Chapter 5: Training

The next morning, the tributes arrived in pairs to the training center, where the head trainer, Star, and a plethora of weapons and survival supplies awaited them. The stations were spread out throughout the training center, with camouflage towards the back corner and archery near the center of the room. A few tributes were looking past Star for a glance at the variety of weapons, while the rest focused their attention on the head trainer. She had wavy red hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and eyes that were a blend of green and hazel. She was dressed in a black track suit with the Capitol seal printed on the back of her jacket and black sneakers. Her face looked rather calm, despite her arms being crossed across her chest as she stared at the tributes, sizing each one up in her mind and determining their chances of survival in the arena.

"Okay, tributes," Star began, pushing a strand of red hair behind her ear. "For the next few days, you will be training to prepare yourselves for the Games. On the last day of training, you will each have a private session with the Gamemakers where you will have the opportunity to show them your skills, which they will score accordingly. You have both the weapons and survival supplies at your disposal, anything you think you can use to impress the Gamemakers is here for you. Take full advantages of this time you have to tweak both your skills in weaponry and survival techniques, as you will need both to survive in the arena. Are there any questions?" Most of the tributes just shook their heads, while some mumbled "No". "No? Alright then, go ahead," Star finished, motioning for the tributes to begin training before walking off. While the other tributes immediately made their way to their preferred stations, Naoko, the girl from District 11, wandered the training center to see each station for herself. She passed by like a fly on the wall as swords clashed and knots were being tied, when she came across one tribute sitting by herself at the plant station. Naoko recognized her as the girl from District 10, whose district partner was dressed in that goofy cowboy costume in the chariot in front of hers. The girl's eyes were scanning half the plants, the ones that were safe to come in contact with, when she looked up and noticed Naoko's presence. Realizing that they were now making eye contact, Naoko decided to start the conversation.

"Hey, what's your name?" Naoko asked the girl.

"I'm Aeris. What's your's?" the girl answered.

"I'm Naoko. It's nice to meet you," Naoko responded, taking a step closer and sitting down beside Aeris in front of the plants. "So…was this your first reaping?" Aeris looked to be about the same size as Naoko, so the latter was wondering how old Aeris was.

"Yeah, it was," Aeris replied, which slightly intrigued Naoko. "How about you?"

"Yeah, me too," Naoko answered, giving a small nod. Oh wow, we're the same age. What are the odds? "So…uh-" Naoko trailed off, when she was cut off by the sound of a spear burying itself inside a dummy. Naoko and Aeris turned their heads in the direction which the spear had come, and they saw that it was the girl from District 2 who had thrown it. She had a proud smirk on her face, and Naoko and Aeris' jaws had dropped when they saw that the dummy's head had been sliced clean off, and was now rolling across the floor. "Uh…wow." That was all Naoko could say.

"How did she do that?" Aeris wondered aloud, staring at the older girl in amazement. "I can't believe that's actually possible."

"I don't know," Naoko replied, finally managing to pull her eyes away from the dispatched dummy and redirecting her attention back to Aeris. "But we should probably stay away from her in the arena."

"Yeah, she's scary," Aeris agreed, looking away right as she was caught staring. Naoko looked down at the plants in front of her, when she remembered what she was about to say before.

"So…um…I was wondering…" Naoko continued, as she and Aeris went from staring at the District 2 female to staring at each other. "Do you want to be in an alliance?" Aeris hesitated, stopping to think for a moment, before nodding.

"Sure," she answered, her lips curling slightly upwards in a small smile.

"Cool," Naoko said, happiness hinting in her voice as she returned the smile. "Hey, why don't we go and practice with the throwing knives?"

"Okay," Aeris responded, and the two girls got up and walked over to the knives station.

Over at the sword station, Caius, the boy from District 2, was sparring with Darien, the boy from District 8. Darien had no intention of staying and entering the Games, but he figured that he'd get some practice in for the time being should worst come to worst. Their swords clattered and clanged against each other as the two guys practically copied the other's movements, failing to get in any shots on their opponent.

"So," Caius said, lifting up his sword to block an attack from Darien. "You ever thought about being in the Games?"

"Of course," Darien replied, lunging forward to strike again. Blocked. "But I'm no Career, so it's not like I trained or anything." The dark haired male then took a step back as Caius thrust his sword forward, the tip of the blade grazing the fabric of his training uniform. "How long have you been training for?"

"A couple of months, starting after the first Games ended," Caius answered, keeping his eyes locked on the District 8 male as their swords collided again. "Pretty much everyone in District 2 was on board with the whole idea of the Games, so I figured I'd train alongside them. I prefer to survive anyway." Darien chuckled as he poked Caius's shoulder with the tip of his own blade.

"I think everyone prefers survival," the District 8 boy said, before stepping back to avoid being jabbed in the chest. Caius took a step forward to strike again, but he slightly flinched when he heard a yelp a few yards away from where they were sparring. Both guys turned to where the yelp had come from, and saw that the tributes from District 1 had knocked over a cart filled with giant blue medicine balls, one falling on the girl's foot as the rest rolled across the floor into the other stations. Star glared at Diamond and Silver, and they yelped again before running around to pick up the medicine balls and put them back on the cart. Caius and Darien chuckled as they turned back towards each other.

"Oh my God, those guys are so stupid," Darien commented, still snickering. "You're not going to join them, are you?" Caius laughed and ran his free hand through his brown hair.

"Probably not," Caius replied while glancing over at Diamond, who was struggling to lift a medicine ball before dropping it on her other foot. "I don't even know what Regan's doing. But we'll see." Darien lifted up his sword to continue the spar, when Star blew her whistle.

"Okay, everyone! It's break time!" Star called out. "Put everything back where you found it, and we'll resume training in the afternoon." Caius and Darien shrugged and returned their swords to the rack they pulled them out from, before following the other tributes as they headed to lunch.