When he and Prim finally got over the awkwardness, things felt much better for Gale.

The anxiety was gone and he felt much better, more himself.

He wasn't sure if they'd never fight again but it was a good sentiment, though a bit unrealistic. Even so, he nodded in agreement. "Let's leave the fighting to those in the arena." He said to Primrose. "I know, I care about you too." Gale also added when Prim said she cared about him. He smiled and pulled her into a close hug. Things felt much better now and for a while he had forgotten his best friend would be leaving again. He needed to remind himself that she was Prim's older sister too. And that she was a daughter as well. Katniss was so many things to different people and he knew he wasn't alone in wanting to protect her. His way would be volunteering, if he felt the need but for now, he just wanted to forget about all that and catch up with Prim some more. 

Now that their rift had been repaired, Gale felt better about leaving and invited Prim to come along with him to see his own family. They brought over some sweets to his siblings and mother and everyone had a nice time together. It was pretty late by the time everyone was put to bed so Gale insisted he walk Prim back home. He didn't think anyone would attack them but Peacekeepers these days, were capable of anything it seemed. As they walked, he wondered what Katniss was up to. He thought about her a lot but now he also thought about Prim. Both ladies were great in their own right. It was hard to imagine where they got their sparkle from, he knew it had to be their father, or perhaps even their mother, who was thankfully coming back to life. When they got back to her place, he gave her a hug goodnight and kissed her on top of her head since it felt like the right thing to do after having reconciled. 

"Night." Gale waved and watched her head in before he headed back to his own home.

Having challenged the Capital's rules, Katniss was sure some tributes (returning or not) hated her. She was sure some people wished they could have kept their other tribute safe and not have been a lone victor. Katniss didn't intend to anger anyone, she only wanted to escape and thought the best way would be to make sure neither her nor Peeta won. She didn't think either would have been stopped and crowned victors. She was sure some past winners were bitter about the outcome of the 74th Hunger Games, and she couldn't do anything about it now. After she asked him about his experience, he was quiet and she wondered if he would even tell her. Knowing his story would be helpful but she would understand if he didn't want to talk about it. But if anyone in District 12 could understand him, it was her. Yeah, there was Peeta but he wasn't as poor as her, didn't know the same struggle of losing loved ones or going without food for days and days. Peeta was a good guy, who got lucky a lot.

Soon he divulged what the arena had been like, how lush and beautiful it was, and how appearances were deceptively deadly. Seeing a great place would fill someone with hope but to then see its horror would be awful, she figured. That was cruel but it didn't surprise her, it just filled her with anger and sadness and she had more than enough of that bubbling inside of her. Katniss tilted her head at Haymitch as he spoke about how by nightfall, half were already gone. Her expression was soft but poised, neutral. He then went on to talk about how he stole food and used rain water to survive. That at least meant he could push past adversity and keep trying. She knew by the end, that his strength would be robbed and he'd be left as a lonely victor who probably wished he hadn't won, and that someone else had suffered in his place. He then mentioned Maysilee, which surprised her but she didn't show it, except for her eyes.

Inwardly, she smiled to herself.

Haymitch and a girl? 

But Katniss knew better than to let her smile show, because he soon spoke of her death and it brought back memories of Rue and everyone else she had to kill in order to save Peeta and herself. Haymitch then went on to talk about the others who were left and then about the final two: himself and a career. He explained how she attacked him and how he tried to get away while trying to keep everything in, medically speaking. She cringed a little, sure that the pain and fear were still haunting Haymitch. Before Katniss could tell him he could stop since he was clearly struggling to finish, he went on to finish up by explaining how they exchanged attacks but ended up by a cliff where he won thanks to a force field which allowed her ax to bounce off and kill her, rather than him. After hearing his tale, she felt like she had gone through the Games all over again. A knot had nestled itself back in her chest and she felt sick to her stomach. 

The right words couldn't come to her, not could the right actions.

