"The first thing you should know is this: we all die. There is no happy ending, there is no happily ever after. There is just this: we all die." Bradley's and my trainer, Selea Marls, was teaching us all the dynamics of the training as we headed down the elevator. Bradley and I were on opposite sides of the elevator, turned away from each other, our arms crossed. I heard Selea say something about how Bradley and I should be allies, that we'd be valuable to each other. 'Right,' I thought. 'I'm going to be allies with a boy very much determined to do what his sister did not.' I shook my head. "Selea, I don't think it's going to work out that way," I said bluntly.
Selea gave an audible sigh. "You need to try. It's valuable to have an ally."
I turned on Selea. "I already have an ally," I said angrily. I wasn't in the mood for Selea's lessons and jabbering.
Selea looked surprise. "Who?" she asked.
Crap. Now I was in trouble. I thought quickly. "That girl, what's her name-" I murmured. "Taira Rhapsodes," I said.
Selea tilted her head to the side, but didn't bother me again. "Fine, fine," she murmured, turning to Bradley. She began torturing the poor guy over getting himself an ally, someone who could help him, but he could take down if needed. I tuned her out for the rest of the long elevator ride down.
Once the elevator doors finally opened, I ran out of the doors gratefully, glad to be free of Selea. She gave a last call, unheard by my ears, about playing by our smarts. I hurried toward where Taira was. "Hey. I'm so glad to be out of that elevator," I muttered.
Taira nodded. "No joke. My trainer was yammering on and on this morning. Such a pain." She shook her head, looking to me. "Are you ready? We can go around together," she said. I nodded. "That'd be great." I glanced over at Bradley, who had gone over to talk to the District One tributes, whose names escaped me. "He's not going to be any help to me." I sensed Bradley staring at me, and pulled my wings in tightly against my back. I hoped no one had noticed how loosely I had been holding my wings, and just waited for the training to begin.
When training began, Taira and I headed directly to camouflage. I didn't want my wings out in the open. I needed some way to hide them. Of course, Taira didn't need to know that. I just told her I wanted to be able to hide. We headed there, and listened to the instructor as he explained what materials made for the best ways to hide certain parts of your body, what berries made for good ways to blend into fruitful trees, and various other things. I paid attention to him for once. Like Bradley, I was set on not dying. I was going to win, and prove everyone wrong. This was my time, and soon everyone would know the bird girl.
A/N: I won't be getting much writing done next month as I am participating in NaNoWriMo. If you want to follow me, my username's Roweira. This chapter was done as a practice for NaNoWriMo. I wrote this in 15 minutes. (:
After camouflage, Taira and I floated around. We went to archery, which I ended up getting a bullseye my third try. I was rather excited, and saw a couple Careers staring at me, watching and observing. I quickly grabbed Taira's hand and led her off, the both of us heading off to the hand-in-hand combat, where we spent almost the entirety of the rest of the time. After getting thrown on my butt a couple times by Taira and the male tribute from Five, I decided it'd be best if I didn't break my wings before the Games. Taira and I finished off the time by heading to the station about poisons and foods. I figured it would be valuable information for myself, for sure. I listened with interest, storing the information in my mind.
After it all, I was absolutely exhausted. My back was sore from combat, and my arms were sore from archery. I looked at Taira. She didn't seem all that sore. "How're you feeling about all this?" I asked. For the first time, I wondered why Taira attracted me so much. Something about her was just- kind. I sensed that I may have a hard time killing her. Hopefully someone else would get to her before me.
Taira thought about my question for a moment, rolling her shoulders. "Fine," she said simply. She glanced over at Bradley with the other Careers. "Those Careers are looking at you again." I followed her gaze, returning their stares. They looked away after a moment, walking toward the elevators. "They'll get over it," I said simply. I headed toward the other elevators with Taira. "Next is the testing thingy," I muttered to myself. Immediately, a plan came to my head. They'd know. I was stronger than they thought.