Chapter 32: Hits and Misses
Sweat trickled down the curve of Venatrix's spine as she dodged the arc of the trainer's sword yet again. She barely registered the familiar sensation as her blade clashed against Arrhenius's — she'd been here long enough that she'd learned the Capitolite's name — with enough force to knock him back a few steps. The match ended with another sharp thrust of her blade, disarming him.
Panting, Venatrix let herself relax as he congratulated her, shoulders back.
Sure, her father had said it wasn't necessary to tire herself out at this stage, but it's been so long since she'd last gotten the chance to exert herself like this. Well, only about four days, but still. She saluted Arrhenius with a nod and a half-smile, joining Mariposa by the nearby water fountain.
The One girl stuck surreptitiously by her side, even when Venatrix exchanged her sword for a bow to join Percy at the archery range. She only flashed a friendly smile at Venatrix's questioning look before batting her eyes at Percy. "So this is your specialty, huh?"
He hummed in response, releasing an arrow directly into the distant bullseye.
Mariposa let out a low whistle. "I can tell."
"Thanks." Percy finally lowered his bow. "Hope this won't be one of those years where they only throw in one kind of weapon."
"I doubt it," Venatrix said in between relieving her own quiver of arrows. "It didn't land too well the last time they pulled something like that, and that was, what, thirty years ago or something?"
"Should probably spend tomorrow with the swords either way."
Mariposa folded her arms at his reluctant tone, not having bothered with a bow of her own. "What, don't like swords?"
"Not my best weapon, no." He frowned as Venatrix's last two arrows danced around the target. "I can get yours too," he said, jerking his chin towards the arrow-studded dummies.
Venatrix nodded in thanks, grimacing at her efforts. At least they'd all managed to stick to the board.
Around the gym, the other Careers still manned the majority of the weapons stations, tactically switching it up every couple minutes or so. The Fours oscillated mostly between the spears and tridents, though they now occupied the nearby knife-throwing station; Venatrix watched Idris chuck three at once towards the target with a reckless laugh, the blades slotted between his fingers like a claw before clattering against the wall. Patience's sigh of exasperation floated to Venatrix's ears and she huffed a laugh of her own.
Grethel had joined the two from Seven by the axes in a move Venatrix hadn't quite expected from the supposedly-calculating girl. Warniness laced through the subtle glances sent her way by the pair, though the Three girl kept an almost-respectful distance by occupying the sparring mats rather than taking a place aside them at throwing range.
Her district partner had swapped a sword for his fists, currently dancing around a trainer at the hand-to-hand station. Nearby, the boys from Eight and Five weren't so easily intimidated, content to ignore him; if Shannon weren't a Career, Venatrix might've been worried.
But she couldn't waste the energy. Didn't need to; a flurry of quick jabs on Shannon's end soon sent the trainer sprawling.
The minute Venatrix began to wonder about their remaining pack member, the hairs at her neck prickled as if under scrutiny. Wordlessly, she accepted the full quiver from Percy's outstretched hand and turned to find Viper's glare rake over the trio. He turned back to his swordwork at Venatix's nod of greeting, still scowling.
Percy noticed, following her stare. "So… what exactly is up with you two?"
The question was directed at Mariposa; the One girl shrugged under Percy's raised brows. "I think I make him insecure." She seemed pleased by the notion, plucking a bow from the rack and miming a dry shot; Venatrix's mouth twitched at the expression on Percy's face as she mishandled the weapon. "He wouldn't be so determined to slander me if he weren't."
Recalling their earlier conversation, Venatrix realized Mariposa hadn't exactly denied said rumors. "His accusations aren't exactly surprising, even if they are a bit rude." At Mariposa's frown, Venatrix backtracked. "I'm not saying he's right or anything, just that it's easy to say 'cus you're…"
"I'm what?"
"Well, you're from One. One girls are supposed to be like…" She gestured awkwardly rather than finish the sentence.
"Like what?" Mariposa asked, blinking her round eyes.
Venatrix picked at the fletching on her arrow, avoiding Percy's warning look. No pretty way out of this, is there? "Like Viper said: dumb whores."
Mariposa only hummed in response; behind her, Percy pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry; bad joke, I guess."
Wordlessly, Mariposa, strung her bow, releasing the arrow before she spoke; it landed within the second ring. "Is that how you see us in Two?"
"Not always," Percy said lightly in an attempt to dissolve some of the tension. "Sometimes you guys are stuck-up snot-rags like Viper." Mariposa let out an appreciative huff at that.
"Still old guard, though," Venatrix tacked on quickly. "Like us."
Mariposa drew another arrow. Venatrix mirrored her, and the One girl tossed an unexpected half-smile over her shoulder. "Oh, I know. I'm just messing with you," she said, dropping her faux-innocence, and Venatrix felt a wave of relief — and no shortage of embarrassment — wash over her. She hadn't intended to offend her ally so early. "I'd have to be an idiot not to know what role I'm supposed to play at this point," Mariposa continued. "My trainer wants me to take advantage of it." She released, and Venatrix's arrow wasn't far behind.
