[IC] Beyond a Fire's Embers

[Genkai]

When Gale and Haymitch left, Katniss scooted closer to her sister and pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her. "Of course, don't pay attention to Haymitch, he hates me too." She tried to assure Prim, who from the sounds of it was unsure about Katniss and her partnership with the man. "I miss you too, especially when I'm training really hard and it feels like I might vomit. I think of you and how brave you were while I was away...it makes me feel a lot better and helps me push through that wall that hits you when you think your body has had enough." She stopped herself there. "Gale told me how you two became close, I'm glad you two found each other and kept each other out of trouble, you're both important to me." She said quietly.

Katniss wasn't often candid about her emotions. She hid behind snark and sarcasm and didn't care much about people or what they thought. Cinna showed her change was necessary though. And when it came to people she loved, Katniss wanted to make sure they knew she did care, a lot. Just because she didn't show or say it much, didn't mean she was emotionless. Gale had a family to look after and that was one area that Peeta could never relate to because his situation was better than theirs, slightly but still better. And now that Peeta won, his family was beyond the struggle of burning bread. "I'm sorry I've been spending so much time with him...but right now I don't see us doing anymore training." She muttered and glanced off, still not sure what really happened when he pushed her away, of course leading to her doing the same.

"We should just go." She couldn't stand the tension between her and Haymitch. She could feel it from where she sat. It was different from what they normally took shots at one another. This time she took it personally. She rarely got close to anyone and she wanted to know Haymitch in case she couldn't save him. She wanted to know everything about the man who saved Peeta and herself, who helped her get back to her family. And then Haymitch had to just push her away and deny her the simple dignifying act of being friends. It almost undid all of the progress of learning how to care about someone. So of course Katniss did the only natural thing she knew how to do when she was rejected, she bit back and shoved him away too to stop herself from caring anymore.

"Guys, come on, this is stupid!" Which translated to Haymitch was stupid.

Hearing Katniss, Gale glanced back to the campsite and then back to Haymitch, who he wanted to still talk to but at this point, he saw it as useless. Gale gave Haymitch a look before he trampled back through to the fire and noticed Katniss’ face through the tall flames and smoke. She was still upset but he could tell that a part of her had also given up and wondered what had happened. He would talk to her about it when they got some rest. “Yeah, we should go.” He glanced back over his shoulder and jumped slightly when he saw Haymitch behind him, expression still rather sour and dissatisfied. Whatever.

Gale packed up the meat in his own pack, aware it would make a great meal for him and his family in the days to come. The four then headed back with no one saying anything. Gale knew they were meant to stay out there until the morning but for some reason the whole thing had to be scrapped. He could tell Prim was tired but worried as well. He didn’t want her to forget about the amazing shooting she had done but it felt weird to bring it up as they crossed back into District 12 territory. Before he parted ways with everyone, he pulled Prim off to the side but hoped Haymitch and Katniss didn’t do anything considering the last time they were left alone, the tension had formed. As he stood by his house with Prim, he pulled out a small item from his pocket. Ever since he made it, he carried it with him everywhere, waiting for the right time.

This seemed like the best time, ignoring the tension a short distance away.

“I wanted to give you this. I made it and hoped it would help when Katniss goes into the arena.” He unclenched his fist to reveal a small golden finch that he had made with a mixture of gold and other minerals he could find. Peeta did help supply some of the materials, namely the gold but Gale was the one who molded it and did the detailing work. It was a small bird attached to a small square frame. It was perched on the bottom and had one wing out with the other tucked against its side. “I guess it reminded me of you and it looks wonky and pudgy but I thought it might keep you safe and self-assured that you can soar as high as your sister and that you’re not alone.” He said.

“Shit, that was cheesy. Sorry.” He rubbed his neck with his free arm and glanced off. He wasn’t the greatest with words or meaningful speeches but he wanted to make sure that Prim felt like she was her own person and that her skills were her own, not just related wot Katniss, as amazing as she was. He looked over to see Katniss still had her arms folded over her chest and her mouth still wired shut. “I don’t know what happened when we were gathering firewood but I’ve never seen those two act so cold to one another.” He muttered. He wondered if his confrontation had something to do with the mess. “Anyway, I thought you were great out there and you should be really pleased with yourself. Night.” He said and let her accept the small token as he turned and headed into his house.

Not only was he physically worn out, but he was mentally worn out as well. Gale had no idea how Katniss had the patience to deal with that jerk but he also knew that Katniss was a challenge as well, to say the least. He put the meat away and went right to bed. The only saving grace of the whole adventure was that Prim got a chance to shine and he was pretty happy about that. The following morning, he got a chance to sleep in and have some fun with his siblings before he decided to pay Primrose a visit to see how the afternoon was panning out for her. He had assumed Katniss was training with Haymitch as usual. In his mind, the events which happened in the wild were in the past. And that stubborn as they may be, they’d be training because it was what was most important.

He let himself in as usual and saw Katniss on the couch eating lunch. “Catnip?” He frowned, not expecting to see her in the house. It was a very rare sighting indeed but it gave him more cause for concern than happiness. He moved into the kitchen and saw Prim was using some of the deer meat that she snagged from last night’s kill. It was only right she take some of it home after all. “I guess things between them are worse than I thought.” He commented. “I don’t know what happened, did she tell you?” He asked. What he gathered from Pim was that Haymitch made a comment which pretty much translated to him not wanting to be friends with Katniss, who in turn said the same thing to Haymitch and then it all made sense. “I may have screwed things up even more...when I talked to Haymitch, he seemed more surly than usual but I think what I said may have done more harm than good.” Gale confessed, his heart sinking. “I told Haymitch to ease up on her and that she’s doing the best she can.” He got himself a glass of milk and took a sip, not sure how to mend things. A big part of him just wanted to stay out of it from now on but he still felt bad. “She really does look up to him though and I’m sure what he said made her feel pretty bad, she still feels horrible about asking him to take Peeta’s place.”

Back in the living room, Katniss continued to sulk/brood as she nibbled on her grilled deer sandwich. She was eating which was a plus but she was not sleeping well anymore. She wondered if she should just tell Peeta to get ready to go back into the Games because it was clear she and Haymitch couldn’t work together. She wanted to cry, she wanted to punch a hole in the wall but the only thing from stopping her from doing either was that Prim was around and Katniss refused to let their last few days together be riddled with pain and anger. Her mind was swirling in a mixture of regret and sorrow. She could catch small tidbits of what Prim and Gale were talking about so she just retreated to her room, the fire inside of her had been reduced to only tiny embers.

Over the next few days, Peeta managed to get Katniss and Haymitch into the same area but it was pretty tense and neither seemed interested in one another, let alone interested in speaking. At first, Peeta considered that they could spar to let their anger out but he had a feeling that wouldn’t end well for either of them. So the baker made them do the usual exercises with endurance and everything else. He tried a few times to get them to talk but each time he did, they had something snippy to throw at the other and Peeta had to throw in the towel. The night before the Reaping, he called it a day and had on last word of advice before they and two others, were whisked away to the Capital. “This is ridiculous you guys. You need to be able to work together and not be tempted to just slit each other’s throat when the Games start. I can’t help you if you’re both being petty during interviews or training, you have to at least pretend to like each other.”

Though for Peeta, he knew Haymitch did like Katniss, even if he’d never admit it. Just as he knew Katniss liked Haymitch. They admired each other for different reasons and something stupid somehow got between them. Peeta didn’t think both of them could be so childish but he had been wrong in the past. He was wrong about Katniss really liking him. As Katniss headed back to her house, she felt the knot in her stomach tighten and she wanted to run away. In that moment she wanted to a coward, she wanted to grab Gale and Prim and just run as far as she could, as fast as she could. Instead she just stood there in the damp road and swallowed the small amount of vomit that threatened to make itself known. The girl finished the short walk home found a large dinner waiting for it. Gale and his entire family were there too and for a while, she was happy, mostly happy anyway.

Her mind still couldn’t relax, not with Haymitch lingering in her head, his disapproving face etched into the back of her mind. That night after she ate and helped clean up, she climbed in Prim’s bed and the two curled up together and went to sleep. Even Gale and his siblings were allowed to sleep in the room though they were given cots and sleeping bags, but it was a treat for everyone. That morning, everyone began to get ready for the Reaping. Katniss was surprisingly calm about the affair. She helped Prim get ready as well as Gale’s younger siblings while Gale tried to cook with his mother and Katniss’. When it was time to go down and check in, there was very little conversation exchanging between the crowd of people. Peeta and his parents were already ahead of them and in their designated area. She didn’t see Haymich and she grew worried that he was going to back out of their deal, she wouldn’t blame him if he did. She was being stupid and petty.

Her eyes began to water as she was checked in and moved to an area away from Prim. Why couldn’t they be allowed to just stand together? Why couldn’t she hold Prim’s hand until the very last possible second? Peeta caught her wandering eyes and mouthed something to her but she wasn’t sure what he said. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand as her heart began to race. Where was Haymitch? She felt the area begin to spin as Effie walked on stage, as everyone had been accounted for. It didn’t matter to Katniss anymore. She was going to die anyway. The training had been a waste, everything had been a waste. She would never get to see her sister again and it was all because Katniss couldn’t just eat the damn berries. If she had just let Peeta live, he would still have his leg and his heart might not have been broken.

