Chapter 23:
Training Day Two
Kazuyuki Ikeda, 14, District Eight
Kazu doesn't get why people are acting so damn upset about Baylor's death. One would think they'd be thrilled to see one of their competitors taken off the board before the Games even started, especially an older one. Someone they'd be willing to kill in a few days once they're in the arena. Kazu sure is fine with it and wouldn't mind if a career or two was taken out too before the Games start. She was just another tribute, someone they'd never met before. Someone who volunteered for this, just like everyone else.
So what's the big deal for the others?
Take Karter… Her death took someone fun and made him just plain miserable to be around. He barely kept up a conversation with Kazu yesterday in training. And he can get that seeing someone get shot next to him might have been a bit fucked up. But at least it wasn't him that got shot, right? Kazu wouldn't have been this fucked up if Rhiannon had been shot next to him – at least, he doesn't think so. If Karter got too close to his District partner…is he going to get too attached to Kazu and Lobo?
He really thought they had seemed cool and good allies. But now…he just doesn't feel good about this alliance anymore. And that's without even taking into consideration the whole third wheel situation.
He thought Karter and Lobo were bad at the banquet. But now…like damn. He glances over at them sitting on the opposite side of the training center from him. They didn't even ask him if he wanted to join them at the hand-to-hand station, just letting him go off and do whatever he wants. Lobo fights with a trainer, adeptly dodging him and landing a few hits, as Karter watches on at the side. He's not the only one watching as a couple of the careers nearby have paused to watch Lobo and whisper to each other about it.
Great…so not only is Kazu a third wheel, he also will get targeted by careers by association… No, this alliance isn't going to work. He needs to do what Astrid suggested and just run wild on his own, not trusting anyone and watching his own back. Fuck this shit, he's out.
Kazu heads over to the pair, stomping just a little bit across the training center and drawing the attention of a couple tributes and he gives them a small sneer to stop looking his way. Even though he really shouldn't scare off all potential ally options…but then again, they're pretty much all paired up at this point and he isn't going to join someone last minute.
Karter looks up at Kazu approaching them and gives a half-hearted wave. "Hey Kazu, what's going on?" he asks and him speaking up distracts Lobo for a moment, allowing the trainer to hit him in the chest.
He falls back and gasps a little for breath and Karter rushes over to him to help him up. Lobo doesn't seem to want to take his hand for a moment but finally accepts it, allowing Karter to pull him up before he immediately drops his hand. He rubs at the spot on his chest and glares over at the trainer, who just gives him a shrug. He grumbles something under his breath that makes the corners of Karter's lip turn up before they face Kazu, who's just standing there with his arms crossed. "What do you want?"
"I came to talk about the alliance," Kazu says, not about to beat around the bush with them. "It's not working."
Karter raises his eyebrows in a brief bit of surprise and Lobo scoffs at him. "You've barely tried to be part of it," Lobo points out to him.
"And you've barely tried to include me," Kazu counters right back at Lobo. The two of them stare each other down for a minute, both glaring a bit and daring the other to say something else.
Karter finally steps between them and puts a hand on each of their shoulders. Lobo bats his hand away but stays near him and Kazu slowly shrugs him off. "Hey, that's alright," Karter says quietly, not really looking that disappointed. Maybe he expected it to happen. Or maybe he just didn't really care about Kazu in the first place. Probably the latter. "Like I said before, no hard feelings if you don't want to be allies. Right, Lobo?"
He elbows the boy in question and Lobo crosses his arms as he continues to glare at Kazu. There are definitely some hard feelings there but whatever, Kazu doesn't give a damn. He doesn't need these people with him. He can do just fine on his own. "Whatever," Lobo finally grumbles and turns back to the trainer, waving him onto the mat again.
Karter watches Lobo go back to his fight before turning back to Kazu and giving him a sad smile. "For real…no hard feelings about it," he says and Kazu raises one eyebrow, finding it hard to believe he really thinks that. "Seriously, I get it. I've watched enough Games to know that some alliances just aren't meant to be. So no harm in figuring that out now instead of in the arena."
"I guess," Kazu replies with a shrug. "Well…good luck then," he says and takes a couple steps backwards, before turning and leaving him behind. He's honestly a little surprised at how well that went – and doesn't quite trust them to mean what they said.
