Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? Surprise! Double update! Well, the original plan was to do a triple update a couple weeks ago but that plan kinda got shot up to hell when the previous chapter refused to be written in the way I wanted it to be and then I was scrambling to play catch up with this chapter and the next. I hope you guys enjoy it though! I tried to spend as much time as I could editing it to the best of my abilities while still updating in a timely fashion.
Like always, I enjoy comments, in fact I thrive off of positive comments and love constructive critique ones cause it shows an author that their readers are actually paying attention and enjoying their work.
Thanks for continuing to read this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.
Disclaimer: I still do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by the books or the movies, and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books or movies.
Warning: No beta, we die like Rue.
Chapter 12: The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend
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Val grunts as he blocks another blow from the hologram fighter with his sword. How something that could literally fall apart with a good poke have such solid power behind its blows, he'll never know.
Guess Capitol technology is amazing like that. Or maybe it's just the technology provided for the Games. Which makes sense considering the amount of money that must be put into them every year. Hell, none of the arenas are even reused. Instead they become glorified museums for Capitol citizens to tour at their leisure.
He's decidedly shaken out of his thoughts when the hologram manages to twist the sword out of his hands and knock him onto his back with a quick jab from it's sword pommel. The hologram disappears as he tries to blink the stars out of his eyes. Once his vision clears, he slowly gets up with a groan as he rolls his shoulders and stretches his back. Even with all the lessons and drills before lunch break, he still could not for the life of him get used to using a weapon that wasn't a bow or a knife.
Then he glances over at the neighboring station where his sister is currently beating the crap out of her hologram opponent by repeatedly whacking it with both ends of the spear she's holding. Finally, she lands a sharp jab into the hologram's gut. It shatters apart and the pieces flicker to nothingness.
Val whistles at that, impressed. Katniss looks over and grins as she wipes the sweat off her forehead. He tilts his head over to the hand to hand combat station and she gives a sharp nod. She tosses the spear back to the trainer standing nearby looking fairly impressed by her show of skills. Val moves out of the station, handing the sword back to the trainer who was decidedly not impressed by his lack of skill. He rolls his eyes as he moves to meet his sister over by the hand to hand station where she's currently letting the assigned trainer wrap her hands with protective tape.
"Ready to get your ass kicked to the Seam and back?" she smirks as she clenches her fists to test out the tightness of the tape.
"If you keep talking shit like that, then you better expect to get hit," he shoots back as his own hands are wrapped.
Katniss grins all feral and cat-like at him in challenge as if saying he'll never be able to land a hit on her cause he's too much of a softy to even try. He smirks back, accepting her challenge because if he didn't, he'd actually get his ass kicked to 12 and back and then never hear the end of it because Katniss is such a sore loser and poor winner.
The two enter the sparring ring and stand six feet apart. They both bring their hands up in a ready position as they slowly circle each other around the ring, eyes calculating and watching each movement, each twitch, each shift with a hyper awareness that's only ever been reserved for hunting. It's a match between siblings and unbeknownst to them, everyone stopped what they were doing to watch.
Finally, the standoff is broken when Katniss lunges at Val with her right fist cocked back for a swift punch across the jaw. He ducks and rolls to the side when she follows it up with another swipe from her left fist. Immediately he sweeps his leg around in order to knock her down but she jumps up over it and lunges, knocking him onto his back. She places her arm firmly across his throat to pin his down but he pushes off the ground to roll them over so she's the one pinned with her back to the ground.
"You know, if people didn't know we were siblings, this position would be considered very compromising," Katniss pants out as she struggles to get Val's limbs off her own.
"Careful there, you don't know what kind of weird shit the Capitol folk get up to," Val responds with a very pointed look up to the side where a viewing room is situated above the entire training hall. A few Capitol citizens lounge about in chairs, watching the match with perverted interest in their eyes.
Katniss follows his gaze and groans in disgust. He chuckles a bit in response, locked limbs loosening just enough for Katniss to get the jump on him. She quickly pulls her legs out from under his own and kicks him off her. He lands on his back with a groan, ribs definitely going to be bruised and sore for the rest of the day. She laughs at his pain and moves to help him up. Val takes advantage of her dropped guard and swiftly pulls her down beside him and locks her arm and body with his legs.
