The alarm in the room went off but it wasn't a typical annoying buzzer that made you wanted to destroy the alarm clock itself, rather it was the soothing sounds of the ocean waves and the squalling of sea gulls. I blinked my eyes opened to see the walls of the room have converted into the scenery to match the sounds surrounding me. It was... peaceful, but how did this happen? I don't remember setting up the walls to look like this, nor did I set up the alarm to go off at... 4:45?
"Rather early for the average tribute to wake up," I thought to myself, but no matter, I was already up. I walked over to the closet and picked out a white sleeveless shirt and slim black jeans for the morning. Once I felt ready, I left the room only to feel a sense of dread; why does the apartment complex look different from before?
"Glad to see you're awake," said a voice from the kitchen, only to be the sponsor Toffee!
I nearly felt myself faint, and backed into the wall behind me. What was he doing here? Why is he even here?! Then I remembered he took me away from the apartment complex and offered me dinner last night, with a complimentary stay in his home.
"I take it you slept well?" he asked.
"Yes, it was... pleasant," I responded, taking my seat at the table once again. Once I was seated Toffee placed a plate in front of me, only for it to have two scrambled eggs, two toasted bread slices and two slices of bacon. To my right he placed a glass of orange juice to go with the breakfast served today.
"You'll need your strength during training today," he responded.
I nodded, starting to pick up pieces of egg off my plate with my fork, and into my mouth. I don't know what he does with the food, but he manages to make it even more delicious than what it should. For years I lived off of eggs and have grown weary of the flavor, but whatever Toffee added to it made it taste even better than what I have ever tasted in my previous years. As much as I would want to savor every taste in my mouth, I looked at the clock to realize I needed to get from Toffee's house to the training room immediately! Scooping the eggs and bacon onto the fork and shoving it down my throat I washed it down with the orange juice, only to clamp onto the remaining piece of toast into my mouth as I headed straight for the door.
But Toffee simply drank from his coffee at a steady pace, as if he was in no hurry what so ever. Finally placing his cup down, he responded, "You don't have to worry about getting to the training area Ms. Stratosphere. I'll be providing your training from the comforts of my home."
I looked at him and loosened my grip on the door knob, returning to my seat the table, feeling a little embarrassed by my rash behavior. "I'm sorry," I sputtered after taking the toast out of my mouth, "It was very rude of me to rush breakfast."
"It's alright, I understand the urgency of your situation," he commented as he was gathering egg on his fork.
"How can you be so sure? You've never been a tribute in the games," I thought to myself, simply watching his every movement.
"It's rude to stare Ms. Stratosphere," he commented, making me realize my actions.
"Sorry."
Once Toffee was finished with his breakfast (and rebuffed my offer to clean the dishes again), Toffee took me to the basement, where it was filled with the same training equipment from the training area at the apartment complex. I was surprised to see all this in the house of a sponsor, well now looking at Toffee's build he was pretty muscular for a lizard man in the Capitol.
Before I knew it, Toffee had grabbed a fencing sword and tossed it towards me. Clumsily, I fumbled with it in my hands only to finally get a decent hold of it. From there Toffee looked at my hands and walked over. Grabbing my hands, he adjusted them to hold the handle properly. His hands surprisingly felt smooth upon touch, making me blush upon contact but my heated desires were soon replaced with concentration. "Always have a strong hold of your weapon, otherwise your opponent will be capable of knocking it out of your hands," he instructed.
I nodded. "Am I restricted from other weapons?" I asked.
"No, you will be learning how to use every weapon the Capitol will grant you in the games," he answered, "Today, we're going to see what you can do and the adjustments we can make to help you improve."
I felt a sense of shame towards myself since I've never trained at a young age like Kennedy did, nor did I care to. "Can I admit something first?" I asked.
"What is it?"
"I-I've never actually held a weapon, nor have I been trained to do so. I-I'm sorry, I'm just going to be a waste of money to you," I hiccuped, feeling my chest get tighter as I felt myself crying, dropping the sword from my grasp. The next thing I knew Toffee picked up my face and I was staring at the lizard man's yellow eyes again, seeing not the intimidating sponsor, but as a comforting soul.
He wiped the tears away from my eyes and sighed, "Behind every sunny day is a storm waiting to approach. You may think you know nothing of combat, but you'd be surprised what you can do, even if you've never held the weapon yourself."
I soon felt myself collapse into his chest, crying harder at Toffee's words. Maybe I was releasing all the emotions that I had about the games in general: the urge of dying, the desire to go home, maybe even the wanting of some self-worth. And here before me a lizard man is letting me let it all out in front of him.
"There, there," I heard him say, feeling his smooth hands rubbing against my back, "Deep breaths."
Following his counsel, I managed to stop crying and have only a few tears drip from my eyes. "Thank you," I managed to let out after all the crying I've done, "You're probably the only person who is believing in me right now."
The Lizard man smiled and picked up the fencing sword once more, only to toss it to me. This time I didn't hesitate to grasp it into my hands. "Quick learner," he commented, "Shall we begin your training?"
"We shall."