He glances back over his shoulder at them as he gets closer to the agility course, but Karter is already focused on Lobo once more. It's as if Kazu hadn't even interrupted them. Yeah…he doesn't feel like he was ever really part of that alliance. If he had stuck with them, he'd be the weakest link and the first to go. So really, this is for the best that he's on his own. He'll watch his own back and won't trust anyone he comes across.
He knows where to place his bets and this alliance isn't it. So he'll gladly go alone and under the radar if it means staying alive a little longer.
He looks over the agility courses and gravitates towards the toughest one. The trainer steps up to him as he approaches. "This is the advanced course."
"Yeah I know, that's why I'm going to it," he says with a scoff and roll of his eyes.
"It's for people who know what they're doing."
"I'll be just fine," Kazu tells them, stepping past them. He can already feel the thrill of excitement the course will bring just looking at it. He turns back to the trainer and smirks at them, both annoyed and smug about how much they doubt him. He'll show them up for sure. "Don't worry, I won't die."
Valletta McClellan, 18, District Four
It shouldn't be surprised that she's on the outskirts of the career pack. It's always been the case throughout her time at the training center so really, it's not that shocking the others have seemed to pair up and she's the one left on the outskirts. Still…she had hoped it would be differently here. It's fine… It's better not to be close to her allies, make it easier for when the time comes where they have to die for her to win.
But she wants to at least feel included.
She thought after the party maybe Adonis liked her… But his flirting stopped after the party and he's been glued to Vulcan's side as they have competitions during training. None of them have even come to ask her what's going on as she goes through the agility course over and over. But it's fine, she can use this time to study them and make her own strategy.
Valletta puts her foot down on a spot she's hit every other time, yet this time it slips, and she lets out a curse as she reaches out for something to grab to stay upright. She barely catches herself and stands there for a moment, clinging to the ropes and desperately trying not to fall as she looks down and sees a few tributes nearby watching. Damn, she can't let them see her as weak. After a few deep breaths, she gets her footing stable again and finishes up the course, at a slower pace than before, and sets off towards a different station, not needing that embarrassment again. God, she could just hear the trainees at home making comments at her, the echoes of the constant bullying for her height and the lack of nimbleness it came with.
Unlike Juno who seems to be so nimble and light on their feet, despite barely being shorter than her. How is that even fair? And speaking of…where did they even go?
She scans the room as she sips water, trying to look casual about it, but no one is paying attention to her now that she isn't on the verge of falling. Her father did always say she'd be great at going unnoticed completely if she wasn't so tall. There's Mercy and Chantelle over at the spears, with Mercy chatting away while Chantelle focuses on throwing at the targets. Then not too far away are Adonis and Vulcan at the throwing axes, the Capitolite laughing as he tries to push Vulcan's buttons in a competition.
And then there's Bez, taking over the bow and arrows station and being very vocal with their frustration as they get back into it, much to Valletta's displeasure. There was only so much she could take of that before she had to leave her favorite station. The siblings are scattered across the room, with Farren punching a bag as a trainer holds it for him, surprising Valletta with his strength, and Kasada incredibly focused as she runs the track.
And…there they are, but…why are they chatting with Shams, Ciana, and Rhiannon at the camouflage station? She has no idea… Can she trust them? If there's anyone she should be able to trust in the arena, it would be her District partner… But she barely knows anything about them. Hell, she doesn't even think she knows the reason why they volunteered! And let alone if they are truly on their side or if they're actually with Bez…
That's it, she has to know if she can trust them or not. And yeah, she should probably wait until later but if she can't trust them, she needs to know now.
Valletta storms over to Juno and the three girls look up first at her approach. Rhiannon makes a noise of fear and puts her head down right away, and Ciana adjusts how she is sitting to put herself partially in front of her. Shams hesitantly meets her gaze, but she clutches the plant in her hand so tightly.
Juno is the last one to slowly turn and look up at her, and they just smirk and give a salute. "District partner, howdy," they say and gesture at the three girls, who are still apprehensive about them being there. "I'm having a lovely chat with these ladies as we study poisonous plants, care to join us?"
"I'd like to talk to you," Valletta says quietly, briefly glancing over at the girls as they try not to look like they're listening. "Alone, please."
"Sure, of course," Juno says, standing up nimbly and brushing off non-existent dirt from their pants. They grin down at the girls, "Thanks for entertaining a wee little career like me. Hopefully we can chat again."