“Welcome welcome to the 75’th Annual Hunger Games Quarter Quell.” Effie smiled. She had on a neon pink wig which was sleek and went to her jawline. Her makeup was as colorful as ever but her expression seemed more pained or forced as she motioned to the two sets of bowls behind her. “This is a very special year for everyone.” She began to explain. “I will first select the returning Victors from the boys and girls category and then I will select from the regular drawing for the other two Tributes who will be joining them in the Hunger Games, how e-exciting.” She swallowed as she looked out and saw those she knew and cared for: Peeta, Katniss and Haymitch. “The one left will take the place of Mentor over our lucky Tributes…” Effie glanced down at her cue cards and paused to collect herself. “Ladies first, shall we?” She walked over and picked out the only small envelope and walked back over to the microphone as the cameras zoomed in to get a closeup of face.

“Katniss Everdeen!”

No surprise there.

Katniss refused to show weakness as she stepped forward and began to move through the crowd which parted for her. Peacekeepers were stationed everywhere but she was blocking everything out. Some of the people behind her yelled out that it was a joke and that it wans’t fair but their outrage was quickly dealt with and silence had fallen once again. She climbed the stairs and stood by Effie who gave her an awkward smile which Katniss assumed was meant to be apologetic. “And now...for the boys!” She glanced back to the crowd and saw Haymitch and Peeta, neither of whom Effie wanted to go back to the slaughter. Her District was finally getting recognition and strength and hope and it was cruel to call them back after such a hard earned victory. Not to meant the ratings and feedback Peeta and Katniss got. But Effie just reached down and pulled up the envelope she picked, there was no going back now. She opened it and looked up, eyes fluttering with those long blue eye lashes of hers. “Peeta Mellark!” She called out and much to her surprise Haymitch Abernathy raised his hand and volunteered in the boy’s place. Katniss bit down on her lip but decided to act surprised which might help in the arena.

Effie however, didn’t need to act horrified as her old friend moved toward the stage. “W-well this is...outstanding. It seems your noble sacrifice has spurred others to…” She just trailed off as Haymitch stood beside her and told her to hurry up. “I guess that makes Peeta the Mentor for District 12, how marvelous.” She swallowed and fiddled with the small cards in her hand before she reminded herself that they were being watched. “It’s time to find out if the odds are in your favor.” She moved over to the other set of containers where the envelops for the boys and girls were. Unbeknownst to her, the Capital had fixed the cards so that no matter what envelop Effie picked at random, it would still read, “Oh...Primrose Everdeen-”

“Wha-what?” Katniss was sure she misheard.

Or Effie surely misspoke.

“I volunteer!” Gale yelled as he ran forward towards the stage. There was no way, no way he would let them take Prim. His heart sank but he knew this was the only way. He would keep Primrose safe and Katniss too. Katniss slowly looked from Effie who looked suddenly pale and before the woman could offer her condolences to Katniss, Prim was being dragged on stage. “Don’t touch her!” Gale yelled but Katniss’ voice reached a level much higher than his. Before he could even finish getting up the stairs, Katniss was lunging for her sister. He wasn’t sure why or what she would do but he could only assume it was protect her as four Peacekeepers advanced on her. “Prim! Katniss, don’t!”

“Prim, run!” Katniss screamed as two of the men in white grabbed her arms and twisted them behind her back and hauled back up on stage. “Run, Prim, go!” Her worst fear was coming to life in front of her and she couldn’t dare to look at it. “Don’t fucking touch her, get away! Let go of me!” She used her entire strength and then some, to wrestle her arm free. She swung her fist into one of the Peacekeeper’s helmets and managed to crack the glass with her fist, “Fuck!” She stumbled backwards but the other Peacekeeper pinned her to the stage as she squirmed under him. SHe felt hot tears roling down her face as she tried to breath but she couldn’t care less about but Prim. Why did they have to involve her? Why?! Gale rushed over to try and get him off of his friend but he was pulled back two. By this point all four, including Haymitch, were being held back as Effie was told to cut the event off.

“It...it seems we have our four Tributes. Thank you.” A man then grabbed her too and pushed her along with Peeta and the others into the back of the area where cars were waiting. The cameras were turned off as people tried to make sense of what happened.

“Wait, we get to say goodbye! Mom!” Gale tried to look back to see his family but he couldn’t as everyone was being pushed back and told to go back into ther homes. Gale looked over and for a moment, things just froze. Prim was surprisingly calm without any tears and Katniss was the one who was barely able to walk without someone dragging her along. He felt sick to his stomach and he knew Katniss was feeling the most wretched. She had a plan to save Peeta and now that probably didn’t matter anymore. No matter what, Gale would do whatever he could to keep both girls safe and for now he had to work with Haymitch to do so. It seemed like karma had a bitter taste. As the car ride was a blur, Gale soon realized they were now being carolled into the train like animals. He tugged his arm free but unlike Katniss, didn’t fight back and instead hurried toward Prim. Katniss and Haymitch had gone on ahead of him but he had no idea where Katniss had gone. He walked down the long narrow hallway and came into a fancy room with food and everything lavish.

“Hello.” Effie said to the two. He spotted Katniss pacing near the window in the back. He assumed this was the front of the train. “My name is Effie Trinket and Katniss has told us about you two.” She looked to Primrose and her shaky resolve wavered again. She gestured to the food. “Please enjoy yourselves, there are rooms for you to rest in, we should be arriving at the Capital by tomorrow afternoon where you’ll meet with a personal stylist to-”

“Shut up!” Katniss had finally lost it as she turned around, still holding a towel to her bleeding fingers. The Capital would be able to mend the injury but she couldn’t care less. “That is my sister! My fucking sister!” She strode to where Gale and Prim where. Peeta was smart enough to move out of the way and off to the side. He knew well enough that he could not do anything to stop Katniss from becoming undone. She was unraveling and he wished he could do something. He felt helpless and glanced toward Haymitch who had been standing near Katniss, and then to Gale, honestly worried for Katniss’ mental wellbeing. “She isn’t supposed to be here, none of us are Effie!” Katniss screamed as she kicked the table. To Gale’s surprise, it didn’t topple over but from the looks of it, it was nailed to the floor to prevent such a thing from happening,

“It’s not her fault-” Peeta tried to speak up but Katniss glared at him.

“She can’t keep pretending that we’re not actual people and that no one would miss us if we, I don’t know, died! Were murdered?!” Katniss stormed past Primrose and Gale, the pain of her hand and of having to save not just Haymitch but Gale and Prim was too much. She was literally seeing spots in her vision and she needed to vomit. She needed to lie down. SHe was dizzy and suddenly out of breath. “And now you’re involved too Gale. That’s just great, it’s not like I had a plan or anything.” She said sarcastically as she spun around to look at her dark haired companion. “This will be just like when we were kids except I’m going die, you’re going to die and we’re going to die because there’s 48 of us which means our odds are not in our fucking favor!” Katniss stopped, having reached a moment of calm clarity for a moment. She was with her sister on a train for the Capital and she was screaming and crying in front of everyone. She was nauseous and needed to lie down. And felt so stupid for involving Haymitch now. How could she do it all? She never would have asked Haymitch if she thought she couldn’t save him. And now she had two of the most important people in her life on the same sinking ship and it was too much.

“I’m sorry.” She looked down at her hand as she tried to pull herself together as the tears finally stopped rolling down her face. Katniss was sure she looked like a mess and she had no idea how she was going to face anyone now. She yelled at Effie and everyone else and she was being childish. Haymitch was right, he had always been right. She was stupid and thoughtless and getting close to people caused this pain. “Effie...Prim...I’m really so sorry…” Katniss managed to get her breathing under control as she just turned and stormed out of the car and kept going down until the reached the end where the sleeping compartments were. SHe found one and slammed the door. Then she kicked it a few times and sat on the bed, her legs finally giving out. She couldn’t stop shaking, not since she heard Effie say Prim’s name. The events replayed in her mind. First Haymitch and Prim and finally Gale. Letting out another cry, she brought her uninjured hand to her mouth. It felt like she was drowning, she couldn’t breathe or think or do anything except start gasping and whimpering.

A girl on fire, covered in water, showing more emotion than she had in years past, she was sure if the other Tributes could see her now, she’d be dead before she could even count to three. All she could think about was her sister and the others who she dragged down with her. All the fight was gone and she couldn’t think about anything except the pain her body and mind felt. Meanwhile, back with the others, Gale broke the ice. “She just needs to calm down.” He said and pulled Prim into a tight hug, knowing this was hard for her too, not just Katniss or Haymitch. “I won’t let anyone hurt you or your sister.” He muttered softly and kissed the top of Primrose’s head. He knew she was brave and he knew Katniss was brave too and that there was nothing wrong with Katniss’ display of anger. He’d be surprised if she hadn’t blown up but he still wanted to go and check on her. Before he could however, Haymitch moved to go so and he Gale figured this might be a chance for the two to reconcile.

Peeta looked from the two and then to Effie who also excused herself, saying she needed to freshen up but Peeta knew her better than that, he knew she would be crying as well. Peeta grabbed himself a drink and something to eat and headed into another car but didn’t go all the way down. Instead, he stopped at the room where he could view the past fights. He knew he needed to give everyone their space. His mind was already thinking of a way to get them all out. He felt responsible for Haymitch’s new found fate as well as Prim’s and Gale’s. Peeta was determined to give them all a chance, find them sponsors and somehow break them out of the Games. It could be done, he just had to watch and make a plan.

