"I should head back up, tributes will be coming out of training," I say turning to seeder after. "Have Thresh meet us after dinner." Peeta comes with me to the elevator.
"So, swimming lessons is after dinner?" He asks.
"Not right away. We are going to talk to him a bit then starts swimming lessons. He needs to trust us not to kill him first." I say.
"Don't your tributes need you?" He asks.
"Not really. They tend to go to sleep after dinner. Which is common four behaviour," I say. The elevator door opens, and I head into our suite. I see Cato and Brutus in front of the TV.
"How did the afternoon go, boys?" I ask.
"It went well." Brutus says standing up. "Tributes coming up soon?"
"Yeah, tomorrow almost all of us will watch the training and decide on plans of action." I say.
"Sounds good. See you tomorrow," he says patting my shoulder as he walks past to the elevator. "Bye Cato," he calls out as the elevator door closes. I go sit beside Cato.
"How are you doing, love?" I ask him.
"Alright now, clear headed," he says putting his arm around me as I snuggle into his side.
"What did you do this afternoon?" I ask him.
"I took my stronger meds, so I fell asleep on the couch watching TV," he says.
"That's good that you got a nap," I say with a smile.
"I don't like her." He tells me.
"Cato, she's just having trouble finding her place, now." I explain.
"What's your plan?" He asks.
"How do you know I have a plan?" I ask surprised.
"You always have a plan." I hear Finn say. We both turn and see Finn walking in with Fopra.
"I guess that's true. You win. I'm thinking show her the bow and arrow area in the training area. Then later we can start having everyone teach her things, especially the careers." I say.
"That seems like a good idea. I can teach her how to strike sexy poses." Finn jokes.
"Maybe I should teach her that," Cato jokes back. We all laugh. Cora and Dirk walk in looking very tired.
"Hard day?" I ask them.
"Yeah, I think we are gonna eat them go to sleep." Cora says.
"Alright," Fopra says ushering us all to the tables.
The Avox's serve us, and we all start to eat. Cora and Dirk eat a lot and very quickly. I eat a little slower and a lot less. Cato and Finn eat as much as Cora and Dirk, but a lot slower. I finish first then Fopra. He leaves quickly after. She never does stick around for long. Cora and Dirk finish up and then head to bed.
"We sneaking out tonight?" Finn asks.
"Yes, we are totally sneaking out." I say sarcastically.
"Okay are we training tonight then?" He asks deflating.
"Yes, mentors are heading down. Well, the ones who can get away," I say.
"Sweet victor party!" he exclaims jumping around. Cato and I laugh.
"Alright we should head down." I say when I can finally catch my breath.
The three of us get into the elevator and head down. The peacekeepers know what we do but turn a blind eye. They don't care because we help each other. We head into the training area. I notice Peeta is waiting anxiously.
"You the only one from twelve joining us today?" Finn asks him.
"Haymitch is trying to convince Katniss," he says.
"So, she isn't coming," Finn says. Beetee and Wiress come in. Seeder and Thresh behind them. He looks surprised. Johanna comes shortly after with Blight, Woof and Cecelia. Then Gloss and Cashmere.
"I believe that's everyone tonight," I say.
"Welcome Thresh. Today is swimming lessons. Directed by my beautiful and hot self and my lovely little sister, Aquamarine." Finn says. I roll my eyes. I introduce him to everyone and let him know their district.
"Peeta is here to learn as well. I think almost everyone else is going to do their own thing. They just wanted introductions." I say.
"Yo, Cato wanna spar?" Gloss asks, breaking the silence. He follows Gloss.
"Won't he kill, Gloss?" Peeta asks. Thresh seems to be listening.
"No, Gloss and he spar a lot. Usually Gloss, Cato and Brutus like to spar, it helps get their aggression out. They also don't have to worry so much about hurting each other. Because they never use weapons and they wear padding," I explain. Thresh nods. "After swimming if you feel up to it you can join them. They can teach you different techniques."