Juno gestures for Valletta to lead the way and she heads off to a different station, trying to put some distance between them and find one that's empty. "What were you doing talking to them?" Valletta asks in a whisper when they finally sit down.
Juno shrugs as they start grabbing some rope to build a trap and Valletta stares at them for a few seconds until they gesture at the supplies. "If you're trying not to draw attention to ourselves, you should actually work at the station."
"Fine," Valletta says and starts picking up her own supplies, half-heartedly working on it as she watches Juno. "And you didn't answer my question."
Juno grins at that before ducking their head back down, hiding their face behind their hair as they work. "Just trying to see if Ardent is working with them or not."
"And?" Valletta asks, raising an eyebrow at them. They stay silent for a minute, just working on their trap, until she lets out a sigh and sets down her own stuff. That finally gets them to look over at her, casual smirk on their face. "Juno, I have no damn clue if I can trust you or not."
"You shouldn't trust anyone," Juno replies seriously, meeting her gaze head on. They adjust their hair over their eye for a moment before giving her a shrug, "Especially not me."
"But we're District partners…" she says quietly, barely holding back a frown at their response.
"And only one person is going to make it out alive," Juno tells her point blank, making her sigh.
"I know that," Valletta responds, crossing her arms as she studies them. "But don't you have any District loyalty? Because you should. We should be working together to get the win for Four, especially after how close we've come the last two years."
"There's only one person from Four who has my loyalty and I'll be quite frank, it's not you," Juno replies coolly and they stare each other down for a few seconds, as Valletta tries not to hide the fact that their rejection stings a bit. "The sooner you realize you can't trust anyone in these Games, even me, the better your odds will be. We can work together but I won't be throwing away my life for you and I don't expect the same from you."
"I see," Valletta says quietly, not knowing what else to even say to them after that. They raise an eyebrow at her, waiting to see if she has more to say. "So are you definitely with our alliance?"
Juno gives the most unconvincing grin to her. "I'm working with the careers right now, yes," they answer carefully before moving to stand up. They stretch their arms above their head for a moment before looking back down at her. "Now, I'm going to go chat with Bez and see what they are up to."
They don't even wait for her to respond and leave her sitting there as they saunter off towards Bez. They light up at Juno's arrival and talk animatedly, gesturing at their bow and even showing off a shot that hits the outer ring of the target. Juno then steps up behind them and helps adjust their pose, standing closer than Valletta is comfortable about, and she turns away before they have the chance to get even more inappropriate.
She sighs to herself and looks down at the trap supplies, wondering what to even do. She thought she could at least have District loyalty from Juno but they've made it clear she won't. She really thought she would go into the Games with at least one person to watch her back…
But looks like she will have to be on her own, even if she has allies. It will just make victory that much more satisfying in the end…
As long as no one betrays her before she gets there.
Frederick Baldwin, 15, District Eleven
Ricky throws another dart angrily at the board, grumbling to himself when it lands outside of the ring, along with the dozen darts before it. He stomps over to go remove it and jumps at the laughter coming from across the room, before glaring over at them. Can't they see he wants to be in the rec room moping around but can't when they're clearly having a good time?! But Karter doesn't notice Ricky's glare at his laughter, as he leans against his billiards stick and is too focused on Lobo in front of him putting on a big show of hitting the cue and missing.
Shouldn't Karter be more fucked up by his District partner getting shot right next to him? He seemed that way in training, so why can't he still be that way? Does he not care? And how come Lobo managed to get an ally and Ricky hasn't? He's just as angry as he is, if not more! Like…Lobo trained for this but Ricky was just trying to stop his brother from ever getting freedom. Wow, how dare Ricky want to keep an arsonist, dog murdering piece of shit human being in jail for life.
Assholes… They just don't get it.
Ricky lets out a frustrated curse as he throws the dart again, barely landing inside the ring this time. None of this is going as he expected it to. How is it getting near the end of day two of training and he still doesn't have an ally? Would they rather be stuck here with fucking psychopathic Walker?! His brother would have torn these people apart, been so fucking thrilled at the sight of Baylor getting shot. He would have spent the whole pre-Games restrained because he would try to harm the others.
They should be grateful they have Ricky here instead of him. But they aren't. Because they don't know that what they missed out on. Instead, Ricky is just that annoying asshole no one wants to ally with – or isn't dumb enough to fall for his tricks. The only consolation prize is knowing Sonya was rejected by her choice of ally too and he isn't the only one.
