Day three of training. Yawn.
Ciara Westbrook sat against the wall of the training center, knees pulled up to her chest as she inspected her nails. Her stylists had had a hard time not giving in to the temptation to paint her nails a vibrant, wild color like she wanted. They were instructed to go simple, which was a bore both for Ciara and for them.
Musi and Verte were the best people Ciara had met so far. They were fun, and they actually cared about how Ciara looked. They weren't boring like Conner, rude like Taz, and they didn't bitch at her all the time like Alexandrite. She liked talking to them because they shared a common interest: being beautiful.
When Conner let slip at dinner last night that Ciara had done almost nothing during training, Taz was livid. If her job wasn't to keep Ciara alive, she probably would've killed her. She went on and on about how Ciara wouldn't last a day in the arena and how her attitude was only killing her faster and blah, blah, whatever, whatever.
Just because I'm pretty doesn't mean I'm helpless.
Ciara watched as a tall, muscular guy with the number "8" pinned to his back picked up a bow and arrow and began to fire arrows at a target. He stood a few meters from her, the wall she was sitting against being perpendicular to the one he repeatedly took aim at. His hair was short and dark brown, with a slight fluff to it. His eyes were intense and deep green. Ciara's lips curled into a smile.
Getting to her feet, she sauntered over to the table on which lay an array of bows. She selected purely based on how pretty it was and picked up a bin of arrows, carrying it over to the target next to Zephyr's. She watched him shoot a few more before loading an arrow, pulling back the string, and releasing the tension. The arrow whizzed through the air, barely striking the target. She glanced over at Zephyr to see him smirking.
Good. I have his attention.
Pulling back her arm again, she took better aim, this time hitting closer to the center. She didn't look at Zephyr, instead letting a small smile play on her lips. The third arrow again hit middle ground, as did the fourth. The fifth arrow, however, hit dead center. This time Ciara allowed herself to look at Zephyr. Assuming she was reading him right, he was impressed.
As I said; not helpless.
Setting her bow down, Ciara walked up to Zephyr. The boy smirked. "Got some flair, District 1."
"Ciara," she corrected lightly.
"I heard a rumor that some of the kids from non-career Districts are planning a career pack. Most of the kids from the traditional three don't seem to have it in them. Got any tricks up your sleeve?"
"Just this one," Ciara murmured, leaning into Zephyr. He stepped back.
"I'm not looking for an alliance. Or a romance," he said tersely.
Ciara pouted her lips, her eyes darkening. She took a bold step forward and grabbed the neck of his shirt. Caught off guard, Zephyr was pulled forward by the girl. "You will regret having said that when I kill you," she breathed into his ear before releasing him.
"Fat chance, slut."
Narrowing her eyes, Ciara spoke very slowly and clearly. "You will not win these Games."
"And you will?"
Play confident, but not too confident. "We'll have to see, won't we?" she asked smugly.
Blowing a kiss, Ciara spun on her heel and stalked off. Oh, who needs a plain old hot guy from a loser District? I can have anyone I want when I win these stupid Games. Guys trip over themselves for victors back home. I'm gorgeous. Why toy with some guy I'll have to kill later, anyway?
Pleased with this train of thought, Ciara added a little skip to her next step. She had this all in the bag. Her archery would get her a decent training score, and that combined with her looks, her home District, and her performance at the chariot rides would guarantee her enough sponsors to keep her alive when all else failed. But let's face it. I can't fail. I'll only be made stronger.
Smashing into a large, fleshy force yanked Ciara from her egotistical fantasies. She brushed herself off, looking up to see the overweight girl from District 6 starting at her. The girl wore a mortified expression, which for some reason made Ciara chuckle.
"W-what's so funny?" the girl—Constance—asked quietly, her voice shaking.
"Your face, that's what," Ciara laughed. "Oh, God, why do you even try? You realize you're going to be a bloodbath, right?"
"N-no," Constance stuttered, lifting her head and looking up into Ciara's dark brown eyes. The District 1 tribute broke into further peals of laughter.
"How fast can you run? Faster than a speeding arrow? A hurled spear? An expertly wielded sword?"
"Fast enough," she whispered.
Ciara threw back her head, positively cackling at this point. "Good luck. Maybe whoever kills you can use your dead body for warmth."
Constance bit her lip, very obviously fighting tears. "I get it! You're skinny and perfect. Good for you!"
"It is good, isn't it?" Ciara smirked.
