Updated as of June 23rd, 2021.

Hello everyone. Welcome back! I got a job this summer, so I've been tied up longer than I'd wanted to be. Sorry 'bout that.

But, here I am again! Huzzah!

Get prepared for a LONG chapter. Just warning ya now.

Onto the Story!

Disclaimer: I still have yet to grab ownership of these characters. Although it hurts, I will be happy with my own. For now.

FLASHBACK TO THE LAST CHAPTER

Luckily for me, no one was waiting for me at the dining table, nor in front of the TV, so I made it to my room without much of a hassle. Someone had ordered my food to be delivered to my room, allowing me to more than make up for my missed mid-day meal. Once I was stuffed fuller than I had ever wanted to be, I rolled the cart back over near my door and crawled into bed, the jacket having been tossed somewhere onto the floor. I curled in on myself, bunching up some of the blankets to press against the side of my face.

In my dreams, I forget about all the bad things happening. All my fears evaporate in favor of happier times, back before anything had ever happened to me. Before my body was riddled with scars. Before I knew what the Ring was. So, I went right back to sleep.

Colors of green, blue and brown swirled around me. My hair whipped around my face, blinding me for a moment as I fought it back. The sound of birds singing grew increasingly harder to hear as the wind got stronger. They scattered, scared because of...Something.

Where was I?

A shout rang out to me from somewhere in the whirlwind, the words lost but the meaning they held resonating within me. I squinted, pushing the lines of brown color out of my way as I tried to peer through the green.

Orange- or was it red?- danced along the horizon, a refreshing change from all the browns and greens that made up this messed up world. My gaze traveled up, taking in the waves of blue and white as something thick and silver entered the mix. I snapped my eyes back down to the orange color and the smaller blob of it bobbing to its right.

I knew them.

No. I knew the taller one. I recognized it, didn't I?

Hands grabbed at my shoulders, tipping my world for a second as they pulled me away. Another set gripped my arms, muffled voices filling my ears chattering about the sky and safety. I fought against them, wanting to go to the brilliant color in the distance because I knew it. I knew him. I swear I did. They yanked me back harder, the voices rising in pitch as they talked of hiding from the thick silver so we wouldn't be seen too.

The bright orange colors glittered in the light of the afternoon, bits and pieces losing their formless shapes and becoming clear. They were coming closer, their labored breathing echoing around the forest I found myself in. The hands never relented as they tried to get me to the rocks that would conceal us from the Eyes in the Sky, the voices starting to argue the longer I took. I threw out my hand, reaching out in vain as I met the red headed boy's familiar golden green gaze.

My mouth opened to form his name, to call out to him, when a net shot out from the Eye, capturing the girl in a single swoop. He skid to a stop, turning back to grab the netting as something else soared through the air, impaling him through the stomach. A big hand slapped over my mouth, the colors beginning to meld together again as I tried to scream. A new, darker red poured from his body as he was lifted up, everything fading as my world wobbled. I was thrown to the ground by the hands that held me back and they hurriedly pulled me into the darkness of the small shelter as I screamed and screamed-

"Up, up, up! Today's going to be another big, big, big day!" Effie called through the door, startling me out of my dream and sending me into panic mode.

I sat straight up in bed, my arms wrapped securely around myself as I ran to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before vomiting. My heart pumped a mile a minute, my fingers shaking as I pushed my hair out of my eyes.

"Why had she done that? Why did she always do that?" I whispered to myself, getting back to my feet as the toilet flushed automatically. Effie's voice could make people's ears bleed, so the fact that she only got higher in pitch when she woke me up was much too much. I turned the faucet to the sink on, cupping water into my hands as I washed my face, trying to forget again.

My mom always told me if I tried hard enough at something, there was nothing I couldn't do. Well, I had learned the hard way that wasn't always true. Like when I was washing dishes one night and had one fly out of my hands because I was scrubbing too hard. However, when it came to my memories, I had nearly perfected the art of getting rid of them. The one place I couldn't keep them out of was my dreams.

Realizing washing my face was futile when I was going to shower anyway, I turned off the water and took a step back. My breathing had just about returned to normal as I peeled off my clothes and pressed some buttons, prepping the shower. I went through the motions quickly, wanting to get to breakfast as soon as possible. I needed to fill up what I had let out if I wanted to put some weight on before the Games.