But still…what the fuck?
He lets out a frustrated yell as he throws the last dart and it lands in the wall, burying deep and no doubt leaving a hole behind. Oops, he doesn't care. The Capitolites can deal with fixing one tiny hole.
"You know you're supposed to hit within the circle, right?"
Ricky turns to sneer at Sonya and give a snippy remark, but stops short when he finds her there with Pinova, Kanzi, and Ain. "What's this all about?" he asks, gesturing at the mentors and escort. "Hosting some kind of intervention with me?"
"No, just thought we could use some fun as a District team," Pinova tells him with a gentle smile that has him on guard.
"No one does things without some ulterior motive," Ricky points out as Sonya goes up to the dart board and starts collecting them.
Kanzi laughs at his statement and points at him with a proud look on her face. "See? I told you he wouldn't believe you people," she tells Pinova and the younger mentor lets out a huff as she puts her hands on her hips. Beside her, Ain gets an amused smile at her reaction and puts a hand on her shoulder, as Kanzi turns to Ricky and gives him a shrug. "I mean, I won't turn down a round or two of darts. But these ones have ulterior motives."
Ricky crosses his arms as he narrows his eyes at them, ultimately focusing on Sonya. "What do you want?"
Pinova and Ain share a look at his question but Sonya doesn't back down. In fact, she's been one of the only people that hasn't backed down at his stubborn anger… "I think we should be allies," she finally says with a shrug before she lines up in front of the board and takes a shot, landing in the wall as well.
"It's all in the elbow," Ain says quietly as Sonya goes to throw again and shows her the right technique, while Ricky stands there in disbelief.
He finally lets out a snort after she gives another throw, at least landing on the board this time, and she turns towards him. "Why, because you have no other options? No thanks, I don't want to be your last choice."
"Hey I mentioned on the way to the Capitol that I wouldn't be opposed to being allies but you insisted on flirting around," Sonya says, crossing her arms and staring him down. He mimics her actions and he glares at her, refusing to be the one to back down first. "And just how well did that go for you?"
Their stare down is interrupted by a loud yell and they flinch as they look over at the elevator, but it's just Mord letting out a whoop of excitement as he steps off, followed shortly behind by Sloan, Roo, and Lucky. When Mord sees Ain there, he points over with both hands. "Ain! Dude, let's go! We need some dramatic music for when I whoop their asses!"
"Oh boy," Ain mutters under his breath and stays put for a moment, clutching his flute to his chest.
"Go have fun with them," Pinova tells him, hint of teasing in her voice before she gently pushes him towards them. "If you need to be rescued, you know the secret cue to give."
"Alright, alright," Ain replies and slowly heads over to the escorts. He gets dragged into their group right away by Sloan and Mord, and he looks back at Pinova with a worried look.
Ricky finally replies to Sonya when she turns back to him, eyebrow raised in questioning. "It didn't go well," he grumbles, still annoyed by it. He just wanted someone he could easily manipulate…and Sonya is too stubborn for that. But…
"Come on, allying with me can't be worse than having no allies," Sonya points out to him and he hates that she's right.
"It will look good to sponsors if you're teamed up," Kanzi tells him and he gives a quick scowl her way and she holds up a hand defensively. "Hey I'm just saying, they like seeing District unity, or whatever bullshit you want to call it."
"I think it's a good idea," Pinova adds quietly with an encouraging smile, yet her eyes are still full of sadness and fear. "And…we can team up and get better help for you."
"You better not slow me down," Ricky finally says, pointing over at Sonya.
She narrows her eyes at him and lets out a huff of frustration. "You better not slow me down," she counters and they get into a stare down once more. "Come on, Ricky, even you can admit in that thick head of yours that this is a good idea."
She's right, he can admit it's a good idea…but he stubbornly wants to have been the one to have come up with it. Yet he gets the vibe that if he turns her down now, she won't make the offer again and then he'll really be on his own. And with two career packs this year… "Fine, I'll be your ally."
"I knew you'd come to your senses," Sonya says, smiling at his response. He just pouts a bit at her response, not sure how to feel about it. He's…not used to people putting up with him and wanting to stick around.
So instead, he holds out his hand palm up and gestures at her, "Now give me a dart and let me show you how it's done."
