Blaine Abernathy
Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games
Chapter 45: Training
Blaine's POV
Getting everyone prepared for the Quarter Quells has been a tedious task. I might have been the worst to get everyone in shape. Knowing I had been spared was a burden, but I couldn't say anything. All I can do is get Katniss ready. To get Peeta and Haymitch ready. Most of it is to get myself mentally prepared.
Every night, Katniss, Haymitch, and Peeta would come to my place to watch the old recaps of the remaining victors. Haymitch and I gave thorough notes on possible contenders who would be drafted into the games and those who would volunteer. Haymitch kindly gave them information about the victor's personalities and current physical conditions, which they were able to start sorting out the competition.
The current threat is from Districts One and Two. Follow District Four's victor, Finnick Odair. It did bring up the conversation about why they never got a chance to meet the Victors during the Victory Tour. Haymitch elaborated the answer that the last thing President Snow would've wanted was to show Katniss and Peeta bonding with the other victors, especially those in designated rebellious districts. If a victor offers support of defiance towards the Capitol, then politics would be dangerous. Katniss is convinced this was a good advantage, while Peeta took notes.
The schedule was exhausting and probably the worst workout experience for everyone. In the morning, we wake up early and exercise to develop strength. Our primary goal was to enhance our agility and strength by running continuously in Victors' Village and weightlifting in my gym. Katniss was so surprised to see the weights and other gym equipment there that she gulped at the worn-out punching bag in the corner. By midday, we worked on a combat skill that was actually entertaining for some reason. I taught the two how to disarm and perform specific maneuvers to damage the opponent's vulnerable points. Since we're dealing primarily with elderly and mid-twenty victors, balance is the key to conquer. Throw the opponent off balance.
I found it amusing to teach this to Katniss since I had to provoke her in training on how weak she was with Clove. Each round, I easily won, pinning Katniss to the dirt and snow telling her to focus. "This isn't some Game, Girl. You were lucky last time, and there possibly won't be a chance of a weapon. So again!"
Katniss got infuriated that she was using her anger in each punch, kick, and trick, which still ended up with me on top.
"Focus, Katniss," I chastised, getting off her. "Anger is weakness! You must get a clear head and analyze the situation."
It took probably two weeks before she managed to beat me in a simple match. It would be a month, did I approve of her combat skills to teach her about fighting with weapons, along with Peeta.
The only weapons available that we could use were knives and hand-carved staves. Katniss didn't have a hard time with throwing knives; neither did Haymitch since he was a knife expert in the games. Peeta, on the other hand, struggled, so Haymitch taught him how to properly throw a knife and close-range combat with it. After the knives were tree climbing. Katniss knew how to climb trees better than the rest of us, so she taught us ways to climb.
I also prepared some gymnastics tricks, simple cartwheels, summersaults, and flexible movements in tight spaces. They questioned why, so I had Peeta attack me. He was hesitant, yet with a bit of encouragement, he attacked. Using my flexibility, I showed them why it was essential to be flexible. How a summersault can roll you out of a fight. How tricks can create a divergence. And to get out of tight spaces.
Other people helped us through the correlation of our training. Mrs. Everdeen put us on a special diet to gain weight. Prim tended to our injuries with her mother's supervision. The Mayor's daughter, Madge Undersee, who is friends with Katniss, would try and sneak her father's Capitol newspaper that predicted who would be the victors' tributes among the favorites. Gale Hawthorne even participated and taught us how to make proper snares and trapping, ignoring that his nemesis is standing next to his love. It was against the law to train tributes for the Games. Screw the law, for that didn't stop the careers whatsoever.
Haymitch, however, had some difficulty in getting into shape. From all that alcohol abuse, his body was dehydrated. I had to stay strong through his detox by not submitting to his needs. In the early weeks, he stayed in my house as his house was being cleaned and rid of all spirits. I thank Peeta for doing what I couldn't in cleaning Haymitch from his Alcoholism. It scares me when he stops to puke or collapses from exhaustion. Haymitch can be strong and stealthy in close situations, but longer distances that require him to run hardly help. I feared Haymitch would die in the bloodbath if he went into the games. The day I returned from the Capitol, Haymitch told me he was going into the games in Peeta's place as a fair exchange since he chose Katniss to win.
