Chapter 33: Unplanned Obstacles
Training Day 2, the Capitol
True to the Head Trainer's word last session, Flora only kept the tributes briefly before dismissing them to their own devices. Venatrix once again gathered her pack with a sharp nod. "Same plan as yesterday," she said briskly, folding her arms. "Before lunch, though, I want each of us to take turns on the obstacle courses." She jerked her chin to the rock-climbing wall and the gauntlet beneath it. Her allies shrugged their approval. "Make a race of it, if you want," she added, grinning at the challenging look that shot between Patience and Idris.
"You're going down, Rockwell," the red-haired girl jeered, elbowing her partner.
Idris frowned at the climbing wall. "Don't you mean 'up'?"
"Two at a time at most," Venatrix reminded them. "Let's keep the outliers away from the weapons." For now.
The Fours nodded before scampering off, and the rest of the pack dispersed again to various weapons stations. Viper started towards the knives to spar while his partner promptly headed for the spears and javelins in the opposite direction. Grethel and Shannon separated too, taking up places far enough to spread their influence, while Venatrix and Percy moved in tandem towards the hand-to-hand station. "It's been a while," Percy said, stretching his arms as they went.
Venatrix hummed in agreement. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the Six boy and Eight girl heading in their same direction. The boy's — Zarim, she recalled — eyes narrowed as they met hers, and Venatrix lifted her chin without slowing her pace, daring him to take the challenge.
The Eight girl's arm stopped him before he could; Caitlin's lips moved in a quick whisper, no doubt convincing her ally to disengage.
Both Venatrix and Percy tracked them across the gym with twin stares, confidently claiming the mat as Zarim relented with a huff; she didn't miss the relief that flickered across his ally's face. "Dude seems a bit testy," Percy commented drily.
"You can say that again," Venatrix agreed. Her brows furrowed in thought as a pair of trainers joined them on the mat. "Hey, Perce, your brother ever write to you from Six?"
"Theseus?"
"Mhm."
Percy didn't answer immediately, engaging with the trainer in a warm-up bout. Turning to hers, Venatrix did the same; the trainer, taking advantage of their pause in conversation, demanded her attention with a swift exchange of blows. Venatrix let her mind slip into the one-track pace required for the fight until she had the Capitolite pinned on the mat. Extending a hand to help her stand, Venatrix sent a questioning glance Percy's way.
"Every now and then," he answered finally, huffing from the exertion of his own match. "Seems like a rough place to get stuck in; one of his buddies already got stabbed by some street rat." He shrugged as Venatrix flashed him a grimace. "Said she'd be okay, though."
"That's good," Venatrix said off-handedly. "Should probably keep an eye on our little friend, though."
Percy nodded, and almost simultaneously, they shifted their attention back to the pair of trainers. Taking the cue, the Capitolites began to circle them, forcing Venatrix and Percy to stand back-to-back while they advanced. "Just like old times," Percy hummed, more weight to his tone than she expected. Nevertheless, they sprang into retaliation against the incoming attacks, and Venatrix filed it away for later as she traded blows with the trainers. The pair kept an easy pace with each other, keeping their respective opponent off the other's back with a well-trained focus.
Consequently, neither trainer expected it when the tributes suddenly switched targets, attacking in unison — a tactic they'd perfected long ago.
Percy's trainer briefly struggled against her headlock before relenting; had they been in the arena, Venatrix could've easily snapped his neck from there. She released the Capitolite, the thrill of their brief victory seeping through her muscles. Her lips stretched into an involuntary grin; Percy's returning one was more half-hearted than she expected. Holding up a hand to halt the trainers before their next match, Venatrix lowered her voice. "Hey, you holding up okay?"
To his credit, Percy's expression didn't flicker. They'd had plenty of time to chat last night, though somehow, their conversation hadn't strayed far from near-professional Games talk. He shrugged, and Venatrix wondered if it was the mention of his brother that did it.
Either way, this clearly wasn't the place to talk about it.