Sonya splits the darts with him, a grin on her face at the competition. "Oh, you're on. I'm going to kick your ass."
Anastacia Astoria, Survivor of the Quarter Quell
Anastacia can't even see but even she can tell something is bothering Elias. From both the lack of chatting and the fact that he didn't have his usual happiness when the two sat down for evening wine time and bubble baths. Granted, she can understand with everything that's going on – and she's certainly been feeling her own paranoia and anxiety for her family.
But Elias always talks to her about what's going on. So for him to be quiet…it's a damn big deal and she is going to get to the bottom of it. But she will get that information while she enjoys some damn bubbles and has a nice relaxing soak with him in the tub as two platonic best friends do. It's either he joins her or she slips and cracks her head open on the slippery floor – that's almost happened one too many time.
Anastacia sits on the edge of the tub and sticks her hand in, testing the water and sighing in happiness at the warmth. This is going to feel amazing. "You said Radian got some bath bombs?" she asks Elias as she starts tossing her clothes wherever in the room, not caring at all. After the time she slipped out of the shower and Elias ran in to her bare ass, she just stopped caring. She sticks her toes in and makes a squeal as she yanks her foot back and slowly puts it in the water. "Hot, hot, hot," she mutters as she gets in the water, but once fully in – God, she loves this tub – she relaxes on the side and lets out a sigh. "Alright, surprise me."
"If you say so," Elias says quietly and she hears a soft plop followed by fizzing.
She swirls the water around with her hands as Elias takes off his prostheses before he gets in on the other end and takes a deep breath, trying to figure it out. "Damn, this is good…I don't know what it is but I'm taking some back to One with us."
"It is shaped like a peach and he said it was called…" Elias pauses and Anastacia takes another whiff, getting the peach smell but there's something else there. "Bootylicious."
"Booty…licious," Anastacia repeats slowly before letting out a small sigh and holding her hand out for her wine glass. "That's it, he's not allowed to buy any more bath bombs for us."
Elias passes her a glass and she shakes her head as she takes a sip, trying to hold back a chuckle about it. That damn boy… She needs wine just to put up with his antics.
She can hear Elias rustling around on the other side, struggling to get comfortable, which is yet another sign to her that something is up with him. Usually she's the one struggling to get him out of the tub.
"Okay tell me what's up because you're not excited for our evening wine time and you always are," Anastacia tells him, looking in his direction and raising her eyebrows at him. "And don't try to run away and not talk about whatever is bothering you – that's Odyssey's job, not yours." Elias sighs and takes a loud sip of his wine, clearly putting off telling her what the issue is, but at least he hasn't run away from her. Well, would be a bit challenging to run away from the tub. "Is it what happened at the chariots?" she adds softly, knowing that's been weighing heavily on her own mind the last two days.
"That is upsetting me, but that is not specifically what is bothering me now," Elias replies slowly and Anastacia takes a sip of her wine, giving him time to answer her. She sets down her glass on the edge of the tub before holding her hand palm up to him, and he takes it right away, holding on tightly.
"Is it Ardent not seeming to know what he wants to do with allies?" Anastacia asks, trying to help him pinpoint the issue. "Because we could go talk to him and see if we can help him work through it. But I'm all for him going rogue and joining up with Rhiannon if that's what he wants, or him sticking with Bez and their wild group."
"No, we do not need to bother him right now," Elias said softly before sighing. Anastacia can hear him take a few sips of his wine before setting the glass down loudly. "It is something to do with the tributes…but not our tributes."
Anastacia raises an eyebrow at that statement and finished the rest of her glass, knowing she's going to need it for wherever this conversation is going. She gestures at the empty glass with her free hand. "Hit me up, my friend. I'm going to need it for whatever this is."
She hears the all too familiar noise of wine pouring into her glass and when he's done, she picks it up and holds it near her chest. She knows it's not healthy to be drinking as much as she does, especially in the last few days… But she just doesn't know how to fucking cope with everything going on, between mentoring, a tribute getting fucking shot during the chariots, and now…whatever is up with Elias. She takes a shaky breath before a sip of wine and sets the glass back down. "You know you can tell me anything and I'll be your ride or die," she says before wincing at that comment. After the chariots…it hits a little too close to home, but it's true. "So stop keeping it in and tell me what's bothering you while we have unlimited expensive Capitol wine at our disposal."
