Our Love Could Be Lethal

Act II: Reap What You Sow

Chapter Song- Hey Mama (David Guetta feat. Nikki Minaj and Bebe Rexa)

A/N Hope you and your families all stay safe and healthy during this time! My University has been thrown out of whack which is why I haven't posted for a while, but the semester is done in about two weeks, so I'll be free after that!

Like any other day, Cato and I rise at 5 am, quietly shuffling around to grab our equipment and clothes. It's too early for conversation, so we grab breakfast to go and lock the door. Luckily now that it's spring, it's actually light outside when we leave for the academy. Sleep still makes our eyes puffy, but we're awake and alert. There's no one else awake at this hour, so the only things we can hear are birds chirping and our footsteps. I put my hands in my zip-up hoodie for warmth from the morning frost and take in the peacefulness of the city and the mountains beyond.

Once we enter the academy, there are only a few bodies in there. All of the graduates have been gone now for a few months, save an alternate or two for Cato. The new cohort won't be brought in until after the games because enrollment tends to go up after the games anyways. But the past two weeks, all of the students have been sent home for the break, all except for a few that is. Even before the break Cato and I arrived bright and early, making sure that we were able to complete anything we needed to before the cohorts started to come through the stations. It's nice to be able to do this with him every day for the past few months instead of for weeks or days at a time.

We do some stretching before separating to go to do some individual workouts that pertain to each of our specialties. As opposed to shadowing him around everywhere, I've always made sure to let Cato do his own thing, only to come together on things that I'm needed for. It's more comforting to know that someone is training just as hard as you as opposed to someone just following you around. Cato has been tapering his workouts for the past two weeks though, so today won't be as rigorous as the past few months.

I go to the throwing knives section and take off my zip-up, placing a knife-vest on over top of my tank top. I slowly load it until there are no more slots left, the calmness of the morning tells me that there's no sense in rushing to throw.

I slowly ready myself into a fighting stance and press the red button.

I see a dummy pop up to my right, and I aim for the neck. Bull's eye.

I sense something behind me, and sure enough, another target has appeared up behind me, so I whirl around and lodge it deep into the chest.

Two more pop up at the exact time, so I grab two knives and throw one with both hands. It feels unusual to throw with my right hand, but it still hits well within what would be considered to be a lethal hit.

More targets pop up, and I hit them, right on the mark until I have no knives left and the buzzer sounds, signalling the end of the round. I walk around to collect my knives from each of the dummies, taking time to admire the shots that lodged themselves extra deep. The strength of my throws has improved these last few months because of Cato and Brutus.

I do a few more simple exercise stations like lifting weights, an abs station that I know is definitely going to leave me sore, and then I make my way to where I know Cato will be.

In the main group training area, Cato is waiting for me, swinging around his sword and practicing his stances. There are also several trainers, waiting around with padded equipment.

Cato sees me walks in and picks up his training sword, a hilt with a hollow metal cylinder attached to it instead of a blade. He reaches into my bag, which is beside his and pulls out my two training short swords.