❝𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒❞ | k. everdeen

chapter 5: making friends, i see.

That night Nola dreamed of meadows and flowers of all colors, with a blue sky completely clear and the sun shining brightly but without being scorching. With a breeze of air ruffling her blonde hair, with a smell of freshly baked bread and lavender from the wind, which drew her to where she was. She didn't know where she was, and she didn't really want to bother finding out either, because her feeling was that she was having a great time. She strolled through the field, saw huge trees all around her, giving life to the meadow, and sometimes she heard noises, as if they were gunshots in the distance, but she clearly remembered her smile on her face, as if she were watching herself from outside, as if she were a third person, and when she woke up she understood one thing.

She had dreamed of the arena.

She couldn't say it was a nightmare, but it had been too long since the Hunger Games had appeared in her dreams. For many it might have been a traumatic experience, but Nola had not lacked anything in the arena, so she had to just survive. She remembered that her Games had been a huge meadow with flowers and bright sunshine, which had only fooled the tributes into thinking that Snow had finally stopped preying on them. However, they could not have been more wrong.

The first day was quiet, but on the second day the worries began. The careers did not have too much trouble, counting on District 4 at the beginning as well, seeing that the land gradually began to sink, and that only those who knew how to swim would manage to survive: that second day eight cannon shots were heard —Nola counted them seriously that night while she was on the first watch.

At sixteen, Nola was extremely agile. It was no problem for her to climb trees or avoid bushes or fallen branches, and that could be precisely what had saved her life. The water came and went, the tide rose and fell, and when the water disappeared one day, the next it began to rain again in torrents, confusing the teenagers, who had to go through the whole ordeal all over again in order to stay alive. However, two of the careers had fallen days before due to bad luck, so Nola decided that the best thing to do would be to go their separate ways.

So she set up in one of the trees, aware of the danger if lightning struck, but she had detected the rain pattern, and so far there had been no lightning, so Nola took a chance. And her risk rewarded her: that same night a giant, carefully wrapped, metallic package arrived. It was accompanied by a small note, crumpled and somewhat wet, that read, "Use it well and this is yours." The gift was a sword, a weapon with which she managed to pierce the chest of the last opponent and which she subsequently kept at home with her initials on the handle.

She woke up with a good feeling in her throat, as if she could predict that this was going to be a good day, so she didn't hide a big smile when she went down to the dining room to have breakfast. She was the last one to do so, but at least she was already wearing her training uniform.

—Nice of you to decide to join us— Enobaria reproached with her hands clasped and her elbows resting on the table.

Nola wrinkled her nose as she took a seat—. Did you miss me that much? Come on, come on, we'll have time for celebrations when this is all over.

Beside her, Brutus snorted, but Nola knew it was without any malice. Her relationship with Brutus was more or less like with Haymitch: guys who looked tough and strong on the outside, but with humor akin to her own, and deep down they liked each other. However, while Nola knew that Haymitch wouldn't be able to kill her, Nola had no doubt that Brutus would end her life if necessary. The girl knew she had to be careful with the man.

—You know that, but today is training. I can't tell you what to do, you are as much Victors as I am, but try to make good alliances. Look carefully at their skills, both those you know the most about and those who are the strangest to you. It doesn't matter if they can handle knives or are good survivors, anything that helps you survive is important.