Berry Paint And Grass Skirts || Training OS || Camouflage
After my hand to hand session with Delilah, I decided to take it easy and found myself at the Camouflage station. surveying the various materials provided, I frown. Having no artistic whatsoever, the best I could think to do was paste the different leaves on me and cover myself in green paint, neither of which things I actually wanted to do.
Absently, I tugged at my hair, only to give a frustrated grunt as I realized it was still bright blue. There was no way to hide 'electric blue' hair in an environment with any sort of foliage and I made a mental note to talk to Agamemnon about changing it back.
Sitting cross legged on the ground, I began to pull some berries off of a loose branch, crushing them with a mortar and pestle. I had literally no clue what to do, and instead of asking the Trainer, I decided to do some therapy painting instead.
Adding some water, I smiled as I created a nice, bright red color, and I began to paint swirls and zig zags on my arms. Adding some strange looking blackberries to the mix, I grinned as it changed to a deeper shade, smiling with satisfaction.
The Trainer was glaring at me, put I paid him no mind. Rolling my eyes, I splashed some of my paint onto my neck. "Stop glaring. See, I'm playing dead."
My excuse didn't seem to appease him, but he said nothing, giving a huff and turning his back towards me. I just grinned and continued. mixing homemade paints.
When I had covered myself in colors, I began picking up random leaves, slowly adding them to my collection of strange colors. Finally the Trainer seemed to lose his patience and came over. "You're wasting time and resources. Go clean yourself up and go actually train."
I gave a mirthless laugh, but said nothing, picking myself up. I was wasting resourced? What a joke. But I had to meet Kineos soon anyways. so without a backwards glance, I turned and headed up to the Suite for a quick show before lunch.
Push And Pull || Joule & Delilah || Wrestling Mats (Hand-To-Hand)
Lifting my hands, I stepped left in a circle, keeping the trainer across from me. With every lunge he took, I bounced backward. We had already gone over the different techniques and movements for disarming an attacker, but I couldn't do it. It made everything too real.
"Come on, fight back, girl. You're weak. If you don't want to do this, fine. Just let me know, otherwise you're wasting my time." He growled out, before making another move forward.
As he continued to goad me, I felt my temper flare. The same burst of anger I had felt in the suite came back, and suddenly I rushed forward, grabbing his arm and twisting it back, sending the trainer to the ground. Yanking his arm back, I set my knee in the center of his back.
I exited the changing room and took in the pool before me. Her heart pounding in her chest and her blood roaring in her ears. She approached the edge of the shallow end of the pool cautiously, trying to calm my nerves. It felt like all of the progress I had made the night before had flown out the window.
There was a trainer already in the pool, a young woman no more than thirty with surprisingly kind eyes, unlike most of the trainers in the training center. She beckoned me forward, swimming to the edge of the pool, before hoisting herself out of the water to sit on the ledge.
I shook my head adamantly. “It’s not the water. It’s the possibility of drowning that I’m not to fond of.”
The woman laughed and I just scowled, taking a step back. That sobered the woman, it seemed, and she covered her mouth. “No, wait, I didn’t mean it like that. Just, why don’t you just put your feet in the water for now?” She gestured to the edge of the pool. “I’m Greir, and I promise, I’m just here to help.”
After a moment of hesitation, I sat down, letting my feet float in the water. The sensation was actually fairly pleasant, and I found that I wasn’t feeling the same sense of terror as the day before. Maybe this really wouldn’t be so bad. I wouldn’t have to worry about drowning if I could swim, right?
The sound of a splash nearby pulled me back to the present, and I noticed Greir in the pool in front of me. She was standing up and the water only came up to her stomach. She was smiling and stepped forward, so she was right in front of me.
“Hey, calm down, okay? Whatever you think might happen, isn’t. Not on my watch, anyway.”
I wanted to scoff at that. Who did this woman think she was? Didn’t she know that I was practically guaranteed to die in an arena by the hands of another teenager for the entertainment of the Capitol?
Greir seemed completely oblivious to Joule’s inner dialogue, stepping closer still and laying both of her hands on my knees. “Earth to Joule. Hello? Anyone in there?” Her tone was light and joking, but there was some legitimate worry in her eyes.
“Hey, how do you know my name?” I was surprised that the trainer would know who I was by name and momentarily forgot to be snotty and confrontational.
The other woman smiled but said nothing and before I could say anything else, I felt the other woman’s hands slide up a little higher until they rested on my waist. “I’m going to help you into the pool, okay? I promise once you get in, it will be a lot easier.”
Taking a deep breath to steel myself, I squeezed her eyes shut as I allowed Greir to help guide me into the water. I had already done this, but the prospect of actually having to swim around was getting in my head.
I opened my eyes to find her face only inches away from me and her hands on my waist still and I leaned back instinctively, my face turning bright red. I wasn’t used to that kind of proximity, and now that I was closer, I realized how pretty the trainer really was. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a braid and she had a scattering of freckles across her nose and bright, friendly looking blue eyes.
She smirked slightly, but said nothing, taking a few steps away, leading me a little deeper. First she showed me how to float and then a few easy strokes. I found the whole thing wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be, but a part of me knew I was doing so well because Greir was working with me and hadn’t yelled or anything. And she was pretty.
I had probably been there for two hours, but I knew I had made significant progress from barely being able to get into the pool to managing movements that passed as swimming. When I managed a lap around without stopping, I jumped up excitedly and hugged her tightly, and before I could stop myself, I kissed her.
It was like the world exploded and imploded at the same time. For the first time, I felt whole and happy. Unconsciously, I start to pull her closer I felt her reciprocate. Jumping back, I my face turned bright red. “I am so sorry. I-.”
She cut me off by capturing my lips in a kiss, a small grin on her face. “I know I’m not blonde or anything, but I don’t think you should write me off because of that.”
Feeling a surge confidence of I took a step closer, raising one eyebrow teasingly. “Surely you don’t think me that shallow, do you?” I asked, before leaning forward to kiss her again.
I stayed in the pool area with Greir talking about everything from swimming strokes to family stories. I didn’t know what all I was feeling, but it was nice to be able to just be with her. After a while, I finally left to head back to the training center, a new sense of determination in me now that I had had a taste of what all I could have one day. I just needed to live that long.
