Hey, guys... I didn't forget this, I swear. Honestly, I have no excuse for my absence. ...I don't know.
But thank you all SO much for following and adding this story to your favorites. 37 followers! I'm so shocked that I was able to get this many followers in such a small amount of time. Words cannot describe how thankful I am for all of you. Just re-reading all of the reviews just made me want to write so badly, and I'm so glad that I did. Thank you all so, so much! ^.^
makemecoffee- Thank you! I'm glad you said that, because that was an issue I had with other stories of mine. By the way, I love your username. c;
XxEyelinerHeartsxX and Hpisdabest- Thank you so much! I am working on it. c;
ThroughtheEyeofaNeedle- Thank you! I'm trying my best not to make Brigid a Mary-Sue, so I appreciate the reassurance.
TheAlabasterPhoenyx- Nice. c; I'm so glad you got an account! I hope you enjoy the site. Thank you! As I said above, I appreciate the reassurance that Brigid isn't a Mary-Sue. Phew. No problem. Thank YOU for reviewing.
Tonight I'm so alone, this sorrow takes ahold. Don't leave me here, so cold; Never want to be so cold.
Your touch used to be so kind, your touch used to give me life. I've waited all this time; I've wasted all this time.
Don't leave me alone 'cause I barely see at all. Don't leave me alone, I'm...
Falling in the black, slipping through the cracks.
Falling to the depths; Can I ever go back?
Dreaming of the way it used to be. Can you hear me?
Falling Inside The Black - Skillet
I stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. It was impossible with all of the thoughts echoing around my head. I looked at the clock, breathing in relief when I saw that it was time to begin my morning routine.
I pulled the comforter off of me and moved to my closet. I grabbed the same set of training clothes that I wore yesterday, taking them into the bathroom with me. I breathed in the refreshing minty scent, trying to revitalize myself after my nonexistent slumber. I exited the stall, wiping the condensation off of the mirror in the process. After changing, I noticed what the lack of sleep did to my appearance. My eyes were dark, with deep purple markings under them. I sighed, leaning my head into my hands. How am I going to do this?
Forcing myself to move my feet, I walked to the dining room where breakfast resided. Everyone was there, just beginning their meal. Johanna even arrived.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Johanna mocked. I sent her a blank stare, preparing my plate. I had no appetite whatsoever, and I mentally vomited from the sight of the other's plates. They were loaded with pancakes, bacon, eggs, biscuits, coffee, and fruit. I shook my head, placing one pancake on my plate with a banana. I made sure to sit as far away from everybody as I could without seeming suspicious.
Just think, this is what the Capitol does to these children. I'm already even more isolative than I already was since coming here.
I glared at my plate as I finished, fuming in anger at the Capitol. I could hear Anastasia's obnoxiously nasally voice filling the air as she rattled on about Keane's amazing performance in training. I rolled my eyes, inwardly laughing. Keane was nothing compared to the Careers, who have trained their whole lives for this moment. There's absolutely no comparison between the two.
I was mentally conflicted, alternating between excitement that I had more time before the games start, but also disappointment that I had to spend a longer period of time in the Capitol. A city full of pompous, arrogant asses, or an arena where you fight until the death.
After breakfast was completed, Keane and I quickly moved towards the training center. I scowled, remembering the incident in the elevator yesterday. I was hoping that I wouldn't have any more interaction with the Careers until the Games. The glass doors slid open silently, Keane and I stepping into the center unnoticed. I glanced around me, observing the tributes that had arrived. Everybody had practiced what they had originally been interested in, and most of the tributes were just perfecting their already-known skills before the private sessions with the Gamemakers.
I watched Keane make his way to the Careers, engaging in his "swagger walk" once again. Marvel slapped him on the back, smirking like the devil. He whispered something in Keane's ear, something that obviously irritated him by his reaction of cringing in disgust. Keane scowled deeply, glaring at Marvel with the intensity of a thousand suns.
I could make out a few words that he said, but his voice rose and fell with the intensity of his emotions. "Hell, No! You..."
Once again, Cato caught my gaze at the group and smirked. Those goddamn smirks... For the first time in years, I felt my cheeks begin to flush a pale pink. I forced the blush away, glaring at his form. By the time I glared at him, his attention had been shifted to the other's conversation. What in the world was that blush about? All he did was smirk; how could something like that make me so flustered? And... He's a Career for Heaven's sake. A Career; A member of the group that brutally murdered and tortured my sister. It's against everything in my creed to have those kind of emotional reactions to one of them.
I scowled and stalked away to the axe station, intending to use training as a method of distraction. I grabbed the same axe I used yesterday, gripping the handle so tightly to the point where my knuckles turned white. I needed a challenge. My eyes finally landed on another station similar to the one that was in the Gauntlet involving the yellow holograms.
My grip on the axe tightened when the bright white lights of the station flickered on, signaling the beginning of the exercise.
