Paper Towns (OPEN)

[Elletnah™ The JabberJay]

The second day of training started much like the first. Being unable to sleep again Achlys called an avox and asked if they had something to help her sleep. She slept better than she had since before the reaping and she woke up before the annoying escort, this time in eye watering yellow, even knocked on her door, this time when she didn't answer he came in only to find her already in the shower her training clothes already laid out and her bed made.
Stepping out of her bathroom she quickly dressed in the odd training clothes that were laid out and jogged down to the dinning room where her fellow tribute (who may or may not be there mind you) mentor and escort all sat around eating breakfast. Achlys sat down and made herself a bowl of oatmeal with a bit of honey for sweetness. After eating and a mild lecture on what she should and should not be doing, apparently showing off at the archery station is on the list of do nots, they suggested she try the swimming pool and Achlys made an odd face. "Why?"
"They don't have that station every year and nearly every time they have there is a form of water as an obstacle in the arena, its a good idea." The mentor said.
"And what if it is a waste of my time, I will be spending valuable time learning something I do not need when I could be learning something useful like fishing." Achlys said taking a sip of her juice.
"I am your mentor, I am here to help you make it as far as possible and if I think you learning how to swim would help you in that matter than I would suggest you learn it." Achlys narrowed her eyes in annoyance but refused to admit that he had a point.
Entering the elevator she crossed her arms in annoyance as she waited for the elevator to reach the training floor. When she arrived the other tributes appeared to be there already and she joined there ranks waiting to be allowed to go train.
When they were let go she headed straight for the mostly deserted pool. Where a trainer sat casually treading water. "So... You can teach me to swim?"
The trainer looked up and smiled, "I can teach just about anyone to swim." He was a young man, possible in his mid twenties and well built.
Achlys shrugged and gestured to the pool, "So you just want me to get in?" She said looking at what she was wearing and considering she didn't want to get her shoes wet. "The clothes were specifically picked so if you choose to participate in this station, so just get in."
Achlys toed the luke warm water, "What if I drown?"
He laughed, "I am here to prevent exactly that. Just jump in if you start to drown I will save you." Achlys looked at him sheepishly, took a deep breath, and jumped in. Her feet hit the bottom and she pushed off towards the surface hard and surfaced gasping for breath and grasping for the edge. "Not bad, got guts, personally I would have chosen the shallow end for my first try but what ever suits your fancy." If looks could kill the boy would be floating belly up in the pool.
"Come on lets learn the basics." He said gesturing towards what he called the shallow end, which was really only a few feet shallower than the part of the pool she was currently in.
She spent most of the morning and well into the after learning to swim at first it was like a cat thrown into a shallow pond and turned gradually into... Well not a cat learning to swim but slightly better. When he was certain that she could swim well enough to not drown herself if left to her own devices he taught her to dive and for fun how to do somersaults and hand stands underwater. Achlys was actually begining to enjoy herself when the man in charge called them in for the day. An asisstant was waiting outside the pool and handed her a large soft towel to wrap herself in until she arrived back in the apartments.



Word Count: 717
Clothes: Swimming? Really?

[Brave]

HE’S A REAL NOWHERE MAN
SITTING IN HIS NOWHERE LAND
MAKING ALL HIS NOWHERE PLANS FOR NOBODY

Cesil headed onto the training floor with purpose for once, having figured out exactly what it was he wanted to do. Ever since he had arrived at the Training Center the large swimming pool had called out to him. He had never seen one before, and his interest was piqued. It couldn’t hurt to try it out when they offered it, and the last time Cess had been swimming was before he had even met Amira. He was surprised at how casually he could call her to memory now, and how the usual icy pain was absent. Perhaps it was the sudden change of events that had diverted his anguish to more immediate obstacles, or maybe it was simply the twisted fact that he felt closer to her here in the Training Center, on his way to the Hunger Games then he had in the year he had spent after her death in District 9.

