THE TRAINING CENTER: DAY 1
The next morning, Clove woke up to an outfit that consisted of tight grey pants, a navy blue long sleeved tunic, and supple, black leather boots. As she changed into the clothes that were set out for her, she felt excited for the first day of training. It was the time to actually exercise her talent and use weapons that were alike to those provided back at the training facilities back at District Two. Back on the train, all she had were weights and sandbags for boxing. Now she could access swords and spears and dummies to practice with.
And now that everything was based on talent, Clove knew that both she and Cato were going to shine. There wasn't going to be any stylists or costumes there to make everyone else look good. Now it was about how well you could climb a rock wall, throw a dagger, or spear a dummy. None of the Gamemakers cared about how you looked by this point. And this was what Clove was waiting for. She could finally overtake those wretched tributes from District Twelve that got everyone's attention just because they were lit on fire.
She walked out into the hallway in time to see Cato come forward from his room. He was dressed in the same outfit as her, the only differentiation being that his shirt was crimson. It was funny, almost. Clove who was dressed in blue was as cold as ice, not moving much in her hardness. And then there was Cato, who was dressed in red and as angry as fire, and ever moving like the dancing tendrils of a flame.
"Good, you're both up," said Brutus as he emerged from the dining room. "We've got a little suggestion for the both of you before you go into your first day of training."
Clove narrowed her eyes and strolled into the room, crossing her arms defensively before saying venomously, "I don't need it. It's not the interview or anything. It's training. You know that this is what we're made for, and I know that this will be what I'm best at. Save your 'advice' for something that we actually need your help on."
She turned to walk towards the exit, but Brutus grabbed her from behind and spun her around. His hands were strong and his clutch was hard. Actually, it was almost painful. Clove was staring straight into Brutus's face, which was twisted into a sneer. The stormy, grey eyes that were boring into Clove's own eyes were clouded with a fierce intensity.
"Let go of me—" began Clove, but Brutus's grip on her arms only grew stronger. She let out a cry of pain. Cato made to move toward the both of them, shouting, "Hey!" But Brutus shoved him aside with one arm, him being physically larger. Cato hit the wall behind him hard, and the impact knocked the breath out of him.
"You know that the Careers fight in a pack," snarled Cato as he rubbed the part of his chest that Brutus had hit. "You can't just beat up my District partner because she was smart with you! She needs to be fit for the Games!"
"Shut up, you don't know anything," growled Brutus. He turned back to Clove and moved his face in, their noses were almost touching. "You listen here, girl. I'm your mentor, and you're gonna listen to me. I don't care if you need the advice or not. You're going to sit there and listen to me, or you're gonna get no advice at all. Not even with the stuff you don't know how to do, like your interviews. So you better start listening now, or I won't think twice about letting you die in the bloodbath. It's not like I've never seen kids from District Two die!"
He spit out the last sentence, letting saliva spray onto Clove's cheek.
"Fine!" shouted Clove as she continued to struggle against his grasp before Brutus finally let go. She fell into a chair at the dining table and clutched the corner of the table tight, look almost as if she could murder Brutus right there and then.
"Since training starts in less than half an hour, I'll make it quick for you," said Brutus as he pulled up a chair and sat down. "Show them what you can do, this day and the two days coming. But leave something unexpected for the judges on the third day of training. Never do the same thing twice. Intimidate them; show them that you're not afraid. That includes the other Careers. You might team up with them now, but in the end they're gonna die. You can trust each other for the time being, until there are only five or so tributes left. I'd recommend you two split apart by then if you don't want to be the ones killing each other."
Both Cato and Clove nodded assent, and Brutus dismissed them. As soon as he said 'go', they practically dashed out of the room like schoolchildren who had just been scolded after class.
"He thinks he can just damage us," said Cato heatedly as they made their way to the elevator. "He's already been in the Games; he should know that we need to be in the best condition when we start, he can't just bash us around!"
Clove made a "tcah!" noise and they descended down to the Training Center.
"Whatever he says, let's just get out there and start training. It already feels like it's been forever since I've gotten my hands on real weapons." replied Clove as they joined the group of tributes standing in the middle of the gymnasium.
A lean and tall woman stood in front of the crowd, wearing a sleek jumpsuit that had the Capitol's symbol printed largely on the back.
"My name is Atala," said the woman. She gestured to the stations behind her. "You'll be going from station to station here in the Training Center for the next three days. It isn't required for you to stay with your District partner. If you want to practice with someone, you can use the dummies provided or call for a trainer who will be able to conduct hand to hand conduct with you. Battling with other Tributes is strictly forbidden. One the third day here, you will be judged by the Gamemakers in a private session during the morning. By the evening, you will get your training score. Later that evening will be your interview. You can begin your training now."
Atala walked up to the platform where the Gamemakers sat, all adorned in majestic, deep purple robes.
Clove immediately dashed over to the area that contained her precious, precious knives. Her hands were itching to start throwing them. Grabbing from the many assorted knives, because really, she could throw every single one of them with excelled precision, she found a dozen dummies to practice on. Knowing that the eyes of many of the other tributes were on her and her numerous knives, she smirked.
Without giving any warning, she suddenly lashed out, throwing knives in every direction, her wrist flicking the knives towards the dummies, each sharpened blade stabbing them directly in the heart. Clove could hear a few gasps around her and someone's footsteps as they scattered away from her and her general area. Pleased with this reaction, she plucked two dainty, small knives from the collection of weapons and threw them directly at a dummy's eyes.
Cato, who was on the other side of the room, saw Clove amidst her little demonstration with her knives. He was impressed, even stopping in the middle of training with swords to watch her as she threw the daggers in a way that almost resembled a dance. It was graceful, it was deadly. And Cato was secretly grateful that Clove was on his side, because quite truthfully, she could probably cut anything she wanted to with those knives.
Dispelling those thoughts from his head, he returned to working with his sword. Small piles of decapitated dummy heads and sliced up torsos littered the ground around him. And there was still more to go. Along with the dummies, he also practiced with the trainers that he beckoned over, and they were afraid of him. Oh, they were afraid. With enormous stature and his strapping build, he was definitely one to fear. Every time he battled with a trainer, they would be on the ground in seconds with a sword to their throat, their chest, or their head. And Cato enjoyed every bit of it.
The show of dexterity coming from Cato was not missed by Clove. She had finished the station with knives and was walking over to hand-to-hand combat as she watched him hack away at the dummies that stood around him or the trainers that he fought against. It was amazing how strong he was…how skilled he was with the sword. It pulled her in…it was alluring in a way. The power, the blood thirst, the fury he channeled through each slash of the blade.
Clove loved every bit of it.
end THE TRAINING CENTER: DAY 1