Chapter Nine, Brute or Brain

"Artemis?" A cheerful voice rang in the boy's room. "Wake up, we have a big, big, big day ahead of us!" Effie knocked on his door a few times before deciding to open it.

Inside of the room, she found a really sleepy kid among the pillows of the bed. The woman could not help but to notice how much younger he looked without the serious expression he usually sported. Maybe, he would look like that after the Games… Or maybe he would survive…

Effie shook the strange thought from her head. "It's 6:00 AM, time to wake up," she nearly sang.

The boy moved slightly, slowly opening his mismatching eyes. "Oh… Good morning Effie," he gave her a polite smile.

"Good morning!" she replied in a sigh. "I will leave you a few minutes to get ready and then you can head for the dining room to get your breakfast." Artemis gave her a nod. Effie smiled and turned around before adding, "Your training outfit is the first one in the dresser," she then left, heading for Silyah's room.

Artemis walked to the dresser, finding the said training outfit.

The top was a simple black sport T-shirt with blue accents on the sides and on the shoulders. The number three adorned the back and the sleeves of the garment, printed on the fabric with grey ink.

The pants were dark cargo-like pants that looked rather comfortable to run around with.

After having taken a quick shower and throwing on his outfit, Artemis walked to the dining hall.

A yawning Silyah arrived at the table shortly after him. "Good morning," she said in a tired voice. She clipped her bangs away from her face, which, added to the blue on her training shirt, accentuated the color of her pale eyes. "I don't know about you, but I could have slept for another century; the beds here are so cosy," mentioned the girl, taking a cup of fruit salad on the large table.

"That would have been ideal, but frankly, Silyah, I don't think they would ever let us," said Artemis as he sat down beside her.

"Considering that we have a 'big, big, big day,' Effie would certainly not let us sleep a little longer," laughed Silyah before sighing.

Artemis gave a small chuckle, even though it was not exactly funny.

"Morning kids," Beetee arrived in the room, cleaning up his glasses. He put them on and focused on the room. "Oh, there you are," he took place in front of them. "Ready to begin your training?" The man did not even wait for an answer before he added, "I would like to know if you would prefer to be coached together, or separately during your time at the Training Center."

Silyah gave him a look as if to say, "Don't think about it, I won't take any important decisions just after I woke up" and Artemis did not really know much about training procedures… Therefore, Beetee waited impatiently for an answer, which he eventually received at the end of the breakfast.

"I think that we could have a little bit of both…" said Silyah, making the statement sound like a question.

"Yes," nodded Artemis. "You could train us together for basic lessons and then end them with separate coaching."

Beetee seemed to approve of the approach. "Great! Then, let us begin," he announced, adjusting his glasses over his nose. "Today, we will start by talking of the physical aspects of your trainings, since last time we only spoke about your personalities."

Artemis nodded again, despite the fact that there was not too much to start talking about when physical aspects were concerned.

Silyah gave a half-laugh, half-grunt, "Physical training… Well, at least there is no way I will be able to get any worst than now…"

"I believe we will have to take baby steps," figured Beetee.

"More like mice steps…" Said Artemis.

"Is it that bad?" Wondered the mentor.

Silyah nodded furiously. "I don't know about Artemis, but in my case, yes that bad," she replied, barely exaggerating.

"I'm probably even worst than you, Silyah. I happen to have two left feet when physical activities are involved," Artemis could not lie about that.

"You can't be as bad as me. I probably have the physical skills of a sloth."

Silyah's comment made Beetee suppress a chuckle.

"You've got yourself a bet," sighed Artemis.

"So, the bottom line is, we've got some work to do," said Beetee, opening his notebook.

All morning, the mentor taught his tributes little tips and tricks on how to use their mental advantage in order to over come the physical difficulties. Positive thinking, he called it. He gave some examples such as, "When you are running, imagine that something you adore is waiting for you at the end of the road instead of thinking about the fact that you might be chased."

Artemis had raised an eyebrow. He had never really thought of it that way before. He had wondered about what he could possibly think about… Holly, most likely… But she would not be waiting at the end of the run anyway; she was probably not even in Panem.

Silyah, on the other side, told Beetee that she was not much of a runner, but that if ever she had to escape a dire situation, she would run like the wind. An advantage of not being the bravest person on Earth, she guessed.

A tip that had struck both Silyah and Artemis had been about weapon handling. "When most people pick up a weapon, they think about how much damage they could possibly do with it," the mentor began. "But truly, a weapon's damage level is all about mathematics and calculations. It is about angles and weight, not about strength and bloodlust."

"That might be true, but to be able to pick up the weapon must surely count for a lot," Artemis had pointed out.

"That's when the choice of your weapon comes in. You could do just as much damage with throwing knifes than with an axe. Speaking of… We will head for the common dining room in a few moments. Your real training will begin shortly after dinner."

It was about noon when the District 3 tributes and their mentor arrived in the cafeteria. Other people were already waiting in line with their trays in order to get something to eat.

Now that everyone was free of makeup and costumes, most faces were recognizable from the Reapings.

After having filled their own trays, the District 3 tributes went to sit at a table, just beside the girl from 6.

The girl with the brown curls looked up to them with dark blue eyes, about the same shade as Artemis's right one. "You are Artemis and Silyah, from District 3, yes?"