On days of recovery, I would go off to see the Covey. Despite my body being sore and demanding more rest, I took the opportunity to be with them. Primary with Aunty Barb. When I first saw her, I knew deep down her time was short. The last of my blood. Aunty Barb and her wife couldn't have children physically and were not qualified to adopt. Granny Maude and Grampa Ash only had one child: my mother. Basically, I will soon be the last of the Bairds. So I do what I can.
I would bring my journal and write down all the stories Aunty Baird had. Writing down her memoir. Their children and grandchildren try to keep their accounts. But one day, it can be all forgotten. Especially when instruments are limited and the knowledge too. I even wrote down all of their songs.
Writing multiple copies for each family in the Covey.
I even laughed at the reminder of who Shamus was. Apparently, Shamus was a goat, one Granny Maude loved dearly. Including that Semus was a girl.
Even the men try to help me in my training.
However, one day, as I was relaxing at home, Katniss came to me. She was upset but wasn't showing it. It was probably a conversation with her family that led her to this. At first, I thought she wanted to go over strategies until she said, "Can you volunteer for me?"
I saw red as I stared at her while my body became tense.
Katniss hesitated as she tried to defend her reason for asking me such a ridiculous question.
"You're older than me." She started.
"I'm twenty-two," I seethed.
Katniss hesitated, "You know the competition and more experiences."
I practically laughed, "You're joking, right?"
She paused, looking at me.
"Those tributes aren't a competition. They are my friends." I scolded her. "Don't you dare give that excuse because of the shit you put us in?"
She glared at me.
"This is entirely your fault because you couldn't play the game properly," I said with much venom.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, don't you dare go aloof on me," I growled. "Who pulled out the nightlock? You did on your false act of love and suicide that we're in this damn mess. You're not the only one who went through hell when meeting President Snow. You don't know anything about the shit I went through just for you in the arena and out."
She bowed her head, avoiding looking me in the eye.
"My cat died because of you. I got injected with capsaicin, burning my body because of you. So stop whining and get your head out of the clouds because one of us is going to the Hunger Games, and I suspect the two cards will be tampered with."
Katniss gave a scream before leaving.
Once she was gone, I collapsed on the couch with my head between my legs. It was wrong, I shouldn't have. But I felt offended that she would dare ask me to volunteer. Yet, I have to keep pretending. I can't volunteer. There may be a chance of me winning. However, the arena or a Career will kill me. Also, President Snow told me not to. As much as I want to warn her of her rigged reaping. Katniss was going into the arena.
After that argument, we only spoke if it was necessary. Haymitch found it annoying, while Peeta became the messenger. In the end, we were civil for the team's sake. Either Peeta or somebody talked with her, for it wasn't until spring that she finally spoke to me again.
She apologized at first.
We realized how close we were; we lost one of our parents, grew up raising our family, and tried to survive. We actually spent the night together having those cliché sleepovers, talking about random things as we sat by the fire. Anything to get her mind off things.
"Blaine, can I ask you something?" Katniss asked.
"Sure," I said, picking up a fire poker and adjusting the logs to give life to the flames.
"My father said that songs can be dangerous, just like a bow in my hand. Yet you sing freely about freedom, hope, and other things. How are you able to do that without being punished?"
"I do get punished," I said, staring at the flames. "Some songs I sing once, and be told to never sing it again."
Katniss was surprised by this.
Most of the time, the record company chose the songs I sang, and sometimes, President Snow members would change them so that the music was louder than the lyrics. Sometimes, songs are weapons, as are words. You must find the right story and sing it accurately to get the point."
She paused as she glanced at the flames.
"When I sing, I sing to express how I truly feel," I told her. "The only album I enjoyed was Songs of the Districts. Singing songs I grew up. As much as I was happy, it was not what the Capitol wanted."
"What about your last album?"
"Lament tested boundaries," I said.
"Was there a song you wanted to sing but couldn't," She asked.
"Many," I confirmed.
