Hunger Games War

Ann nodded thankfully to Dean and gripped the gun tightly. She hadn't been one to like the guns. But now, she was befriending it rather quickly. It was her one way ticket home. She shook her head at Dean and replied, "Not exactly. He was just relaying a message from my father." It wasn't a lie. Or, not exactly. In a way, she was in trouble. That is, if she didn't make it home. She pointed her gun at the target and shot. She was getting closer. But just not close enough, and this was an inanimate object.

Dean nodded as he listened to her explanation. He wasn't going to ask her what the message was since it was probably something private. "So how does your family know Commander Kenway?" he asked before he shot. He cursed when he saw that he had missed. One thing that a lot of people didn't know about him was that he hated losing. If he failed, h would redo it until it was perfect. He had been told a time or two that he would make the perfect soldier. Now look at him.

Ann had her trigger finger ready as she pointed her gun once more at the target. She was determined to make this work. She was going to become a model soldier. She was here because of her brother, and she was going to make it out alive because of her brother. "He is my uncle," she replied honestly. There was no use in lying when it was the truth. She shot once more and managed to hit the edge of the target that time. Better, not great, but better.

Dean's eyebrows rose when he heard her. "Really now? Well you just have connections everywhere, don't you?" he joked. He was finally able to hit the target, an he did pretty well. It was up high, but it was near the middle. When Ann hit it, he offered her a high-five. "Good job! You're getting better," he said with a smile. He glanced back at Maddox who was looking around the whole group of cadets.

Ann rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders. "Sherwood Perks," she replied with a crooked smile. However, she almost didn't feel like smiling. She really needed to do this. For her brother. She smiled slightly at his comment and gave him a high-five. "Well, I had to get better at some point," she agreed before attempting one more. If she could master this, maybe she would make it in battle.

Dean chuckled, and he nodded. "You make me want to be a Sherwood," he said with a laugh, and he began to shoot at the target, getting a little bit better each time. "Yeah, that's true. I like the way you think, Dimitri," he said. A few moments later, Aspen called out,"Sherwood, can we talk for a minute?" he asked, but it really wasn't a question. It was a demand. He walked off to where the others wouldn't be able to hear them, and he waiting for her to join him. Dean bit his lip and looked at her. "Good luck...again."

Ann laughed and shook her head. "Trust me, being a Sherwood isn't what it is cracked up to be," she replied, shooting once more. She was inching closer to the bullseye. Maybe she would be able to hit it soon. She half smiled at Dean's comment and nodded in agreement before she was about to continue shooting, when she heard Aspen call for her. Sighing, she placed the gun on the ground. "See what I mean?" she muttered to Dean before she headed after Aspen. Once she reached him, she crossed her arms over her chest. "You know, I do have an actual name," she muttered, then frowned. "What is it?"

Dean chuckled when she spoke. He was going to ask her why she said that, but Aspen beat him to it. "Yeah, I don't want to be a Sherwood now. Okay, you have fun. I'll watch your gun for you," he said with a smirk. Aspen rolled his eyes at her words. "Fine, Dimitri, I want to talk. Maddox told me about you sick sister, and I understand how you want to be home. I wish I cold send you back, but I can't. The best thing I can do is to put extra hours in to your training. I am willing to help you if you are willing to listen and work hard," he said, extending his hand for a truce shake.

Ann wasn't sure what she had expected from Aspen. Actually, no she knew what she expected. She expected a long lecture on technique, and then she expected him to make her run laps for smart mouthing him. Instead, he did the complete opposite. At his suggestion, she threw her arms around him in a hug without thinking about it and said, "Yes, yes!" A moment later she realized what she was doing and instantly stepped back. "Uh, I mean, that would be great, thanks," she said, patting him on the shoulder. She really hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt.

Aspen sure wasn't expecting that kind of a reaction. He almost fell backwards, but he luckily caught himself. He gave Dimitri and odd smile as he walked away, but he felt really confused. Why did he do that? Was he trying to tackle him? Why did his chest feel...no, he wasn't even going there. He ran a hand through his hair. He knew that his face was probably really red. He knew for a fact that he was straight, but there was just something about Ann that made him want to know her more.

Ann had relaxed a bit when she made it back to the training area for the second time that day. She still felt a bit flustered. She had acted without thinking. No matter how hard she tried to run with the boys, she was still one of the girls at heart. She grabbed the gun and let out a long breath. She was going to have to learn not just fighting skills. She was going to have to learn how to be a man. She glanced at Dean and all the other men; she tried to mimic their stance and their posture before she went back to training.

It was finally their off time, but his off time was already filled with work, but this work he was looking forward to. He was going to help Dimitri with his training. He walked to the shooting range where they were supposed to meet. When he saw him, he handed him a gun. "Are you ready? If you do good, I'll let you wash off in the river that's not far from here," he said. Since it was just a makeshift camp, plumbing wasn't big. They used rivers to wash in every now and then when they really needed it. "Okay, show me what you've got."

Ann took the gun and let out a long sigh. She needed this training, and she hoped it would help, even if it meant one on one time with Aspen. Well, especially if it meant one on one time with Aspen. She paused as he mentioned a river. That was the worst place to wash off. Well, for her at least. But she needed to go along with it. Besides, what are the chances he would be looking at her? Guys don't do that...right? He immediately assumed something when he caught her staring at him shirtless, so it had to be fine. She just needed to relax. "All right," she agreed before lifting the gun and pointing it at the target. After a moment, she pulled the trigger.

