Chapter Three, and Calzona are just about to meet. All of these chapters have been written in a rush, and so the reaping and the train ride, and probably the training of them are brief in description. This chapter is really rough around the edges, and I don't think I've done Calzona justice with their first meeting, so any advice would be nice :)
Arizona was bored.
She had been on the train for a day and she was bored already. It had taken her all of the first night, and nearly the entire first day to come to terms with what had happened to her.
She had watched the tape of her Reaping over and over, to convince herself that it had actually happened, and this was not just some cruel trick by her psyche.
If only.
After staying up for the entire night, her acceptance had come in the morning, after seeing Charles at breakfast, and her mentor, Colin Marlowe, deep in discussion concerning tactics in the Arena. It had come when she saw a potential ally or enemy getting help that she wasn't.
"What took you so long Blondie?", came the harsh, chipped, archaic accent from her weathered mentor, "Bigfoot has been here since six o'clock, and now knows how to trip an attacker."
If she wanted to stay alive then, apparently, Arizona would have to buck up her ideas about reasonable times to wake up in the morning, and fighting dirty.
Since that wake up call, she had spent the day discussing the 'basic do's and don'ts' of the arena, courtesy of Colin. He was a fossil, was condescending and harsh, however because he was a fossil he had trained reams of Tributes, and he was condescending purely because he had done what he was doing so many times before.
...
By eight o'clock that evening, the blonde was fully prepped and learned on what would be useful to learn in training, and what to try and do during the first week or so whilst she was in the Arena. Physically, she felt as if her every nerve was vibrating, and she was nearly missing the finger-aching carving she did whilst she was working. Not only this, her mind was also on edge – tingling with newly learned, vital information.
Arizona couldn't sleep, and now she was bored. If Colin was still drilling her, she wouldn't be. It was insane how being enclosed in pressurised moving metal tube made her go stir crazy during one day, but still, she could not stand it within the four decorative walls of her room.
Silently, Arizona eased open the polished mahogany door that had most likely cost more than her family's roughly constructed cabin, and slipped into the still corridor. One of the first genuine smiles in days slid onto her features, and she began to slink through into the vestibule that connected the different District's carriages.
Unbeknown to her, Callie was as bored as her counterpart six carriages along the train. She, herself, had slept late, and had missed some 'vital' advice given to Mark by their mentor – a relic called Dixon who would not make contact with either of them.
The Latina had spent the day extremely disconnected from the discussion around her. She knew it all, any way, and so did Mark, but still, he was eagerly batting it back and forth with McDinosaur.
However, there was just one part of the day that had caught her attention: the videos of the other District's reapings.
She watched as some of the other Tributes burst out in tears as their names were called, whilst one actually fainted – a mousy girl from District Eleven named Kepner. She smiled as she saw the District One & Four Tributes – the other careers - who looked competent, to say the least.
A single non-career Tribute caught her eye.
She was blonde, and looked to be about five-foot-five. She was underweight, but had a wiry toughness about her. Unlike the tributes from the other 'weaker' Districts, as her name was called, her face shut down, and became a mask of calm, instead of the dam-burst of emotion that was most common.
She was pretty, but it was her name that caught Callie the most. Arizona Robbins. It was unusual, especially to Callie. Most of her own District had Roman or Greek based names, whilst the District Seven Tribute had a name which originated from the country which was before Panem – a kind of blasphemy, as such.
...
Still, it was best not to dwell on the Tributes which did not pose that much of a threat. Still, the face of the blonde haunted her throughout the day, and still it lingered as Callie was staring out of the train window. Hearing a crash, and a whoosh of air, then a slam, Callie spun, her hand going to the ankle holster in which a dagger was kept.
As she looked towards the door, she heard raised voices, yet what she saw disturbed her more. The blonde who had been haunting her all day stood, leaning against the door, panting.
"Please don't yell.", the blonde said softly, an inexplicably sexy smile on her face nearly discounting the tremor in Arizona's voice as she spoke.
