changing directions {Mav + Svet}

[knuckles]

"The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in finding a friend worth dying for."
- Mark Twain

Throughout his life, Maverick has wanted nothing more than to live his life the way he yearned to, but when his father left, he quickly turned into the man he never wanted to be. Missing out on his teenage years when friends were hanging out swimming and surfing, Mav was at home taking care of his young siblings. Finding a job as a young teen was nearly impossible too, yet it's why he started selling shells he collected from the ocean. Sometimes he would even buff surfboards and clean them for a small fee. It didn't provide much, but it gave him something to do to make him feel as though he was useful to the family.

Now that he's here, he wants to learn how to make the best of the life he's been given, the life he chose for himself by running forward and sacrificing himself for someone he cares for.

While training, he swore to never become close to anyone because in the midst of something as serious as this, becoming friend with someone else is a trap. It never ends well, yet he doesn't want to venture through the arena with nobody at his side. The idea of loneliness is worse than death itself, and maybe that's why he's constantly observing others, seeing how they react to different things, seeing how they hold themselves when the time comes to put up a fight.

But even now, Mav ventures through the training room, and he spots one of the district seven tributes training with different weapons. Standing still, he tries hiding behind the different racks filled with weapons, and he watches very closely seeing what she's capable of, and while he isn't too afraid of her, he knows how tricky things can be.

Hiding won't do any good, and maybe it's exactly what he needs to find the meaning of life before it's too late. Putting on the persona of some monstrous career is exhausting, and it doesn't seem like anyone even cares. Why would they? Why should they? At the end of the day, the statistics aren't exactly in the favor of those from career districts, yet they still somehow manage to put on a good show, and right now, that's what Maverick cares about since in this world performance is everything.

Yet it doesn't stop him from being afraid.

Taking a deep breath, he tries moving closer to the tribute he's been watching, but when he stands up, he knocks the weapon rack over, and many swords and knives clang against the ground, scattering in every direction possible. All he wants is to duck down and hide behind them. His cheeks are burning, and his face turns bright red.

Everyone has embarrassing moments, and maybe this will get others to see that he's just a clumsy tribute from district four that stands no chance. It's not far from the truth, but maybe this is the persona he wants to portray instead.

489 words
table by kap

[ryan]

﹙   s v e t l a n a   f o r r e r s t e r   ﹚

there is very little explained to her when she walked on that training center floor. all they tell her is that she needs to learn everything she can about fighting, searching, and surviving. she had the last one down pat, a girl that had been bathed in the disparaging shadow of masculine energy. she felt like she was the only girl in the family that would be ready for something like this.

she is here to make a name for herself after all.

she takes some queue from the trainers, all of which are spread around the floor trying to show everyone something new or different. svetlana had been close enough to the range stations to be able to be pushed into it by one of the trainers. she was not a trained fighter classically, but she was trained on how to hunt. her family had made sure of that much. she knew how to hold an axe, she knew how to swing it and chop a tree. she also knew how to take the head off an animal clean.

now she had to take all of that and apply it to another human being.

most people would wretch at the blood, but svet finds nothing wrong with it. in fact, there is a beauty in the color that would pour from an open wound. she does not bat an eyelash at painful things.

she only sees what is beautiful.

she picked up an axe and decided to move around with a trainer, it felt good in her hands. sure, it was not like the ones back home, the feeling was smooth and metallic, while the ones back home could give you a splinter if it was held wrong. she swung it a couple times the trainer directing her to the targets that popped up from the floor. each one feel rather quickly, parts of them flying around the ground. she controlled her breathing, just like she would when they were on a hunt. the trainer simply stood back and watched.

she had a feeling that he was impressed behind that stoic smile.

she continued to move around the practice field, chopping down new targets as they had popped up. after a few minutes, svet was told to take a moment while they reset the field. she lets the axe rest next to her leg as she took a moment to gather her thoughts. she focuses on her breathing, her ears feeling warm from a slight ringing. it felt like there were eyes on her, but she did not want to acknowledge it right away because she knew that would be a sign of weakness down the line. being self conscious right now was not going to help her in the arena. it was all about how she carried herself.

as the trainer was about to open his mouth, a loud sound had erupted behind her. for a moment, she wanted to pretend that she didnt hear it, but it was almost too distinct for her to not turn around and look. when she did, she realized that there was a boy standing there. the first thing she did was eye the number four plastered on his uniform. "taking notes?" svetlana said, the axe now raised on her shoulder. "the light step station is over there if you needed a little more practice." svet opted to skip that one.

who needed it when you planned on making an entrance anyway.

[knuckles]

"The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in finding a friend worth dying for."
- Mark Twain

Maybe I should just stay in my room.

Staying away from everyone would've made things much better, but Maverick can't undo the past, and now he's standing in the midst of the training center with weapons scattered everywhere. Mission failed. Trying to learn about someone else will never do him any good. Instead, he's stuck looking like a clown who is unable to hold his own. Failing is one thing, but failing in front of everyone is more difficult than he ever could've imagined, yet Mav knows this is just the beginning.

But maybe it's something he can easily play up. Pretend that he's clumsy, and that he has two left feet. It would work a lot better, and now that he's taking this moment to really gather himself, he finds people are watching him. Trainers are looking at him while shaking their heads.

I'm a hopeless case.

