Spring was at the doorstep of Panem, bringing on longer days full of warmer weather, where the snow had finally melted and gave way to the lush landscape that surrounded District 12. Prim was grateful for the seasonal change, and happy to see that people of 12 were coming out more often. There was activity in the Seam again and in the markets too. It was shaping up to turn into a fine summer if it weren't for the Reaping that was hanging like a black cloud over every family across the country. It was especially hard on Prim, though, having to lose Katniss again and this time, she wasn't sure if her sister would make it back. In the last few weeks, the younger blonde had been having trouble sleeping, dealing with nightmares and regret over what she had gotten Katniss into. If the older girl never would have volunteered for her, President Snow wouldn't have a vendetta against Katniss now. Prim should have done what was necessary, and died to protect her family.

During the day, Prim did her best to hide her growing anxiety, and she spent most of her time hanging out with Katniss or going out into the wilds with Gale. It was nice to have him back in her life, and when they had been angry with each other, his lack of presence had put a damper on everything. With the situation now righted, the two continued to grow close, and Prim liked learning from him. Gale was an excellent teacher, and with a little more practice, Prim guessed she would be able to hit something with an arrow, and not just get them stuck in low-hanging tree branches. Alongside the adventures in the woods, Prim continued to work on her healing and went about expanding on her father's plant book, and studying all she could.

It was one week until the reaping when Prim found herself over at Haymitch's place with Katniss. They had just eaten dinner, and Prim had brought the older man some leftovers, along with packing food for he and Katniss. They had been going out into the wilds almost every night recently, and Prim had mentioned wanting to go with them to Gale, who liked the idea as well. Neither she nor Gale had brought up the idea in depth yet, but Prim had the creeping suspicion that it wouldn't go over well with Haymitch. Even though he was now sober, he was still prickly, and rough around the edges. Truthfully, Prim was a little intimidated by him. She supposed that was why he and Katniss got along so well.

“Be safe tonight,” Prim wished, watching as Haymitch and Katniss packed up for the night. In the distance, she heard Gale's voice and smiled as he jogged over. She didn't expect him to mention tagging along, but the blonde found herself nodding, even as Katniss dismissed the idea. She did miss her sister, and she wanted to spend as much time with her as she could. Blue eyes traveled over to Haymitch, who was frowning at the thought of company. 

Haymitch didn't have an outright dislike for Gale or Prim, and he found them both to be likable, good kids in their own right, but it bothered him that they seemed to think this was some fun, camping trip. After watching what Katniss had gone through the year before, the former Victor would have thought that they, of all people, would be the last ones to want to play pretend in the woods. This was training, not a time to sit around a campfire and tell stories. The trek past the fence wasn't about bonding, it was about survival and could possibly be the difference between life and death. Prim and Gale needed to stay home where they belonged, where it was safe and thank god that they didn't know the pressure of being forced into an arena to either live, or die trying.

He listened as the tree spoke, and finished packing when Katniss asked his opinion. He responded by giving the dark-haired girl a look, one eyebrow raised skeptically. “Look,” he began an attempt to be diplomatic, “you two can run around in the wilds and do whatever you want on your own time, but this isn't some game. We're training, and you,” he gestured to Prim, “wouldn't last out there at night.” It was nothing personal, but Prim was...waifish and delicate. She had no place climbing over rocks and up trees, or starting a fire with her hands. She was only going to slow them down. Then there was Gale, and Haymitch wasn't going to watch some pathetic, misplaced attempt at romance.

Prim frowned, tired of being underestimated. “The Reaping is in a week and if this is all the time we have, we want to go with you. I want to spend time with Katniss.” And that was final.

“You got all day for that.”

“You keep her busy all day, every day. All she does is train with you!” Prim pointed out.

“You want her die?” asked Haymitch coldly.

“No! But--” 

“Then stay put.” Haymitch looked to Katniss and picked up his pack, done with this conversation. He knew that she would want to bring Gale and Prim along, but he wasn't going to be responsible for them. At a certain point, Katniss needed to choose living and picking up her life when she was back home, or dying and throwing it all away for a few extra minutes of quality time. “You want them to slow us down, that's on you, sweetheart,” he finally ended, ultimately leaving the decision to the Girl On Fire.