CHAPTER 21
THE UNDERDOGS

BEX woke up with her arms wrapped around herself, as if she was waiting for someone to hold her. It was a miracle in itself that she managed to get sleep while her imminent death was weighing down on her. The duvet pulled above her head acted as a shield from the approaching sun and allowed her to enjoy whatever dream she was having. It clearly had to do with being held tightly. However, she didn't get to enjoy it for as long as she hoped, because someone began to smack a pillow on her head.

"Ow! Ow!" Bex screamed, shoving the person off. She looked up to see Johanna with a beaded pillow in her hands, back hitting the wall. Her survival instinct had taken over. Bex didn't mean to push her that hard, but Johanna didn't look phased. As always.

Johanna chucked the pillow on the carpet. "Get dressed and be at the Training Center in fifteen. It's not the time to sleep in."

She had become quite the mentor. Bex didn't realize she had it in her. When they mentored together in the Capitol, she usually left Bex to deal with the important things, like acquiring sponsors and speaking with other mentors. But Johanna was on her own now, and she was tough, strong-willed, and stubborn. She was definitely harsher than Bex as a mentor. It was a good thing, though, and she was learning more every day. Johanna was finally dedicated to studying the politics of mentorship.

Bex and Nico headed down to the gymnasium together again. They separated as soon as they arrived, but shared a knowing glance before departing. It was another day for making allies. Neither of them told Johanna who they were considering. They might have to tonight so she could talk to the other mentors, but she wasn't going to like it. Last night, Bex sat down with Nico and listed off everyone she spoke to yesterday, explaining why they could be a potential ally. Nico, on the other hand, said that he spoke to Cecelia and she seemed up to an alliance, as long as Katniss Everdeen was involved. That statement puzzled Bex a bit, but she guessed that all the Victors wanted to be tied to the Girl on Fire. She was a key to getting sponsors this year.

Although Bex had no doubt in her mind that the Quell would end in her death, she was still hopeful for allies. She wanted to find people who were with dying for, and she didn't want to just give up as soon as she entered the arena because she knew her demise was near. Bex wasn't like that. She wouldn't give up. She had lost so much to not go down without a fight.

As she walked around the gym, Bex noticed there were even fewer tributes today. None of the Careers were culminating by the weapons rack. Tributes from Districts Eight through Ten were nowhere to be seen. Even the morphling duo from Six weren't puking their guts up in the corner. The Training Center was basically empty.

This could be a good thing, though. It gave Bex more room to branch out, discover new training stations, and find serious alliances. Everyone who bothered to show up today was proving to be a good choice.

The knot-tying course was completely empty. Bex walked over and kneeled down in the fake grass surrounding the station. A steel table was placed beside the grass with a bunch of different ropes hanging off of it, and also a tablet instructing how to make different kinds of knots. After scrolling through the tablet, Bex reacquainted herself with how to make a snare. From the instructions, it didn't look that hard, but it had been a long time since she even attempted one. It might've even been her first Games. She never had to use a snare trap to catch food in Seven.

Unfortunately, it was definitely harder than it seemed. Bex was attempting a snare that would leave a competitor dangling by their leg, but the one currently in her hands wouldn't even catch a rabbit. A training instructor even came over and offered help, but Bex waved him off and said she could do it on her own. It was a lie. She definitely couldn't do this on her own, but she wouldn't give the Capitol anymore of her time.

She looked up and watched Plutarch scan the room. Some of the Gamemakers were probably laughing at her. "Poor little Flower Girl can't even tie a snare," they were likely saying. Bex rolled her eyes and continued to struggle with the rope.

"Need some help?"

Bex lifted her head and met Katniss' grey stare. Her dark, almost black hair was pulled back into the infamous braid, and despite being so put-together, the bags under her eyes told a different story. Bex scratched the top of her head and weighed the offer. She looked down at her sad excuse for a snare, sitting in the fake soil of the course. It was pitiful. She sighed longingly before turning her head back up to Katniss.

"I do know snares pretty well," the younger tribute added.

Bex arched a brow. "Oh, do you?" Her tone was playful, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't think you'd want allies during the Games. Why are you helping everyone?"

"Contrary to popular belief," Katniss said, replicating Bex's stance, "I want to survive just as much as you do."

Bex shrugged. "Fair enough."

Katniss kneeled down in the grass and picked up Bex's snare. She gave her a fake smile. "This is ..."

"Bad," Bex finished. "You can say it's bad."

The younger girl rubbed at the back of her neck. "Well, yes, it's bad." She set the snare back in the fake dirt and raised a brow. "How about we make a deal? If I help you with snares, you'll help me throw an axe."

Bex blinked a few times. She didn't really expect Katniss to be insistent, but they were all playing a wild game of survival. Katniss needed her help just as much as Bex needed hers. It's funny how impending death can change a person.

