Hey. I'm going to say this in every chapter, but thank you for reviewing and following! c:

SunWillRise2340-Thank you! I really hate it when they authors just jump straight into the romance without the characters interacting in any way for an extended period of time. .-. I read this one story (I'm not naming names.) where the OC didn't even know Cato for a week, and they were already having sex and all of that crap. -.- It just frustrates me. As for the dinner, I probably should have included it. :/ It just went over my head, to be honest. Thank you! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you too!

Guest-No problem. c: Thank you for the warning. I'll try to downplay the bitchiness. I was thinking they might gradually warm up to each other, rather than giving each other a cold shoulder the whole story. Thank you! Ah, Cato's attitude. It's like he has a grudge against the world from his favorite toy being stolen when he was six. cx

I probably won't be updating after this until Friday, so considering Christmas is Wednesday, I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! You guys are so amazing and I'm sending virtual hugs this Wednesday.


Why not fight this war without weapons?
And I wanted it so bad, but there were so many red flags.
Now another one bites the dust, and let's be clear, I trust no one.
Well, I've thick skin and an elastic heart, but your blade, it might be too sharp.
I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard, but I may snap when I move too close.
But you won't see me move no more, 'cause I've got an elastic heart.


I fiddled with my fingers as I stood in the glass elevator on it's way down to the training center. The districts each had a floor, District 1 being at the bottom and District 12 at the top. The frustrating thing was that I had to stop at the Career district's floors on the way down. I looked at the screen showing what floor the elevator was on, sighing at the sight. A glowing "2" was projected on it, the elevator dinging as it gently halted.

The sliding doors opened, Cato and his district partner stepping onto the device. I glared forward, attempting to avoid any interaction with him. I heard Cato and his partner whispering to each other, causing me to quickly glance in their direction. Thankfully, they didn't notice my attention being directed to them.

The elevator bell rang again, stopping on District 1's floor. I quietly groaned. Now I'm in an elevator full of Careers. I shuffled into the corner as the male and female tributes from District 1 entered the room. The male laughed at something Cato said, sparing a glance in my direction. I averted my eyes, blatantly ignoring them.

On the screen, a bright "TC" appeared, showing that we were at the training center. I bolted out of the doors, creating at much distance as I could between me and the Careers.

As I walked in, I saw a few tributes grouped together, waiting for the head trainer to arrive. I glanced at the clock, seeing that I was fifteen minutes early. So much for what Johanna said about not having enough time. I assumed that since I skipped breakfast, I spared a bit of time.

In the group of tributes waiting, I saw Keane sitting alone. His eyes lit up when he saw the Careers behind me, signaling that now was the time to initiate the plan. I leaned against the wall in a corner, examining Keane's behaviors. He didn't begin the conversation, which as far as I know is good. I'm almost positive that the plan was for the Careers to come to him, not the opposite. I didn't know for sure because I wasn't present when Keane talked to Blight about his strategy.

I stood in the corner, spying on everybody's conversations and actions. I watched the Careers intently, trying to hear their conversation. Wait-Why am I paying this much attention to the Careers? That's Keane's job, not mine. I scolded myself for paying as much attention to the Careers as I was. I forced myself to look away and focus on what I will do during training.

What are my main priorities? Axes and poisonous plants for sure. I looked around, inspecting each station that seemed important. Snare-setting, maybe? My eyes kept gravitating over to The Gauntlet and the Ropes Course. I knew that it was Career territory, but I was tempted to try it out. I was fairly okay at climbing trees, so the Ropes Course should be fairly easy. The Gauntlet just looked like a nice challenge.

As Katniss and her partner who's name I didn't know walked in, the head trainer came out into the gym. I watched as all of the tributes filed into a circle around her, me following their lead.

"My name's Atala, and I have a few basic rules before we begin." The head trainer, who's name was apparently Atala, shouted to the group. "Experts in each skill shall remain in their stations, and you will be free to travel from area-to-area as you choose. Some stations teach survival skills, and others teach fighting techniques. Begin."

I saw Keane and the Careers race over to the deadliest weapons, beginning to show off their skills and intimidate others. I turned over to the plants section, deciding to wait to use the ax until the station clears up.

I stood in front of a large memory board full of pictures of various plants and insects. There was a stand with a red and green button that you press in according to the item that appears on the board, red meaning poisonous, and green meaning safe. I went over to the leader of the station, flipping through a book with all of the plants and their effects. I spent a good fifteen to twenty minutes attempting to memorize the plants, preparing for the memory board activity.

