Chapter 7- Precursor
Katniss POV
After Juniper and Boggs lived through their interviews, we sent them straight to bed. Training began tomorrow, and we needed them ready to go at nine. I came up to the penthouse in the Capitol's Training Center. District 12 got the penthouse because we were the furthest away from the Capitol or an odd reason like that.
Effie poured us each some wine (except Haymitch stuck to booze) and we watched the re-run of the interviews on the TV in the living area. I had changed from Cinna's wonderful remake of my famous fire dress to some comfy black pajamas that were still in the room that was designated to me after all these years. The penthouse had many rooms, even more than the one Prim and I had.
"Psst, Katniss, your phone," Peeta whispered to me. He was right, my phone was beeping on the counter. I raced to get it.
"Hello?" I asked, expecting Prim.
"Katniss is it true?" Gale asked appalled, "Was Nicki picked?'
I sighed, "Yes, Gale, it is."
Nicki POV
The last thing I could do was sleep.
I tossed, I turned, I tried to get comfortable in any way I could. That didn't work. I got up and turned up the fan, hoping more cool air would help me. It did help me as far as cooling my anxiety over tomorrow a bit, but I still couldn't sleep.
Why can't I enjoy sleeping when I have the time? In four days, sleep will be even harder to come by. I sighed and crawled back in to bed and tried to count seconds.
Sleep did not come.
Seneca POV
"Deep in the meadow, under the willow. A bed of grass, a soft green pillow. Lay down your head and close your sleepy eyes. And when again they open, the sun will rise. Here it is safe, here it is warm. Here I guard you from every harm. Here the dreams are sweet that tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you."
"I know that song," she said as I tucked covers around her.
"Do you? I hear it's very popular as a lullaby out in 12."
"I love you, Seneca."
"I know, I love you too Prim. Now, we need to sleep. We have a check-in with Plutarch and the Game Makers so we can observe training," I said as she lay against me.
"Did you say we're going to watch training? As in both of us?"
"Yes.'
"I thought that the rules…" I cut her off with a soft kiss.
"Since when have we played by these rules of which you speak?" I asked in a very stereotypical Capitol accent. It made her smile.
"True, so I'll see you in the morning," she closed her eyes.
"See you then, Little Duck."
Haymitch POV
If there's anything I hate more than an empty booze bottle, it's mentoring every damn year. The tributes are usually whiny about their miserable luck, and after a while, it pisses me off. Katniss and Peeta were fine, I guess, once we got past the 'make people like you' thing on Katniss' part.
This year, I'd say, wasn't the best or the worst.
Juniper did well in playing her role as a nervous little girl, humbly answering Caesar. Boggs also had to get points for portraying the secret strongman.
I met them at eight thirty AM to take them to the training area. Katniss had late afternoon shift of watching while Peeta decided to take midday. The Game Makers, including Head Game Maker Seneca Crane, would all be watching closely.
"Hurry, hurry! We don't have much time!' Effie was near a panic attack. In response, I cracked open a new bottle of booze.
Correction; the only thing I hate more than mentoring s being told what to do when by Effie.
Nicki POV
The training complex was a dark sort of room. It had mats all over the place; each looked like its own station. There was knife throwing, archery, survival skills, and sword fighting among others. I had my hair up in my jabberjay hair tie so it'd be out of my eyes so I could focus.
Roan, Lovage (our mentor), and I got out of the elevator and Lovage directed Roan and I inside. The room was sound proof, this I could tell because of all the blue material that was on the walls. I knew this was used to block out sounds. Atala, a dark skinned woman dressed in tight training clothes, greeted us at the door. Roan and I filed in along with the other tributes as Lovage boarded the elevator again. Once he was gone, Atala turned to us.
"In two weeks, twenty three of you will be dead. Your survival time and chances depends greatly on how much you learn over the next few days. Most of the stations are individual training, except sword fighting. But, no harming other tributes. On the fourth day of training each of you will be evaluated on how much you've learned by the Game Makers. Understand?"
Twenty four "Yes's" filled the room as Atala looked each of us over.
"Very well, but one last thing. Do not overlook the survival skills station. Most of you will die from natural causes in the arena. Go."
I walked over to a fire starting station. I knew how to make a good fire, but there was always room to improve. Plus, I might not have matches in the arena, so I'll have to try a few other ways. Sometime after setting fire successfully with matches, sticks, and rocks I moved on to knot tying. I once recalled Katniss saying this was important.
"Hi," Roan said quietly. I suppose he wasn't trying to scare me out of my wits by speaking softly.
'Hey. What have you done besides this?" I asked in a curious way.
