Beta-Read by: gkmoberg1

Coldbloodedby The Pretty Reckless

...

Can't trust a cold blooded man

He'll love you and leave you alive

There's one thing you must understand

You can't trust a cold blooded man

...

You can't trust a cold blooded woman

She'll love you and leave you for dead

There's one thing you must understand

You can't trust a cold blooded woman

...

You can't trust a cold blooded lover

...

in the end they'll just drive you insane

Chapter 7

Winnow had led Kai to the knives section of the combat stations as soon as Atala, the lead trainer, had finished running her mouth. She plucked two knives off the rack, and held them out to her district partner. Kai cautiously took hold of them, looking up to her uncertainly. "What's the difference between the two?" she asked.

He shrugged, before looking at them more closely. "Umm…they're heavier on different sides?" Kai suggested.

She nodded, taking one of the knives from him. "This one is blade-heavy, as you could tell when you held it. If you get one of these in the arena, you want to hold it by the handle when you throw it," Winnow explained, being sure to show him the grip she held on the knife before she flung it at the target- hitting it with a heavy thunk.

"Wow," Kai breathed. She held her hand out for the other blade, and he gave it over immediately.

"And this one is handle-heavy. You hold it by the blade when you throw it," she said, taking the small blade and throwing it. The second blade landed just next to the first.

"How did you learn this stuff?!" Kai asked in awe.

Winnow merely shrugged. "Before I worked on the fishing ships, I scaled fish to earn dinner- when Genna was still alive. I got good with knives then, and once I started on the fishing ships, the guys- Finbar and Brewas- taught me how to throw knives." She recounted, walking over to the target and plucking out the two weapons easily, before returning to Kai and handing one of them to him.

Suddenly, Kai was uncertain again- a deadly weapon in hand. "Which one is this?" Winnow questioned him.

"The handle-heavy one," he answered after a moment.

"Show me how you'd hold it to throw it," she requested. Kai looked down to the knife, rolling it in his hand. He gestured to Winnow so she would check his grip. "No, no, like this," she corrected him, hands wrapping around his to move his fingers to where they belonged.

Kai's cheeks flushed.

"How's it going, Four?" A voice interjected. The tributes from district Four looked up to see Cato standing before them, arms folded over his chest.

"Two." Winnow greeted coolly, glancing back down to Kai's hand in hers.

Kai looked expectantly at his district partner to say more, but Winnow was- well, characteristically silent. "She's just showing me how to throw knives," he offered genially.

Cato hardly spared Kai a glance. "I can see that she's trying." He said bluntly- clearly implying Kai's incompetency. And for his insult, Cato got what he wanted. A rise.

Winnow's eyes flashed up to his- her expression tightening before she looked away again. "I suppose Kai's skill with knives leaves something to be desired…his skill tends to lie more with scalpels than blades as big as these," She remarked nonchalantly, looking up at him to observe Cato's reaction.

Kai squinted at the pair of them in suspicion, as Cato's body language shifted from defensive- to quite interested. Kai found himself being sized up by the larger tribute, the sentiment behind his gaze lacking hostility for the first time since meeting. "A scalpel, you say?"

"Yes," Kai responded hesitantly.

"What did you want, Two?" Winnow drawled.

Cato's attention flickered to her. His body language shifted as he regarded the young woman. "I think you know what I want," he said bluntly. Her expression did not change- and Kai raised an eyebrow. "To talk," Cato clarified. His eyes flashed to Kai. "Alone."

Winnow sighed, letting her eyes fall shut for a moment. "We do not have anything to talk about." She remarked.

"Winnow-"

She turned to face him suddenly, making him stop speaking abruptly. "You know what you need to do."

Cato's face creased in anger. "You keep telling me I, we, have to prove ourselves to you. Like you're something glorious," he said bitterly. "I'm believing you less and less, Four," Cato said, turning away to walk back towards the other Careers.

A hot rush of fury moved through Winnow's body. "You want to see what I can do, fine!" She said through gritted teeth. Cato had just enough time to see Winnow stalk over to rack of weapons and snatch a trident off it before hurling it at the nearest dummy.

It was a difficult angle- throwing straight from the weapon rack towards the dummy. But the trident cut through the air at a deadly speed, shearing off the dummy's head as it pierced straight through its neck and embedded in the wall directly behind. "I think I've made my point," She uttered, turning her back on Cato- without seeing the shock she wanted so badly.