After stepping on the dryer-mat and slipping into my training garb, I hustled to the door and stepped out. The cool air of the hallway tickled my skin, causing goosebumps to raise on my arms. I shivered, suddenly wishing I had a coat or something to wrap up in. A sudden thought occurred to me and I turned around slowly, staring at the discarded jacket on the floor. My eyes tightened and I edged forward, gently picking it up.

A pristine, white, Avox-style jacket, the material thinner than it appeared. I just looked at it. The gears in my head struggled to compute the meaning behind it.

"Aronn," I whispered, eyes widening. Quickly realizing where I was, I ducked my head and looked around, hoping no cameras had picked up my screw-up. I really needed to watch my mouth.

Turning my gaze back to the jacket, a wave of remorse flooded my brain. I'd forgotten about the meeting I'd scheduled. I'd forgotten about him. It was just that so much was going through my head that it had completely slipped my mind. I sighed, folding up the jacket and setting it on the bed before leaving the room.

Emery came out of his room as I passed it, falling into step beside me. He held his head high and his body stiff with tension, keeping his eyes focused on the space ahead. I curled my hands into fists by my sides, looking down at my feet as we walked. My chest burned with untapped emotion, my brain getting barraged with thoughts and questions and images all concerning him.

How did I feel knowing the biggest traitor I had ever met was going to be my opponent in the Games? Let alone my district partner?

Lost? Hurt?

Hollow.

Angry.

We walked into the dining room, surprisingly the first ones to show up. I grabbed my respected seat and pulled my legs up to my chest, feeling a sort of comfort knowing I had something to hold on to. Emery sat across from me. I knew he was watching me, analyzing every move I made. My head throbbed and my mouth went dry. Too much. This...whatever it was...was too much.

The grip I had on my legs only increased the longer we sat in uncomfortable silence. I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead into my knees, clenching my jaw as my anger built. He still had the gall to protect me from those camera-wielding psychos, to guide me around the training area like I was his friend. To send all those confusing looks my way as if he actually cared...

I shoved my chair away from the table, pulse racing, and hurried out of the room, brushing past Haymitch and Effie as they finally showed their faces.

"Hey, what's going on-" the older man started, but I tuned him out. Screw training. Screw the Capitol, the Games, the whole thing! They could find another tribute to fight like they did for District 9.

I slammed my fist into the door to my room, welcoming the dull ache of pain it caused as I went in. The Avoxes had forgotten to collect the food cart from the night prior, and I couldn't help but take my anger from everything else out on it. Lashing out with my foot, I kicked over the trolley and watched in disdain as the platters and trays tumbled out across the floor. I glared at their perfect surfaces, the smooth porcelain unchanged despite the fall. Pristine, orderly, just like everything else in the Capitol.

I grabbed one of the unused plates and held it up, watching the light glint off of its face. A sneer tugged at my lip, my hands gripping the edges like a vice. With a quick flick of my wrist, the saucer went flying, smashing against the wall in a cascade of shattering pieces. I could feel the cruel grin forming as I took in the damage, another plate finding its way into my hands.

A bubble of uncontrollable laughter popped from my mouth as I chucked dish after dish at the wall, throwing harder with every new object I picked up. It felt so good to release all the pent-up aggression, to finally get to take it out on something. I dropped the plate I was holding and grabbed at my hair, throwing it into a ridiculously messy braid before continuing. Who cared how ugly my skin was? Why would that matter if I was dead anyway?

If I was dead anyway.

I paused. Looking down at my hands, I sobered considerably. My gaze slowly trailed over all the scattered shards littering the carpet, the bits of food smattering the walls. It looked like a tornado had went through the room. I suppose, in a way, one kind of did.

I hugged myself and shuffled to the bed, brushing a few of the plate pieces off. I picked up the jacket and hugged it to me as I sat down, drawing my legs in. My eyes drifted shut as I buried my face in the fabric, tears of frustration softly trailing down my cheeks.

Why. Why couldn't some other kid have been picked instead of Emery. Out of all those slips of paper, he had to be picked with me.

You know, this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't volunteered.

The sound of the door sliding open froze me in place, my head gradually lifting to see whoever had opened it. Aronn stood in the doorway, his eyebrows raised at all the damage. A wave of guilt flooded through me as I stood up, still gripping the jacket. His gaze traveled lower to the white covering, quickly glancing back at my face as if to scrutinize it.

