𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 ☘︎ 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞

𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 ☘︎ 11

The next day, I woke up knowing that I was going to training today. I got up and saw that Cinna had left a mesh breathable training outfit for me, hanging on the handle of the wardrobe door.

I change into it and look in the mirror, then head to breakfast.

The next half hour is a flash for me, and the next moment I'm properly aware of myself is when Austin and I are walking to the training room.

"Try to stay cool, Willow, and just remember, today's about making allies," he reminds me.

"Yeah, because that's going to go so well," I mutter bitterly.

"You could at least try to be positive," Austin tells me.

"What's the point? No good ever comes of it," I reply bitingly.

That was before the doors opened and revealed about five of the tributes out of the twenty two I was expecting to see. "So far I'm not overwhelmed with our choices."

"I guess we just try to work out who we trust least and then work our way backwards from there," he reasons. Then I realise how much I hate this. Allies? We have to have allies?

We decide to split up to cover more ground. He goes off to goodness knows where and I wander around, trying to figure out who to talk to.

Effie wasn't joking about the new training centre. They now have simulations in which you are up against orange pixelated bodies, trying to fight against you. This is where I see Gloss, throwing knife after knife with grunt after grunt at them. This doesn't work until his sister Cashmere joins in, they take a knife each and finally make them disintegrate.

I see Johanna Mason, swinging an axe. You see, she worked more with big axes, and I like to throw my axes, so at least we're not that similar.

I soon see Brutus, the male from Two, Chaff and Austin all together, chucking spears at the same pixelated dummies.

Then there's Enobaria. The 'committed' one. She's fighting off against a real dummy with a spear, but when she bares her teeth, it's clear that they're her true weapon.

Suddenly, I see two people that I don't instantly hate when I look at them. The two tributes from Three, I remember Haymitch calling them Wiress and Beetee, are at the fire making station. Fighting all the eye rolls and annoyance that's going to get layed into me by Haymitch later, I walk over to them.

When I get closer, I see Beetee, the man's, holding a vertical stick and rolling it in his hands whilst the bottom's grounded to a log. They're trying to make a fire from the friction.

"Friction generates heat, heat generated fire, in theory..." I hear him tell his partner, Wiress.

"You should move your hands downward," I correct as I walk up to them. I've made fires like this before. "And faster, too."

He does, and soon, you can see a tiny bit of smoke rising from the log. Beetee grins at Wiress. "A little brute force-"

"-Is always helpful," she finishes with a smile.

"Thank you," Beetee looks at me, a smile on his face. This is when I realise he's the least worst option in this room for an ally. Great. Neither Haymitch not Austin's going to like that.

"By the corner of the table..." Wiress suddenly says. That's when I realise she's looking up at the Gamemakers.

"Plutarch?" I ask in confusion, following her eyes.

"No, next to him," Wiress answers.

Beetee has slid his glasses off his face and he murmurs. "Force field..."