"You're very persistent," Bex replied, looking back down at the snare. It looked so sad and lifeless between them. "But that sounds like a good deal to me."

Katniss' snare lesson was somehow more helpful than the detailed step-by-step guide Bex read on the tablet. It took less than thirty minutes for Bex to master the knot tying, and soon enough, she had a snare that could trap a rabbit and a tribute's leg at the same time. Katniss explained how her father taught her how to hunt with snares when she was a child, and then she graduated to hunting with a bow. "Snare-traps made for animals can work just as well for humans," she said in a grave tone. Without meeting Bex's eyes, she looked away and tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. "I learned that last year."

The two spent another hour at the axe throwing station. Bex showed her technique to Katniss as an example, but made sure to reiterate that chopping wood with an axe is a lot less complicated than killing a target with one. She felt ill even saying it, but Katniss needed to know. This was a normal conversation between two Victors.

Bex didn't feel the need to show off or make a spectacle of herself while teaching the other girl. At the end of yesterday's training day, Katniss had showed her skills with a bow to teach Mags, and she garnered all of the other tributes as an audience. Bex didn't want that, nor did she need it. She was already a Victor. Everyone here knew how deadly she was.

Bex plucked several different axes from the weapons wall for Katniss to try, presenting how each could be used in a distinctive way. "This one has a much larger blade. It would be too heavy to throw, so you would hold it the whole time while charging at another tribute," she held up one axe, set it down, and lifted another. "The blade on this is lighter and could definitely be thrown from a far distance to hit another tribute. Think of it as a larger, disfigured version of a hunting knife." Bex handed this one in particular to Katniss. "I think you'd be suited for it. You're good at killing from a distance."

Katniss sent her a fake smile and took the axe. Bex felt just as uncomfortable with her statement as she did.

They practiced throwing the axe at holographic targets. Beetee's words from yesterday were still fresh – about how the targets flicker and fizzle out – and it was now hard for Bex not to notice. Katniss struggled a lot, but once she began to actually hit the running targets, Bex realized how the projections would crumble and sizzle. Some would disappear into a pile of holographic cubes, eventually flickering out.

Bex turned her head to the Gamemakers' apartment. That force field was doing a lot to protect them. It was taking up all the energy in the gym. They were scared that one of the Victors would try to do something, and perhaps, they were right to feel that way.

Katniss got the hang of it. Her aim was really good and she sliced the targets as if they were made out of butter. "This is really tiring," she said as Bex walked over and picked up the axe she just threw. Katniss flexed her hands. "You don't get as exhausted with a bow."

"Axes are a lot heavier, especially if you're carrying one with a large blade for a long time," Bex said, placing the weapon back on the rack.

Katniss rubbed at her hands and approached Bex from behind. She might've frightened the older tribute if Bex had not heard her footsteps, but Katniss was still quiet. Quieter than she would've liked.

"Thanks for the lesson," Katniss said gently. The usual aggressive tone to her voice had suddenly vanished. But Bex wasn't all-too convinced of her friendliness just yet.

"Thanks for teaching me the snare," Bex replied, watching Katniss turn her head to find Peeta. He was currently laughing along with Chaff from District Eleven at the slingshot course. "You should probably go over there before Peeta accidentally shoots himself in the eye."

Katniss nodded, "You're right." She hesitated for a moment and exhaled another, Thanks, under her breath. Bex hardly caught the reply as Katniss walked away.

When she turned, Bex found Nico at the shelter-making course just a few feet away. He waved for her to come over. Bex strode towards her District partner and cracked her knuckles. Nico was currently making some sort of tent out of large leaves and sticks, but the roof seemed weak. Bex tilted her head to the side as Nico crawled out. Before she could voice her concern, he said, "Girl on Fire seems to like you."

Bex looked over at Katniss, who was now showing Peeta the proper way to handle a slingshot. Chaff chuckled at their banter.

Turning back to Nico, she replied, "I don't know about that. Katniss is very calculative about who she wants to talk to. So far it's been me, Beetee, Wiress, and Mags. You, too – I think – at the camo station. Maybe even some of the Careers, but they refused to acknowledge her."

"Besides the Careers," Nico huffed, getting to his feet and wiping his hands off, "she's approaching the underdogs."

"Are you calling me an underdog?"

Nico smiled.

Bex narrowed her eyes. "Just get back to your leaf house, Cadoc."

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Finnick had performed quite a show for the rest of the tributes at the trident station before the end of the day. It was very clear he was showing off his skills, flexing his muscles for the small crowd. Mags, Katniss, Peeta, and Seeder stood behind the course and watched him attentively. Bex tried to ignore him – though he made it extremely difficult – by occupying herself at the weight-lifting station. She figured it wouldn't hurt to get some muscles back into her arms, and it may have also provided a good distraction from him.