Aspen looked her over. She did seem a bit off, but then again, she always seemed off. Ever since the day she arrived. He watched her as she shot, and he nodded. "You are doing good, but we really need to work on your nervousness. I get that holding a gun can be a scary thing, but this gun needs to become like a body part to you. You need to be able to do this," he said. He quickly pulled his gun out of his holster and shot at the target, hitting it. "I don't expect you to get like that right off the bat, but you need to sort of be like this by the time we end training and go into battle."

Ann dropped her gaze to the ground sheepishly for a moment. She knew she needed to get better, but that was what training was for, right? She watched him closely as he fluidly pulled out his gun and hit the target. "Right," she agreed, glancing at her gun. "It's just...," she started but shook her head. "Okay," she muttered, dropping her thought. She wasn't going to compare herself to her father. Not again. Instead, she went on to mimic his movements and shooting skills.

Aspen was going to listen to her objection, but then she stopped herself. He paused for a moment before nodding. "I know that this is going to be hard, but maybe I can help you," he said. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her, helping her with the way that she held her gun. "Hold it a bit tighter to stop it from shaking. Aim, take a deep breath, and pull the trigger. It's all that simple," he told her, and he stepped back. "Now, go," he said, and he watched her shoot. She really was improving, but there was just something about her. Something about her mad him want to protect her, even if Maddox hadn't told him to.

Ann arched a brow as he said that he could possibly help. Before she could ask what he was doing, his arms were around her. She wasn't sure how he expected her to think when he was so close. But then she remembered. She was a guy, or as far as Aspen knew that is. Either way, that didn't stop her heartbeat from picking up speed and her cheeks reddening slightly. In reality, Ann had never been that close to anyone before, much less a boy. She tried to regain focus as he moved away. She let out a shaky breath. "Okay," she agreed before using the pointers he gave her. She hit closer to the bulls-eye than she ever had before.

Aspen watched her for a moment. She seemed to be doing okay, but yet she seemed nervous when he warped his arm around. He couldn't see why she would be. He was just helping her with her gun. He watched her, and he smiles brightly when she hit the target. "Dimitri, that's amazing!" He said, and he hugged her tightly, but then he finally backed away. "Umm, sorry," he said shyly, and he looked down at the ground. He probably thought that he was insane. "That...that was really good. You are improving," he said, and he gave her a small smile. Why was he so nervous? He was straight! This didn't make any sense! He hook his head, clearing his thought. No, this was business.

Ann hadn't expected to do that much better but she couldn't help but grin and stare at the mark made on the target for a minute. She did it. She actually did it. At Aspen's praise, she rose a brow. When he hugged her, she returned it. "Uh, no, it's fine," she replied sheepishly. She could almost feel the redness on her face. It was then that she realized she had crush on Aspen. A full-on, school girl crush. If she had a pen and a piece of paper, she could see herself drawing hearts and adding her name with his last name, which was uncharacteristic for Ann. "So, uh...back to work?"

Aspen couldn't begin to explain how stupid he felt. He probably looked so stupid! She would think he was a joke now. "Um, yeah. Let's get back to work. Okay, let's start working on your sword fighting abilities," he said, and he grabbed himself a sword and handed her one. "We are start this fight. You may make the first move," he said, and he stepped back, giving her some space, but he was ready to fight. At least his stance said that, but his mind was racing. All he could think about was Ann. She made his heart race like no other person had even done before. Why did she do that to him? It just didn't make sense.

Ann took the sword and gripped it tightly. She needed to get her head back in the game. She was getting distracted too easily, and at the end of the day, a hot boy was not going to save her. She was going to have to do that herself. Letting out a long breath, she held up her sword and did her best to mimic his stance. "Okay, but this was never my strong suit," she muttered, more to herself than to him. She waited another moment before she swung at him.

Aspen watched her for a moment, and he smirked. "Well, that is why we are training. We are going to make you better," he said. He was distracted when she swung, so instead of being able to block with his sword, and ended him getting down and rolling away. He shot back up and swing at her, trying to get his head out of the cloud. What was wrong with him? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was going to have to get his head back into the game if he was going to show how her to fight. Losing for him wasn't an option.

Ann rose a brow when he didn't block like he normally would. Instead, he dropped to the ground and rolled away. Well, it seemed effective. But she doubted it would be a good option if they were in a real battle. As he swung at her, she scrambled to remember how he would block it before doing her best to do the same. "Is everything all right, General?" she asked him in a low whisper, arching a brow. He didn't seem like himself.

Aspen watched her as she blocked, and he got a little bit closer to her as he pressed his sword against her. He couldn't help but look into her eyes. They were so beautiful. Her words took him out of his trance. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," he said. He noted how she called him by his title, not his name. It reminded him that he had a job, and he needed to stop with this. It was stupid and immature.

Ann was breathing heavily. She blamed it on the exertion, not because of how close Aspen was to her. When he looked into her eyes, she felt as if her heart skipped a beat. Did he know? Did he feel something for her or who he thought she was? The questions raced through her head. She barely even caught what he said. "Then tell me," she began, "why are you so distracted?" She swung at him, trying to catch him off guard. But instead, she lost her balance and leaned against him to steady herself. She glanced into his eyes once more and found herself leaning up towards him.