As the scenery flew by, Gale finally let go of Prim.

"Your sister will be fine with Haymitch, we should try eating..." It felt like a dream but also a nightmare, somehow he was stuck in the middle but he didn't regret volunteering, not if it meant saving the ones he loved. He was sure Katniss would come back eventually with a better outlook, for now they needed to prepare themselves for the Games just as well.

[mmidnight]

Out of all the things Prim loved about Katniss, these were the times that she would miss the most. The few opportunities where her older sister would let her be part of her world away from home, where she belonged more to the wilds than to any part of 12, and when they could sit and talk and act as though nothing bad was ever going to happen to either of them. Although neither of them said it, Prim was sure that both she and Katniss knew that this would be the last time an outing like this would happen, that the dark-haired girl probably wasn't going to make it back from the Capitol this time. It wouldn't be for lack of trying, but the odds had been stacked against her by President Snow. Haymitch was right, this wasn't just about Katniss anymore. In a way, Prim felt sorry for her, because she knew her sister had never wanted to be anyone's symbol, she had just been doing the one thing she had always done; surviving.

“I love you, Katniss,” Prim said with a sad smile as she leaned her head on Katniss's shoulder. The fire in front of them was warm, bathing the two girls in a soft, orange light and everything, for once, was just about perfect. Desperately, Prim wished to freeze time, to stop the Games from coming and simply exist in this moment where she had her sister by her side, and the world at her back. The mere thought of that lofty notion caused a lump in her throat, and Prim found herself swallowing hard, not wanting Katniss to be concerned about her. The older girl had enough on her mind as it was.

Somehow, Prim thought that putting on a brave face should have extended to Haymitch as well. Something had obviously happened between Katniss and the other Victor while she and Gale had been gone. If Haymitch was so worried about the older girl's well being, and state of mind, he would have kept his mouth shut and not upset her. Although Prim didn't understand the relationship that the dark-haired girl had with her former mentor, she could tell that Katniss cared for him, and valued his opinion; he was her friend and Prim knew that wasn't easy for her sister. The blonde felt herself incredibly annoyed with Haymitch, thinking it to be rather ironic that he hadn't wanted her to come along when he was the one who ended up ruining the night.

“We don't have to go,” Prim said, trying to hold the situation together. “You've got your training.” Although, it was obvious that no one was in the mood to stay, so Prim helped pack up. She stomped out the fire and kicked a bit of dirt onto the embers, making sure they wouldn't roar back to life due to a strong wind. After that, she helped to gather up the meat and then set off with the group. Haymitch ended up walking way ahead of them, apparently done trying to be nice because Prim had noticed that he wasn't speaking to Gale either. She knew that the older man didn't like any of them, but Prim thought he could try a little harder.

Before the four of them parted ways, Gale pulled her off to the side, and Prim looked up at him expectantly. She was unsure of what he had to say, but waited patiently before he opened his hand and revealed a small, golden bird. Even in the darkness, Prim's smile lit up and her heart fluttered at the gesture. “That's...” she paused, laughing warmly as she took the finch from his hand. It was imperfect, but still beautiful, and she loved it already. “Thank you, Gale,” Prim smiled. She stood up on her toes, one hand braced against his chest as she pressed her lips innocently to his cheek. “I really love it.” And him, she really loved who he was.

Up ahead, Haymitch had paused in time to wait with Katniss while Gale and her sister had a moment. It should have been the time for him to apologize to Katniss, to say that he did want to be friends with her, and that he cared about her, but the words never did come out. Just as it was difficult for her to be upfront about her feelings, it was difficult for him as well. He supposed they were the same in a lot of ways, which was probably why they butted heads so much, but Haymitch knew he had been wrong this time. It hadn't been a stubborn tribute who wouldn't listen—Katniss had been seeking something from him, within him, and he had turned her away. The golden-haired man did his best to rationalize, tell himself that it was better this way, but even he wasn't believing it.

“Hell,” he found himself saying when Prim kissed Gale on the cheek. He had not gotten home sooner for this? He shook his head, and started to walk again, not saying anything to Katniss before taking off. At home, there was a bottle tucked away with his name on it. The one that Peeta hadn't managed to find and the liquor inside was tempting after such a long, and fruitless night. His sobriety wasn't something that was directly important to him, but it was imperative to everyone else, and Haymitch felt a strange, secondhand responsibility for his own person. If it were up to him, and if Katniss didn't have to go back into the arena, he would have stayed drunk and simply jumped off the platform before the counter got down to zero.

The Victor's village was a short walk from the fence, and Haymitch made it back to his house in record time. He flipped on the light and dumped his gear by the door, not caring about it and thinking it was rather useless now that he and Katniss weren't going to be spending any extended time together. He mulled about the living room, running his hands nervously through his hair before getting a glass from the kitchen. He set it down hard on the coffee table, as if to say that, yes, this was happening and no one could stop him. However, Haymitch didn't anticipate his conscience coming into play, to remind him that he had been doing so well lately, that he felt better and that like or not, Katniss and two new tributes would be depending on him in less than a week.

Haymitch went to bed; sober.

The next morning at the Everdeen house was a mostly silent one. It was strange to have Katniss there, just sitting, when normally she was tugging her boots on and leaving to meet Peeta and Haymitch. It wasn't to say that Prim was upset about having her home, but she knew that Katniss was hurting, and Prim had no way to help her. Instead, she made breakfast for everyone, got Katniss a few cups of tea and played with her braid every so often when she would pass by the couch as she went about cleaning up the house. It wasn't much, but Prim hoped she was doing some good. Later in the day, Prim had just finished making lunch with some of the deer meat from the night before when Gale let himself in. Obviously, he hadn't expected to find Katniss there either.

The two talked quietly in the kitchen while Katniss stayed in the living room. Prim was worried about her. It was rare that the dark-haired girl didn't come and say hi to Gale, or stand there and get into a conversation about deer, or what kind of moss would start to grown on the rocks down by the stream—things Prim would have normally tuned out. Frowning, the blonde leaned against the counter and propped her chin up on her hand. “She didn't say much,” she relayed to Gale with a shrug, “just that he was being himself and said something mean to her, and she did the same to him.” Prim really didn't understand Haymitch, but she had half a mind to march over to his house and demand that he make up with Katniss.

“They'll make up,” she added, glancing into the living room. “They have to.”

Over the next few days leading up to the Reaping, Haymitch remained firm in his uncanny ability to not do anything that anyone else thought he should. As far as he was concerned, he and Katniss had nothing to say to one another, but he would still follow through with the plan. After all, it wasn't Peeta's fault that his co-champion was stubborn, and lacked any and all people skills. Of course, Haymitch also refused to acknowledge that he lacked those same skills, and somehow thought himself to be more evolved than Katniss in that respect. Peeta, on the other hand, had pointed out that very fact and frustratedly begged he and Katniss to drop their qualms with one another. Haymitch, like Katniss, refused to budge.

On the morning of the Reaping, Haymitch overslept.

That seemed to be a pattern with him, as he had been late to the Reaping when his name had been drawn from the bowl the first time around. Even back then, he had a mistrust of the Capitol and had taken all the time to get dressed in his best clothes and go down to the town square. He remembered the look that the Peacekeepers gave him, disgusted that he would have the nerve to show up late and push through his age group to get to the front. Haymitch hadn't been afraid back then, but now, he had his reservations. The only difference between then and now, was that Haymitch was no longer afraid to die. He had lived an unremarkable life, winning the Games by chance, and then pissed away his winnings on alcohol. Dying for Peeta was better than waiting for his body to give out from the drink.

After getting dressed, Haymitch began to look around his room for a small box. Out of all the things he owned, and cared about, the small, silver pin housed in that antique box was the most important. Years ago, on a morning just like the present, Haymitch remembered his mother giving him a silver pin in the shape of a bluejay. It was very old, and had been passed down through generations of her family and it was meant to keep him safe from the Reaping, but when that failed, it was to remind him of home. Haymitch had kept the bird pinned in his pocket throughout the entirety of the Quarter Quell and although he wasn't a superstitious man, he believed that it helped him to win.

He found the box under his bed, tucked away behind some clothes he had forgotten about, along with a few empty bottles of liquor. Haymitch pushed the glass aside and brought the box out in front of him. The pin was resting on a blue, velvet cushion and Haymitch smiled subconsciously as he plucked the bird from its box. It was time to leave then, newest oldest District 12 tribute set off for the town square, token safely tucked away in his pocket.

When he arrived, he was strangely calm and didn't even mind when the Capitol official pricked his finger too hard during the identification process. Effie was already up on stage, her pink wig standing out garishly from the bleakness around her. Haymitch did have to admit that this time, she seemed very sad and wasn't at all good at hiding it as she drew a name from the bowl. Obviously, it was Katniss and Haymitch watched as she came to the stage as calmly as she could. She knew better than to show weakness, and Haymitch liked to think that he taught her that. Somewhere in the Capitol, Caesar Flickerman was commenting on how brave she was.

Then, it was time for the men and Haymitch continued to watch as Effie drew another name. It was Peeta, and from the crowd, Haymitch raised his hand, “I volunteer.” Those words alone seemed to break Effie, and for once, Haymitch truly felt bad for her. He knew that she came from the Capitol and had always been protected from these terrible games, but she had a heart and she did care about him and the tributes who came to die year after year. He knew that no one understood that about her, that the woman with her brightly colored wigs and painted face was looked at as if she were mindless, but she functioned the best way she knew how.

