My victory, my freedom

Caterina nodded at the boy’s, and so did Dylan. The couple were good as a team, seeing as they could have eye conversations in a flash. When Titas said he and Glint were going to stay upstairs, Dylan seemed to get a little more comfortable. He had been a little worried about them trying to kill one of them in their sleep, and he knew Caterina thought it too.

Caterina trusted the two boys, but she was still cautious. Glint didn’t seem to happy to see her, or Dylan. This made her wonder why since he seemed content with Titas. What was the difference between her and Titas? She had left the cornucopia because it was stupid to stay. She had grabbed a pack, and left like the others, assuming the careers would follow her. It’s not her fault none of them caught on. 

He then started to whisper to Glint, “It’s about two feet off the floor, on fire and deadly. Looks like some sort of leopard. Our best option would be to flank it.” He then opened the door a bit wider and looked in the room, this time, the leopard was nowhere to be seen. He opened the door a slight bit further, and the leopard jumped from around the corner and tried to attack Titas.

Titas was quick to kick it away, and then pull out his sword and start to circle it. “Glint.. Little help would be greatly appreciated..”

Caterina watched as the two boys went first, and heard what they were saying. Dylan, and her exchanged glances, and knew their plan. Caterina grabbed one of the pots she had gotten, and filled it with snow, and quickly melted it over the fire. She took the sword out of it’s holder, and was ready for battle. Dylan had his spear, and the bowl of water. This was going to be fun. The two rushed in front of the boys into the room. 

Dylan threw his spear at the animal, and doused it in water. It fell to the ground, but was still moving. Caterina swiped her sword, cutting off the head. Figuring that was the end of that, she grabbed the pot, and the two made their way back down the stairs. Caterina had already had an encounter with a beast, that’s why her arm was bandaged up.

They both sat over by the sleeping bag where the fire was, knowing that they would have to leave soon enough. One of their hands were linked together, showing unity. Caterina knew that they would soon overstay their welcome, and have to go. She could understand why Glint was so upset with her for leaving, but Titas had left too, why would he not be angry with him as well?

The creature was cornered in the middle of the room. Titas was circling it and might have hurt it somehow, otherwise it would not have stayed there. However, Glint had a feeling that it was not going to sit still for much longer. He stepped closer and thrust his spear to the leopard's side. The move definitely caused damage but also angered it. As the leopard made a pounce at him, Glint slashed its face with his dagger, causing it to fall back and whimper. Then the pair from Four came through the door and did the rest.

But just then, Titas heard something from upstairs, a low growl of some sorts. Everybody stopped in their places, and grabbed their weapons. Titas passed a screwdriver to Glint so that he wouldn’t just have a dagger, because something told him that this night would be a restless one.

“So, who’s going up first?”

Dylan looked over at Glint, his face was soft. “Let’s not fight.” He said, trying to ignore how terrible this guy seemed. He didn’t quite understand why Caterina was so nice to Glint. Caterina looked over at Glint after Dylan said his words. “Glint, stop. You were fine when it was just me, why has it changed now that Dylan’s here?” Caterina was quite confused as to why he didn’t want Dylan here, Dylan had gotten a score of twelve. 

They both watched as Titas shouted, and Caterina knew that he was faking it. She could read people very well, and he wasn’t on her side. At least she knew where they were as friends. She realized she couldn’t trust him. This upset her slightly, which she did not show, because she had been there for him when he needed someone most, and now he was basically saying that they weren’t friends. 

Caterina grabbed her sword. “I’ll go.” She started walking forwards, but Dylan grabbed her arm, their eyes met, and she knew he would be going first.

For some reason, the surroundings just became a little bit too frustrating for him. It was him that had thrown even more tension the group, he would not deny it, but he was growing tired of the crowd. His expectation of what the career alliance was supposed to be had vanished exactly at the end of the Cornucopia Bloodbath. It was becoming increasingly hard to stay in the same room with his current companions. Titas claimed to be on his side but, even though he truly hoped that it was true, he still felt the need to be on guard at all times.

The growling noise from upstairs was something of both a burden and a relief to Glint. It gave him yet one more thing to worry about, but it pulled him away from his confusion. While the pair from Four was having a muted argument about who should go first, Glint quickly snatched his spear with one hand and his dagger with the other. All of his senses was already tuned in to the new threat. He climbed up the stairs very slowly, careful not to make too much noise, then stopped halway through. Whatever was upstairs was on fire. He could already see the light and feel the warmth.

