6th July 74PD
The next morning, Xanthe wakes her tributes bright and early so that their mentors can prepare them and give their advice on which stations to attend to, and which to avoid. However, as she leads them to the breakfast table and lets them pile their plates high with several varieties of eggs and other proteins, Enobaria is the only mentor waiting. She nurses a large mug of coffee, sighing as she gulps the hot liquid as fast as possible in hopes that the caffeine will kick in quicker and wake her up. The escort has already had her makeup professionally applied, bright blue wig styled in pinned-up curls and a perfect match to the bright blue ruffles on her white thigh-length dress and white lipstick. As Clove and Ajax eat, the quiet moment is broken by the sound of tired footsteps approaching. Expecting to see her sister, Clove raises her head to see Brutus trudging wearily into the kitchen, eyes half closed from a restless night's sleep. Without a word, they watch as he makes a beeline for the coffee machine, his movement slow and deliberate as he intently watches the stream of fresh coffee fill the mug he's claimed as his own. His first sip is met with a visible sigh of relief as he settles into the chair across from his tributes and they watch the weariness leave his face with confused glances.
"Where's Clio?" Clove asks through a mouthful of danish pastry.
Her words alert Xanthe to the missing victors, the woman assuming that the oldest Kentwell daughter would be up early as usual. Her brows knit together as she looks into the living area and beyond to the kitchen. The woman even checks the lift before announcing that she will go and knock on the bedroom door to wake her up.
A rap on the wood of the door startles Clio awake, and then her movement consequently wakes Cato. She hums gently and blearily opens an eye, finding herself cuddled into her boyfriend's chest, resting on her side with one of her legs thrown over his and a hand splayed out across his chest. He leans down to press soft kisses to her shoulder, feathery light as his lips run over the skin from her to her neck, and Clio can't even bring herself to be too mad at the fact she was rudely awoken because his movements are so gentle. Her lips twitch into a smile as her gaze casts over his hair, that is arranged messily over his head and glints gold beneath the beams of morning light that stream in through the gaps in the slats of the blinds, before she meets his eyes. She stifles a yawn and runs her fingers up and down his chest, "morning."
"I think that was Xanthe." Cato hums, pressing another kiss to the top of her head. "Means we should probably go do our jobs."
"Nooooo," Clio practically whines, curling even closer to him and burying her face into his neck. "I'm Too tired right now."
"Who are you and what have you done with my Clio?" He chuckles as he sits up on his side. He rests with his elbow digging into the mattress by the pillow and anchors his head up with his hand, his loving gaze trailing all over hers as she smiles.
"Shushhh," she replies, voice tired yet affectionate. She tries to brush it off with an eye roll, but drops her head into the pillow. "Just let me lie here before we have to go and deal with all of them."
Cato snorts, "you make it sound like spending time with them is the worst thing in the world. You love being here, stop being so dramatic."
"Who are you and what have you done with my Cato?" She mocks his earlier words, placing a hand on his forehead and pretending to take his temperature.
"Shut up." He groans, swatting her hand away. "I'm just trying to get you back to normal. I don't think you've slept in this long since you got back."
"You're telling me that you don't want to stay here all day?"
"Well now you've said it." He shrugs, dropping his head back onto the pillow. "I should try and enjoy every second I have alone with you considering I'm on a sex ban."
Clio lets out a laugh, chastising him. "You're not on a sex ban."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He leans onto his side and cups her face. "I'm just saying that they don't need to know. As far as they know, we're asleep and we could be really, really quiet—"
"No way," Clio shakes her head. "Are you forgetting what happened last time?"
Cato's brief scowl fades when he watches her raise an eyebrow. "Fine," he grumbles, "but that was—"
"Enobaria has a sixth sense when it comes to sex, I am absolutely not risking that right now when she's awake and probably expecting it."
"Anyway," he mumbles, "it's the first day of training so I'm sure we won't be needed the entire time."
With a sigh, Clio moves her head back on top of his chest, closing her eyes again for a moment. She doesn't startle when the door swings open, but the cold water thrown over her face does make her push herself up to sit upright.
"What the fuck?" Clio screams, bringing her head up to look at her sister. The water has drenched the top of her hair and drips from the baby hairs into her eyes. "What was that for?"
"Payback." Her sister giggles, smirking at the two of them sat bolt upright glaring at her. "And you're needed outside, so hurry up."
