I. am. On. a. ROLL. Congrats to me on another chapter! I've sort of proof read most of it. But it's 2 in the morning for me and I definitely could've missed a couple of typos and mistakes. So, sorry in advance lol. Kalani is so cute, she just wants to swim with dolphins and go to the beach, and the Capitol is just messing everything up for her. BTW I made an aesthetic pinterest board for her, it's so pretty, I love it. ANYWAYS remember: PLEASE REVIEW. I'm blackmailing you with chapters. More reviews = more chapters/faster updates. They make me smile :) Enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think. Should Kalani team up with Cato? Do you think she'd do that to Kai or Rue? What do you you guys think she should do? Either way, she's gotta deal with a lotta death and murder soon, wooooohooooo. Yikes. Thoughts?

Training had consisted of more hand to hand combat. Kai and I took turns tossing knives and handling spears. I knew he was pissed that he had to hold back how talented he was with the weapons, because so was I. But we needed to, it was the one thing we had over the Careers. Even with my alliance to Cato, which was still undetermined, I needed to be able to surprise him should things turn out...not as planned.

During lunch I stayed behind. While everyone ate I stole a snack from the lunch room and snuck back into the training area. It wasn't for anymore training of course, I just wanted to spend some time alone by the pool.

So, after my snack, I slipped off my shoes and dipped my feet into the water. Closing my eyes, I pretended that I was back home. I thought about how my family was doing. My younger siblings would be at school, learning and playing. My brother was probably with Annie, worrying about me. My mother would be throwing herself into her work. That brought me down another trail of thoughts. I missed work. As much as I hated the Capitol for what they were doing to those animals, I loved the rehabilitation center. We used to lie on reports to keep the animals around longer, allowing them to recuperate as much as possible. It was hard knowing that they would never again be able to return to the ocean, they would never survive not knowing how to hunt for themselves, and most of them were meant to live amongst groups but they didn't have that anymore. The best we could do was to try to keep them away from the Capitol for as long as possible.

I thought about Akoni, my favorite little dolphin, one who had been making little progress. I was afraid that I would never get to see him again.

In the midst of my thinking, I hadn't noticed someone come into the room, not until they sat down next to me.

"Thinking about me?"

That made me laugh. And not fake laugh, I mean actually laugh. "You wish."

"I do actually." I looked over to see him placing his feet in the water next to me. "So, what are you really thinking about then?" I didn't know whether to tell him or not. I didn't want to confide in him. But he was there, and I wanted to talk, it didn't really matter who it was to.

"Not that you would know anything about it, Cato, but I was thinking about this place that I used to work at back home." Just mentioning it brought a genuine smile to my face. "My family owns this animal rehabilitation center, and I used to help out a lot there. Animals that the Capitol would send us, if they got sick or hurt we would help them get better. There's this one dolphin that I'm in charge of, his name is Akoni, and he only likes me."

"Can't imagine why." Cato's arm nudged mine. I liked playful Cato, he wasn't as menacing or scary.

"Him and I are best friends actually." I joke.

"Your best friend is a dolphin. That explains so much." He joked back. "I've only ever seen a dolphin once, when my family visited the Capitol. They had this show they were putting on, and we were allowed to feed them if we wanted. They canceled it though. The dolphin wasn't cooperating I guess."

"That's because they're not meant to live like that. They're not entertainment. They're such intelligent and amazing creatures, and they're being treating like dull animals, being told to do mediocre and dumb tricks to appease children. It's sick. They're so so smart... Did you know that dolphins are self aware?"

His eyebrows knitted together and a confused look passed across his face. "I don't really understand what that means…..elaborate for me."

