pay the devil twice as much to keep your soul [minie]

I was told by my escort that I should try actually participating in some of the training activities instead of just hovering around observing. No one ever did well if they did not train.

So today I strapped on my gear and headed to the training center fully prepared to tactically choose the stations I would excel at and make myself look good in front of the audience of capitolites and tributes all watching my every move.

Unfortunately for me things do not always go as planned and there comes a time where you have to rework your strategy. You can only ever do your best to control both sides of the board at the same time. Rule number one, never forget to calculate human error into your risk assessment. Conversations with a trainer led to me being shuffled to the swords. My mind raced as I tried to find a way to get myself out of the situation, a way I would not end up looking like a fool that has never held a blade in her own two hands.

Back at home, we usually delt with guns. Easy weapons to use if you the ability to aim. Even those I was not allowed to touch. No one in their right mind was going to give the junkie a firearm. We might have been a family of crooks, but we were far from stupid. Who knew what I would have done if I were to ever get claws on them. Probably accidently shoot at something I was hallucinating while on a trip. That would have most definitely called for another one of those pesky family meetings about my behavior.

Staring at the plethora of swords at our disposable, I slowly started to run my hands along the handles. Nails ever so slightly chiming as they move from one blade to the other. To an outsider, it may have looked as if I were deliberating which one would balance correctly in my hands. Truth be told, I was just buying myself more time to figure out how I was going to pull of the spectacle. Maybe it would not have to be a one man show after all.

My attention was grabbed by the boy from 6 missing his target completely. Other people’s failures have always been a trustworthy provider for my own amusement. Rumor has it that six knew a lot of the games from visuals, I guess schools needed to rethink their pedagogical methods. The best way to learn will always be from doing.

"How are you ever going to hit a moving target if you can’t strike a dummy? " I gasped in an overexaggerated tone. The boy turned to me urging me to repeat myself, "I said, how are you ever going to hit a moving target if you cannot even strike a dummy." my voice a lot blunter the second time around. No longer looking at him, I examined my nails. "You might have a bigger issue though; you are not even the slightest bit aware of your surroundings.", with my pointer finger I mimed the slicing of my throat.

Rule number two, never assume you are alone.





                                            Table credits: Dars