"You did what!?" Ambrosia shrieked, filling the large apartment echoing at the sound of her voice.
She wasn't exactly pleased with Hebe's telling her she had ruled out an alliance with the careers so early on, but she was downright furious at her rudeness.
"I just told them that I didn't think the alliance was going to work out! I'm not abandoning Luca for some arrogant, self centred, pampered morons! If anything they're dragging us down!" Hebe shouted, wildly gesturing with her hands. She was getting sick of Ambrosia acting like she had any real say in what they did. It wasn't like she had ever gone through the games.
Ambrosia stormed out of the room, exasperated with her tributes. Hebe sometimes wondered why she even took this job if she couldn't deal with children.
Luca just sat in the corner glumly. Hebe looked over at him, feeling awful for having to put him through this. Mags had a neutral expression and hadn't reacted at all to Hebe's defiance of the careers. Finnick on the other hand, seemed to be having the time of his life, practically pissing himself with laughter.
"What do you want?" Hebe asked bitterly, glaring at him.
He burst out laughing at that, and for a second she had half a mind to start shouting at him too, but the hilarity of the situation overtook her and she joined in his infectious laughter.
She eventually stopped laughing, confusion slapping her round the face. Wasn't her mentor supposed to encourage her to find strong allies like the careers?
"Wait, why aren't you mad? I thought we were supposed to join the careers?"
He just looked at her like she had just said something glaringly moronic. "Why would I want you to do that? Yeah, they're strong, but you said it yourself, there's not much going on up there. If you wanted to ally with them I'd have no problem, but I think this is a better move for you both. Although I didn't expect you to do it in such an abrasive way…"
"Yeah, but doesn't it just put us higher on their kill list? Aren't they gonna be pissed?" Luca piped up.
"You were both already targets, with that entrance at the tribute parade they were certain to be watching closely. This doesn't change much from a strategic point of view. And it's hilarious." He grinned at Hebe.
Luca seemed to have relaxed at his reassurance, sinking back more comfortably in his seat, adopting a neutral expression.
"What else did you do today? Other than insulting the careers?" Mags asked, smiling at Hebe, clearly seeing no problem with her newfound enemies.
"Well we spent the morning with the pair from 11, and before you sigh, the girl's 18 and she's smart. And good with a scythe. Not super strong but I feel like we could trust her."
"Yeah she helped me out loads with a scythe, and it's not that different to a sword, so I could probably use one now if I needed to."
Mags nodded, "What about the boy? He's very young isn't he?"
Hebe hesitated at that, remembering the frail sightless boy that had to be helped around the training centre.
"Yeah um… he's blind?"
"Seriously Cross? You've got to be kidding me! You spent the whole day playing nice with the blind boy from 11!?" Finnick cried, holding his head in his hands, looking like he was about to storm out along with Ambrosia. Mags put a hand on his shoulder, a gentle reminder to calm down and not lash out unnecessarily.
"He's got a great sense of smell?" Luca piped up, Finnick groaning again.
"Did you two at least learn anything? About the other tributes? Or did you show off at all? Anything?" He asked, looking for any hope that he could salvage this trainwreck.
"Hebe was really great with her trident. The careers were all terrified, like scared puppies. And she spent the whole afternoon practising boxing with the trainer until they forced her to leave." Luca said quickly, rushing to the older girl's rescue.
"Yeah and Luca showed off his climbing and practised snares. And you learnt to identify poisonous plants too, right?
"Well at least today wasn't a total failure. Tomorrow I want you to survey the other tributes more. Maybe have a look at the grumpy ones from 7, they seemed pretty strong. Hebe I want you to focus on survival skills. Luca, try and work more on weapons and have a go at hand to hand. And please try not to get run through before you've even gotten to the arena. Now sleep. I don't want Ambrosia to have to drag you by the hair to get you out of bed in the morning."
Finnick then left the room, presumably to go to bed himself. Hebe had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes at the way he spoke to them. Clearly he was back to being smug and overly superior. Mags then herded them to their rooms, telling them that they would be woken up at 6:15 tomorrow to get them well fed before they returned for their second day of training.
Hebe stumbled to breakfast the next morning, bleary eyed and already dreading the day of hard work that lay ahead of her. She fell into her chair, and unceremoniously banged her elbows on the table, resting her heavy head in her hands. Everyone else was already at the table, looking significantly more ready for the day than Hebe had felt in weeks.
"You look great. So alert." Finnick said, although he did look like he'd seen better days himself, hair mussed up, shirt wrinkled with a stain on the collar.
"Friendly fire Odair, friendly fire." She responded dryly although she was betrayed by the flicker of amusement behind her eyes. He just grimaced, clearly conscious of how awful he looked.