"Sure," Thresh says in a deep quiet voice. That quietness will serve him well in the games.
"You ready to get in?" Finn asks. He looks nervously at Seeder. She gives him an encouraging smile.
"Today is all about getting used to the feel of the water. We will start by putting our legs in while sitting on the edge, then walking around the shallow end then possibly a splash fight in the shallow end." I explain.
He nods. We all sit on the edge. He dips his feet in. At first, he looks uncomfortable after he seems to relax a bit.
"So, Thresh tell me about home?" Johanna asks while sitting beside Finn.
I look over at Peets and see he's moving his legs around in the water. I give him an encouraging smile. Thresh explains how eleven is. Describing is with enough detail that I can picture myself running through the wheat fields.
"Do you have family back home?" I ask.
"Yes, my ma and pa, then I have two older brothers, one older sister, three younger sisters and two younger brothers. I also have a few nieces and nephews." He says.
"Is it common to have large families like that?" Finn asks.
"In eleven it is. Birth control is forbidden so women tend to have tons of children, but everyone helps raise them," he says. "What about four?"
"Four well families are smaller. Aqua and I are the only ones from our family alive, except for the victors. We are a family. My sister now lives in two with Cato, her husband. But I visit a lot." Finn tells him.
"We all have a healthy respect for the water. Because it can give as much as it takes away. Which is incredible in itself." I add. "Lots of fishing families."
"Why are you helping me? Not that I don't appreciate it." he asks.
"Because Cato thought you would win, and Cato is never wrong. We used to test him all the time in everything from the games to poker. Always right." Seeder says. "It also seems the other victors think its time for eleven to win again as well. We are all a family here and support one another."
"Big bad Cato can predict the outcome of anything?" he asks.
"Anything where there is a winner." I pipe in. "Want to try getting in and walking around?"
Peeta pops right in and starts walking. Thresh still looks a little bit more hesitant. But as soon as he sees Seeder step in, he hops in as well. I notice Johanna and Finn sharking in the deep end. Which means they are swimming just under the surface.
"Are they going to be, okay?" he comes over to me and asks.
"Yeah, they are having fun. I hope you can do that before you head into the games. If not it's not the end of the world." I say telling him about my goals for him, Peeta walks over.
"So, did everyone here just know how to swim?" Peeta asks.
"No, mags taught me with Bill. He was the male victor before Tyler. He passed away a couple of years ago. Tyler and Mags taught the victors before Finn and Aqua took over when they won," Seeder tells him.
"You guys all do that?" Thresh asks.
"Each district has its own thing to teach. Sometimes things change when a victor has a special skill." Johanna says when she comes over.
"Eleven teaches plant survival. Twelve teaches fire making. Four teaches swimming and fishing. One and two teach weapons. Seven teaches climbing. Three teaches electronics, engineering, and stuff like that. Four also teaches how to make knots and nets. District teaches hunting, how to prep animals to eat and catch them." Finn explains. "The other districts help and support like Peeta might teach how to make food and bake, Katniss might teach archery. But that wouldn't be right away."
"You guys really do come together." Thresh says.
"We do, because no one understand what we go through except us." I say with a smile.
"Ready for the next step?" Finn asks.
"I think so," Thresh says. Finn then splashes him and Thresh splashes him back.
Before we know it its an all-out war. A while later we stop laughing. We all hop out of the pool.
"You wanna go join the sparring?" Seeder asks him.
"Maybe a few rounds." He says.
"Can I join?" Peeta asks as we walk up to the ring.
"Sure," Gloss says.
He hands them both protective gear. Finn and I go sit with Seeder and Johanna. Everyone else seems to have left. Gloss and Cato start giving them instruction. They do that until they are all sweaty and gross.
"That was a lot more informative then the trainers during the day." Thresh says.
"Yeah, trainers from one and two are better," Gloss says.
"You've been to the academy in two?" Peeta asks shocked.
"Yeah, all the victors in the past few years have been to give a speech to the victor class. It's the class where the kids go and learn ho to deal with the games after. You can spend a couple weeks there learning as well." Gloss says.
