fisherman or warrior? [nan/garrison]

[k!ah]

N A N E T T E   Ψ   C A R T E R

The spear between my fingers reminded me of home.

Closing my eyes for a moment I imagined that the ocean lapped at my ankles, that the salt kissed breeze whipped through my golden hair. I imagined that the sounds around me were the sounds of families along the coast, the clashing of steel knives and forks as children demanded their parents to open the picnic basket, to fill their hungry bellies.

It was almost believable until some idiot to my left cries out, no doubt burning his finger on some pathetic fire he had tried to build. Releasing a breath I turn to face the target before, my fingers running along the shaft of the spear, almost caressing. 'A weapon is an extension of your limbs, treat it with the respect you demand to be treated with', my trainer liked to constantly remind me. Smiling I take my fighters stand, holding the spear between myself and the target.

'Always be aware of your surroundings, Nanette,' he would call moments before swinging a large staff towards he ankles, an attempt to trip me over. An exhale of breath and I move like a feline, stalking its prey. Silent, deadly, after years upon years of training. Scars litter the skin of my knuckles, white marks paint my fingers. I strike, the tip of my spear moving as fast as an adder. 'Quicker,' he would demand, teeth snagging my lower lip I strike again.

Still not fast enough, grunting I lung, bringing the spear in a wide arc to slice across the targets ankles. Had it of been a tribute, they would have collapsed, the Achilles tendon severed, eliminating the use of their feet.

'That's better.'

I smile.

[grant]

The whole room holds a clamour of difficulty. Nobody is particularly enjoying training, yet. It’s maybe too early for those that weren’t accustomed to these environments to be truly comfortable. But Garrison? His natural element is the grind. The constant uphill climb towards success. His actions, if not seeking fun and entertainment, are the thrill of a challenge.

That’s when he sees Nanette. Competition, entirely. She is beautiful, the kind of beauty that District Four is known for. Before he sees her as a threat he makes the awful mistake of misjudging her looks as someone he could trust, not in life, but trust to be a good target dummy.

He’ll probably be proven wrong very shortly.

He walks up to her zone, knowing full well that the spear is at least his favourite weapon. Everyone knows District Two is the most vicious, typically, but Garrison barely looks the part. Soft features, wide smile. He’s too warm for the thaw that is often surrounding his brethren.

“You look like you know what you’re doing. Think you could show me some things?” He says, picking up a spear from the training station.

-x-

[k!ah]

N A N E T T E   Ψ   C A R T E R

He approaches with a grin, arms spread wide in a gesture that suggested he had no intentions of aggression. It was most likely an attempt to soften my guards, to try and slip past my protective shields. I don't falter, my gaze frosty as it sweeps him from head to toe. He was attempting to be charming, pity for him I was not charmed.

“You look like you know what you’re doing." My eyebrows raise as I place the blunt end of my spear into the ground. I didn't have to be a genius to be able to tell just from the look and the air about the guy that he was a career. I was almost certain he would easily know his way around the weapon.

But I decide to play along, the frostiness in my gaze melting enough for my lips to pull back into a smile that matched his own. He picks up his own spear and I don't fail to notice that it was not that he was just charming, he was beautiful too. In the way that many careers were, bodies toned, skin clear and eyes holding a brightness to them that many of those that came from the lower districts didn't.

"I do know what I am doing," I choose my words carefully, my eyes meeting his. "I could..." I purse my lips, looking at the spear in his hands. He held it like he had been wielding the weapon all his life. Slowly I bring my gaze back to meet his own, "show you some moves. But what would a lowly district four girl have to show a fierce career of district two?"

Maybe more than what he bargained for, after all the spear was my weapon, from my homelands. Many of us learned how to use the spear the moment we learnt how to handle ourselves in water.

[grant]

She is definitely confident, at least as far as Garrison believes. The way she can handle a career approach her out of nowhere. It was clear who was who in the training centre. Their names weren’t as clear when everything around them is filled with such anxiety.

“There’s nothing low about Four” he tells her, gripped his spear with some intent. “I’m not underestimating anyone. But I’m from Two, we don’t catch fish with our sticks, we catch each other.”

He readies himself, because she will make the first move here. He can’t just walk up to people and strike, but he wants to know what a District Four tribute knows - how they travel in a fight. He has more to learn than maybe she knows, but in the same stroke, maybe make at least a semblance of an ally in the arena.

Even if he’s already found his true alliance.

“You go.” He motions his spear forward. “If you want to show me how to catch a fish.”

-x-

[k!ah]

N A N E T T E   Ψ   C A R T E R

“There’s nothing low about Four," he counters, his hands tightening around the shaft of the spear. I slightly raise my brows at him as he continues, "but I’m from Two, we don’t catch fish with our sticks, we catch each other.”

The small bark of laughter leaves my lips before I can stop it, and I give him a fierce smile. "Confident. Let's hope you are not all talk then."

I watch as prepares himself, playing the gentleman's game, waiting for me to make the first move. I was certain that the moment we entered the arena that chivalry will evaporate quicker than ice under a searing hot flame.

He motions for me to attack first, another teasing comment slipping from his tongue causing my blood to begin to heat. I would show him that us careers in four learnt more than just how to poke at unsuspecting fish. That we were the warriors of the ocean.

If he wanted to see what I was made of, I'd show him.

I'd knock him on his ass.

But not here.

I gesture towards the shallow pool in the corner of the room. "Over there. Over there I'll show you just how hard we poke at at unsuspecting fish."