~Cato~
That day when we got on the separate train that would take us on the Victory Tour, conversation between Spitfire and I was limited. We hardly talked at all. I don't know if it was because the new Victor was around or maybe she was uncomfortable after what happened last night. It was something different for both of us. I hardly show anybody any sympathy or emotions in general but my family. And Spitfire, well she keeps things so well hidden that to see her cry probably made her feel weak, and from what I can tell and what I've heard, she doesn't like that feeling. When we were transferring our bags from one train to the other I tried talking to her, but she brushed me off with a hard "Not now."
And now the four of us, Clove, Spitfire, Kairo, and I are in the sitting room of the lounge car, listening to Enobaria try and calm the now freaked out Victor, Anica, I learned was her name, after having a nightmare when she took a nap, and a bad on at that. Brutus sat at a table with a glass of scotch in his hand, he kept looking at the four of us, then back to his glass before downing it completely with a few gulps.
"Careful you don't end up like Haymitch Abernathy." Spitfire joked to him, breaking the awkward silence. Brutus snorted before setting the glass down and pushing it away.
"Who is Haymitch Abernathy?" I asked, the name sounded familiar but I couldn't place where I'd heard it.
"Do you own a TV?" Kairo asked disbelieving.
"Yeah but it's mainly used for Sessa to watch her baby shows." I snapped at him.
"Cato get yourself out of the Academy long enough to connect with the outside world." Clove said sounding annoyed.
"Will somebody just answer my question?" I shouted throwing my hands up in the air.
"Haymitch Abernathy is the only living Victor of District Twelve. And now he drowns himself in alcohol to get rid of the memories of his Games." Spitfire explained and we all looked at her perplexed, how did she know so much about that? "What?" she asked us confused.
"You know all of this how?" Kairo asked. "It's as if you're from Twelve." he challenged making Spitfire roll her eyes.
"Please, some people actually pay attention in History class in school." she confirmed with a know-it-all tone.
"And where did you go to school?" I asked her and she smirked.
"Skip it." she said referencing our little games from last night. I smirked back at her in return and chuckled at everybody's confused faces. At least she is talking to me, that's something right? We don't really know what to do, the only thing on television was the Hunger Games and if we turned it on, Spitfire would leave the room.
"When are we getting to District One?" Clove asked from her seat.
"In an hour or two." Brutus said from his seat at the table.
"So what does anybody want to do until then?" I asked hoping people had some ideas.
"Well we need to talk about how you four are going to act when we get there." Brutus said coming to sit on the couch. "Clove, Kairo, I'm not your mentor so I can't speak for Enobaria. But Spitfire, Cato, you two are not to leave my side. Someone needs to keep an eye on you two and the last thing we need is you two getting into a fight and getting in trouble." Brutus said pointing a finger at each of us.
"I'll act right if he does." she said. Ouch that hurt a little, why the sudden attitude?
"What's with the attitude?" I asked her confused and she rolled her eyes.
"Just saying the truth." she replied and Brutus groaned.
"So be careful what truth you say Spitfire, I know how you get and your mouth could get you into trouble in some Districts." Brutus warned. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked between the two of them. What was up with them? "And both of you are to be well behaved, I don't want any arguments, angry looks, bickering, or anything of the sort between you two unless its absolutely necessary." he continued. For the next hour the four of us listened to our Trainers about how we are supposed to act in public while on this Tour, and when we have time to explore the District, we have to be in pairs or all together. They didn't say who had to be in the pairs though. Maybe I could partner up with Spitfire for a couple of Districts.
"Okay we'll be in One in half an hour, all of you go get dressed and look presentable." Enobaria ordered us and we all stood up.
"Hey Clove, can you help me?" Spitfire asked with a hopeful look, Clove, seeming to understand some silent communication, gave a curt nod and followed Spitfire into her bed room. I stood there and waited for Clove to come out while Kairo walked into his own room to get ready. A few moments later Clove walked out and I stopped her.
"What did she need help with?" I asked her.
"She needed to change her gauze and put some more cream on the open cuts to help them heal and close up." she explained turning to leave but I stopped her again by catching her arm.
"I would've helped her." I protested.