"Why was I targeted?" Cato asks her with a groan. His chest has blocked most of the water that was chucked over their bodies, but he leans up against the headboard to try and stop the liquid from saturating the sheets.
"Collateral." Clove shrugs and she nods her head pointedly in the direction of the common area before spinning on her heel and leaving the room.
The straps of Clio's clothing stick to her as she moves from the bed and walks towards the door. There's no point in changing until Ajax and her sister have to head to the training facility, knowing that she's likely needed to think about strategies for the day at the breakfast table. Five pairs of eyes snap towards her as she sits down at the table beside her sister, Cato following behind her and sitting himself opposite her. Their eyes linger on the drops of water falling from her chin as they roll down her face before they notice the water glistening on Cato's chest. Enobaria raises an eyebrow at the two of them but shakes her head, muttering under her breath that she's not even going to ask.
"Now that we're all here." Brutus starts, taking another swig of his black coffee before continuing, "today, I want the two of you paired up at all times and I want you to spend it at the weapons stations. I don't care which ones, just make sure that you least visit the throwing knives and the swords so you can intimidate the other districts."
"Should we stay with Glimmer and Marvel?" Clove asks, hands clasped under her chin as she listens.
"As much as possible." Enobaria affirms. "If it means you have to visit the other weapons with them then it's always worth working out just how good they really are. We'll have another meeting with them at the end of the second training day to discuss things further."
"And Clove," Brutus grabs her attention. "As we discussed yesterday, at some point, Marina from Four will teach you how to hold a trident, and we expect you to teach her some basics around a knife."
"What about the small curly fry?" Ajax laughs through a mouthful, quickly closing his mouth when Xanthe glares at him.
"Don't speak to him." Cato answers, ignoring the look Brutus sends his way.
"Noted." The eighteen year old tribute laughs again, almost howling as he thinks about the boy who has been left behind by his district partner. "Anything else?"
"The girl from Twelve."
Everyone throws confused looks at Clio, except Enobaria who simply smirks behind her mug of coffee, already on her second refill. "Figure out her skill. If she has one that is."
With a mocking expression and a raised eyebrow, Ajax taunts her playfully. "Are you worried about a Twelve, Clio? There is no way that girl will score more than us, she probably can't even use a blade."
"I'm not saying to be worried about her. I'm just suggesting that you figure out if she has any useful skills because then she'll be easier to eliminate, and like I said before, she wouldn't have volunteered if she didn't think she could win, it's your job to figure out why." Clio pushes her chair back with an eye roll and walks back towards her room to get changed for the mentor discussions and the first meetings with the sponsors.
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As the glass doors slide open, the group from District Two enter the victor's viewing room at exactly ten o'clock and are surprised to find it teeming with life and at almost full capacity - save for a certain redheaded victor. The mentors from Districts Six, Eight, Nine and Ten all sit together in the back corner of the room, with the male mentor from District Five amongst them whilst his female counterpart is in talks with Beetee, Wiress and Johanna. Finnick sits with Haymitch, Chaff and Seeder at the front of the room, talking in hushed tones as they watch the clock tick down on the giant screen. The access to the sponsors doesn't open until after lunchtime, at exactly two o'clock where mentors are briefly informed by the head trainers and game makers about the condition and activities of their tributes. Clio imagines that there is usually a mass surge into the sponsor's room around that time as mentors each scramble to secure gifts from the various well off Capitol citizens, but for now the group sit down on the circular couch at the front of the room besides Cashmere and Gloss. For a moment Clio finds it strange how none of the other mentors have tried to take residence on the white and gold couch, but when she sees the others all almost imperceptibly take a shuffling step away from the seat, it dawns on her that this must be the position unofficially claimed by the career victors - it does have the best view after all. They greet each other again and the next few hours are filled with mindless conversations about various things - their tributes, their predictions for the arena and their evening's entertainment - until several Avoxes file in at precisely midday to clear the large circular mahogany table of the leftover breakfast spread and replace it with various lunch time foods.
Once the Avoxes leave the room once more, the doors don't shut as an exhausted looking Luna enters the room, wearing a pale blue blazer suit with pearls encrusted along the sweetheart neckline. Various heads turn towards the latecomer, including Clio's, as she watches the redhead approach the careers couch until she stops directly in front of her and holds her hand out in front of her. Her eyes trail down Luna's figure until she reaches the large kitchen knife in her hand.
"You forgot this." The strawberry-blonde half-whispers to the victor in front of her.
