The First Day Of Career Training (Open)

A sour-faced Career trainer blew a whistle at me. "Get running, daddy's boy!" I did as I was ordered, already getting the overwhelming sense that this was not a man to be trifled with. Only one other person was running, so I decided to make like any good little Career Tribute and keep up with the "competition".

I kept pace with the girl as she sized me up and ran. Myself, I couldn't concentrate on anything but running. I was never a gym person - I skipped recess and PE for extra time in the school chem lab, during the school year. Within thirty seconds, I was wheezing embarrassingly and had a huge stitch in my side. I held my side and tried to keep my head up high, even though the brutes - that is, my new colleagues - were laughing their muscled asses off.

The girl wasn't showing any signs of slowing and I couldn't be beaten by a chick. Not on my first day. This fact, the laughter of the Career Tributes, and my father's "sink or swim" ultimatum all pent up inside me. I was burning mad. I dashed over to the hyenas and gave them a piece of my mind. "not a very nice persons!" I yelled. "You're all just brutes! Do you realize that the 'honor' you're all competing for is a golden chance to be a Capitol pawn and to kill people? You'd kill real people, just to be rich. To be district 'heroes'! Do you realize that half of Panem secretly hate your Career guts?!"

The girl was still running behind me, as if she didn't notice anything. I had a feeling I wasn't going to make any friends around here, especially if I kept this up. I knew that the Careers could knock me out in a single punch. My fear finally caught up with me and I walked off to the bow and arrow station, to try and blow off some steam.

Dimitri couldn't help but laugh at the iddiot that had just entered the Career gym, with his father of all people. He looked at the father and stairred hard. He didn't see any recognatioin so his father wasn't an x-Career or a Victor, just some man wanting to get rich quick, of course. This didn't surprise Dimitri, alot of families wanted to get rich quick off of the Games in the District but for some reason he recognized the boy but how.

Shruging off the questions that raced through Dimitri's head, he put his emotionless mask on and went back to work. He started with weigths, bench pressing 225 pounds and planning on building up the weight a small amount in a shot eventualy hitting 325 pounds. That's when Dimitri heard the laughing and snide comments coming from a few of the more veterined Career tributes.

He looked over toward the point of the sound and saw the familiar and new Career boy, doubled over with a stitch in his side and a girl barely out of breathe. The girl he knew a Crystal, she was a Career who had a horrible record of gym hoping, not to mention she was anything but consistent on the battle field from what he saw.

He heard the conversation fly back and forth, with the new kid going off on a rant about how horride Careers were, and Crystal pulling him away. That was probably one of the smartest things she could have ever done in her life. He didn't have alot of respect for someone who didn't honor their comitements and this girl was the poster child for it. It annoyed him to no end, but what could he do?

He watched the new Career walk over to the bow and arrow station and pick one up. Dimitri mumbled to himself as he got up, "So help me god if he shoots someone before he learns that thing. . . That's it!"

It finally hit Dimitri, how he knew this kid and his father. He had an older sister who was a Career! She was skilled, the most talented girl in the District, but sadly she had died in the Games, her family's name was Curtis. He had a great respect for her and they had spent hours training because they were such an even match, so this must be her little brother Brendon. . . Dimitri hadn't seen him for years.

He watched the boy's shaky hands pull the bow back loaded with an arrow. "Would you like some help?" Dimitri said in the most unthreatening tone that he could manage without sounding like a softy at the gym.

"You're er. . . you're," Dimitri stuttered thinking back to the boy's sister and his own first love, "You had a sister, one that the Games took. You probably don't remember me, it's been a long time. Brendon right?"

Dimitri prayed that this was the right guy, but his heart told him it was. When his mind raced back to his love, he nearly borke down, but he couldn't do that here and now, that would be something he could never do. He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, not here, not now, he repeated over and over in his mind.

"Oh, so you don't remember me then? I guessed that you wouldn't but then again, well you never know," Dimitri began ever cautiously to not show his true emotions without confusing the poor kid in front of him. He smirked a bit, no one out side of the Peace Keepers and the Careers remembered him, but they all remembered his parents, his horrible parents.