Resolving to talk with him later, she settled for an affectionate pat on the cheek, which Percy batted away with an irritated huff and a small smile that betrayed his appreciation for her efforts. "We should probably switch stations; it's been a bit," he commented.
"Sword time?"
Percy groaned, only half-feigning. "Do I have to?"
"Fine; gauntlet?" Venatrix jerked her chin to the station in question. "It's empty." He perked up at that. "Make sure you hit the swords in the afternoon, though. That is your secondary."
"Okay, mom," Percy said with a melodramatic eye-roll as they waved in parting to the trainers.
That earned him a light elbow to the arm; in her peripheral, Venatrix noticed the mean-looking Six boy take their place at the hand-to-hand station. He didn't bother returning her look, nearly catching one of the trainers off-guard with a forceful swing.
Venatrix pursed her lips, turning back to Percy and the obstacle course in front of them. The adjacent trainer, manning the station with a tablet and stopwatch in hand, greeted them with an overly-friendly smile and launched into an equally overly-detailed explanation of the course. It looked simple enough to Venatrix – hop across the ascending beams as quickly as possible and avoid getting hit by the padded bats in the process, though she frowned when the woman told them they had to go one at a time. "You first, then?" Percy said blithely. She huffed at his expression but readied herself at the starting point.
"Remember, it's one strike for each hit, and immediate disqualification if you get knocked off!" the Capitolite chirped. "Ready? Go!"
As soon as the words left her lips, Venatrix took off, reaching the first beam in a single bound. She recovered her balance quickly, dodging a swipe from a trainer's paddle as she leapt onto the next. The corresponding trainers kept her on her toes before she could advance; a paddle just barely grazed her shin, joined by its owner's victorious shout. Gritting her teeth, Venatrix jumped for the next beam, using her momentum to seamlessly carry her to the following level.
The unexpected impact of a paddle to her thigh nearly halted her progress; she hissed, the smack still resounding in her ears. No doubt it hurt her pride more than her leg, and Venatrix shot the trainer a glare as she easily avoided his next strike, the ground, though covered in soft mats, stretching beneath her. Venatrix ignored the sinking in her gut at the distance; she'd scaled mountains taller and more precarious than this without as much as a harness. With that in mind, Venatrix, light on her toes, flew through the remaining beams, far too quick for the trainers and their bats.
A simple rope hung at the end of the course; Venatrix didn't hesitate to throw herself towards it, sliding down until her shoes hit the ground.
At the front of the course, the trainer nodded approvingly despite the few hits she'd taken; it would take a lot more than that to knock Venatrix off-course. "Impressive!" she exclaimed, flashing Venatrix her time and tapping her tablet. "Ooh! If you want, I can show you the results your parents and your sister got when they ran the gauntlet–"
"No thanks, actually," Venatrix cut her off. "I think Percy's about to go."
"Oh, right!" The trainer turned back to her job, and Venatrix settled in to watch her friend, arms folded across her chest. Her stance only lasted a minute before light fingers tapped at her shoulder; Venatrix whirled around, though she relaxed at the sight of her ally from District One.
"Oops; sorry, Vee, didn't mean to startle you," Mariposa said apologetically. She nodded towards the gauntlet, where Percy had reached the middle beams. "This looks fun, though."
Venatrix nodded, until a sharp blow nearly knocked poor Percy from the beam. "Come on, Perce," she muttered under her breath; falling wouldn't serve him well here. He wobbled slightly before regaining his balance, oblivious to the grimaces painting his allies's faces, and Venatrix let out a quiet exhale of relief.
"The two of you seem close," Mariposa said pensively, her eyes still trained on the blond boy.
Close is an understatement, Venatrix thought, her mind wandering to the scar on her palm. She nodded again.
"I'm sure I can't be the only one wondering if there's any history there," the One girl continued with the hint of a grin, and Venatrix frowned at her.
"History?"
"Yeah, y'know." Mariposa huffed a laugh. "He follows you around like a lost puppy."