As he neared the edge of the pool all thoughts of Amira Pierce took a back seat as he examined the occupants of the swimming area. The pool was completely empty with the exception of a trainer and his district partner, Achlys Triffon, who currently seemed to be attempting to drown herself based on her gasps and flailing movements as she sought the ledge of the deep end. Cesil smirked in quiet amusement at the sight, not really because it was funny but because it meant he at least had some advantage over another tribute, even if it was just in swimming.

After a short moment of observation Cesil sucked in a deep breath of air, curled his toes around the edges of the pool and sprung forward, headfirst as he dove neatly into the pool. The plunge was a welcome relief, one that spread a desirable numbness from the tips of his fingers and toes into the very center of his chest. It relaxed him, allowed him a moment of restfulness that he had not managed in the few stressful days he had spent in the Capitol. Then it faded, like everything always did in his life, and he stretched his arms out in front of him and pushed out, swimming elegantly forward underneath the water. His body moved with the similarity of an otter as he spiraled his way across the pool’s expanse, his arms and legs moving in a rhythmic pattern that helped quell his fears. Soon he hit the opposite wall and without pausing for breath spun and swam back the other way. Only when he reached the opposite wall again did he resurface for breath, his lungs burning slightly from the sudden rush of oxygen. He rested for a moment, treading water lazily before he struck out in a crawl across the waters surface, pushing himself for speed and accuracy as he raced back and forth across the waters expanse.

Eventually he tired of laps, and was soon joined by a female trainer who looked on from above in slight curiosity."How did you learn to swim so well, District 9? I didn't think they had any place to swim up there." The women said, her eyes more suspicious than curious. Cesil simply smiled, a wide grin breaking out across his face. " Well you see, Miss," He started, doing his best to be charming, " We have rather large puddles up in District 9" He finished. The trainer simply narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, but then smirked as she sat down by the waters edge."Well, lets see just how big these puddles are"

His remaining portion of the day was spent doing numerous tasks for the trainer within the water, ranging from diving at greater heights to fetching batons from the bottom of the pool to learning new ways of swimming, and at the end of it Cesil felt pleasantly used up, his energy gone in a comfortable manner so that when he went to pull himself from the pool it was in a worn but pleased way instead of exhausted and sore.

The moment he was poolside an assistant swept in, handing him a large white cotton towel to dry off with. He thanked the assistant generously, the soft fabric comforting him in a manner he couldn’t describe. He toweled off quickly, attempting to get most of the water from his body and then toweled off his hair as well, leaving it mussed up and messy, quite the opposite from the night of the Opening Ceremony. He then simply hung the towel around his shoulders and leaned down to grab his shoes which he had taken off before swimming and then turned in the direction of the other tributes as he headed up towards the elevators that would take him to the apartments.

Somewhere along the way he ended up next to his district partner, her usual vibrant hair wet and dripping from the pool. His mind flashed briefly back to the early morning where he had watched her thrash about, and a slight smirk made it’s way onto his face. He had stopped trying to avoid her after the Opening Ceremonies, it was just to exhausting to do and in all honesty Cesil was starving for some conversation. He hadn’t bothered with any of the other tributes, not yet anyways, so it was only natural that he reach out to the girl beside him. Her resemblance to Amira didn’t really bother him that much anymore, although there was a slight sting he felt when his eyes fell on her. Despite that, he reached out anyways.

"You know," He started calmly, his elbow nudging against hers as his head turned towards her, the corner of his eye catching hers as he adjusted his gaze,"I think you'd swim a lot better if you didn't flail around all that much... you look like some sort of chicken or something." He ended with a smile however, his eyes light as he attempted to convey his comment as harmless. After a moment he took his eyes off her, moving them to the approaching elevators and reaching out to tap the button that would take them up to their District floor.

tagging Achlys
words 1040
outfit here
lyrics nowhere man by THE BEATLES
notes Yayz
credits this was made by PARTY POISON