Kai placed his hand on Winnow's shoulder, murmuring something to her softly. She turned her head to look at him, biting her lip and nodding. She let Kai lead her away from the combat station and from the District Two tribute. Cato's expression soured from surprise to contempt as he watched them go.

Kai led Winnow to the medical table, his shoulders finally loosening as he came to something he was comfortable with. "Now I get to teach you something," he said with a grin. Kai examined the contents of a table, selecting a few items and setting them in front of Winnow. "I'm hoping I will be there to help if someone does get hurt, but if I'm not, I want you to know how to treat yourself," Kai remarked.

Winnow scowled at him. "Don't say things like that," she ordered him, gripping his arm painfully.

Kai winced, pulling his arm away. "Okay, geez! I'm sorry! Can I start now?" he muttered.

"Yes, you can start," Winnow said with a roll of her eyes.

Kai heaved a sigh, rubbing his hands together. "Alright, alright, where to start?" he remarked, an excited glint in his hazel eyes. "Oh, I know!" Winnow couldn't help but giggle at her partner's excitement. "The most important thing with an open wound is that you clean it and get it closed up to staunch bleeding and prevent infection," Kai began broadly.

Winnow nodded along to show that she was listening and in agreement. "I don't know what kind of arena we're going into, but based on the stations I've seen so far, I think it's safe to say it will be a wooded area- and will have these medicinal herbs," Kai queried, laying three green sprigs and a piece of bark in front of her. He pointed to the bark, "This is Willow bark- it is effective in pain relief and fever reduction. You can make a tea out of it, but I doubt there will be time for that. So you simply find a Willow tree and shave off some bark and chew it up," Kai informed her, tapping the little piece of bark as he spoke.

Kai moved to the next herb, a little green sprig with feathery leaves around one main stalk. "This is yarrow- it is extremely effective in stopping bleeding. It typically has yellow flowers at the top," He nodded in approval as Winnow picked up the Yarrow sprig, familiarizing herself with the appearance, texture and smell of the herb. "Next is Comfrey, and this one, Calendula," Kai remarked, gesturing to the final two.

Winnow recognized the final herb immediately. "That's a marigold," she pointed out, making Kai laugh.

"Yes, but Calendula is another name. When you hear Calendula, it has to do with medicine. When you hear marigold, it is referring to the flower," Kai explained, Winnow bobbing her head in understanding. "When you pair together the Comfrey and Calendula, it can help knit a wound or even bone together." He went on, picking up the two herbs to hold them out to Winnow.

Winnow took them carefully, setting down the Yarrow and Calendula immediately, certain she could identify them. She examined the last herb, Comfrey, carefully. It had large, hairy broad leaves and small bell-shaped white flowers at the top. "I think I can remember this," she commented uncertainly, earning a reproachful look from Kai.

"I know you can. It is only four herbs- just remember this. Willow for pain and fever, Yarrow for bleeding, Comfrey and Calendula to promote healing," Kai reminded her, ticking off each herb on his fingers.

Winnow repeated his words, making Kai grin. "So how would I administer these? Besides the Willow bark, I mean. That I've got- chew it," She questioned.

Kai looked so incredibly pleased to be asked that Winnow considered retracting the question- but she knew she couldn't because of her new alliance or friendship with Kai. "Well, they all- except Willow, of course- have to be made into poultices," he began, drawing a mortar and pestle over to him. He picked up the yarrow and stripped off the leaves, then tearing the stalk into smaller pieces before he ground it up with the pestle. Kai added a little water, making the coarse powder into a thick paste. "See? It's this simple. Crush up this herb and add a little water to hold it all together. Of course, there are more professional ways to make a poultice- but in a pinch, this is just as effective. Now Winnow, make a poultice out of the Comfrey and Calendula," he instructed, sliding another mortar and pestle to her.

"It's a marigold," Winnow muttered while she did as asked, making her partner chuckle. She followed the instructions as well as his demonstration; crushing the herbs and mixing it with a few spoonfuls of water.

"Well done," Kai praised, sliding the poultice to the side. "Now I wish to show you suturing quickly,"

Winnow glanced along the table. "We have nothing to use," she protested.