Arizona had been gliding inaudibly through the carriages, taking note of the gold embossed names on each of the mahogany doors similar to hers. She had nearly been at the middle of the train – just leaving the District Six carriage when she heard voices, saw a flash of white. Peacekeepers.
"Crap. Crap.", muttered Arizona, picking up her pace, and trying to look legitimate enough to be strolling the carriages at one in the morning. This did not work. Turning, the Peacekeepers began to walk faster, and one called out, "Miss, you shouldn't be here."
And so the chase began. The Peacekeepers probably thought that Arizona was an anti-Capitol activist trying to blow up the train, in their own right, but there was no need to pursue her, in Arizona's mind. In fact, she only ran to avoid being ripped a new asshole by Colin.
They chased her through the carriages to District Three – through the plush coaches of Five & Four, and it was then that Arizona realized that she was nearing the end of the train. "Shit.", she mumbled, breathless from sprinting. Dashing into the second to last coach, she hit the 'close door' button, and jammed the door by desperately hitting the control panel for the automatic open system.
Her hair flying about her, she dived into the nearest room, taking in the cursive gold letters before slamming the door behind her. Looking up, she saw a flash of raven hair, and tanned skin. She was looking at the possessor of the unique name on the door. Calliope Torres.
...
"Please don't yell", was the only thing that she could say, her brain overwhelmed, a wry smile slipping onto her features as she considered the luck in diving into a beautiful woman's compartment, instead of some misogynist male Tribute or, worse, a coach that belonged to the very Peacekeepers she was trying to avoid.
"So you expect me not to scream if a random tousled headed stranger, who might have some hidden agenda, comes diving into my private room?", was Callie's response, relaxing her hand from grasping position it was in by her ankle. It was the Seven Tribute, a little red in the face, but still managing to look feverishly attractive.
The blonde blushed a little at the response, but moved away from the door, more comfortable that the Career would not turn her in.
"I'm sure you can look after yourself, so really, there's no need to yell, is there?", was the sly response, Arizona's eyes flicking down the Latina's body to rest on where Callie's dagger was concealed.
It was Callie's turn to blush, as she drew the dagger out as tossed it lightly onto the wooden dresser by the doubled bed. She saw Arizona cringe as shouting drew closer, and noted it silently. Oddly, the blonde seemed to grow more at ease by the second, and slid to sit down on the bed, her breathing levelling slightly.
"Okay, so you got me. Still, there's a rather large elephant in the room, which needs to be forcefully removed, so I'll make an effort to start", said Callie, with a roll of her eyes, "What are you doing in my room, on my bed, Blondie?"
Arizona raised an eyebrow and waited a few seconds to allow Callie to appreciate all of the smart remarks she could have made in reply, but didn't. The Latina flushed further, making Arizona grin.
"I think that's for you to be deciding, not me. But, I can think of several things I could be doing...", Arizona replied sweetly, savouring every syllable, before hearing a knock on the door, and a Capitol accent call out for Callie to open the door, "Crap. Correction: as much as I'd love to be letting you have your way with me, I'm getting chased by Peacekeepers."
Unwillingly, Arizona felt herself start to flirt openly. It was involuntary, but Arizona did not try and stop it, despite the fact that it could have been considered extremely creepy.
...
What was to come next made Arizona gasp.
A strong arm slid around her waist and pulled her backwards. In a second since the knock, Callie had grabbed her, and pulled her down under the bed, gently, but firmly manoeuvring her in a way that was nearly frightening.
Arizona was surprised that her flirting had such a result, when she realised Callie was trying to hide her from Peacekeepers, and not trying to seduce her. 'Well, my luck just fell through', Arizona thought, pouting in the darkness under the four-poster, until she felt another body slide into the darkness behind her.
The blonde opened her mouth to speak, but Callie quickly reached from behind to fix a soft hand around the blonde's mouth to stop her speaking. Arizona's words caught in her throat, so even if she had wanted to, she could not have tried to speak through the fingers over her lips.
