Haiii tributes!

Chapter 5; yes I know that in the last chapter I said it would be called "Pre-Training", but I changed it to "Preparation" because, eh, I just thought that would be better? :) Anyways, this chapter is longer then any of the previous ones, just over 1,700 words. 1,745 words, exactly.. Next chapter is even longer, though! Be ready! OH, and, I've got my first reviewer! Thanks to tennisgirl1234, hopefully I'll get another review by tomorrow! (:

On with the chapter !

Disclaimer: All characters, ideas, etc.. belong to the amazing genius, Suzzane Collins! However, this writing, belongs to me..

Chapter 5 - Preparation

I wake up on the way-too-soft bed, as I prop myself up on one elbow, rubbing my eyes. I've got just about enough time to get off my bed before the pounding on the door starts again.

"Get up, up up! It's going to be a big day! Today is training!" A familiar voice yells.

Eghh, it's Aleena.

"Ugh, I'm coming Aleena!" I yell back, annoyed.

It takes me 10 minutes to get ready, though I'm super excited for training today. Today I get to show all of the other 23 tributes how good I am.

I change into my training outfit that's been laid out for me on the cupboard beside my bed, slip into some boots that have been waiting for me at the door.

I leave my cozy compartment and head over to the dinning room, where Cato, Enobaria, and Brutus are already seated and boring into their breakfast. I take a seat, too.

"Good, your up," says Enobaria when she sees me. "We need to discuss your strategy for training."

Knowing Enobaria- she's been insisting on mentoring tributes for at least ten years. So she'll know what to do.

I nod slowly, gulping down a bit of banana bread. I chew on the soft food, before I start talking. "Kay, where do we start?"

"All right," she says while I literally shovel food into my mouth. "So we've already decided that you need to, to put it simply, be yourself. Don't waste too much time at stations that you aren't that good at. Stick with the knives mostly, your best weapon, and make sure that everyone knows that you never miss your target. Scare them. And you don't need to be with Cato the whole time, of course, but don't associate yourself with any tributes except for those in your alliance One, Two, and Four, naturally."

I nod that I understand. Practically both my parents gave me this speech after the reaping, and, who am I to argue with? My dad's cousin, Mitchell, won a couple years back and my father advises me to follow in his footsteps.

I notice Brutus and Cato haven't said a word, so I look at Cato for a moment and turn back to Enobaria.

"Enobaria, me and Cato-" I start but I'm interrupted by her.

"Yes, yes Clove. I know you and Cato are friends. But me and you need to discuss your strategy, so if you'll excuse us..."

Cato glances at me. I shrug. Might as well get this out of the way. "Well, Enobaria," I begin hesitantly, "we were noticing the tributes from Twelve last night, and Cato and I talked about it, and we think we should focus on eliminating them. They could have a lot of sponsors, they could be dangerous. We've already confirmed the alliance," I add. "There's no need to train us separately until the interviews, really."

Enobaria and Brutus look at each other and shrug simultaneously.

It's true. Yesterday, I was just stomping over to bed, when before I opened the door to my room, Cato called me for a moment that we should talk.

"Listen, Clove. Like it or not, we're going to be allies in the arena. It's tradition. In addition to that, one of us is going to win these Games. And since we're going to be allies anyway, we might as well figure out a game plan as soon as possible."

The idea suddenly frightened me for some reason, as Cato could unexpectedly kill me in my sleep, or something. But I had just agreed, and we shook hands, declaring ourselves allies. For now...

"Sure," says Brutus. "You're probably right. The last time someone from Twelve made that big a splash at the opening ceremonies, they won. Haymitch Abernathy, remember?" When everyone stares at him, he flushes an ugly maroon color. "I've watched the tapes, all right?" he says defensively.

"Sure, Brutus.." says Enobaria in a sharp tone, rolling her eyes.

"Anyways, to be perfectly honest, I doubt they're going to be much of a threat. The boy, at least. He's defiantly not skilled. The girl might be a problem though, she looked very determined and the crowd obviously loved her the most."

I scowl at the floor. It's true. The girl had more determination in her face then I've ever seen in any tribute from a poor district like hers.

"She's pretty small though," she points out. "I think you should do your best to take her out at the bloodbath, get rid of her early on so you don't have to worry about her later."

Sounds good to me. I turn to Cato. "I want to kill her," I say bluntly. I don't know why, but I really hate this girl. Maybe it's because she stole my spotlight at the opening ceremonies. Maybe I just don't want anyone who could be threat, even a small one, in the picture.

Cato frowns. "Everyone's going to want to kill her," he points out. "You saw them. Usually Twelve just blends in, and no one worries about them. This year they stand out, and none of the other tributes will like that."