"Say Buttercup," he demands with a shit eating grin.
"Hell no!" Katniss protests as she tries to break his arm lock, her face rapidly turning red from the effort.
He increases the tension of his legs, making Katniss shout out in either pain or frustration. It's never quite that clear with her. "Say Buttercup."
She tries to put up another struggle but is rapidly losing the energy to do so. "Buttercup!" she finally shouts out, going limp as Val releases his hold with a laugh.
"I hate you," Katniss spits out as she pulls herself off the ground.
Val puts his hands up in surrender as he continues to laugh. "Hey, I'm not the one who wanted to start saying Buttercup instead of mercy."
"You know and I both know why we started that particular trend," she says as she rolls her eyes and shakes out her limbs.
"Just because the actual cat doesn't show any mercy doesn't mean the usage of his name can be considered ironic," he deadpans. "If anything, it just encourages the person saying it to not show any mercy."
Katniss pouts at him as the two get into ready fighting stances again. "You have no sense of humor," she declares as the two siblings start to circle each other again.
"I do have a sense of humor. I just also have a sense of logic and good taste with a bit of tact thrown in for good measure, unlike a certain someone," he responds pointedly, making her frown.
He grins in response and that's the trigger that sets her off, she charges at him, much more quickly than the first time. Val moves to dodge again but it seems like Katniss anticipated this. She stops short of her initial assault and ducks down to sweep her leg across, knocking him flat onto his back. She lunges forward for a punch aimed to knock him out, hopefully not for real but when he manages to roll away, there was a distinct smacking sound when her fist meets the mats that has Val wincing in response.
Katniss grunts in frustration as Val quickly recovers, scrambling up to his feet and narrowly avoiding an uppercut to his chin.
"Woah!" he shouts out as he stumbles back, "Are you trying to actually knock me out or something?"
She sticks her tongue out in response. "Or something," she snarks as she tries to throw another uppercut, managing to at least glance her fist off his chin this time.
Even though the hit didn't actually land, the faint impact of the glance has Val stumble back again. He immediately recovers and goes to tackle her, knocking her flat onto her back. But before he can pin her limbs, Katniss swiftly wraps her legs through his leg and around his torso, pulling him into a leg lock that has him shouting out in surprise as he's pulled down onto his side.
"Say Buttercup!" she shouts with a vicious grin, increasing the pressure and pull of the lock when he tries to wriggle his way out.
"Never!" he declares as he redoubles his efforts to break out of the lock only to have Katniss add a twist in that has him shouting out and slapping the floor in pain.
"Alright! Alright! Buttercup!"
Katniss releases the leg lock with a triumphant laugh. Val just lays there on the floor, face read and panting from exertion and maybe a little bit of pain. He glances over at the viewing area and again and sees that a crowd of Capitol citizens have gathered to watch the two siblings go at each other. If he squinted, he could see one or two with their hands down their pants. He grimaces. Katniss follows his gaze and makes a sound conveying her disgust at what she sees.
"I feel very violated right now, like I need to take a really hot shower and scrub an entire layer of skin off my body," she says as she looks away and shivers in disgust.
"I hear you," he responds as he pulls himself up to a seated position, "It's like we're animals on display for their...entertainment." He shudders and quickly rubs at his arms as if to wipe the feeling of those stares off.
Katniss springs up and stretches out her limbs with her back turned to the viewing area. She then offers a hand to Val to pull him up and he takes it, standing up with a groan and stretch that has him cracking his back. The two siblings make sure to have their backs turned on the viewing area so as to block it from their field of view.
"You wanna do best two out of three?" Katniss asks, cheekily grinning at him as she slams her right fist into her left palm.
Val groans, back starting to ache just at the thought of another spar with her. "I think I'll pass."
"Your loss," she says with a shrug.
The two walk off the mats and Val smiles encouragingly at Sebastian and Susan as they both walk by towards the trainer. The two young tributes smile back tentatively, their age made more apparent as they nod in appreciation at the gesture. But a quick glance at the disapproving expressions of their respective district partners have them ducking their heads and running off.