"I'm sorry for the mess I made," I choked out, setting the coat back on the bed. His face seemed to soften just the slightest as he nodded, walking over to the toppled food cart and righting it.

"Here, let me," I said, moving closer to help pick up the hundreds of shards.

He remained silent as he meticulously plucked each piece from the carpet, piling them into the waste bin he had taken from the cart. I gently bumped his shoulder with mine, allowing a small smile to form on my face. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, a wry smirk pulling at his lips as he bumped me back.

"Jerk," I mumbled, tossing a rather large plate piece into the bin as I acted like I was clearing my throat.

"...umb-ass."

It was barely uttered, just a wisp of a word leaving his lips. But, it was all I needed to confirm my theory.

I turned and threw my arms around him, not caring about the possible hidden cameras or the opening door behind us. My fingers curled into his uniform as I burrowed my face into his chest, tears pricking at my eyes again. He felt bigger than what I remembered, but I had to remind myself that we were just kids the last time I had held him like this. Just scared, struggling kids.

"I thought you were dead," I sniffled, my voice muffled by his clothing. My heart wrenched as I remembered the day in the woods, the memory behind my dream. For months it haunted my nights. I couldn't push it far enough away before it came back, the blood seeming even more real than it had in real life.

Aronn's hand had come to rest on my hip. His calloused fingers gently rubbed my side, but I couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't returning my embrace as much as I was giving it. When his ministrations suddenly stopped I pulled back, looking up at him in confusion as someone cleared their throat.

Emery was standing at the entrance of the room. His body was as tense as when we were walking to the dining room, his hands curled into fists by his sides. His eyes had narrowed and a slight sneer pulled at his lip, a vein in his neck pulsing. He was looking between the two of us, his gaze lingering a second longer on Aronn.

"Haymitch and Effie were worried about you," he grumbled out, taking a step away. "They want you to come eat as soon as you can."

"Okay," I said, my voice cracking despite my best efforts. He flinched slightly at the sound, but the door was already starting to shut before he could say any more.

I wiped absently at my eyes and sat back, feeling Aronn's hand fall away like it was never there in the first place. We had cleared up most of the destruction, but there were still a few of the sharp fragments here and there. Aronn nodded his head towards the door, silently telling me to go as he continued cleaning up after me. Just like he always had.

I looked back once before leaving the room, feeling like I was losing a piece of myself I had finally gained back. I took my hair out of its braid, biting my lip slightly as I watched the once proud boy I knew kneel on the ground to pick up after a tribute's tantrum. The Aronn I knew would have had two others already doing the job for him before he could snap his fingers. I smiled slightly, but it faded out. I suppose that's what blocking things out does to you. You lose the good with the bad.

Haymitch and Effie were sitting quietly at the table, Emery surprisingly seated in his normal spot. I reluctantly pulled out my chair and sat, criss-crossing my legs like I did when I was younger. Our breakfast platters were already filled to the brim in front of us, but no one had bothered to eat anything yet. I pulled my plate closer and dug in, deciding to focus on the food rather than the people. I was determined to get my fill before quickly fleeing to the gym.

Haymitch eyed my overly eager behavior, his lips pursing as he nursed his drink. The look in his eye made me feel like I was vulnerable, that he could read every aspect of my thoughts and he knew. He knew how damaged I had become. It felt like he was knocking over each and every brick I had taken so much care in building up around me, sealing myself away from everyone else. Just with that one damned look.

I bowed my head a little more towards my plate, trying to ignore any more of their looks, their stares. If I couldn't see it, it wasn't there. Right? Besides, they had wanted me to come out and eat and I was. What more did they want from me?

Haymitch cleared his throat, but I didn't even pause in my shoveling. A frustrated sigh soon followed, along with the clunk of his cup being set down. My shoulders tensed, however nothing could stop me and my quest to finish my eggs.

"Alright. It seems to me that a conflict of interest has been brought up between you two, am I right?" He asked, looking back and forth between Emery and me.

I set my fork down beside my spoon. The plate was very nearly clean of all traces of breakfast, thanks to my appetite. I wiped my mouth on my arm and pushed back from the table, already a few steps away from them all.

"Stop right there, brat," Haymitch called, causing me to freeze. "I wasn't finished talking to you."

