— 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐱 —

━━━━━━ ☽【❖】☾ ━━━━━━

The first two days of training had been slow. It had taken awhile to find a rhythm, but eventually I was able to move about the survivalist stations without needing to slow down. Starting a fire: easy. Knotting technique: I've practically perfected it now. Identifying plant life: there had been a few new ones to learn, but most I already knew from years of experience on the farm. Where the problem truly lie, was with the fighting.

Caius had suggested finding one weapon. Just one. And you think that wouldn't be too hard after everything else. However, I was clumsy with a broadsword, I lacked the technique for daggers, I couldn't even pick up the axes, and my aim with a bow was far from on point.

"Why do you think they have a metal stick with the weapons?" Harlan asked, twirling said rod absently. "You think it's just in the wrong section? Because I use something like this to carry water from the fields."

"It's called a bo staff," a deep voice answered before I had the chance to. I was almost nervous that it had been one of the careers to speak since it hadn't gone unnoticed that they'd been watching us since the tribute parade. Everyone had for that matter. However, I quickly recognized this boy wasn't from any of the first few districts.

"You're one the tributes from district ten, right?" I asked.

"Rex." He nodded his head as he introduced himself, then he gestured to girl who'd been hiding at his side. "And this is Honey."

"I'm Juneaux," I introduced myself, smiling at the shy girl who kept her arms wrapped around the leg of the taller tribute. "And that's Harlan."

"Nice to meet you," Harlan added, sounding pretty genuine as he absentmindedly continued to twirl the Bo.

"You're pretty good at that," Rex noted. "You ever train with one before?"

Harlan quickly shook his head, pausing the twirling as he focused on the conversation. "No, it's just always been a hobby. Something fun to mess around with while I waited on my pops to finish up in the fields."

"How about we step over on to one of the sparring mats and I teach you how to use it defensively?" Rex suggested. "Maybe a couple things offensively too."

Harlan glanced in my direction, almost as if asking for permission. I gently chuckled and nodded my head. "Honestly, we could use all the help we can get."

As if I'd given him my blessing, he lifted the staff over his shoulder and followed Rex over to the sparring mats. I'd expected Honey to follow, but the girl had remained behind, staring up at me with big curious eyes.

"I'm going to quiz myself on the arena plant life again," I said then offered. "You're welcome to join me if you like."

Her lips pursed in thought, but then she quickly nodded her head as she followed me over to the computer system. I made haste of matching the plant specimens with their titles and uses. I missed one or two, but it was the best I'd done yet. Some of those poisonous specimens looked similar to some of the harmless ones and it wasn't always easy to tell them apart. Noticing the girl remained at my side, watching intently, I took a step back.

"Your turn."

She shook her head. I knelt down so that we'd be eye-level then pointed to the machine.

"It's important to learn."

Hesitantly, she stepped up to the computer and began to go through the process of sorting them. She was slow at first, but gradually she began to pick up speed. By the time she'd finished—and repeated the drill five or six times—she was close to perfection and moving quicker than I had.

"Great job!" Rex encouraged the girl as he returned with an out of breath Harlan. However, he tapped her on the shoulder and repeated the message with his hands. The girl beamed.

Harlan and I both glanced at one another, but he was much quicker to understand. "She can't hear."

"And they're still making her participate in the games?" I asked.

Rex nodded his head. His fists were clenched and it was clear that the topic made his blood boil. "The capitol said it was a disadvantage, but since she's not immobile and doesn't have a severe mental handicap that her odds were the same as everyone else."

Honey touched my arm to get my attention, then made a couple hand gestures. My heart broke for the girl, but I remained clueless as to what she'd said. I gently shook my head and tried to apologize, "I'm sorry, I don't—"

"She was telling you that Rex volunteered," Harlan explained, translating the gestures. "She's saying he's really brave."

Rex rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. "It's what any older brother would have done for their little sister. It's all I can do to protect her."

A pit formed in my stomach. If only I'd known my own brother's name was going to be called. Surely I would have volunteered then; however, by the time I knew, it was too late for volunteers. And now it seemed that fate was catching up to me because either way I wasn't going to exit that arena once I stepped inside.

I slowly turned toward Harlan with a curious look on my face. "You know sign language?"

"I could teach you if you'd like." Harlan nodded his head. "I have a twin sister... she's also deaf. I'm reminded of her whenever I'm with you."

My gaze softened. "Why's that?"

"She looked out for me too," Harlan explained. His voice was soft, almost like it hurt to remember home. "And she gave the best hugs."

"Feel free to turn me down," Rex gently interjected. "But I think we should form an alliance. I know not many districts outside of the careers normally do, but we'd be stronger together."

"That's actually not a bad idea," I agreed.

"The kid's talented with that bo staff, and the stuff I just taught him should help him keep his own in the beginning," Rex added. "And Honey knows how to tend to wounds. I can't tell you how many times that I've gotten injured tending to the cattle and she's fixed me right up."

"And you've got enough strength to make up for what we lack," I added my own observations. "You tossed some of those weights like they were nothing."

"And you're quick, Juneaux," Harlan interpreted Honey's addition to the conversation. "She saw you run the obstacle course yesterday. She said it was almost as fast as the careers."

"Almost might not be enough," I admitted. "But together gives us a fighting chance."

Rex glanced up toward the box of Capitol observers. "I think the private sessions are getting ready to start."

"I suppose we'll see you at the interviews tomorrow then," I noted. Rex nodded his head then took Honey by the hand as they walked away.

"Remember," Harlan reminded me. "Nothing above an eight and nothing below a four."

