Rising Rebellion [#3]

Chapter 7 - The Training Session

John was standing by the elevator door, waiting for it to open. Not many minutes passed by before the door eventually opened and held up the rope for her as she came out. When he saw her he was too stunned to think that she had actually done that. He managed to get a look inside the elevator and saw Haymitch with a grin on his face, next to two uncomfortable love-birds. The door closed as Sylvia then wrapped the rope around her waist. “So that’s what you were doing in there?” John then said with a smile on his face. She looked at him with an evil smile. “What? The dress was uncomfortable and they were just standing there with nothing to do. They just helped me take it off.” She said playfully. “Not so sure that was all that happened in there.” John then pointed out.  “Oh my, is my pretty boy, jealous? That’s so sweet!” She said teasing as she kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll go and get into some clothes and meet you for dinner.” She said smiling. “Make sure it actually covers your body.” John then pointed out smiling as he shook his head.

Not long after, she arrived at the table where John and Calliope were already sitting. On several occasions, Sylvia looked over at John who looked at her with a grin on his face. “What are you grinning about?” She then asked as she started eating. “Oh, it’s just refreshing to see you dressed, that’s all.” He said, but had trouble keeping it together. Sylvia smiled lightly. “I’ll have to admit, it was a bit chilly without the outfit, but it was definitely more comfortable.” She then countered with a smile. John shook his head smiling as it stayed quiet for a while.

Calliope hadn’t taken part in the conversation as she wasn’t entirely sure what they were on about, but after a while, she spoke. “So what have you got planned? What are your tactics this year?” She asked as if to take part in a conversation. “Allies…lots and lots of allies…and air-time of course! I bet people will be looking at us because of our allies.” Sylvia answered carelessly. John smiled to himself. “They most definitely will!” John then said in the same tone. “And what about tomorrow, at the training session?” She then asked. She did understand the sense of irony in Sylvia’s voice and directed her question more at John. “I’m guessing we’ll be playing to our strengths this time. There’s no point in hiding them as most of us have seen each other in the Arena.” John answered.

With no one saying anything, Calliope left them to themselves. Apparently they didn’t seem to have much to tell her, but more to each other. “So was I right, about tomorrow?” John then asked her as the silence filled the room. Sylvia seemed to be thinking it through for a little while. “It’s like you pointed out. We all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. There’s no point in hiding it.” She started as she kept on eating. “Hey, perhaps you could shoot it out with ‘the girl on fire’. You could probably teach her a lesson.” Sylvia added. “She’s probably the one to teach me a lesson. I haven’t touched the bow in five years.” John answered humbled. “Relax, honey, I didn’t tell you to outshoot her. Shoot with her, get her talking.” Sylvia then pointed out. “And in the meantime you’ll have fun with the axes? You’ll probably be on your own there to do what you do best: scare the rest and make Katniss distrust you even more.” John then said smiling as he caught her smiling back.

The next morning, they took their time in getting ready for the training session. It started at nine, and it was already 8:45 am. Most of the things they needed to know John and Sylvia already knew so they slept a little extra to feel better rested. At the breakfast table with Calliope, they sat there with all the time in the world. “Today should be interesting.” Sylvia then said as she grabbed another bite. Calliope was sitting there slightly insecure and uncomfortable with her two victor’s relaxed behavior. “It’s nine am…shouldn’t you be getting down there?” She then asked. “Relax, Calliope, nobody will be on time.” Sylvia answered as she took yet another bite. John smiled as he kept to his food and coffee. Another half hour passed by as John and Sylvia noticed that Calliope was getting more and more uncomfortable by the minute. By 9:45, they decided to end her ‘suffering’ and go down to the training center.

“Sylvia and John, I was starting to think you were skipping the session.” Finnick said as he saw them exit the elevator. Sylvia stretched her arms and yawned. “Nah, we just decided to sleep in. I’m guessing a lot of us decided to do that.” John then said as he looked around. There were still a lot of victors that hadn’t shown up. Of course the Careers were here, but from the less known districts, their tributes still weren’t. He then caught eye of Katniss and Peeta.

“They seemed to come down early though.” John said as he looked over at the two from 12. Finnick looked over at them. “Oh yeah, I saw Katniss with Beetee and Wiress not too long ago…” “…Nuts and Volts if you will.” Sylvia complemented. Finnick and John shrugged at her comment. “And then she tried to tie some knots, which I did help her finish, but she didn’t really take a liking to it.” He then added. “She probably doesn’t like that someone can do something that she can’t.” Sylvia said matter-of-factly as she walked towards the axes. “So you didn’t get anything out of her?” John then asked Finnick as they were standing there on their own. “Nothing that I didn’t already know, but maybe Mags can. She’s making hooks with Katniss as we speak.” Finnick answered. “I’ll go join them.” John said as he and Finnick separated.

“So how are we doing on the hooks?” John then asked as he approached them. He knew Mags had suffered a heart-attack not that long ago so she wasn’t able to speak, but she smiled at him as he came up to them. His question was more directed at Katniss. He noticed her holding back as she didn’t trust him. Mags then got the hook finished and showed it to him. “That is a very well-crafted hook, Mags. You are a true magician when it comes to making these.” John said before he turned to Katniss. “You can’t fool me, Katniss. I can see that you’re not entirely trusting me or my District-partner…I think you met her in the elevator last night.” John said with a slight grin on his face. “Yeah, we met her in the elevator. I think you know she did more than just meet us.” Katniss answered quite sarcastically. John nodded smiling. “I probably should’ve given you a heads-up about that. I was told to wait with a robe on our floor.” John answered.

“So I don’t know if you’ve spoken to your…uhm, fiancée about it, but my offer as an ally still stands. You can take your time to decide obviously. I don’t really want to compete with you to get to the bow. You have a fair advantage on me.” John then said hinting to his artificial leg. Katniss noticed it and then looked over at Sylvia practicing with the axe. She still had a good handle on that thing. “Does that alliance automatically include your District-partner?” She then asked. “An alliance with me? Yes, it does include her. It always will, ‘girl on fire’. You two just got off on the wrong foot back in 7. I think you two are very much alike.” John then added. Katniss shrugged. He could tell she didn’t think the same. He glanced over at the bow-station. “How about a round with the bow, 12? We’ll see who the better archer is?” John then suggested. She thought it through for a quick second, but John figured she had to have been dying to get over to that station. “Okay, fine.” She said.

John, as the gentleman he was, allowed for Katniss to start off. She went straight on to moving targets as she was comfortable enough with the bow. As she hit one target after the other, the others soon stopped what they were doing at their stations and turned to watch her shoot. Her technique with the bow was very similar to John’s. As he kept on watching, he knew there was no way he was going to do it better than her. He was rusty. He put the bow back in its place and quiver, and then just stood there and watched.

Towards the end of the ‘show’, even Sylvia came over to watch. Even though she would never admit it to any living creature, she was actually impressed. She bumped over at John. “Looks like you’ve got some competition, big shot.” She said with a teasing smile on her face. Katniss looked over at them as the session was over. The rest parted ways as she came to the door to give the bow to John. He declined it. “Well, aren’t you going to show me what you’re good for?” She then asked. John grabbed the bow first, but didn’t get ready to enter the room. “There’s nothing I can do better than what you just did in there, 12. Still, consider my offer. I can handle more than just the bow, you know.” John pointed out as he walked towards the elevator now that the session was over.