Katniss frowns. "Are you still trying to be civil to everyone?" she says disapprovingly, "You know everyone, except me of course, are going to be trying to kill you and you might end up killing them, right?"
Her question is met with silence as Val thoughtfully contemplates his answer. He rubs at the back of his head with a sigh.
"Better to keep my humanity when I kill then to lose it and become the killer everyone expects," he finally responds. "My humanity and empathy are the two things I will never let the Capitol take from me and I know that's never really been your thing but you still have them and you shouldn't let them take it from you too."
Katniss puts a hand up to her chin, looking down at the floor as she contemplates his words, mind racing a mile a minute as it works to understand the nuances of what he said. Even though he's always been straightforward with his answers, she's since found that there's always another layer to what he's saying. It makes talking with him about serious subjects a nightmarish headache all the time.
Finally she looks up and meets his gaze head on. "Even though it'll make the emotional fallout much harder to deal with?" she asks, expression and tone serious.
He nods. "The fact that there will be an emotional fallout will be all the proof you need to know for sure that what makes you human hasn't been pointlessly taken away by them."
The conversation ends there, abruptly like it always does when things start to turn serious or emotional. Besides...they've had enough of these conversations for the past two days. Even though they need to air everything out, it's in both siblings' nature to delay such serious discussions until time's out and it can no longer be avoided.
Another reason why they've chosen to stop talking is because the Career Pack, consisting of a stoic Marvel, an air-headed Glimmer, a bored but somewhat worried Clove, an eager Noah, and a timid Amber, moves towards them with an arrogant Kai leading the charge with a smirk on his face and a loose posture that just reeks of trouble.
All the other tributes pause what they are doing as they watch the Career Pack march their way across the hall towards Val and Katniss. Val crosses his arms with a frown as Katniss drapes an arm over his shoulder and leans her weight into it to appear nonchalant.
"What do you want Kai?" Val says as Kai stops just a few inches short before the two siblings. The rest of the Careers hang back behind them though Clove's scowl gives away hints at what this is all about.
"Bold of you to assume I was coming over here for you, Everdeen" Kai arrogantly remarks as his gaze moves to Katniss and his eyes rove over her body.
"Well that answers that question," Katniss says as the siblings frown in unison though she's the one who looks a step away from knocking Kai's daylights out.
Kai tries to sidle up over to Katniss but is blocked by Val who shifts so that she's more behind his back than by his side. Kai scowls but doesn't let that deter him as he in turn shifts so he's still face to face with Katniss.
"Now that you're done playing around with the rabble here," Kai says while gesturing at Val with a smirk, "How about you be a dear and join me so we can have some real fun?"
Katniss narrows her eyes at Kai as she steps forward from behind Val. Val looks to her, ready to protest, but stops when he sees the look on her face. It's her "time to screw with someone who obviously deserves it" look combined with her "shit's about to go down" facial expression. He grows weary as the smile on her face grins wider with each step she takes towards Kai.
"Fun you say?" Katniss asks as she slides over to Kai who looks to Val with a triumphant smirk. Val doesn't bother to look at him, instead focusing his attention on Katniss and wondering how the hell he was going to get them out of the mess she'll inevitably make.
"I'd love to have some fun," she says, practically purring as she places a hand on Kai's shoulder. "My older brother is so dreadfully boring but that's just like older siblings I guess."
She leans so that her breath tickles Kai's ear. "However, I must confess one thing," she whispers loud enough for the Careers and Val to hear. Val palms at his face as he realizes the direction she's heading. Clove smirks as she also clues into Katniss' antics while Glimmer simmers with jealousy.
"And what's that?" Kai asks, tilting his head towards hers, smirk still firmly in place.
"I'm straight so I don't date or want to have any fun with girls," she declares rather loudly as she steps away from Kai with a smirk. At first, everyone is confused except Val who groans into his hands. Then the meaning of her words start to slowly register, startling a laugh out of the Careers who immediately cover their mouths except for Clove who's just losing it.