Venatrix scoffed. "It's not like that; he's my best friend." Mariposa hummed, and she shrugged. "We dated back when we were fifteen or so, but that was before he figured out he wasn't into girls. He's got a boyfriend back home now."
"Oh, pity; he's quite easy on the eyes," Mariposa commented, and Venatrix chuckled at that. "What about you?"
"Hm?"
"Are you into girls?"
Venatrix had No, I don't feel that way about him anymore, on her tongue before she realized that wasn't what her ally had asked. Her brows knitted together, unable to decipher the intent behind Mariposa's round-eyed stare, let alone the answer to the question.
She was saved from responding as Percy finished the course with a whoop of excitement, bounding over to the trainer to see his results; it turned to a groan as the trainer showed his time, slower than Venatrix's. "It was pretty close, though," the Capitolite said in consolation.
"I also only got hit once," he said smugly.
"I was still faster."
Percy shot her a glare in response, though it carried no real heat. "I think you both did well," Mariposa interjected with a friendly smile.
"I'm going again," Venatrix declared, stepping up to the starting point; she paused midway, glancing at the One girl. "Well, you haven't gone yet; if you wanna go next–"
"You go, I don't mind," Mariposa said graciously. "I'm sure it won't be a long wait."
Right, don't mess up; though Mariposa's tone carried no overt snideness. Venatrix nodded stiffly, tensing her body into a light crouch. At the trainer's mark, she launched herself towards the first beam, itching to move faster than her previous time and trying not to think about the One girl's eyes on her. Nimbly, she avoided the bat that had nicked her on her previous run, leaping swiftly onto the following pair of beams before the corresponding trainers even got the chance to strike.
Venatrix's eyes tracked the hands and paddles of her upcoming opponents rather than focusing on the determined expression of the one who'd hit her last time. Her feet skipped over the swing of a padded club, easily returning to their perch on the beam for a split-second before Venatrix sprang again.
The trainers at the following beam barely registered her presence, yet Venatrix inexplicably found her legs meeting air, her right ankle stinging.
Fuck! How— On instinct, she twisted, hands outstretched for the thin strip of solid ground beneath her. Air wooshed from her lungs upon impact, the sound jarring her ears; just in time, she turned her head to avoid completely face-planting on the stretched leather.
Latched onto the beam like a vice, Venatrix caught a glimpse of the smug face of the assailant she thought she'd left behind.
She didn't think twice before striking out with her heel.
Through her own tightly-drawn breaths, the satisfying crunch of a newly-broken nose reached her ears, and Venatrix couldn't help the vindication curling in her stomach. As soon as she recovered enough air, she hauled herself to her feet, teetering slightly on the beam. The pained groans of the unfortunate trainer only spurred her confidence; shaking out the jitters from her near-catastrophe, she hopped across the remainder of the course with little opposition— a decent amount of the trainers had deserted their posts to aid their injured companion.
Still smarting from her fall — ugh, it's probably gonna bruise, fucking embarrassing; Dad's gonna be pissed — Venatrix finished the course with a scowl, well aware that she'd gotten herself more attention than she wanted. From outliers and allies alike; Venatrix didn't need Zavian's grimace of pity from a few stations down any more than Viper's self-righteous smirk.
She didn't bother paying attention to her time for the run; by the trainer's face, she knew it was worse.
"Hey, at least you got the fucker back pretty good," Percy said, appearing at her side to watch Mariposa run the course. Venatrix huffed, watching the trainer haul himself to the med room. Silver linings.
Discreetly, she glanced around the gum, relieved to find that the majority of the tributes had already gone back to their previous activities. Patience and Idris had migrated over to the knife-fighting area, adjacent to the station where Zarim from Six was locked in intense combat with the hand-to-hand trainer Venatrix had fought. She noted with satisfaction that the rest of the outliers still floated around the survival and agility stations; not too far away, Erryn from Twelve had scampered halfway up the rock-climbing wall – the more difficult section, she noticed – while over at the plant station, an irritated-looking Veylani snapped at her ally from Eight, who appeared to have stuffed something into his mouth.