Glancing at the clock as she walked away, Ciara sighed. She still had a while to kill before lunch and then the training sessions. She would be second, so at least she'd have plenty of time afterwards to start getting ready for her interview. There was a day and a half standing between her and the arena. She felt calm. It was almost strange, really. Her whole life she'd been free of responsibility. She did whatever she wanted when she wanted. It was odd to be told what to do. Even more odd was that she was facing the biggest moment in her life, the time that would change her life forever.
And all she felt was calm.
Thane drummed his fingers on the table, his leg bouncing up and down rapidly. He wanted to stop it, but it seemed to have a mind of its own. Tessa smiled at him from across the table, reaching for his hand. The drumming stopped, but his leg didn't cease to twitch.
"Don't worry, Thane," Tessa soothed. "You'll be fine. Eat."
"I don't feel like it."
"You don't have many days left where you can eat freely. You've got to."
He knew she was right. Pulling his hand free, he began to eat. Tessa nodded her approval. Thane's leg was still shaking persistently.
The two hadn't really discussed being in an alliance together, but they both knew it was a given. Thane knew it was stupid to fall in love—in fact he wasn't sure if it was love or desperation—just before he was going to be killed, but being close to Tessa helped. With what? He wasn't sure. He felt lighter around her. Better. They hadn't even kissed.
Thane wasn't sure if they ever would.
He'd known her only a couple days. What if one of them died in the bloodbath? The whole relationship was silly, but he wasn't going to end it. He needed someone there for him now, whether or not she was there in a day and a half.
"You're next," Tessa observed.
Looking around, Thane noticed that Conner, Ciara, and Anja were all gone from the room. He bit his lip, staring down at the table. Tessa lifted his chin towards her, taking his hand. "You'll be fine. You can throw spears. You're smart. They'll give you a good score. Even if they don't, it won't matter much."
"But it will matter…"
"Just calm down and everything will work out," she said quietly.
"Thane Absolum!" a voice summoned.
Before he got up, Tessa pecked him on the lips. He smiled, half at her and half at himself, before entering the Gamemakers' room with butterflies in his stomach.
Not daring to look at the assembly of Gamemakers, Thane hurried over to a bucket of spears and began to hurl them at targets stationed all around the room. All he could think was, these people will be responsible for my death, these people will be responsible for my death.
He first pegged the target meant for the spears straight through the center. He then aimed for one a few stations over, again hitting dead center. He pivoted and faced the target farthest away from him, summoning up his strength and launching the spear at it. It wasn't a direct hit, but he managed to get one of the inner rings. That was alright. He threw until the bucket was empty and his arm was sore, consistently hitting right on or almost on the mark.
Still keeping his eyes averted from the Gamemakers, Thane headed over to a table covered in an array of plants and berries. He swiftly sorted them into edible and inedible, poisonous and non-toxic.
It was then that he was spoken to.
"If you are so sure, eat them."
Thane turned to face a man with a shocking turquoise mohawk. His eyes were silver and flecked with different shades of blue. He was unnaturally tall and skinny—even more so than Thane. His eyes were devoid of light and held a dark challenge.
Blinking, Thane turned back to his plants. The Gamemaker wouldn't ask him to eat the non-toxic pile if they were unsafe, would he?
They have more advanced medicine here. They could fix me up in a flash.
He was sure of his choices. He thought of Tessa and bit the inside of his lip hard, determination set on his face. He couldn't show any weakness. One by one, he ate the plants he had deemed edible until they were all gone. When he swallowed the last one, another Gamemaker spoke.
She had a shocking pink buzz cut and a large golden nose ring. She was so small she could turn sideways and disappear. She looked to be drowning in the Gamemaker robes. Her eyes were perfect magenta orbs. They were the kind of eyes you would expect to be full of life and emotion, but just like the other man, they were calm and dark.
"You may go."
Her voice was girlish and high, and Thane had to fight not to grin. It was important that these people liked him or he'd get obliterated in the arena before he could even blink. He merely nodded once, turning and walking away from the vegetation that still remained.
Thane slipped out the exit and headed towards the temporary home of him, Anja, Sage, and Morganite, where he had been instructed to go for interview prep. As he left, he couldn't help but let a small smile take to his face. He had taken the challenge and destroyed it. He had stayed calm and it all turned out well in the end.
He made a mental note to thank Tessa the next time he saw her.
AN: Let it be noted that Ciara's views do not represent my own, so obviously no offence was intended. As always, reviews never cease to be appreciated~