"But she had to be shirtless because the gauze had to wrap around her torso. I don't think she would've been comfortable with you there."
"And why not? I would've respected her. She let you in."
"Because I'm a girl, we're made up the same way." Clove countered.
"And hows that?" I said and she gave me a look that said I was stupid.
"Because we both have boobs and we've seen it all. I know you've seen them too in your time before Spitfire got here but seriously Cato, I'm sure her finding that out wouldn't help your cause in getting on her good side." she yelled at me. My glare softened, realizing that she was right. She rolled her eyes and walked into her room while I did the same. I changed into dark pants, a white t-shirt, and a black suit jacket, and some nice shoes I found in the closet of the the room. When I stepped out of the I saw Clove in a pair of pants and a nice shirt with heels. Kairo was dressed in a similar fashion to me and Spitfire was in a dress. It was all black with short sleeves that was down to the floor. Her hair was down to cover any of the bandages that shown on her back. She looked great but why was she wearing a dress? She could wear a shirt and pants like the rest of us. We all sat back on the couches and chairs and waited to get to District One. Spitfire and I shared the couch while Clove and Kairo took the chairs and talked amongst themselves.
"Why are you wearing a dress?" I whispered to the girl next to me. She gave me a confused looked and I continued. "You could've worn a shirt and pants like Clove, why did you pick a dress, I heard you didn't like them." I told her and she sighed looking at her hands, then back up at me, and leaning closer to me so nobody else heard what she said.
"The dress doesn't bother my bandages as much as a shirt and pants do." she said and I nodded understanding her.
"When can you take them off?" I asked her curiously.
"I should by the time we get to Four." she said after thinking for a few moments.
"So only a few days then." I said cheerfully and she nodded sullenly.
"But I'll still have the scars." she said looking down at her hands. I rested my hand on hers that were collected in her lap.
"Hey maybe there is something back at the Academy that can clear them up for you." I offered but she shook her head.
"There isn't. The medic in the infirmary already said so. And there isn't anything to get rid of them back home." she said. "The only way I'll ever be able to get rid of them is..." she drifted off and I knew what she was going to say, but I still finished for her.
"If you go into the Hunger Games." I concluded and she nodded. I was about to say something further but our private conversation was interrupted.
"What are you two whispering about?" Kairo said with an almost judging tone in his voice.
"None of your business." Spitfire shot at him coldly. I removed my hand from hers and shifted away from her so nobody got the wrong idea. The idea I wish was true.
"No need to be rude." Kairo retorted and Spitfire rolled her eyes.
"Do you remember the last time you pissed me off?" she asked standing up to face him. He stood up to and got in her face.
"Yeah."
"Do you want a black eye before we go out in public?" she asked threateningly.
"No." he replied starting to get what she was trying to say.
"Then back off and leave me alone." Spitfire said picking the hem of her dress off the floor about two inches and walking away from him to another car on the train. It wasn't the one with our bedrooms, but I didn't know what was there.
"What's in that car?" I asked out loud.
"It's the visual car. The ceiling is all windows so you can look out at the sky." Enobaria answered looking in the direction that Spitfire left then turning to Brutus. "Is she okay? I've never seen her this mad." she asked sounding concerned.
"I have." he said looking in my direction, remembering to times Spitfire and I argued and got insanely angry at each other. "But it's been a while this then." he continued looking away from me. I stood up and walked after her, ignoring the stares that followed me, and as I opened the door I was blinded by the light that streamed in from the crystal clear ceiling. Spitfire was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, with her shoes kicked off in front of her. Her eyes were closed as her head was leaning against the wall, feeling the sun hit her face. She looked so calm, but her facial features showed that she was still tense. I couldn't help but stare at her, the sun had hit her face just right, it made her look angelic.
I couldn't believe that I have been going soft, that's not was a Career does. But the thing is, I kind of like this feeling. Being able to let my emotions show to those that I care about. But I still miss the time when nothing would bother me, no people saying things about me, or anything like that, because I didn't feel any emotions. I was conflicted and I didn't know what to do about it.
"You know staring is rude." a voice said that brought me out of my thoughts. I blinked and looked over at Spitfire whose eyes were still closed.