Ambrosia sat at the head of the table as usual although she was more quiet than was typically, still wounded from her shouting match with Hebe the day prior. She had forgotten that some people aren't used to those kinds of arguments. In her house, she had one with her mother once a week, yet the two of them always came out of them stronger than ever. Hebe decided to apologise to her escort later on before she left for training.
The two tributes dismounted the table, yet again leaving their mentors behind. Luca seemed to be in high spirits, clearly having recovered from his slight dip the day before.
"What's got you so cheery?" Hebe asked, curious as to what had come over him.
"Oh, you know, just looking forward to showing off in front of the careers. They're gonna regret not including me in that alliance." He said, a determined glint in his eye, jaw set firmly.
Hebe had no doubt that they would. As much as Luca liked to talk about how great Hebe was with her tridents and axes, there was no doubt in her mind that Luca was one of the kid's in the academy that showed the most promise, especially with his bow. The careers had underestimated him, and he was sure to make them pay for it.
They reached the elevator, but before stepping in Hebe pulled Ambrosia to the side. The Capitol woman seemed slightly taken aback, blue eyes widening so much that her eyelashes threatened to brush her hairline.
"Look, Ambrosia, I'm sorry for blowing up at you like that yesterday. You didn't deserve that, you're just trying you best to help us survive. You're probably right, I shouldn't have been so harsh with the careers, and it didn't put me in the best position." She smiled at her escort genuinely.
"No, I'm sorry dear. You're under a lot of pressure and I shouldn't have been so hard on you. I just think… I think you have a real chance. And we haven't had a real chance since Finnick. Just try not to make too many more enemies today." She quirked her blue coloured lips up to form a delicate smile back at the girl.
Maybe she wasn't so bad.
"Are you two coming? Or are you gonna keep having your little heart to heart?" Luca asked, raising a brow at them, tapping his foot on the metal floor of the elevator impatiently.
"Yeah, yeah we're coming." Hebe chuckled at his childishness, a wave of pain hitting her as she realised just how young he was. She had no choice but to push through.
Hebe spent her day on the survival stations, practising her knot-tying and fire-starting, but her mind was occupied watching the other tributes. She managed to get through ever so slightly to the girl from 7 Anise, by showing her how to properly tie a few knots, but she had fallen short of her goal of making more alliances, instead spending most of her time with Luca or on her own.
Luca had made good on his promise of showing up the careers, managing to pin down one of the more muscular trainers with what looked like relative ease. Hebe could see the group from 1 and 2 grumbling in the corner, clearly irritated that a 13 year old had managed to so easily intimidate them.
They left the training centre in high spirits, well aware that tomorrow was their individual assessments, feeling that they had been left in a decently good position regarding the other tributes. Ambrosia also seemed to have returned to her previous, more cheery self. Although Hebe found her significantly less annoying than before, treating her with less hostility than she had when they first met.
They reported back to Finnick and Mags over dinner, another lavish spread, and this time Hebe had room for a dessert, choosing a lemon tart covered in whipped cream and garnished with raspberries and fresh mint.
"So then, Luca tackled the trainer to the ground, pinning him down for a solid 10 seconds! And we could see the careers in the corner grumbling about it. It was gold!" Hebe said, gesticulating animatedly, punctuating her sentences with dramatic nodding, trying to convey the story as best she could around a mouth full of lemon tart.
Finnick sat back, watching the girl next to him closely, taking in her joyous expression as she talked about Luca's exploits that day. He then felt Mags' eyes on him from across the table, snapping out of his daze.
Hebe watched the interaction curiously out of the corner of her eye. Could her mentor get any more confusing?
"So what did you do today Hebe?" Mags asked, curious to discover what the older girl had been up to other than carefully documenting the actions of her district partner.
"Well, as my mentors so sagely suggested, I spent my day on the survival stations. I watched the other tributes and to be brutally honest, they aren't anything special. Oh, but the two from 7, they are great with axes and maces. And I spoke to the girl, Anise. I helped her on a knot and she thanked me, saying to come to her if I needed help with anything. She even smiled at me, so she could be viable, although we probably need to get to her district partner first…" She trailed off, furrowing her brows, lost in her own thoughts.
Mags just smiled at the girl before striking up a conversation with Ambrosia about her new wig, the capitol woman grinning in delight and recounting the shocking tale of how she managed to acquire it.
Hebe could barely hear them though, lost in her own strategizing for the games that were soon to come.
Eventually she tuned back into the conversation to find that Luca had gone to bed and Ambrosia was still weaving a thrilling melodrama about how her wig was faulty.
"-so then I had to travel all the way back to the shop and when I got there I said to the shopkeeper that I had paid good money for this wig and that a fine establishment like his should have offered me an automatic refund. I mean can you even think of the scandal if people thought I was balding!"