"I don't get it," Glimmer, the only Career who hadn't laughed, says as she tilts her head in confusion.
Meanwhile, the meaning finally registers to Kai and he grows red with anger. He cocks his fist back, ready to take a swing at Katniss. Val makes a noise of warning but it's completely unneeded as Katniss immediately swings her leg until her foot meets Kai's crotch, hard. Kai goes down like a rock as every male in the training hall winces in sympathy.
Katniss looks down at Kai with an unimpressed look. "Huh. I guess you really are a guy. Oh well," she says with a shrug as she practically bounces back to Val's side.
"Was that really necessary?" he asks her, completely exasperated. "You know he's just going to go after me now right?"
She just shrugs in response and pats him on the back in mocking encouragement. " You're a big boy. You can deal with it."
"Doesn't mean I have to," he huffs out with a pout that has Katniss cooing at him.
Kai struggles to get back up, slowly standing with his hand holding his delicate parts. He waves off Glimmer's attempts to help as he glares right at the siblings putting them on high alert for a confrontation.
"I'm gonna get you for this Everdeen," Kai spits out in a strangled, high pitched voice.
"Again! Which one? Clarity is key in communication, pal. Probably why your luck with girls sucks ass," Katniss snarks as Kai limps away like a wounded animal with the Career Pack following close by. Though Clove lingers behind a bit to wink and give a thumbs up before running back to join them.
Once the Careers are no longer within shouting distance, the two Everdeens break down in laughter.
"Did you see his face?" Katniss manages to force out through her laughter. She's completely lost it as she slaps her leg and doubles over, sides aching. "I'm gonna get you for this Everdeen," she says in a mockingly deep voice.
Val wheezes as he tries to regain his composure but loses it again at Katniss' impression of Kai. Finally after his own sides start to ache from laughter, the hysteria dies down. He takes in a few deep breaths as Katniss fans her face with her hand to calm herself down.
"Man, I really needed that," Val says once he manages to catch his breath.
"You mean the confrontation with your neanderthal rival or the hysterical laughter in the middle of a training hall of death?" she asks with a smirk.
Val gives her a pointed look that has her snorting and slapping his back. "You're such a poor sport, Val."
"Well I'm not the one who's pulling out big words outta nowhere or continually drawing attention to the fact of where we are and why we're here," he deadpans.
Katniss sticks her tongue out at him and he attempts to swat at her for her bratiness. She dodges and the two enter a strange game of tag where Val tries to swat Katniss while she dances circles around him, laughing all the while. The game abruptly ends when a commotion sounds near the knife station. The siblings stop and turn to look over and see Kai shoving at Wallace who's trying to fold into himself as if to make himself a smaller target while also sending desperate glances at Savannah for help. Savannah turns away, guilt clear on her face as she continues what she's doing in the fire starting station.
"Where's my knife!" Kai snarls out as he gives a particularly hard shove that knocks Wallace onto the floor where he immediately scrambles away as Kai advances after him.
Kai's warpath is only stopped by Clove who stands in his way with a hand up and an exasperated expression. "There are literally hundreds of knives right there Kai," she says as she points at a rack that indeed holds hundreds of knives of all various shapes and sizes. "You don't need a specific one."
Kai moves to protest but stops when she narrows her eyes into a glare. "Don't cause a scene Kai or do, I don't care," she grits out, "Just remember that they're always watching and right know, you're giving all the Careers a bad name."
She looks pointedly to the viewing area where the Capitol citizens look down at the two Careers, scoffing or holding their noses up to them. Kai backs down with a scowl. He looks at Wallace who flinches as he finally pulls himself up off the floor. Kai viciously points at him before dragging his thumb across his neck. Wallace trembles as Kai storms away with Clove following without so much as a backwards glance at the poor tribute who looks a step away from passing out from pure fear.
"Well someone's a sore loser," Katniss dryly comments.
Val rolls his eyes at her comment and manages to catch sight of a figure on the portion of the rope climbing station set above the knife station. He turns his attention to this figure and realizes it's Rue, little Rue who reminds him too much of Prim, who's smiling widely down at the irritated Kai while playing with a knife. It hit him then that Rue was the one who took "Kai's" knife to mess with him.