He then stood up, and leaned on the far wall, opposite the door when he heard a knocking. All three tribute’s heads turned towards the door, and Cat stood up to open it, it was Dylan. Titas’ head quickly spun towards Glint and noticed how tense he had gotten in the past minute.

“Dylan! Hey!” Titas shouted whilst walking over to shake his hand, trying to lighten the mood between them all.

Dylan let go of Caterina fully, and looked over at Titas. He nodded in hello, and smiled. He hand’t meant to lose the other careers, it had just happened. He intertwined his fingers with Caterina’s, and they made their way over to where she had been sitting. They both sat and started talking. 

“I’m sorry I left…… I got lost.” Dylan said to her, removing his eyes from her’s for a moment. “Don’t worry about it.” She said with a smile, just happy that he was there with her. Caterina couldn’t ask for anything more in her whole life. She had the one she loved so close, and it was amazing.

The friendly approach would probably make things easier for everyone. Glint, however, was not capable of that. His pride simply did not allow it. Even if he did not want to initiate a battle right there and then, he was not going to shake Dylan's hand anytime soon. It was all in his power to keep from saying something that would provoke anyone.

He then turned his head towards the window, and The Capitol theme came on. Flashing the faces of all of the fallen Tributes. When Sparks came on, a tear formed in Titas’ eye, and he turned to Terrence. “Yeah, I’m fine thanks..” He forced a smile then turned back to Glint.

“So?..”

Caterina sat by herself in her sleeping bag. She knew they were debating whether or not to kill her, and she hoped they knew that it would be better for them if they didn’t try to kill her. Caterina watched the flashing of the fallen tribute’s faces. She didn’t see Dylan, so she was content. When she looked over to Titas, she saw a small tear form in his eye. That’s right…..he had loved her. She thought to herself.

She couldn’t imagine the feeling he had about losing the girl he had loved. Caterina couldn’t imagine losing Dylan, and honestly hoped he was alright. A knock at the door startled her slightly, she she slid from her sleeping bag. Her hand was on her sword as she made her way to open the door. Caterina opened it slowly, prepared for attack, but all she felt were arms around her. 

The dark sky momentarily brightened as the Capitol seal appeared. Glint glanced at his two companions to check if they were looking at it too. That was when he noticed how glassy Titas' eyes became at the appearance of the girl from District 3. He thought he saw the other male shed a tear, but he was not sure. Why would Titas mourn for one of his kills anyway? Glint directed his focus back to the faces again, gathering that Amelia was alive and so was the boy from Four.

Once inside, Titas slammed the door shut behind Glint, and bolted it. Then turned towards the other two Tributes. They were both still wielding their weapons, so Titas leaned against a wall and then slid down it, sword still in hands. Glint’s brow was creased in concentration, and Cat had a worried look about her. So Titas spoke up, “Calm down you two. We’re going to be in here a while by the looks of it, and I don’t particularly want a dead body in the same room as where I’ll be sleeping. So put your weapons away, sit down and relax. We need to come up with a plan. One that doesn’t involve us fighting to the death. Not yet anyway..” His words trailed off and then he looked at Glint, who wouldn’t lower his weapons until Caterina did.

“Cat.” Titas shouted whilst turning his head towards her. “Even Terrence thinks that you should holster them..” He said whilst nodding his head to the left of him, where Terrence was seated.

When Caterina got into the building, she had gone to the far side of the room. She wasn’t sure if Glint wanted to kill her. She knew Titas didn’t, mostly because they had discussed this, but Glint was a whole different story. She had promised all the careers that she was going to be with them, and she had ran, like she had originally planned. She wanted Dylan to go home. 

Caterina listened to Titas, and slipped her sword into the casing, hoping this would make Glint put his weapon away as well. She sat down on the floor. “I have a large pack, and so do you, plus I found things in that house I was in, we will be fine.” She said simply, looking over at the fireplace. “I have flint, and wood in my pack, so we can stay warm.”

Caterina unzipped her pack, and removed the flint, and wood. She made her way to the fireplace, and placed the wood in there, starting it afire. She watched it burn for a moment. The thought of Dylan was still on her mind, and she was unsure of if she would ever find him again. He was one of the most important people in her life, and he was no where to be found. He didn’t seem to be trying to find her, so maybe it had been all a game for the game makers. She knew this wasn’t true, it couldn’t be. She shook these thoughts from her head, and went back by her back, taking out the sleeping bag, and slipping into it.