She continued, barely taking a breath, Mags nodding clearly trying to keep up and probably wishing she had never asked about Ambrosia's newest fashion choice. It was then that Hebe felt Finnick's breath in her ear, whispering in a soft, almost sultry, voice to her,
"Should we make our escape?"
She nodded discreetly, her newfound affection for her escort unfortunately not extending to listening to her talk for the next 6 hours about a rather rude shopkeeper.
Much to Mags' obvious dismay, the pair politely excused themselves from the table, but before Hebe could return to her room she felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned to see Finnick who then started leading her away, out to the balcony. She had half a mind to pull her arm from his grasp and storm to bed, but the weaker part of her won, following him out into the cold night air.
She sighed, yet again relishing the small feeling of freedom she got from being out here. She felt Finnick take similar deep breaths beside her, and shivered slightly as she remembered she wasn't alone.
"Cold sweetheart?"
Hebe turned to look at him slightly shell-shocked, having no idea how to react.
"Or are you just nervous around me?" Hebe scoffed at that, but it came out slightly weaker than she had intended. Finnick just kept staring at her, eye's light with amusement, lips curved upwards in his signature smirk.
"In your dreams Odair." She tried to keep her gaze firm, but found herself wobbling slightly. Why did he get like this all of a sudden?
"Ooh last names, so cruel. You really know how to crush a man, you know that?"
"Just practising for the arena." Hebe finally managed to regain some semblance of composure, trying desperately to stop herself from shivering again at the sudden realisation of how close he was. She could've sworn that she could smell him from here, salty and fresh like the sea, reminding her of home.
"Why'd you bring me out here anyway?" She pondered, voice quieter than usual, almost like she was talking to herself. It was like she feared speaking too loud might break the moment, shattering it into thousands of tiny pieces.
"Maybe I wanted to enjoy the pleasure of your company," Hebe scoffed again, it coming out harsher this time.
"Is that really so hard to believe?" He asked, voice lilting in an almost sing-song like quality.
"Yes it is. Especially when you're such a pain in the ass." She replied, but unlike usual, there was no real fire behind the statement.
Finnick pretended to gasp, shocked by her use of such foul language. Hebe just chuckled at his immaturity. How her opinion had changed of him in just a few days.
Then his gaze changed yet again, darkening slightly, voice returning to its original, sultry tone, "You should get some sleep, wouldn't want to fall asleep during individual assessments and score a 0." He reached out, tucking a loose curl behind her ear, letting his hand linger for a second before pulling it back.
Hebe tried to fight off the heat rising to her cheeks, raising an eyebrow at him and asking, "Are you always like this with your tributes?"
"Only the ones I like." He winked at her, stepping away and striding back inside the apartment, loudly bidding goodnight to Mags and Ambrosia.
For the second time that night Hebe just stood their shell shocked, her face contorted in an expression of intense confusion, whispering under her breath;
"What the fuck."
Hebe spent the majority of the night trying to wrap her head around her confusing mentor. Just when she thought she'd figured the man out he would throw another curveball at her that left her more puzzled than before. She dragged her hands down her face, resisting the urge to claw her eyes out. What had she done in a past life to deserve this?
She was woken the next morning by Ambrosia, feeling not quite as well rested as she hoped she'd be. She sat down in the only available seat at the table next to Finnick, who acted as if nothing had happened as if his actions hadn't kept her up all night. She was going to kill him if she scored badly.
Luca looked great, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, not noticing Hebe's barely concealed glares at their mentor.
"So, what's the plan for the day?"
"Someone's eager. What's made you so cheerful?" FInnick answered.
"I just have a good feeling, that's all."
"Well, today will be your individual assessments. You'll have 15 minutes to present whatever skill you choose. All the gamemakers will be there, so now's the time to show them everything you can do. Luckily you're a career district and will be called early on in the proceedings before they're too drunk to pay attention, but nevertheless, make sure they remember you. Do something interesting that shows spirit. Make sure that they can't forget your face." Finnick instructed, taking on the serious tone that he always did while giving them advice.
Today Finnick, Mags, and Ambrosia all rode down with them in the elevator, an uncomfortable silence descending on the group as the floors of the building rushed past. Hebe stared directly downwards, formulating her plan to impress the gamemakers.
Then they reached the training centre, the elevator stopping even more sharply than usual, nearly sending Hebe flying off her feet. She stood up straight, squaring her shoulders and stepped out of the open doors. Her mentors followed suit, Mags rushing forward to hug her two tributes, quietly wishing them luck. They both patted her on the back, welcoming the warmth of her embrace letting it settle their nerves. Ambrosia did the same, although she acted with more poise, elegance befitting a citizen of the capitol.