Moving through the crowd, Haymitch came to join Katniss on the stage. He glanced over at her, and made eye contact, but didn't bother with any kind of expression. His own advice was something that he took very often, and he wasn't going to set himself up to look more vulnerable than he already was when there would be twenty-two other tributes who were just as skilled as he had been years ago, but twice as desperate to survive. Standing there, he waited for Effie to get on with it, and didn't want her to make a big deal out of him volunteering. If Peeta was able, he knew the baker would have done the same for him, even if Katniss didn't like it.

Back in the crowd, Prim kept her eyes on Katniss, even when Haymitch volunteered. The dark-haired girl was only yards from her, but already, she felt thousands of miles away. It was hard for her to lose Katniss a second time, but the blonde did her best to be strong. Katniss needed to know that she was going to be okay on her own, and that she could handle everything. The ceremony continued on, and Prim was surprised to see Haymitch there at all. Like Katniss, she had been worried that the older man wouldn't show up, that he would force Peeta back into the games for one reason or another. At the very least, he wasn't as much of a coward as she thought.

Then, it was finally time for the new tributes to be selected. The bowls at Effie's brightly-colored side were nearly full to the top with names, and Prim found herself holding her breath as the Capitol woman's perfectly manicured fingers dove into the bowl. She fished around for a moment before pulling back with a thin slip of paper and the words that came out of her mouth just may have confused and outraged the entire district. It was surreal, and Prim thought she had to be dreaming. Her eyes were still on Katniss when she saw the look of shock, horror and rage come over his sister's face.

What was happening?

She had heard it, though, her name for a second time, another year in a row. The young blonde was frozen in place, unable to understand what had just happened but she could feel everyone's eyes on her and she heard a familiar voice volunteer, but that didn't stop the Peacekeepers from approaching and taking her by the arm. An outside touch brought Prim back to reality, and she was lifted a few inches off the ground by the men on either side of her. Quickly and with much more force than expected, she wrenched herself away from the guards and walked on her own. “Katniss!” Prim called out, now running to the stage, but the men in their white uniforms stopped her before she could reach the steps. “Katniss, don't fight!” It would just be worse for her. Still, Prim tried to reach her, but was now being held back with the rest of her friends.

The ceremony was over quickly, so fast that Prim hadn't even realized that she truly was the new tribute until she was being shoved in a car and taken to the train. “We get to say goodbye!” she demanded. “I want to say goodbye!” The thought of her mother without either daughter was enough to make Prim sick. She had spent so much time with her while Katniss had been away, promising that she would never leave, saying that she would always be there, no matter what, and now she had broken that promise. Guilt and regret slammed into the lithe teenager, and her chest was tight with remorse. How could this have happened?

When the Peacekeepers finally unhanded Haymitch, he was running on instinct and immediately gravitated toward Katniss. The Capitol had done something to this Reaping, he was sure of it, and everything had been a way to get at Katniss. Haymitch no longer cared about their stupid fight, she needed someone. Before he had the chance to say anything, the dark-haired girl went off like a firecracker, taking out her on Effie who was fragile to handle any kind of yelling. Haymitch let her go, wanting her to get it all out while they were absolutely alone. There were no cameras in the trains, nothing that the public would see and it was important that Katniss's image remain preserved—she was strong, she was sure, she was unbreakable and Haymitch would make sure she stayed that way.

With Gale taking care of Prim, who still seemed to be in shock, Haymitch figured he should go after the Mockingjay herself. He gave Peeta a reassuring pat on the shoulder and softened his touch for Effie as well before he left the room. The hallway was long and sleek, and the blue runner down the enter of the corridor lead to most of the sleeping areas. Haymitch wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say to Katniss, but someone needed to pull her away from the edge, and for some reason, he felt that he was the exact person to do it. After all, before their fight, he had shared many things with her and whether he liked to admit it or not, they were friends. He cared for her, and alliances were more important now than ever.

The dents in the door to the last compartment on the end were a dead giveaway and Haymitch took a deep breath before entering the room. Katniss was sitting on the bed, looking beaten and worse for wear. She was cradling her hand, her grey eyes stained with tears and this would have made drunk Haymitch angry, but it only made sober Haymitch slightly uncomfortable. This was new for him, openly caring, but at the end of the day, he was still sort of her mentor and she needed to be talked to in terms of the future. There was nothing that Katniss could do about her sister being Reaped and nothing she could do about Gale volunteering either. It was time to focus on the games.

“You gotta let this go right now,” Haymitch began, launching into a pep talk. “That out there, what you did on stage, that's what they wanted from you. They wanted to hurt you, they wanted you to react and you gave them what they needed. If they can make people see that you're not stable, that you're weak, it's going to be used against you.” He took a seat by her side and reached out, cupping her cheek so that she would look at him. “You're better than them, Katniss. This whole damn country and the people are better than this. Now, you saw what I saw on your tour—the unrest. They don't want to take it anymore, and you're in these games to start something.” Gently, he stroked her cheek, his thumb moving gently over her soft skin. “You got everyone afraid of you. Do something with it and everything else will fall into place.” He looked into her eyes, unable to promise what he knew she wanted to hear. People were going to die from this, and there were people that Katniss would never see again, but Haymitch's goal remained unchanged. Katniss needed to live.

Out in the living car, Prim had finally pulled herself away from Gale, and she was no more comforted than she had been before. Her non-reaction was strange, but she was finally starting to come around and as Peeta too left the room, Prim felt her eyes fill with tears. She was doing her best not to snap, knowing full well that a breakdown wouldn't help anyone, and she was already so worried about Katniss, but when Gale spoke, Prim snapped.

“I'm not hungry, Gale,” her voice quivered in the same way as her stomach and she walked away from the table. “This isn't right,” she breathed, chest rapidly rising and falling as she looked around the train. It was lavishly decorated, a beautiful scene full with gorgeous wooden and leather furniture, crystal chandeliers that glittered and shimmered in the sun and the deepest blue carpet that Prim had ever seen. None of this was a distraction, though, and she just wanted out. “I did this to her,” she went on, speaking mostly to herself, “I let her volunteer for me, and now she's stuck here. They set her up, they...” She sucked in a deep breath and walked quickly down the hall to the back of the train.

There were windows along one side of the train and Prim smacked her hand against the thick glass. “They wanted me here, Gale. This is what I get,” the blonde was rambling by then, frantically trying to open the window. Her fingers dug into the side and she strained to pull the circle of glass free from the train, but it didn't move. She whimpered, physically unable to express her frustration. “Katniss is going to die. We're all going to die and it's my fault. I should have went last year and none of this would have happened. It's my fault.” She let out a pained sob and sank down to the floor, head in her hands and knees to her chest as she cried. It was hard for her to catch her breath, and everything around her was spinning. Prim thought she was going to be sick all over the expensive carpet.

Still, she didn't understand why this was happening, why one girl from the poorest district was such a threat to an entire nation. “We need to leave,” she cried. “We have to get off this train.”

[Genkai]

Even though she had made quite the scene at the ceremony, she didn't regret it.

She did regret not getting to beat up more Peacekeepers but she would let that one roll of her back.

When the door slid open, she glanced up, expecting to see Gale or perhaps Peeta or Prim. Of course her luck kept getting worse as it turned out to be the last person she wanted to see in her condition. She knew she made several mistakes already and she didn't need Haymitch to make her feel worse. She was sure he had come by to lecture her as usual, make her feel even more stupid than she already felt. Katniss curled up a bit more, wishing her mind could curl itself up into a defensive ball like her body. She was well aware that her outburst on and off stage was what Snow had intended but why should she care if it made her look weak? She already had a massive target on her back. At least having Prim gave her more to fight for. To kill for.

Katniss gave Haymitch a look that Buttercup often gave her back home. Katniss really didn't want to be around him and found herself missing Gale. With Gale, she could sulk and talk about anything without feeling judged. But he was probably with Prim, who needed him too. She knew she needed to apologize to Effie for her outburst, since it wasn't really her fault that Prim and Gale were in this mess now too. When Haymitch sat down, she was pretty sure she was going to punch him. He had a lot of nerve just showing up after being such a jerk and pretending the past didn't matter and that what he said back in the woods hadn't hurt her. When he reached out, her plan of attack had gone out the window mostly out of sheer surprise. Katniss wasn't one for physical contact but she also knew neither was Haymitch so she decided to let this one slide, since he was a jerk.

He mentioned their tour with Peeta and how they saw the districts were all unsettled and how the people needed something, some kind of hope. She wasn't sure if she could do that. She was just one person fighting for her sister, that was it. Katniss sighed softly, as his hand moved against her skin, not sure why she found it soothing. But she did. Haymitch concluded by saying people were afraid of her and she knew one of them happened to be the President. She nodded and looked to him, her own eyes moving from his murky one, to the rest of his face. Even after what they said to each other, he still tried to make sure she was okay, so deep down, she guessed he did care about her, even if he might not like it. This notion caused Katniss to smile slightly as she brought up her non-injured hand to his. "Thank you." She said quietly. It was hard to remember they weren't the same people as last year. "Guess we outdid ourselves this year." She commented as she remembered the previous Reaping.

