AUTHOR'S NOTE: I might start picking this up again, for it is certainly not dead. I was just on a block of sorts, especially while I also struggled with "The 92nd Annual Hunger Games" and "The 93rd Annual Hunger Games". Whatever the case, here is chapter 6. The primary focus is once again on District 2, although we also get to see a lot of District 12, and lo and behold, District 11 finally speaks. The ending kind of hints at what the next chapter might be a lot about.
Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 6: Calm and Anger

The days of training passed quickly, and Clove kept her eyes on Rue almost incessantly. To make matters worse, Rue didn't seem fazed by it. It was clear that Thresh was one of her allies, and even that District 12 pair were eyeing her with interest.

Apparently Rue was not oblivious to Clove's looming presence though, because during day 4, she ended up doing something that nearly triggered something in the slightly unstable career girl. Their eyes met, and as Clove's eyes narrowed, they widened for a split-second. Rue had brought two of her fingers up to her eyes, pointing at them before turning and pointing them at Clove's eyes.

Clove lunged, and was only prevented by Cato and then Marvel, who had to restrain her for a moment.

"Clove, you're walking right into her trap," Marvel warned,

"He's right," Cato agreed, "you're doing exactly what she wants you to do. Save it for the arena and then gut her in a glorious display in the bloodbath. I can already think of a few people I want to do that to…" he glanced around the training center, where the tributes were mostly minding their own business. Clove took a deep breath before sighing and going back to throwing her knives with vicious aggression, which seemed to further augment her skills. She hit the dead center of every target, and then threw knives that hit the knives already embedded in the target. She was very good at what she did.

However, she was not the only one skilled at what she was doing. Rue so far had managed to throw the careers off with her antics, and the fact that her partner was the largest tribute in the games this year didn't help. Rue began wandering towards where Peeta and Primrose were, and Clove intended to follow them this time. She was only stopped by Thresh who moved into her way.

"Touch her and I break you." He warned. Clove's eyes actually shot open from surprise, because these were the first words she had heard from the boy. However, she was not one to cower from a threat.

"Is that a challenge?" she sneered, leaning her head back a little to glare at Thresh right in the eyes.

"It's a warning." Thresh responded bluntly, "Mind your business, '2."

Clove twisted her expression into a rather disgusted look as Thresh walked away. Marvel and Glimmer exchanged glances, and Cato watched his partner without a word. He was not one to admit it, but he liked her more than the others. She was the only one that he felt was worthy to face him in combat and hope to win.

On the other hand, Rue wasn't left alone either, and soon found herself in front of District 12's Peeta Mellark. However, instead of hostilities, he seemed to want to reaffirm an old question he had.

"I know we've talked about this before," he began, "but I don't feel like I got a solid answer. Did we want to have each other's backs in the arena? You, me, Prim here, and maybe even Thresh if he's up to it;" Peeta definitely did the talking for District 12.

Rue glanced around, and noting that Clove was occupied, nodded.

"I think we can make a deal," she nodded, "just don't go saying too much. I don't want her hearing me talk." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at Clove and (by extension) Cato.

"I've gotta admit… I'm curious about that too." Peeta confessed.

"Have you seen her reactions?" Rue's eyes lit up. "it's driving her *insane*." Clearly Rue was knowingly exploiting this, and hoped to do so in the games.

"Well, that's… something." Peeta was not sure whether to admire the girl's audacity or fear for her bravado. "Good luck."
Rue simply smiled and nodded. "Gotch'er back." She reassured the boy before heading over to his much quieter partner. Without saying anything, she simply watched the lighter-skinned girl go about her work, before nodding admirably.

"I like you." Rue admitted, eliciting Prim's attention.

"Really? What do you like about me?" Prim tilted her head curiously.

"you practice what you're good at and don't let anyone else intimidate you," Rue explained, "We should definitely be allies."
It was slightly sketchy for Prim to want to trust anyone besides Peeta, although she had heard the conversation the two had had, and Rue's offer seemed genuine enough. The odds of her backstabbing them seemed fairly slim.

"What about Thresh?" Clearly Thresh and Rue were decent friends, and Primrose wanted to know how that translated in a District 11-12 relationship.