Callie heard the door open, and bit her lip, unconsciously pulling Arizona closer to her, her hand still on the other's woman's mouth. Her palm tingled from the contact with the blonde, and her breathing hitched as Arizona's body complied to her wishes and leant back against hers.
"Miss. Torres?", came a deep voice, "Are you here?"
A cautious step forwards on the wooden floorboards was heard by the two women, and both their breathing hitched.
Suddenly, making them both startle, a high-pitched woman's giggle came through the panelling next to them. 'Thank you Mark.' came a voice of relief in Callie's head. Normally, she disapproved of her friend's promiscuous actions, but at that moment, she was grateful.
"Kids…", came the grumbled complaint from the Peacekeeper, as he briefly checked the bathroom, then the wardrobe for an intruder, "Typical. They're about to die and they're messing around with each other." The two women held their breath until they heard the door shut, until Callie burst out in a fit of giggles.
Arizona felt Callie's body vibrate with the action, and she turned facing Callie, and somehow still in her arms. She began to laugh too, and soon, the two were nearly in tears in each other's arms, their sides aching as they lay in the darkness.
All Arizona could feel was Callie's arms around her, shaking lightly, her ears filled with the melodic sound of the Latina's laughter. All Callie could feel was the blonde in her arms, shaking gently, and the small light, lilting chuckles with played a tune across every pathway in Callie's body.
In both of their minds, there was no where either would rather be.
Slowly the laughter ceased, and both Callie and Arizona missed it. They lay in silence for a while before one of them spoke again.
"So you never told me the full story, how did you end up here, under my bed with me?", Callie murmured, in a voice which made Arizona shiver.
"I couldn't sleep, everything is just to much to deal with. So I decided to take a walk. I was at the District Six carriage when the peacekeepers saw me. So I ran away. My mentor would have gone ape if I had been caught. Like I said, they think I'm a terrorist. I'm not, honestly, and I'm not generally in a habit of blundering into stunning women's rooms"
They slipped back into silence, and after a very pregnant pause which neither wanted to break, Arizona pulled her head from where it was resting on Callie's chest. Immediately, the duo felt the loss between them.
"I-, um…I'd better go.", came Arizona's hesitant words. At the words, Callie's arms tightened then drew back, defeated.
"I guess you'd better", sighed the Latina, begging to slide from the darkness under the bed. Arizona did the same on the other side, standing as Callie did – watching the other girl for a moment as she walked around the gleaming, grand, bed to stand in front of Arizona.
Neither of them spoke, but both hoped the other could see what was plainly in both of their faces. It was insane, and far to sudden for Arizona's liking, but she felt a sharp twinge at the thought of leaving the room.
Unconsciously, she pouted a little, until she spotted the smirk on Callie's mouth. "Not too keen on leaving me, Arizona?", were the teasing words to accompany the smirk, along with the casual dropping of the fact that the raven-haired woman in front of her knew her name.
"If only you knew, Calliope", came the far more serious reply, a smile creeping across Arizona's features, as she recalled the name on the door.
"It's Callie.", an exasperated Callie uttered.
"After closeting away with me under your bed, I think I can call you what I like, Calliope.", was the smug reply, and smirk.
Another silence filled the air between them.
"I guess I'd better go…", Arizona mumbled, repeating her earlier sentiment, tearing herself away from the brown eyes that had been boring into her own. Callie just nodded, "I guess so."
"I'll see you around?", asked the blonde, hating the space between them, and wanting to just reach over and be in contact with the woman in front of her once more.
"Why would you even doubt that?", Callie said, before crossing the space between them, and gently putting her arms around the blonde again, giving her a gentle squeeze.
A sigh escaped Arizona's lips as Callie's breath tickled her ear, and she rested her head by Callie's clavicle, breathing in the woman's smell, before pulling lightly away and heading for the door.
"Goodnight, Calliope", she said shyly, slipping out of the door and into the hall.
...
As she stood on her own, and unknowingly mirroring the movements of the Latina she had just left, she shook her head to herself and proceeded to slink back to her own carriage, her head full of thoughts of one stunning tanned woman.
Neither of them got much sleep that night.