She also remembered having to deal with Haymitch for the first time. "I think we both sort of hated each other back then." Haymitch wanted to drink and she wanted answered and Peeta had to try to get both of them to meet in the middle. But now she could understand his pessimism after having to deal with so many countless Tributes dying without much of a chance. Then Peeta and Katniss ended up changing the entire Games and now they were going back in again. "For the record, I don't hate you as much anymore." She muttered and removed his hand from her face by taking hold of his with her own hand and setting it down on the bed between them. Hopefully he didn't hate her anymore either, but he was difficult to read as she was, despite them being pretty candid with everything else. She leaned over and rested her forehead on his shoulder. "You're still kind of a jerk though." She grinned a little. Since he was trying to comfort her and get her spirits up, it only made him half a jerk now, and even then, she was determined to save him along with Prim and Gale.

"I'm glad I'm not going to be alone." Sure she had Rue and Peeta but she ultimately felt alone when she was in the 74'th Hunger Games and knowing she had Haymitch with her to help keep her collected, was more reassuring than she really realized. She understood him better, even if he liked keeping her at an arm's length. Katniss breathed in slightly, he smelled like home and it was quite welcomed after the emotional whirlwind she had gone through. "I'm sorry." She muttered, though whether it was in regards to her outburst or to the fact he was in the arena with her, hadn't been specified.

Seeing everyone get upset made Peeta feel even more like an outsider.

He was mad about Gale and Prim and Katniss and Haymitch. He knew he had to do whatever it took to keep them all safe. There had to be a way to use the Games to his advantage. He knew Haymitch had ties, connections to the other Tributes. He wondered if he could somehow use alliances to help keep everyone safe. It was a gamble but it might work. As he fast forwarded through tapes of previous Hunger Games, Effie knocked and let herself in. He could tell she had been crying, even though her make looked freshly applied. "Katniss didn't mean what she said, Effie."

"I know Peeta." She said and carried in both bowls with names on them. "I was looking through these and saw they just had Primrose and Gale's names...I had no idea." She said, still shaken up. "I tried picking another female but I just kept getting her name...and Gale didn't even have to volunteer, he would have been selected anyway. This is unfair and terribly cruel." Effie protested. Peeta held his tongue, wanting to mention to concept of fighting was horrible but he knew she felt guilty for Primrose and that this might help her relax. "The Capital must be behind this."

"You can't tell anyone you, Effie." Peeta said as he looked to her, pausing the footage. "Gale volunteering, like I did, will give us an edge with sponsors and while Katniss' scene was hard to watch, i can at least let it emphasis her love for her sister...I doubt the Capital will react will to Katniss' bond. If we make the public hate Snow for creating such a cruel Quarter Quell, it could give the Tributes an advantage, I'm not sure but I'm working on a plan." He scratched the back of his neck.

"If you need anything, I'm happy to help." Effie smiled.

He hadn't expect Primrose to snap at him but he understood. She was frustrated and afraid. It hurt to watch both Katniss and Prim breakdown the way they did but he knew it was better they get everything out now when they could gather themselves, rather than elsewhere in the eye of the Capital. His insides reeled at the idea of going there. Katniss had explained their weird fashions and food and how everything seemed so fake and void of any real humanity. He hated that he was going and being forced to play their sick Games. He had to keep himself together for the sake of those counting on him. He had his family to think about but he also had Prim and Katniss. Gale decided that Prim needed to get out whatever she could and if he could help he would, but he felt just as helpless as anyone else. The difference was he could keep his cards pretty close to his chest and not let anyone see what really went on inside.

Prim paced around the dining car and he just watched, arms now folded against his chest.

He hated to see her this way but now wasn't the time to pretend they were back in District 12, He let her talk, ramble and cry. He knew she needed to get it all out before he could approach her with rational thought. Gale stood back and kept an eye on her, watching her move from the windows back to the carpet. He looked around, making sure no one else was around before he quickly approached her and sat down beside her. He wasn't sure if he could pull her close again but he decided to try either way. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into another hug. "We're not leaving, we're staying and finishing this once and for all. We're going to stay alive and so is Katniss." Gale told her. "They are using you to get to Katniss and you can't let them do that. To them you're a tool but you are so much more than that, Prim." He told her.

"You're strong and have more in common with Katniss than anyone realizes. They should be afraid of you as they are of her." Gale said. He had to be strong for Prim and Katniss. If he could do something, he would. But for now he just needed to make sure they were willing to keep fighting. "Last year wasn't a fluke, Katniss went and you didn't just sit around, you too advantage of that extra year remember? We went out and did our own fighting." He told her as he let go slowly. "This year they want to get you and Katniss together so that one of you might have to kill the other but that isn't going to happen. You're going to stand on your own to feet and help protect Katniss the same way she protected you." Gale told Prim firmly. In the back of his mind, he thought about Katniss and whether or not Haymitch was helping her or making things worse. Katniss' outburst had been totally reasonable but he still didn't want her turning out like Haymitch, bitter and alone.

He got up and pulled her to her feet. "Now we can complain and let all this food spoil or we can have something to eat because I know neither of us wanted to eat before the Reaping, and look forward to everything. We can't change being here. Our mothers will be watching us and they need to know we're okay. And we are and we will be." Gale said as he walked them back over toward the table of food. He removed his hand from hers and looked at the large selection of treats and candy. He knew his younger siblings would go nuts if they were with them. A pang of sadness hit him straight in the chest and he looked to Prim, hoping to at least see some kind of smile which would make him feel like horrible and lonesome. "I've never seen this before." He said and picked up a very cold glob of something. It was white and had some brown sludge covering the top. And then there were multi-colored bits of debris.

Gale grabbed a spoon and took a large bite. It was freezing! He cringed and doubled over. It was sweet, had vanilla and chocolate. He finally overcame his brain freeze and handed the crystal see through dish to Primrose. "Oh, you've gotta try this, but maybe try a little bit...it's really cold." Gale smiled to her. Whatever it was, he liked it.

[mmidnight]

The look on Katniss's face when Haymitch stepped into the room said it all. He knew that he wasn't wanted, and she more than likely would have chosen anyone else on the train to come and sit with her, but Haymitch couldn't help that he was the only one not having a breakdown over the Reaping. While he was angry with the Capitol, he wasn't surprised by their dirty tricks and the rigged ceremony only added to his determination to get Katniss to the end once more. It had been quite a long time since any citizen on Panem had showed her kind of resolve, and finally, the rest of the country was starting to wise up and realize that these sick games weren't okay. Katniss had the power to start something real, and end the oppressive way of life that people had been living for the last seventy-five years. Haymitch wasn't going to let her give that up just because she was upset over her sister.

Unlike most people, Haymitch wasn't intimidated by Katniss. In his eyes, she wasn't hard to understand and Haymitch saw a lot of himself in his fellow Victor, which was why he knew that she could get through this once again as long as her head was in the right place. When he reached out to her, he was surprised that she hadn't pulled away, and even more surprised that she was actually listening. Haymitch was under no impression that Katniss always respected his opinion, or even cared about what he had to say, but it was clear that she trusted him on this and knew that her actions had a direct correlation to what happened next. Her sister, and Gale were unknowingly depending on her being stable—the rock she had always been. It was unfair to Katniss, and Haymitch knew that, but balance was their best option.

Finally, Katniss seemed to set aside her hatred for him, and actually smiled. Haymitch found himself smiling as well, the expression just barely crossing his features as she set her hand on his. He nodded at her thanks, relieved that she was starting to come around. “Guess so,” he chuckled in agreement. “You could've punched a few more of those Peacekeepers—given them a real show and something to talk about.” Besides Primrose, and what a tragedy that was, obviously.

The previous year's Reaping had been a shock for Haymitch. He remembered talking to Effie about it that night, how both of them were surprised that someone from 12 had volunteered, and how Katniss had an actual chance. Both he and the woman from the Capitol had first hand experience with getting to know these kids year after year, and then watching them die; sometimes before they even made it to the Cornucopia. Haymitch had learned early on not to get his hope set on bringing anyone back to 12, but Katniss had changed that. “I never hated you,” he told her after a brief, thoughtful pause. “You surprised me. I don't think anyone was ready for it.” For once, he was being candid and he allowed Katniss to keep holding his hand as they spoke, “but someone's gotta be a jerk to you.” He smirked at her, and resisted the strange urge to kiss the top of her head as she leaned against him.

Nodding as she apologized, Haymitch breathed a sigh. “I know you are,” he said, assuming her words went for everything that had happened over the last few days. “I am too.” Haymitch had never wanted this for Katniss, she deserved better. “We're going to make the best of this, though. We're going to get you to the end.” Slowly, Haymitch put his arm around her and held her close to his side protectively. “Everyone on this train is still betting on you.”

It had been one full year to the day since Prim had felt this helpless. When Katniss had volunteered for her at the Reaping, Prim had spent the rest of the day in her room, crying until she had no tears left. She simply couldn't imagine her life without Katniss, and the blonde was overwhelmed by the guilt she felt for letting her sister volunteer in her place. She still felt guilty for it, and now the decision had come back to hurt the people she cared for the most. If only she had gone when she was supposed to; Prim wouldn't have minded dying if it meant that Katniss and Gale would be safe later on. There was nothing she could do to stop any of this, and Prim knew that she was just a pawn in the Capitol's games, an expendable piece that could be used against Katniss.