"Okay," Elias says quietly and he finishes up his glass before clearing his throat. Anastacia stays quiet, letting him take his time and ready to comfort him if and when he needs it. "I…know Kasada and Farren."
Anastacia tenses immediately at that statement. She grips her glass so tightly she's afraid she's going to shatter it, so she slowly sets it down, her hand shaking the whole time. "From what your parents did?" she asks quietly, silently begging for that to not be the case. If it is…she will go to that floor and beat those assholes for ever daring to hurt him.
"No!" Elias says quickly and her shoulders relax just slightly as she waits for him to explain. "I know them from the fighting pits…"
"Oh," Anastacia says and releases a breath of relief. "That's…much better to deal with. But how?"
Elias is quiet for a moment and it's not until she hears wine being poured into his glass that she realizes he was finishing his wine. That's not a good sign, she's normally the tipsy one. "Their grandfather is the Faceless Man who sponsored me."
"Well shit," Anastacia says, having no other reaction to that information. She leans back in the tub, trying to process just what that means.
"Should we tell someone?" Elias asks her quietly and she can hear the worry in his voice. "I do not…want to get them killed by saying something."
"Did they ever hurt you?" Anastacia asks him, her tone low and serious. If they did…they'd have to deal with her first.
"They did not," Elias replies and she lets out a breath of relief. "Kasada did not really talk to me but Farren…he was kind to me. He helped me when I got hurt, even though I could not feel it."
She can hear the smile in his voice and part of her is glad he had someone that was actually nice to him there, considering everything he went through. "You deserved someone caring for you there," she tells him, reaching out to try and put her hand on his arm but instead landing on his chest. She gives it a couple pats and smiles at him. "As for telling someone…do you want to?"
"If it would get them in trouble…" Elias trails off and gives a sigh. "No, I do not think I do. I would not be alive today without them helping me there."
"In that case, I say fuck those two weirdos they put in charge," Anastacia answers with a snort. She takes a sip and frowns when it's empty and Elias just takes her glass to refill it without her asking. "If it was Seraphim…yeah, I'd mention it. But these two scrubs? Nah, let them figure it out on their own, if ever."
"If you say so," Elias answers and sighs, but she can tell he feels a lot more relaxed now that he told her about them. "I should have mentioned it sooner but then the chariots happened…"
"Ah, don't sweat it," Anastacia waves her hand at him and smiles at him. "It's safe to say we've had a lot going on lately. The important thing is that we talked about it and you got it off your chest. And now we can just relax and enjoy our bubble time."
"Yes please," Elias answers and scoots over so he can rest his head on her shoulder. She leans her head on top of his and lets out a content sigh as they sit there together. No matter what goes on…as long as she has him – and the rest of their friends – she can get through it.
But their peaceful silence is soon interrupted by a knock on the door and Anastacia raises an eyebrow, wondering who the hell is interrupting their evening wine time. Don't they know better?! "Who is it?" she calls out as Elias sits up and she tilts her head in the direction of the door.
"It's Radian," the escort calls through the door. "Do you have a minute? Are you decent?"
"Yes, come on in!" Anastacia calls out before Elias can correct her about the decent part – there's enough bubbles in the tub, it's fine – and she hears the door open up before quickly slamming back shut.
"Sorry!" Radian yells through the door once more and Anastacia laughs loudly at his reaction. "I didn't realize you were naked!"
"Wait, I am?!" Anastacia says mockingly and gasps loudly. "I knew I forgot something today!" She laughs loudly as Elias lets out a sigh of exasperation at her. "Oh just get in here, it's just some titties!"
The door slowly opens again and Anastacia smirks over at the escort, really wishing she could see his reaction. She loves making people feel awkward about her not caring about nudity. "Just so you know, I'm keeping my eyes down."
"I'm blind so not like I can tell. Might as well have someone appreciating it, but suit yourself," Anastacia says, shrugging and sipping her wine. This bath time has gotten way more fun now. "So what do you need?"
Radian lets out a small sigh and Anastacia hides her smirk behind her wine glass, as Elias slides further down in the tub and from the movement on the water, seems to be pulling bubbles over himself. "Ardent wants to talk and I offered to get you but…if I would have known you were both going to be in the bathtub naked, I would have said no."
"You don't have to be so jealous about missing out on wine bath time," Anastacia teases him, wishing she could see how embarrassed he's getting by this. She gives a casual shrug as she sips her wine. "I say the more the merrier. This tub is big enough for our entire team, why not make it a party up in here?"