"There is nothing to talk about, Haymitch," I said lowly, gradually turning to look over my shoulder. "Everything's been left in the past."

Emery looked up from his food then, fixing me with his stare. I returned his gaze, allowing no emotion to show in my eyes. It wasn't that hard considering I already felt empty inside. Turning on my heel, I strode to the elevator, squaring my shoulders once the doors closed behind me. Enough self-pity. I hated pity-parties when other people threw them, so why should I let myself get away with one?

The doors slid back open and I went into the gymnasium, blanking my mind to get rid of everything I had just experienced on my district's floor. I walked right into the throng of tributes waiting for Atala's orders, finding Klew and Hive easily. They smiled cheerily at me, and I couldn't help but marvel at how much confidence they had both grown since Klew approached me, what was it, two days ago? Just two days, and Hive had a gleam of life in his eye. He wouldn't be a bloodbath tribute. No, not anymore.

See, Laurel? You can do some good.

Yeah, well, hope can only take you so far. He'll still die no matter what you do. You want to win, don't you?

Do I?

"Hey, you look like you've seen a ghost," Hive joked, his crooked smile still in place. "You okay?"

I smiled back. "I'm perfectly fine, Hive. Never felt better."

Klew laughed, a few of the tributes near us giving her incredulous looks. I suppose they found it out of place for a tribute to show any semblance of happiness when death was imminent.

"Alright, tributes! Listen up!" Atala shouted, drawing all eyes to her. "Today is the last day you will have to train before going into the Arena. It is also the day where you will have to impress the Gamemakers with whatever skill you think you're the best at."

Tributes began murmuring to each other and themselves, most of them looking worried. Atala raised a hand, silencing the room once more.

"Only one sparring session will be held today as to give the rest of you plenty of time to train before your time comes. As for the new tribute, she will not be given any special treatment, nor will there be any delay before the Games. That is all. You may go train now."

Everyone scattered to different stations except the Careers, who took their sweet time deciding on where to go. I accidentally caught Cato's eye when I glanced over at them, watching as he raised an eyebrow at me. Glimmer quickly reclaimed his attention by tugging playfully on his arm, probably asking him to show off for her at the sword station. His eyes flickered back over to me once before he turned to follow her.

Sighing, I turned back to Hive and Klew only to find their own eyes looking expectantly at me. I paused, my brain scrambling to recall what they had said. Klew rolled her eyes with an understanding smile, her hand gently taking my own as she led me to a station. Hive trailed close behind.

"So, perfectly fine, eh?" She asked casually, glancing back at me once as we walked. My eyes narrowed and I yanked my arm away from her, striding ahead of them in spite.

My body tensed and I slowed to a stop, swallowing hard as I looked at the station in front of us. The fluorescent lights overhead glinted off of the metallic curves of the bows, the perfect craftsmanship striking awe in me. The arrows were crafted in the same fashion as the bows, and I could feel my fingers itching to notch one up.

"I sure hope you know more about bows than I do, otherwise we're about to make huge embarrassments of ourselves," Klew sighed, coming to a stop beside me. I swallowed hard and looked at her from the corner of my eye, drawing up a weak smile.

"Well, get ready to get laughed at," I chuckled forcefully, my pride taking a blow.

The expert there wasn't too excited or too disinterested, instead choosing to remain indifferent as he went about showing us what bows we could probably handle and the arrows that go with them. I nodded along, feigning thankfulness when he gave me a bow I could have used when I was ten. Klew's wasn't any better, and once I watched how Hive struggled to even start pulling the string toward him I realized just how little the Capitol man cared. However, ever the actress, I smiled at him and thanked him for the help, waiting until he walked back to his booth to switch bows with Hive. He sent me a grateful glance before we turned to the targets up ahead.

I held back, allowing Klew and Hive to get familiar with the weapons before attempting to shoot with them. Hive's first arrow went five feet and stopped. Klew's veered way off to the right side, missing the target completely. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I took my place, notching the arrow into place like I had done for years now.

Remember, no showing off. Keep at least one talent hidden.

I got a feel for the bow's temperament as I pulled back the string, tilting my arm and aiming slightly higher than the target. If it was anything like what we would find in the Arena, I better familiarize myself fast.

The arrow soared straight over the target, hitting the wall and clanging loudly to the floor. I forced myself to shrug it off, turning to the District 3 tributes with a half-smile.