As I stepped over to the stand, I saw Katniss and her partner flipping through the book after me. I glared at them quickly before focusing on the board. A brown mushroom with green spots appeared on the board, and I hit the red button. If I got the correct answer, the digital presentation of the plant will explode in small particles. I continued going through the exercise, groaning when I got an answer wrong. I was eventually on alternating streaks of getting the answer right and wrong, each one about four questions long.

It was on the last question, and I had gotten the last five correct. I was determined to get this one right. A blackish-blue berry appeared on the screen, and I hesitated, unable to differentiate between the two berries I pictured in my mind. Was it a blueberry, which was safe, or was it nightlock, a very lethal fruit that grew on bushes.

I panicked for a moment, finally deciding on the green button. The screen turned red, and my shoulders fell. I could have sworn that I was right. I grumbled, attempting to satisfy myself with the fact that I had quite a few correct.

I glanced behind me at the station as I walked away, seeing Katniss get every answer correct. I felt a bubble of jealousy in my chest as I glared at her figure. She seemed bored with the situation, unlike me, who was searching the pits of my mind for the correct answer, yet still getting some of the answers wrong.

I looked longingly at the ax station, grinning when I saw nobody there. I stepped over to the station, grabbing an ax. It was a very simple design with the silver blade and black handle, yet it was amazingly sharp. I was shocked at how much lighter it seemed compared to the one at home.

I did a few tests with the ax, getting used to the feeling of it. I missed a few times as I attempted to get comfortable with it. I swore that I heard some people laughing as I missed the shoulder of the dummy by inches.

Once I got used to the sensation and weight of the ax in my hand, I began. I threw it at the dummy, the ax landing straight in it's chest. I grabbed it again, this time using it to chop limbs off of the dummy. I did this repeatedly to two or three dummies, their heads rolling gently on the ground.

I breathed heavily, placing the ax back onto the metal rack.

I heard somebody slowly clapping behind me. Turning around, I saw Cato smirking at me. Rather than glaring at him, I gave him a blank look. "Why are you staring at me?" I asked, remembering our conversation last night. I saw his face turn into a cocky grin, showing that he was able to decipher my joke despite my facial expression. His fellow Careers who stood behind him looked confused, obviously not understanding the inside joke. I also noticed Keane standing with them. He must have grabbed their attention, exactly how the plan was supposed to play out.

"No reason."

I gave them a hesitant look, turning to walk away and let the plan roll out more effectively without me interfering. Their attention needed to be focused on Keane, not me.

As I walked to the snare station, I gazed over my shoulder to see the group laughing at Katniss' partner as he fell off of the rope net.

"Peeta- They're looking at you like you're a meal." Katniss spoke to the boy's who's name was apparently Peeta.

"But Haymitch said-"

"I don't care what Haymitch said." Katniss cut him off. "Show them what you can do."

Peeta looked at Katniss hesitantly before gliding over to the weights. He grabbed one, which seemed like it weighed over one hundred pounds, and threw it, grunting in the process. The weight catapulted into the rack of spears, forcing them to spread out over the room. I looked at Cato as he raised his eyebrows in approval, nodding with his allies.

I grimaced at their form of criticism. They treated that Peeta kid like a stock show animal from District 10.

I looked at the various forms of snares, tying ropes to mimic the ones that the station expert had made. In all honesty, my snares were pretty pitiful. My knots were not tight in any way, shape, or form, and the only thing they would be able to catch was a rat. They were nowhere near the caliber of the expert's, which had the capability to make the enemies dangle by one foot.

My stomach growled as I looked at the clock. We had about fifteen minutes until lunch. What else would I have time to do before lunch? I looked around at everyone, seeing them finishing up their current stations. I decided to quickly head over to the shelter station, where I learned the best way to position rocks to where your enemy couldn't you as you hid in the makeshift home. The station was a mixture of the camouflage station and the shelter aspect of it. I used strategically placed leaves in places, successfully hiding the entrance of my tent/cave. I smiled slightly, seeing at least one thing besides the ax that I was somewhat decent at.

Atala's voice radiated over the speaker, announcing the beginning of the hour-long lunch break.


Sorry this chapter is a little short. /.\ Just wanted to save some of the content I had originally written for the next chapter.