A faded figure ran towards me, wielding a spear. Without hesitation, I jammed the blade of my axe into it's abdomen. A large gust of wind emanated from behind me, causing me to duck down. I escaped the blade of a sword by two inches, and as I shot upwards, I decapitated the hologram. A strong punch hit the small of my back, and I fell to my knees. Gritting my teeth, I returned to my feet and hit the figure with the handle of the axe.
I looked hesitantly around me, searching for any sign of another hologram. I turned around sharply and threw the axe at the figure coming towards me. As I ran to retrieve my weapon, the lights in the station dimmed.
My breathing was heavy as I massaged the spot on my back where I had been hit. Joy; another bruise to add to the collection.
I stepped off of the platform that the exercise took place in and hung the axe onto a rack of various weapons. I glared at the ground as walked out of the vicinity of the station, faltering when I saw two pairs of feet in front of me. I hardened my glare before looking at the face of the person, nearly exhaling in relief when it was only Rue. My gaze softened and I smiled ever so slightly at the girl who reminded me so much of my sister.
"Brigid, right?" She spoke hesitantly.
The small smile remained on my face for a fraction of a second before hardening back into my emotionless mask. "Yes. What do you need?"
She looked at the ground hesitantly before glancing at my face. "Y-Yesterday I saw you trying out the poisonous plant station, and I was just wondering..." She trailed off.
I tried to smile to regain a sense of comfort. "Yeah?"
"Um... I didn't know if you... Would you like me to help you out?" She looked at me, smiling slightly.
I was so surprised at the offer. I never would have expected anybody to provide any help; and to me, of all people. "Of course." My voice still held the surprise that I felt.
Her persona warmed instantly and she smiled brightly. She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the station, grabbing the handbook of various plants. "To help remember which plant is which, I always pay attention to the stems. The majority of all poisonous plants have a few black or brown specks on it, and the safe ones will be a solid color." She continued lecturing me on various ways to differentiate the plants, and I paid the most attention I could to the advice she gave.
I retried the digital plant test, still getting a few answers wrong, but having a slight improvement from where I was. As I finished the test, I turned to Rue and sent her a genuine thanks.
As I watched her go about the other areas of the room, my heart had a slight pain in it as I was reminded of Bree. Rue reminded me of Bree so much in her personality, and I was once again reminded of the fact that only one of us is going to win this. As heartbreaking as it would be, there's a large possibility of Rue not making it through the Games. Hell, even I have a minimal chance of winning, and such a gentle twelve year old couldn't intentionally hunt all of the other tributes and kill them.
I glanced up from the ground to see the back of Cato's head as he chuckled with the Careers.
I sent him a glare before turning to sit on the roof. Training was almost over for the day, and I was sick of being around everybody. I trudged down the barren halls towards the roof. As I stepped onto the concrete, a wave of exhaustion hit me, reminding me of my lack of sleep the night before. I sat on the cool concrete, taking to watching the sun go down. The end of another day in the Capitol; one day closer to the Games.
I sighed and lay down on my back, closing my eyes. I just want this to all be over. I'm having doubts about my chances of success in the Games, but I still wanted to hold on to that single shred of hope. I took a deep breath through my nostrils, folding my arms over my head. I tensed as I heard footsteps tapping against the surface of the roof. They were heavy and loud, showing that it must've been a male. In all honesty, I was too lazy to even move my arms to look.
I heard a familiar grumble and I inwardly groaned. Keane. I remained silent as the footsteps drew near.
"You know, this is my spot you're sitting in." He spoke sharply and harshly, obviously annoyed by my presence.
I ignored him and stood up. Before retreating into the innards of the building, I made a quick comment. "You fight well." It was simple and blunt, but held a meaning behind it.
Ever since the beginning of the Games, we have ignored each other as much as we could, him often trying to intimidate me out of my shoes. I have ignored him and continued seeing him as less than he truly was, but this one comment opens up a whole new level of communication. We may still never talk, but it may just keep a target from being on my back for an extended period of time. It'll show him that I have at least a minimal form of respect for him and will slightly ease the tensions between us.
Happy with the idea of not being a target so early in the Games, I walked back to the apartment. Johanna, Blight, and Anastasia were sitting at the table discussing who-knows-what, and Johanna looked half asleep in her seat. Blight was apparently drunk off of his rocker and smiling at Anastasia and reinforcing the continuation of the conversation. I heard a few snippets of it, including "tattoos", "sparkles", and "champagne".
I sighed and went into my room, flopping onto the bed. My lack of sleep the night before has taken it's toll on me, causing an exuberant amount of exhaustion. I sighed as I slipped into bed without bothering to get prepared.
Before I fell off into dreamland, I could hear the distinct, annoying trill of Anastasia's voice, trailing on about some famous fashion designer. Cinna, or something?
Alas, it is finally up. Again, I apologize for the lack of updating. But I've made some improvements on my plan of how the story will go while I wasn't here, so I'm excited to put those into action. ^.^ Thank you all for reading.