He nudges Katniss, drawing her attention to Rue who's now looking over at them. She gives a little wave and shy smile that prompts the siblings to give a little wave and smile in response. Rue blushes brightly at the attention and scrambles across the ropes much to their amusement.
The brief non-encounter with Rue still sits on their mind when they exit the locker rooms at the end of the training day and are immediately accosted by Thresh who stands like a large statue by the male locker room door with Rue peeking behind his large form like a little shadow.
Val looks to Katniss in confusion. She shrugs, also confused as to what the District 11 tributes could possibly want with them.
"Do you guys need something?" Val asks warily and very conscious of Thresh's rather large muscles which were straining against his shirt. Even though killing outside the Games was made forbidden after a few Careers tried to get an advantage by whittling down the numbers back in the 3rds Games, that doesn't stop the intimidation he feels as Thresh towers before them.
Thresh frowns, crossing his arms which only serves to make Val and Katniss take a wide step back in caution. Behind him, Rue frowns in disapproval and nudges his leg forward. He in turn frowns down at her drawing out a pout in response. She nudges him forward again and his face turns into an odd amalgamation of exasperation, regret, and frustration. It mystifies the siblings as their wariness and caution turns into confusion.
Thresh clears his throat, clearly uncomfortable and out of his element. Rue nods encouragingly at him when he glances down at her. He sighs and says, "Rue would-"
Rue slaps his leg, interrupting him with a pointed look. He groans. "Rue and I would like to start an…alliance with you two."
"Excuse me? Do you mind repeating that?" Katniss gapes in shock.
Val blinks in surprise. "I'm not going deaf right? Cause I could've sworn you just offered to start an alliance between our two Districts."
"That's exactly what I said," Thresh spits out behind gritted teeth. Rue nods frantically at the two siblings, looking up at them with wide eyes that again, reminds them painfully of Prim.
"I've been watching you guys ever since the Opening Ceremony and after what I saw from training today, I know you guys are nice people. I'd like to be around nice people when I'm in the arena," Rue explains softly, she scuffs her foot against the floor shyly. "And I'd like to be around nice people when I...you know," she says with a tilt of her head.
And it just breaks Val's heart. The fact that Rue knows she probably doesn't have much of a chance at surviving no matter how much she might want to. How she's already accepted her death and wants to control the circumstances of it. To be surrounded by people who would treat her with care and respect as she fought for her life or lay there dying.
It also makes him angry. So angry that children, just little kids who should be out playing and laughing and being kids, like Rue have to grow up and accept the reality of their situations in a matter of days all for the entertainment of the mindless drones of the Capitol and sadistic glee of the government once again forcing its people to heel.
"And what about you?" Katniss asks Thresh, her tone and posture highly skeptical.
He grunts. "I'm only doing this for Rue. The only contribution I'll have to this alliance is to not come after either of you and to protect her. Give her the best chance possible."
Katniss nods, an understanding passes between her and Thresh. Then she glances over to Val who also nods. He agrees to this alliance because to not would mean they agree in condemning a young girl to a death of cruelty and solitude. Even back in the Seam, where they were so used to children dying from all manner of causes that funerals were just another monthly occurrence, the Everdeens would always do whatever they could to help them survive. And if they were too little, too late, they would do whatever they could to help ease their suffering and make sure they were loved as they passed.
She holds out a hand for Thresh to shake. "Alright then. Allies?"
Thresh grabs her hand for a firm shake. "Allies."
The two break the shake and Thresh immediately turns tail and departs, walking quickly to the elevators. Rue takes a moment to smile and wave. "Thank you!" she shouts back to them as she rushes to follow after Thresh.
Val smiles and waves back but his tongue sits heavy in his mouth.
Dinner was a heavy affair. The mood at the table somber and depressing. Effie was once again going off with her non-stop chattering that has since become background noise that no one really paid much attention to.
