Uncharted Waters [1]

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Mira woke up, the moon still shining from her room's window. She lay there for a while, watching as the sun rose to bring light to the Capitol. It reminded her of her room back at home, where she would have the perfect view of the sunrise. When she is not up early with her grandfather to fish, she usually takes her time to admire the sun rising over the vast ocean from her bedroom window.

The sun would come up from the horizon its colors melting so perfectly. It would start very subtly, as it were afraid to rise. Bit by bit, it would cover the pearl morning haze with a pale, pure white light. Then, its hue would ambitiously illuminate each crevice of the land. Seagulls would fly above the beach mewing an explicit background melody. Sunlight would fill the sky, pure scattered light. The trees shone as if they were wearing golden crowns and the vast sea could not absorb the bright sparks of the sun. The tides on the sea were racing among each other to reach the horizon from where the mighty godlike sun appeared. The sight alone makes Mira forget about her problems, placing a permanent smile on her face to start the day as all the negativity washes away with the soft lullaby of the waves until the bright sun finally shows up in the porcelain sky.

But that was back at home in District 4.

Dawn here was different.

It was a free day for them, as Lassie mentioned last night. She was informed about their schedule that day. Lassie and the other mentors were supposed to coach them for their interviews to make sure that they did not embarrass themselves on stage. When the other one is free, they must have a turn with Adrian for combat training. In Destan's case, it is half and half for survival and combat.

They were going to make use of their free time as much as they could.

Mira gets up as she hears voices from outside her bedroom door. Lassie must have just arrived. She gets up to shower, changes into comfortable training clothes, and heads towards the dining room where Lassie and her four mentors are already seated. Mira walks towards the buffet and loads her plate up with breakfast. Just as she was about to sit, Destan walked in, got his food, and joined them on the table.

Adrian and Finnick were talking with each other, and Mags too, was engaged in the conversation, letting the two tributes eat in peace- until Lassie acknowledged their presence.

"Good morning."

Destan grunts while Mira smiles before replying, "Good morning."

"So, you are both aware of today's agenda. I would like to start as soon as your food has been digested. I will start with Mira first for the presentation while Finnick, Mags, and Destan will be talking about content and training when there is a need to, since Destan proved himself to be fully capable of defending himself, I say to prioritize the interview coaching rather than combat."

Mira spent the whole morning learning how to present herself with Lassie properly. The afternoon came, and she was stretching her body to prepare for her training with Adrian. She hears the door click open, and heavy footsteps start approaching her. Expecting Adrian Aalto to appear she was taken off guard when she saw Finnick standing over her from across the room, taking off his watch in all his glory. Finnick stops before her her gaze never leaves her mentor even as he walks closer to her from her stretching position on the floor. She finishes the stretch and stands up.

"I thought Adrian was assigned to me-"

"Would you rather me leave?" Finnick grins, attempting to leave. Mira's face quickly flushed red from embarrassment. 

"N-no, I didn't mean to be rude. It's just that Lassie said he would handle combat training."

"He had a sudden personal thing he needed to attend to, so I volunteered to take his place, seeing that Eldoris had passed out again- Alright, looks like you're ready." He grins, his dimples popping out as they start their training. Their time together was only dedicated to training, with no unnecessary jokes and flirting from Finnick, which Mira found quite unusual but did not think of that much. They were in the middle of a lesson on escaping from a straddle pin when the door bursts open to reveal an annoyed Destan with Lassie and Mags in tow.