Dew of the Sea [Finnick Odair]

[08. Demanding Attention]

Rosemary

She was utterly exhausted and the only thing keeping her going was that Rye had been physically training the whole day, compared to her measly two hours. Her sweet big brother looked like he was about to pass out, but he kept going for her.

The first thing that Rye taught her about the bystaff was how to properly hold it. Shorter than a quarterstaff–and therefore, a parchment tube–her right hand would be placed at near the end of the staff, about a quarter of the way in. Her left hand would rest only four or five inches away from the other end. Next she was taught the fighting stance that he had learned from the trainer at the gym. She would bring her left hand toward her left hip, stand shoulder-width apart, and take a step backward with her right foot.

The bystaff was drastically different from a parchment tube. It was made out of light steel but still managed to be at least five pounds heavier than the tube. She used more strength moving it around and therefore got tired more quickly. Rye had her redo her stance and beginning swing over and over again until both he and Haymitch–who was watching from the couch–agreed that she could move on.

From there, Rye taught her different defensive and offensive movements. These were very similar to the moves she used in Parchment Pike, but she still had to get used to the weight. The the next hour, she practiced the offensive movements against Rye and only stopped when Haymitch told them that enough was enough.

"Dinner's soon," he drawled. "Go shower. You both stink."

He held his hand out for the bystaff and Rosemary handed it over, allowing him to sneak it back to wherever he stole it from.

Dinner was quiet that night, both Rosemary and Rye ready for bed. The adults chatted about random things, mainly drama throughout the Capitol, and once in a while Haymitch would insert some snarky comment that had them all laughing except for Effie, who would always end up offended, even if the comment had nothing to do with her.

Rosemary forced herself to eat dessert, wanting to try the decadent chocolate cheesecake that was presented to them by the avox. It was delicious and though she almost fell asleep in it, she knew that it was her new favorite food from the Capitol.

When the siblings went to bed, they promptly fell asleep, having no trouble like the previous night.

-

On the second day of training, the male from District 4 approached her at the edible plants station. His name was Gully and Gully meant 'giant'. His name certainly suited him; the 18-year-old was massive, but not quite as big as Xavier from Seven. Still, his personality made him seem even bigger than his physical stature.

"Rosemary, right?"

Rosemary nodded and looked back at the screen beneath her fingertips, studying each plant that popped up. She memorized what they looked like, if they were edible, what they could do as far as healing and medicine, and how toxic they could be.