"Well I guess you could say I knew your sister through just about everything. A few years actually, your sister and I were in the love with each other. I wanted to volunteer, to keep her safe, but a Peace Keeper had a gun to my back so I had to stay quiet. I wanted to save your sister, to stop anything bad from happening to her, but I couldn't. I was too weak, and I prayed that she would come home but she never did." Dimitri finished with a huff and hoping that the boy would remember him, and forgive him for his weakness.

Dimitri stairred down at the ground, and shuffled his feet over to the archery area and grabbed a bow and a few arrows, waiting for the kid's response. He wondered if now, after all of his explaination, the boy would recognize him. he didn't know how long he could talk about HER until he started to break down and he didn't want that. He tried to get his mind off of it, sending an arrow plunging at the target and slamming the center.

He glanced back over at Brendon, hoping to get a responce.

"It was er. . . my job," Dimitri said shifting his eyes slightly. He felt genuinely sorry for this boy who should never have even been put in this situation anyway, let alone by a parent. It just wasn't right but he still respected the Games, just not as much after that. "She trusted me, I promised her I would protect her, and if I could have believe me I woud. I would trade places in a heart beat if I could but I was too late. And you're right, my name is Dimitri. You were pretty little when it all started between her and I so I guess you coud say I grew up a bit."

He started to feel the threat of tears falling and he knew it wouldn't be long before his eyes glazed over and people would surely notice. The thing was, he didn't tell Brendan the whole story. The gun had not been pointed at himself but at his little sister. That was why he didn't volunteer, he still was going to risk it, but there had been a head shake from his love because she knew what was about to happen. She had loved and trusted him Dimitri let her down.

"So archery is what you want to give a shot, huh?" Dimitri said changing the subject, noticing it was pretty hard for Brendan as well. He grabbed an arrow out of the sheath and started, "Hold your bow in a full grip in your left hand. Put the arrow just below the knock, or rather the little bead on the string, and pull back with three fingers: two below and one above the arrow. Pull back, keeping your left arm straight and bringing your right hand to your jaw. Then release the right hand's grip."

Dimitri slowly demostrated as he did the steps, and set the arrow sailing at the target. Another hit. This was his secondary weapon, behind only the sword in fighting abilities. "Now you try."

The question came crashing down into Dimitri's heart, and he had to think about how he wanted to articulate his answer. If he gave the wrong one, this boy wouldn't trust him, but the right one may not be truthful. He wouldn't lie to this boy, but maybe make him see reason? "Well," he began ever so cautiously," My parents were rebels. And so my sister and I were sent to the County Home, and well I in order to get her out of there, inrolled us as Careers until we could make money. But because the Capitol and the District did so much for us, well I became a loyalist, but my little sister, well she just is confused. I never leave a debt unpaid, so I will support the Capitol in its endevors but, well I question the Capitol ever since your sister died. It made me not trust what I always believed. However, by the time I questioned the Career path, it was too late for me, and my sister doesn't quit something until she finishes so. . . Does that answer your question?"

Dimitri finished in a huff, taking a breathe. He really loved the Capitol when he didn't think about the Games, but the Games brought back memories that he didn't want to relive often. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an old pocket watch. It didn't work anymore and it was tarnished and scratched, but inside the pocket watch was two pictures, one of is little sister Sarah, and one of Brendan's sister with himself.

He glanced down, and then closed it back and shoved it in his pocket. "So um, when you pull the bow back, raise your elbow and lock your left elbow and shoulder. That should stop the shaking." Dimitri had changed the subject rather rapidly but he figured Brendan would ask more about the whole Career thing or the pocket watch if he cared or let it slide if he didn't.

He pulled his own bow back again and let the arrow fly across the gym. Not satisfied with the amount of energy it used, he pulled a knife that he had concealed on a knife belt around his waite and threw it slamming into the target. It hit, but was about a centimeter off from the center, "Damn it!" he growled.