Training breaks gave Cassius and Jennifer more time to talk.
They'd sit together at lunch, picking apart the script and digging into the complicated relationship between Katniss and Peeta.
Jennifer threw herself into every character she played. She was all in.
"Peeta's love for Katniss is real from the very first second," she said one afternoon, biting into an apple. "Even when they use it for sympathy in the arena, the foundation is genuine. That's what makes him so heartbreaking—and so damn compelling."
Cassius nodded. "Exactly. So in the early scenes his looks at her have to be quiet and one-sided. That way the later moments—when he's forced to chase her while the Careers are hunting her—hit way harder."
"Exactly!" Jennifer's eyes lit up like she'd just found her soulmate in the script. "You get it."
Week two hit like a truck.
Hank's poker face was definitely hiding a sadist's soul. Cassius half-joked about finding a Taoist exorcist to deal with the guy.
The morning run wasn't just eight kilometers anymore—they had to wear weighted training vests. The vests weren't crazy heavy on their own, but after a few miles they felt like they were filled with bricks.
By the time they finished, most of the cast wanted to melt into the dirt and stay there.
Cassius kept his breathing steady and held a comfortable spot in the front half of the pack.
Jennifer was still out front, golden ponytail bouncing, looking like she ran on pure spite and rocket fuel.
Liam stayed right on her heels, breathing easy—Hemsworth genes were no joke.
Cassius felt solid too. All the Level-4 attributes plus the combat orbs he'd been farming since Green Lantern had turned his body into something way beyond normal actor fitness.
"Hey, Cass!" Aiden, one of the other tributes, huffed up beside him. "Bro, did you secretly get injected with Captain America's super-soldier serum? Yesterday on the wall I tapped out halfway. You just… strolled to the top."
Cassius grinned and matched his pace. "Guess I've got decent conditioning." He rolled up his sleeve, showing the solid muscle underneath.
"Damn," Aiden whistled, giving a thumbs-up.
Morning rotation started with hand-to-hand in the big warehouse.
Today the floor was covered wall-to-wall with thick mats. Hank was running it personally.
He stood in the middle like a bear, arms crossed. "Time to get practical. In the arena you won't always get a clean fight. A lot of the time you're getting grabbed, choked, or taken down. Today we're drilling escapes and control."
He waved over an assistant coach for a demo.
The assistant came up behind Hank and locked a rear choke around his neck.
Hank dropped his hips, clamped one hand over the choking arm, and yanked down hard. At the same time his free elbow smashed back into the guy's ribs.
Even pulled, the shot made the assistant grunt.
In that split-second of pain, Hank exploded—hips driving, body spinning—and suddenly he was behind the assistant with a clean arm lock.
The whole sequence took maybe two seconds. Clean. Brutal. Efficient.
"Protect your vitals. Attack the weakest points. Use leverage. Speed, power, commitment—no hesitation," Hank barked. "Now pair up. Practice the rear-choke escape. This is training—not a bar fight. Anyone throws a cheap shot and you're doing a hundred burpees with me. Clear?"
"Clear!"
Cassius paired with Aiden.
They took turns being attacker and defender.
The move looked simple on paper. In practice it took timing, coordination, and trust.
Aiden was smaller and quick. Cassius's first attempt was half a beat slow and almost got re-choked.
"You gotta be faster, man, or I'm really gonna choke you out!" Aiden laughed.
"Thanks, buddy," Cassius shot back.
Hank walked over, saw Cassius still missing the timing. "Wrong sequence. Hips first, then the spin. Not just your head—watch me."
He had Aiden choke him again.
Aiden looked nervous, like he was hugging a grizzly that might wake up mad.
Hank broke it down in slow motion.
Right as he explained how core rotation transferred power, a dark-gold orb floated up from him.
Skill Attribute Orb.
Cassius's eyes locked on it.
Inside the orb faint shadows of combat moves flickered.