"That seems like a pretty slim margin," I noted.

Harlan shrugged. "It's what Caius said to do."

I nodded my head. "Hopefully he's come up with a strategy for us by tonight."

We exited the training room, took whatever time we had left to refresh ourselves and rejuvenate our energy, then returned to the waiting room where each district was being brought inside one by one. The doors slid open and out stepped the tall blond from district two. His partner offered a confident smirk before slinking inside to begin her own evaluation.

As he passed by, he looked in my direction. His eyes shifted over to Harlan, and protectively my arm moved closer to the boy. My eyes narrowed, but he chuckled and rolled his eyes as he continued on his way as if we weren't worth the time of day.

"Do you know what you're going to do?" Harlan whispered, breaking the silence.

"I... have an idea," I lied between my teeth.

Honestly, I had no idea what I was going to do. Harlan had his bo, and from the way he kept a hand on the staff earlier, I could tell he was planning to use the moves that Rex had shown him earlier. Meanwhile, I couldn't even hold a sword properly. I wasn't going to get a high enough score just by building a fire or identifying plants. My thoughts reflected back to our conversation with Caius. What were my strengths and weaknesses?

Harlan's turn came quicker than anticipated, and with a nervous sigh, the boy rose to his feet then entered the room. Five minutes later, he emerged. His hairline was dripping with sweat and his hands were trembling. I immediately rushed to his side.

"What happened in there?" I asked.

He couldn't form words, and I wasn't given the time to wait.

"Miss Kirchoff," the woman who'd made the initial announcement on the first day of training called for my attention. "They're ready for you."

I took a breath, gently squeezed Harlan's shoulder, then rose back to my feet and entered the room with my head held high. The setup of the room's interior had slightly changed. Things were more organized and a few new additions had been made to the weapons rack and obstacle course. Standing at the other end of the room, was a man dressed in a peacekeeper's uniform. Apparently he was the provided option for a sparring partner.

The gamemakers hardly looked away from the feast set up on their little box. Somewhere in the center, Seneca Crane spoke with some of his associates. It was his first year designing the games and he'd said that something special was waiting for each of the tributes once they stepped foot inside the arena. Something never before seen.

I cleared my throat, trying to get their attention; however, most of them had grown bored from watching the previous evaluations. I cleared my throat again and received the same response. Now frowning, I approached the weapons rack. It did cross my mind to knock the whole thing over, hoping the noise would catch their attention. I held on to that intrusive thought rather than acting on impulse.

A glimmer of gold caught my eye to the bottom corner of the rack, and finally there was something I recognized. A pair of sickles had been propped in the corner, unused and unwanted by the other tributes before me. But perhaps that's because none of them understood how to properly use the curved blades.

I picked up the short handles and lifted them into the air to get a better look. The gold decals engraved in the tools shimmered in the light, and that shimmer reflected in my eyes as an idea sparked.

I approached one of the other sections of the room where a table of herbs and plant life had been set out. They didn't seem to realize on their own some these materials were fine, but once mixed... well a lethal concoction could be made. I'd never been good with mixing salves and medicinal things. I always traded for what my father needed at the market. However, I was very good at making natural pesticides to keep the animals and bugs away from our crops.

I managed to whip something up quickly then coated a thin layer of the mixture on the edges of my blades. The gamemakers didn't notice this action, yet they noticed how long I'd been taking.

Seneca Crane cleared his throat. "Any day now, Miss..."

"Juneaux," I remarked. Then flipped the sickles in my hands. These I knew how to wield. I'd been using them since I started working in the fields. I understood their weight and their dynamics better than anything else present. "Olympus beware my wrath."

Then I charged toward the peacekeeper. He easily blocked my first attack with his sword as if he'd been anticipating it. As he waved his arms around to counter, I stepped aside. Quickly moving behind him, he was forced to switch the direction of his momentum to turn. I didn't spar, never had before. And in my eyes, this wasn't sparring. It was cutting down a stubborn stalk of grain.

I managed to cut through the uniform of the peacekeepers sleeve; however, the fabric protected him well. He received a minor cut that barely broke the skin. From beneath his helmet, I could hear his patronizing chuckle. He swung back around. I managed to deflect the blow, but the force he used knocked the sickle out of my left hand.

Realizing the tool was too far to retrieve, I gripped the remaining sickle with both hands and continued to blocks his swings as they were delivered. I'd been placed on the defensive far quicker than anticipated and it looked like things were not going to end in my favor. I noticed Crane almost yawned as I glanced back toward the gamemakers' box.

My blood boiled and I tried to switch our roles, but I couldn't knock the peacekeeper off-guard. He was far stronger than I was, and I'd foolishly chosen combat when I should've stuck to my strengths. I could already hear it now. Caius would tear into me when the scores were released and I received no more than a three. This would only go on for another minute or so because I could tell the peacekeeper was approaching the blow that would end the sparring session. We could only continue so long as I wasn't put in a position that would qualify as a death-dealt blow.

And just when it looked like I'd lost... the peacekeeper staggered. His sword clattered to the ground and he quickly followed, writhing on the ground as he pried his helmet from his head and grasped his throat as if choking. The gamekeepers rose to their feet, a look of horror flashing across a few of their faces.

I gestured to my opponent on the ground. "I think he might need some medical attention."

Seneca Crane's eyes drifted over to the table of plant life where I'd spent the better half of the session. A sick look entered his eyes almost as if he were impressed. I set my remaining sickle down beside the rack of weapons then walked toward the exit without another word or glance in the gamemakers' direction.