"Embarrassments together, at least?" I joked, eliciting a giggle from Klew.

"Wow, talk about embarrassing," a voice sneered, causing my hold on the bow to tighten.

"Just ignore them, guys," Hive muttered, his eyes level with his shoes. Klew pursed her lips, turning to go put her bow back so she could leave.

"You all are so pathetic," she continued, the venom that laced her voice strong enough to kill a bear.

Glimmer strode over to Klew, ripping the bow from her hand before she got halfway back to the rack. Klew took a step away, her body tensing as she prepared herself to run.

"How about a professional shows you fodder tributes how it's done?" Glimmer said, her mouth curling into a vicious grin. Her district partner laughed heartily in response, apparently the only Career wanting to stay in her presence longer than a minute.

"Put 'em in their place, Glim!" He chuckled, not catching the glare she sent his way at the nickname.

"Oh, by all means, put us in our place," I commented, bowing slightly as I gestured towards the targets. "Show us just how good you are."

Glimmer paused for a moment, her face twitching as she scrutinized me. I just smiled pleasantly in return, feeling the need to nock another arrow and send it into that pretty little head of hers. In time, Laurel. In time.

"I will," she finally said, staying where she was. It was probably the best thing her dim-witted brain could come up with seeing as her go-to insult was Seam rat. My face broke out into a grin as I motioned grandly toward the targets yet again.

"Be my guest," I said back, allowing a small bit of ice to frost my words over.

Klew stood off out of Glimmer's view, sending me a big thumbs-up and a cheeky grin. Anything against the Careers seemed to be her cup of tea, I noted curiously.

Glimmer stalked forward, attempting to shoulder me out of the way but instead stumbling when I moved two steps backward. Recovering with a little less grace than I expected out of her, she took position and raised the bow, her stance left unchanged since I had last watched her shoot. I smirked, watching knowingly as the arrow veered straight toward the ground, skidding across it a yard or two before beginning a short roll and stopping a few feet from the target itself.

The pure fury on her face was enough to rival Katniss' signature scowl, filling me with a sense of uneasiness that had me holding my bow in a subtle defensive position. Her District partner shifted uncomfortably, not sure what to say seeing as she had missed so horribly.

"It's not like you could do any better, you disgusting little Seam rat!" She hissed, her one and only insult losing its desired effect on me. I smiled softly.

"Is that a challenge, Miss Wickfield?" I asked, stepping forward a bit. She paused, her mind struggling to come up with something witty. I shrugged, walking up beside her before aiming the bow.

"Well, challenge accepted," I murmured, pulling the string taut and letting it fly.

Thunk.

Bull's-eye.

I heard Hive's startled gasp and Klew's excited clapping from behind me, but it was as though they were fading into the background. The sharpness of the first clap dulled, being increasingly drowned out by the pounding thump-thump of my heart. Blood rushed through my ears, a gushing waterfall of panic and fear. It was then that I realized just how big of a mistake I had made.

Clearing my throat, I composed myself with practiced ease and lowered the bow slowly. I cocked my head and looked over at the speechless half-brain beside me, watching as her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Fascinating. A rush of cool calmness swirled within my breast, setting my heart back to its normal pace. Calculated confidence slowed the roaring of my blood as I narrowed my eyes at her, a mocking smirk curling my lip. Had she really underestimated me that much? I found myself reveling in the chagrin burning her ears despite the despair lingering in the back of my mind.

Spinning on my heel, I strolled back towards the weapons rack, setting my bow back in its place. Rolling my shoulders, I stretched a bit and turned back to the still reeling blonde.

"Thank you so much for putting us in our place. I feel much better now!" I chuckled, hooking arms with Klew. "Don't you, Klew?"

"Oh, uh, yeah! Much better," she tittered, her eyes scanning my face like I had grown a second head.

"Well, see you around, Glim!" I called, ushering Hive to come with once he had stashed his bow. Her eyebrows turned down immediately, her face turning blotchy from anger. She stood there sputtering for the few moments it took us to leave the station. Marvel tried to comfort her, but it only served to tick her off even more.

Klew kept glancing at my face, still surprised by the little defiance I had shown back there. In truth, I was surprised by my own actions. My mom was always telling me I had the tendency to do things without thinking beforehand. Well, she wasn't wrong.

