Lily Juniper Abernathy: The daughter of an alcoholic victor (book 1)

Training to kill

I sat on the ground in the training room. I was just sat there: what was the point? I wanted to be home with my dad. Not here watching people throw weapons around.

"Hey roadkill." Finnick sang sitting beside me with a knife.

He didn't look like the Finnick I knew with that.

"Put the knife down."

He shrugged "Okay- why aren't you kicking ass with everyone else?"

"Because I can't even walk right?"

He sighed and dragged me up

"FINNICK BACK OFF!"

"No-" He handed me a knife "Throw it."

"I'm not going to throw it."

He pinned me to the floor "Stab me?"

"NO! LET ME UP!"

"Well, what are you going to do if this is a life or death situation?"

"Let you kill me because you have me pinned to the freaking ground!"

"We pinned each other to the ground when we were kids, so?"

"That's when we were kids Finnick not now!"

"Okay." He got hold of my head and pushed it back so the floor was exerting pressure onto myself.

I screeched "GET OFF ME!"

"FIGHT BACK THEN! FLIPPING DEFEND YOURSELF!"

I grabbed my walking stick and whacked him around the head with it. He chuckled rubbing his head a little before pinning me again. We barrel rolled entwined with each other both struggling to pin the other to the floor laughing with every turn. I pinned him to the ground and he muttered "Show off?" He tickled me under the arm until I collapsed on top of him.

"ROAR!" Rosie yelled hurtling towards us, tucking the weight she was carrying into her chest and diving on Finnick's back. The weight fell

"OWWW!" I yelped. A popping noise came from my left knee. Great- a dislocated knee was really what I needed right now.

I took the knife, clamped it in my mouth, scrunched up my eyes, and forced my knee back into it's socket.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW UN-SAFE THAT IS?" A captiol medical attendant yelled

I shrugged "It's got to at least get me a 2 right? Being able to fix my own broken bones?"

He stormed off, muttering something that involved the words "Haymitch's daughter- typical."

I grinned and was eager to shout "Yup that's me!" But I decided against it with my mother's kind of judgement.

"Anyway, back on the subject- I refuse to do any training to teach me how to kill people thanks?"

I was sat on the side reading a history book on the relbelion when Finnick approached me again two hours later

"Lil, please can you try and do something?"

"No."

"They have facilities here they don't have in 12- you could at least go back with stronger legs?" He offered me his hand "Come on, I'll put these weapons away and help you."

I nodded "Alright?"

He didn't help me in the end. He was stood talking and flirting with a girl. I'm not jealous. Me and Finnick tried having a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship but it ended mutually- we had more of relationship as friends. I'm just annoyed because he did say he'd help me and he knows I don't like her. Pfft, I don't know who Zanna Mason thinks she is!

I was sitting on the steps at the side of the balance beam. She smirked as I picked up my stick- Ha, I'd show her I wasn't an easy target just coz of my legs. My dad won this thing with his intestines hanging out so she shouldn't underestimate me. I stood at the start of the beam and threw my stick to the bottom of the steps. I started slowly putting my first foot on the bar. I raised my arms and took a deep breath. I took a few wobbly steps and I could feel her narrowed eyes and grin burn me. I wobbled and tumbled off onto the crash mat below. I could hear her and her fellow tribute- I'll call him smudge- laughing at me. Finnick picked me up and dragged me up the steps

"Come on." He said angrily gesturing to the beam

"What?"

"Try again."

"Why? I'll fall!"

"To prove those idiots wrong." He demanded

"No, I'll fall off."

"I'll cross it with you."

I snapped then "No! Make me!"

"Well, I didn't have you down as a person who gives up Lil, didn't realise you were a wuss?" He turned to face me directly "Capitol must've got to you?"

"Don't even say that." I hissed

"Well, cross the beam."

I took a deep breath and started walking. I wobbled and Finnick grabbed my arm to steady me "Carry on." He said firmly letting go of me in that same second. I ...walked...and...walked until I found myself weirdly on the opposite platform. I couldn't believe it. I took a second to study how high I was and drop-rolled to the ground, landing perfectly crouched. At least this was something. Finnick handed me a knife "At least promise me you'll try?"

I nodded "Okay." I threw the knife at the target and hit the post it was stuck on.

"Yay." I cheered sarcastically

He chuckled "We'll try a different weapon Lil?"

"I know, we could spar with each other and you could try out different weapons? Since your captiol blood probably isn't helping you?" A voice chirped- Oh yay, my favourite person. She smiled at me- I'd seen her smile that way at Annie, Finnick's mom before and I didn't like it. Smudge chuckled shaking his head at me. I decided I didn't like him either.

Finnick just tried to be everybody's friend as usual- "Fancy it Lil?"

I nodded "Yeah ok."

Another Capitol training assistant directed us to a boxing ring at the far hand side of the room

"Choose your weapon!" She sang

Finnick passed me a long sword as she selected a set of small knives. What was she going to do with knives so small? Maybe that was something I would simply find out. She started flicking them at me- not even throwing them- and yet I floundered and almost got stabbed at least three times.

"Zanna wins, next round." Finnick muttered, flicking through the book I was reading

"LILY!" Rosie yelled. I heard her footsteps across the floor "Use this it's like your stick but with a pointy bit on the end?"

It was a spear. I was about to decline the spear as walking and fighting were not the same thing but little kids have this thing with me where I cannot disappoint them. She handed it to me.

"Okay, I'll try it?"

"YAY!" She sat beside Finnick to watch as she twirled an arrow round and round in her hand like it was a cheerleading baton. I smiled- The little show off. The spear was thin and long- what good would I be with this? Then I realised, I could try and defend myself like Finnick had said.

She threw the first knife and I ducked slightly- It just missed the top of my head. She threw the second and I flicked the spear up shutting my eyes tight. I heard a clunk and we both froze: I twisted it round and the blade was stuck in it.

"YEAH! GO LILY! WOOOO!" Rosie cheered encouraging Finnick to do a two-person mexican wave with her. As I laughed a knife flew past Rosie's head just missing it.

"She could've been dead then and it would've been your fault Lily- what would your dad s- oh that's right- he's too drunk to even care about you."

Finnick's jaw dropped and I held my grip on the spear tighter- how dare she: "This round isn't over yet?"

She hurtled a knife towards me. I battered it out of the way and charged towards her. I didn't get chance to touch her because one of the Capitol trainers dragged us apart.