Once again, Prim felt herself being pulled against Gale, and for the second time that day, his strong arms did little to comfort her. She was having a hard time breathing, or even hearing what he had to say. Knowing Gale, it was something reassuring, something good natured that he wouldn't be able to guaranteed no matter how hard he tried. Prim choked back another sob and did her best to calm down. Listening to Gale's voice, the newest tribute managed to slow her breathing, and she found herself nodding, agreeing that she was also strong. “We did,” she said shakily, her fingers unfurling from his nice shirt, “you're right.” While Prim didn't believe that she would make it very far in the games, she appreciated what Gale was trying to do. She found that she didn't care much for her own well being as long as Katniss got out, and if Katniss could find a way past this, she would be able to save Gale and Haymitch too.

Prim found that her legs felt weak as Gale pulled her to feet, but she didn't complain and instead wiped at her eyes. She was sure that she looked like a mess, and that her failed escape attempt had been the furthest thing from attractive. At the very least, Gale had been there for her, and it was nice to know that he remained strong while she and Katniss had fallen apart. Later, she would go and find her sister and maybe they could talk about where to go from this point in time. For now, Prim was content to let Haymitch handle the situation. He had a way with her, and the two shared a tragic understanding that Prim had no way to relate to. As much as the blonde didn't like to admit it, Haymitch was the best ally Katniss had through these games.

“What is it?” Prim asked now that they were back by the table. She still didn't have much of an appetite, but eating was a good idea. That morning, she had been too anxious to have any kind of breakfast, and now she was sick with guilt and regret. Although, she was curious and she watched as Gale took a spoonful of the white confection from the crystal bowl. His reaction wasn't promising, and Prim was apprehensive even as she dug her own spoon in. First, she smelled it and caught a hint of vanilla and then tentatively, she took a bite. It was cold but the rush of sugar was immediate and the blonde frowned. “They eat this all the time?” she asked, somewhat appalled by the decadence of the Capitol citizens.

Setting the spoon down, Prim looked over the brightly colored sweets laid out on the table and her eyes landed on something pink that looked harmless enough. It was a round treat, and it felt squishy in her hand but quickly softened after she had bitten into it. The flavor of this was more subtle and she picked up the tray to offer one to Gale. “These are strawberry,” she smiled before popping the rest of the candy into her mouth.

[Genkai]

The more Katniss thought about it, the more she realized she should have been throwing kicks rather than punches at the Peacekeepers. Something told her she'd still be able to kick Peacekeepers in the future which cheered her up a little. But was even better, was to know that Haymitch didn't hate her, at least back then. She let out a small laugh when he said someone had to be a jerk to her. "Oh, I'm so honored it's you." She said sarcastically but unlike her usual tone, it was more light like when she was with Ceasar on stage just being herself, without all the walls of crap. When he said he was sorry too and that she'd get out of it in the end, she wanted to say it wasn't about her anymore, that it never was. She was more determined to keep everyone else alive, not really caring if it cost her life. Peeta was safe and if the other three could be saved too, she could happily stand in front of a sword or arrow and never open her eyes again.

Haymitch then moved an arm around her which she found herself accepting.

Though she knew everyone was betting, or rather supporting her, she didn't feel like she wanted it anymore. She wanted to keep everyone else safe and she would do whatever she could to protect from the mess she had made. It was her responsibility to handle, not Haymitch's or Gale's or Prim's. In her mind, they needed to focus on someone else. Katniss hated being the center of everything, the pressure wasn't as bad as the thought that the others would die to protect her. Of course that's what she wanted to do for them but they needed to have hope in their own survival as well or they were a bit screwed, watching everyone's back except their own. For the thousandth time, she felt herself swallowing the urge to tell Haymitch that he wasn't as alone as he thought and that she was doing her best to look after him, as he had done for her.

Instead she enjoyed his warmth, very aware it could fade away forever.

There was a knock and Katniss removed herself from the safety of Haymitch to see Effie standing in the narrow hallway. "Effie, I'm really sorry. You had nothing to do with what happened. I shouldn't have said those things to you. I know we don't get along but you have supported me and..." Katniss really hated babbling and Effie seemed to tell the girl was sincere enough as she said it was fine and then that she was getting everyone to watch some footage with Peeta. Katniss got up and smiled to Haymitch. "Lovely, come on, guess our Mentor wants to talk to us." Katniss couldn't help but find amusement. She had hoped to relieve Haymitch of Mentor duty but this wasn't how she pictured it turning out. She headed out and went to go find her sister and Gale so they could all gather together. She felt a lot better, which was hard to believe but her mind was back where it was supposed to be and perhaps the fact she and Haymitch were friends again, had something to do with her high spirits.

Gale couldn't believe that people in the Capital ate such sweet treats all day long. Part of him wondered how they could wake up to a bowl of cold cream and chocolate. It was really outrageous to think that these people weren't spoiled and close minded fools. Gale still had to commend them on having interesting food to eat. "I have no idea." He shrugged when Prim asked what the cool creamy bowl was. If anyone could help them it would be Effie but Gale hadn't gotten to see much of her. Katniss told him stories from time to time when they were hunting, when there was nothing else to talk about. Katniss spoke of Effie's micromanaging and fashions. She also said that while Effie could be annoying, that Effie was probably one of the more considerate people in the Capital and that Effie did have a mind of her own, even if it wasn't voiced that much, probably due to the Capital's strict rules and whatnot.

When Primrose then began to investigate other candy items, he watched to see how she enjoyed them.

From the look of things, they weren't harmful. Then again, it wouldn't make much sense for them to be poisoning Tributes before there was even some sick twisted audience. Gale picked one up and popped it into his mouth. It was interesting. He wondered how Katniss had felt about such foods but recalled her house not having a lot of these things which probably meant they weren't to her liking. He glanced to Prim, studying her. He could tell these Games would change their dynamic. He didn't want to smoother her and they were already trying to find their footing among all the drama that was unfolding. He figured he might need to give her some space, as much as he didn't want to. He looked up and saw Katniss walk in, looking better than when she left. "Hey catnip, everything okay?" He asked her. That was a bit of a loaded question and he began to fear the dynamic between him and Katniss would all be in jeopardy too. He didn't want anything to change. He wanted Prim and Katniss safe but there was nothing he could do about it except try to keep up with everything. He walked over and pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah I'm better-" She was cut off by his large hug. She did enjoy Gale's hugs, which said a lot. "Come on guys, we're going to watch some of the past Victors and see what we're up against." Katniss knew it wasn't the most warm of introductions to the Games but they all needed to get focused. Gale kissed her cheek and pulled away from her. His hands rested around her back as he looked to Prim, not sure what else he could say or do for her. She hadn't been too responsive so he could just hope that Katniss would be able to do something.

Before Gale could ask about Haymitch's attendance, he saw him lurking in the doorway. "Alright...let's go." Gale sighed and followed them out and found Effie by the door. The six of them took a seat as Peeta started to select different pieces of footage. Gale was uncomfortable watching them. He knew he'd be in the arena in about 10 or 12 days from now but it had yet to really hit him hard the way it had with Prim and Katniss. He had things and people to live for but he was still trying to remain calm for his friends and he was sure his own silent storm was slowly gathering, getting ready unload anytime now. He sat beside Prim and felt compelled to grab her hand but he stopped himself from doing so, unsure if she needed him or not. Katniss had pulled an arm around her sister, who was on the other side of Primrose. "She looks pretty formidable but she's gotta be what 20-21 by now." He commented as they saw footage of Johanna Mason pretending to be weak but then winning the Games. She wasn't like Katniss but the two could clash and that worried Gale. Some of the others would be much older though, which could be an advantage.

"After this we can eat dinner and get ready for bed, we do need to be rested, as tomorrow we arrive in the Capital and from there, you'll be handed off to your Stylists who will get you ready for the Opening Ceremony tomorrow night. It'll be wonderful." Effie said and looked to Gale and Prim. "You'll both be spoiled rotten." She smiled. Katniss leaned over and told Prim that she'd finally get to meet the amazing Cinna.

Gale, on the other hand, wasn't too eager for the primping. If Katniss could put up with it, he could though.

[mmidnight]

There was a reason that Haymitch never wanted to bond with the tributes, and this was it. Caring about them only to watch them die later on was always hard, but he thought he had been in the clear when it came to Katniss. At the very least, the former Victor knew he would be dead before he had to watch her suffer. Although he hadn't mentioned it to Katniss, or even Peeta, Haymitch didn't suspect that he would last very long once the games truly began. All of the training he had done, getting sober, that was to ease Katniss's mind, to alleviate some of the stress and worry that she always seemed to carry with her and make it easier for her to make it to the end. With Gale and Prim now in the games with her, Haymitch knew he wouldn't be needed as much—she would be taken care of and although Haymitch had next to zero confidence in Prim, Gale was a different story.

For now, Haymitch was content to sit with Katniss and keep his thoughts to himself as she stayed by his side. The close contact was strange for him, but the dark-haired didn't seem to be protesting. Now that he thought of it, this was the most relaxed he had seen her in weeks. Haymitch was glad that he could do something for her, as he was unsure that his impromptu pep talk had really done the trick. Whether Katniss had taken it to heart or not, they were no longer fighting and that meant he would be able to help her play the game better.

When the door slid open, Haymitch scooted away from Katniss, surprised to see that Effie had come to join them. The wig-wearing woman was sensitive, and he was surprised that she had recovered from Katniss's outburst so quickly. Regardless, he didn't want the Capitol escort to see him sitting so closely with the former tribute, worried that she might take something the wrong way. Then again, Haymitch didn't think there would be any confusion when Effie knew that he and Katniss couldn't even have a civil conversation most of the time. Effie wouldn't make that kind of mistake, or at least, Haymitch hoped she wouldn't. His feelings for the Girl On Fire were purely platonic, after all.

