prompting Rue to help take a look at it. Jayden had started poking at the pinecones with the stick instead of actually trying while Clove hit the rocks together, nearly breaking them in the process. Peeta and Glimmer were celebrating their successful attempt at making fire and talking about cupcakes—Katniss smiled and rolled her eyes at that, knowing her best friends love of baking—Thresh and Foxface were staring at their fire and talking to each other quietly and laughing on occasion, and Cato and River were talking and laughing like there was no tomorrow, completely ignoring their fire. Kane, of course, only noticed the last group and was positively fuming over the fact that River seemed like she was actually having fun with the blonde.

"She's flirting with him!" Kane responded, looking back to glare at Katniss.

Katniss looked over at Cato and River to see them still talking and laughing before looking back at Kane. "They're just talking. She's like that with everyone."

"Bull shit. McKnight is flirting with her and she's flirting back! What the hell does she think she's doing? She's my girl and she shouldn't even be talking to other guys!"

Katniss's eyebrows shot up. "One, they're not flirting. Two, I wish they were flirting because I'm sure even Cato would be a better choice of boyfriend than you. And three, you don't own her and she can talk to whoever she damn pleases!"

"Watch your mouth, Everdeen," Kane hissed.

Katniss narrowed her eyes and forced a laugh. "You want to do something then do it. Just don't run home crying when I kick your ass."

"You really think you can—"

"Are you harassing my tribute, Kane?"

Kane and Katniss both looked up to see Haymitch standing behind Katniss with his arms crossed and a glare being aimed at Kane, daring him to say anything while he was around. Kane snapped his jaw shut and shook his head. "I thought so. We're done for today. Time for the afternoon training session, then you guys get lunch."