My hands were shaking, the panic I had originally felt surfacing again. I made them into fists, hoping my companions wouldn't notice. I needed to get a lock on my emotions soon. Ever since my revelation about Emery I could barely control them. It was annoying to say the least.

"Hey, can we head over to the shelter-making station? It'll probably be useful in the Arena, right?" Hive asked nervously, although he wasn't as timid as he usually sounded, which was an improvement.

"Sounds wonderful, Hive," I murmured, watching my feet we walked.

My surroundings began blurring together as my mind spiraled out of control, leaving me cold and numb. Why was I breaking so easily? All the careful consideration I took to build myself up past everything I had ever experienced was wasted.

How weak, a part of me spat, looking on with disdain. How very, very weak.

My hands moved without my consent, my mouth saying words I hadn't commanded. The skill expert laughed, or had she just smiled? Everything was empty, every action an autopilot response. Klew nudged me, her body's heat scalding on my freezing skin. She said something, held up something, and I stared blankly at her, wishing I could break out of this haze.

We were moving again, no, only I was moving. My lips moved, coming up with an excuse that I hadn't the will to think up myself as I walked away. Images of my worn down house and the little meadow I used to play in flashed across my eyes, all the good memories they held being fished up along with them. I could remember when my mother had brought Luke and Lily home from her midwife's house for the first time, how little and helpless they seemed and how tired my mom was. I could remember forcing them to learn how to walk because I wanted them to be able to keep up with me. I remember talking nonsense to them for hours waiting for them to talk back, but they had only been babies. They weren't old enough to talk back yet. But I tried anyway. I tried for months until finally Luke had said his first coherent word back to me. I didn't tell Mother because I knew how long she had been waiting for them to say Mama. I doted on them for everything. They were my whole world until I met Emery.

And here I was, having a complete mental breakdown when I should be training to make it back home to them.

Just like that, the smoke before my eyes cleared and I was back in control.

I blinked a couple times to orient myself, taking a shaking breath as I stared at the swords gleaming in front of me. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, the body heat that followed faintly warming my chilled side. I clenched my jaw, wishing my autopilot hadn't just waltzed into another debacle with another Career.

"Sword-play, huh? Didn't think a scrawny thing like you would be interested in something like this," he chuckled, looking down at me like I was a child.

"Believe me, 2, I can handle more than you could even imagine," I found myself saying, still wondering where all my confidence had come from. He smirked, crossing his arms as he stared me down.

"Alright then. Show me what you've got."

Crap.

Not one to back down from a challenge, I stalked over to the intimidatingly sharp weapons and began testing them, getting a feel for which one I could use the easiest. To my dismay, most of them were far too heavy for me. Some of them I could barely lift. I could feel Cato's smug grin as he observed my struggles, causing a frown to form on my features. Damn him.

I grabbed one of them at random, tired of wasting time, and went over to the practice dummies. For a moment I tossed around the idea of hacking into it, but then I would risk looking like the District 7 girl, Juliet. So, taking a deep breath to center myself, I got a comfortable grip on the hilt of the sword and swung, aiming for the neck.

The blade made it less than halfway through, sand spilling out from the gaping wound I had managed to inflict. My lip curled and I sighed, knowing that it wasn't good enough. Cato slowly moved closer, eyes scrutinizing the dummy as its head deflated due to lack of filling. I lowered the sword, wishing for just a moment that it was a set of knives instead.

"Not bad, 12. Not bad," he acknowledged, his voice low as if he were merely speaking to himself. I looked up at him then, analyzing every inch of his face to try and gleam a hint of what his was thinking.

Wordlessly, he took the sword from me and turned to the next closest dummy, taking its head off in one clean cut. I frowned again. Show-off.

"See, it's not that hard, 12. You have to want it, deep down. And just like that-" he raised the sword and slashed down, "you'll get it."

I blinked, watching speechlessly as the dummy's arm fell to the floor with a thump. He looked down at the severed limb with disinterest, a coldness creeping upon his features. I narrowed my eyes, looking him up and down to find his angle. What was he attempting to accomplish by telling me this stuff?

"Can I have that back now?" I asked, holding my hand out gingerly. He cocked his head to the side, scrutinizing my face with his cold stare. I met his gaze evenly, knowing just how powerful he was and standing my ground anyway. Without a word, he flipped the sword, pressing the hilt to my palm without a word.

