Fluid || Finnick Odair

6

The sorts of things that went in behind the scenes in the Games made Rio nervous. He was used to watching the programmes, as everyone was, and seeing the ridiculous parades mashed together with interviews before the massacre actually began. But it was the in-between which made his skin crawl.

He could think, then, and it was dangerous. If he allowed his memory to sink away into the thoughts of his family, Finnick would say his weaknesses were showing. His sister, so small, wouldn't remember him. Yet, still, it was weakness.

     The morning of training, Rio woke early, and ate before anyone joined him. He sat for almost three hours before the others joined him. Finnick came in first, and made the deliberate choice to sit as far away as possible, if only so he could stare the boy out whenever it was deemed necessary. Ondine was to his left, and Mags to his right. They smiled, but stayed silent. They all did.

     Kis left him clothes for training. They were stretchy, and fairly loose, which made him more comfortable. He wouldn't look so small in comparison to some of the other Districts. It seemed that Clough was doing the opposite for Ondine. She was skintight, and nimble.

Soon enough, Finnick explained what would be happening in their short time ahead. There would be three days of training before their intimate session with the Gamemakers. They would have half an hour in private to see just what odds he would be given later on. It was a sickening idea.

     Before they left their floor, Rio washed again. He scrubbed his face until it was red, brushed his teeth until his gums ached, and made sure his hair was in place. No doubt, Finnick would say it looked wrong no matter what he did. He was glad that neither mentor went with them.

     Calliope and Ondine were already waiting by the lift for him, and when he joined them, they went straight down. His breath halted momentarily as they moved, and he wasn't sure how to continue. Rio remembered soon enough, and carried on, tapping his nails against the side of his leg in the hope that they could get out of the confined space sooner rather than later.

The rooms were below ground level, like a basement of sorts. As soon as the doors opened, it seemed like they were in the spotlight, despite there only being four other tributes there. They were early. Everything looked cold, and metal, but so refined that Rio couldn't decide where to look. He decided upon the tributes. There was a number pinned onto their training gear, which quickly was attached to his too.

Four.

It was another reminder. Something to say where he was from. Something to define him before he had even begun.

The other tributes were from Districts 2 and 7. Rio recognised the boy from 2 because he was tall and classically handsome. He would have no issues finding sponsors at all. Not if he could fight as well as he looked. Though, his name was lost somewhere in the void of his mind. However, he did remember the boy from 7 as Salix. When they had been shown the reaping tapes, there was something about him. District 7 weren't as popular as the Careers, but they were certainly not supposed to be underestimated.

As they arrived early, it gave Rio the chance to look over the tributes as they arrived, District Ten being the last. Some were tall, some were short, and some were skinny. It was all predictable. He could almost see the orders in which they would die already. Rio would have put himself somewhere in the middle, with Ondine dying long before him. He hoped he was sincerely wrong.

They made a circle around a short woman who made herself known as the head trainer. Her name was Atala, and she seemed nice enough, if not a little strict. Though, there was a lot for them to do over three days as she explained their training schedule.