Kai did not look up, his manner entirely business-like as he gathered materials. "We have me," he returned as if the thought did not remotely bother him. "The most important thing is to have sterile tools; both the needle and thread you use must be boiled or sanitized somehow before we use it. You must also clean off the area you intend to suture- alcohol would be ideal but I doubt we'll have access to it," Kai spoke quickly and with focus, ripping open two sterile containers- one with the needle and another with thick black thread. He threaded the needle swiftly and showed Winnow how to pull the thread through and knot the end before he took an alcohol swab over the flesh of his own forearm.

Winnow gasped as Kai scored his skin with the needle with nary a wince, making five quick, neat stitches before demonstrating how to knot the thread and cut it off at the end. "You're crazy," Winnow breathed, reaching over to trace the self-inflicted stitches on Kai's arm. He finally gave a slight wince then, reaching for the scissors, cutting through the stitches and then carefully pulling them out.

Kai held out his arm to Winnow then, showing off the small row of holes that were beginning to bleed. Winnow flashed him a questioning look in response. "Put some of that knowledge to use, Winnow. Treat my wound," he instructed her.

Winnow sighed, reaching for the yarrow- she glanced up to Kai for approval and received a firm nod in response. She grabbed a few small squares of cotton, using the first to wipe away the collected beads of blood on Kai's arm, before she dabbed on the yarrow delicately. She reached for the comfrey, only for Kai to make a noise. "There's no need for the comfrey- this is a very minor wound, just put a bandage on it," he interjected.

Winnow nodded, ripping open a packaged bandage, gently smoothing it on over the small wound. Just as she finished was when the shouting began.

Kai and Winnow turned to see Cato raging against the District 3 boy- screaming about a stolen knife.

They watched with raised eyebrows as Cato made a scene. "And our mentors want you to partner with him? Fantastic," he uttered sarcastically.

Winnow rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as they both watched the scene. Her eyes flickered upwards, seeing the District 11 girl laying comfortably in the nets, holding what could only be assumed to be Cato's knife, a giggly expression on her face.

Winnow tried to hold in a smirk, elbowing Kai in the side and nodding upwards. When he saw what she had, a laugh burst out of him, but he managed to rein his amusement in afterwards. "Cato's not a problem. I can control him, but the others I'm not so sure of," She remarked lowly, Kai's head dipping in response to hear her better. "Glimmer I'm sure won't be a problem, and I don't think Marvel will be either, but Cato's district partner, Clove…she will be," Winnow explained, making Kai's eyes light onto the petite, knife-wielding warrioress.

Clove also watched Cato's scene with an unimpressed expression, while both tributes from District 1 laughed and laughed. Clove's dark eyes flashed back and forth before finally landing on Kai and Winnow also watching Cato's display, her expression souring.

Winnow took this as time to intercede- she stalked across the training center, pushing Cato roughly away from the District 3 boy even as the trainers tried to intercede as well. Cato bore down on her with furious eyes, smacking her hands away from his chest. "Move!" he ordered her, but Winnow merely raised her hands and shoved him again.

"He didn't steal your knife. So stop acting like a moron and stop making a scene!" Winnow warned with a defiant tone.

"He did! I know he did!" Cato protested angrily.

"He didn't." Winnow retorted, stepping in closer to her so-called ally. "You're making a scene. You're showing everyone that you can't control your temper. And people who can't control their temper are weak," She informed him, making an appalled look appear on his face.

"I am not weak," Cato hissed in response, stunned that she would even imply it.

Winnow gritted her teeth. "Then prove it!" she exclaimed. "Control yourself," she added, before turning on her heel and stalking away.

Cato took a heaving breath, raising his hands to rake them through his hair. He glared at the District 3 boy one last time, taking pleasure in his fear, before turning and walking back towards Clove.

Winnow returned to the medical table where Kai still stood; his eyes narrowed and brows furrowed in confusion. "You said you can control him. I just saw that you could. Why do you have power over him? Why is he listening to you?" Kai questioned her suspiciously.

Winnow sighed, raking a hand through the loose hair of her ponytail. "Because we've talked. And he wants me for the Careers," she answered semi-truthfully.

Kai raised dark eyes up to his district partner. "Winnow, I'm not stupid," he remarked.

"I know that." Winnow responded in irritation.

"Then tell me the truth. There's something more going on here, I know it. He looks at you like he wants to eat you up whole…and sometimes, the look in your eyes says you'd like to do the same," Kai uttered, the expression on his face confused and disapproving all at the same time.