With a snort, Venatrix returned her attention to the gauntlet in time to see Mariposa fly across the first few beams, dancing nimbly around the swinging paddles. Despite her knowledge of her ally's skills, Venatrix found herself impressed (a tiny bit jealous, even) when Mariposa flung herself over an incoming bat in an aerial cartwheel, landing gracefully atop the next level; seemed like she'd barely caught her breath before the One girl was sliding down the rope at the end of the course.
Percy let out a low whistle. "Damn, she is something else."
"I've never seen anything like that," the trainer supplemented, staring wide-eyed at an only half-humble Mariposa. "I'm still pretty new at this, but…" She glanced at Venatrix. "She beat you by a mile."
Venatrix shrugged, tying not to dwell on her own pitiful attempts in comparison. "I'm not surprised."
"She beat your first score too, like, easily—"
A sharp cry cut through the glare Venatrix sent the Capitolite's way. Her head snapped towards its source: at the combat station, Zarim had the hand-to-hand trainer on the ground and pinned beneath him; his fist — coated starkly in bright red — slammed again and again into her face, merciless. The trainer cowered, struggling to avoid his blows, but the boy held fast. Venatrix stood too far to see clearly, but she knew she wasn't mistaking the expression of sheer elation marring Zarim's features; she'd seen it on her own, on those of her peers, often enough.
Perhaps it was the kid's blatant audacity that rooted her to the spot, but another fist to the cheek, another whimper of pain, shook the hesitation from her muscles; Venatrix found herself sprinting towards the altercation before the conscious decision formed in her mind.
Someone else got there first. A red-black blur barreled into Zarim, knocking him from his victim. They skidded across the mat, and Venatrix halted at the edge, watching as her ally from Four gave the volatile tribute a taste of his own medicine. "You stupid piece of shit!" Patience spat, easily subduing his writhing movements with a fist to the cheek and a firm grip on his neck. "You think that's gonna do anything for you, huh?"
"Get the fuck off me," Zarim snarled. "I'll fucking gut you, I swear!"
"Try it, fucker," the Four girl growled.
Around them, the rest of the gym had gone completely silent; their wrestling match now dominated the dead air, impossible to ignore. A myriad of expressions decorated the observing tributes as they watched the struggling, writhing pair: wide eyes, grimaces exchanged between allies, a handful of amused smirks. Venatrix still had half a mind to interfere, hovering light on her toes.
Instead, she made her way over to where the battered, bloody trainer had hauled herself to her knees out of range of the ongoing scuffle, extending a hand of aid. "Thanks," the Capitolite choked out, her voice small enough to match the tears streaking down her freshly bruised cheeks.
"You okay?" Venatrix asked, pulling her up.
The woman nodded, and Venatrix opened her mouth to respond when something jostled her from behind. A flood of white enveloped her vision; a group of Peacekeepers quickly swarmed the floor, dragging the spitting tributes apart.
It took two of them to restrain Patience, pinning her arms behind her back as the remaining officer shoved Zarim back into the mat, face-first. Somewhere along the way, a smear of blood had leaked from the Six boy's nose, dripping into his snarl; sharply, the officer slapped a pair of cuffs to his wrists, and, once Patience had been subdued into a cross-armed pout, enlisted the help of his fellow to drag the troublemaker out of sight.
Patience and the other Peacekeeper, however, remained close enough within Venatrix's earshot. "We appreciate you handling that—"
"You're welcome," Patience interrupted, heedless of the officer's tone.
"—but," the officer continued sternly, "if that happens again, we'll have to cuff you too."
Ignoring her ally's glare, Venatrix passed the trainer into the custody of the Peacekeeper. He escorted her towards the area that Flora had previously indicated as the medical facility, though Venatrix caught more flashes of white in her peripheral, appearing as seamlessly as if they'd been on standby. Nearly every station now played host to their own white-armored shadow, and Venatrix narrowed her eyes. How often does this shit happen?
