The next couple of days went by in a flash.
I sharpened my skills in the Training Center. I re-visited the knife throwing station, as well as the bow station. I even returned to the fire starting station and apologized to the instructor. Boy was that embarrassing. That had to be a first in the history of the Hunger Games and I snorted to myself as I thought that.
After a couple hours spent on both my weapons, I decided to go over to the swords. Upon walking up to pick up one of the blades, the flat part of another blade slapped across my hand. I pulled my hand back on instinct and my eyes flashed up in anger towards my attacker.
Cato calmly held my fiery gaze with a smirk upon his face. And in the few moments that we looked at each other, he finally he opened his mouth to say something and what he said made me want to rip his damn head off.
"My swords." I inwardly growled at what he said, I blinked a few times and my face wrinkled up in confusion.
"Your swords? Really?" I asked, my voice full of disbelief and humor. He didn't respond or anything, he just looked at me with that boyish smirk on his face. "I don't see your name on them..." Reaching for the blades once again, I was able to grab a short one and block Cato's second playful swing at me. My eyes flashed up to his and he still continued to smirk.
At the same moment, we withdrew our blades, my jaw set in a firm line, the cause was my annoyance. Lowering his blade, Cato turned his back on me and I only watched him in confusion. He walked into the practice ring and stood casually before looking back to me.
"Are you coming?" He asked suddenly, catching me off guard. I blinked at him before slowly stepping into the ring. He twirled his large blade around in his hands, acting completely normal, like this was an everyday thing.
"Tributes aren't supposed to practice against one another..." I replied coolly. Not enough to look worried, just showing a concern for the rules.
"It's fine! No one really cares! Besides... Are you scared of me or something?" He asked me, flashing his smirk. His blue eyes sparkled with mischief and I could feel my insides boil in rage.
"Scared of you? Please!" I replied, relaxing back and letting one of my hips jut out to the side. I crossed my arms, much like Cato did and smirked right back at him. He only scoffed before dropping into a fighting stance. He smiled evilly before raising his sword and lunging at me.
Out of instinct, I raised the long sword above my head. When our blades met, I stumbled back underneath the force that he had applied. Spinning around, he swung at me again, this time I dodged and side stepped. Cato continued to swing at me, again and again until I started to get tired. He backed off for a moment, his chest rising and falling at a normal speed, unlike my own.
"Well, you know what you're doing so I'll give you that..." He teased and circled behind me. Straightening out, I growled and swung at his head. Cato of course dodged and then laughed at my feeble attempt.
His laughter fueled my anger and I swung again, going on the offense. My rage grew and my form was sloppy. Sure, I was planting a few powerful swings against Cato's blade but he was easily blocking them, acting as if this were child's play for him.
I over swung once and Cato slapped me on the rear with the flat side of his sword, sending me stumbling away. I was able to catch myself before I face planted into the mat.
I rose from my crouched position and stood up straight. My hazel eyes hardened with determination and my lips turned down in a frown. My feet quietly pounded across the mat until our blades clashed again. Cato shoved me back and then swung at my head. I quickly spun out of the way and lunged at Cato again, almost slicing open his side.
Cato's mouth formed into an 'o' and he laughed mockingly before bringing his sword down upon mine. My sword stuck into the mat and I growled as I tried to pull it out. My hands were sweaty and they kept slipping on the handle. My knuckles turned white and with one more sound of frustration, I finally yanked it from its place in the mat.
I let out a quiet yelp as Cato applied such a heavy weight onto his blade, I stumbled back. He smiled creepily before he began forcing the blade back, closer to my throat. I grasped tightly onto his wrist, desperately trying to push him back. He laughed which caused his whole form to shake and his hot breath kissed my sweaty face. Grunting, I finally just stepped away from him. My chest heaved up and down and I wiped the back of my hand across my forehead.
I was done for an I knew it. I couldn't go on anymore.
I glanced up just in time to dodge Cato as he ran at me. He raised his sword above his head, readying for the final blow. Weakly raising the sword above my head, my arms ached. Bringing his sword down, he easily knocked my sword from my hand.
Dropping to the floor, he swept my legs out from under me and I landed hard on the mat. I let out an 'oof!' and when I opened my eyes a sword was pointed at my neck. Cato smirked down upon me and eventually removed the sword tip. He held it in front of him and examined it.
"This was my sword in the arena..." He said without looking at me. Cato continued to eye the blade and I watched as his eyes suddenly lost their steely resolve. His face was void of all emotion and I swear I could see everything playing out in his head. Everything that had happened. All the people he killed, yet they were standing before us. "You can tell see?" He turned the handle over and showed me chips in the black hilt.
