Chapter 6

                                    

                                          
     Morning may think itself slick but it was not fast enough to rise before Atlas. The girl had gone to bed early the night before, several drinks coursing through her and leaving the others to eat in peace. Due to her early goodnight, she said an early good morning to the dark sky as she rose. She quickly dressed in the training uniform and set out of her room. The building is calm in the morning. No avox's bustle around the usually busy dining room. Instead, there is a bowl of fruit set on the table, a sight that has become common for Atlas since she won her games. Any sign of the comradery from the night before had been scrubbed from the room, save for a small wine stain on the white tablecloth, another common sight for Atlas. 
     Atlas grabs an apple from the bowl and walks to the balcony, making sure to stay away from the inevitable force field that would shock her if she came into contact with it. Of course, the capitol could never let a tribute kill themselves before the games came. That wouldn't be entertaining now, would it? The capitol stood mostly still save for a few signs of life, parties and such. Atlas had to use all her strength to hold back from puking up the little amount of food she had in her body at the idea of Capitol citizens partying while they sent their very own celebrities off to their deaths. Maybe they were even holding a party in Atlas' honour at this very moment, betting on how long she'd last or what outfit she'd wear for the interview. It made her sick.
    Atlas knew she was privileged to be one of the few who made it out of the arena. Atlas knew that she had been complacent in the Capitol's troublesome schemes over the years. Atlas knew that she shouldn't be complaining that she could no longer be the subject of the Capitol's love but it was almost as if the city had convinced her that that was what was most important in her life.
     Atlas is pulled out of her thoughts as she sees a few rays of light start to peek out from behind the clouds, breaking through the night sky and shining a spotlight on Atlas and her discontent. The girl takes a bite of the apple in her hands, the pristine green skin broken by her sharp teeth. As she swallowed the first bite, the groans of a hangover reached her ears.
     "Remind me never to drink again," Mars' usual warm voice is cold with the sound of annoyance, mirroring his current state. He is practically dragging himself to the table, a glass of water in hand and Olympia is slumped against the table in the seat across from him. It seems she didn't even try to braid her hair that morning, instead just throwing it up in a ponytail. Atlas' hands drift towards her own hair, starting to weave it into braids herself. The apple she had been eating and had mostly finished sits on the ground of the balcony, forgotten.
     "Mmph," Olympia states, her voice muffled by the tablecloth she has put her head against.
     "Yeah, me too," Mars replies, seemingly unaware that Olympia hadn't said real words. Atlas ties the first braid.
     "As out of character as this might sound, I believe I may be in a poor state this morning," Apricot's high-pitched voice echoes around the room and Atlas watches Mars cover his ears. Apricot walks far enough into the room so Atlas can see her and Atlas sees that Apricot seems to be pulling Diamond along with her, the latter looking five seconds away from falling asleep. Atlas starts the next braid.
     "Mmph hmm," Everyone in the room simply stares at Olympia as she muffles another statement.
     "I'm sure Olympia is saying that we should start breakfast if we want to have productive days. It is the first day of your training is it not?" Apricot gestures towards Mars, "Speaking of, where is Atlas?" 
     Atlas accidentally snags part of the braid and has to undo a few previous turns before re-braiding.
     "I haven't seen her since dinner last night," Olympia finally raises her head to speak, redness obvious around her eyes and the pattern of the lace from the tablecloth imprinted on her cheek. 
     "Strange, I will go see if she's in her room," Apricot stands quickly and walks out of the room. Atlas finishes the second braid. Atlas stands and walks into the dining room, shutting the door to the balcony. 
     "How is she so chipper while you all look like death?" Atlas questions, sitting next to Mars.
     "She had some of that magical hangover cure that people in the capitol always drink," Diamond states, rubbing at her eyes, "She offered me some but I think it tastes like death so I declined."
     It seems no one has the energy to respond so Atlas just hums. In that moment, she hears Apricot make her way back to the room. 
     "Well, there she is!" Apricot yells across the room, making the hungover victors and stylist groan and cover their ears at the boisterous tone Apricot is sporting.
     Atlas simply smiles calmly, "Good morning Apricot. You seem to be feeling well."
     "Yes dear, I am feeling well," Apricot responds earnestly, taking no time to think critically about her response, "Will you be joining us for breakfast?"
     Atlas shakes her head, moving her braids over her shoulders, "I already ate, thank you though. I will probably just go back to my room and find some way to relax."
     "Hmm," Apricot hums in disappointment, "Well that's a shame. I don't believe we've gotten to spend a meal together yet."
     "I guess that's just how things have worked out."
     Atlas notices Mars and Olympia glancing at each other, having a silent conversation. Olympia shakes her head and Mars rolls his eyes in response.
     "Come get me when it's time to go downstairs?" Atlas asks Apricot and the older woman nods, sitting down at the table.
     Atlas smiles curtly and turns to make her way back to her room, trying to think of a single way to relax in this god-forbidden city.
     The next few hours are spent with Atlas alternating between etching small drawings into the napkins she had taken from the kitchen with a piece of charcoal from the fireplace and laying on the bed and trying to forget the warmth of Finnicks touch on her body. 
     Eventually, just as Atlas is finishing a drawing of a familiar set of eyes, a knock sounds on her door.
     "Come in," Atlas sighs, standing up to throw the drawings in the trash and throwing the charcoal back into the unlit fireplace.
     Diamond sticks her head through the doorframe, looking the girl up and down.
     "You ready to go?" Diamond's voice has a hint of concern in it but Atlas brushes it off and starts to walk towards the door, moving it open. 
     Before Atlas can move into the hallway, Diamond stops her, "Are you okay? Seriously."
     Atlas's face remains unmoving, "Yeah? I'm fine. Not much I can do about it, I'm gonna fight and if I die, I die I guess."
     Diamond looks at the girl with concern in her eyes but Atlas pushes past her. She didn't want anyone to think she was weak. Especially right now going into the games. She definitely didn't want to even talk about this whole thing. She didn't care that everyone else was worried about her. 
     She had spent years surviving on her own, she could do it for another week. 

A/N 
Really boring chapter but it's important to show some things about Atlas' character and her relationship with the people around her. Swear the next chapter will be more interesting, I just have to refresh on the actual book lol.