"Like what?" She asked.
I paused, staring back at the fire as I thought about one song I wanted to sing.
"Are you, are you, coming to the tree?
Where they strung up a man, they say who murdered three.
Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be,
If we met, up at midnight, in the hanging tree.
0
Are you, are you, coming to the tree?
Where the dead man called out, for his love to flee.
Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be,
If we met, up at midnight, in the hanging tree.
0
Are you, are you, coming to the tree?
Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free.
Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be,
If we met, up at midnight, in the hanging tree.
0
Are you, are you, coming to the tree?
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here, no stranger would it be,
If we met, up at midnight, in the hanging tree.
Katniss stared at the flames, "My father would sing me that song."
I nodded, "It's a banned song. But over time, people tend to know it."
Katniss nodded, then stared at me, "What do you want in life?"
"You're full of questions, aren't you?" I chuckled, then sighed, gazing into the fire. "Not many of the victors carried on, as you saw on TV or rumor has it, we fell into deep water. Many manage to escape and start a family. Some fell into the darkest place of drugs and alcohol, while others couldn't fall or move on, being driven by the motion that they seek purpose. However, when the purpose stands right before us, a glass wall separates us from what we want, if not needed. If you correspond with the other victors, take a deep, long look at who they are now instead of who they were in the arena."
"Oh," She said, not entirely understanding. "Are you one of those people?"
"Yes," I breathed.
"And what is it you need?"
I chuckled again, shaking my head. "I can't always get what I want."
"What do you want?" she asked.
I tuck a strand of hair off my face, my fingers brushing against the snowdrop earrings. As I thought about Cinna.
"What I want is somebody to spend my life with, a life without fear, without looking over my shoulder or waking up sad. I think I found him, except I just can't commit without being scared or….this cautious feeling." I sighed, rolling over to stare at Katniss. "So Kat, what is it that you truly want?"
"I don't know," she breathes. "I spent most of my life making sure Prim was safe."
"That was an honorable thing you did for her when you volunteered."
"Yeah, but to be here now alive feels strange," she said sadly. "There's nothing I could do since everything. I wish I could choose between two guys who love me, but I don't hold the same affection. Gale is my best friend, and I hold feelings for him that if Prim hadn't been reaped in the following years, then maybe… I would have committed myself to him in a relationship. But then there's Peeta, and I feel strange around him lately that I want him to live. That I would rather die for him to live. Now, both want something from me in return for affection."
"Love triangle," I stated. "Kat, I warned you about this."
"I know. I just wish things could be different."
"If you had a chance to change your fate, would you?" I asked. "There are those who say fate is something beyond our command. That destiny is not our own, but we know better."
"Our fate lives within us. You only have to be brave enough to see it." Katniss finished with a sad smile. "You know that quote."
"Don't we all?"
That was the only night Katniss and I let go of ourselves and became vulnerable in what we thought we wanted and truly needed. I still didn't tell her about my sins, that I killed outside the arena, was a spy for President Snow, and was in a relationship with Cinna. All she knows is that I've done things I am not proud of, and she knows that if she survives, she'll see the worst side of the Hunger Games.
Shiloh jumped off my lap and landed on Katniss's lap, licking the girl's fingers. Katniss sighed, "At least I won't skin you."
Shiloh tilted her head, not understanding the comment, which Katniss and I laughed at. A slight bleak caught my eye, and I stopped looking around to see where it came from. The curtains were closed, and I debugged my house for any spy gear. Another spot of a glow appeared, and I realized it was very close, right next to my eye. I touch my side of the face, only to touch the snowdrop earrings Cinna gave me. Tentatively, I removed the earrings to examine the jewelry and found it was okay, just a simple white gold earring in the shape of a snowdrop flower. Huh, maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me after gazing into the fire? I sighed, putting the earring back on, and thought about Cinna.
Out of curiosity, would you like a chapter that had Peeta and Katniss watching Blaine's Game. I know you all got a glimpse of her game from flashbacks, but would you all like to see the full recap. Similar to what Katniss and Peeta saw with Haymitch's game.
Let me know in the reviews.