After his senseless worrying, Haymitch filtered back into the conversation and agreed to go and talk with Peeta. It was hard to think of the boy as a mentor now, and Haymitch had always thought that Katniss would be the one to take over for him. That had been the plan until President Snow decided to bend the rules of the games just to take out one teenaged girl with a defiant streak. Haymitch hoped that Peeta would be able to handle himself when it came time to secure sponsors. The blond was charismatic, a real people person, but the lives on the line were personal this time and Peeta was easily distracted by his feelings, always ruled by his heart and Haymitch suspected that the other victor still carried a torch for Katniss.

Out in the dining car, Prim had found another candy to try when Katniss entered. She was happy to see that her sister was still in one piece, but she was surprised that Haymitch had been able to do anything for her. The blonde was truly worried about the older girl, and hoped to comfort her when they had a private moment together. As it currently stood, everyone was fussing over whatever they could, and there was no opportunity to talk, or even give Katniss a real hug. However, Gale seemed to take care of that rather quickly and Prim felt a wave of guilt wash over her for even being a little bit jealous over the interaction. She was on the way to the Capitol, more than likely going to die in two weeks time, and she was still worried over something that was really never going to happen. She needed to focus on something more substantial, something real that could help Katniss and didn't have anything to do with wanting Gale to see her as more than just his crush's sister.

“That's a good idea,” she agreed after hearing they would be watching footage of the past games. Before, Prim had never paid much attention to any of it, thinking it was brutal and sick, but it was best to learn what she could while the information was available.

“It's not just one and two you need to be worried about this year,” Haymitch mentioned. He was the last to enter the room and took a seat off in the corner to observe everyone else. He already knew most of these victors, and had spent the last decade viewing their strengths and weaknesses first hand as mentors. Often, they would comment on what tributes were doing wrong, what they would have done different and sometimes if there was enough alcohol going around, they would open up about the ins and outs of their win. That information was the most valuable, although Haymitch hadn't thought it would ever come in handy.

There was a lot of footage to sift through, but Johanna seemed to be of particular interest. She was a different kind of person, possibly more angry than Katniss, but at least ten times more likable. “Don't count her out,” Haymitch said, shaking his head. “She stays in shape and she's got nothing left to lose anymore. If you're smart, you four'll win her over and get her on your side. You don't want that ax of hers coming for your head.” The majority of the games was strategy, once everyone understood that, it would be smooth sailing.

As Johanna's games concluded, and Effie started to spout off about the stylists and the god awful parade, Haymitch popped in another tape. Finnick Odair was one of the youngest tributes to ever win the games, and he was just as deadly as any fresh, young career. “You might want to get this one to like you too,” he mentioned, tapping a finger on the screen. “If you don't, and there's any water around, you're as good as dead.”

“Don't you mean we?” Prim asked, feeling uncomfortable with all of this. She stayed close to Katniss, leaning against her sister as Finnick speared a tribute through the chest with his trident behind Haymitch's shoulder. He didn't look pleased with the reminder that he too was in the games.

Snorting, Haymitch sat back down. “He already likes me.” Running a hand through his hair, he then turned his attention Effie. “And would you stop trying to get them excited about the ceremony? That doesn't mean anything. This. This is where everything happens.” He pointed to the television as Finnick's games played on. “They need to study. Not worry about which blue-skinned freak is going to primp their hair tomorrow.”

[Genkai]

The Girl on Fire could tel that Johanna was lethal but unpredictable. For Katniss, she still liked to make a plan, track, forage and do things that made sense but when provoked, Johanna seemed to act like a wild animal and Katniss wasn't sure how valuable she'd be as an asset. And Katniss wasn't even sure if she could make friends, if she even wanted to. She kept her mouth shut though and just watched. Many of the tapes she had seen already when she had her first night on the train with Peeta. She couldn't sleep so she stayed up watching what she could stomach. It wasn't until the morning that she went out and tried to talk to Peeta and Haymitch about making some kind of strategy. As Haymitch put in another tape to cut off Effie's prattling about stylists, she could feel some growing tension between Primrose and Haymitch and she didn't like it.

Katniss bit her lip, trying to refrain from telling her sister to pull back a little. The last thing she wanted, or that the group needed, was to have all four of them on shaky terms. She cleared her throat slightly and gave Haymitch a slightly apologetic look on Prim's behalf as she just put an arm around her sister, keeping her close. When she left, she knew she would never see her mother or sister again but then the sudden turn of events changed that. And while President Snow was heartless, a part of her was thrilled beyond all belief that could at least hold her sister for a little while longer. As they settled in to watch some more films, Katniss rubbed Prim's side softly, while resting her chin on the blond's head comfortably. She knew she would die and she wanted to make it worth something, Prim was worth it.

Katniss wasn't the only one to sense tension.

Gale squirmed a little and could tell that things needed to be pulled back a little. He knew both Prim and Haymitch had different viewpoints. Hell, he wasn't a fan of Haymitch but he knew the man had Katniss' best intentions at heart and could bring a lot of wisdom to the Games. He also knew Peeta would be a valuable asset too. He knew he'd need to be on better behavior once they got to the Capital but he told himself that it couldn't hurt to start practicing now. "I'm sure Haymitch is on good terms with a lot of the Tributes." He told Prim. "He's worried some of us might not be so sociable." He glanced toward his best friend, quite aware that she had the biggest obstacle of making people like her. Even in their own district, some people weren't fans of her since she did like to break the rules and trade with Peacekeepers and whatnot. "We should listen and see what advice he has for us."

Though Gale wasn't comfortable with the situation, he could at least look at it objectively and understand his odds of keeping Prim and Katniss safe were to listen to whatever Haymitch had to say. On the other side of the room, Peeta was already slowly putting a weak plan together but he knew he would need to talk to more people, that if he could make a difference, it had to be bigger than just their group. Haymitch kept putting an emphasis on alliances and getting to know one another. It made Peeta consider the idea that maybe they could break out if they had more people on their side. That also would mean less people would be trying to kill Haymitch, Katniss, Gale and Primrose. It might even give them better resources to do so. Peeta made some mental notes and already knew that Finnick and Johanna might be their best bet of making something historic happen. Effie excused herself and went to make sure dinner was being prepared.

Dinner was finally announced and everyone heading into the dining car. The conversation was pretty light and casual. Effie kept most of it moving as she went on and on about the city and how everyone was so excited to meet Prim and how the media would love to write up articles about the sisters together. Katniss gave Prim an amused look before shaking her head and going back to her food. Gale didn't mind that he wasn't getting much attention. Like Haymitch, his goal didn't need to be publicized. He finished eating and headed off to get some sleep. It was late and he knew he'd need to get some rest if he had to pretend to care about the stupid Capital and the filth that lived there. He said goodnight to everyone and found his own small room and laid down on the bed. He missed his family and the ache in his chest was only growing worse the further the train took him away from his home.

He was soon sleeping and Katniss was already getting ready to turn in for the night as well. She got up and excused herself. She walked the length of the train, going all the way back to her room. Once there, like Gale, she didn't bother changing since Cinna would do away with her clothes and replace them with something tailored and new. She sat on the bed and at least removed her shoes and looked up to see Prim had found her. Katniss smiled and patted the place next to her, welcoming some company. She was tired but it was mostly in her head. She laid down and curled up around Prim. "You're gonna love Cinna and he's gonna love you." She whispered. "And the penthouse suite had a great view of everything and the food is amazing and everyone is so nice." She said, trying to soothe Prim with sweet nothings about the Capital. "Everyone is going to love you." She smiled sadly and closed her eyes.

[mmidnight]

The tension in the room was palpable and the stress was only made worse by the past games continuing to play out on the screen in front of them. They bloody battles were hard to watch, and although it was beneficial and even crucial that they know their enemies as well as their potential alliances, Prim found herself often looking away. Even before Katniss had gone into the games the year before, she had never been one to watch them and did her best to stay as occupied as possible with whatever distractions she could find. There simply wasn't anything appealing about watching people die, or seeing the oppressed people of Panem become even more exploited than they already were. Unfortunately, there was no way for Prim to continue to ignore the games, she would have to watch and then participate. The thought alone was terrifying.

Moments after their small disagreement, Effie had excused herself to check on the status of dinner and soon enough, it was being served. Prim didn't have much of an appetite between the events of the morning, and an afternoon of watching faceless tributes being slaughtering one another in the name of entertainment, but she ate anyway and listened as Effie talked about the Capitol. Tomorrow would be a day full of pampering, the pink-haired woman had promised as much, but it would also be the first day that reality became official. Prim didn't want to be dressed up, no matter how much Effie insisted that the Capitol citizens would just adore her, and her story with Katniss was sure to capture the attention of every reporter for miles. That was debatable, but Prim shared a look with her sister and found herself relaxing.

As the evening concluded, Prim was shown to her room for the night. The interior was just as beautiful and rich as the rest of the train, but it felt cold and lifeless, and the blonde could only stand to be inside for a few minutes before she left to find Katniss. The older girl always made her feel so much better, and Prim still wanted to spend all the time with her that she could. On top of that, she wanted to make sure that Katniss was okay, as she was still worried about her from the outburst that morning. Through all of this, Prim already saw Katniss as her greatest priority and although she didn't suspect that she would make it far, she would do what she could for her.