Haymitch at least had enough tact and sense to not ask about the cause of the mood. The only words he offered were ones to keep up their united front and to not give into the intimidation of the Careers. He even gave them permission to shake things up and even show up a little bit to throw the Careers off their game. But only a little bit. Too much and then they would be considered a higher threat level by all the tributes, not just the Careers. When Katniss mentioned the alliance, Haymitch only grunted in response.
Though Val knew that he and Katniss were doing the morally right thing by agreeing to this alliance, it doesn't mean the silver lining wasn't soured by the alliance's circumstances. Only when Katniss had excused herself from the table before desert and the mood dropped even more, did Val excuse himself as well and escape up to the rooftop for air.
The first thing he notices as he steps out through the doorway is the wind. It whistles through the air and rustles everything in its path. The second thing he notices is the view. A large sprawling landscape of silver buildings of all shapes and sizes crowding together. Lights of various colors twinkle throughout the city like a metallic version of the night sky. It's all bracketed by the various small flower gardens and trees that are placed in an aesthetically pleasing fashion across the rooftop. The third thing he notices is not something that happens to catch his attention. It's something that forces his attention on it by grabbing him by the shoulders and shouting, rather loudly, "Boo!"
Val will never admit to the rather high pitched screech he gave out as he jumped in fright and fell ungracefully onto his ass. He groans as he rubs at his sore bum and turns to glare at the source of the scare. It's Clove, who's doubled over and close to tears from laughing.
"Hey Cato!" she greets him cheerfully in between her laughs.
He grumbles as he gets up, indignantly wiping off any dirt and dust off his pants. "Holy shit. What is this? Ambush me day?"
Her laughter dies down to chuckles as she wipes the tears out of her eyes. "I'm sorry. What?"
He rolls his eyes. "Oh nothing, nothing. Just ignore what I said."
"Okay then?" she responds with a shrug as if to say "typical Cato" because as much as Val would like to have her call him Val, he misses being called Cato. It's his name after all, the one he was born with. And even though he managed to retain it as a middle name, it's just not the same.
"And don't call me Cato," he snaps back, paranoia kicking in as he looks around the rooftop and pales, seeing the security cameras nearby. Clove follows his gaze to the cameras and waves him off.
"Psh. Don't worry about it," she says, "Notice how loud the wind is? It's actually blocking whatever we're saying from being recorded or overheard. But let's move and put some distance in between."
Val follows Clove towards the railing where she crosses her arms and leans against it, taking in the view before her. He leans with his back against the railing, not wanting to look out at the Capitol and see the wealth that it's citizens splurge and waste while the Districts whittle away to nothing on charity scraps.
"Did you know that they placed a barrier around all the balconies, especially the rooftop, sometime after the 15th Games?" she suddenly asks. He shakes his head when she turns to look at him. "It's supposed to stop any tributes from making poor decisions from stress." She smiles wryly and walks over to a nearby tree, breaking a branch off before walking back to the railing. She tosses the branch like she would one of her knives and it soars. Suddenly, the branch hits a barrier that flickers and crackles blue before propelling the branch back. It soars quickly past Clove and lands on the rooftop. The two stare at the once healthy branch now black and smoking.
"Well, it's good to know they're looking out for our safety and all," he deadpans. Clove giggles in response. She resumes her previous position, leaning on the railing with crossed arms. Her expression is wistful for a moment, then it turns serious.
"I think now is a good time and place for that explanation, Cato," she says.
"It's Val now," he says dryly.
She makes a strangled noise and turns to him with an expression of frustration. "And that's part of it! Why the hell are you going by Val now? Why were you in District 12? Why do you have a sister now? Why did you never come to me for help back then? Why was your family killed?" she jabs him in the chest with each question, her voice growing louder and more hysterical. "Tell me Cato! Tell me why I had to lose my best friend, my only friend!"
She turns away from him like she can't stand to look at him anymore. "Please tell me why the only person I knew I could always count on, who promised he would never abandon me, became just like everyone else who's ever made me that promise."
Val's speechless. He doesn't know what to say, what excuses to come up with because he can't. It's true. He may have run away in order to save himself as he had promised his dad but in turn he broke the one promise he had always sworn not to. But he knew, deep down, why he didn't go to her. And he knew that she knew too.
