SUNLIGHT STREAMED IN THROUGH THE SMALL WINDOW above Silver's bed, her eyes slowly fluttered open to meet the beige ceiling she was so fixated on last night.
She moved her warm thick blanket over her head in an attempt to the avoid the sunshine but it just seemed pointless now.
The events from yesterday slowly began to creep back into her mind and she couldn't avoid them anymore. Silver knew damn well what she was walking into and she wasn't going to take it head on with doubts and worries.
Silver figured that today Finnick would begin coaching them, although she thought he should spend more with Reese, seeing as he needed a mentor more then she did.
Sleeping in wasn't an option anymore, so Silver got up and took a refreshing warm shower, she couldn't remember the last time she had bathed in water that wasn't cold or salty. After putting on a black tank top and dark green pants, she left for the dining area half expecting no one to be awake yet. She was wrong however and found Finnick along with Reese engaged in an interesting conversation while they ate breakfast.
"What about the middle? The place with all the weapons and supplies?" She heard Reese ask curiously as she sat across from him. "No, don't go for the cornucopia, as tempting as it is it's a death trap. Weapons won't be very useful during the first few days, keeping yourself alive is more important, find high ground and try to find a water source" Finnick told him.
"What are we talking about?" Silver chimed in, causing them both to tilt their heads to look at her. "Finnick's giving me some tips" Reese replied cheerfully as he ate his scrambled eggs.
"I figured I'd start giving him some advice" Finnick explained to Silver, who only nodded. She avoided his eyes, which seemed to be stuck on her for a while and ate her breakfast that consisted of eggs, sausages, and bacon.
As much as she detested the Capitol, she had to give it to them, they had delicious food. Of course they did, and most districts could barely scrap together enough food to feed one person. "Silver" Finnick's voice was able to pull her back out of a daydreaming state, Silver blinked as she adjusted to the light from the window that was beaming down on her face. "Yeah?" She met Finnick's familiar gaze for the first time that morning.
"I just was gonna ask if there were any weapons besides throwing knives that you're good with" He said. Silver shrugged, knives were her main method of catching fish, unless using nets to herd the fish into small pools where she could capture them counted. "No, not really" She answered breaking eye contact again in favor of staring down at the plate of eggs in front of her. "What about tridents or spears? I know your brothers use them a lot" Finnick continued.
Tridents and spears weren't something she liked to use very often, they were heavy to carry and required more strength to use, not that Silver didn't have any muscles, she was quite athletic and physically built. Throwing knives on the other hand were much lighter and something she could easily hook to the belt on her waist so they were ready to use.
"Fallon tried teaching me how to use a trident one time, I think I'm alright" She responded lightly, picking at the eggs on her plate with a bronze fork. "That's good, I could teach you how to use a trident" Finnick told her with a tight smile, but Silver could easily see right through it.
There were many things Finnick Odair was good at, faking things was not one of them. She had to give him credit though, he was trying to lighten the mood despite the fact that every second they passed they were getting closer to the games, closer to their fight for survival.
"Okay" Silver agreed, she wasn't as interested in learning how to wield a trident as she seemed. In any given scenario, her throwing knives could cause just as much damage alone then she could do with a trident, plus she wasn't fond of the idea of carrying something so heavy while in the arena.
"What about you, kiddo?" Finnick turned to Reese, who was finishing up his own food. He blinked and fiddled with the his fingers, "Not really, Silver's been teaching me how to throw knives, but I guess I'm not very good at it"
Silver couldn't help but frown at his words, a hint of guilt spread across her face. What was she guilty about? There was no way she could've known that Reese, out of the thousands of other eligible boys, would be picked. Although, she wished she had, Silver would've been able to prepare him in the best way she could. Now, she almost hated the fact that her father never let Reese attend the academy.
She understand why he wouldn't allow it, the Academy did nothing but brainwash children and turn them into killing machines, just like it would do with her. Her father couldn't bare to let that happen, any parent with common sense would. But Silver would've rather had Reese learn how to kill without hesitation then give him a shot at a normal childhood.