Eventually, his crowd of spectators went away to use the small amount of time they had left in the gym for more important matters. This was when Bex finally looked back over at Finnick, watching him twirl the trident between two hands. She stood up straighter and narrowed her eyes at him. He began to practice his fighting stance. Twirl, and then jab. He turned in the opposite direction and copied the action.

Bex didn't realize she had started to walk over to him until she was standing at the trident station, hands braced on her hips. His technique was quick and threatening, but also a little sloppy. Bex guessed she couldn't judge because she'd never worked with a trident. But she didn't think twirling the weapon and giving the audience a show would help with survival.

Her mouth was moving before she could stop it: "Do you really think a trident is going to be waiting for you at the Cornucopia?"

Finnick halted his movements, turning swiftly in her direction. His face froze up, and then his whole body relaxed. She'd caught him off guard.

Leaning against the trident, Finnick answered, "I can hope."

Her brow shot up. She looked up at him on the mat, weighing the size of the trident. It didn't look too hard to handle. Hoisting herself up onto the elevated platform, Bex said, "Why don't you move out of the way and give other people a shot?"

Mags heard the commotion from where she stood at the knot-tying station. She grinned.

Finnick pointed the weapon in Bex's direction. "You think you can work a trident?"

Bex nodded her head.

"It's heavier than you think," he explained. "More difficult to throw from a distance."

"Shouldn't be as hard as throwing an axe." She shrugged.

He stepped in front of her, drowning in her black stare. With their chests within inches of each other, Finnick muttered, "It is much harder."

Bex held her hand out, wiggling her fingers with anticipation.

Finnick rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said, placing it in her palm, "take it."

The trident fell from his hands and into her grip, and Bex had to stop her feet from giving out. Maybe he had a point. The trident was pretty heavy. But nothing she couldn't handle. She followed Finnick to a spot on the mat, where the holographic target was at least twenty feet away.

"Can you handle that, Flower Girl?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips. His smirk was incredibly daring.

Bex looked over her shoulder for a short moment, noticing Katniss' eyes on her. And Peeta's. And Mag's. She swallowed hard and turned back to Finnick. The smirk hadn't left his lips, but his dimples had now perked up. She exhaled and smiled back. "Of course, I can."

He gestured ahead and stepped back. "Then, by all means."

Bex shifted her position. She put one foot in front of the other, leaning back just a bit. The trident became heavier as she lifted it in the air. She blinked twice, and the holographic target was advancing towards her. Her breath hitched. Her hands got clammy. The trident was weighing down her grip. The target was halfway to her, so she tossed the trident into the air.

It barely skimmed the target's flickering body. Instead, the trident landed in the target's foot, causing it to fall down and explode into tiny cubes.

She could hear Finnick chuckling beneath the pounding in the ears.

Bex tilted her head. That had to be the worst throw she'd ever made. How did that even happen? She's always had incredible aim. This didn't make any sense.

Finnick approached her from behind and whispered in her ear, "Told you."

She jerked away and glared at him. Plutarch's stare was fixated on her. She noticed when she lifted her eyes and her whole body trembled. Even two of the other Gamemakers stood from their comfy chairs and ogled at their conversation.

Finally, Bex's scowl flickered back to Finnick. "Give me the trident again."

He snickered, but walked off to grab the weapon. It swayed from side-to-side. She hadn't stabbed it into the mat that hard – another big mistake. When Bex turned back to face the target, Finnick was walking over to her, trident pointed out for her to take.

"Make sure to actually kill it this time," he quipped.

Bex snatched the trident. "Just get out of the way."

Finnick held his hands up in surrender and walked behind her. He crossed his arms, waiting for her next move.

The target wavered in the air in front of her. It waited for her too. Blowing out a sigh, Bex assumed her fighting stance once again. The hologram sprinted for her, but she didn't see it. Her eyes shut for a moment. She allowed herself to take in a deep breath, and then let it out.

When she opened her eyes again, she launched the trident.

It soared through the air like a bird, spiraling as it headed for the target. Finnick stood up straighter and watched with disbelief. The trident pierced the target's chest instantly, penetrating the mat, and it fizzled out before them.

Finnick raised a brow.

The trident was still securely lodged into the mat.

Bex spun on her heel to face him. "I think I killed it," she said, hands on her hips, "don't you agree?"

He grinned and clapped his hands together. "Completely."

As she tilted her head up, Bex realized Plutarch was clapping too.

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A/N: I didn't realize how finnick saying, "it is much harder," could be taken out of context until I actually reread this chapter but...........whatever! horny bex rights!

also, I wanted to give a quick thank you to everyone supporting this story. it really means a lot to me because it's always scary to start writing for a new fandom. but I appreciate all the support immensely and I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story as much as I am writing it 💕💓💞