So, thank you for reading! Nearly 500 views! Reviews, alerts, and favorites are great, as always! So thank you for that. Again, this is very different, as you can tell here. It is longer and hopefully better. It's taking a different track. I hope you like how Violet's character is developing, as well as a few other characters. I really would like some feedback, though. I'm not as motivated without it. But anyway, thank you for reading this far, and I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Five: Red
"I don't lose my temper!" I scream, surprised at what Cato had told me. Well, and Enobaria for that matter.
"You do. A lot. And that will affect what alliance you'll end up with. Play your cards right and maybe the Careers will let you in," Enobaria tells me firmly. She was so serious instead of the nineteen year old blonde sitting beside her, laughing hysterically. Honestly I've never seen him laugh like that.
"Fine. I won't lose my temper with those brats," I growl, rolling my green eyes in response. I hear Castor's mentor burst out laughing, causing me to roll my eyes yet again. He was so immature!
"Just grow up, Cato," I snap, turning to face him. One of my plucked and thin eyebrows were raised high on my forehead in seriousness. "I'm still mad at you." Last night, he made the wonderful idea of telling my prep team not to hide my training marks. Apparently they'd make me seem tougher, that I could handle a fight. But instead I was only thinking about my family.
"Come on, Sweet Cheeks. That was for a great cause," He says in a strange tone of voice. Instead of looking at Cato, I give a confused and slightly worried look to my own mentor.
"Cato, Finnick, and Gloss all got drunk last night. I'm pretty sure he has a nasty hangover by now," Enobaria explains with a slight smirk. That smirk transfers almost to my face as I get an idea.
I let out a high pitched and loud scream, causing Enobaria to smirk wider and Cato to cringe. Just my reason. "Serves you right, Two," I respond, smirking and making my way down to the elevator. And then I pause as I realize something. "Wait, did you say Finnick...as in, Finnick Odair?" I ask, my eyes wide.
Enobaria nods and my eyes widen even more if that's possible. "As in...the Finnick Odair? From Four? The good looking one?" I ask, my voice raising an octave.
And as Enobaria nods once more, I can't help it, I let out a squeal. I remember hearing about him, seeing him on the television. "Stop it, Twelve! You're so loud!" I hear Cato groan as I finally step into the elevator. Wow. He's in the same building as I am! Finnick Odair!
Castor hurries up behind me and runs into the elevator, just as it's closing it's doors. We stand in silence, neither of us speaking. And honestly, I think he's still upset with me. I refused to tell him why I was so sensitive with him watching that particular Games. Well, if he would have remembered that it was our Dad's wish, then he would have listened, too. He wouldn't have pestered me until I told him that yes, all District Twelve tributes are practically walking corpses.
I tug at the red and black shirt as it clung to my skin. I pick at the white '2' printed on the left sleeve. I would have rathered it say '12', but I guess we're representing District Two, so I have no choice but to deal with it. The black shorts cling to my thighs, and as we step out into the training room, I'm wishing for pants. My red hair is up in a tight bun, as to keep it out of my face.
I stand between Castor and a rather tall boy. This boy seems to tower over the others height wise. And though not muscular, he is slightly menacing. He has a stoic expression on his olive face. His grey eyes peer down at me when he notices I'm looking at him. One of the boy's thick eyebrows raise up high, as if asking a question. I, in return, contort my face to try and look like a scowl, though I'm not sure what it particularly looked like to him.
Act tough. Strong. You can do this. Remember training. Remember what Enobaria told you. No losing your temper. Try and kiss up to the actual Careers, they'll let you in their group if you do. I try and think of everything I'm supposed to do, but it all begins to jumble together in my head. Wait, if I'm supposed to be tough and strong, I shouldn't kiss up to anyone, especially the Careers.
Finally, a woman steps up to face all twenty-four of us. Her name is something I can't exactly pronounce. It's...strange. However, she is relatively normal-looking. She tells us important things. Most of us will die from natural happenings. Mostly dehydration. So basically, always have water with you. Which is the obvious one there. She also tells us to focus on survival skills. Sure, if you want to look weak. Don't fight with tributes. Sure thing, I can do that rather well. And then she lets us begin training.
