𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙤𝙡, 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙊𝙙𝙖𝙞𝙧

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 6: 𝒫𝓊𝓉 𝑜𝓃 𝒶 𝒮𝒽𝑜𝓌

The final day of training is over. It's been three days of intense training, yet Raven can't help but feel as if she isn't prepared, or hasn't tried hard enough. It is now the day of the evaluation, and the interviews will happen the next day. Bronx claims to have a surprise in store but Raven, but even his goofiness can't bring up her spirits right now. 

        "Oi," Opal snaps her fingers in front of Raven's face, bringing her back from her daydream. "Are you listening? Actually wait-" she holds out a hand, "of course you aren't. I was just giving you some tips on getting sponsors and how to get a high training score. Nothing big, just something that can save your life in the arena," she deadpans with a sarcastic expression playing on her face. 

        "Sorry," Raven mumbles. 

        Opal doesn't acknowledge her apology and starts over again, much to her own annoyance. "I was saying to make sure they remember you. You two are district 6, and by the time they make it to 4, they're all drunk and bored. They expect good performances from the career districts only." She points her finger accusingly at both Raven and Ronan. "You two are going to prove them wrong. Make sure you don't miss with your throwing knives, Raven. And Ronan, cut up a few moving targets with your axe, that should get em watching," she says at the end, mostly to herself. 

        "What was your training score?" Ronan blurts out. He is curious, as no matter how hard he thinks, he can't remember Opal's games, and just knows about her presence because of her brutality. 

        "A 10." Opal doesn't say it with pride, but rather disgust. "They have people there in case the skill they want to present is hand to hand combat, and that is what I did. I got lucky, I wouldn't recommend it because the gamemakers like to see more blood," she finishes at the end with a staggering silence that follows. "Raven, you're the youngest tribute out of everyone. They are always slightly more lenient with scoring because they usually just sit there and cry. Use that to your advantage. The highest score ever earned by a twelve year old was an eight. Try breaking that, and you'll have a record under your name." 

       "Will you be teaching us more combat tomorrow?" 

        "Of course. In fact, after you two finish training, I'll be giving you some tips and then you two will be on your own," Opal says oh so casually while taking a puff of her cigarette. 

        The next morning, Raven is the first to wake up. No surprise there. She goes to the dining room, and is happy to see food once again. She picks up a plate and goes up to the avox, there is only one this time around. Raven always greets the avoxes good morning, she figures they don't get much human interaction, and it must drive them crazy. "Good morning!" She wishes in her most cheerful voice. The avox turns around hesitantly and the plate in Raven's hand drops onto the ground and shatters, just like her mind at the moment. 

        No... It can't be. Raven feels as if all the air around her has disappeared. Her ears begin to ring as her entire structure collapses. She is too frozen in anger and shock to even register that her knees are on the broken glass, bleeding, and the avox is helping her up. Death would've been better for her, she thinks. Instead they cut off her tongue. 

        "Mom..." she almost cries out. She looks up at the woman who is cleaning up her knees, and then the glass on the floor. "They didn't kill you," she says in realization. Her mom pauses and looks up and gives a subtle nod. "Death would've been more merciful," she mutters. Her mother stands up and quickly wipes away a tear from her eye. Raven gets up and immediately engulfs her mom in a hug. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. "We miss you so much, Robin and I." Her mom instantly forgets her role as the perfect maid and hugs her back.