AMNESIAC || Finnick Odair

ℂℍ𝔸ℙ𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝟜

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Olive watched through her room's window as dawn broke in the distance. She had barely slept anything all night. Between the nightmares in which her little brother was thrown into the arena and the embarrassment she felt from her conversation with her mentor, there was no way to sleep for too long. All night, it felt as if she had only been tossing and turning on the bed.

At least it was the first day of training. She could let out all her worries and embarrassment while shooting with a bow, or simply throwing a few knives at whatever dummies the training grounds would have. In fact, she just wanted to do anything that would remind her of home.

"Don't go anywhere near weapons," Librae told her during breakfast, causing her to involuntarily let go of the fork, which Piscia had been stubbornly trying to get her to learn to use.

"But I need to practise," Olive tried to argue, although she quickly opted not to continue after a warning look from her mentor.

"Survival is just as or even more important than weapons, Olive. I'm guessing you already have some knowledge, but it wouldn't be bad to learn more," Ron advised her in a soft tone.

"All right, I'll do that," she muttered, knowing perfectly well she had to listen to her mentors despite all possible objections she could have. With an apologetic look, Mags smiled at her, mumbling some encouraging words that she took a bit to figure out. "Thanks, Mags."

"What exactly are you good at?" Finnick asked, sitting right next to her while she tried to compose herself, retrieving the fork that had fallen next to her plate.

"I'm good with knives, bows and arrows, and I learned a few snares from my father. My twin is a berry-lover, so I ended up knowing some of them as well," she stated, laughing slightly at the memory of Annie telling her all types of berries they could find around the meadow. "I once almost died stupidly because I picked the wrong kind. She nagged me for days after I got better from the poisoning until I learned the most basic poisonous berries and plants."

"Good, then try to learn more about berries, but without making everyone notice that you already have great knowledge about it. If you see you're doing extremely well in something, try to fail from time to time, so the others will blame it on pure luck." Librae explained rapidly, not looking up from her plate, as if it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen.

"However, during your private session with the Gamemakers, you should make sure they know how good you can be with those weapons. Knives are always there, but not so much about bows and arrows. That's why you have to give them a reason to put them there," Ron told her, watching as her district partner arrived to eat breakfast just twenty minutes before they had to go to training.

"Finnick, could you give me the earring back, please?" Olive asked, looking at her mentor for the first time since he had sat next to her.

"Oh, I don't have it. Cario and I gave it for inspection, so it could become your token in the arena. It has to go through some tests before you can wear it," he said, meeting her eyes as he looked up from his dish. "Sorry, I should have told you sooner."

"No, that's all right. Thanks," she muttered, looking back at her plate, only to find it completely empty. She had already eaten everything, despite not being hungry.

As her mentors began to explain her partner's strategy for the training, Olive got up from her seat and went to her room, where she brushed her teeth before following Piscia until the lift.

The training rooms were below ground level, which was revealed to be an enormous gymnasium filled with weapons and obstacle courses. Just as she and her district partner walked through the doors, someone pinned the number four on their backs. They weren't the last ones to get there, but it was close. Only District Eight and Eleven were left to arrive.