"What a fucking psycho," Patience hissed, still staring at the exit where Zarim had been dragged out. "She's literally only here to help the kids like him who don't have any training, and this is how he thanks her?"
Venatrix took note of the ferocity in her scowl. "I guess he wanted to show himself as a contender," she said, thinking out loud.
It had certainly done the job, judging by the faces of the other outlier tributes, their training-room chatter hardly daring to rise above a low mutter. She noticed Caitlin, the girl from Eight who'd established herself as Zarim's ally, now sporting an apprehensive mien, her eyes flickering between Venatrix and Patience and the smear of blood decorating the mat.
"It was stupid," Patience countered, "because now I'm going to kill him."
Venatrix only shrugged. "Be my guest." She had no reason to step between them when the time came.
The lunch bell interrupted any further conversation, and the two Career girls headed over to the buffet line to grab a tray of food before joining their allies at their designated table. She found herself sandwiched between Percy and Mariposa, the blonde girl setting down her tray with a breezy smile.
Patience was already filling in the rest of their allies with her version of the events with the Six boy when she sat down.
"–Don't know why he thought that was necessary, the fucking jerk."
"I bet he's still pissed about getting Reaped," Percy reasoned, and Patience shot him an irritated glare. "What? If I were from Six, I probably would be too."
"I'd rather be Reaped than stabbed in a back alley, though," Venatrix quipped, drawing a round of chuckles from the table. As for Zarim, Venatrix glanced around the cafeteria, unable to find the dark-haired instigator anywhere. "Better keep an eye on Six, though."
"I already told you, I'm killing him," Patience reminded her sharply.
"Bloodbath?" Viper prompted.
The red-haired girl only shrugged, irritated. "How the fuck should I know?"
"Well, at least none of us are here 'cause we were Reaped," Grethel said, purposely glossing over the Patience's growing agitation.
Mariposa set down her fork, resting her chin on folded hands. "Yeah, we're all here because we have actual talent for this." She cast a non-subtle glance towards her district partner. "Most of us, at least."
"Oh, please," Viper sneered. "The only talent you have is getting down on your knees–"
Venatrix cut him off. "Can we not?"
Neither of the Ones were even looking at her, locked in a tense glaring contest. Mariposa's sweet smile marked a stark contrast to Viper's bitter scowl. "Hard to believe you're pretty enough anyways," he hissed.
"Jealousy isn't a good look, Viper," Mariposa simpered back, not missing a beat. "You know, they always said that if you get hit in the head while you're making an ugly face like that, it'll get stuck." She tilted her head, batting her eyelashes innocently. "I guess they were right."
"Oh, fuck off," he spat.
"Yeah, he's no Lancelot," Percy muttered aside to Venatrix, unintentionally loud enough for the One boy to hear.
"Who's that, your boyfriend?" Viper jeered.
Percy raised a brow. "Obviously."
Viper blinked, taken aback, and Mariposa leaned in as if to share a secret with the table, her voice a faux whisper. "Don't worry, he's just jealous 'cause none of the boys in One ever wanted to kiss him."
Venatrix couldn't help the snicker that sprang from her nose, the sentiment echoed around the table. "That's only because they were too busy with you," Viper snapped, flustered.
"Don't worry, it's not that great," Venatrix said, taking a sip of water to quell her laughter.
"It's just like kissing girls, but worse," Mariposa supplied, and Venatrix snorted again.
Next to her, Percy shrugged. "Everyone's got their prefren– hey wait, Trix!" His eyes narrowed at Venatrix, belatedly catching the implication of her words; Venatrix pressed her lips together. "I'm not that bad of a kisser!"
"Well, you didn't like it either," she countered, and he conceded with a huff, shaking his head in amusement.
"I've also never kissed a boy," Shannon commented, sending Viper a reassuring look, though regret immediately overtook his features at the expressions dancing around the rest of the group.
"Oh, perfect!" Idris glanced between Shannon and Viper, grinning. "Easy fix."