"Just some knife throwing. What about you?"
I started my Devil's Snare knot while I talked to him. "I just did fire starting with different things. I'm focusing on survival skills today."
"You're smart," he offered. I looked up and smiled.
"Thanks. I bet your knife throwing is good," it sounded like a weak compliment.
"Eh, I'm all right," he said humbly as we lapsed in to silence. Either he was just trying to be friendly and talk, or more likely he was trying to figure me out, making sure he knew of any blind spots in my strategies.
Prim POV
I woke up to warm liquid going down my throat. It tasted like coffee, something my mom loved back home. Now that we lived here, Katniss and I partook in coffee as much as we could; it became a daily morning thing. I liked mine with the vanilla crème and sugar with a bit of coffee. I swallowed this coffee, it was just my way.
I accepted the liquid and let the one giving it to me to keep the coffee flowing. It was warm and it jumpstarted me. My eyes opened. I was in the Training Room, on the balcony where the Game Makers watched training. I heard swords cross and even the crackle of a fire, but those were far off sounds. The sound I was focused on was a strong and constant thump from my pillows. Pillows thumped?
As I looked up with only my eyes, I realized that my pillow was Seneca and the thump was his heart where I was cuddled up. I pressed my ear to hear the beating, and it echoed in my ears. "You're hearts strong," I whispered.
"Is it? Well, I suppose you can hear it better than I can," he gave me another sip of the sweet coffee, which I accepted gratefully. When I was finished with the cup, he set it aside on the table next to the chair we were sitting in, yep, a big spinney one.
My eyes roamed around. Plutarch, Crystalline, Folios, and many of the team that would bring the Games to life were on the balcony too. They were chit chatting about food and other things I didn't catch. Plutarch saw me and he smiled. I grinned back.
"When did we get here?" I asked.
'Mm… around seven this morning. You were out cold," he smiled and me and touched his index finger to my nose. "You're so peaceful when you sleep, Little Duck."
I laughed, "Quack." I looked down at myself for the first time. I was in a coral dress that had a V neck and a ribbon that ran down the side. Seneca must have changed my outfit. I ran through my hair with my hand, it smelled like the honeysuckle shampoo. I must've had an unconscious shower.
I know if this here was Katniss and she figured out that Peeta had bathed her and changed her clothes that poor Peeta would have a date with an arrow in the jugular. Me, I was fine. There wasn't anything physical going on with me and Seneca, so it wasn't that awkward really. It was just like having the head Game Maker as my stylist and prep team as well as the one I loved.
Well, I did have a prep team for events like parties and press conference all the victors attended, like the one there was tonight, but it was victors and others who were interested in sponsoring that victor's tributes. Katniss had let me go to all the events she went to, so of course a prep team came along in that package. They were named Nankeen, Basil, and Madden. I really liked them, even if they were a bit shallow.
I smiled as I thought of them, I'd see them today. We had an event tonight.
Katniss POV
I was up in the penthouse, flipping through the millions of TV channels. They didn't allow the mentors to be in the training center while the tributes trained, because they could be spying on other tributes. I was kind of bummed about that rule, even though it had been in place forever. I was bummed, because point A (and okay, sure it was spying but whatever) I wanted to see Nicki in training. Point B was that I was itching to get my hands on a bow.
Maybe sometime I could go hunt back in 12,
But going back there wasn't really an option. Hunting was the only thing I had really cared about there, and ever since the Hawthorns moved to District 2, I had no reason to go back. Gale had a good job in District 2, and he and his family really had it going for them. Thinking about them, I realized just how much I missed him, Rory, Vick, Posy, and his mom Hazelle. I should call them soon.
"Hey, Kat. Do you have any elite sponsors in mind you want to talk to tonight at the social as far as Juniper and Boggs go?" Huh, Kat never heard that one from Peeta. I smirked to myself. He's obviously trying to pull out the fluffy card.
"Well, I think Haymitch has a list of all these elites he wants to talk to," I offered.
"Ah, I guess I'll trust him. Where are our little tributes?" Peeta asked.
"I sent them off to bed. They need as much sleep as they can get before the arena, because if one of them gets out they won't sleep peacefully again."
"Very true," a dark tone had sewn itself into his voice.
"Katniss honey, wait till you see what Cinna has for you tonight! It's so stunning," Venia arrived in the room, along with Octavia and Flavius. Peeta got up as they entered.
"Hey guys, nice to see you. Portia must be waiting," he said. He waved slightly as he exited. I only had time to wave back before my prep team started fussing over me. I was already used to this; it was a precursor to every big event by now.