A smirk wormed its way onto my face as I turned away, moving a ways away to a new dummy. Steadying myself, I raised the weapon, thinking of the one face of my past that I would never be able to forget, no matter how hard I would try. His eyes were the color of the suffocating smoke that rolled out of the mines after another collapse, bringing pain and suffering to all who looked. His hair was as black as an oil slick, shiny from globs of old grease he used on it every morning. He had a salt-and-peppered beard that grew unruly and unkempt from a hard, unforgiving face weathered with age and abuse. And his grin. That disgusting, yellowed grin.

My blood boiled and my arms shook slightly. I hated him. I hated him with everything I was. Despicable. Loathsome. Vile. Monster. He was a monster. He needed to be ripped apart by hundreds of the Capitol's muttations. By the feral dogs that roamed the Seam at night. By all the children forced to lose their childhood innocence much too early.

I swung the sword, my arms locking up when I couldn't move it any further. I clenched my eyes shut to regain composure and pulled the blade away from the dummy. Slowly, I opened them again, gritting my teeth in disappointment from my results. Cato sauntered over, eyebrows raised as he examined the damage.

"I suppose I'm just no good at swordplay," I muttered, trying my hardest to get my muscles to relax. Cato grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling just the slightest.

"Suppose not," he agreed, still looking at the dummy.

"Well, thanks for your advice, at least," I whispered, just in case someone were to be listening.

He nodded, the only acknowledgement I would probably get from him. I stood there for another moment, welcoming the silence between us for however long it would last. Eventually, I decided it would be best to go before somebody like Glimmer showed up to disturb the peace. So, without really thinking about it, I gently took hold of Cato's arm and slid the sword's handle into his hand, letting go as quickly as possible. He hadn't seem to noticed, being too busy looking at the dummy still. I sighed and walked away, taking the time to find Hive and Klew before rejoining them.

"Hey, are you better now?" Klew asked hesitantly, as if the wrong word would send me off on a tangent.

"...Yeah, I think so," I said, a ghost of a smile forming. I glanced back at the sword station, the smile vanishing when I saw the District 2 girl standing by Cato, a scowl marring her petite features.

"That's good. I thought you were going a little nutzo for a while there," she laughed, the sound almost foreign in a place like this.

"Wanna go to the fishing station next?" Hive said, eyeing said station with slight interest.

"Why not?" I shrugged, facing the duo with another faint smile. I needed to get better at that.

~OoOoO~

I stared hard at the training dummy's neck, my mind wandering back to her face right before she attacked. It was hard to imagine that someone so weak could have an anger so strong. Makes you wonder just what could piss someone like her off so much.

"Cato? What are you doing?" Clove demanded, breaking me out of my concentration. I looked down at her with a sneer, my hand tightening on the sword 12 had given back to me.

"What does it matter? Why aren't you training with your precious knives?" I countered, watching as she balked at my words. She was so easy to rile up.

"I could be asking you nearly the same question, you ass," she hissed, crossing her arms petulantly. "Fraternizing with that fodder tribute. What do you think you're doing?"

I bristled, glaring down at the short spitfire with a frown.

"I think what I'm doing is none of your business, considering your lack of knowledge on intimidation tactics," I spat, stalking over to the other swords to grab my usual one. I didn't even have to look back at her to know that she was taking my words exactly how I wanted her to.

"Oh really?" She started, going on her rant about being picked specifically on how well she did in her training that I had already heard at least seven times since getting to this godforsaken place. What she failed to see was how little I cared about things like that.

I focused again on the training dummies, exercising my own skills for a few minutes before turning back to the short brunette.

"Why don't we go meet with the others, Clove? I think I'm done here," I said carelessly, handing my sword off to the supposed 'expert' of this station. She paused in her speech, her ears burning when she realized what I had done.

"Fine, whatever. Just get a move on," she huffed, turning on her heel and walking away. I watched her go expressionlessly, turning to look at 12's dummy one last time before pushing its head slightly off-balance.

Sand poured out like a fountain as it tipped, the weight of what remained ripping the burlap like it was nothing until it hung limply by the dummy's shoulder.

I smirked, rolling my shoulders once as I took off after Clove.

A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter! And all chapters before that! I would list you all right now but I'm running on a strict schedule so I'll try later!

And thanks to my Silent Watchers! I've gained a lot of you recently and I love you almost as much as your talking brethren.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Okay.

BYE!