It was more than it seemed. At least that was the message that Glint received from the other male career. Titas wanted to talk about Caterina, which meant that there was something to discuss after all.

Caterina put away her sword just as Titas had instructed and Glint slowly laid his spear and dagger on the floor. It became quiet for a moment, but then Caterina spoke, shattering the awkwardness. Glint was almost thankful she did. One minute afterwards the fireplace was already glowing. Glint settled down next to the fire, immersing in the heat. It was nice, to say the least, after spending the day out in the snow. He took off his goggles and gloves, then held his hand out to unfreeze.

"They should reveal the fallen tributes soon," Glint said, noticing that the sunlight penetrating through the windows was slowly dimming.

Glint looked puzzled for a moment, but then he told Titas they would need supplies. “I agree, that should be our next target. Then we should hunt.” Titas replied back to him.

He then turned, and saw the figure at the exact moment that Glint did, and as both boys were walking towards it, Titas whispered to Glint. “Don’t do anything you might regret Glint. She could be a useful ally..” Titas then tied his spear to his bag, and then started to swing his sword around in one hand. “Hey Cat, fancy seeing you here.” He said with a wink and one more twirl of the sword before she piped up.

Caterina gave Glint a dark look. “Somewhere in the arena.” She wasn’t going to let Glint talk about Dylan, she didn’t want to talk about him. “Hey Titas.” A smile formed on her face. She happened to like the company of Titas. 

Her thoughts wandered to what she was going to do. Her sword was still in her hand, dried blood on the blade. She was ready for battle. She was right not to show all the things she could do when she was in the training arena. Little did eveyone know, she was a great gymnast. The sword hung from her hand, and her eyes were on them both. 

“So, are we going to fight, or be allies….” She said trailing off a bit at a huge rumble. Caterina turned quickly, and saw snow rapidly coming down the mountain. “Get inside!” She said running to the building the two boys had just come out of. She had already experienced the damage of this snow once, she didn’t need to do it again.

The shift in Titas' attitude was a bit unexpected, given that he had been the one to doubt Caterina back in the Capitol. It looked like he had changed his mind. Not that Glint was planning to attack the girl of course, unless she wanted to fight. She almost seemed like she did at the mention of her district partner. They had not found each other, that much was clear, as clear as the irritation that she showed.

Glint was about to voice an answer, but was cut off by the rumbling sound and Caterina telling them to get inside. She bolted right into a building nearby. Glint took one look at the approaching avalanche before following the other two tributes inside.

All the whiteness around was still bothersome to an extent, but he was adjusting to it quite well. He looked around, trying to find inspiration to formulate a plan for both himself and Titas. Unfortunately there was not much to look at, only buildings and then more snow. He tried to remember all of the things that training had taught him. What was the first steps that he was supposed to take in the Arena? Secure the Cornucopia. He had done that, he had secured an empty Cornucopia. What was he supposed to secure at the Cornucopia?

So far, Titas seemed set to carry on with the alliance. It made Glint think of the other careers that he had not seen ever since the bloodbath. Even his district partner had disappeared. The pair from Four was probably playing house in one of the buildings as they spoke.

By the end of his walk round the room, he had a hammer, two screwdrivers, some old nuts and bolts, a set of spanners and a set of allen keys. He was happy with his findings, and then went to the window, looking for a way out of the building, because the floor downstairs had fell, and there was no way back. To his luck there was a ramp of snow under the window, and he just slipped out of the window and landed safely on the town’s floor.

Titas had come up with several ideas up until that night, he had even done what the other tributes did not dare do; threaten Glint. It had been made clear that he was creative and fearless. But the plan he just came up with was the craziest one by far. It struck Glint even more than the request to let the girl from Eleven be. He was obviously not afraid to have to fight the other careers, Glint being no exception.

It took quite a while before he could answer. "That's... crazy," he said bluntly. "You do realise that it means more time spent with the pair from Four, right? And to be honest, I don't think we'll be able to hold the ground." Tension would rise among careers with the decreasing number of tributes, so they would most likely try to kill each other before they became the only ones left. The career alliance had been known to crumble faster than alliances made by tributes of the outline.