"The mutts did this... When they were ripping me apart..." He said quietly and I flinched. I realized that they weren't chips. They were teeth marks.
It must be hard to talk about your own death, or supposed death. He suddenly came blinking back into reality and looked down at me. He held his hand out to me and I looked at it for a moment.
In the arena, I could not stand a chance with him around. Unless we were in an alliance with each other. So, why not start making friends now?
I put my hand in his and grasped onto it tightly while he easily pulled me from the ground. Being slightly over eager, he pulled me a little roughly and I barreled into his chest. It felt like I hit wall and it knocked the breath out of me.
"Easy, Twelve. A little eager are we?" He teased and I blushed.
"Actually, that was your fault..." I grumbled before looking around. People were watching us. I tried pushing off but his firm grip remained in place.
"You aren't to shabby, you know that? Why don't you join in my alliance with the other Careers?" He asked quietly, making sure to keep his voice low. His eyes flashed up to mine for a moment, waiting for my answer.
"I'm sorry. I don't think my friends would want me to be in an alliance with a Career..." I but extra emphasis on the Career part, making it sound like some sort of disease. Cato's expectant smirk fell from his lips and was replaced by a concerned scowl.
"Oh come on. You don't want to die so quickly do you?" He asked in a joking manner but I did't feel like he was joking. Pushing off, I felt rather uncomfortable and I scratched the back of my neck. "So whose it gonna be, me or them?" He motioned over to Peeta and Katniss. I laughed quietly before shaking my head.
"I'm gonna have to choose them..." I said quietly before placing the sword back on the stand and walking off. I could feel his hard gaze on my back and I glanced back over my shoulder. He threw his sword back onto the rack angrily which created a lot of noise. He growled loudly before running both his hands through his hair.
Walking around, I felt a bit lost. Cato had me all stirred up and confused. Looking up, I ran into a familiar, almost natural sight. There was a large open floor out in the center of the room. I suppose that it was for wrestling or hand-to-hand combat technique but no one was using it.
"Shay!" Hearing my name, I looked over at the person who said it. Peeta came jogging over, smiling widely. I smiled back and he suddenly embraced me like he hadn't seen me in forever. He saw me looking at the open floor and smiled.
"Why don't you show me some gymnastics? I haven't seen you practice in a long time..." He said, kind of begging for me to do some flips and twists. My cheeks suddenly burned but with more persuasion, I gave in and took off my shoes before I stepped out onto the floor. It slightly gave way underneath me because of the springs beneath my feet.
I started off easy, running across and doing a cartwheel that was connected to a simple front flip but my limps creaked from disuse. It had been a while.
Turning back around, I raced back, doing a flip and then adding a twist. Peeta cheered quietly from the side and when I looked over, Katniss had joined him. She was smiling as she watched me fly through the air. It was kind of odd, seeing her smiling.
I ran to the other corner, doing a double flip and then I rolled forward into a somersault. Rolling up onto my hands, I brought my feet up into a handstand and held it. Taking a deep breath, I lowered my feet to my sides so that my arms were supporting my entire weight.
Going back up into a handstand, I rolled forward and finished off the routine with a triple twist. People cheered and when I looked over, I had quite the crowd. My cheeks heated up and the Careers scowled as they watched me wave to the small crowd.
Maybe I was showing off. Just a little bit.
The obstacle course towered above me as I looked up.
It looked so ominous and it took a moment for my eyes to take it all in. Taking a small step forward, I placed myself on the starting platform before being over to double knot my shoes before slowly standing and nodding to the instructor.
A loud buzzer suddenly rang out overhead and I ran down the steep beginning slope. With some luck, I was able to keep my feet underneath me and I vaulted over the first hurtle with ease. Right now was one of the moments that I was glad I had speed on my side.
Flying over two more hurtles, I raced up the next incline. A light film of water tumbled down the slope and I almost slipped twice before reaching the top. I raced up to the rope hanging from the next platform and I wrapped my hands around it. Hiking myself up, I began to place my hand over hand. It didn't take me long to reach the top and I easily pulled myself over the ledge. Rolling away from the edge, I made sure to be completely on the platform before standing up. My arms suddenly felt like jelly and I tried to shake them out to get rid of the awkward feeling.
Taking off at a full sprint, my feet barely were able to stay on the slim plank that I had to run across. My eyes looked down for a moment, making my stomach flop. I was so high above the ground and if I fell, I would land in a net but still. It was a long ways down.
I reached the other side and without pausing leaped the gap and reached out to the low hanging bar. Using my momentum, I swung about halfway around while gritting my teeth and planted my feet firmly on top of the bar. Pushing off, I jumped up to the next higher bar and as I reached the final platform, I stopped.