"He seems okay with it," Rue shrugged, "I'll ask him again. We've got one more day of training to finalize this sort of thing anyways…"
She trailed off, and Prim immediately noticed why. Clove was coming their way again, and so with a silent nod, Rue stood up and migrated towards a different station, acting as if she was not aware of Clove, who did in fact divert her course to the smaller girl. Primrose assessed the situation before tapping Peeta's shoulder to see what he made of it.

"She'll be a risky ally," he agreed, "because clearly that girl has it out for her." he motioned towards Clove. "That also means I don't think she'll stop at trying to only kill Rue." A moment later, his words were practically proven then and there. Clove shouted death threats at Rue for some reason, and had to be restrained, this time by Peacekeepers, who separated them.

"So what was that about?" Peeta couldn't help but ask Rue after the incident simmered down.

"She wanted me to join the careers," Rue shrugged, "I didn't say a word to her, and she flipped out."

Clove would definitely be trouble, and both District 12 tributes were starting to understand that. However, they also did not overlook her partner Cato, who had glared at them after the Chariot Parade, perhaps feeling like he had been shown up. It was not like that had been Peeta's fault—he and Prim had simply done as their stylists had instructed.

Prim and Peeta did go to Haymitch that night, however, and ask him about the alliance with Thresh and Rue that they had been forming.

"It never hurts to have allies that you know aren't gonna stab you in the back," Haymitch took a shot from a small flask that was presumably filled with liquor, "All you need to do is survive till the end."
"That's easier said than done though," Peeta reminded him.

"Just make sure to watch your backs," Haymitch warned, "District 11 might seem friendly enough now, but you know as well as anyone that that's going to have to come to an end if you want to crawl out of here alive."
"I want Prim to come out of this alive," Peeta asserted.

"The same concept applies though," Haymitch indicated, "Luckily for you… by the way you're putting it to me, it seems that District 2 has its sights on District 11 instead of you, so you can take a breath. In other news, you two are gaining in popularity among the Capitol crowds, and so you might be able to get a few sponsors once you're in the games. I think I've finally gotten me a pair of tributes that'll get past the bloodbath."

10 floors below them though, Clove was fuming, and actually slammed her fist so hard into one of the walls that she put a hole into it, causing Athena to gasp. Clove brushed her off before she could say anything, however, and stamped out onto the balcony, seething with fury.

Cato's anger was much more passive, but he had given Thresh and Rue some nasty looks that he had originally only given Prim and Peeta after the chariot parade.

"I want to tear open that girl's ribcage and gut her," Clove snarled, leaning against the balcony railing, gazing out at the brilliantly lit nighttime Capitol skyline.

"Whoa," Cato held his hands up, "Keep your shirt on here, Clove."

While he had originally just said that in a verbal attempt to calm her down, Clove defiantly stripped herself entirely from the waist up (though left the rest on), although her position only gave Cato a view of her athletically toned back.

"Do you really want me to erupt into a huge-ass hissy-fit about this again, or are you here fixin' to get into the mood to crush things with your bare hands too?"

"I already plan to crush things with my bare hands," Cato asserted.

"'11 girl is mine," Clove snapped, still not even turning her head. "You can have District 12."

There was a split-second pause as if Cato was contemplating this "deal", before he grunted his nod of approval. However, after a moment, there was silence between the two careers.

"Cato, I've got a question for you," Clove spoke up a moment later, not caring about her half-dressed state, "actually, I've got more than just a question."
"Mm," Cato grunted as if to show he was listening, though he sat down and got comfortable.

"I just need to get some things off my chest," Clove shook her head before sitting in front of Cato and looking him in the eyes. "Can you hear me out?"
"Sure," Cato grunted, "Let's talk."

AFTERTHOUGHTS:

1-Despite Clove's attire in the ending scene, it is not actually hinting at anything (suggestive or otherwise). However, Cato and Clove's relationship exists in one way or another. Any preferences on how it should play out?
2-District 12 and District 11 have officially allied with each other. Do you think Peeta made the right decision in this regard?
3-Clove is on the verge of opening up to Cato to confess just what's been on her mind over the last week or so. Are you hoping to find out, or would you rather it remain a mystery?4- While we did get our District 12, District 11, and District 2 fixes, there are other districts that I could give some 'screen-time' to. Any recommendations, or should I keep the focus on 12/11/2 (or any combination of the above)?