Being an imposter makes things hard to understand, wants is to prove that he's more than capable of succeeding, but how can he live when his entire life is being broadcast for the world to see? Soon they'll realize that he's lied about so much, yet one thing remains true, and that's how much he loves and cares for those he holds close.

"Taking notes?"

His heart sinks into the pits of his stomach as the girl he was spying on realizes what's happened. The answer is yes but giving that away can only make things worse for himself. But right now, the only thing on his mind is trying to make this right, trying to figure out where to go, what to do, and what to say. Nothing is easy anyway.

"The light step station is over there if you needed a little more practice."

Light step would make a difference, it would help him, and maybe give him a better chance once he's standing inside the arena. It's all easier than it seems, though. Maverick takes a deep breath and picks up one of the swords on the floor holding it in his hand.

"I was just inspecting the weapon rack to find the perfect weapon when I rolled my ankle losing my balance." Lying is always the answer, at least that's what he tells himself, but here it doesn't matter anyway since he's going to eventually die. "I don't need to take notes on anyone. I'm confident in my abilities."

I have to be at this point.

Yet his heart is racing, and he's trying to keep a stoic face, but it's more difficult than he ever imagined.

418 words
table by kap

[ryan]

﹙   s v e t l a n a   f o r r e r s t e r   ﹚

she was trying to convince herself that this was just a fluke. that careers werent already taking note of her abilities. it was like they were sizing her up, and a part of that made her slightly uncomfortable. to be quite fair, it shouldnt have come to a surprise, because the ones from four specifically should not have been trusted. every year, they had been cunning enough to make it farther, and svet could remember vividly that fours had always put sevens in jeopardy before anyone else.

just look at the 80th.

if they were gonna be watching her, then she needed to put on a show. she did not care if people thought of her as a threat. she was here to make a statement after all. life does imitate art and all of that nonsense. the boy from four looking onwards at her was probably just going to be the first of many thorns in her side.

she is watching his mannerisms, and when he goes to pick up one of the blades that he had knocked over, she is slightly confused. she is not chastising him for watching, she is simply stating a fact about what he was doing. even if he wasnt inherently watching her, he was still up to no good, and that was the part that svet was going to call out. there was no use in trying to play things off. svet had been taught to discern many things.

however, maybe she would play a long a little bit.

she steps off the floor for a moment, telling the trainer to hold the spot for her as she knew she wanted to go for round two. "uh huh." svet smirked for a moment. "if that is the perfect weapon you are holding, care to show me what you can do with it?" svet offered him the floor. if he was going to make bold claims, then she was going to see him and raise him the action.

"lets see that confidence at work then." she waited for his response, the axe now resting at the top of her leg, arms crossed and eyes ready to slice through any facade that the boy was going to try to put up.

if he wasnt going to act courageously, then svet was going to apply pressure until he did.

[knuckles]

"The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in finding a friend worth dying for."
- Mark Twain

A sword definitely isn't his weapon of choice, and now he has no choice but to figure out how to quickly use it without making himself look like a fool. It's easy enough, really, but his mind is racing in many directions. Telling the truth always makes things easier in the long run, yet Mav is battling the idea of being an imposter, and now he's about to show everyone how big of an imposter he is. He takes a deep breath afraid of what's going to happen, but instead of looking afraid, he balances the sword a bit before lifting it high into the air. It doesn't feel natural, but maybe that's what he needs.

Maybe that's all he needs.

Sometimes it only takes a spark before courage comes coursing through his veins, but in this moment, Maverick knows nothing will change the way he's feeling. If everyone knew his story, if they saw him for the man he truly is, would they respect him at all? Would they give him a chance to prove himself?

All it takes is a single moment for him to insert his foot into his mouth, and now he has to make himself look good compared to everyone else. It isn't easy, but he knows what he's capable of.

One thing he could do is make himself look much weaker than he truly is, yet he needs to walk the walk if he's going to talk the talk, and talking the talk is exactly what he's done here. It isn't a surprise that she's challenged him to show what he's capable of - he would've challenged someone acting as confident and cocky as he is too, but it's something that he isn't used to. Being himself is difficult, it shows that he's not strong enough, that he's trying to play a role.

Who would want to talk to me if they knew that I'm simply faking it all?

"Alright. Just watch and learn."

A soft grin spreads across his face as he stands in position, and instead of facing a mannequin specifically for training, he faces one of the trainers. This is his chance to prove what he can do, but his heart is galloping inside his chest, every breath is catching in the back of his throat under a lump. The trainer picks up a sword, and they're staring at one another. Learning when to attack is important, but also knowing what to do, and how to predict what's going to happen is even more important.

Maverick moves forward first pretending to swing his sword in one direction, but in the blink of an eye, he quickly switches directions stopping just shy of slicing open the trainer's stomach, and the trainer moves, yet Maverick is prepared, he lifts his own sword blocking the brunt force. Mav takes a step back, and he looks at the trainer, and he swings around trying to see what can happen, and maybe that was a mistake because the trainer strikes him against his arm. Thankfully, with the weapons used for sparring, nobody drew any blood. After round one, Maverick is content because at least they broken even.

"Is that good enough for you or do you want more?" He turns looking at Svet, "Let's see if you can do any better."

Sometimes a moment like this is all that's needed to rebuild confidence that has been lost.

561 words
table by kap