I watch as Castor heads over to the archery station, where a girl already is. The black haired girl shoots the dummies in the heart every time. I need to watch out for her. When I squint my eyes, I can just make out the number '7' on her sleeve. However, she turns and laughs as Castor misses the dummy completely. Career. I can tell that much from the look of intimidation on her face as she glares down Castor.
"Bellona! Stop ogling at the boy and actually train for once!" A booming voice hollers. I follow where the voice came from and my eyes bulge out of my head. That boy is even more intimidating in person. His name is Clovis and he's eighteen, I know that much from Enobaria. His black hair hangs over his eyes slightly, those ice blue eyes that are so different from Enobaria's. He is tall, not as tall as the boy from before, but towers over most people here. He is so muscular that I think he might just be inhuman. I can definitely tell one of his strengths just by his appearance.
And standing next to him is a blond haired girl and boy who must be originally from District One. I gulp as the girl from the archery-Bellona-makes her way to the group. She sends Castor a smirk and an almost insane look in her eyes.
But finally, I manage to begin practicing. I want to intimidate people, right? They said to show my strengths. With that in mind, I step over to the sword station and grab a slender looking blade. It's not a sickle, but I can still use it well. The trainer steps over to me and tells me a bit about himself. Atlas is his name, and he's been training tributes for years now. He can use a sword, so he can help me practice.
After twenty minutes of it, I can say one thing. Atlas is a good partner to spar against, but not like a certain Victor. I beat him twice in that time, which it would normally take a lot longer to have someone become victorious when Cato and I spar. So I realize I'm not really gaining anything here. I thank him and step away from the station, returning the sword.
I wipe the sweat from my brow, standing in the middle of the room for a moment. I'm surprised to see that tall boy with a very young girl over at the edible plants station. I recognize the girl from the Reapings, she's from District Nine. The twelve year old who cried and had nobody to volunteer for her. I see Castor attempting to camouflage his hand to look like there were leaves covering it. However, from what I can see, it's not going too well.
I soon decide to try out the fire making station. I know I'm supposed to stay at weapons and things, but building a decent fire might be partially important in the arena. Especially if I don't make it with the Careers. I sit down and tune out the instructor. I want to learn this one on my own. "Which district are you from?" A feminine voice asks.
I turn my head and see a girl with braided caramel brown hair and blue eyes. The number on her shirt is a '1', so obviously she's not a Career. And, her brown eyes are too full of friendliness to be considered a Career. Her hands expertly work on a few leaves and sticks, and soon she has a spark going. Obviously she's had to do this before.
"Twelve, you?" I reply in a low mutter, struggling with the flint in my hand. She seems to laugh and I wonder if it's my reply or my obvious struggle with lighting a fire.
"Six. Hey, if you're from coal mining town, shouldn't you be good at lighting fires?" The girl asks, amusement twinkling in her eyes. I just shrug in reply, not really in the mood for joking around. Besides, it's been drilled into my brain for the past week to keep concentration during training. "Oh, not much of a talker. Well, I'm Cordin, fifteen years old yesterday," She adds. In my peripheral vision I see the grin on her face.
"Violet, eighteen," I grumble, tossing the flint away. I give up. It just can't seem to be done. I decide to leave the station for two reasons. Cordin is extremely annoying, and because I can't light a fire to save my life. So if it's a freezing baron, then I'm just dead. I stand up and walk away with light feet.
I climb up the netting that's attached to the ceiling. Nobody is climbing it, so I might as well attempt it while I can. When I'm about halfway through, the net flips over so I'm upside down. This strains my muscles but I continue. Sweat perspires on my brow and my face clenches as I continue climbing. I feel my arms shaking and a bit of loud insults and discouragement from the Careers. When I'm at the top, I take a deep breath. I'm about to flip the net back over when I hear it. "Nice, Violet!" I scream and my hands slip from the netting. I hit the mat with a loud thunk. I also hear a loud popping sound.