Percy's, however, beat them to the bullseye.
The blonde girl sent another wry smile towards the Twos. "Well, if we're the whores, you guys are the mindless, bloodthirsty brutes."
Percy let out a laugh at that; neither of them had done anything to deliberately dispel that notion. "The Capitol's dogs," Venatrix huffed with an acquiescing nod.
"What about Three?"
Venatrix exchanged a raised brow with Percy; they spoke simultaneously. "Nerds."
Mariposa snorted. "And Four?"
"...Half-assed Careers," Venatrix said after chewing her cheek in thought.
A smirk lifted one corner of Mariposa's mouth. "Don't let Patience hear you say that."
"Don't you tell her," Venatrix quipped back, double-checking that the red-haired girl was too far away to hear. Coast clear, she loaded another arrow, methodically emptying her quiver as her allies did the same.
Conversation slowed to an easy stroll as they settled their breath to shoot straight. In an unspoken agreement, their motions fell into sync; Percy seamlessly took on the role of commander, instructing them to nock, draw, and loose.
Predictably, their presence managed to keep the outlying tributes away from the station for the rest of the training period. Just as well; archery tended to be a weapon that outer-district tributes thought they could pick up easily, or so she'd been taught. Average skill with the weapon could prove sufficient in some cases, granting the archer a safe distance from the combat zone should they strike true. Depriving the hopefuls of a chance to learn would only benefit the pack.
Still, she'd never learn what the outliers were capable of if they never picked up a weapon in training.
Venatrix filed the thought away for later as a bell rang overhead, signaling the end of the training day.
Before they could disperse, the head trainer gathered the group of tributes together, congratulating them on their work for the day; a fair amount of indifference and eye-rolls met Flora's statements between the mix of Careers and outers. Venatrix settled for the former as the woman reminded them to expect the same for tomorrow before dismissing them.
They filed into the lift, Careers first. Smart of the others to hang back, Venatrix mused. A light chatter sprang between them as the doors slid shut, courtesy of the Fours.
Next to Venatrix, Mariposa leaned against the wall with one of her easy smiles. An absentminded humming fell from her lips, immediately drawing Viper's glare until the doors opened again. "See you guys," she chirped, practically skipping out of the car. "Bye, Vee!"
Percy shot her an amused look as the lift began to rise again, and Venatrix narrowed her eyes, ignoring the flush in her cheeks. Don't you fucking say anything.
He waited until the doors closed behind them on the District Two floor. "'Vee'?"
"Shut up."
"She likes you."
Venatrix ignored his cheeky laugh. "She does not."
"You like her. You like-like her— oh, come on," he huffed when Venatrix brushed him off, pushing open the door to the common area. "I never get to tease you about this stuff."
"About what?"
Inside, their entourage had already gathered around the dining table; Venatrix pursed her lips at her father's voice.
"Nothing," Percy said, the teasing tone still dripping from his voice. "Just… Trix-likes-the-One-girl."
Venatrix smacked him on the shoulder in protest, and Percy burst into snickers.
"The One girl, really?"
Something about Oberon's tone made Venatrix bristle in defense of her ally. "Look, she's not just a pretty face—"
"You think she's pretty?" Percy interjected, and Venatrix smacked him again.
"I saw her in training today," Venatrix continued. "She's far more of a threat than her partner; skill-wise, at least."
"That's worse," her father countered.
Percy only shrugged, making to pull out a chair at the table. "Aye," Morwenna snapped, and he froze. "Don't you dare sit down here before you shower. Both of you."
"Yes ma'am." Percy lifted his hands in surrender. "I was just gonna say that at this rate, the Ones are more likely to kill each other than any of us."
Venatrix nodded in agreement, and the Victors passed pensive glances around the table. The tributes excused themselves to shower, reappearing minutes later freshly scrubbed and donned in new sets of soft clothing. Steaming plates of food greeted them as well, the servants that bore them having already retreated to the fringes of the suite like white-robed shadows. She took a seat between her father and Stefania, and he offered her a tired smile. "So, the Ones?"
Right to business then. Venatrix exchanged a glance with Percy across the table. "For starters, they're both dangerous, and they both seem to want each other dead." As she spoke, she slid a few slivers of gravy-soaked chicken onto her plate as well as a spoonful of rice; at her mother's pointed look, she snagged a plate of vegetables as well. "None of the other pairs seem eager to get in the middle of it, but I've had both of them come up to me trying to win me over and talk shit about the other."
"Typical," Oberon scoffed.
Venatrix shrugged around her bite of chicken, swallowing. "Between us, I'm more inclined to take Mariposa's side than Viper's, but I think we should try to stay neutral for now," she said, nodding to Percy.
"Let them deuce it out, and whoever wins, wins," Percy agreed. "'Makers, that would suck if it's Viper though. I doubt he'd ever shut up about it."