If her dad was there now, he would've disagreed with her, but at least Reese would've had a fighting chance. "He's pretty good for a beginner" Silver spoke up, earning an odd, puzzled look from Reese. "He's also pretty stealthy, it could come in handy if he needs to hide from-"
It was almost as if the words were trapped in her throat, struggling to get out. She didn't need to glance more then once at Reese to know the saddened look in his blue eyes.
"From the other tributes" She finished her sentence, but it came out as barely above a whisper. Finnick seemed confused but the expression on Reese's face told him enough.
"I'm done" Silver took the silence that swept the table as an excuse to leave, seeing as she had already finished her breakfast. She quickly took a napkin, wiping her mouth clean and left without another word.
An uneasy feeling rushed throughout her body that almost made her nauseous, it was the same one she had gotten back at the reaping. Silver went to the living area and took a seat near the window, leaning her head against the wall and letting out a heavy sigh.
It was no secret that she was very concerned for Reese but her worries couldn't help but overwhelm her mind, what if she wasn't enough to protect him? What if when it came down to it, Reese wouldn't make it?
Silver's head was swimming with questions that threatened to tear down any confidence she had going into the games, her knife throwing and fishing skills could only get her so far. Her eyes settled on the grassy terrain outside as the train sped past it, she had never seen areas like this before considering her District was all sand and beaches.
No matter how hard she tried focusing on the beauty of the green fields littered with flowers, it couldn't distract her enough to forget what Reese would have to endure in just a couple of days. Silver tore her gaze away for a window in frustration, running her hand through her chestnut hair which was still nicely combed and scanned the living area until she found exactly what needed at the moment.
A cart with endless bottles of liquor sat in the corner, she had no idea how she didn't notice it before. Probably because yesterday she wasn't desperate to get her hands on alcohol, Silver thought to herself and without hesitation, grabbed a bottle of something called whiskey and attempted to down it in one sip.
The liquor burned her throat and the bitter taste remained in her mouth, now she understood why her mother never let her drink it during special occasions. Regardless, she ignored the stinging sensation it gave her and continued to drink it.
"Never thought of you as much of a drinker" Silver's head snapped around to see no one but Finnick standing there, arms folded against his chest and leaning against the doorframe leading into the living area. "That's cause I'm not" Silver answered, her eyes quickly averting his gaze and focused on the beautiful fields beyond the window. "The only time I've ever seen you do something that reckless is when you want to get your mind off of something" Finnick took a seat across from her and carefully pulled the bottle out of her hand.
Silver didn't put up much of a fight to keep the liquor, if Finnick took it away from her then she knew it wasn't much good anyway.
"Are you gonna tell me or am I going to have to figure it out?" Finnick's soft tone of voice would make much it easier for Silver to pour out her feelings to him if she wanted to, but she didn't know if she even should. "I guess I'm just worried about Reese" She finally admitted, pushing her legs close to her chest and rested her head on her knees.
"You're not the only one, the kid's tough as nails, just like you but whether or not he'll survive in that arena I don't know" Finnick said, it hurt hearing that even Reese's own mentor doubted if he would make it but what was the point of avoiding the topic?
Silver didn't reply instead she continued to stare outside of the window, letting everything sink in. "I know you're gonna do everything you can to protect him" Finnick added, "Then you understand why I want you to focus more on him" Silver shot back, her words sounding more harsh then anticipated.
Finnick didn't seem phased by her small outburst however and only frowned at her, "And you understand what you're asking me to do" He spoke calmly, Silver just cast a glance in his direction, her expression was blank and almost unreadable but somehow Finnick was able to decipher how she felt.
Before either said another word, Effie's high pitched voice rang through the entire train saying, "Oh! We're here!"
Silver and Finnick looked over at the window at the exact moment the train was arriving at their destination. Tall buildings were surrounded by a single large lake, Silver almost had to put her hand on her jaw to prevent it from dropping in astonishment.
The Capitol was much more glamorous in person then it was on screen. Silver had to stop and remind herself of all the people that resided in the city; rich, bloodthirsty people who bet on the lives of innocent children.
This reminder however, didn't stop Reese from going over to press his face against the window to stare at the city with the type of amazement only a child was able to portray.
Not a single trace of fear or worry was left as Reese's face lit up in excitement. Muffled cheers could be heard as they pulled into the train station which was flooded by excited Capitolians, eager to see the newest tributes.
