HAVEN WOKE UP on her own accord the following morning, her eyes fluttering open at the early hour of six. She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and splashed some cold water on her face before returning to the bedroom. The blonde noticed a neatly folded stack of clothing sitting on the edge of the bed, assuming it was her training outfit. She slipped on the tight black pants that were made of a shiny, sweat wicking material, and the teal tank top with a number "4" on the back, signifying her District. She grabbed a brush off the dresser and combed her hair, tying it into a ponytail with an elastic, before slipping on the socks and tennis shoes that were provided for her.

Haven walked into the living area, the only other person in there was Garrett, who was holding a newspaper in one hand and a coffee cup in the other. "Good morning sunshine. Glad to see there's someone else who wakes up at the crack of dawn."

"I used to get up early every morning to work at my family's shop, I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of sleeping past 7:00am." She said, before pointing at Garrett's coffee cup. "Where can I get one of those?" Before he could respond, an Avox placed a mug on the table in front of her and poured a steaming cup of coffee. The blonde plopped a few sugarcubes into the warm drink, before taking a long drink of it. "We usually can't afford to buy coffee, but it's always been one of my favorites." Haven continued before taking another sip. Garrett smiled back at her. "Enjoy it kid."

A few minutes of silence passed before Garrett restarted the conversation. "You said on the train you didn't have any skills, did you just not want to say anything in front of Spencer? Because that's understandable, it's a good strategy." "Partly. I just didn't wanna make myself seem more talented than I am. I have used a spear before though, my dad taught me to fish with one. I just don't know if I can use a spear on a..." She paused. "A person."

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret. You're never gonna feel ready. It's a sick and twisted thing having to kill another person. But if you want to make it out of that arena alive, it's bound to happen. And you won't know if you'll be able to own up to it until you're in the moment. In that moment, you have to choose to fight."
"Go into training and get those survival and combat skills under your belt, so when you're in that situation in the games, everything is second nature to you. Got it?"

She nodded, grateful for the advice. "Thank you, Garrett. It's just all so much."
"I know kid, don't forget I was in your place once too." He said, patting the blonde on the back before going into his room.

Around 8:00am, Pandora went around and pounded on the doors of those left sleeping. Haven silently thanked her internal clock for saving her from that abrupt awakening. A few minutes later, the others began trickling into the dining room, where the Avoxes were putting out food for breakfast. Once they'd all sat down and begun eating, Chlöe cleared her throat and looked over at the two tributes. "Alright, remember the plan for today. Work on your weaknesses and improve them. Don't display off all your strengths, keep an element of surprise. Show off a little bit though, you do want to intimidate some of the other tributes. And of course, keep an eye out for potential allies." Haven and Spencer nodded their heads, both of their mouths full of food.

➸

The two tributes bid goodbye to their mentors for the day as the elevator doors shut. They exited into the training room, noticing that only a few other Districts had shown up so far. "Let's split up so we can observe different tributes, and then meet back up again at lunch." Spencer said to his partner, who gave him a nod before walking off towards the knives.

The blonde grabbed a medium sized knife with a sharp blade and a thick, wooden handle. One of the trainers walked over. "Stand on the marker on the floor, angle your body to the side, and throw with force from your upper body, not just your hand." Haven nodded, before mimicking the pose instructor had told her. She inhaled, before throwing the knife. It rang through the air, before landing slightly left of the bullseye. "Pretty good for your first time. Keep practicing, you'll get it." The instructor said before walking away to help another tribute.

The Cleary girl continued throwing knives for a while longer, experimenting with different blades and sizes, not stopping until she was hitting the bullseye every time. Remembering what Chlöe had said about showing off too much, she decided she was satisfied and went over to the knot tying station. Another tribute was already sitting there, a redhead with the number 5 on her shirt.

The girl looked up from rope she was fussing with, greeting Haven with a toothy smile. "Hi" the blonde responded, "District 5 I'm assuming?". "And proud of it! I'm Roxy, and over there is my partner Reeve." She said, pointing to a boy with dark hair across the room. "Nice to meet you. My name's Haven. The boy on the obstacle course over there is my partner, Spencer." Roxy nodded. "Well it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The ginger giggled.

Haven grabbed a thick piece of rope, and began tying it into an intricate knot. "Woah. How'd you do that." Roxy gasped. "I'm District 4 born and raised. I'm pretty sure my first toy as a kid was a piece of rope." The blonde chuckled. "Here I'll show you how to do a simple sailor's knot." Roxy nodded eagerly as Haven demonstrated the different steps to her. "You try", she said, handing the District 5 girl a new piece of rope. After a few minutes of struggle, the girl managed to make a basic knot. "See, not that hard right!" "Yeah, maybe for you Ms. Ocean Girl." Haven let out a laugh. "I've been given a lot of nicknames, but that might be my favorite one yet."