"You know I would never voluntarily leave you or break my promise to you, Clove," he says, reaching a hand out to her. She flinches at the contact but relaxes when he places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But I had to leave. I had to live to fight another day. And...I had to protect you."
She chuckles at that. "How was leaving me behind with them protecting me?"
Val gently maneuvers her so that she's now facing him. There's unshed tears in her eyes and her lips tremble as she struggles to hold them back. "You know why," he says gently.
"No I don't. Why don't you enlighten me?" she spits out.
"It's because I know you would survive," he says. She scoffs but he continues to speak now that he's keenly aware of how much his departure hurt her. "You are a survivor, Clove. I knew that if anyone could get you out of that situation, it would be you because you are a fighter. You don't take shit from no one and you dish it out as two fold on any fool who dares to cross your path."
"Damn right, I do."
He smiles at her smirk. "But just because I knew you could fight your way out of that situation, it doesn't mean you could fight against the Capitol."
Clove frowns at that. An eyebrow raised as she waits for an explanation. One he hoped to never give because of the possible repercussions but considering they were both tributes in the Game and he sure as hell will not win, he decides to just bite the bullet.
"My dad was a rebel."
Clove gapes at his words. Her eyes widening in surprise. "Your dad...the most hardcore Victor District 2 has ever seen...was a rebel?" she asks, incredulous.
He nods. "Yeah. Apparently that was why my mom died."
"But I thought your mom died from her illness?"
He shakes his head. "She did, but the Capitol helped speed it along...as a warning to my dad to stop his rebel activities. He was still a Victor who played along on a public level so they could never really do anything directly to him. Only indirectly."
"That's horrible!" she gasps out, "I knew the Capitol was shady and the worst but to kill your mom like that?"
"I know," he nods, grimly, "And I guess the warning worked because my dad laid low for a couple years until..."
Realization sparks in her eyes. "Until you were almost of age to be sent to the Academy. And because you're the child of a Victor, it wouldn't be socially acceptable for you to not go."
"Yup. And apparently the Capitol kept getting the District 2 peacekeepers to repeatedly come over to strong arm my dad into getting me sent to the Academy even though he had already submitted that I wouldn't go. Which-"
"Which probably led them to believe that your dad was still continuing his rebel activities and trying to train you until you were old enough to join," she finished. Her eyes widening in horror once the train of thought completes itself in her mind. "That's why they had your family killed, as a last warning to your dad and as an example to any other rebels he may have been in contact with."
"Mmhm. One the day of my 10th birthday, after I got home and my dad pulled me outside to give me a gift, the Peacekeepers stormed the house and killed everyone before coming out to the back yard. That's when I learned my dad was a rebel and that my mom was killed because of it," he explains. He takes out his mom's pin, thumb running over the Mockingjay design. "Then they gave my dad an ultimatum, my life or the academy."
"But your dad didn't want you to go to the academy...did he tell you why?" she asks but he doesn't answer. He doesn't know how to because she and everyone else in the Career Districts grew up and lived on the creed that the only way to achieve true glory and honor was through winning the Games.
"Cato?"
He sighs. "It's nothing personal, Clove but I don't know if you'll be able to understand."
She huffs. "Try me."
"Alright then," he says before reluctantly explaining, "We grew up on the idea that winning the Games was the greatest glory that we'll ever be able to achieve and even if we didn't, the fact that we were able to participate is enough to have our names was enough to achieve honor for ourselves and our family."
She nods, indicating she's following along.
"But my dad told me that no one ever wins in the Games. That the promise of honor and glory is a lie, an exchange with the devil where the price is your humanity. He made me promise to never look at the Games like they were the highest honor I could ever achieve, that they were a show where kids killed each other and died for the entertainment of the Capitol." He looks at her sadly. "I knew you had to have volunteered because that's the only acceptable way to become a tribute. No one chosen ever becomes a tribute."
"So you didn't know if I would understand what you dad said or that I might even hate you for it." she concluded.
He nods in confirmation. She frowns and slaps his arm, making him jump in surprise.