Finnick was more detached, reaching forward to ruffle Luca's hair and whisper some last advice. He then turned to Hebe, pinning her under an intense stare, before reaching forward and tucking her hair behind her ear just like he had the night before on the balcony. He then leaned down to mumble into the shell of her ear,
"Good luck sweetheart."
This time Hebe kept her cool, flashing him a confident grin as he stepped back, disappearing behind the metal doors with the rest of her team. Luca raised his eyebrows at the older girl, clearly intrigued by the exchange. She just gave him a light smack on the arm, shrugging, and started leading the way down the concrete corridor.
They were directed into a waiting room, filled with seats for all 24 tributes. Luca and Hebe sat in the seats allocated for 4, jittering with nerves. A similar theme was reflected around the room, bouncing legs, nervous biting of nails, twitchy knuckle-cracking, the works. Hebe glanced over at the careers, noticing their fearful expressions and almost laughed. God they were pathetic. She felt instantly more at ease at the mere knowledge of their discomfort.
Soon the names started being called, first was "Augustus Milton" The boy from District 1, who returned 15 minutes later looking rather pleased with himself, shooting a smug look at Hebe before she left.
"Arrogant fuck, he'll probably only score like a 7," She whispered to Luca who sniggered.
All of the rest of the careers came and went, all returning after 15 minutes looking way too superior for Hebe's liking. It was like being in a waiting room full of Finnicks. Then came Lilac Davis. She returned back to the waiting room and immediately threw up in a nearby bin.
"Can't have gone too well, can it?" Luca mused, face full of sympathy for the girl.
Then it was Luca's turn, his name booming out from the speakers. He tensed beside Hebe just like he had at the tribute parade. She nudged him to stand up, whispering in his ear as he did so, "Shoot straight." That seemed to snap him out of his daze and he smiled at Hebe, striding confidently towards the door she had seen 6 tributes already disappear into, praying that he didn't come out vomiting.
For the next 15 minutes she was a bundle of nerves, so anxious about Luca that she almost forgot she would have to present her own skill soon. The thought nearly sent her running to the bin, but she held herself back. She couldn't destroy her intimidating persona now.
Soon she saw Luca exit the training room, lips curved in a small smile. He nodded at her encouragingly. Clearly his assessment had gone ok. It felt like a weight had been lifted from Hebe's shoulders.
Then it was her turn. She stood up, squaring her shoulders, catching Niamh's eye, the two giving each other a nod of acknowledgement. She could count on her alliance during the games. That thought in mind, she walked through the doors to the training room.
It was silent, the sound of her plimsolls slapping against the concrete echoed around the room as she approached the box that held the game makers.
"Hebe Cross, District 4."
"Hebe, you now have 15 minutes to present your chosen skill." She nodded, springing into action, knowing exactly what she wanted to do. Show as many skills as possible.
She grabbed one of the dummies from the far side of the room, sticking her finger in the red camouflage paint and writing "careers" across its chest in large letters, before dragging it across the room so it was situated under some of the climbing nets she had seen Luca messing around in. She turned it so that all the gamemakers could see the writing.
Hebe then grabbed one of the dumbbells, one of a manageable weight so she didn't drop it on her foot and ruin the whole evaluation. Then she took some of the rope from the knot tying station, attaching it firmly to the handle of the dumbbell. That's when she started climbing. She traversed all of the nets until she was on the one directly above her dummy, still holding the dumbbell and rope in her hand. She secured it to the net tightly so if it dropped it would fall straight onto the dummy below.
She then scaled back down the nets, checking how much time she had left. 7 minutes. Plenty of time. She strode confidently over to the smaller throwing axes, grabbing two off the wall and testing their weight. Choosing a pair she liked she began walking back to her dummy, before pausing, remembering Finnick's words.
"Make sure they can't forget you."
An idea struck her suddenly, like lightning. She began to search around frantically for a piece of cloth, not seeing any. Hebe sighed, looking down at her training outfit before taking her axe and cutting a long strip of fabric from the leg.
She looked back up at the rope, weighing up the shot in her head. At least if she missed they knew she had guts, right?
Hebe placed the axes on the ground, tying the strip around her head, acting as a makeshift blindfold. Then she reached down, picking up the axes once again and readying them in her hands. She could almost imagine the gamemakers leaning forward in intrigue as they realised her plan. She smirked. Then let them both fly. She stood there and listened to them slice through the rope and relished in the sound of the dumbbell crashing onto the dummy. The gamemakers were silent. Then a loud whistle went off, presumably to signify the end of her evaluation.
Hebe ripped off her blindfold, turning to grin at the gamemakers before leaving the training room.