Hebe rolled out of bed at 6:00 the next morning. She stared at the room for a minute before getting up, marvelling yet again at the Capitol's recurring displays of wealth. Finally standing up and looking in the mirror, she saw the smudged remnants of the makeup for the parade, her hair stuck up at several different angles. She sighed, making her way to the shower, grabbing the training outfit that had been hung in her wardrobe sometime between now and when she had passed out.
She stood in the warmth of the shower, yet again enjoying the feeling of scalding hot water running over her, as well as the welcome (and increasingly uncommon) silence. She stepped out after a while, rubbing a towel over her head to try and dry her hair as much as possible. She eventually gave up, leaving it damp and tying it up simply.
Hebe pulled on the training outfit, a tightly fitting jumpsuit cut at the shin and elbows. It had teal racing stripes across the shoulders and piping in the same colour down the seams of the arms and legs. She turned in the mirror catching a glimpse of the large '4' emblazoned on the back. At the bottom of the closet was a pair of cheap black plimsolls like the pair she wore at school as a child. She felt utterly ridiculous, but figured it was more for comfort than style.
Hebe took a breath to collect herself, fiddling with her father's wedding band before tucking it into her shirt. She hung her seashell necklace back up in the closet, figuring that someone would be back to collect it later. She was just about to leave to get breakfast when someone knocked at her door.
She opened it slightly, and then fully when she saw it was only Ambrosia, although she wasn't sure who else she could've been expecting.
This morning she was dressed in a long blue dress and tall platform heels. The dress was embroidered with silver dragons and trees. She had chosen a large pearly white wig and appeared to have added long extensions to her eyelashes that had silver attached at the end of them.
"Oh, hello Hebe! I didn't expect to see you all ready, in fact I was just coming to collect you for breakfast!" She said, punctuating her statement with a cheerful smile.
"Thanks Ambrosia. Is anyone else up yet?" Hebe asked, returning her smile and beginning to walk towards the
"Yes Finnick and Mags are already at the table, I'm just going to wake up Luca and then I'll join you." Hebe nodded appreciatively and made her way to the table.
"Well well well, look who finally decided to join us." Finnick remarked lazily. Hebe chose to ignore him.
"Good morning Mags, how did you sleep?"
"Very well, thank you dear." Mags replied, shooting Hebe a wry smile.
Hebe sat down at the table and began buttering a piece of toast and pouring herself a glass of juice. Soon Luca and Ambrosia came into sight, Luca having clearly been rudely awakened by their escort.
"Looks like you had a nice sleep." Hebe said, struggling to contain her laughter.
"Well I was…" Luca mumbled, glaring at Ambrosia over the top of a cereal box.
Finnick, as always, chose to break the silence, "So today. Training. What's your strategy?"
"Uhh, train?"
"Very descriptive Cross, that'll get you far. Luca? Any specifics?"
Luca pointed at his mouth full of cereal, quickly chewing through it and swallowing hastily.
"Shouldn't we try and find some allies? And focus on our weak points?"
"Very good. Luca, you should practise hand to hand. In the games, no matter how good you are with long range weapons, you won't be able to avoid close combat. Hebe, you seem to be good for combat, so focus on survival skills. Also make sure you both show off a bit. You already intimidated them at the tribute parade, so make sure you keep that going, but don't expose all of your talents, you want something special to show the game makers at the individual assessment. Mags, anything to add?"
"Look out for allies. Don't pick unnecessary fights. Remember to stay in your roles, just because there's no camera's doesn't mean you don't have to be on guard."
Hebe and Luca nodded, continuing to eat yet another lavish Capitol meal. When they had finished they left their mentors and followed Ambrosia out to the elevator. They all got in together (luckily the District 7 tributes were nowhere in sight) Ambrosia's heels clacking loudly on the metal floor. She reached out a surprisingly bony finger and pressed the button that said '-1' and then the elevator shot down the shaft at a speed Hebe had never experienced.
As quickly as it had begun it stopped, doors smoothly opening revealing a small concrete passage to where she assumed the training facilities were. Hebe felt her stomach turn in nausea, not only from the lurching motion of the lift, but from anxiety. She suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of nervousness, wanting to run back to the lift and ride it all the way back to the apartment and hide in there for the rest of the day. Nevertheless she let her feet carry her forward. Ambrosia left them just shy of the entrance, wishing them luck and saying she would be back down to collect them afterwards. Hebe felt like a child on their first day of school.
The pair of District 4 tributes walked through the entrance to the training centre, swivelling their heads to take in the room they now found themselves in. There were racks of differently shaped knives, axes, spears, swords, tridents, bows and even scythes lined up along the walls at one end, just adjacent to them were rows of dummies and targets to practise on. At the other end were survival based stations to teach you how to tie knots, identify plants, make snares, build a fire, paint camouflage and a whole host of other skills to survive.