"Cato...you know I would never voluntarily be in the Games if I could help it."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because," she shrugs, "It was the fastest way for me to leave. And if I died? Well then better to have died fighting for "glory" than to have died like an abandoned dog in a ditch."
"Clove," he murmurs out, sadly.
She shakes her head. "Nu-uh. None of that moping shit anymore," she scolds, "I finally got to see you again after all these years and now that you've answered my questions, we are done with all the sad and serious shit."
"Oh thank god," he says in relief, "I've had more serious conversations these past two days than I have ever had in my entire life."
"Well good! Cause I need to catch up with my best friend and hear about all the misadventures he's been up to," she teases.
"You call them misadventures, I call them Clove made disasters," he shoots back with a grin.
"Oh pish posh, Cato."
"Pish posh? Really, Clove?"
"Just talk already you jerk."
Val laughs before launching into a long retelling of the past eight years. He regales her with the tales of Prim's animal rescues, how Katniss was about to bully her first admirer only to end up becoming friends and then dating him after a literal shove from both him and Prim, about the many hunting treks he had taken in the forest. He describes District 12, how its been divided into Seam, full of the poor and downtrodden but somehow still full of spirit and life, and the Town where those who weren't poor enough to be in the Seam lived that was full of color and people who were only interested in helping themselves.
He told her about the forest, painting a vivid picture of the lake and the meadow where he and his family would spend their days happy and free of any burdens even if just for a few hours. He even decided to tell her about Gale to which she started to tease him endlessly about before he retaliated with the knowledge of her multiple crushes on everyone who could outdo her in knives, like that one girl who was a year above them who managed to beat Clove's score by 10 points.
Once he'd run out of things to say, Clove in turn told him all about what's been going on with her the past eight years. She gives him a year by year run down since she entered the academy early, only a few months after his "death" and a year before she was ten. The first year she was a mess. She refused to be civil to anyone, always getting into fights with everyone who dared to talk smack about him and his family. Then after way too many reprimands and with the threat of getting her guardians involved, Clove decided to just not talk to anyone. She spent the entire year silent and worked on improving her knife skills because it was the only good thing she had left to focus on. It wasn't until third year that things started to look a little brighter.
A few of the girls in her year started to talk to her and they all began to trade training advice until it culminated into hanging together outside of school. Going to the deli shop and hanging out at the metalworks store like she used to do with him. They even acted as a pretty good shield against Kai once puberty hit and hormones started going around like the flu. She never really did enter a relationship, only experimented now and then with any and all interested parties who weren't jerks, bullies, or Kai. And even though the pain of his "death" never really went away, Clove was still happy that she had friends throughout the years leading up to the current one. The situation at home had already been devolving with each year since the incident but it was like every time she stepped into the house, a bomb was counting down and she didn't know how much time was left. When the day of the Reaping came, she took the chance to volunteer and fought tooth and nail until she got onto that stage, kicking a few bullies in the teeth while she was at it. And now here she is, catching up with the best friend she thought was dead.
A comforting silence settles between them. The two share a side hug, leaning into each other like the past eight years didn't happen and they were still best friends and tribute partners rather than rivaling tributes with a distance that couldn't be overcome with just one heart to heart conversation.
Val doesn't know how long they've been up here on the roof though the chill that's starting to spread throughout him indicates that it's been a while. He doesn't want this to end. Just like he didn't want his sister to be reaped or her boyfriend. How he didn't want to volunteer and be here trying to figure out a way to ensure her victory through the sacrifice of his life only to run into an old friend he had missed dearly. He didn't want to see Clove die like he didn't want to see Rue or any of the other young tributes die just so he could protect his sister's happiness.
But what's done is done and the only thing he can do is survive just like always.
One day at a time.
And that's the second day of training done! I hope you also enjoyed the additional character development I gave Clove and don't mind the alliance I decided to toss in with 11. Just wanted to add in a few things that I thought would be great and relevant to my story so hopefully it doesn't come off as forced or repetitive. Next chapter's gonna be the last day of training then we'll be getting the ball rolling with the judging and interviews and then finally the Games! Onwards!