I turned to him, excited that he wasn't blowing off my attempt at conversation, and excited to talk about something I loved so much. "Ok, think of it like this. When you look into a mirror, you see yourself, and you know it's not just someone who looks like you or another human, it's you. Well typically animals will look into a mirror and think that it's just another animal of their own species, but a hand full of them know that it's not. They're able to actually recognize themselves in a mirror and know that that's them. And you know they have distinct personalities? Some of them are playful and others are shy. There's this one dolphin I work with, her name is Moana, and everytime she sees me walking by her pool, she makes a little screeching sound and she waves with her left flipper, and when I get up to the edge of the platform she splashes me, everytime. They understand complex skills, they're able to learn new tasks, their brains are able to actually absorb information and store it for later use, do you understand the complexity behind that? Moana is able to recognize me and distinguish me from other people, and she's become aware of herself at only a few months of age, something that human babies aren't able to do until they're over a year old. It's incredible."

"You sound like you really know what you're talking about."

"Of course I do."

"And you're passionate about it." For once, Cato isn't being an asshole.

"I am." I smiled, and then it fell a little. "I was. I'll miss it. It used to suck getting up ridiculously early in the morning to go help out, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world. We could all learn something from those animals."

"Learn something from an animal?" Cato laughed at my comment.

"Yeah, we can," I shot back. "Certain animals are known to actually show indications of empathy. They feel things at a level that it seems even humans can't compete with. In my district, their have been accounts of dolphins saving sailors and fishermen from drowning and warding off sharks to keep them from attacking. Their care extends across species, and I know that might not mean much to you, but it's incredible, because most animal species don't care about any others but their own, it's the way of the world. Humans can barely pull themselves together to fix our own problems, I mean here we are throwing a bunch of kids into the murder games."

There is a light yet sarcastic chuckle that escapes Cato's lips. "Wow, tell me how you really feel."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "So what about you Two? You do anything special back in your district? C'mon, impress me."

He shook his head. "There wasn't much we were allowed to do actually. Even in my free time, I trained for the games. My dad though, he's a Peacekeeper, he runs the program that trains other peacekeepers, and sometimes I would help out. It wasn't interesting at all, nothing like what you did."

"I was super attracted to you before this, and now that I know you're super boring, I'm super not." I joked with him. He just laughed at my attempt at humor. "Reel me back in Hadley, c'mon. You got any hobbies? Please tell me you're not a total waste. I can't pretend to like a guy who's not in the least bit interesting."

"So, you're gonna take me up on my offer?"

"Maybe if you make it worth my while and prove to me that hanging out with you in those games won't be a total bore fest, I will consider it further."

His devil-may-care smile slipped out again. I was becoming so used to seeing it when it was just the two of us. I was scared to see how much that would change when we entered the arena. "I like swimming."

"No shit." I gasped.

"No shit." He confirmed. "There are a few lakes in Two, they're not extravagant, but they're something. Plus we have a couple pools in the training facilities, I used to spend a lot of time there. I would do laps hours."

No wonder he lasted so long during the water treading exercise. I voiced my thoughts to him.

He scoffed, "Yeah, you think I'd be better at it considering the fact. I thought I would be better at it. Turns out I was wrong, I guess."

My gut wrenched a little. He really was affected by yesterday's exercise. He'd practiced so much, for so long, just to fail in the end, I couldn't imagine how that must feel. I knew going into the exercise either Kai or I were going to have the best time, there was no doubt in my mind; had I lost however, I would have been just as upset.

"Don't beat yourself up about it." I lowered my voice as the other tributes began to file back into the training area. "Treading water is a lot different from swimming, and chances are even if you used to spend hours in the pools back in your district, it comes nowhere near as close to how long Kai and I have back in our own. We basically live in the water over there. And you did really well, your district isn't even known for that and you lasted almost twice as long as all of the other tributes-"

"Yeah, and half as long as you." His tone seemed more clipped all of a sudden. Playful Cato had exited the building, and his replacement: broody Cato. "I should get back to training. Think about my offer, it still stands...for as long as it takes for you to see reason."

He had begun to stand up when I wrapped my hand around his arm and pulled him back down. Being sweet and sensitive toward him wasn't helping. If him and I were going to be partners in that arena, I needed him to be confident of himself - at least up until the end. It seemed like the only thing he responded to was a harsher tone.