"Luna, that's from the block in your kitchen." Clio shrugs before she slaps the back of Cato's head with the dorsal side of her hand to avert his gaze to the floor.
"Well it's yours now." Luna says, unfolding Clio's fingers and placing the blade of the knife on her hand. "Happy birthday."
Clio flicks her wrist, tossing the blade into the air in an arc momentarily so that she can catch the handle of the knife, and scowls at Luna. "My birthday was three months ago."
"Well it's not like I can turn up in District Two with a present can I?" Luna sits down at the edge of the couch alongside Brutus. Haymitch scoffs a laugh at the sight of the redhead 'fluke of a victor' sitting beside who could practically be considered Panem's trained assassins, whilst Finnick's head snaps towards the sound of the girl's voice.
"For fuck's sake" Finnick mutters under his breath but it can be heard across the room.
"What was that?" Clio directs at the man on the couch, snapping her head to face him. Fucking arsehole, she thinks, he can't seriously be offended that Luna is sitting with us instead of him.
Luna leans forward to lean her elbows on her knees as she looks toward Clio. "He's just jealous because I brought a career home last night."
Clio bursts into laughter, disjointed by hiccups as she tries to catch her breath between giggles. Several voices around the room can be heard mumbling to themselves about the redhead's words in confusion and Finnick rolls his eyes at Clio's behaviour. As her laughter begins to calm down, Luna speaks up over the low hum of the room once more, "And that leather bodysuit was one of my favourite pieces before you sliced it to shreds."
"Next time you shouldn't wear something so tight if you need it off quickly." Clio manages between her giggles that have started up again, fully aware of the double meaning that her words hold to the other mentors around her, and fully ready to play into the situation if it would piss Finnick off.
"I thought you were kidding," Cato whispers into her ear.
"I wish I was." Clio sighs, leaning her head on his shoulder as she begins to explain the events of last night to an eager Cashmere. Their conversations continue for the next hour and a half, intertwined with quick breaks to retrieve several of the lunchtime foods on offer and to take up the drinks provided to them by the circulating Avoxes. Clio keeps hold of the knife that Luna gave her with, insistent on keeping it by her side throughout the day; even with several Avoxes and other mentors try to instruct her to place it on one of the side tables to be taken away. At a quarter to two in the afternoon, the younger mentors push themselves to a stand and walk out of the victor's viewing room and down the hallway to wait over by the sliding glass doors that give them access to the potential sponsors.
"Is it a good idea to be sending her in there with a kitchen knife?" Brutus questions Enobaria beside him in a low hum.
"Probably not." The woman shrugs, "but it cements her brand in the mind of the sponsors, and it will probably draw even more attention to her which we could do with right now. Besides, I don't want to be the one to take a knife from her."
"You're probably right." Brutus agrees, watching as both his newest mentors stand at the threshold of the sponsors room and pay close attention to the large digital clock as they wait for it to tick over to two o'clock. The two of them stand from their positions on the couch and join the other half of their team by the doors.
When the clock strikes two, the doors slide open automatically and unveil the large room filled to the brim with rich Capitol citizens just waiting to throw their money at this year's tributes. Brutus leads their group inside quickly, immediately heading over to a group of slightly older men who are laughing together around a circular mod couch in the centre of the room. Each of them hold full, freshly topped up cocktail glasses which they place carefully on the mahogany coffee table in front of them when they spot Brutus heading towards them.
"Gentlemen." Brutus nods their way. The men all cheer and stand from their seats, clapping their hands together as all move simultaneously to give the older mentor a hug, but all return to their seats just as quickly when he brushes them off. "I am well aware that many of you have already heard this speech earlier this year, but to the few of you that haven't. It is my pleasure to officially introduce you to our newest victor, our Clio."
The men all rise to their feet again, peering around Brutus with a cheer which falters for a split second when they see the kitchen knife held firmly between the young girl's fingers. The man closest to her, eyes the knife slowly before carefully wrapping his arms around her in a hug. The man leans back and Clio's feet lift off the air. Her eyes widen as she twists her head in the man's hold to look towards Cato, wanting nothing more than to plunge the knife in the sponsor's side. When he places her back on her feet she glares at him and he rushes to sit down beside his companions.
"Thank you," she says, a fake sickly sweet smile matching the tone of her voice. "But I really don't do hugs, so please don't do that again. I like to have my feet on the floor at all times."
