Gale hadn't really spoken to Ophelia, not that she minded. If anything it was much more peaceful training the following day. Gale was trying to protect her from Cato in his own way but my god had it been infuriating at times. Whenever he'd catch the grown girl with him he'd go into a type of hissy fit as if he were a child finding another child playing with his favourite toy.

This particular day Ophelia found herself stood alone by a table which had an array of survival items to familiarise herself with. Fishing hooks, rope and more. No one had paid much mind to it so far which surprised her, surely there would be just as many deaths from starvation and natural causes as there would by sword, dagger, arrow etc. Ophelia had initially gravitated to the fish hook, trying to attach it to a wooden stick that would be spear like, trying to replicate such that would allow her to keep herself fed should there be water around. The hook however would continue to fall in every attempt which caused her to smack a hand on the table. The sound would cause something in her peripheral to move.

Lifting her head she'd see dark curls barely peeking out behind a pillar. That was the young girl from district eleven she was sure.

Clearing her throat she'd whisper a "psst" and watch the young girls head poke out. Ophelia would then tilt her head asking the girl to come to her which she would. She had been very timid in her approach though she shouldn't be here, she was barely twelve by the looks of it.

She didn't get too close, keeping at least a foot between them. She was smart, Ophelia liked that.

"Hello" the older of the two would start small, "my name is—"

"Ophelia Fox" the younger girl spoke immediately, "district twelve, with Gale Hawthorne" Ophelia's eyes widened a little, taken by surprise of the young girls calm nature, "my name is Rue, district eleven"

Ophelia smiled down at the girl, "impressive"

"I can't use muscle in the games" Rue's voice had been so soft that it became another hurtful reminder of just how young she had been, "so I must use smarts, that's what my mama told me" she smiled absentmindedly at the thought of her mother, "what did yours tell you?"

Ophelia had noticed the lurking ear behind her when she spoke up knowing no one except Gale had known what she was about to admit to, "nothing" she watched Rue try to work out just what she meant, "I don't have a mother, nor a father" she smiled as sweet as she could watching sadness capture Rue, pity. God Ophelia in her life had been shown enough pity to power a country. She didn't need more, not now, "don't be sad for me, I'm perfectly capable of caring for myself"

Rue couldn't help but ask, "who was there to wave you goodbye?"

"No one"

"I—I'm sorry Ophelia"

"No need to apologise to me Rue" she knelt down closer to Rue's level and held out her hand surprised when Rue placed hers atop letting Ophelia hold it and give it a small squeeze, "more importantly, do you by chance know how to craft a fish hook?"

Rue would laugh at the topic change but shake her head timidly with a smile before waving a goodbye and running off into the shadows again. Rue was a watcher. She paid attention to the talents of her other tributes noting what their weakness's would be in turn.

The clearing of a throat would pull her from her thoughts. Standing straight and turning to see him.

Gale.

His awkward thin lipped smile greeted her whilst she found the hook once again, still partially irate at his need to tell her what she should and shouldn't do. She had only really met him properly less than a week prior and he was telling her to avoid someone he hadn't liked. Of course she'd understood Cato would take her head from her neck the first chance he got but that hadn't been the point. Perhaps she had always been overly independent and the feeling of someone being protective felt foreign to her, it felt near controlling.

"Ophelia" he nodded watching her tilt her head upward in response, "I need to apologise for last night" he cleared his throat, "I don't know what came over me"

"Insecurity?" She offered.

It looked near difficult for him not to react to her, "I'm just trying to keep you safe" he stayed firm, "then I spoke to Haymitch—" Ophelia rolled her eyes instinctively, God what had he said, "and I realised, we all have to make allies and I'd like to be yours" she raised a brow unsure, "but I can't be if I treat you like a child"

Ophelia weighed up her options but really she needed as any alliance's as she could get in there. It was half a way to keep yourself alive, according to Haymitch last night at least. So she did what her head told her and held out her hand for him to shake which he would without missing a beat. She knew of the careers and their four person alliance that would no doubt dominate the arena. As irrational as Gale could be he was tall, strong and tactical at times. She needed that if she had any hope.

"Allies it is" she forced a smile.

"Friends—I hope we can be friends" Gale dropped her hand and watched as she went back to the hook.

"A friendship that will only last a couple weeks?" She raised a brow watching his furrow, "if we don't both die in there, at least one of us will"

"Always the voice of pessimism Ophelia" he laughed walking away from the girl.