"Stop babying yourself and grow up." I whispered to him. "All I've heard for the last couple of days is a back and forth between yes I can and no I can't and I don't know what that sounds like to you, but it sure as hell isn't the thought process of any victor that has made it out of District Two. I don't believe in these games, I think that they're sadistic and twisted, and anyone that thinks killing kids to make a political statement is a good idea should burn in the deepest depths of the ninth circle of Hades. But I believe in you. As much as I hate to admit it, you have the best odds of winning this thing. And you're my ticket to the end, so suck it up, realize what you're worth, and don't take shit from anyone, not even yourself."

I got up after that, determined to be the one to walk away, because a speech like that deserved a dramatic exit. I may have stumbled a little on the wet floor, but hey...it was still dramatic.

a-a

"I feel like I'm gonna puke."

"That's fine honey, just please don't do it on the dress."

Cinna was busy making last minute changes on my outfit for the interviews. It was simple, and absolutely stunning. We had gone for an greek goddess/siren crossover. The Aphrodite and Ares ploy was still on, so Finnick asked for Cinna to play it up in the costumes as much as possible. He wanted everyone to get an idea of what to expect, he wanted them to want us.

"You look stunning, dollface." Speak of the devil. "Cinna is correct though, if you're gonna blow chunks, let us know so I can grab you a garbage can, or else you might ruin your dress and then you'll be walking out on that stage naked. Wait that could work."

"Finn, don't make me throw up on you."

"That's disgusting." Cinna mumbled under his breath.

I ask Finnick for some advice, wanting to know the best way to impress the sponsors. He doesn't even hesitate with his answers. "Be flirty, don't be afraid to mess around with Caesar, he's super easy to talk to and he loves when the tributes are funny and charming. Don't outright mention Cato either, I know it's what we're going for - you know, the whole Katani business - but I want to leave the audience rooting for you two. They'll be way more invested, trust me. Let it slip somehow that you find one of the tributes to be interesting or something, but like in a playful manner, so the audience knows you mean it in a romantic kind of way." He takes a deep breath. "But most of all babe, be yourself." That makes me smile. "You're easy to love. So go out there, be a good little Aphrodite, and make them fall in love with you, my beautiful little goddess."

I blushed a little. "You're such a loser." But I hugged him nonetheless. There was no one else I'd want by my side right now. Finnick was there for me, in every way possible, and he believed in me no matter the reasons not to. In my opinion, I was the luckiest tribute in these games, because I had him.

"One more thing." Cinna shouted over the noise of the speakers near us. The interviews had commenced, and Clove was making her way onto the stage. Each tribute only had a couple of minutes on stage, so everyone was hoping to make a good impression...well it didn't have to be good, it just had to be an impression.

Something fell in between my collar bones, making me jump at the intrusion. Looking down, I saw that it was the shark tooth necklace Finnick had given me. I had taken it off so that they could apply some shiny lotion to my upper body, and had forgotten to put it back on. It didn't exactly go with the look; I didn't care.

"Something to remind you of exactly who you are." Cinna kissed my forehead and cupped my cheeks. He'd done an excellent job once again. I was wearing a simple powder blue gown with thin straps that wrapped around my neck. It had a low v-cut and was made of thin material. I wasn't wearing anything underneath, almost all of back was on display, and the slit on the left side extended all the way up to the top of my thigh. Simple, and seductive. My hair was in some nice beach waves with a single flower resting on my left ear, and my face was given another natural look with the makeup that my glam squad had used. And I wasn't wearing shoes, courtesy of both Finnick and Cinna who agreed that I didn't need any, just like during the tribute parade. Instead I wore a kupe'e on each ankle, which were like anklets traditionally worn in my district, I choose flowers for them.

"Heads up! Our boy toy, egghead junior, is on." Johanna had walked over and made herself known through, of course, a sarcastic remark. Turning my attention to the screen, I saw that Cato was indeed shaking hands with Caesar. The applause from the audience melted away and they began with the typical interview questions.