[Basic Field Combat Package – Condensed from Combat Specialist Hank while focused on teaching core real-world principles and muscle memory.]
[Absorption grants immediate understanding and basic mastery of the foundational combat skill set derived from years of military and wilderness experience: close-quarters entanglement, rapid escapes, environmental improvisation, instinctive reactions.]
[Note: Skill Attribute Orbs condense from an actor's signature strength. Absorption provides instant comprehension and basic mastery, but depth and peak performance still require extensive personal practice and insight.]
A skill orb—from Hank? Hell yes.
Cassius forced himself to stay focused and watch the rest of the demo, adjusting his own movements exactly as instructed.
The second Hank turned away, Cassius mentally grabbed the orb.
Boom.
A flood of raw, gritty memory slammed into him—first-person flashes of brutal training in mud, jungle, gravel. Rolling, grappling, breaking holds, countering with anything at hand: rocks, branches, dirt, even his own clothes. Protecting vitals when off-balance. Reading intent and reacting on pure instinct.
No fancy martial-arts forms. Just stripped-down, ugly, effective survival.
Cassius swayed for half a second. His muscles heated up, joints popping faintly like they were recalibrating.
When Aiden came at him again, everything felt different.
He barely had to think.
Hips dropped, arm clamped, elbow strike, spin, lock—smooth, vicious, and way cleaner than Hank's slow-motion version.
"Whoa!" Aiden yelped as he suddenly found himself controlled.
"You picked that up crazy fast!" he laughed, stunned.
"Just clicked," Cassius said, grinning. He was buzzing. Skill orbs were straight-up broken. He only had the framework right now, but the foundation was there. The rest was just reps.
And the difference it would make on camera? Massive.
Cassius's technique sharpened with every round. Aiden actually started improving too, feeding off the energy.
Morning training ended in a chorus of groans and sweat-soaked shirts.
Afternoon was precision archery and basic tracking in the woods.
Cassius stayed rock-steady on the range. No more flashy perfect shots like the first day, but his grouping was tight and his form textbook. Sarah the coach kept nodding approval and even had him help correct a couple of the others.
Jennifer was still battling blisters on her hands but kept grinding, determined to close the gap.
By evening everyone limped back from the tracking drill and collapsed in the mess hall.
The mood was quieter—everyone was wrecked.
Thud.
Jennifer dropped her tray across from Cassius, fresh Band-Aids on her hands, eyes bright.
"You crushed the hand-to-hand this morning. Aiden said you turned into Captain America."
Cassius laughed. "Captain America? I just trained a little with stunt guys on my last movie."
Jennifer waved her fork, half-joking, half-challenging. "Fine. My archery is still catching up, but I'm getting my revenge on the mats. You in, bread boy?"
The table erupted in cheers. "Do it! Do it!"
Cassius had been itching to test the new skill orb anyway. Jennifer's challenge was perfect timing.
He set his water down and grinned. "Your blisters okay?"
[Jennifer Lawrence Favorability +3. Current: 70]
"Pfft, minor," she said, waving it off. "Half-hour after dinner, training area. Hank can ref so nobody cries foul."
"Deal."
Word spread fast. A little entertainment in the middle of boot-camp hell? Nobody wanted to miss it.
Thirty minutes later the mats were ringed with cast and a few curious trainers.
Hank stood in the middle, actually smiling for once. "Simple rules: no gear, no strikes to the face or groin. Tap, step out, or I stop it if someone's in real trouble. Clear?"
"Clear."
Cassius and Jennifer faced each other on the mats.
She'd changed into a sports bra and shorts, rolling her shoulders, looking focused. There was real fighter energy there.
Cassius stayed loose in his T-shirt and sweats, body relaxed but ready—the new skill orb had already tuned his instincts.
Hank dropped his hand. "Go!"
Jennifer moved first—light on her feet, classic taekwondo influence. She feinted a jab, then snapped a clean side kick toward his thigh.
Fast. Controlled.
