Battle Wounds (Jack, Marree, & Cato)

The moment that I came to the battlefeild, I knew what was going to happen. I would be placed against someone whom would be known to me. Perhaps, even like, but the first match that started up wasn't mine. It happened to be Gala's of all people. He small girl, whom I had falled for both as a friend and protector. To hear her name being announced for battle was almost heartbreaking. Especially when I heard who would be her competitor.

"NO!" I say outloud when the match began. My brother sat beside me. His eyes trained on the field. He didn't say anything to me the entire time the battle went on, but my cheers for Gala soon quieted when Mason's luck turned and Gala's pain became mine. I felt every hit that Mason put against her. The part where he hit her ribs, I gasped. I knew that she had already been sore there from where those guys had kicked her. If only Mason knew, he might have stayed away from that spot. It didn't help at all the next time he took a shot in the same place and as Gala's face showed the pain of the broken rib. I jumped up from my chair in the stand, attempting to want to go after her, but my brother pulled me back down to sit and watch the horror as a minute later, he buried his foot deep on top of hers.

"Gala..." My voice trails off and then the judge declares Mason the winner. I've met with Mason before... and he is a tough opponent. I only hope that Gala is alright... Mason, how could you? I realize though, it's the pregames. No nice opponents here. No teddy bears and hugs in this game. It's brutal and Gala just figured that out. I leave the stands, leaving my brother to support me in the battle that I will be participating in shortly. I go as fast as I can to the under part of the arena where I see Gala furiously take off to in order to escape the personell that was suppose to take care of her injuries. Just let them help you, Gala. Then again, I doubt I'd let them help me too after taking a defeat like that.

I come down the hallway fast, and stop just shy of where I suddenly hear Matthew's voice ring out to Gala.

"Gala! You were awesome!" To hear Matthew's pleasing words to his trainee was nice. I'd never heard him be so enthusiastic before and the way he was talking to her, it seemed like a bad time interrupt their moment. I stay where I'm at around the corner. Listening. A smile upon my face as I heard him ask if she wanted some ice. For some reason, the way he was encouraging her and telling her how she'd already won no matter what, made me smile.

Sneaking around never was my strong suit when I was ease dropping on someone. I can sneak out of the house no problem, but listening to things that I shouldn't be has never turned out well for me. I almost always get caught. Even, now, as I listen to Gala and Matthew, my heart goes out for her and no sooner did that occur, I hear Matthew tellin her that she needs to swallow her pride and let the staff take care of her. That she needed to let them do their job. Kyanite couldn't agree more, but it seemed as though there is something deeper than just letting them help her. Was it just her pride? Or something else?

I'll grab someone for you. It didn't donn on me until the words met with me too late, that I realized I had nowhere to hide. So, the moment, I try to hide, I'm caught by the one person that has taken me for a loop. My eyes meet with him as I hear his surprised 'Hey' and then he's already offering up his trainee to me. I give him a crooked smile wondering why he was acting like that. It wasn't his norm. Then more questions arise.

"Yeah." I tell him, and hold back the name of the girl that I'd seen who would be fighting me. Did he know it was going to be Kayghna? Does he know how I'm feeling about that fight already? I sigh, as he tells me what he's going to be doing and getting a nurse for the injured girl who had just lost her first battle in front of a crowd. How horrible that must feel though. To be beaten, then expected to be healed afterwards. Yeah, like that is just going to take away all the pain and suffering.. and the humiliation. Poor Gala... You're not the only one that's went through that.

I look after Matthew for a few moments, watching him walk away from me to go off to find help for Gala. I want Matthew to turn around and talk to me more cause I need to tell him what is going on in my head about tomorrow's battle, but he takes off too fast. My salvation for secrets has his back turned toward me as he walks away. Further and further down the hallway and with a bite of my lips, I turn around the corner and enter the room, seeing Gala sitting on the floor, looking as about hurt as ever and not just physically injured. I see the pain in her face and I sense the anger. I can see what Mason has done is effecting her in so many ways. I offer her a sly smile.

"Start off great and end with a thud. That's how my fights usually went at first, too." I tell her as I stop and lean on the half portion of wall and door. I look at her while I fold my arms up against my chest and give her a look of joy, yet disappointment.