"If we are doing that, we should put on bathing suits," Elias tells her and she grins over at him, loving that he is always so on board with her ideas, even the joking ones.
Radian clears his throat awkwardly. "I…don't think that is a good idea. So…should I go get Ardent? I do have to suggest you put a robe on though."
"Are you suggesting that because you want to or because you know it's the responsible escort thing to do?" Anastacia asks as she stands up suddenly, splashing around some water. Elias makes a noise of protest and scrambles to get seated on the edge of the tub, balancing himself carefully without his prostheses on, and taking her hand to help her get out without slipping. Bless his heart. "Well pass the robes, won't you? I'm not dripping water everywhere."
"This was not part of the job description," Radian says under his breath but he obliges, passing the fuzzy robe to Anastacia's outstretched hand before giving Elias a towel. He clears his throat once more, "I'll…go get Ardent."
"Be quick about it!" Anastacia calls after him as the door shuts before chuckling to herself.
"Why would you do that?" Elias asks her, sighing at her.
She shrugs as she wraps the robe around herself. "Because it's fun and even while blind I can tell he was flustered by it. We could use a little fun these days."
Radian knocks on the door once more and cracks it open, "I am looking to make sure you are both covered before I bring Ardent in," he tells them and Anastacia holds out her arms, letting him see the robe she is wearing. He soon opens the door the rest of the way and footsteps follow him in.
"If this is a bad time, it can wait," Ardent says and Anastacia gives a wave of her hand.
"Eh as long as the water doesn't go cold by time we're done, it's fine," she answers and tries to sit down on the edge of the tub. Elias catches her before she can fall in and she gives him an appreciative smile before turning back. "And Radian, feel free to stay, perhaps we could use an escort's perspective."
"If you insist," Radian says with a sigh and his tone only makes her grin before facing Ardent.
"Well…" he starts quietly and Anastacia tries to be patient as she waits for him to continue. "I don't know what to do about alliances…"
"Ah, yes, that issue," Anastacia nods her head in understanding, but she doesn't actually get it. "What seems to be the problem?"
Ardent sighs loudly and Anastacia pats the spot next to her on the tub for him to sit. He takes his time but he does finally sit next to her. "This is the weirdest mentoring situation ever," he says with a chuckle.
Anastacia snorts as Elias laughs quietly. "Yeah you're telling me. Now, you're avoiding. What's up?"
Beside her, she hears him quietly sigh. "I just…don't know what to do. I should join Bez's alliance, that would be the smart thing to do."
Anastacia bites her tongue at that, having some thoughts about Bez, but she keeps them to herself. "I mean, Emilio would argue the smart thing would be to join the traditional careers," she finally says with a shrug. "But I'm not Emilio and say if you want to, join them. But something's holding you back?"
"Someone, not a something," Ardent replies quietly with a heavy sigh. "I just…don't know how I feel about Rhiannon…"
"Hmm, developing feelings after being put in a life threatening experience? Yeah, that's not my specialty," Anastacia jokes to try to lighten the mood before turning in Radian's direction, wanting to make him squirm. She raises an eyebrow at him, "Radian? Any familiarity?"
"I…can't say I have," he answers and clears his throat. "Maybe Odyssey is the better person to ask?"
"He's got enough going on, we can't bug him," Anastacia waves her hand at that thought, even though part of her wouldn't mind going to check in on Odyssey and Misha. But no, they really do have enough going on right now – she heard all about the naked painting session. She turns her focus back on Ardent and gets serious. "Look, ally with whoever the fuck you want to. Who gives a fuck what people think you should or shouldn't do? Everything is different these Games."
Ardent sighs at that and Anastacia reaches out to try and pat his arm. "I don't know if it's that simple for me…" he says quietly and she can hear him take a shaky breath. "I just…don't know if it's good for her if I get close to her. What if…I lash out again and hurt her? I can't repeat what happened to Amethyst…I just won't come back from that again."
Anastacia turns her head down to the wine glass in her hands, reminded of how he ended up in that situation… Oh God, what if she drinks too much and hurts someone she loves? No, she wouldn't… But Ardent probably thought the same thing. When will her drinking become a problem? Or is it already one? Without saying anything, she turns and dumps her glass in the water behind her as the boys make sounds of protest. "Elias, give me that bottle. We're not drinking anymore, not until the Games are over."