"We are," nodded Silyah, picking up her fork. "You're Silver, right?"

"Yes," replied the girl. By her looks, she was probably older than them both; 17 years old, most likely.

"Hey, beauty!" A painfully sarcastic, strong-looking boy with light brown hair called out for Silver to hear. He took a sip of red liquid, wine, by all odds. "You're going down," he added with a sly smile and a wink.

Silver expression perfectly matched his. "Normally, I wouldn't give an advice to a wannabe such as you, Caskar, but I feel sorry for you… So, out in the arena, you better watch your back, 'cause that's where I'll be. Waiting."

There was a strong hate-filled tension between these two. Silyah could feel it in the air. With luck, Silver and Caskar would be the center of the show and the Gamemakers would not bother to make the other tributes's lives too difficult.

"Oh, you will be hiding behind my back? To scared to face me, maybe?" laughed the arrogant boy before his mentor suggested him to sit down and eat instead of provoking the other tributes.

Silver's blue eyes rested on Caskar for a few more seconds before they turned back to Artemis and Silyah. "Annoying," she murmured. "He will never win, just because he thinks that he is the best. The winner will succeed because he or she will be clever, not brutal."

"We're on the same page," muttered Silyah.

Silver smiled, "Yes, you're from 3, you must be clever. That might be good for you. No-brainers like Caskar will spend their Games hunting like stupid animals…"

"Though, a stupid animal who knows his prey might be more dangerous than one who simply hunts," thought Artemis out-loud.

Any further comment on the subject was found to be interrupted by the arrival of someone new at the table. "So, you like them ladies with lovely brown hair and blue eyes, don't you?" Asked the boy to Artemis as he sat down. Silyah rolled her eyes. Why did Kalheb had to sit beside them?

Silver raised an eyebrow. "Jealous, aren't you?"

"No, nothing of the sort. I just thought that Mr. Fowl could share," Kalheb took Silyah's hand, nearly ready to kiss it, but the girl jerked it back.

"Hands off, Casanova," winked Silver. "I think that she is taken," Silyah, Kalheb and Artemis all raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, really? My apology, Silyah," he told the girl. "What about, Ms. Silver?"

The pale girl gave him a sad smile, "Sorry, out of your reach," she unfolded her hands, clearly showing the ring around her left ring finger.

Kalheb exaggerated a devastated look, "How disappointing…"

"Hold up," Silyah shook her head, just realizing what Silver had said about her. "What makes you think that I am taken?" she asked.

The other girl smirked in a way that vaguely resembled Artemis's vampire smile. "Well, I thought that is was a couple thing to dress alike."

Silyah thought back about it… Dressing alike? And then, she remembered the blue and grey tones from the Reaping, the leather jackets Artemis and her had both worn while getting off the train… "Oh…" said Silyah. "That thing…"

"There is nothing between us," Artemis broke in. "Besides we met on the day of the Reaping."

"I guess we are only new-found friends with similar interests," added Silyah, as if that might cut it.

Silver grinned, "Whatever you say," she said, before getting up, having finished her meal. "See you in training."

"See you later, Silv," waved Kalheb in a sensual tone, even if he knew he did not stand a chance with her. Silver glared at the District 9 boy, rolling her eyes as she left the room. Kalheb's gaze then went to Silyah. "So, I take it your single then," he winked jokingly at her, though he decided not to push the subject too far. He was, after all, a gentleman.

"You are really not helping you case," laughed Silyah.

"Oh, please, let me have a little bit of fun before I die," replied Kalheb to the District 3 girl. Silyah hid a frown. Kalheb seemed to know and acknowledge the fact that he was not going to make it… Or maybe that was just a strategy.

Artemis had stopped upon the same detail. Not to mention that the comment about having fun did not exactly improve the first impression he had of the boy.

The tributes ate for the most part in silence, sometimes interrupted by casual comments from Kalheb. The boy who was getting on Silyah's nerve ever since the Reapings was not that bad after all. He was still a tad annoying, but not as much as the girl would have thought.

At one point, a feminine voice broke through the cafeteria. "Hey, Kalheb? Why do you sit with them? I thought you were better than that," called the feline redheaded girl from District 1. She was seated beside Caskar, amongst a table of Career tributes.

Kalheb shrugged, not really liking the girl's attitude, but rather enjoying her looks. "Don't be jealous, honey," he paused, letting the girl react to the nickname. "I'll come and have a chat with you, but I thought that you would have preferred it to happen in a more private place.

The girl raised a well-shaped eyebrow, giving him a smile. "Join me for training?"

He blew her a light kiss. "It would be my pleasure, Geneva."

"Your pleasure? Indeed," said the District 1 girl, not even trying to show any modesty.

"Looks like I won't be trying to steal your girl after all," Kalheb told Artemis before getting up.

Artemis's mouth nearly fell down to his chest. "She – She is not my girl…"

Kalheb laughed softly as he left with Geneva. "Whatever you say," he replied, borrowing Silver's words.

"Well, that was awkward," whispered Silyah.

"Yes," Artemis got up. Though his features did not show it, he felt slightly uncomfortable at the moment.

If the Hunger Games's violence was not to exterminate him, socialization with the other tributes certainly would.