She hadn't opted to answer only let out one breathy laugh from her nose. She also hadn't noticed the prying ear and eye still watching her. At first Cato had been curious when she had admitted to not having a family unit, he'd almost felt sorry for her, that had been till he watched Gale approach. Cato didn't know what it was about Gale excluding his extremely punchable face that made him dislike him as much as he had but god was it prominent every time he seen him. He watched his coy approach, listened to his shitty apology and felt his blood boil when Ophelia forgave and bonded herself to him by alliance. He thought more of the girl until then.

She's never join the career pack by any means but he'd have preferred she'd agreed to an alliance with anyone else, he couldn't be too surprised given they came from the same district but really it was more common for non-career districts to go on their own rather than stick together. Cato watched again as she went back to the hook, silently making his way closer.

Ophelia had forced a bend in the hook which she used to attach the thin rope and join it to the pole she'd sourced. A smile of joy would've found her if she hadn't nicked the side of her finger, blood instantly bubbling out and a red scrape prominent down her finger. She refrained from cursing but like a paper cut despite its size it stung. She dropped the hook like spear which hadn't hit the ground, it had instead been caught by a rather veiny hand that had snuck around from behind her. Spinning her body around quickly she came face to chest with Cato Hadley.

"Careful" he smirked, "how often do I have to warn you?" She couldn't help but roll her eyes at his teasing.

"Two" she recalled his distant nature in the elevator, "no longer pretending I don't exist?"

"I see you and your boyfriend made up?" He changed topic with ease, "surprised he's not barking at me again like a rabid dog in your honour" he watched while she placed her hand on her hip, "you'll get blood on your T-shirt"

"You keep talking about Gale and me" she tried to keep her cool, "careful, or I'll think you're jealous" she used his own warning against him. Careful. It only made his smirk wider.

"You humanise me too much twelve" he leaned down, "the only thing I'd be jealous of is if he were to have talent with a sword" Cato looked over her shoulder at Gale who attempted to swing around a sword hazardously, "clearly he lacks that and so I have nothing to be jealous of"

"Then why refer to him as my boyfriend every chance you get?" She held her own, as much as she could at least, "what if he was?"

"What if he was what?" Cato laughed, "talented with a sword—"

"My boyfriend" Ophelia would interrupt.

"He's not" Cato was confident in his answer, too confident in fact, "you want to know how I know?" She nodded, intrigued, "he doesn't encourage you, he doesn't bring out the best and the worst in you" she tried to keep her face emotionless despite his unnerving accuracy, "he holds you down, thinks he owns you" he leaned even closer than before to whisper in her ear, "not to mention the obvious, he doesn't touch you" every single hair covering her body felt like it stood, goosebumps covering her entirely.

"Rebuttal being that perhaps we're just private, playing you all for fools by making you believe we don't know one another" she shrugged, lying through her teeth, "after all, I hear the Capitol love a forbidden romance, no?" Cato laughed down at the confident girl, "though either way, I don't care for your opinion nor what you think is real or fake"

"Liar" his voice had been deeper, more hoarse than usual which had this strange sensation in her stomach.

Scoffing before she opened her mouth again, "you think you know me so well after a week?"

Cato stepped forward, his chest against her crossed arms making her stiffen immediately when his palms rested against the table she leaned against. She took a quick look around the area, it had been in the far corner but there could've still been prying eyes, though she couldn't spot any as such.

"I may look like all muscle, no mind—" his voice brought all her attention back to the blonde, "but I'm very observant, I've always been able to read people like books" he revealed which she somehow hadn't expected from the tall, muscular career tribute from district two who looked like he could crush her windpipe one handed, "keep that in mind next time you want to toy around or lie to me"

Composure around Cato was key, he could smell fear and he'd pounce on any opportunity to grasp at it, "I'd say it's rather bold of you to assume you know me or anything surrounding my love life after less than a week of tantalising me" she dropped her arms and straightened herself so that when they both breathed outward their chests would be mere millimetres away from touching, well rather her chest and the top of his stomach, "I think it would do you well to keep your observations to yourself Hadley"

"Hadley?" Cato smiled, "I see you've gone from my number to my surname, that's cute"

"Don't flatter yourself, my opinion of you isn't as high as you think it is"

"No but what I do know is how much I come to your mind" it was agonisingly true but he wouldn't know that, "I catch you looking my way near daily—"

"I watch everyone here, scope out their strengths, their weaknesses"

"Tell me, what's my weakness?" He stepped back, releasing her from his caging of her by using his own body.

"Overwhelming arrogance"