Everglow ➳ F. ODAIR

Chapter Nine

To say the least, the day's training did not go well. At all. That is the conclusion that Ebony gets to, as she heads toward the training room. Once again Kyanite insisted on another private training session before dinner. He did not even give her a chance to decline.

"Come on, Porcupine!" Kyanite calls out in the small, plain training room. Ebony sighs, closing the door and mentally preparing herself for the hell she is about to endure. "We don't have all day. Rubs is gonna kill me if we're late for dinner."

Reluctantly, Ebony holds herself back from arguing with the older man. She knows that it will cause more problems later. Which category, the girl is not sure. Yet, knows that she does not want to find out.

As she stands across from him, Ebony realizes that he is holding something behind his back. Raising his eyebrows at her fatigued appearance, Kyanite moves his hands out in front of him. In them sits the weapon he had suggested she use on her first night.

Taking the whip into her hands, Ebony tiredly looks it over. Running her fingers along the leather rope, she takes in the simplicity of its design. At the end of the silver threaded weapon's handle sits the head of a snake with sharp fangs sticking out. In the worst-case scenario, she could use the decoration as another weapon against the tributes.

"Hey, wake up, Porcupine." Kyanite scolds, snapping her out of her trance. Shaking her head for a few seconds, the girl tightens her grip on the handle, before whipping it through the air. The end of the weapon wraps around the dummy's neck, slicing the head clean off.

"Now, that's how you do it!" her mentor exclaims, clapping his hands together excitedly. "And I didn't have to tell you how to hold it properly either! That's a win-win!"

Ebony simply stares in shock at the dummy before looking down at her weapon. In awe, the young tribute feels a sense of confidence in her abilities. Before coming to the Capitol, she believed that she would be the first to die in the arena. But now, she has a good chance of winning.

"Can I try again?" Ebony asks, excitement evident in her tone.

Letting out a light chuckle at her enthusiasm, Kyanite nods encouragingly. Taking a deep breath, her face hardens in concentration, as she steps back into position. Raising the whip back into the air, the girl aims it at the next dummy, before throwing the tip of it forward. Once again, the whip wraps around the object's neck, cleanly snapping off the head. As the dummy head rolls around on the floor, Ebony lets out a loud gasp in astonishment.

"What did I say, Porcupine?" her mentor wonders, chuckling in amusement. "All we had to do was find something you're good at. You could win this!"

Ebony smiles for a moment, beginning to frown at the whip in her hands.

"What's wrong, Ebony?" he questions, now concerned about the girl's actions. She hands the weapon back to her mentor, letting out a loud sigh.

"Will this even be in the arena, Kyanite?" She asks, looking up at him in concern. "I haven't seen a whip in the training center."

"Of course, it'll be there." Kyanite confirms immediately, sighing and shaking his head. "It's more of a, uh, safety precaution. All of the weapons will be there in the private scoring, but never when there's more than one tribute in the training room."

"That's stupid." Ebony mutters. Deep down though, she knows that he's not wrong.

"And besides, if for some reason it doesn't show up in the arena, you can get it through sponsorships." the mentor details, crossing his arms across his chest. "That's how last year's winner got his trident."

Ebony nods her head, taking in the information. Sensing her anxiety slipping away, Kyanite places the whip on a nearby table.

"So, just do what I did today to the Gamemakers?" Ebony reiterates to the man. He nods his head, confirming her statement. "And what if there's not a whip?"

"That's why we're gonna try one more weapon." he explains, stepping over to the weapons and picking up a set of daggers. The girl hesitantly nods her head, as he places the daggers into her hands.

Turning toward the next dummy, she aims at it, before throwing one of the weapons into its chest. Widening his eyes in shock, Kyanite jumps up and down excitedly. Ebony jumps at his reaction, trying to calm herself. Shifting her attention between the dummy and her mentor, she shakes her head in denial.

"That's just a fluke." Ebony tells herself, while Kyanite gestures for her to throw another dagger. Sighing, Ebony picks up another knife, before aiming and throwing it into the dummy's head this time.

"Yes, Porcupine!" she hears from behind her. Turning around to face the man, she raises an eyebrow in amusement. "I'd say you're gonna kill the scoring session."

Hearing this, Ebony smiles at her mentor. While she had done horrendous in the group training sessions, she thrived at this. As Ruby said, all she had to do was find something she is good at.

"Thanks, Kyanite."