Enobaria stares at me, clearly thinking hard. Finally, she speaks. "You have three days of training coming up. Watch her. See what this girl is capable of. When the scores come out, we'll have a good idea of whether or not she's worth focusing on."

God, I'm glad Enobaria is my mentor. She's a genius.

Brutus glances at his watch. "It's almost ten," he says. "Clove and Cato should get downstairs."

Immediately, all thoughts of District 12 leave my head. We're going to training! Finally, I think excitedly. I've only been waiting for this since, what, I turned five?

Enobaria and Brutus walk us to the elevator, and we take the short ride downstairs. I'm practically bouncing up and down the whole time, and Cato is actually smiling.

Stepping off the elevator, I see that we're one of the first districts to arrive. The only other tributes present are those from One and Four.

Perfect.

From far away I can make out my- I mean me and Cato's future allies as they spot us.

We walk over to them, as I straighten my stand, and for a moment no one speaks, until Glimmer interrupts our thoughts with an annoying pitched "Hi again!"

"Hey," says Cato casually.

Marvel rubbs his dark blue eyes and looks at me. "Well, I'm sure we've got tons of things to discuss. I'm Marvel, if you don't remember.

Im fine with Marvel- yes, he looks less weaker then Cato, but he can still work up some strategy with spears or something. Atleast he isn't stupid like Glimmer.

I realize, that again, the district four tributes haven't said anything, and I start to think they're annoyed by our appearance.

The young boy, forgot what his name is - takes a deep breathe and speaks. "I'm Cole. Remember me? And this is-"

"Tori. And I can talk my self, Cole. Thank you very much," she says, shooting a dirty glance at him.

"Well, then. The first thing we need to discuss is-"

" is twelve," I mutter.

"Here's the deal, though," Cato says, "I don't particularly care who kills the boy. He's worthless. But the girl could be a problem. And you're not gonna like this, but Clove and I have dibs on killing her."

Glimmer hisses and Marvel's eyes tighten. All four of our allies look furious.

Tori is the first to recover. "Maybe we want to kill her, too," she snaps. "You don't have any right to claim her like that. You're not the only one who hates her!"

I raise an eyebrow. "Sorry, that's not how it works. We have dibs on the fire girl, and that's that."

Marvel glares at me. "Oh? And how do you know one of us didn't call her before you did?" he challenges mockingly.

Cato rolls his eyes. "Well, seeing as you can't officially call dibs until the whole alliance is together, and Clove and I have just done that, and you haven't well, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet."

I somehow manage to stifle the laugh that desperately wants to escape me. I take one look at the faces of my allies, though, and think that laughing at them might not be the greatest idea. Quickly, I think of a solution.

"Yes, Cato and I have dibs on actually killing her. But no one said we can't have some fun with her before that," I say, the corners of my lips turning up in a vicious smile. "We can give the audience a really good show scare her, of course, and make sure she doesn't die quickly."

Our four so called "allies" smirk and walk away from us as groups and groups of tributes file into the training centre. I become aware of when the district twelve tributes come in- the last ones to arrive, to be exact.

That's when I know that Cato and I are the leaders of this alliance; everyone else is looking at us with something that resembles respect. We're smart, and unmerciful, and we want to win. What else can someone ask for in an ally?

Just then, a tall, athletic woman walks into the room and introduces herself as Atala. She quickly briefs us on all the stations and the rules, and then every tribute has their district number pinned onto their shirt.

When we're released, Cato drags me over to the sword station, probably so that he can show off. But then, as he picks up a huge, deadly looking sword, he leans down to whisper in my ear. "So, what do you think? About them?"

I hesitate. "I don't think they're much to go on. I think I'll actually get along okay with Glimmer, but Marvel and Tori seem really irritating... But Cole doesn't seem like a threat at all. I'm not sure "

Cato nods. "Yeah, that's more or less what I thought too. So, let's say that if someone goes after one of them at the Cornucopia particularly Tori we won't try too hard to help. Agreed?"

"Perfect. And just so you know," I say with a grin, "that stuff about them being able to help with Twelve was absolute bullshit. She's all ours."

Cato laughs and we high-five.

It's great to have allies.

Author's Note:

Well, thats Chapter Five! Enjoyed it? Submit a review! My goal is 3 reviews by tomorrow! Chapter 6, I wrote and completed it yesterday, so it'll be uploaded tomorrow for sure! Next chapter is when the REAL training begins. I think it's my most successful chapter by far, hopefully it is to you, too! Well,

Thanks for reading!:D

~ I-Clove-U