"That's ridiculous, Kai. He's just useful. He'll protect you and me until we're all that's left," Winnow protested, grabbing hold of Kai's hand.

Kai just shook his head. "You're lying," he uttered, to have Winnow vocally disagree. "Maybe you don't know it yet, but you are lying. To yourself as well as me. I'm not sure which is worse," Kai informed her, pulling his hand from hers. "I don't like it, Winnow. You're not being truthful. I know that's what you do, especially to get by in these games, but you don't have to do it with me. I know you, and I care about you, so you don't have to trick me into helping you. So stop trying," he continued, shaking his head again, walking away before he said anything else.

Winnow scowled at his back before turning to find something else to do. She glanced at the stations, before deciding to attend to some of the survival skills. She considered going to make a pact with Cato, but she knew she wanted him to dangle awhile longer. She could see by the glances he was shooting her across the room that her intervention in his tantrum had only served to convince him more strongly that he wanted her in the Careers.

As Winnow worked on trying to light a fire with a couple of twigs and a piece of flint, the Careers from district 1 meandered over. She ignored them soundly, as she tried to complete her task.

"Hi Winnow! We're from district 1- I'm Glimmer, and that's Marvel!" The blonde greeted after silence for a minute or two.

Winnow sighed, realizing they just wouldn't go away. She brushed her hands off on trousers, before she stood in one fluid motion. "Can I give you a piece of advice?" She asked the pair.

Glimmer and Marvel traded a glance before nodding. "Why not?" Marvel drawled.

Winnow smirked, toying with the flint in her hand. "First of all then- walk away, shit-brain," she directed at Glimmer.

Both tributes' eyes went wide with shock. "What did you say to me?!" Glimmer squawked.

Winnow merely laughed. "You heard me. As far as I'm concerned, you're useless. So walk away, shit-brain. I won't waste my time with you." She informed the Career.

Glimmer's mouth opened and closed with shock, before she started stomping away. "I'm telling Cato!" She threatened shrilly, especially as Marvel began to laugh. Just as Cato did moments later when Glimmer angrily told him what Winnow had said.

Marvel turned his attention to Winnow, finding that she had been observing him closely. "So did you really have some advice for me, or did you just want to make Glimmer hate you?" He asked, his lips tilted up in a smile.

"Both, I suppose. I wanted to see if you were loyal to her. Clearly, you aren't." Winnow answered steadily, keeping her eyes fixed on him.

Marvel frowned at that. "So let's have that advice then," he prompted her.

Winnow rolled her eyes. "You might have thought that Cato's display earlier was all fun and games, but it showed weakness. Do you really want to follow that?" She asked.

Marvel's frown deepened. "Are you telling me to quit the Careers?" He questioned in response.

Winnow shook her head. "I just want to see if I can trust you to have a level-head if I do join the Careers. If you can't, all you'll have is a pack of hotheads. And a pack of hotheads is easy to take apart," she informed him.

Marvel continued to frown as he saw the truth in her words. "I'm level-headed," he answered.

"If you do what I say, you might just live longer," Winnow added authoritatively.

"Does that mean you're joining us?" Marvel asked, brows furrowing in confusion.

Winnow waved a hand nonchalantly. "Finnick said I had to. But I would like to keep Cato waiting a little while longer, for fun and games, you see." She answered honestly with a hint of mischief in her tone.

Marvels eyes lit with amusement. "I do see. I will keep that fact secret. For fun and game, you see," he responded with a wink before strolling away. Winnow grinned, bending back down to the little campfire she attempted to start.

Everything was going as she had planned. All she had to do was wait. Tomorrow was a half-day of training, before all the tributes met privately with the Game-Makers. Winnow would wait until the end of training to tell Cato she would join him- and inform him of the concessions he would have to make to keep her. 'All in all, it was a successful day,' Winnow thought, a wide smirk tilting her lips.

Sorry for the long wait- it's been a crazy month finishing up this semester of school. I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts about this chapter!

I've done a little casting for this story, so I wanted to share with you...

Jessica De Gouw as Winnow

Dylan O'Brien as Kai

Lotte Verbeek as Artemisia

Holliday Grainger as the twins Pandora & Phedre

Armie Hammer as Pyrrhus Reed

and of course, Alexander Ludwig as Cato

Please Review!

did anyone notice that the lyrics at the beginning are different? it means something...