Chapter 14- Dove Rosestar
"There, you've almost got it," Cabel says as I try to finish the snare we've been working on for a solid half hour. He hasn't left my side for the whole time we've been training, which is reassuring, but also a little smothering sometimes. Still, I'm glad to have him here with me.
It feels like I've been in the Capitol for years, but it's only been a few days since the reapings. Can it only be three days since I was home? Time is stretching and bending in ways I didn't think it could. Today is the second day of training, and I'm growing nervous about what I'm going to show the Gamemakers tomorrow in my private session.
"There!" I say, finishing the trap. The assistant springs it, showing that it could catch something.
"Good job," Cabel says, smiling. "What do you want to do now?"
"I want to try the spears," I say.
"Alright," Cabel says, getting up. I follow him over to the spear station, trying to ignore the looks of the other tributes we pass. I feel self conscious about always having to tag along after my brother. It's not like there aren't other allies here; there's the Career pack who are usually in groups of two or more. But it's not the same as Cabel and me.
I catch up to Cabel and grab his sleeve. "Cabel," I whisper.
"What?"
"Everybody's looking at us; I think we should split up for a little while. Until after lunch."
"Why?" Cabel asks, confused.
"I don't want to be seen as weak."
"Some of the others are together; the two little girls haven't left each other all day."
"It's different for us; we're going to stand out because we're siblings no matter what," I say. "I just want to try something by myself for a little while. I'll be okay; nobody's going to hurt me."
Cabel hesitates. "Okay. We'll regroup at lunch. Have fun," he says. I can tell he's not completely happy about it, but I don't care for right now. I can go and be on my own for a little while! I'm so close to my brother, but I need to be just Dove sometimes.
I completely bypass the wrestling floor and the weight-lifting station; I'll never be able to do either of those. The boy from District 1 is wrestling with an assistant right now; he scares me a bit because he's huge. Bigger than me, anyway. Of course, most of the boys are bigger than me.
"Want to try climbing some ropes?" an assistant asks, making me jump. I look up at the web of ropes on the ceiling, and I nod.
Finally, something I'm decent at. I climb hand over hand up a knotted rope, pushing my way up with my legs on the knots, until I reach the web at the top. I pull myself up into it and balance myself in the netted rope. I can see the whole training floor from up here; Cabel is talking with the tall boy from 8 at the spear station. Over at the hand to hand combat the really big and scary boy from 5 is training with an assistant; the Career pack is standing around the swords laughing about something.
I clamber around in the ropes for a while; it's so much fun to know that nobody can see me up here except for the assistant down below. If there's a netted ceiling in the arena, I'll be sure to win.
I've been trying to keep the idea of the Games out of my head. All the tributes down below, they'll all have to die if Cabel or I are going to get out. I'm still counting on the idea that both he and I can win together. We have to! It'll kill me either way, whether I come out alone or not. I need Cabel.
There's too much time to think in the netting, so I slip through one of the holes onto a rope and shimmy down. I drop onto the grey floor of the gymnasium and thank the assistant before moving on to the next station.
Over at the knives there's only one other tribute, the dark haired girl from 12. She's very shaky with the knife she's holding, and as I approach, she throws it, not even managing to hit a target. The knife clatters onto the floor.
She looks at me, scared. I don't pay her any mind, instead turning to the assistant standing by. "Can you teach me how to throw?"
She nods and comes over. For the next hour she teaches me how to hold the knife, how to stand, and how to throw. The girl from 12 watches her every movement with wide eyes. Just before the bell rings for lunch, I hit the board with the knife. I feel like jumping up and down but I keep myself calm and collected. I can't stop the grin that's spreading across my face, though.
"Nice work," Cabel says, coming up behind me. "Ready for lunch?"
"Yeah," I say, handing the other knives in my hand to the assistant.
There's a buffet line of food, and we tributes all line up in district order. Someone hands me a tray and I put food at random onto it. Cabel goes to save a table for us, and once I reach the end of the line, I join him.
"What did you get?" Cabel asks. I finally look down at my tray; I chose a rice and meat stew, with roasted potatoes with herbs and some peas in a buttery sauce.
"Good food. What did you do so far today?" I ask.
"Spears mostly. What about you?"
"I did the ropes course, and I worked on knives for about an hour."
A large peal of laughter comes from the Career table; they're all sitting together again. Everyone else is scattered, with a few exceptions. The Careers are clearly trying to be the most intimidating group out of all of us.
"The girl from 12 is watching you," Cabel says quietly. I turn my head a little just in time to see her whip her head the other way.
"I don't want her as an ally. Just you and me," I tell Cabel. If she's that shaky with a knife, what else can she not do? She'll be gone within a few days.
"We'll be fine," Cabel says, and he says it so confidently that I believe him. We have to be okay in the arena. What choice do we have?
We stay quiet for the rest of lunch, lost in our own thoughts. After awhile the bell rings again, signalling the end of lunch. Everyone rises at the same time, leaving the trays on the tables.
"Go throw some more knives?" I ask Cabel. He nods.
"Let's go then."