I decided not to watch Katniss and Peeta get remade in the Remake Center and chose to watch the Reapings with Haymitch. I already knew Enobaria and Kelsa were mentors this year. District 1 sent Cashmere and Mace.
District 1's tribute girl was a definite knockout. Glimmer Noria had glossy blonde hair and shimmering green eyes. Her partner, Marvel Flems, seemed to be a bit distant, but he fared well. Both were muscular and eager to win.
Maybe they're conceited. Glimmer certainly looks like it.
District 2. Garen Scrabbler was the first to volunteer and Clove a close second. Both were smiling and prepared. I knew Garen was on the borderline of being called a genius.
Katniss is going to have to go through a bit of trouble.
The others were also under my vision. District 4's tributes looked particularly pitiful this year. District 11 had the most contrasting pair. A little girl named Rue and a large boy named Thresh.
The little girl won't last long.
I knew that for sure. Then there was District 12.
"I volunteer as tribute!" Katniss screamed from the screen and Caesar Flickerman gave astonished comments on how Katniss was the first volunteer District 12 ever had.
I gritted my teeth and stood up. Haymitch continued to watch and I pulled a jacket on. It was almost time for the Opening Ceremonies.
Yes, the parade that lets the Capitol know exactly what they're dealing with. Let the circus begin!
Haymitch silently followed behind me as we made our way down to the costume floor. Our new designer was waiting for us there.
"Hello, my name is Cinna." He shook our hands and I nodded.
Gold eyeliner? Classy.
"If you say anything about coal dust, I'm breaking your neck." I stated and he blinked a few times but made no answer.
That's right.
"Well, I have decided to work with something besides coal. Fire. Katniss and Peeta will be on fire." He smiled and I nodded.
Great, another wacko. Now I know why 12 never wins. Because everyone working with it is a nutcase.
I nodded and Katniss and Peeta walked out in tight black jumpsuits. There was some type of black armor on them and Cinna nodded.
"Good. Now, I'm going to add a bit of synthetic flame to your capes and your suits will catch on fire. It won't hurt, though." Katniss shot a worried look towards me and I nodded my reassurance.
Don't worry, burning to death isn't the most painful thing that might happen to you.
"Haymitch and I will be in the Victor's Box." I stated and pulled the drunk along with me. We rode the elevator up to where the boxes were located and I found a few old friends.
"Mace, Cashmere, how are you?" I asked.
"Cato! I haven't seen you in so long!" Mace laughed and Cashmere nodded.
"How have you been?" She asked after hugging me and I shrugged.
"Great."
Oh enough with the petty lying!
"Arckenson!" A voice barked and I turned to face Finnick Odair.
"Odair!" I clasped my hand to his and smirked. "You're still alive."
"You are too! Glad to see you're breathing."
"Why aren't you off flirting with a new Victor?" I asked and he shrugged.
"There aren't any worth my time." He smiled. "So... Katniss Everdeen."
Annie Cresta...
"What about her?" I asked and Finnick smiled.
"Nothing! Ah, Cato, I'd like you to meet Johanna." He pulled a sullen faced girl from the crowd of Victors. "Johanna, this is Cato Arckenson, Victor for 2, but Mentor for 12." She shook my hand.
"Nice to meet you," I stated and she nodded.
"You're the winner of the 53rd, right? I watched you. You were pretty good," She said and wandered off.
"She's usually more sociable if she knows you."
"Oh really? I had no idea." We turned to the window that allowed us to see what our Tributes were dealing with. "Who do you think it'll be this year?" I muttered and Finnick shrugged.
"Your girl, Katniss. Look at her arms. I'd bet my life that she's an archer. I can't tell this year. Usually they're easy, but..." He trailed off. "The boy from 1, he's a spear thrower. The girl, she either throws knives or models because I don't know if she's worth anything. The girl from two, I would think she throws knives, but then again, Johanna used an axe. The guy from 1 is gay."
What?
"What?"
"Just kidding. He uses a sword, am I right?" I nodded and Finnick continued. "Then there's the boy from 11. Looks strong. The boy from 12, Peeta, he looks like he could throw something. Whatever. I'm just a silly pretty boy anyways." He chuckled.
"You are in serious need of help," I said and Finnick laughed.
"What's the fun in that? I actually like myself like this. I would say you need to get help because you're cold and boring. Seriously, how are we friends?" He asked.
"I would say that you have something for me, but then again, that would discourage you from your trade in secrets, so I won't say that."
"Ouch, you're mean," Finnick replied.
"I've been called worse," Mags appeared and pointed to something. Finnick nodded and walked off with her.
"See ya!"
That is your best friend? You need to get out more often.
I'm not the most social of people.
Unfortunately, you're right.
A hand clamped down on my shoulder and I spun, grabbed their arm and nearly flipped the person until I realized it was Enobaria.
