Chapter 7

                                    

                                          
After saying goodbye to our allies, we take the elevator to the second floor. I go to my designated room and wash off all the makeup and golden dust off my face and skin. I then change into more comfortable attire. I wait in my room, studying my memories of my future allies until Yvelise calls me over for dinner.
"What do you think of your new allies?" Brutus asks us as we serve ourselves some food.
"Charming," I say, thinking back to Tsunami's words.
"Tsunami and Glitz sure make a good couple. Both volunteering to kill us and everything," Horus says sarcastically.
"Both of you are vulnerable," Enobaria starts to explain. "Of course, they'd pick at weak points. Make sure you don't show any emotions. That would be very fatal."
"Seems like we'll become experts," I say, not really caring to her words since I planned to do that anyways.
"One thing, Enobaria," Horus says. "They already know our weakness. What's the use in hiding our emotions?"
"That is true, however, some siblings just hate each other to their core. If you act that way, maybe even say that you're the only ones that could kill each other. They'd have to find other weak points." That sounds logical, though it's unlikely they'll buy it. Eventually, we'll show that we actually care for each other, and they'll pick us apart.
As we ate, we continued discussing what we should do for the following weeks. That night, I fell asleep, excited for the next day. Tomorrow training will start.

I woke up, showered and found an outfit ready for me. After putting it on, I headed over to eat breakfast and waited for the others to wake up. Yvelise is already there and I grunted. Not her. I don't need a lecture on why not to stab someone. Luckily for me, Horus walks out of his room just as I seated myself at the table. Brutus came in a few minutes later followed by Enobaria. After an eternity of silence, Brutus finally speaks.
"You're all well equipped with weapons. No need to intimidate the other tributes. They already know that you guy are deadly. Focus your attentions on your allies. For the majority of the Game, they'll be your friends. You'll get to know them, and they'll get to know you. Once the alliance is over, they'll use their knowledge on you guys to kill you."
"But it doesn't hurt to show your status over the others," Enobaria adds.  "I agree that you should study District 1 and 4, as well as any other Districts that might have a particularly skilled tribute. But you won't have to worry about those. Show off a little. Have some fun."
When we're done eating, we head down to the training room. We are one of the first to enter. Once the clock striked ten, the head trainer, named Atala, began to explain to us the schedule and rules. After she finished, we were allowed to go to any station.
Shimmer grabs both Tsunami and I and drags us to spears. The boys follow close behind.
"First day, aren't you guys excited?" Shimmer says. I really wish I could impale her now. Tsunami rolls her eyes and smacks Shimmer's hand off her shoulders. I step out of the hand holding me.
"Maybe hold back on physical touch, Shimmer," Glitz advises.
"Wish they had tridents here," Lir complains as we cross over to the spear section. "Hopefully there'll be a few in the Cornucopia."
We take turns throwing spears. Obviously the District 4 pair do a great job. Both spear and trident are similar weapons. Horus does well, but he held back just like Enobaria said. Shimmer and Glitz ore OK, though Shimmer's technique lacks in some areas. I throw with accurate precision. It seems that everyone is good at spears.
"Will spears seriously be our only weapons?" Shimmer jokes. I find her cheerfulness to be annoying. "We won't be able to share it all."
"It would be nice if they have tridents in training as well," Tsunami snaps. Guess she also hates Shimmer's attitude. 
"Let's see what you guys got with swords," Glitz says, trying to diffusion the tension.
So we moved on to swords. Again, it seems that everyone is a master of it. Well, almost. Lir seem to dislike swords. He's not bad, per se, but he seem to have trouble with the weight. Shimmer told us that she prefers curved blades like sickles and cutlasses. 
Lir, Tsunami and Horus went back to spears. Glitz stayed in the sword section. Which left me with my bubbly ally, Shimmer. I wish she would just leave me alone and be a parasite to someone else. Perhaps the Glitz and Shimmer situation is one-sided. I mentally note that she will be the first Career I kill.
Shimmer is surprisingly good at knife throwing. No where near Clove's level, or even mine, but still good. I don't bother showing off. I do simple throws, nothing magnificent.
"You're pretty good," she notes.
I scoff. Might as well show off a little bit. I spin the blade in my hand and release it. It hits a target at the very back.
"No need to hold back, show me everything," she smirks at me. I do not comply.
We eat lunch with the other Careers. They share stories of Districts 1 and 4. Memories even. I keep quiet, letting Horus do all the talking. Tsunami speaks very little. I stare at her and she stares back. It's obvious that we are making notes of everyone and that we do not trust each other in particular.
After lunch, we went back to training. I finally managed to shake off Shimmer. She's with the spear gang. I can tell that she is annoying them with her constant yapping. All three of her companions are trying their best to keep their expressions neutral, but I find some slip ups. They, like me, wish to be the one to kill her.
I wait in line at the axe station. Both tributes from District 7 are there. The female tribute is no more than 12 years old. The boy looks about 16, maybe 17. I watch as the little girl misses her target. The boy reassures her. I roll my eyes.
"As if you can throw an axe better District 2," he says.
I laugh. It annoys him more. "Please, I can throw axes blindfolded and they still hit the target," I say. At this point, I'm just bluffing, but the District 7 kid wouldn't know the difference.
"That's just part of your District's reputation, isn't it Career." The last part is supposed to be a jab but I just shrug, indifferent. He seems more ticked.
"If you're so great, show us!" he says angrily.
So I do. I wait for my targets to light up and masterfully throw the axes. It silences the boy from District 7.
"So what if you're good with axes," he spits. "I'll take them before you can."
"What happens when you throw them?" I ask. "You'll just lose a weapon and I'll gain a new one. In fact, I'll probably kill you with one of your axes."
"So it's true. You really did kill a reporter at the train station. Johanna was right."
I'm surprised that news like that got out. Then again, maybe Enobaria or Brutus told the other victors. Or maybe, Yvelise told the other escorts, who told the victors. I smile sadistically at the District 7 boy in response.
"Stay away from us," he says, almost spitting.
The next 3 days pass by quickly. We eat breakfast on our floor, we go down to training, we train, we have lunch with the other tributes, we train some more, we go back to our floors to have dinner.
I gathered all the information I need. Tsunami seems to be the biggest threat out of all the Careers. She's good with spears, and tridents most likely, and she's cunning. Lir and Glitz seem to be about equal when it comes to skills. I'd watch out for Glitz though, he likes swinging his sword when he's bored. Shimmer is good too. She seems to be best at knives. But her technique still lacks.