"Wait, no–" Wide-eyed, Shannon shot Viper an apologetic look; the auburn-haired boy was already scooting away from him, spitting, "Is this necessary?" as he went. It only added to the amusement of their allies, their loud snickering drawing the attention of the other tributes.
"Nah, don't worry, you don't have to if you're not comfortable with that," Grethel said, giving her district partner a nudge. "No one's gonna force you to kiss Viper." She paused for a beat. "You can kiss Percy instead."
Viper looked affronted at their continuous laughter; Percy ignored him, hands raised in surrender. "Already told you guys, I'm committed."
"I'm not," Idris quipped, waggling his eyebrows at Shannon.
The Three boy staunchly avoided his gaze, mumbling something unintelligible before shoveling a forkful of food into his mouth so he wouldn't have to talk; Patience sent an elbow into her partner's gut. "Knock it off, asshole; he's clearly uncomfortable."
"I'd save it for the arena if I were you," Mariposa said over the Fours' ensuing squabbling; the look she sent Venatrix felt almost deliberate. "Better way to spice things up than killing each other when things get boring, no?"
"So you're gonna be kissing Viper?" Patience teased; Mariposa made a gagging noise.
"I'd rather have the murder," Viper muttered.
Mariposa sighed in dramatic relief. "Good; yours can be arranged."
A loud string of curses dragged Venatrix's attention from the Ones' bickering; she glanced over Percy's shoulder to pinpoint the offending group – the Thirteens' alliance. "Chill out, Vey, it was just an idea," she overheard Zavian saying.
"Why would you want Six on our side, he's psychotic!" Veylani protested loudly, on her feet and drawing more looks; subtly, Venatrix nudged Percy and Mariposa, jerking her chin towards the other alliance.
Zavian only laughed. "So are you." He raised his hands defensively at Veylani's scowl. "Like, just a little bit."
"So you'd rather have him than me?"
"That's not what I–"
"Whatever."
Percy let out a quiet chuckle as the Thirteen girl stormed off to the bathroom, her allies turning back to their lunches with shared looks of bemused exasperation. "Awk-ward," he hummed, sing-song.
"Either way," Venatrix murmured, "I doubt they'll be recruiting Six." Not if we can help it.
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A/N: Hello, it's me again... sorry this took so long (again). Been doing some Planning and Thinking and Scheduling for this story.. with all that's left of the pre-Games week, I'm thinking like 6 or 7 chapters (not including this one) until the Games..? Subject to change, but that's what it looks like currently, so. Fun c: It would simply be cool and fun of me if I could like. Have the Bloodbath up by my birthday ehehe (but at the pace I'm doing rn... we'll see ;-; we've got till early April for that). The other thing, I guess.. The one-year anniversary of this fic is coming up which is honestly Fucked but I'm setting myself the rather easy goal of hitting 125k (like the actual fic, aka not counting ANs) by then (which will prolly happen next chap lol). Maybe 130k is a better challenge... anyways. I'm hoping to start to get into a good routine with my work stuff this semester so if my brain can do what it did in October, it's... potentially feasible for birthday BB :D
I've also added a page of the Capitol characters to the blog ! Feel free to check it out! It only features the ones we've seen in the story so far; might update it if/when we meet other relatively important ones.
Alliances:
People With Talent and Also Viper (8): Mariposa (D1F), Viper (D1M), Venatrix (D2F), Percy (D2M), Grethel (D3F), Shannon (D3M), Patience (D4F), Idris (D4M)
Little Guys (5): Genera (D5F), Paprika (D11F), Starling (D11M), Rosemary (D12F), Erryn (D12M; tentative)
Making Shit Up As They Go (4): Valkan (D5M), Tooth (D8M), Veylani (D13F), Zavian (D13M)
Not Causing Problems (4): Heather (D7F), Ochre (D7M), Palomina (D10F), Lucio (D10M)
In Need of Serious A Discussion (2): Zarim (D6M), Caitlin (D8F)
Loners (3): Vita (D6F), Gaberlee (D9F), Yaroslav (D9M)
Ok that's it, see y'all hopefully soon !
- Nell