Looking over the edge, a deep pool of water was beneath me and I swallowed before backing up. Without looking back, I pushed off the platform and sailed through the air. I pencil dived down into the water and the liquid foamed around me, leaving me temporarily blind for a moment. The cold suddenly took hold of me, making my lungs tighten in my chest.
Upon resurfacing, my chest rose up and down rapidly. The obstacle course wasn't finished yet.
Taking a deep breath, I dove back beneath the surface and pushed my body through the water with my strong legs. Swimming down deeper, I swam through the small tube, using my hands to propel me off the cushioned walls. As I emerged from the other side, my lungs needed air and I quickly resurfaced. My limbs ached because of the freezing water and as I pulled myself up onto the final platform, my legs shook from exhaustion.
Of course, some of the other tributes had slowed way down by now but I couldn't afford to. Not yet anyway.
I let out a loud cough before jogging towards the rock wall. I was able to climb up about five feet above the ground when my hand slipped. My whole body was still wet from the swim and it didn't agree with the rocks.
Grunting in frustration, I swung up and placed my hand on the next highest up stone. Almost there... I took a deep breath before climbing the last fifteen feet up the wall.
As I hauled myself over the edge, I rolled over onto my back as the buzzer rang.
Smiling up at the ceiling, I knew I must have had a good time seeing as I didn't get stuck on a single obstacle. I just laid on my back for a moment, with my eyes closed.
That was one of the hardest things I had ever done in my life.
Everyone was waiting for me down below and I had to jump back into more water to get down. Smiling weakly, I stood up on shaky legs before walking over to the ledge and simply stepping off it. Falling down into the cold water, I let my body float back to the surface before lazily paddling over to the side.
I was hoisted from the cold water and was engulfed in a huge, fluffy towel which I gratefully accepted and I sputtered a bit. Someone began to rub a towel over my head and hair and I could hear Peeta talking excitedly with Haymitch.
"Alright! I'm dry!" I protested as I pulled the towel away from my head. Peeta just beamed down at me before ruffling my hair. My face flashed across the screen and I held my breath before a number rolled across.
1:27.58.
"Shay! You got the best time!" Peeta said. Wrapping me in a tight hug, I let out a squeak as the air escaped my lungs. Suddenly, Haymitch appeared virtually out of thin air and he laughed.
"Great job, sweetheart!" He grasped me in an awkward hug and kissed the top of my head. I wrinkled up my nose in disgust and he finally let me go after an awkward moment. "You've got the best time so far, sweetie!" We all looked up to the screen again and found that I had beat Cato's time.
By two seconds.
Thinking about the large boy, my eyes slowly darted around the room until I found him. He looked to be fuming and I put a smug smirk on my face.
I was congratulated by the victors and my cheeks hurt from all the smiling. But inside, my stomach churned. I had just painted a target on my back. I was the one who would have to die first. Or befriend first.
Depends on how you look at it.
Finnick was the last one to approach me. Sauntering up, he smiled at Haymitch before turning to look at me. He held out his hand and I was reluctant for a moment. I hadn't forgotten our moment in the pool.
For him stealing my first kiss. Bastard. I wanted it to be special!
Haymitch nudged me painfully in the side and I growled at him before placing my hand in his.
"Congratulations, Shay-Shay. I can't wait to see how things will go in the arena..." He let go of my hand before giving head nods to the other two victors and leaving. He flashed his toothy grin at me before winking once again.
My heart skipped a beat and I growled at my own stupid behavior. Dumb me. Dumb Finnick. Dumb everyone.
Earning another ruffling to my hair from Haymitch, I was led away. The Private Training Session was later this afternoon and the obstacle course counted for part of your score.
With being in the lead for the obstacle course time, I at least scored a solid seven with just that.
Upon walking into my private lesson, the Gamekeepers seemed rather pleased with me being there. They actually sat down in their chairs, picked up their drinks and watched.
Taking a deep breath, I walked over to the swords station. I swung the different blades around for a bit, killing the artificial dummies that stood as my opponents. I fired some arrows at targets, some even going as far as to move. Then I reached for the knives, killing all the targets as if they were real people. I showed them my agility and speed by vaulting over a few hurtles.
Glancing around the room, I noticed the same padded floor and cautiously walked over to it. When I stepped onto the floor, it dipped underneath my footing. Smiling widely, I stretched my arms above my head and then I took off my boots. The Gamekeepers looked at me like I was crazu but I just proceeded with my plan.
I sprinted across the wobbly floor and as I neared the other corner, pushed off the ground and twisted around in the air. I landed with a solid thud before proceeding to do the rest of my routeen. After numerous cartwheels and splits, more flips, I stopped and froze on point. I was met by a round of applause and I bowed before leaving.
Well, I hope that went well.