The man gives an over-exaggerated apology before engaging the group of victors in small talk to start up the conversation. They all squeeze along the couch so that the group of four can sit on the end and then one of the men in the middle speaks directly to Enobaria. "Your tribute. Victor affairs informed us that a young woman named Ebony was supposed to be coming through those doors but instead we're seeing Clove. Is there a reason for this?"
Clio bites back her remark, letting her own mentor answer the man's question. "I don't know how much of our reaping you've had the opportunity to watch, but it became clear that Ebony had decided to back out of volunteering and so Clove did the honourable thing and stepped forward herself."
"Oh how admirable!" One of the men gushes before winking at Clio, "she must be taking after her sister."
"I have no doubt that she will." Enobaria informs them, looking to Brutus who is involved in another conversation with the men at the other end of the couch. "And I'm sure that you will want to be involved in the third District Two win in a row."
"Indeed!" Three of the men exclaim at the same time, reaching onto the table for the sheet of paper where their donations can be made. The man closest to Enobaria grabs the paper between his fat fingers, and Clio has to stifle a laugh at the sight of the blisters and warts on the back of the man's hand. They each pass the intricate fountain pen around, signing their names in ugly, abrasive font next to the amounts that they pledge to the pair of tributes - knowing that any of the mentors can come to cash in on their generosity at any time within the Games. After a few hours of talking through sponsorships with various groups of people, the four of them move toward the bar in the sponsor room for a short break. They only have about forty-five minutes left to finalise any deals today before they have to meet their tributes upstairs and receive a debrief from the day's training session. Clio watches the rest of the mentors intently, craning her neck to try and listen to the tense conversation that comes for the open space beside her after she hears Luna Crawford mention her name to Johanna before she quickly scoffs at the presence of Haymitch and Finnick behind. Clio nudges her boyfriend to alert him to the drama unfolding and they both watch expectantly as Luna throws her hands in the air at the sound of their voices and, with a few words to Johanna, turns on her heel and walks directly towards a small group of sponsors.
Before any words can pass her lips, Brutus clicks his fingers out in front of her. "Earth to grunts. Hello. I have a job for you."
They each follow the direction of his hand where his pointer finger is now extending out to point at someone they both recognise. Zeus. They both let out a groan.
"No." Cato shakes his head rapidly. "Please no. Anyone but him."
A smug smile spreads across Brutus' face. "Oh, yes. Him."
"We're not in the mood to talk to him. Off you go." The laugh that leaves Enobaria can only be described as sadistic. As pure evil.
"What are we supposed to say to him?" Clio questions desperately, exchanging worried glances with Cato whilst their respective mentors use their strength to pull the couple from their seats at the bar, much to their ten minute long protest.
"I'm sure you'll think of something." Brutus chuckles as the two older victor shove the younger pair in his direction. The closer they step towards the disgraced ex-potential tribute, the more agitated they become, and Brutus decides to make it worse for them, teasing them further and ignoring the death glare aimed at him over their shoulders. "Maybe you could apologise."
"Hello, fucker." Cato says as he approaches the man, who is now speaking to Luna. Zeus scowls at the interruption, clearly trying to flirt with the redheaded victor and visibly angry that his two least favourite people have to see him. "Hello, Luna."
"Cato." Luna smiles at him before beaming at the short girl opposite her, "Clio. We were just wrapping up our conversation, so I'll leave you both to it."
"No, stay right there."
Luna is confused by the other woman's words but keeps her shoes firmly planted on the floor as she watches the interaction between the two men. Clio also observes as Cato sticks out his right hand for Zeus to shake. The game-maker, holding a fancy cocktail glass in his right, attempts to hold out his left as a way to get the blonde in front of him to switch for their handshake but Cato remains firm as a taunt. "Zeus. Your other hand."
Clio lets out a loud cackle, drawing attention to their conversation from several of the others around her, before she holds out her left hand which is still clutching the knife Luna presented her with her earlier. Zeus' head remains still as his eyes peer around the room to watch the actions of the other sponsors and prospective game-makers before he chuckles to diffuse the situation and bats both of the couple's hands away.
"I was just informing Luna about how I have applied for the role of assistant head game-maker that has become newly available. Now that the two of you are aware of the reasons behind my appearance today, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"My victor's pin." Clio says, face expressionless. "That's your job isn't it."
"It is." Zeus answers, eyes not leaving Luna's figure for even a second. "What about it?"