Cassius didn't block hard. He slid back half a step, turning just enough for the kick to graze his pant leg.
The orb's muscle memory read her timing and power perfectly.
She reset, kept distance, peppering him with quick jabs and low sweeps—good rhythm, clean technique.
The crowd cheered.
In their eyes Jennifer was pressing hard and Cassius was retreating.
He was watching. Learning her patterns.
She threw another slightly higher side kick toward his ribs.
Cassius stepped into it instead of away.
His forearm smashed down on her shin, redirecting the kick, while he closed the distance in one smooth burst.
Jennifer's balance broke for a split second.
Cassius's other hand shot out, caught her raised ankle, hooked his leg behind her support leg, and drove forward.
Thud.
Jennifer yelped as she went down.
Cassius immediately let go, slid one hand behind her back and the other behind her head to cushion the fall, then settled into a light control position so she couldn't easily counter.
The room went silent for half a beat, then exploded with applause and whistles.
"Stop!" Hank called.
Cassius released her instantly and offered his hand.
Jennifer blinked, then grinned and let him pull her up.
[Jennifer Lawrence Favorability +3. Current: 73]
"Wow," she laughed, brushing off her shorts. "How the hell did you close that fast? I didn't even see it coming!"
"Body just reacted," Cassius shrugged. The skill orb really was next-level.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine—the mat's soft and you cushioned me." She rolled her ankle, then looked at him with pure respect mixed with curiosity. "Damn, Cassius. You've been holding out. My taekwondo looked like a kid's recital next to that."
"You had great rhythm and power control," Hank said, stepping over. He gave Cassius an approving nod. "Fast reaction, perfect timing on the close. That inside move was textbook useful. Kid, you're improving way too quick."
He turned to Jennifer. "You rely too much on set patterns. Distance was solid, but once someone crashes your range you need options. Real fights don't follow dojo rules."
"Lesson learned, Coach," Jennifer said, sticking her tongue out.
The crowd drifted off, buzzing about the takedown.
Cassius and Jennifer walked to the water station together.
She took a long drink, then side-eyed him. "You ever train any real martial arts? That looked way too smooth for 'a few days on set.'"
"Just picked up a couple things," Cassius said, keeping it light. "But damn, your stamina is ridiculous. We've been at it all day and you still look ready to run a marathon."
"Told you—I'm playing Katniss." She flexed, then winced at her blisters. "Though these stupid blisters are killing me. Tomorrow's supposed to be weighted obstacle course. Hank trying to put us all in the hospital or what?"
"Wouldn't put it past him," Cassius laughed.
They shared a grin.
The brutal training-camp life that had felt impossible in week one was starting to feel… normal.
By the final few days, more than a few people were actually a little sad it was ending.
Kind of like how some people fall for their drill instructor during military basic.
Cassius's real edge showed in the last two weeks.
His learning speed made people wonder if he was secretly sneaking extra sessions.
Across every category—archery, climbing, survival, combat—he sat comfortably at the top of the pack. The only one who ranked in the top tier in every discipline.
On the range he was now consistently hitting fifty-meter targets with clean, camera-ready form. Sarah had him helping correct the others.
On the wall he flowed up the advanced routes with perfect weight shifts—the goat-like climbing coach couldn't find a single flaw.
He remembered survival trivia better than anyone; the instructors started quizzing him on the spot and he nailed every answer.
And hand-to-hand? Forget it.
With the skill orb as foundation plus the daily micro-orbs from Hank and the sparring partners, Cassius had become one of the last people anyone wanted to face on the mats.
Liam challenged him once—still carrying that little grudge from the housewarming dinner.
Cassius didn't hold back.
After another week of reps the skill orb had gone from "basic framework" to "comfortable working knowledge."
The spar was over fast.
Liam didn't even last as long as Jennifer had.
Jennifer roasted him for days.
Cassius just smiled, wiped the sweat off his face, and thought the same thing he'd been thinking since day one:
This is gonna look insane on screen.