Even though she was affectionate with Prim and Gale, she wasn't good with other people. Her forced interaction with Peeta in the cave was proof of that. Still, the girl on fire knew she needed to say something to Haymitch, or do something. As she watched the fire between them, she debated on how to try and comfort Haymitch or thank him for sharing what he often drank to forget. "They can't hurt us anymore than they already have." Katniss said quietly and reached around the fire to place her hand on his leg since it was what she could reach. "We'll figure out a way to make them pay for all the families they've ruined, lives they ended prematurely and pain they've inflicted on everyone." She tried to assure him by curving her lips up into a half smile-half smirk. "They'll regret putting everyone, not just us, into an arena and making them kill each other." She was even more determined now, to do something. Not just to get back to Prim, Gale and her mother, but to ensure no one else died for someone's twisted amusement.

While she didn't want to start any sort of crazy rebellion or war, Katniss was fired up to not let anymore lives get stolen by the Capital. There had to be some way to save everyone, all 48 of them. The rest of the night was spent wandering around and practicing knots and other techniques such as identifying leaves and testing things before eating them to make sure they were safe. By the time she and Haymitch made it back into the Victor's Village, the sun had risen above the run down district. Katniss went right home and collapsed in bed. She didn't need to fidget in the mattress or deal with nightmares. The night training had done more than prepare them for the arena, it tired her out and let her sleep for quite a long time. The night, she invited Haymitch, Peeta and Gale over for dinner. Haymitch showed up which gave them all time to talk about the upcoming reaping but Katniss didn't want to talk about it in front of Prim.

The next week went by smoothly, with Katniss buckling down more with training alongside Haymitch. They had one week to go until Effie came back to take her away from her home again. If Katniss knew that she'd be dealing with Effie again, she would have tried harder to be nice the first time they met but Katniss knew by now, that Effie didn't always like what the Capital had in store, and Katniss understood that Effie couldn't be blamed for much, and that the bubbly woman was doing her best. As she and Haymitch began to get ready to take another night jaunt into the wilderness, she heard Gale call out to her. "Hey catnip!" He waved to her and tapped Prim on the shoulder before he jogged over to where she was, outside Haymitch's house, digging around her backpack. "We're going to tag along too." Gale said. He saw her face drop, "Before you tell us it isn't safe, remember who you're talking to." Gale smiled softly. "We hardly see much of you and we'd like to spend time together before you go." His voice grew quiet as he saw Haymitch had finally made his appearance.

"Gale, Prim, I don't-" Katniss began to speak but Gale cut her off.

"We won't hold you two back, and if you want to spar, I'm happy to volunteer." He added earnestly. "Prim and I have been going into the woods again like we used to when you were gone, she's getting the hang of it." He said. "Just humor us, if you can't take a break from training, that's fine, we're happy to just be around you, catnip." He glanced to Prim. He could sense Katniss was feeling wary of the idea but he hardly saw her and he knew Prim felt the same way. "If this is how we can hang out, it's fine. We'll try and take it seriously like you and Haymitch." He then looked to Haymich, making a mental note to talk to him alone before they were whisked away to the Capital. Gale wanted to make sure Haymitch's head was in the right place and that he looked after Katniss and didn't let her take on too much. Gale knew Katniss could act without thinking and get in over her head, he hoped he could count on Haymitch to help out and not let Katniss get carried away.

"I don't know. What do you think?" Katniss looked to Haymitch. Gale and Prim had discussed packing up and tagging along, a few days ago. They had only now bitten the bullet and actually raised their hands. He knew Prim deserved to spend time alone with Katniss but from what he heard, Katniss spent her time with Haymitch and sometimes Peeta when he felt up to it. Katniss wasn't sure if Prim would be okay or not, going out into the wilderness. "It's different at night." She muttered to Gale who rolled his eyes a little. He knew that and he still had faith that Primrose would be fine. Katniss figured Haymitch might get the most annoyed so it was up to him. Gale looked from Katniss back to Haymitch. He knew this trip was meant to be serious and that they'd have to set up camp and everything, and Gale was just fine with that. And he knew Prim would catch on quick and be just fine.