So Cato, how are you liking the Capitol so far? A score of ten, how impressive; tell us how did you manage that? Missing home at all? Anything you wanna say to your friends and family back in District Two?

Halfway through the interview and I thought Cato wasn't gonna mention me at all, not that I cared. Turns out, however, he didn't need to, because Caesar was one step ahead of him. "Cato, there is something specific that I'd like to talk about with you. I think you know where I'm going with this! It has to do with a certain goddess, shall we say, during the tribute parade!" Cato throws Caesar and the audience a dashing smile, one that even makes me blush a little. "You simply must give us something to work with! We're dying to know any details you're willing to give."

Cato lets out a little chuckle and rubs the back of his neck. He's playing everything up, hoping that the audience catches on to the (fake) little lovestruck look in his eyes. "Aphrodite and I had a moment, have had a couple since then, and may just continue to have more in the future. That's all I'm willing to say." Did he just refer to me as Aphrodite? Fucking hell, this guy is good.

"Cato, my boy!" Caesar stops him. "You can't do that to us! You can't tell us that you've had moments and then just leave it at that!"

"I'm afraid I have to, Caesar. Look, I know that we all know exactly who I'm talking about, so I won't refer to her specifically, but I don't like many people...and yet, for some reason, I happen to like her. She's got something. That's all I'm saying, for real this time."

"Well, unfortunately we are all out of time anyways, which is very upsetting because I was hoping to squeeze more out of you," The audience laughs, "but alas, it must end. We hope to see what you're truly made of in the days to come Cato, thank you so much for being here."

"It's been my pleasure, Caesar." One more faint-worthy smirk from the hulk from Two and then he exits the stage, directly passing me on the way. We make eye contact for the briefest of seconds, and I decide it's my turn to play the part of endearing goddess. My hand moves out to lightly brush his forearm, continuing down to his hand. I wink at him, and he squeezes my hand before smirking and walking off to his mentor. Just like that the moment is over, but the cameras had definitely caught it, and I was already preparing for the onslaught of questions Caesar would throw at me.

While District Three's tributes went on, I decided now would be the perfect time to use the restroom. Finnick gave me a piggyback ride to and from the bathrooms given that I had no shoes, and I didn't feel like walking. We made it back just in time to see the boy from District Three prancing off the stage.

"And now ladies and gentlemen, the moment I have all been waiting for," Caesar said excitedly, "please give a warm welcome to the stage, Miss Kalani Maverick!"

Finnick gives me a sweet kiss on the cheek before I walk off. The audience is loud, many of them are out of their seats and I notice that flowers are strewn across the stage. I get another idea and begin to pick up as many of the flowers that I can on my way to my seat.

Caesar looks very confused and isn't afraid to voice it. "Everything you do does not cease to mystify me. Do you plan on presenting the tributes with flowers again my dear?"

"Oh, no, I actually had something else in mind," I keep my voice soft, "do we have any wire? I know Cinna does actually." I beckon Cinna, wanting him to bring what I needed. Cinna, being the intelligent designer that he is, knew exactly what I seemed to be doing. He made his way onto the stage and held out what I had asked for. "Everyone, this is my amazing designer and good friend, Cinna, he's the genius behind everything that I have worn and will ever wear again." The man gives the crowd a smile and winks at me, kissing my cheek before he leaves the stage.

"Everyone loves you, you know that right?" Caesar seems taken aback by me, which makes me happy. I giggle a little and begin to twist the flowers into the wire. "Seriously, I've had conversations with so many people about the tributes this year, and you know who happens to be at the center of it all? You!"

"Well, I am glad to hear that." I smile.

"Let's talk then while you work on whatever it is your working on," he begins, "you're obviously from District Four, the fishing district. Tell us about it. What was life like for you growing up? We're all curious."

