#training36

What were North and Dotev talking about together? I wondered. Were they sorting out alliances? Were the other tributes already allying with each other? At this rate I was going to be left with nothing and nobody. 

I pulled myself up onto the lowest branch and stood up to grab the next one. 

Why had North put her arm around my shoulders this morning? Was it a tactic? Did she actually care about me or was she just trying to get into my head? Or was she trying for an alliance...?

I pulled my leg over the next branch and reached for one just barely out of my armspan. I jumped and grabbed the branch with my hands and pulled my body up using the muscles in my arms. 

She had begun to treat me the way I had always felt an older sister would. I bit my lip. She had hinted that she missed home and that I reminded her of her little sister. Maybe she was being genuine? Maybe she simply needed a little family to get her through until she could unleash in the arena? 

I spent a minute working to catch my breath and then looked up, realizing the next branch was too far above me to jump and reach. Instead I headed for the trunk and gripped tightly onto it, starting to shimmy my way up until I could reach it. 

The rest of the branches above me would be too weak to support my weight, I decided, so I made my way down to the forest floor. The trainer was done by then, so I approached her and asked for help with building a shelter. 

What about Dotev? She seemed to like me. But liking me didn't mean she wouldn't aim to rip my throat out if it meant her own survival. Or did she want me on her team? At this point it seemed I had made more enemies than friends. Zachary definitely wouldn't want me, nor would Kyera. Mondo was cool, but he had all but disappeared from the training center. 

I followed the trainer's instructions in bending the branches and creating a netting with the more flexible ones, covering it with leaves and bark. The supports would consist of more substantial sticks and logs tall enough to fit me while I slept. The trainer showed me different tactics to help disguise the shelter in the woods. 

God knew Arland probably wouldn't help me. He didn't talk to me much after the first impressions on the train. I probably overwhelmed him with my first impressions. And Lizzie didn't seem impressed by me either. For all I knew, I was probably alone going into the arena. 

The trainer moved on to tracking, how to tell in the soil and leaves if a tribute had stepped there earlier. She began to explain that a more concealed footprint meant it had probably been more time since another person had stepped there. I would need to look for fresher tracks.

But oh, had I wanted a sister for the longest time. My friends at home were awesome, and on occasion we would call each other sisters, but none of them looked out for me unconditionally the way that sisters were supposed to. North hadn't asked for anything in return when she offered to train me in hand-to-hand combat. 

The trainer began quizzing me on the different tracks, asking which ones were human and which were animal, and I went about fifty/fifty on my picks. In truth, I wasn't paying very much attention. Human or animal, either way if I played my cards right, I wouldn't go hungry. 

I wanted North as a sister more than anything, especially because I missed Callius so much. But I couldn't stand to lose a sister, and either way one or both of us was going to die. I didn't want to go through that, not ever. And that was why I had to stay distant. 

The lifeguard told me to jump in as I approached the side, to which I answered with a stern "hell no." They weren't getting rid of me that quickly, I was determined of that. He stood in the water, waiting for me, and assured me that he would catch me when I entered the pool, but I chose the safe way. 

Despite the lifeguard's insisting that going in one bit at a time was just going to make me cold, I had to know that he wasn't going to let me drown, so I held tightly onto the edge as I slowly edged myself into the water. It was cold, but it was safe. 

The lifeguard began by teaching me how to float on my back, leaning his head back and filling his lungs with air so that his whole body lifted to the surface. He held my shoulders as I did the same, almost going down a few times before finally managing to hold myself afloat. 

"This is something you do if you get stuck in a current or can't paddle your way to shore," he instructed me. I nodded and practiced a couple more times before I was sure I got the hang of it. 

"Ok," he said. "Now grab onto the wall and kick your legs in the water."

I did as he told me and my lower half began to rise to the top. He held them down and then grabbed my waist. 

"Hey!" I snipped. "Hands off!" But he held his hands around my waist and told me to flap my arms like a bird under the water. Irritated, I did as he told me. He then taught me to do both the kicking and flapping motions together and by the time I had managed both, he had left my side and I was holding myself up in the water. 

"There," he said matter-of-factly. "Now unless you want to become a professional, I think you've got the basics down. You're treading water, so all you need to do is propel yourself forward and you're doggy-paddling. Do you want to know anything else?"

“Right this way,” she says, leading me over to a small area filled with various natural resources.

“Try it on your own first. Then, I’ll help you,” she states firmly. I’m left to my own devices, slowly piecing together my basic knowledge of energy and friction, giving me some remote idea of how to possibly start up a fire with only resources found in nature.

I start off by gathering the things that I know for sure I’ll need. I snatch up a few dry sticks, some larger logs, and a collection of stones. I dig at the earth with my hands, tearing some grass out of the ground. I then surround this area with the stones before laying down the wood. Taking two sticks, I begin to rub them against each other in hopes of creating a spark, but I have no such luck. The trainer sees me struggling and comes over to me. “You’ve gotten down most of the basics, but there are a few things you’ve forgotten,” she calculates while examining my attempt at a fire.

“You need to gather tinder,” she states.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“Anything that’s thin and dry, like brush and dead grass,” she responds.

“Any other mistakes?” I question.

“The formation of the wood is off, but we’ll take care of that when you get back from gathering tinder,” she says.

I go off in search of this tinder, gathering up things like dead leaves, dead grass, and brush. Returning to her, I bear a large pile of tinder. “Good,” she murmurs, “now sit.

I obey her orders, sitting down in front of the pile of wood. After picking up all of the sticks and logs, she instructs me to put the tinder down, within the circle formed by the rocks.

“Now grab two sticks and quickly rub them against each other near the tinder. Make sure that one stands vertically in it and another runs horizontally against it,” the trainer instructs.

I do as she says, but see no result.

“Faster,” she commands.

I rub the sticks together even faster, my hands aching as the rough bark chafes at my skin. Out of nowhere, a wisp of gray smoke curls up from the tinder. I continue to create friction, and soon, a flame appears.

“Place the sticks down and start gathering the logs. Put them together in a teepee formation over the growing fire and gather more wood and tinder after doing so,” she orders.

I hastily make the teepee formation above the growing flame before going off to fins some more tinder and wood. I return, feeding the hungry flame of the fire. It continues to grow, throwing off hazy smoke into the training center.

“Very good. You’ll be all set in the arena if you need to make a fire and the available resources permit it,” she says.

“Thanks,” I say.

“You’re welcome. And take a look at this booklet. It shows other ways to build a fire,” she suggests. I take the booklet, reading up on alternate options for building a fire. Once I finish, I decide to cook some meat. I’ve cooked before, so the concept isn’t a foreign one for me.

I take a chunk of meat out of the fridge, bringing it over to my fire. I hold it over the flame using a stick, watching as the meat becomes blackened. When I deem it ready to be consumed, I take a bite out of it. While it is a bit charred by the fire and not very good, it’s edible, and that’s all that’ll matter in the arena.