Their conversation was ended abruptly by one of the trainers yelling that it was time for lunch. Haven said a goodbye to the girl before walking over to find Spencer. The two walked into the cafeteria, sitting down together away from the other tributes.

"So, what'd you think?" Haven asked, careful to keep her voice low. "A lot of them shouldn't be a problem. The pair from 11 and the boy from 5 look somewhat threatening, but I'm not too worried about the rest. The career pack is good this year too." Spencer responded. Haven looked behind her shoulder and saw the four tributes from Districts 1 and 2 eating together, laughing about something. "They do look like a terrifying cult. I'll give them that. I met the girl from 5, I think she'd be a good option." Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Really? She looks like she'll be gone in the first five minutes." "Well I think she would be a good ally. I think the Careers would stab us in the back the first chance they got. Being from 4, we're already the outsiders of the Careers, we would be the first ones they turn against."
"Fair point. But I do think they give us a good shot. Let's just talk about it with our mentors later before we decide."

After lunch, the tributes returned to the training center. Spencer went to practice with the swords, scaring off the tiny girl from District 9 who could barely lift the thing off the ground. Haven drifted around, starting by studying edible plants, then making a fire, before ending up at the spears. The blonde picked up a shiny gold spear with a pointed tip. She asked the instructor to turn on the simulation for her before stepping into the chamber. Within a few seconds, the room came to life, and orange pixelated figures began charging at her from every side. Adrenaline started coursing through her veins and she sprung into action. She jabbed her spear into the figure coming straight at her, exploding it into a million orange pieces. Quickly turning around, Haven sliced the head off of another figure, and then drove the spear into the chest of the next one. She continued demolishing each orange hologram until the simulation clicked off and the girl snapped back into reality. Haven exited the room, panting as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. Spencer walked over from the station next to her. "How'd it go in there." Haven realized that the room must not be visible from the outside when the simulation was running. "It was good. You should try it, it's pretty fun." He glanced up at the clock. "Looks like we're out of time, guess it'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Right as he finished his sentence, the trainer announced that the session was over and everyone was to return to their floors. Haven and Spencer were the first to exit since they were by the door, happy that they didn't have to wait forever for the elevator. They walked into the apartment and found their mentors sitting on the large couch, conversing amongst themselves. Collin was the first to notice them come in. "Hey kids. How'd it go today? Tell us everything." The two sat down, before Spencer told the group the different skills he'd worked on, Haven doing the same once he'd finished.

"Well, it sounds like you two did exactly what I told you this morning." Chlöe nodded approvingly. "Glad our pair is competent, unlike last year." Sebastian interrupted. "Hey, watch it, Seb. We got little ones last year, it was their first reaping. They were just kids man. Don't act like you weren't crying when they died." Mallory snapped back at him, clearly upset about it. Haven looked around at the other mentors, they all looked upset at the mention of last year's tributes, especially Finnick. He was young in his games, he probably saw a piece of himself in those kids. She remembered how the Games were particularly sad for District 4 last year, it was always that way when the tributes were on the younger side.

"Anyways," Collin softly spoke. "Any thoughts on allies?" "Spencer and I spoke about it at lunch, but we wanted your opinions. I like the tributes from 5, I spoke with the girl, Roxy, and she seems trustworthy. The boy, Reeve, is pretty strong too." Spencer cut in, "The girl from 5 seems weak, I don't think she would be any help. The boy seems pretty good though. I introduced myself to the Careers, they're a solid group this year. I think we could make the alliance even stronger."

"Well, if you two want to be part of the Career pack, all I need to do is let Cashmere and Brutus know. Just say the word." Sebastian said. "I don't trust it. Yeah, it'll be helpful the first few days, but once there's fewer tributes, I'm going to be the first one with a knife in my back. They're already an alliance, we'd just be the additions that they decide to kill first." "Haven's not wrong, there's always a point in the games when the Careers quickly turn on each other. You guys have to decide whether on not you want to take the risk. Personally, I don't trust it for a second." Finnick stated.

"Honestly, I'd feel more comfortable being a part of the strongest alliance so I'm all for it. Just never turn your back and you'll be fine." Spencer responded. "I still don't know. It just makes me nervous is all." the blonde hesitantly responded. "Think about it more tomorrow during training, and then you both can make your decision after." Mallory said, effectively ending the discussion.

The rest of the meal passed without much fanfare, and Haven excused herself to her room. She peeled off the sweaty training outfit, and took a steaming shower before crawling into bed. The Cleary girl's head hit the pillow and she fell asleep immediately, not even having time to realize how exhausted training had made her.

// author's note
i think this is my longest chapter yet :) this was super fun to write, haven was a badass w the spear, a queen.
thank you SO much if you're reading, i appreciate it very very much. if you're enjoying the story, please consider commenting/voting, it means the world to me!
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