A wave of pain hits my right shoulder area and I can guess what it is. I scream as Clovis steps over-smirking-and shoves my shoulder back into place. He didn't even give me any time to prepare for that! And why would he do that? Oh, yeah, he enjoys seeing people in pain, probably. I ignore the blubbering Cordin-"I am so sorry, I really didn't mean to, Violet!"-and get up from the mat.
I feel a strong hand grab my left wrist and pull me from the area. I notice soon I'm standing between Clovis and Bellona. Oh no. The Careers. The blond haired girl looked really angry and annoyed, the blond boy looks a bit lost. Bellona seriously looks insane, and Clovis...just frightening. I furrow my eyebrows, confused as to why I was dragged over here.
"I'll cut to the chase, here, Twelve. Clovis and Bellona here think it's a good idea to have you in our alliance. What do you say?" The blond haired girl states. "I really don't want you here and Gem frankly doesn't care." Gem must be the lost looking blondie.
"Sapphire, it's two against one. Your vote isn't important anymore," Clovis snaps, rolling his blue eyes. However, those eyes suddenly snap down on me, obviously expecting an answer.
Wow. I never actually expected to get asked this, honestly. I wasn't that good. But apparently the real District Two tributes saw something they liked. This would be a great idea. Protect Castor by joining, and not having to worry about the Careers anyway. It seems like a great idea. But I'd also be the weakest one. Once the alliance ends, I'll be the first targeted, an easy kill to them. Shouldn't I put as much distance between them and myself as I can? Or would it be smart to get them to trust me?
"Yeah, sounds great," I finally reply with a slight shake of my head. I sound a lot more confident than I really am. Honestly.
"Good. Now, for now, if anyone asks, tell them you said no to our little request. Pretend you're not one of us. They'll be more surprised that way. And, a that annoying girl and the other Twelve will still trust you," Bellona tells me firmly. I nod in response and begin to walk away. And they let me leave. Wow, trusting me with something this big. They must really have some high hopes for me.
I walk away from them and over to the daggers. I gasp one in my hand, seeing the length of the double-sided blade. It fits great in my hand. I step over to a couple of the dummies and begin jumping, rolling, swinging, stabbing, and slashing at them. In a few minutes the dummies were reduced to piles of fake body parts. I wipe the sweat from my forehead and sigh slightly. I glance over and see Bellona looking at me. She gives a faint nod of approval.
Then we're called to lunch. For the training days, we are to all eat in the same room just outside the training area. I grab a plate of rolls and a piece of some sort of meat covered in an orange sauce. I sit down at an empty table. However, soon it's filled by Cordin, Castor, that extremely tall and stoic boy, and the little girl from Nine. I try to stay calm and silent as Cordin continues to speak. Her and Castor seem to keep up a great conversation, though, so I let them talk.
"So, Vi, what did the Careers want with you?" Castor asks, raising an eyebrow. I see the glint of fear in his eyes. He thinks I'm joining them. Which I am, but I have to tell him I'm not. One, it was the conditions of the alliance. Two, to better console him. He wouldn't trust me if he knew.
"Oh, they wanted me to join them. I declined. They wouldn't let you join, too," I state with a light shrug. I turn back to the roll in my left hand, ripping it off carefully and stuffing pieces of the fluffy bread in my mouth.
"Really? You turned the Careers down?" The small girl from Nine speaks up. Her voice is quiet and almost unsure, like she didn't know if she could join the conversation.
That boy from earlier seems to nod in what I hope is approval. "That's exactly what I would've done, Mazie. Any outlier tributes who join them are traitors," His deep voice explains.
I have to hold back a cringe. Traitors. It's true. You almost never see outlier districts joining them. However, if they're skilled enough, they sometimes do. Like Peeta Mellark did for a while there last year. I wouldn't call him talented enough, but he had a way with words. He could twist them around and get people to believe just about anything. He had us fooled with the star-crossed lovers bit for a long time. But Katniss ruined the whole thing. She had about no reaction when he'd died. A sure sign that she didn't truly love him.