"You don't have to do that for me," Ardent tells her but she holds out her hand for the bottle. Elias passes it to her and she faces Ardent as she dumps it all in the water.
"Yes, we do need to do this for you," Anastacia tells him once the bottle is empty. She resists the urge to throw it across the room for the dramatic effect, but only because she doesn't want to step in glass. "You need us being fully there for you and we will be. Now…as for Rhiannon…" she sighs loudly, knowing her answer is the one that will hurt more in the short term, but it is for his best interests overall. "I think you need to make the choice that will get you to that title of victor. Catching feelings in the arena never ends well. Just look at what happened to Bell last year. The fact is…only one person is making it out alive. Well," she pauses and tilts her head, glancing back at Elias. "We're an exception that you can't bank on happening again. Please don't let something like that happen again."
"You're right…" Ardent says reluctantly and Anastacia pats his shoulder to comfort him – or was that his arm? "I…I should join up with Bez. It's safer for Rhiannon to be away from me. No feelings involved, just…focus on surviving."
"You will be with Farren, correct?" Elias asks and Ardent must nod his head or something because Elias continues on, "He is a good person to be allies with. Kasada also is not bad."
"I'm sure Rhiannon is also a good person," Anastacia adds on. "But you have to focus on yourself right now. We need you to do that to get out of there alive. Okay?"
"Yeah…" Ardent answers and Anastacia holds out her arms for him to hug her. He reluctantly does so and keeps his body away from hers – oh yeah, she's only wearing a robe. "This…I needed this conversation. Someone to tell me what to do…so thank you."
"That's what we're here for," Anastacia smiles at him.
"Now I should probably leave you two," Ardent says and clears his throat awkwardly as he stands up. "Well…enjoy your bath. And thanks again."
"No problem, Ardent," Anastacia says with a smile and Elias quietly adds, "You are welcome."
"Come on, let's leave these two to their bath time," Radian tells Ardent and she can hear their footsteps heading towards the door.
"Oh Radian?" Anastacia calls out and she hears them stop. "You're not allowed to buy us bath bombs anymore, even if I am bootylicious."
"If you insist," Radian replies, the grin in his voice before he shuts the door behind them.
Anastacia lets out a sigh and her shoulders hunch over before she throws the robe off. "Geez, mentoring is hella stressful. I have never needed bath time more."
"Um, about that," Elias says and puts a hand out to stop her with her foot raised, about to get back in. "You dumped the wine in it."
Anastacia stares for a moment at that before sighing loudly. Damn her dramatic actions. "Well shit. Guess we're not getting back in yet, not without refilling it. This bitch needs her bubbles. But it was so worth it for the dramatic effect."
And she really did mean what she told Ardent. She isn't touching another glass of wine until this is over. Ardent needs her at her full focus for this and…she can admit that it is becoming a problem.
"We do have another bath bomb," Elias tells her and she gets a hopeful look on her face, at least until he continues. "But this one is named…Sex Bomb."
"You've got to be kidding me."
And there we have training day two! Getting some answers to the question marks on alliances and setting up some things. And of course, some good times with the survivors lol. I don't know what else to say right now so I guess it is time for an updated alliance list!
Sticks Up Their Butts (Traditional Careers): Adonis, Mercy, Vulcan, Chantelle, Valletta, Juno (?)
Here For A Good Time, Not A Long Time (Non-Traditional Careers): Bez, Farren, Ardent, Juno (?), Kasada
D3 Squad - Ryam, Riley
Broken Girls Club - Ciana, Rhiannon, Shams
Boys Needin' Some Lovin' - Karter, Lobo
Valid Beans - Inutil, Cimmer
Came To Their Senses - Sonya, Ricky
Loners - Kazu, Morris
RQ: On a scale of 1-10, how much do you wanna join wine bath time? I'm at a solid 10 XD
Next chapter is gonna be in two weeks, but on Saturday instead of Friday because we're coming up on the one year anniversary of this already! Crazy how fast time has gone by lol. Still have quite the stockpile at this point - I'd say anticipate the bloodbath happening probably mid July! Of course, that's subject to change and as we get closer, I'll have a definite date for it. But it's approaching sooner than you think. We have only four more chapters left in the pre-Games!
Alright, I'll see you in two weeks with the Private Sessions!