Liberosis - The Hunger Games

08

Dinner was strangely silent following our first day of training, I couldn't place a finger on why everything seemed so awkward until I noticed Finnick glaring harshly in Thorn's direction. I wasn't sure what had happened between them but I was too afraid to ask for the time being, a fork was just a mini trident and we all knew just how lethal Finnick could be with one of those.

"So," Sylvia attempts to cut the tension around the table, I'm thankful for her attempts to soften the uncomfortable air- while fruitless, her intentions were still appreciated. "How was your first day of training?"

"Good," Thorn nods, "Clovis thinks I'll make a good ally in the arena,"

"Oh, is that what Clovis thinks," Finnick muses sourly, "Tell me, Thorn, what did Clovis think when you directly disobeyed an order?"

"You can't force me to do anything," Thorn snaps at him, fist clenched tightly around his knife.

"You gave me your word," My best friend seethes back, I watch him try to stand up but Mags pushes him back into his chair. This mealtime seems to be getting even more uncomfortable by the second, Thorn glances down at his plate with a guilty expression on his face. I don't know what they mean when they talk about a promise, it seems like neither of them wants me to know because when Finnick meets my eyes he changes the topic completely, "Rory, did you meet anyone nice in there? Any worthy allies?" He prompted.

I place my cup down in front of me and answered his question, "The two from District Twelve, Beck and Elsie,"

"Seriously?" Thorn snorts, "Beck has the body of a noodle and Elsie turned Twelve on the day of the reaping, what are they going to do?"

"For your information, Beck can throw a knife and hit the target every single time and Elsie has incredible survival instincts, she can make snares, start fires- which is a lot more than you can say," I shoot back, "You spent the entire day following Clovis around like a lost puppy, did you learn anything?"

"I learnt that Clovis is good with a sword, but won't be able to take anyone on if he's not of flat ground or if his left hand is damaged, Opal's got her bow and arrow but can't hit moving objects. Lark's got his spear, up-close fighting isn't his thing and Sage fights with knives, but her aim's not as strong as she thinks it is. None of them spent any time in the survivalist sections which means they know everything they need to know or think that they're above basic survival skills and they're relying on sponsors." He says calmly leaving most of the table in shock, "Know thy enemy Aurora, that's the only way either of us has any chance of winning," He finishes, standing up and leaving the table.

"Well now look what you've done," Sylvia sighs, placing her hands on her temples, Finnick storms off in the opposite direction leaving Mags and I alone and confused about most of the situation.

"Go talk to Thorn, I'll go check on Finnick," Mags stands up, I go to protest but she gives me a strong look that tells me not to argue with her, I let out a sigh and walk over to Thorns room, knocking on the door.

"Finnick, leave me alone. I don't have the capacity to deal without stabbing you," Thorn called out from his room.

I roll my eyes and let myself in, "Good thing I'm way too humble to be Finnick," I joked as I entered the room.

Thorn's eyes darkened when he spotted me, "Oh, it's you," He says harshly, I believed him when he threatened to stab Finnick. If looks could kill I'd be long gone, I sit down beside him on his bed, the view from the window overlooks the city which gives off a serene feeling.

"Just me," I try to smile but I know I'm probably the last person he wanted to see, "Sorry about everything back there, I was out of line," I apologise, Thorn purses his lips and turned back to look out the window, "You've really been allied with them so you could spy on them?" I ask him, raising my eyebrow. I'm impressed, it's happened in the games before, but nobody's ever been this observant about it, I guess being underestimated can be a bonus.