"Why wasn't I invited?" Peeta asks.
"You're a fresh victor. You still need to learn how to deal with the games so teaching others won't help," Finn says. "You will get to teach in a year probably. Now Katniss probably won't for a couple of years, but she will get her time as well."
"Alright, that's understandable," Peeta agrees.
"We should get Thresh up to his bed, so he gets some sleep before training tomorrow." I say. "We will ride up with you. Peeta, you joining Cato and I tonight?"
"Yeah, if that's still, okay?" he replies.
"Of course, it is." I say as we get into the elevator.
Gloss gets off and we all say goodnight to him. Johanna decided to stay with us as well. So, Seeder and Thresh get off next after the goodnights. We then head back down to the fourth floor. Johanna and Finn head to his room existed. Cato and I take Peeta to the living room with the aquarium. He thinks it's so cool. We make a massive bed out of blankets and pillows in front of the aquarium. Peeta falls asleep listening to me telling him about the different fish and creatures in there. I wake up to screaming in the night. It's Peeta. Cato is already awake, Finn and Johanna run in. The other rooms are soundproof.
"Is he having a nightmare?" Johanna asks yawning and rubbing her eyes.
"Yes," I say.
Cato and I are rubbing his back, hoping to calm him instead of having to wake him. He bolts up and looks around in shock.
"I was screaming wasn't it I?" he asks when he finds the fear from the nightmares has faded a little bit.
"Yeah, but don't worry. We all have done it. the aquarium was the only thing that calmed me down for the longest time. Maybe we should head into the kitchen and make bread or rolls. Even cookies." I suggest.
"Yeah, we could do that." He says still a little winded.
We head to the kitchen and start pulling out ingredients. We had the Avox's stock the kitchen just in case. I'm glad we did. He starts to measure and put stuff in the bowl. Finn mixes Jo and I sit in the bar stools across from them watching.
When it comes to kneading the dough, Cato jumps in. he starts beating the dough. Cato jumps in. He finishes one dough ball and passes it to Peeta. He sprinkles it with cinnamon and sugar and rolls it and cuts it. He puts it aside for proofing. It's a well-oiled machine.
Soon our entire kitchen is filled with treats. We will have to bring it to the victor's lounge. There is no way we will be able to eat this all. I notice Peeta really beginning to calm.
Jo and I start making chocolate chip cookies. Something I got at the capital for the first time when I was a tribute. It's readily available in one and two though. So, I make the kids in mine and Cato's class goodies for once a week. They are young and love it. We portion out our cookies and put them in the oven.
We sit back and I just watch as Cato's muscles ripple while he's kneading the dough. We have a few ovens. So, we are baking some breads as well. What seems like ages later, we are all done.
Peeta is exhausted and passes out on the couch. We still have a few more hours that we can sleep. The rest of us fall asleep in the bed we made on the floor. I wake up to Fopra waking the tributes quietly. I look around and see Cato and I are the only two awake. We get up and go to the breakfast table.
"Whoa," Cora says. "What's with all the baking?"
"It's for the victors. Its fours turn to bring snacks to our meetings, today." I lie not wanting to hurt Peeta's pride. I know Cato would be very upset if I told our tributes about his nightmares.
"You guys have food bringing days?" Dirk asks looking excited.
"Of course, we don't always every year as there are twelve districts, but this year it's our turn," I say keeping up the lie.
Cato nods to agree with me. This way they believe it more. They both finish eating then head to training.
"Hard night?" Fopra asks. She has been our escort long enough that she knows exactly what victor's go through.
"Peeta had a rough night. So, we baked." I say.
"Ah, that makes sense over the lying," she says, "I was wondering what you victors started.
"Not a potluck yet. You know the potluck comes on the first day of the games," I say.
"That's true. You all take such pride in your districts and making district food." She says.
First day of the games we all bring some thing or a few foods from our district. We invite the style teams and the escorts as well so they can try our district foods.