"Tisk, tisk... you started off so well... You were on top of things. Then... Mason had to get a little bit rough. Typical guy." I roll my eyes and bounce myself against the wall and walk in fully to meet with the girl who lays against the wall. "Anger doesn't suit you, sweetie. Actually, it doesn't suit anyone, especially us girls."

I get up beside her, and let my legs bend as I come to sit near her, and I draw my arms around my legs to keep them together. I look over at her. "Matthew going to get you a nurse or something? Does he know how you have to be treated by them?" I ask her honestly, while nodding my head to my own statement. "You did good out there, G. Real good. You are strong and feirce. Mason knows that. Yeah.. he may have won, but did you see the reaction you got out there from the crowd? I was part of that. Wasn't fair for him to pick on a girl like that in battle, but the simple fact that you went out there is what had the audience react that way.

"You have earned their respect, I'm sure. YOu got out there where the battle is outnumbered by age and training and yet you got this close," I bring my index and thumb together with just a very small crack of an opening for Gala to see and compare, "to bringing him down. He got lucky that is all."

I stare at her features and then I think about her ribs that got punched twice. With a concerned voice, I lay it on her. "You know you need to get checked out, doctor or not. Though, I think they also are forced to comply, to the person in question, to the rules that they can refuse treatment, if you so wish. I don't recommend it though."

"Really?" The reply comes out so questionable after my first words to her after her recent defeat. I nodd to her as I make myself known to her and wait for a few moments. I stare at her sitting on the ground and the longer I stand there, I begin to tell something from my past. My lips part and no sound comes out at first, then my voice cracks and the words come out to my newfound 'friend'.

"Ends with a thud, would be right, more or less. Actually, I hit the mat a lot when I started training. Hand to hand combat.. is my worst area of fighting. You've done so much better than me." I smirk a bit, then continue. "My first real battle, I don't know if you would call it winning or not. The coaches called it in my favor because I jammed the wooden sword straight into the back of my opponent and caused him immense pain. I barely made any marks on him until the very last moment. That very last swing. I was fighing against this kid... this guy my age, when I was twelve. He was a long time old 'friend' of mine.

Anyways, the battle was all in his favor. I kept landing on the mat. My head connected to the cushioned floor at least five times. Never could get my footing. Never could stay up long enough to really do anything toward him. He might have been my age, but he was built and stronger than I was at that age. I was so tiny. He even crushed my left hand in the battle with a cheap shot from the hilt of the sword. I only got one good hit against him, but a lot of good it did me. Caused me more pain to end that battle that way, but my father is the one who made me do it." I tell her a bit about my first fight and the only detail I spare her was the name of the guy I had to battle. She doesn't need to know about Jins. He's part of my dark history that only Matthew knows about and surprisingly, I've seen nothing of Jins in quite some time. It almost puts this dark, looming cloud over my head expecting him to just appear out of nowhere soon. I shake that thought away.

I can't help but wonder what is going through her head. So, I go and sit by her and smile when she claims she furious. I would be too after that kind of odds against me. "I was furious about that battle, too. Hurt, too." I tell her. I pause to listen to her talk about the audience as I had commented on just moments ago.

"You've seen the games, I know. The little gifts inside of the parachutes that are sent to the tributes in the games. They are sponsor gifts. You earn them because of the crowd. The audience, if you must say it that way. They support their favorite tributes. They go for the ones that makes impressions on their hearts and minds. It could mean life and death. If you do nothing but grunt and groan and scowl, they won't take interest in you. If you put up a real fight like you did with Mason, they honor that a lot more. If you show you're true worth..." I raise an eyebrow to her, "they will notice you. Win or lose, you made an impression today. That's the best thing you can do."

My next manuever was to try to get Gala to see a nurse about her condition. It wasn't smart to just let her wounds get worse if she needed to seek medical care. So, when she mentioned seeing the doctor that I had went to after Matt had taken me to that one cold night. I even took her there to see him, along with myself, after the fight with Joel and the gang.

"I think that might be alright, but I don't know if you're up for traveling, Gala. It's quite a ways from here. Maybe, we can catch Matthew before he grabs a nurse." I move to get up, and I reach out a hand for her to take. I'm just hoping that getting her up from that sitting position isn't going to do her more harm.

"Lets go get Matthew?"