Waves Crashing (Finnick Odair)

Training Room

The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring

The eternal note of sadness in.

-Dover Beach, Matthew Arnold

@RandomFandoms303 SAM IS HERE

I felt naked. 

The training room was large, and very few tributes were gathered. I shuffled to the gathering group, keeping my breathing steady. 

All of the careers other than Silas were gathered. They spoke amongst themselves, their voices reflecting the privilege they thought they had. I could tell that in their minds, they had already won. 

Perhaps they had already won; who knew? The outcome of the Hunger Games depended on so many variables. The variables that I would be studying and manipulating as much as I could. 

I reminded myself of this, plastered a smile on my face, and began walking to them. They probably wouldn't see me as an ally. I hadn't gotten much attention at the Tribute's Parade, but they might see me as a pawn to sacrifice early in the game. Perhaps I could use that to my advantage?

I strode over to the first career I saw, the boy from One. He had his nose upturned to the rest of the tributes. He was extraordinarily handsome but had an air about him that made him unattractive. 

"So," I stood next to him, looking at the rest of the careers, "Who're you going for first?"

A scoff, "None of your buisness.'

"Maybe not,"  I paused, "I think that the girl from Seven looks annoying. I may start with her."

"You'd kill her just because she looks annoying?" 

"Why not?"

He laughed, "I like you. I'm Augustus Braun. And you are?"

"Odessa Blackburn," a sly smile spread across my face, "It's a pleasure."

Augustus nodded. "Yeah. I'll see you in training, tidbit."

Tidbit? I shivered. Did he see me as food?

I cleared my head, thinking only of the initial evaluation. He was cocky, vicious, and opened up to others far too quickly. He was muscular, his bicep being the size of my head. He was also from One and trained until lethal. I needed to watch out for him. Overall, he was all brawn, no brain. Even so, Capitol would swoon for him. He, no doubt, would have many sponsors. 

Next was the girl from One. She hadn't said a word to the other tributes so far; her face remained stoic. 

I walked to her hesitantly. Maybe talking to her would get me on her bad side. With this logic, I talked myself out of speaking with her. I would do that later. 

The next career I needed to talk to was the boy from Two. His name was Cornelius, and he was exactly like Augustus, though a bit dumber. 

The Girl from Two, whose name was Diana, was rude and angry, not because of the games, but because she was just a crappy person in general. At least, that's what Cornelius told me.