Watching them all from above were the gamemakers, sitting in a sort of box filled with beautiful furnishings, paintings of the Capitol's great leaders covering the blood red walls, similarly coloured seats allowed them to watch the children in comfort. At the far end was a large mahogany table covered in a grand feast, including a whole pig and large bowls of pink liquid that Hebe assumed to be alcoholic. The gamemakers themselves milled about the room chatting, all of them looking the same in their ridiculous robes and frilly white shirts. They were all about the same age too, that age being old, and Hebe was surprised that some of them weren't already decomposing.
The tributes however were currently surrounding the obstacle course, gathering around a short brunette woman who Hebe assumed to be the head trainer. Luca and Hebe stood at the back of the group waiting as the remaining tributes began filing in. Hebe glanced around at her competitors, spotting the careers snarling at her from the corner. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the woman, who introduced herself as Jean, the head trainer.
She went on a long spiel about the importance of survival skills, and how the training would be conducted. Hebe didn't pay much attention to her and spent most of her time trying to identify who would be best to ally with.
The careers were the obvious choice, they were strong and capable and aside from their apparent distaste for her, they would probably accept her just because she was from 4, although the same couldn't be said for Luca. Because of how young he was they would be hesitant to ally with someone who they thought would drag them down, even if they were another career. On top of that, the careers were known for their arrogance and she wasn't sure she could bear to play nice with them.
Her next best bet would've been the miserable tributes from 7, they were old, probably good with weaponry and looked pretty strong, although the interaction in the elevator wouldn't have shown her in the best light.
That left only the girl from 11. She seemed well liked at the parade and they were sure to get sponsors between the two of them (as long as they didn't royally fuck up at the interviews) and although she looked slight, 11 was agriculture meaning she'd probably been working in the fields her entire life, so maybe she was stronger than she looked. Being from an outlying district also meant she'd be keen to make a strong alliance like a career, therefore Hebe wouldn't have to put in much effort to get the girl to like her.
Hebe made a mental note to watch how the girl from 11 was with weapons, and talk to the two from 7 to see if they warmed up. She could still feel the eyes of the careers on her and also thought to talk to them. It would be better to know how they felt about her than go in the games blind.
The head trainer then finished her speech, setting them free to visit any stations. Hebe turned to Luca to share her thoughts, but the boy had already started walking over to the obstacle course. Sighing, she followed him, choosing to stand and wait for him to finish, crossing her arms and setting her face in a stony expression like some kind of bodyguard. She watched the rest of the tributes mill around, curious as to who would choose which station.
Predictably, the careers made a beeline for the weapons, wanting to show off how deadly they were from the get go, like everyone else had no idea. Most of the outlying districts, 8,9, 10,12 all went straight for survival, clearly not wanting to be humiliated outright. Interestingly enough though, the girl from 11 (Hebe finally remembered her name to be Niamh) had ditched the younger boy from her District and followed the careers toward the weapons, taking a large scythe from the rack, measuring the weight in her hands. She moved towards one of the dummies and began attacking it, slicing off both arms and the head in a few rather elegant strokes. The careers looked on in pure shock as Niamh placed the scythe back on the rack and strode back to her District partner, guiding him towards the survival stations.
Hebe grinned, nodding as they walked in their direction, catching Niamh's eye and raising her eyebrows, indicating how impressed she was by the feat. Niamh then changed her direction, coming towards the climbing station. She seemed to be leading the young boy forward, and, as Hebe looked more closely, she realised he was blind, his eyes cloudy and unfocused.
Niamh snapped Hebe out of her stare by sticking her hand out, "Niamh, Niamh Walker. This is my district partner, Dean."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Hebe Cross, my partner Luca's on the climbing." She nodded her head to where they could see Luca jumping between platforms and swinging on ropes, "You were really great with that scythe."
"Thanks. Kind of a necessary skill in my District," She laughed, diffusing some of the tension that comes with being competitors in a deathmatch.
"Yeah, I'm sure it does. You know, Luca isn't great with melee weapons, more of a long range kind of person. We could help you out with making snares if you give him a hand?" She asked, trying to make herself sound as non-threatening as possible. It was good to try and create a few good alliances, and she figured the best way would be to trade skills.
"Sure, it'll be useful for me, I can barely tie my shoelaces." Niamh grinned at Hebe. Just then Luca finished his obstacle course and came and stood next to Hebe.
"Luca, this is Niamh and Dean. Niamh is gonna teach us how to use a scythe and we're gonna help her with snares."
"Ok, sure. Lead the way." Luca replied, watching as Niamh helped Dean towards the weapons. Luca turned to look at Hebe, puzzled. He had clearly missed Niamh's display. 'Trust me' Hebe mouthed. Luca looked at her like she had gone insane, but followed anyway.
Niamh grabbed a chair for Dean to sit in and retrieved three scythes, a large one, a medium one and a smaller one, from the rack, handing them to Luca and Hebe. She then manoeuvred three dummies into position in front of them.
She began teaching them the motions, the pair following intently, copying her movements closely. Niamh watched them, occasionally stopping them to rotate their hips into a different position or correct their footwork. Eventually they got the hang of it, managing to swing the scythe correctly, although it didn't look quite as effortless as when Niamh did it.