"I almost-"
"I see your skills are still intact." She stated and handed me a drink. "The Chariots should begin coming out now." She smiled and I nodded. Kelsa was sitting in a chair that overlooked the entire procession. I watched as Glimmer and Marvel stepped out in pink feathers. They looked like true Capitolites. Enobaria scoffed at the sight of the tributes in pink feathers.
Looks like what the idiot designer from twelve made in your second games, but better.
Garen and Clove appeared. They looked strong and majestic in golden armor. Willose had done well this year. She accented every muscled on their arms and legs with gold paint and glitter. The Capitolites were almost spilling out of the stands to reach for them.
My gosh, they're aggravating. I feel like their stupidity is affecting us.
The others were just for comedy. Some districts were in silver panels that looked like they had been rolled in someone's art project. I knew Katniss and Peeta were about to come out. I could see the small flicker of blue coming out of the tunnel. Suddenly, the inferno appeared and the crowd went wild. I crossed my arms and nodded in approval at the two. They awed the crowd with their outfits. The fire seemed to burn brighter in the light of the sun than in the tunnel.
The power of fake.
"Oh my gosh!" Enobaria laughed and clapped her hands together. "You guys look amazing! Too bad you're going to lose." She sighed and looked at Katniss. "Pity, she's actually good looking." I ground my teeth together and watched as Peeta took her hand. They raised their hands in what looked like triumph and I averted my gaze.
Why? It's good that they're getting attention from the Capitol. More money coming in for gifts.
They're holding hands. I halfheartedly listened to President Snow's speech and made my way down to the ground floor. I found Haymitch along the way and dragged him through crowds. Cameras clicked and people screamed as the Mentors made their way back to the Ground Level.
I bumped into a girl with green hair and she smiled at me. She had a blue top on that only covered her breasts and swirling tattoos encased her belly button. The girl had on loose pants that were short up front and touched her ankles in the back.
"Cato, could you sign my arm with this pen?" She asked, holding a black syringe out to me. I blinked.
She wants you to tattoo your signature onto her arm. Wow.
I took the syringe and scrawled my name in.
"Um, how old are you?" I asked and she smiled.
"Fifteen. Thanks!" She replied and ran over to where Enobaria was standing. I scoffed and continued to make my way to where Katniss and Bread Boy were standing.
"Good job, you two. Now, you guys will be going into the Training Center. Katniss, no bows. Peeta," I turned to him. "Just... don't show off whatever talent you may posses." I stated and Effie's smile widened.
"Well, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun, but right now, let's go get lunch." She giggled and we loaded ourselves onto the elevator that already held District 2.
I looked at Katniss and Peeta to see how they would reacted to being in the same elevator as the fiercest warriors in the Games. Katniss glared at a fixated point in the wall while Peeta's eyes flickered.
Fear.
Enobaria gave me a smug look and brushed something off of Clove's shoulder. Hyelle and Effie glared at each other like there was no tomorrow and Haymitch... Haymitch kept his eyes forward and tried to ignore Kelsa's burning glare. He had once tried to grope her while drunk. The resulting mess was a broke wrist, nose, and me holding Kelsa back before she could kill him. Garen smirked at me and he looked at Peeta.
"Hello." Garen grinned and Peeta muttered a reply.
Why isn't the fucking elevator moving?!
I looked and saw that nobody had pressed the button. They had all been too busy glaring at each other. I reached over and punched the two buttons.
"I'm Garen and this is Clove. Enobaria and Kelsa are our Mentors." He introduced them and Peeta nodded.
"I'm Peeta. This is Katniss and our Mentors are Haymitch and Cato." He said and Garen smiled at me. He shook my hand.
"Pleasure to meet y-"
"Our floor." Kelsa growled. "You can fangirl over Cato when we have everyone over tonight." She said and pulled Garen by the metal on his collar out of the elevator while Enobaria and Clove laughed.
"Fanboy much?" Haymitch muttered and I rolled my eyes. The elevator continued to move upwards until it reached the twelfth floor. We walked out and I looked over at Katniss who was silently moving to open the door to her room.
After eating a large meal of roast hog, Effie had Katniss and Peeta change into their training uniforms.
"Oh, we might be late!" She huffed and ushered the two out the door. I sat down on the leather sofa and sighed. I took two deep breaths and stood again.
Time to haggle prices with the Capitolites.
I went to my room and changed into respectable attire. Might as well use my looks to get these idiots to fork over money.
My shirt was white and had gold cuffs. My jacket and pants were both black and had gold lining.
"Drunk, I'm getting Sponsors." I said and Haymitch grunted his reply.
"Can you refill my whiskey?"