"How'd you know I was staring at you?" I challenged walking closer to her.
"I heard you come in."
"I barely made any noise." I countered. She took in a deep breath and let it out, still not opening her eyes.
"Your footsteps sounds like a herd of mutts." she retorted.
"How can you hear so well?" I asked her and she finally opened her eyes, looking up through the windows and not at me.
"It's part of my training." she said. "So what are you doing in here?" she asked me. I walked over to her and finally sat down in front of her.
"We should be arriving at District One in a few minutes. Just wanted to see if you were okay." I said to her and she nodded.
"Okay." is all she replied.
"You know when we get to your District, it'll be easy for everyone to figure out that you're from there." I told her with a smirk and she rolled her eyes with a sly smile.
"No it won't." she said in a sing song voice. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Why not?" I asked her skeptically.
"Because it's been taken care of. Why do you think you didn't see me in the Reaping footage?" she questioned and I thought for a second. I didn't see her, in any District Reaping.
"But when it's taken care of we should be able to figure it out." I told her and she just sighed and shook her head. "So when we are in the different Districts and we have to stick together in pairs, would you mind sticking with me?" I asked sheepishly. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Why?" she asked with a suspicious smile.
"Well you know, um when we get to explore the District, who knows whats going to happen, and with the way you look right now, guys are going to be after you and try to take advantage of you. And with your back you could get hurt even more. Plus Brutus would kill us if anything else happened to you.." I rambled almost nervously.
"Did you just give me a compliment?" she asked, I guess I kind of did, when I said that guy would be after her because of how she looks at the moment.
"Yeah I guess." I said rubbing the back of my neck nervously. Before she could say anything further we both felt the train come to a complete stop. Sighing, Spitfire slipped on her shoes while I stood up and held my hands out for her to pull herself up.
She took my hands and stood up with my help and as soon as she was balanced on her feet she let go and walked out of the car to meet everybody else, with me trailing behind her. The two of us stood side by side behind Brutus, Clove and Kairo doing the same behind Enobaria. Our Trainers stood side by side behind Anica as we walked out of the train and onto the platform. Sitting there in chairs on the stage while Anica made her Victor speech was insanely boring. Clove kept yawning of boredom and Kairo just fiddled with the ends of his jacket, I tried my best to pay attention but I kept stealing glances at Spitfire next to me, who watched the crowd intently. She either wanted to train to be the best tribute, or she was captivated by the audience and how they presented themselves as to not so as much anger as they want. When the speech was over we all gathered back onto the train to relax for a bit.
"What time are we leaving?" Kairo asked to nobody in particular.
"Tonight around ten. So you have six hours to explore the District." Brutus said. Clove and Spitfire stood and walked into their rooms to change into more comfortable clothes, Clove went with Spitfire into her room I'm guessing to change her bandages before walking back out and into her own. Kairo and I followed their movements and changed into better clothes ourselves. When I walked back out Spitfire was there in tan pants and a red t-shirt and brown combat boots. Clove was dress similarly but with a blue shirt and black pants and boots. Spitfire's hair was back in her usual side braid, she looks great with her hair down, but the braid is nice too. I was in black pants and boots and a green shirt, I hadn't realized that I picked her favorite color until I walked out here. Her silver gray eyes fell on me when I walked out and up to her.
"Would you like to be my partner to explore this District?" I asked trying to be nice. I got a weird look from Clove and Kairo when I asked, and the look got worse when Spitfire nodded and walked with me out of the train.
~Katniss~
I could tell that everybody was shocked when I accepted Cato's offer to walk around the District with him, but honestly I didn't care. I didn't really care who I saw the District with, but I did want to see it. Was it much different than Two? Obviously it was much more different than Twelve. As the two of us walked into the Town Square Cato took a deep breath and let it out in one big huff, spinning in a full circle.
"What?" I asked him and he glanced at me.
"My mom is from here." he told me and I raised my eyebrows at him.
"Really? How did she end up in Two?" I asked him as we continued to walk. The fashion here was almost like the Capitol so the two of us stood out like a sore thumb.