"Have you set it up yet?" Clio asks him with a scowl, hating every second of having to ask Zeus Melia for something.
"Why?" The game-maker taunts her. "Have some sponsors lined up for your sister already?"
"Yes, actually. Now is it ready or not?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Zeus finally turns his attention towards Clio, narrowing his eyes at her. "I'll have you know that I'm very good at my job, Miss Kentwell."
Clio badly stifles her laugh at his words, only made worse by Cato mumbling under his breath, "I doubt that."
"Something wrong, Mr Hadley?" Zeus says calmly. However, his face gives him away. His skin has turned a bright red, the veins in his forehead are pulsing quickly, and if he was in a cartoon then there would definitely be steam leaving his ears. Cato breaks into a laugh, unimpressed by the man's attempt to charm the District Four woman who still acts as a silent observer to their conversation.
"Mr Hadley? What are we, sixty?"
"We're no longer on a first name basis." Zeus explains slowly. "I only address those I respect by their first name, and since you've yet to earn that, I'll continue to address you how I wish. Both of you."
Clio's face spreads into a smirk and she holds the knife up closer to the man's face before slowly moving it closer to his right hand, enjoying the way he flinches at her movements. "Oh please, as if you think either of us have any respect left for you after what you did, Mr Melia."
"What I did?" Zeus is seething. "Need I remind you that it was Cato who–"
The object of his words laughs even louder than he had before, drawing the attention of several other sponsors and game-makers mingling nearby. Knowing Zeus' past - or most of it - they each watch the interaction with eagle eyes. "Go on, tell Luna all about it. Impress her with your fragile masculinity."
"I'm simply being friendly." Zeus waves off the accusation, with his left hand.
"Cato did what?" Luna chimes in, intrigued and in Clio's opinion probably the most tolerable she's been in a fair while, simply because she's helping to rile Zeus up.
"Absolutely nothing." The game-maker offers, taking a long sip from his fancy drink. "Nothing worth speaking about anyway. I'm sure that anyone, myself included, could have won if they were placed into a cold, mountainous arena."
"You sure about that?" Cato asks at the same time Luna admits, "I don't think I could have."
"I can't breathe." Clio sputters out through her cackles.
Luna looks concerned, but Cato, knowing exactly where she is going with that statement, lets her continue by simply asking, "everything okay?" with a smirk.
"I'm fine, there's just no room left with Zeus' ego." She laughs again before her face drops into a serious expression and she looks at Cato and pleads. "Can we go?"
The second the couple make eye contact, they burst into laughter once more. To their surprise, Luna and a few of the eavesdroppers join them; but no one is surprised when Zeus becomes even more angry, choosing to ignore the two of them and try and regain the District Four victor's attention. Not bothering to pay attention to their conversation, Cato watches the digital clock, carefully waiting until the time changes to show exactly five o'clock.
"I'm off, because this has been the worst half hour of my life. See you later, fuckface." He wastes no time in leaving their conversation with Zeus, grabbing the knifeless hand of a giggling Clio and pulling her with him as he walks to the door where Brutus and Enobaria stand snickering as they wait.
Luna stifles a laugh behind her hand as the pair leave their conversation, leaving Zeus behind with a scowl plastered across his features. Brutus howls in laughter as the four of them enter the lift to take them up to the second floor and laughs even harder once they explain how they left their conversation. As they enter their floor, Clove and Ajax are already changed and waiting around the dinner table with Xanthe, both looking slightly worn out even after their showers. After quickly changing into more comfortable clothing, the mentors sit beside their tributes at the table as Avoxes begin to bring in their plates.
"So..." Brutus begins as they lift their forks.
"The girl from Four didn't speak to me." Clove starts, tilting her head towards her sister who set up that particular condition of the alliance.
"Well, Luna had a very rough night last night." Brutus explains, pointedly ignoring the way that Clio mutters 'tell me about it' under her breath. "I am sure that she will remind Marina of the terms of the agreement tonight and that she will ensure she speaks to you tomorrow. Your sister made that part very clear."
"What did she do? Threaten her?" Ajax jokes, but the smile drops once he realises that his guess is correct.
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𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙀𝙎!
Happy birthday to my fictional husband. Today (2nd Feb) is the birthday that I've given Cato in my head, and in this story. Wattpad won't let me upload the video of The Rock singing happy birthday so have a cat meme.
votes, shares, comments all appreciated as always!
Debating going back to chapter names because I don't like the way it looks ugh idk...
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