"Refill your own damn whiskey." I stepped into the elevator and jammed my finger onto the "Ground Floor" button. A scanner appeared and I placed my thumb onto it. Then, an eye scanner appeared and I had my eye grazed by lasers.
So the Tributes don't think about escaping.
Finally, the elevator began to move. I looked out the tinted windows and saw people crowding around huge billboards that displayed the faces of the Tributes and what their odds of winning were. The first seven floors of the Capitol's best museum had been converted to betting grounds and Sponsor meeting sites. The higher you ranked, the higher you went up in floors. I was headed to the seventh floor.
Ooh, floor of the elite.
People crowded around me as I exited the Tribute Building and a few Peacekeepers cleared the way for me. I mostly glared at enough people to get them to move. There was a separate entrance for Victors and Mentors to go through that was heavily guarded. I passed by a woman trying to talk her way in and flashed my Victor Card to the Peacekeepers standing guard. He nodded and opened the door for me.
The first floor was packed with people, but the Victor's Entrance gave me a safe pathway to an elevator. I ran into Finnick on the way to the elevator and we took a photo with an eager Capitolite.
"So, how are you?" Finnick asked and I shrugged.
"Same. You?"
"Meh." We entered the elevator and I hit the 7. Finnick smiled down at the Capitolites waving from below while I glared at the ground. The doors opened into a large atrium where many people were chatting. Finnick and I parted ways and I went to see if there were any willing Capitolites.
A man with yellow eyebrows and a sparkly suit tapped my shoulder. I turned and smiled,
"Hello."
"Hello, Mr. Arckenson! I'm Penn Galloway of Galloway Inc. and I believe I would love to Sponsor District 12! I mean, my wife and I were going to support 2, but your opening ceremony outfits changed our minds!" He smiled and I nodded, taking the business card he offered.
Ugh, sneaky Capitolite. Look at him eyeing Kelsa and Enobaria's table.
Kelsa and Enobaria had the unsocial table. There was a sign that said,
~Fill out a form and we will call you as soon as we can. Questions should be written on the back of the form. Please put completed forms in the box. Thank you.~
They stood around and spoke with other Mentors while Capitolites scrambled to fill out the limited amount of papers. I growled and Enobaria waved at me. It was a slow, sarcastic wave that screamed, we're going to beat you. Kelsa was talking to Cashmere and Mace. They seemed to be close friends.
I felt my phone buzz and picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hi Cato!" A high pitched voice shrieked.
"Juna? Hey! How are you?"
"I'm good! Father wanted me to tell you that Winny's Grandfather said that when your District wins, you get to go home! Isn't that amazing!" She laughed and I cleared my throat.
"Yeah... amazing."
Uh oh... what about Katniss?
I shook my head and tried to focus on my task. I needed Sponsors to keep Katniss alive. I managed to recruit about seven rich people to help us. Enobaria and Kelsa had a box full of eager millionaires and billionaires wanting to throw their money towards Garen and Clove.
The training scores were going to come in. Effie had already ushered Katniss and Peeta to the training center where they were going to be judged. I was worried about Katniss. Picking up the phone, I called my father.
"Domitius Arckenson speaking." He answered.
"Father!"
"Cato! How are you?"
"I'm well. Father, I have an urgent request to make of you." I stated and there was a pause.
"What kind of request?" He asked.
"Will there be a bow and arrows in the arena?" I asked. Another silence.
"I'm not supposed to tell-"
"Will there be a bow in the arena?" I demanded and he sighed.
"No, Cato, there won't be a bow and arrows. Just swords, knives, and spears. You know, the usual." He stated.
"Father, you have to put a bow and arrows in the Cornucopia. A moderately good one. Not one made of wood, but maybe a solid titanium and steelglass bow. Can you do that?" I demanded.
"I probably can, but why? Why do I have to suddenly add a bow to the list of weapons in the arena?"
"Because the girl I love is going in, and I can't let her die without giving her everything I can." I growled and there was silence. I heard a deep chuckle and my father laughed.
"I hope she comes out alive. If it's for my son, I would do anything. When she comes out, we should have a family dinner and you can introduce her to me. I have to work now." The call ended and I relaxed. Katniss was going to come out alive.
~'~'~'~
On the second floor of the Tribute Building, I watched Enobaria talk with Kelsa while Clove silently analyzed the steak knives and Garen fawned over me. It was a very uncomfortable experience.
"I think your fighting style resembles your mother's quite a lot." He said and I nodded.
"Probably because she taught me."
"Oh, wouldn't it be amazing to have a mother like yours?" I was beginning to seriously doubt his sexuality.
I say he's gay.
"Yeah... I'm going to go now." I stood and walked out to the elevator. Why was the Capitol so weird?
Now I may have only been here for a couple years, but haven't you been asking that question since day one?
Okay, so this is a pretty fluffy chapter. They enter the Arena next chapter!