Fiore's Games

Training Day Three

Today was the last day of training.

Over the last two days, Levy had gotten better at handing herself in hand-to-hand combat situations and could handle a weapon. Somewhat. She knew how to use it, the general basics, but she was in no way skilled like the others. She figured she would do best sticking with her skills of running fast and hiding in small places. Sometimes her small stature was a good thing. Tensions were high today. The training for the day would end early and all the tributes would sit in a room, waiting to be called in for individual evaluation. Every tribute would be evaluated from one to twelve, twelve being the best. A higher number could mean more sponsors and their lifesaving gifts.

Levy and Gajeel spent the day honing new skills. They needed all the practice with edible plants and weaponry they could get. It could mean life or death in merely a few days. Gajeel felt confident for his individual evaluation, but Levy was mildly freaking out. She had no idea what skills to show. She wasn't good at anything you could really show.

Finally, the Gamemakers announced training was closed and everyone was ushered into a side room. One by one, district by district, the amount of people in the room went down. Gajeel would go before her, leaving her completely alone for several minutes. They had become sort of friends, allies for the arena, over the past few days. "Gajeel Redfox, District Twelve." An announcer said. He glanced at the bluenette next to him and patted her knee.

"You'll be fine. You got real good with that knife, show that off." He offered. Only silence met his comment and he sighed, getting up and going into the training room to be judged.

Time crawled by as she waited to be called. She was about to get up and start pacing due to nerves when they finally summoned her. "Levy McGarden, District Twelve." She stood, her legs suddenly feeling like jelly as she walked to the door and went into the training center. The Gamemakers told her what she already knew: she could use any of the things in the Training Center to show off any skill of her choice, and that she would be judged from one to twelve. She took a deep, steadying breath and looked around at what she had at her disposal.

She went to the weapon stand and grabbed three of the smaller knives meant for throwing. She threw them, one after another, at a target. She didn't hit the center once, but did get closer. She heard a snicker and glanced up at the Gamemakers. Most were paying no attention and the rest were amused by her sad attempt. This was her life on the line! She dragged out a dummy and threw three more knives at it, nailing one in the chest. The laughing stopped, but now they were distracted by a roast pig that came out for them to eat. Frustrated with their lack of attention, she scaled a rope hanging down from the ceiling with a knife carefully balanced in her grip. She started to move her body, causing the rope to swing back and forth, until she had a good momentum.

"Hey!" She shouted. Her time was nearly up anyways. A few glanced at her just as she got enough momentum to throw the knife at them as she jumped from the rope. It embedded itself in the wall, missing all the people, but gaining a lot of attention. She hit the ground in a roll, standing up with a huff. She just stared at them for a moment before stalking out of the room.

Back in the penthouse, Levy started to freak out. Why had she done that? Surely there will be a punishment for throwing a deadly weapon at the Gamemakers. "Hey Shrimp, how'd it go?" Gajeel asked her when he saw her, but she ignored him, making a beeline for the roof. Once she reached it, she exhaled a little. The fresh air did her some good as she laid flat on her back, staring at the sky as it slowly turned to dusk. Gajeel came out and tried to start a conversation with her.

"Shh. Just... shh. Shut up. I don't want to talk about it. If you want to be up here, then lay with me and shut up." She told him when he tried to get her to talk. Gajeel did just that, laying next to her with his arms behind his head. They stayed there in companionable silence until the sun went down. Levy pushed herself up, her stomach growling. She wanted to eat, and she knew they would be announcing scores soon. "Hey, Gajeel." She turned to find him asleep.

He didn't seem as terrifying when he was asleep. His hard features that were usually in a glare or a smirk were softer, kinder. He looked like he was at peace. She almost didn't want to disturb him. "Wake up, Gajeel." She shoved his side and he opened one eye lazily.

"What?"

"The suns gone down. We should eat. They'll announce scores soon too. C'mon." She stood up and held out a hand to him. He grabbed it and actually used her to get up, making her stumble since he was stronger and larger than her. She fell into him and blushed darkly, jumping back quickly. "Um... c'mon." She mumbled, hurrying inside.

Evergreen and Makarov were waiting for them at the dinner table. "Well, there you two are! My goodness, disappearing like that all evening." Evergreen admonished.

"How'd the sessions go?" Makarov asked.

Levy decided to finally reveal the mistake she made, and retold the entire story. Evergreen was shocked by her actions, but both Makarov and Gajeel laughed. Makarov nearly fell out of his chair from laughter. "Oh! I would have paid money to see the look on their stupid faces!" He howled.

"This is not funny! She has probably ruined her chances for sponsors!" Evergreen snapped over the ruckus. Dinner was served finally and tensions died down. Levy felt a little better about what she did.

The TV was showing the talk show that everyone watched in Fiore, meaning scores were soon to be announced. It was run by Ichiya, a flamboyant man with flaming red hair and always in an immaculate white suit. He seemed to sparkle, literally. He and his co-host made small talk before announcing the scores. Levy tuned them all out, except 11. The boy from 11 got a seven and the young girl got an eight. "Gajeel Redfox. Now, he looks like he could hold his own. Maybe he's even a winner?" Ichiya laughed. "He received a score of eight."

Makarov clapped a hand on his back. "Not a bad score at all." He laughed heartily.

"Levy McGarden. She looks like a tiny thing, but apparently she can impress because she received a score of ten!"

Levy was shocked, to say the least. Evergreen cheered excitedly and Gajeel and Makarov looked proud of her. She smiled at them and they spent the rest of the evening chatting and relaxing before everyone retired to their respective rooms.

Levy changed into more comfortable clothes to sleep in before climbing into the soft bed. The long, stressful day made her so exhausted she fell asleep almost as soon as she hit the pillow, a dream on her mind.