"So, Hebe, what's your weapon of choice?"
Hebe hesitated, not wanting to show her prowess with axes quite yet, no matter how much she liked Niamh. Instead she went for a more predictable answer.
"Well I wouldn't be from 4 if I didn't say trident would I?" She replied, chuckling, "Although it's unlikely they'll be one at the Cornucopia, so I'll probably have to make do with spears."
Luca didn't bat an eyelid at her lie, instead choosing to weigh in. "Well unless you get a sponsored one like Finnick."
"Oh yeah he must be your mentor! What's he like?" Niamh asked the question like she was almost awestruck. Finnick was not only renowned in 4, he was loved in the outlying districts too. He won so young that he gave them hope. After all, if a 14 year old could win, why couldn't they?
"Honestly? He's nuts." Hebe answered in between slashes as Luca just laughed, nodding in agreement.
They soon finished with the scythes, Luca saying he felt a lot more confident with melee. Niamh however, was not done with the weapons.
"Oi Hebe, how about a little demonstration with the tridents?" She asked.
"Oh it would be my pleasure." She had been waiting for a chance to show-off. Put some of that skill to good use intimidating the careers.
She walked over to where the tridents had been put, grabbing one, weighing it up in her hands just like Niamh had earlier on. She then positioned herself in front of the stationary targets, choosing the one that was the furthest distance away. Hebe could feel the careers eyeing her as she readied herself, but it didn't put her off. She was used to people watching her at the academy.
She brought her arm back before sharply lurching it forward, letting the trident fly out of her hands and stick in the centre of the target. She turned to see Niamh clapping, whispering in Dean's ear obviously telling him what had just happened. Luca looked at Hebe with wide eyes.
"Nice job. You really are handy with that trident. But how are you with hand to hand?" Niamh challenged her, gesturing to the ring in the corner. Hebe just smiled back.
"Would you like to find out?"
Hebe and Niamh spent the rest of the morning alternating between wrestling and boxing, Hebe continually pinning Niamh down in increasingly inventive ways, yet each time the girl from 11 sprung back up, ready for another round. Meanwhile, Luca helped Dean to learn as many of the survival skills as his blindness would allow, clearly pitying the boy for the awful situation he had been thrust into. Hebe felt her heart break slightly as she watched the two. How could it be fair that someone in his position be forced to compete in the games?
The group eventually parted ways at lunch, Niamh and Dean sat with the tributes from 9 and 10 while Hebe and Luca were on a table of their own. However they were soon cornered by the careers, the four of them slamming their lunch trays down on the table and sitting down. Hebe had to work to contain her glare.
"Hebe right?" The boy from 1 began, not even waiting for her answer before continuing, "I'm Augustus and this is Verity, Gaia and Icarus." He pointed at his allies in turn before turning back to her, clearly waiting for some kind of response.
Augustus and Verity were typical District 1, blond hair, piercing blue eyes, with slightly neanderthal bone structure. They were tall with muscular frames, looking like they had been bred for combat. They acted like they were from the luxury district too, Hebe could already imagine Verity in her interview describing her horse-riding lessons and grand estate.
She could smell the same arrogance on Icarus, he stared at her with his almost golden eyes, full lips twitched up in a sneer. Hebe only needed to look at him for a mere second to determine what he was. An asshole. And one that was convinced he was going to win. God was he in for a shock.
Gaia seemed different though, almost sheepish, casting her eyes downward, nervously cracking her knuckles. Of course, it could've been a ploy, an act to disguise her talent but that wasn't the impression Hebe got from her. Maybe she was genuinely decent.
Despite this, Hebe still wasn't sure she even wanted to talk to any of the careers, but she decided she should keep her options open. Making enemies this early on didn't seem like the best strategy.
"Yeah I'm Hebe. Hi. This is Luca, my District partner." Luca nodded at them, but they just ignored him, Augustus focusing his attention on Hebe.
"I'll get straight to the point. We saw you throw that trident and wrestle with that girl and we decided that we want you as an ally."
Hebe glanced at Luca who was scowling at the careers.
"Hmm, nice offer but we'll have to think about it for a bit, won't we?"
Verity then cut in, giggling whilst sweeping her blonde curls over her shoulder, "Oh no, you're misunderstanding darling! We don't want him as an ally silly! We want you."
"After all, we don't need kids dragging us down." Icarus added, directing his sneer towards Luca. Hebe had to fight to control the rage that bubbled up inside her.
She let her expression morph into a scowl that mirrored Luca's, her thinly veiled anger all too obvious to the careers. "Aw, that's a shame… not sure this alliance is gonna work out." She snapped, mocking the same simpering tone Verity was using.
Hebe stood up from the table, Luca following suit, leaving the careers stunned by their outright refusal. The pair stormed out of the lunch hall to return to the training facilities, feeling the stares of the other tributes burn into their backs. So much for not making enemies.