Venatrix grimaced at the thought. "He kind of reminds me of Iago, except significantly less funny and with none of the qualities that make him endearing."
The choking noise that came from Percy's end sounded almost like a scoff, though even Oberon frowned at her words. "Hm. I don't see it."
"I just meant that I don't think we should underestimate him," Venatrix amended. "Even if he thinks he's better with a sword than he really is."
"Fair enough," her father conceded.
"Now that I think about it, Iago and Mariposa would probably get along," she mused, mixing gravy around her rice. "I think she'd like his sense of humor."
"What about the other Careers, honey?" Dagmara prompted.
Venatrix pursed her lips. "He'd probably get along with Idris, I think—"
"I don't care about your brother; what were they like in training?" Morwenna interrupted, and Venatrix felt her cheeks prickle with embarrassment. Right. She let Percy run them through it, shoveling forkfuls of chicken and rice into her mouth and ignoring her father's sidelong glance.
The food settled heavily in Venatrix's stomach; she'd barely cleared half her plate before she nudged her father's elbow, wordlessly offering him her leftovers. He waved her away as Percy rattled off a list of all the kids who'd tried to stop by the archery station, but Venatrix had already scraped her remaining portion into his plate with an innocent smile.
They spent the rest of the relatively quick meal going over the outer-district alliances Venatrix and Percy had seen beginning to form; Dagmara had called for one of the Avoxes to bring her a notepad, and she scribbled hastily as they spoke. Content to listen, Venatrix offered only minor input, indicating which she felt posed the greatest danger thus far: the Seven pair spending the day by the axes and their affinity towards Ten; the Thirteens and their little gaggle of weirdos, Zavian's dangerous fearlessness regarding the Careers (she shoved away the thoughts of her brother and how much he would love the Thirteen boy); the quiet loners that rubbed her the wrong way.
Stefania dismissed herself early on account of her dog, and the other Capitolites soon followed, leaving the strategizing to the professionals.
Sooner than she expected, however, her parents stood to leave as well. "Where are you going?" Venatrix asked with a frown, unable to keep the note of indignation from her tone.
"Date," Dagmara said blithely after a beat, and Venatrix belatedly noticed the glittering jewelry dotting her mother's cocktail dress, the neatly-pressed lines of her father's shirt and the gel in his hair.
Venatrix's frown remained in place. "But what about my mentoring—"
"Don't worry about it," Oberon reassured. He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, directing her out of earshot of the others. "Listen, Trixie, I know you miss your brother—"
"I don't miss him," Venatrix scoffed.
Oberon gave her a disbelieving look, but didn't question it. "You'll be back home soon enough, honey, I'm sure of it." Venatrix only nodded wordlessly; her father let out a stiff exhale. "I just want you to be prepared in there. I know we spent a lot of time discussing the tributes, but…"
"But what?" Venatrix prompted when he didn't continue.
His silence stretched on. "There's more to the arena than just tributes," he said finally.
Very helpful, Venatrix thought irritably. "Yeah, and?"
Oberon only patted her shoulder again. "Remember that assignment I gave you in Strategies?" he said, ignoring her question. Venatrix narrowed her eyes, nodding. "I want you to think up a strategy each of the tributes in here might use, based on everything you know of them so far, including their mentors." She nodded again, more slowly this time. "Say, if you had to mentor the Valleroy kid, you'd probably be telling him something much different than Gervaise, et cetera. Got it?"
"That's gonna take forever," she protested.
"Work with Silverhorn, if you want. Morwenna'll be out late too."
Venatrix clamped her teeth around a sigh. Obviously, she could see the benefit of this; dutifully, she nodded again, and her father flashed another not-smile.
"Excellent, honey. Be in bed before we get back."
"How late are you—"
But he was already out the door, Dagmara on his arm; she pressed a quick kiss to Venatrix's cheek before they left. Minutes later, Morwenna followed their stead, and the tributes were on their own in a suite that suddenly felt too large, too empty.
"Well." Percy let out a puff of air, resting his hands atop his head. "So much for mentoring."
"Wanna work with me?" Venatrix offered immediately, explaining her father's assignment.
Percy shook his head in amusement. "Can't catch a break around here," he huffed, but he joined her on the couch in the common area, Dagmara's notepad settled between them.
"So, Perce," Venatrix started, "did I ever tell you about that 9M strategy I came up with for class…?"
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A/N: Holy SHIT… not gonna talk about the fact that it's been a MONTH, I genuinely hate that… Don't wanna big this down too much but remember when I said I probably wouldn't be able to post bc of schoolwork..? Yeah, so I spent my entire holiday "break" working and only just now got the time to write… (': Literally fucking miserable.
Anywhomst. Shorter chapter than usual, but last chapter of training day 1 I promise.. FINALLY LOL. The next training days will not be three chapters long each, I promise; I'd probably kms LMAO.
I will see you all… when I see u ig lol. Love yall, and pour one out to me for dodging SYOT jail by the skin of my teeth LOL
- Nell