"My life was pretty great growing up." I smiled, thinking about my home. "Family is important back in my district, but not many people realize that family means something different there. It's not just about who you're related to. It's about the people who you care most about. For instance, I've known Finnick for most of my life, and while we may not be related by blood, he's my brother, we're family. Ohana. Same goes for Annie Cresta and Mags, victors that I am very close with from back home. I don't even consider my cousins to be anything less than my brothers and sisters. And Kai, he is family as well. It's a huge part of our culture. Family is everything."

Caesar lays a hand over his heart and sighs. "That's truly beautiful. Kalani, I have to be honest, you are such a kind soul. Tell us then, what makes you such a competitor in these games?"

My response was quick. I knew he would ask me something like that. "Because I'm going to fight to come back to my family. No matter the cost."

There are cheers from the audience. Inwardly, I cringe, outwardly, I smile. "Now that's the spirit! That's what I love to hear!" We move onto another topic. He mentions my outfit. "Cinna has done an amazing job, as you said, once again. I spoke to him a little while before the show and he was telling me that he wanted to incorporate a little bit of your culture into your appearance tonight. Would you explain to us how he's done that?"

"Of course!" Cinna had set everything up so perfectly. I would have to thank him later. "I'm wearing a kupe'e on both of my ankles, we wear these during dances in Four. And I'm also wearing a plumeria flower behind my ear."

"Oh, that flower behind your ear is symbolic?" Cinna questions me, genuinely confused. "What exactly does it symbolize then?"

I had finished what I had been working on and stood up to stand above Caesar, placing the flower crown that I had made him atop his head. "Relationship status actually, a way for people to tell if you're taken or single."

He laughed and thanked me while fixing the crown. "Is this traditional to your district as well?"

"Yes, it's called a haku."

"Well, I am honored. Thank you so much." Caesar smiled. "But let's divert back to before. How does it symbolize relationship status exactly?"

There it was. "Depending on which ear you place the flower behind, it would let people know."

"That's interesting! So then...which side means taken?"

I did my best to seem smitten and mischievous as I let out a tiny giggle and hid behind my hair.

"Ahhh, I think I know the answer." The clip of Cato and I briefing holding hands from before plays across the screen behind me. "There have been rumors, shall we say, about a certain male tribute and you."

I wish I could say the blushing was fake, I really do. But the mixture of endless flirtiness and with how nervous I was having so much attention drawn to me was making for a bad combination. "Everything you need to know has been said, and I have nothing else to add."

"Surely you're lying!" The odd colored host shouted. "Ok, ok, at least give me this...will we get moments of you two in the games? Because I think all of us can agree, we adore the idea of you two together."

I shrug, laughing again. "I guess you'll have to wait and see, Caesar."

"Ha, ha!" He claps his hands and throws his head back. "My you two are extremely tight lipped about this! Guess we'll have to wait for the games ladies and gentlemen. Now a couple of more things Kalani, I know we're running pretty low on time. Some people have been calling you by the name Aphrodite, as I'm sure you may know. But as it turns out Aphrodite had many lovers in her lifetime, and there has been talk about other men in your life, we know there is a main man in your life, but be truthful with us...is there anyone else?"

I know at this moment the camera is probably panning in on every guy I'm associated with. Cato. Finnick. Kai. Hell, even Cinna. I was crafty with my answer, having rehearsed this one beforehand as well. "It's no secret that Aphrodite had affairs with a multitude of men, however, in the end, it's a fact that Ares was her true love."

"Be still my beating heart." Caesar swooned playfully. "Finally, we get something out of one of the two of you." Cheers and clapping continue to come from the crowd. "I wanted to address one more thing before you leave the stage today. It has to do with nicknames again. I've heard that some of the mentors and tributes have taken to calling you baby shark. I have to say, that's a little harsh, don't you think?"

Everyone is laughing at my nickname, but instead of getting angry like some may expect, I just smirk. "Well, I think my competitors should do well to remember something in that arena Caesar."

"Oh," he smiles, encouraging me to continue "and what is that?"

"A baby shark is still a goddamn shark."