"She met my dad when they were around our age. Dad is from Two and he came with my grandfather on a business trip, they met and fell in love. Whenever grandfather came to One, he brought my dad with him. They saw each other as often as they possibly could. In District One and Two arranged marriages are common. In the Districts or between them. My grandparents on my dad's side didn't know the ones on my mom's so when they were set to have an arranged marriage, it was a twist of fate I guess. To them it wasn't arranged, it was a miracle. To most kids at the Academy, love isn't as important, or even not real. But to my parents it was real. My dad trained for the games but never went in, and so did my mom. They hate the fact that my brother and I have or had to train, the only reason we do is so that if we go into the games, we have a good chance at coming out alive." he explained to me, now on the other side of the Town Square.
"Wow." is all I said.
"Is there anything like that in your District?" he asked looking back and forth from ahead of him, to me. "Do your parents love each other that much?"
"Yeah, there is. A lot of it actually. My parents loved each other very much." I told him, trying to be vague.
"Loved?" he asked confused, looking at me.
"Things aren't like what they used to be, things have" I paused, swallowing to hold back tears. "changed a bit." I finished. He gave m a questioning look but I shook my head, as if saying that I didn't want to explain further. He seemed to understand and looked straight in the direction we were headed. Which, we didn't really have one, we were just walking aimlessly. After a bit of silence, one of us finally spoke up again.
"Is it bad of me to wish that you didn't hide who you are?" he said out loud. I looked at him confused.
"I guess not why?"
"Because if you didn't, I don't think we would've argued like we did. We'd probably be friends, like real friends. You probably wouldn't have met my family the way you did. I don't know but I just think that things would've happened differently. Is that a bad thing?"
"I guess not but I don't know if we would've been friends though." I commented.
"Why not?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice and eyes.
"There are things about me that people wouldn't like, that's why I hide it, because they'll use it against me as well." I told him. "When you were working so hard to find out about me, inside I was freaking out, because I didn't want anybody to know. But on the outside I was so mad at you for even trying because I know you won't like it so why would you bother?" I continued and finished.
"Well I still want to know, but I also know that I'm not going to find out until you tell me. And for bothering to try, I won't know that I won't like it until I ever find out what it is." he explained and I understand his logic. We were finally coming up to the fence of District One, telling us that we are at the edge of the District. I sat down on the grass and looked out over the field on the other side of the fence. I watched as animals scurried around, gathering their food or just going about their little lives. It made me sick that I would be the one to hunt them while the people here have more food than they need.
"But there's only one way you'll ever find out about me." I said glumly and he nodded.
"One of us has to go into the games." he said, missing one key component.
"And win." I reminded him.
"What?"
"One of us would have to win to ever find out about me. If I go in, you'll find out immediately about me. But if you go in and win, you'll find me in my District or the latest Victor from my District can tell you all about me." I explain to him.
"But to get you know on a personal level, I'd have to go to your District to find you. I'd come and visit as much as I could, I wouldn't take you away from you're family."
"Thanks I guess." I said to him quizzically.
"Just don't tell anybody that I'm going soft." he warned suddenly.
"Why, what's wrong with having a soft side?" I asked him confused.
"Because it makes a person weak and an easy target." he told me with a hard look on his face. I have a soft side, does that make me weak? I thought. Of course, that's what he wants, so then I'll trust him and he can find out everything and use it against me. Well too bad for him because my soft side makes me stronger.
"Oh yeah it must be horrible to have a soft side." I said sarcastically.
"What?" he asked confused.
"That's what you must've wanted right? To get on my good side so that I'll trust you. That way you can find out every little thing about me right? That was your plan all along. And I actually started to fall for the "I'm done trying to figure you out" thing. Wow having a soft side must really make me weak." I said getting up and brushing off the dust and dirt from my clothes.
"Wait Spitfire I-" he started to get up after me, trying to explain but I didn't give him the chance.
"I don't want to hear it. You really are a Career." I snapped before stalking back to the train. After a long walk and getting directions from people, I finally made it back. Clove and Kairo were sitting in the living car with the TV watching some Capitol news. They both saw how pissed off I was and decided to ask about it.
"What's with you?" Kairo asked confused but not concerned.
"Cato's a jerk and always will be." I said before storming into the car that contained my room.