From what Finnick had told her, these Capitolians could very well be her key to survival, if they found her likable they would sponsor. She watched Reese wave to them outside with a grin plastered on his face.
Silver turned away from the window, a emotionless expression still visible on her face, that she was sure she couldn't continue doing if she wanted sponsors. All the weapons in the arena couldn't keep her alive if she didn't earn any sponsors for herself and Reese.
Soon after leaving the train and luckily not being swarmed by excited Capitolians, Silver and Reese were lead to a building that Effie called the Remake Centre and forced to go their separate ways to be prepped.
Silver had no idea what in the hell Effie meant by that but soon found out when she was stripped to her underwear and had to lay down on a cold metal table while her 'prep team' as Effie called them did things such as wax any excess hair from her body and clip her nails. "Son of a bitch!" Silver exclaimed as Drizella, a thin woman with platinum blond hair and pink tips, plucked her eyebrows.
"Sorry, darling" Drizella apologized but continued to remove the strands of hair from her eyebrows. Silver's chestnut brown hair was styled into curls with strands of hair highlighted a light blond colour, that Silver actually liked. "Sweetheart, you look absolutely gorgeous!" gushed Thistle, the only male in her prep team.
"She's just stunning, isn't she?" added Mist, a woman with skin that was dyed a tainted sky blue color. "Petra will just love her!"
After her prepping session, Silver was left in a room encased with metal walls, with only a white gown to cover her exposed body.
It was a good ten minutes before someone had actually come into the room, the sound of the door knob jingling made Silver's eyes flicker over to the door just in time to see it swing open and reveal a tall woman, aside from her vibrant purple hair with aqua blue streaks, she looked like the most normal person Silver had seen in the Capitol so far.
"My, my, you really are as gorgeous as they said you are" The woman circled around Silver, making her feel a little uncomfortable as her stormy gray eyes surveyed her naked figure. "I'm Petra" The woman finally introduced herself and stuck her hand out.
"Silver D'Alessio" She simply replied and shook the stylist's hand. Petra stepped closer to her, her porcelain white skin almost looked like it was glowing, "I know by now you must be expecting a congratulations but I see no point in that" She spoke in an odd accent.
Silver was taken off guard by Petra's words but nevertheless, appreciated the fact that she wasn't like most people who saw being a tribute as some kind of cruel honor.
"I know how hard this must be for you, I saw your reaping, how you and your brother were picked, and I want you to know I'm here if you need help anything" Petra said sincerely in a soft voice.
"Thank you" Was all that Silver could reply, there wasn't much else to be said, she was beginning to take a liking to Petra through, she had a motherly vibe to her that reminded Silver too much of her own mother.
"So, tonight's the tribute parade, where they're going to show you off to the world and potential sponsors, I'm sure your mentor has explained those to you already." Petra told her.
"I'm also sure you know that for the parade you're supposed to wear a costume that represents your district, do you have an idea of what you'll be wearing tonight?" Petra raised an eyebrow, as if genuinely intrigued to know what Silver was thinking.
"Not really, but as long as it doesn't involve me being half naked and wearing some stupid net, I'm okay with anything" Silver blurted out without much thought. Petra's blood red lips upturned into a smirk at Silver's answer, "Sassy, I love it. We're going to get along just fine" She smiled.
Silver returned the gesture with no effort and for once it didn't feel forced at all. "Look, I know this must all seem stupid, getting all dressing up before you have to fight to the death for their entertainment. But you'll need to appeal to these people if you wanna get out of these games alive, think you can do that?"
There was nothing in Petra's words Silver could disagree with, as much as she wanted to. Her very survival depended on if people liked her or not. One thing she was sure about, if she was dead, Reese would surely be too.
Silver nodded, pressing her lips into the thin line. "Yeah, I can" She responded, "Excellent, now let's show the Capitol that you're worth remembering" Petra flashed her pearly white teeth with a smile. As much as Silver hated to admit it, everything Petra said was true.
Her sponsors would be that thin line between life and death, she was prepared to handle many things in the arena and not prepared for some other things.
She knew that the road the survival wasn't going to be easy. If it took being likable to survive the Hunger Games, then that was exactly was Silver was set on doing now.
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