During lunch, I find out more about them. Mazie and that boy are from District Nine, his name is Rye. Rye is eighteen and Mazie is twelve. They aren't related and didn't know each other until after the Reaping. Cordin didn't know her district partner. Cordin is the only person out of those people confident that they're going to win. When Castor pointed out my promise to him, Rye sends me a sympathetic looking expression. He knows exactly what I meant by it. He knows what older siblings have to do for the younglings. After all, he did say he had seven younger brothers and sisters to help take care of. None of them older than fourteen.
I'm almost relieved when lunch is over. Cordin was about to talk again. As we leave and head back to training, I call Mazie over. "Hey, do you think you could show me some survival skills?" I ask, flashing her a small smile. And yes, I felt awful for playing her. But it was how I was going to get to the final two.
Mazie showed me basic edible plants, knot tying, and some basic snares. She attempted the fire making again, but I was just as horrible as before. I was decent at the plants, but I kept getting confused between nightlock and blueberries. How am I supposed to tell the difference? Knot tying was a success. I could fashion a rough net by the end. Snares were not good at all. I didn't have the hand-eye coordination for it. I rushed too much. I couldn't sit still. And I didn't even bother with the camouflage. I know I'll be rubbish at it.
In return I show her a bit of some dagger movements, how to use it and things. It couldn't hurt to show her that much. Before I could show her anything complicated, the training time was over.
I was in an elevator with only Bellona. She told me I was a good actress. I instantly felt guilty about lying to all of those people. I really was a traitor, wasn't I? I was eventually going to kill at least one of them, right? Isn't that what being a Career is? Hunting everyone else down?
I step off onto the second floor and spot everyone around the couch. I have no clue if they were really watching anything, because I suddenly grabbed Cato's wrist and tugged him away from them. I had to discuss something. I step into my room and shut the door, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "What is it, Twelve?"
"Okay, this is difficult, I'm confused," I begin, taking a deep breath. I tug my hair roughly out of the ponytail, wincing as I move my shoulder a bit too quickly. It was definitely sore. "The Careers asked me to join their alliance," I add. I see Cato look a bit more excited...or relieved? "I said yes, and they said to pretend I said no during training. Now all these other people expect me to help them out in the arena. I'm lying to so many kind people to align with vicious people, Cato. That's not me at all," I sigh, finishing up.
It's silent for a moment. And then Cato's taking a couple steps closer to me, looking down at me. He takes my chin with his index finger and thumb. "You listen here. Don't worry about changing. You're just trying to survive," He tells me rather calmly but with hints of seriousness in his tone.
"But I'm betraying Castor. If I somehow win, I'll never be able to be forgiven for it," I whimper, feeling tears in my eyes. Enough with the tears, Violet! I about scream at myself for being so emotional. But I honestly can't help it at this point in time.
Suddenly, I'm against the wall and his lips are pressed to mine. I can't hardly believe it. But I still feel my eyes closing, feel myself kissing back. What is this with us kissing each other?! His free hand rests on my waist, his other hand still on my chin. I feel my arms move up to rest on his chest.
And then I hear a squeal. I snap my head away and open my eyes, dropping my arms quickly. Effie Trinket is standing in the doorway, dressed up in a teal color. Her eyes are practically bulging out of her head and she looks appalled. "That is not appropriate, you two. You are mentor and tribute, not anything more. I expected more from you two," She squeals, hurrying from the room.
As soon as she leaves, I begin giggling. It's rude, but I can't help it. I see a smirk on Cato's face and begin giggling even more. "You're bright red, Twelve. It's almost as if you just saw Odair running through here," He says to me.
I feel my cheeks burn and I roll my eyes. He smirks triumphantly and leaves the room. He leaves me standing there confused and embarrassed. What just happened?
I decide to skip dinner and just settle for laying on the bed. I feel something cold and silky brush my leg and jump. I reach under the blankets and come away with my black ribbon. Oh, I sort of forgot about it. I need to wear it from now on. It gives me a sort of confidence, having a piece of home with me.
Right after I wrap it like Effie did that first day, I'm asleep. And a certain Victor might just have been in my dreams that night. How can he worm his way into my mind so well?
So again, reviews or anything would be fabulous! I would like to hear how I'm doing and how I can improve!