When the Mockingjay Sings - Coriolanus Snow/Treech

Chapter Sixteen

It was early April, and Athena was up during the sunrise. She sat near the water, letting the soft waves roll over her feet. She wrapped her arms around her legs, her head resting on her arms, enjoying the cool spring breeze.

"What's on your mind?" She could feel Treech shuffle behind her and sit next to her.

"The reaping," she spoke without opening her eyes.

"What about it?" He asked. Athena sighed, opening one of her eyes to look at Treech. She had recently cut his hair, leaving it to have a slight wave barely passing his ear. He was wearing a loose white shirt and brown shorts. His skin was cleaner, and Athena could fully appreciate his handsome appearance.

He had turned 17 a week ago, while Athena turns 17 after the Reaping.

"I could get reaped," she said for the first time. She never thought she would be concerned about being reaped in her father's games.

"Yeah, but the mayor would make sure your name never gets called," Treech shrugged, not fully understanding her fear.

"No, Treech, everything has changed for these games. The Capitol now sends someone to take everyone's names so that nobody is called wrongfully." Athena explained.

"Why the sudden change?" Treech asked.

"Do you remember a Lucy Gray Baird?" Athena asked, staring out into the water. She hasn't heard anything about the girl since she won the games.

"Yes,"

"Well, she was wrongfully picked. The Mayor's daughter got her father to call her name," Athena explained.

"Why would they care about the unfairness of it all? As long as people fight, they wouldn't care." Treech needed clarification.

"Because it's no longer Dr. Gaul fully in charge of the game making, she has someone else under her wing." Athena's heart hurt at the thought of the blond. They announced yesterday the changes for the reaping and she knew Coriolanus had something to do with it. After Sejanus funeral her father was fuming about the boys return and went yelling at Dr. Gaul when he found our Snow was taken under her wing.

"Who?"

"Coriolanus Snow, Lucy Grays's mentor," Athena looked over at Treech, who seemed surprised. He played with the wet sand at his feet, slowly packing it into a large hill.

"That psycho?" He chuckled.

"Yes, that psycho," she laughed.

"I wish I knew how to fight; finding in without any experience of surviving or fighting is like walking into your slaughterhouse." Athena scoffed, throwing a rock into the water.

"Then do something about it." Athena was startled.

"Start training yourself. Hell, you can even train those students through your tutoring. Imagine the money you could make." Athena liked his idea.

"That's a good idea; this way, our tributes have a bigger chance of survival. But how can I teach them how to fight when I don't know how to fight myself? They need a teacher." Athena pondered.

"How about I train you, and you train them? When I stayed with that group, they showed us great battle techniques. I know how to fight with some different weapons." Athena stood up quickly and rushed to the house.

"Where are you going?" She could hear Treech yell out to her. She ignored him and rummaged through her house, looking for something.

"What are you doing?" Treech leaned against the door opening, watching her open all her closet doors.

"Hah, here it is!" She found the two brooms tucked in the corner of her closet. She unscrewed the brush part so she had two sticks. She handed one to Treech and dragged him outside.

"Teach me," Athena eagerly widened her stance, watching him with wide eyes.

"Really?" He seemed surprised by her suddenness.

"Yes," he didn't give her much time to think before swinging at her. She managed to black him a few times before the stick slammed into her waist, knocking her down. Pain flared in her side.

"You okay?" Treech asked in a panic, bending to check her side, but she pushed his hand away.

"It's just a broomstick," she scoffed, getting up.

"It's still hard, Athena," he gave her a knowing look, rolling his eyes.

The two fought for hours for the next week. Athena went to bed black and blue for the first two days with sore muscles to match. Treech was too quick and skilled; he told her he would fight for hours every day when he was first gone, he was determined to be the best he could be in a short amount of time.

By the end of May, Athena had noticed she had gained some muscles in her arms and legs, her stomach toned down, and she was faster than ever.

She aggressively blocked each blow Treech made with his new staff. She dodged another swing before twirling her staff and slamming it into his harshly, causing him to stumble from the power of it all. He almost loosened his grip on it, but he was getting agitated with her getting the upper hand. The two of them had grown to be very competitive.

Athena slammed her staff into Treech's knees, causing his knees to buckle. His knees smashed into the ground, and she used the weak moment to knock his staff out of his hand, leaving him defenceless. Treech went to grab it, but her staff was at his throat.

Treech glared at the grinning blonde.

"I've finally overcome the master," she joked, moving her staff away from his face and helping him up from the ground.

"I let you win," he shrugged.

"No, you didn't," she grinned again as they walked into the house.

"I'll never admit that," he denied, sipping his drink.

"You just did," she laughed. Silence washed over them, but a comfortable silence.

Athena pondered on who she wanted to train first, a trial run.

Athena looked through her book of students; she needed someone the community respected and trusted. Out of all her kids, only one name stood out: Mags.

Mags was very influential; she did a lot of community volunteering and had the trust of many of her people. She was extremely kind, and Athen believed that others would follow if she could convince Mags to train with her.

So the next day, when Mags came for their tutoring session, everything went as usual. When it was over, and Mags was packing everything up, Athena finally found the courage to mention it to her.

"Can I ask you something?" Athena asked, causing the girl to pause.

"Anything," she said, sitting back in the chair, sensing Athena's nervousness.

"What would you think about combat training?" At first, Mags was taken off guard; she didn't know what to say.

"Combat training?" She questioned.

"Yes. I've been training for two months; others should train, too. I want to ensure I have it all in that arena if my name gets called. Don't you?"

"Wouldn't you get in trouble with the peacekeepers?" Mags asked in worrisome.

"Leave the peacekeepers to me. All I'm asking is for you to be my first student." Mags bit her lip.

"The probability of me being picked is low," she argued. Athena sighed and shook her head.

"Are you willing to risk it?" Athena raised an eyebrow. Mag's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"No, I guess not," she whispered, meeting Athena's eyes.

"I'll do it."