CHAPTER TWO.

FRIENDS OR FOES?

HER LIGHTLY COLOURED EYES REST UPON THE TRIBUTES IN THE TRAINING CENTRE. Brutus stands beside her with his arms crossed whilst Cashmere and Gloss stand on the other side of him. She knows that as a victor from two, she is fully expected to be a career in these games. Whether she actually will be or not, rest solely upon her mood when she's in the arena. Can she ally with people who could kill her so easily? She knows what they're like, they'll turn their backs on each other in an instant. She's seen it happen so many times before.

The trainer steps before them and gives the same speech that probably has not changed in the entire seventy five years of the Hunger Games. She'd heard the exact same words just years before. They speak of not taking survival skills for granted because quite a few of us will die that way, she knows that's the case. However, in her previous lot of training her she focused on that so this time she will stray from survival techniques. It's good to have some variety in her arsenal in case she cannot get her weapon of choice. She's going to steer clear of people as best as she can, the last thing she needs is to be distracted.

So as they're all dismissed, the young girl walks over to a survival station that revolves around edible berries. Her eyes slowly read over the words, taking in as much information as she can. Emori decides to read it more than once so it truly sticks before choosing to do the test. The different berries appear before her in holographic form, to the point where she can even pick them up and survey them better. From there, she has the option to choose whether they're edible or poisonous.

"Mori? I should've known you'd be hiding," A familiar voice says from behind her, her entire body turning so that she can meet the gaze of the brunette boy. Her lips flick upwards and she practically throws herself at him, hugging him closer than she had anybody for over a year.

Reed Loughlin laughs as he hoists her into the air, the blonde actually emitting a genuine laugh for once. As he sets her down on her feet, he pulls away and takes in the site of her. It's been a few years since they'd seen each other now. Reed is a victor from District Ten who'd won the year after her and therefore, they'd met when she was there for his games. Being only a year older than her, the two of them got on a lot better than most would believe they would have. She's from a richer district in comparison to the poorer district that he grew up in — therefore they had little to nothing in common despite the fact that they were both survivors.

"I didn't get to see you last night," Emori says as she turns to finish the last question of the quiz. He chuckles which causes her to look back with raised eyebrows.

"I know but I most certainly saw you. Probably not smart going after the Capitol's new favourite couple," He teases and shrugs her shoulders, not caring whether or not she'd gained popularity points by her actions.

"What's the point in making friends with them if I'm going to be the one to kill her?" Emori responds as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Fire girl has been giving you glares since I got in here," Reed speaks up when he notices the tribute from twelve glaring over at them, more specifically the blonde in front of him.

"And? Let her waste her time,"

Emori and Reed spend the remainder of their time before lunch, smiling and have small competitions when it comes to the training. As expected, he beats her more times than she is able to do to him and it causes her to pout.

When lunch is finally called, the two tributes sit down at a table together, seemingly blocking out everybody around them. It's almost as if she's back home and talking to an old friend, she's safe from all the dangers that the Capitol holds over their heads. The two of them continue to chat about their homes, the people there but most importantly the other tributes. They're aware that over the years several of these men and women have become their friends and now, now they'll have to kill them. It's the last thing she wants but she had to come here, she had to have revenge.

"I overheard Odair and Everdeen talking about you before," Reed says as he shoves food in his mouth which causes her eyebrows to rise up.

"And what did they say?" Emori asks in response, taking a few mouthfuls of the food before her.

"She asked if you were out to get her,"

"And Finnick said?"

"He straight up told her yes,"

Emori chuckles slightly at that, Finnick has never been one to hold back. Reed has his usual child-like grin on his face as he looks over her shoulder to see Katniss sitting with Peeta. Reed knows that the minute they step into that arena, that his blonde friend will be gunning for the girl on fire and he's determined to be there to back her up. She needs all the allies and friends she can get, he can only imagine what she's been going through the past year.

"She looking again?" Emori asks and Reed shakes his head, last year's victor is simply eating her food and minding her own business. He cannot be more happy at the fact, knowing it will not take much to make the District Two victor snap.

"Good. Maybe she's finally learned it's rude to stare," Emori adds on and Reed shakes his head.

"No, she's just hungry. Don't worry about her, E. I've got your back, you know that right?" Reed replies and the blonde moves her eyes to him, her lips flicking up into a small smile.

"I know and I've never been more grateful for you," She says truthfully, his expression now matching hers.

Emori groans as Brutus tells her to throw more knives. For somebody who is supposed to be competition, he sure is acting like her father. She throws a few more before looking to him to see that he appears satisfied. He gives her a dismissive wave of the hand and the girl leaves him with the District One tributes. She heads over to a station about camouflage, thinking that it would at least be interesting in some aspect.

She picks up the brush and dips it in the paint, swirling it over the skin of her arm. She smiles slightly as she draws patterns on her skin, not even bothering with blending into surfaces at this moment in time. Instead, she's met with almost a childish feeling, remembering back to when she used to draw on the concrete with charcoal with her brother when they were younger. It's been so long, she's forgotten how therapeutic the activity can be.

"I can help you with that," a soft voice speaks and she snaps her head up, her eyes connecting with the blue eyes of a boy who she'd threatened only the night before.

"I don't want nor do I need your help, Mellark. I'm perfectly fine on my own," Her voice comes out threatening but he doesn't flinch back this time, moving to stand beside her instead.

"I know you're not Katniss' biggest fan but I'm not Katniss. I just want to talk to you," Peeta defends as he picks up a brush of his own.

"You're just as much to blame. You directed the arrow remember?" She snarls and he nods in understanding, painting his skin now, using the colour palette a lot better than she had managed to.

"I know that. I'm sorry, I really am. I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose somebody that way," he sympathises and her eyes move from him back to the colours that are etched onto her skin.

Emori opts not to speak anymore whilst she runs the brush along parts of her skin that are not already splashed with a different array of colours. Instead, she listens as the boy quietly hums as he decorates his arm so that he can blend in with the surrounding environment that they have provided.

"Mix them two. It'll help you blend with the tree," Peeta speaks almost gently, afraid that he may provoke her again. She looks to his hand to see that he is pointing to two of the darker colours and she decides to heed his advice, mixing them together to create a colour that could definitely blend in.

Peeta's arm looks a lot better than hers however, obviously having some experience when it comes to decoration. He is even managing to get the pattern of the trunk correct. She'd seen what happened to him in the last games, her brother had deeply sliced his leg and he'd managed to hide away until Katniss found him. At the time, she remembers feeling a little sorry for the boy.

"See?" Peeta speaks as he lays his arm against the trunk and she cannot help but be slightly amazed by his ability. Her gaze is almost questioning and he smiles slightly.

"My family own a bakery," he answers the question she did not wish to ask. She nods shortly and then turns away again. The last thing she should be doing is making friends with a boy who is associated with her sibling's murder.

Peeta moves back to her side and watches as she tries to replicate what he had done to an extent. It's a lot messier and the patterns are off but the colour is there — something that could easily save her life if she needed it. She knows that she could thank him and yet she cannot bring herself to do it. Peeta can tell she's having some sort of internal struggle but he chooses not to acknowledge it, giving her a soft smile before leaving her by herself.

"E? What was that?" Reed asks as he watches the boy walk away, standing by her side.

"I have no idea," she responds, her own eyes watching the blonde as he leaves — what sort of game is Peeta Mellark playing with her?

NOTE!

I'm totally building a Peeta & Emori friendship and I don't even care 😂. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

Made by @/caradunes