"Do you have training next?" I jump at the sound of Gale Hawthorne's voice, louder than the rest of the chatter in the cafeteria. "I'm sorry."
I shake my head, looking up at the man from District Twelve. "It's not your fault, as always I still have one foot in that goddamn arena." I glance down at my arm to find the answer to his question. "Yes."
"Katniss and I are going out hunting, will you be joining?" He shoots me a small smile as he shows me the schedule on his arm.
"Didn't you mean to ask both of us, Hawthorne?" Cato sits down for lunch, a tray of bean and onion stew in his hands. "Or is the invite just extended to my girlfriend?" The look on his face is angry, and I guess that his meeting with Plutarch this morning hadn't gone well. Him and Gale are friends, he usually wouldn't react like this.
Gale rolls his eyes, wordlessly passing a thick slice of bread onto my tray. "Are you forgetting the part where Marblyn refuses to go anywhere without you?"
"Still would be nice to be included on the invites." The two continue to bicker as I desperately await Katniss, Cato's words ringing through my mind. After all this time, that's the first moment I ever thought about what I was to Cato - apparently his girlfriend.
"You both need to relax," I sigh, growing bitter. "We're in war, we don't need to fight each other over something as stupid as to who gets to go hunting." I stand up, leaving my tray on the table for one of them to clean. "No, I won't be going hunting."
As much as I would love to get the hell out of this dungeon of a cave for a couple of hours, I have more important things at hand. Finnick Odair often refuses to come out of his hospital room, due to the capture of Annie Cresta. District Thirteen is still working on saving the remaining Victors from their imprisonment in the Capitol, but anybody could tell you that they aren't trying their hardest.
I leave Cato and Gale in the dust, silently apologizing to Katniss for sitting down just as I'm leaving. It's her turn to deal with the two men who absolutely just irritated me to my core. I make my way to the hospital wing, none of the District Thirteen guards making a move to stop me. I'm not sure what my exact duties are as 'the Mentor', but it's important enough that nobody is questioning me.
"Hey, Finn," I say gently as I enter his all-white room, the fluorescent lighting harsh on my eyes. "How are you holding up?"
Finnick Odair has cared about exactly four people in his life. The first is his father, who taught him the patience to fish and how to be a good man. He died in a boating accident, while Finnick was in the arena. The circumstances of this accident are suspicious, but one may guess it had happened solely so Finnick would be left without any supervision from adults - making it easier for Snow to have his way.
The second is Mags, whom we collectively lost in the Third Quarter Quell. After the loss of his father, Mags became the parental figure Finnick needed as he battled what was going on in the Capitol.
The third is Annie Cresta, a girl he saved from drowning in his early years. Annie never learned to swim, until Finnick taught her the year after his Hunger Games. Her family consisted of net and rope makers. He fell in love with her as a child, and has protected her ever since.
Then there's me, the random tribute from District Two who piggybacked off of his victorious fame and popularity in order to succeed. A fight so impressive, that Finnick and I developed a friendship the second I stepped foot in District Four during my Victory Tour. Finnick Odair is just as much as a brother to me as the ones that share my blood.
"Marblyn," he pulls me into a hug, dropping a piece of thin rope onto his hospital bed. "I was wondering when you were going to be able to sneak in."
"Not much sneaking as it was coming to the hospital wing and just expecting them to let me in," I shrug, taking a seat next to him.
YOU ARE READING
The Mentor. (Cato Hadley)
FanfictionMarblyn Rivers, previous Hunger Games Victor and unwilling Capitol prostitute. This year, the 74th Hunger Games, it's her turn to Mentor. But getting through the tough exterior of eighteen-year-old Cato Hadley proves to be a challenge. But then, the...