𝙄𝙛 𝙏𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙉𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 | 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘆

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛

4; Training

"You do realize the more enemies you make, the more of a chance you have of dying in there, right?"
-Cato Hadley

——————————————
AFTER I WAS woken up this morning, coincidentally, by the beautiful red headed girl, I indulged in a real Capitolian breakfast. Effie didn't consider it a 'proper' one because I only ended up taking a few bites out of my jelly smeared toast, but it was just enough to get rid of my nausea; somewhat.

"You're running a bit late so when you get down there just join the other tributes. Got it?" Haymitch instructs in a hurry, preventing the elevator doors from closing by pressing his palms against them.

"Yeah." I respond, he nods, stepping back from the doors. As they close, he gives me a wink, wishing me good luck. The nerves begin to return and my stomach twists into a knot, causing me to feel uneasy. Peeta notices the worried look on my face; I could tell he was feeling the same way. He wears a matching black and orange fitted shirt that is labeled '12' on our shoulders. The only difference in our clothes is that I'm in black athletic leggings that form to my shape a little too well.

"Hey, we'll be fine. It's just training, there's not gonna be cameras at least." He assures me. The idea of me not being on tv during training helps a bit ,but the feeling is still there vaguely. I take a deep breath, putting an unbothered face on as a panel displays the number zero: the ground floor. The elevator smoothly comes to a stop and the doors slide open, revealing us to all the tributes and the other people on the balcony above us in the back of the room. All eyes are on us as we continue in and join in the circle the other tributes have created.

"Alright, now that everybody is here, we can begin." The dark skinned woman starts in the center of our formation. "In two weeks, twenty-three of you will be dead. One of you will be alive; who that is depends on how well you pay attention over the next four days. Particularly, to what I'm about to say." My attention is jolted from our late entrance and onto the woman's words.

"First, no fighting with the other tributes; you'll have plenty of time for that in the arena. Although, communication is encouraged when you are given further instruction. There are four compulsory exercises and the rest is alone with the partner you are assigned. My advice is, don't ignore the survival skills. Everybody wants to grab a sword but most of you will die from natural causes. Ten percent from infection, twenty perfect from dehydration. Exposure can kill as easily as a knife." She explains, pulling out a clear panel that she uses like a touchscreen, yet everything from our side is blurred.

"Now, you will be partnered up with specific tributes that obtain strengths that are your weaknesses. You will train with each other and give tips to improve each other's skills, but there is absolutely no fighting. Whoever you are assigned is the tribute you will spend the next few days with." She looks down at her panel, beginning to call pairs out loud, ordering them to stand beside each other.

This must be the change that Haymitch was referring to. It makes sense if you think about it from Snow's perspective. If we give each other tips to survive longer and have more offensive skills, it'll be more of a show for the Capitol; I'd assume.

I weigh my options of potential partners, going over my weaknesses in my mind. Maybe Foxface, since she's good at scavenging and stealth or maybe even Peeta. He has a talent for finding shelter and camouflage, unlike me.