Still dressed in the clothes their mother had laid out that morning, Prim entered the room when Katniss welcomed her in. She took a seat on the bed with the other girl and soon after laid her head on the fluffy pillow as Katniss tried to comfort her. She smiled sadly, “I don't care about any of that. I care about you.” Gently, she reached out and played with the ends of Katniss's braid, watching as the dark-haired girl closed her eyes. Katniss needed her rest, and Prim knew that she did too, but there was a heavy anxiousness inside of her that she couldn't shake and she laid awake for hours as Katniss slept.

Out in the dining car, breakfast had been served and Haymitch and Haymitch was still waking up with a cup of coffee. At any other point in time, the former Victor would have already started drinking for the day, especially when on the cusp of a new Games, but this time it was different. He had learned to go without, to give up part of who he had been for the last ten years or more for the brooding girl who was currently sitting across from him. Katniss should have counted herself lucky that Haymitch cared enough to do this, to save Peeta's life, and lay down his own for her so that she could make it out of the Capitol's clutches for a second time. Bitter like his coffee, Haymitch took another drink.

Beside him, Effie was going over the itinerary for the day and Haymitch wasn't paying much attention. He decided that it was too early for her sea foam green wig, matching, sparkly dress and high-pitched, grating voice. At the moment, the former Victor almost would have preferred to be in the arena and battling against people who wanted to kill him if it meant he didn't have listen to which stylist was excited to meet who, and gossip about what each district would be dressed as that year.

“If I have to be a coal miner again, I'll lose it,” he contributed. Cinna was in charge of district 12 that year, same as the one before, and Haymitch had a lot of faith in him. The parade would have been more enjoyable his first time around if a designer like Cinna had cared enough to make the poorest district the least bit special.
“Absolutely not,” said Effie, her painted face suddenly very serious and sincere. “Cinna wouldn't do that to Katniss,” because she was the real star, “or any of you for that matter.” She looked to both Gale and Haymitch with a convincing smile but it was clear that at least one of them wasn't buying it. Instead, she turned to Katniss, questioning where Prim had gotten off to. “She'll miss breakfast, and you've got a long day ahead of you.”

“Where could she go?” Haymitch asked, snorting. Effie acted as if she was lost somewhere.

Breakfast continued on and eventually, the coffee had kicked in enough for Haymitch to be less abrasive. Prim had made an appearance before the plates were cleared away, although it didn't look like had slept for very long. A weary tribute mattered very little to the stylists when they could use every tool imaginable to make anyone look their best. Haymitch couldn't say that he was looking forward to the primping process, having been extremely against it the first time around. He remembered giving the stylists hell when they suggested cutting his hair after subjecting him to the strange, pink foam bath.

The Capitol was a terrible place.

He was still seated at the table with Katniss when Effie announced that they were coming into the station. “You ready for this again?” he asked, standing.

Prim could feel her heart racing in her chest as the train sped toward the Capitol and she got up to look out the window. Her eyes were met with towering buildings that stretched for miles into the sky, their outsides glittered like fresh snow on a cold winter day and Prim couldn't believe that people actually lived there. It was a beautiful and dirty all at once, as the extravagant opulence was only made possible by the very people the Capitol sought to exploit and demean. Now Prim could see why Katniss had spoken so highly of it the night before, and why she had been assured that this experience would only start to be horrible at the end.

As the train slowed and pulled into the station, Prim could see a crowd of people waiting for them. They were as brightly colored as Effie, dressed in the most trendy fashions and yelling excitedly before the door had even opened. Their faces were strange, some stretched to the limits and others painted and adorned with jewels. The blond couldn't understand why anyone would want to look like that, and Prim had the passing thought that it would be done to her as well. She looked anxiously to Katniss and then to Gale as Effie corralled them toward the door of the train.

“Now, smile, smile,” Effie encouraged, demonstrating before district 12 stepped out onto the platform.

It was incredibly loud and there were many people reaching out to them, wanting to shake hands with Katniss, touch her hair, and give her gifts. It was the same with Peeta and Haymitch although Prim heard her name being called by strangers, and Gale's as well. These people seemed to have no concept of personal space but Prim did her best to smile and not look uncomfortable as she followed along with the group lead by Effie, who was very much in her element as an escort.

Once inside and away from the public, a small army of more neon-colored people came out to greet them. They were the prep team, meant to make every tribute as beautiful as every Capitol citizen before the parade and for the rest of their time there before the games. “Cinna and Portia will be along when the work is done,” Effie informed them and soon after, each tribute was being taken to the prep area.

[Genkai]

To have her sister with her, made a huge difference in Katniss' mind.

The other two Tributes weren't strangers who she might have been able to overlook but not anymore. Gale and Prim needed to live, as did Haymitch. Katniss used up all of her luck the first time around in her mind. When breakfast rolled around, she let Prim sleep in, knowing she hadn't gotten much rest and she'd need it. She kissed her sister on the head and got ready for the day. She pulled the braid out of her hair, tired of it, and decided to leave it down as it was, wavy and unsuspecting. In the dining car, she sat across from Haymitch while Gale sat next her. Peeta was at the head of the table, going over some last minute things that he was writing down in a book. Katniss kept glancing over at the blond before she went back to her meal. It was delicious but that was no surprise to her. The Capital had more money than it knew what to do with so of course everything they gave their toys, had to be expensive and near perfection.

Gale kept to himself as the day was discussed at length. Gale didn't pay much mind to whatever Effie was prattling on about. He glanced to Katniss and saw she seemed more calm than she had been twenty or so hours ago. he nudged her and rubbed her arm when Effie brought up Prim again. "She's sleeping." Katniss just replied. "She didn't get a lot of sleep last night, just let her rest." She told Effie and went back to getting as much fuel into her body as possible. A small part of her was already tired but she knew once they got into the crowds of fans, she would be introduced to another level of exhaustion entirely. "You wanna get her?" She glanced to Gale as she checked the time. They did need to get ready to disembark and Katniss wanted to make sure her sister was ready. Gale was about to check on her but Prim finally decided to show up. He still wasn't sure how to approach her. He understood her not wanting to be around him the day before but he still couldn't figure out if she was still upset and how he might be able to help her.

The food was cleared away and Gale thought about trying to approach her again. She could reject his attempt but he knew this was a big step for them both and that they needed each other. "Morning. Sleep well?" He asked Prim as he got up. He moved over to the window as Effie said it was about time to go. He was nervous but he had spoken to Peeta before bed who assured him it wasn't too bad, that once training began, things would become more routine. Gale wished he could find comfort there but he didn't. For now he focused on having Prim and both Katniss around. The other trained killers were far from his mind.

At Haymitch's comment, Katniss smirked and got up. "Oh yeah, I can't wait." She said sarcastically but remembered to dial it down. Peeta threw her a look and she held up a hand, knowing he was going to tell her to be more warm and inviting since the public loved her so much. "Sorry, sorry." She turned back to Haymitch. "Yes, I am." That had a bit less sarcasm and she had a more genuine smile. Peeta had also mentioned to her that morning, that he'd talk to the stylists and tell them he wanted a serious look that didn't play to the sister-sister family theme. Peeta knew they needed to make a bold statement in the ceremony that their district was still in the game and still a force to be reckoned with. They could make allies but for now, people needed to know that Prim and Gale were just as deadly as Katniss and Haymitch. Katniss followed behind Effie, with Haymitch behind her. Prim was next and then Gale which left Peeta to bring up the rear.

Katniss smiled at everyone who seemed to gush at her presence.

It made little sense to her as to why she'd be some kind of icon or symbol but she had to put on a nice face and go with it if she and the others had any hope of having help from sponsors in the Games. Katniss and Prim were taken away by Cinna and his team while Portia handled Gale and Haymitch with her crew. Gale glanced to Haymitch who looked like he could use a drink. Gale could commend him for not having picked up the bottle. He knew the guy had to have seen some horrible things. When he asked Katniss, she said it wasn't something she felt comfortable telling someone else. Gale was taken off to another room where he was given the usual treatment. The waxed him and made sure any scars or blemishes were taken away thanks to the magic of the Capital. He was washed and given a nice makeover to ensure the public saw the very best side of him. His dark hair was trimmed and slicked back as he was given something to wear. "This doesn't look like anything I'd-"

Before he could protest anymore, one of the stylists gave him a look which even put Katniss' to shame. Gale quickly got dressed and with some last finishing touches such as a spritz of cologne, a quick nail trim with a file, and a bit of an adjustment with his tie. Gale felt very uncomfortable by the end of it and was told to walk out and wait for the others. He now had on a dark gray suit which had some sheen to it. He had on a red collared shirt and a silver tie with small specks of black. He had on polished black shoes and he felt way too dressed up for whatever was going to happen next. He spotted Finnick without a shirt. Upon inspecting, he noticed each district had their four tributes in a theme. he glanced down at his clothes and wondered what theirs could be. He turned around and nearly lost his jaw when he saw Katniss and Prim. They looked as different as he did.

Through all the primping, Cinna had only so much time to be introduced to Katniss' sister, Primrose. he seemed just as sure of her as he had been of Katniss. he was quick to usher them away to get ready for the ceremony. One of the stylists mentioned they'd be going outside down a long strip with fire and drums and they'd be on chariots. it sounded pretty stupid to Katniss but she knew by now to hold her tongue and just grit her teeth by going along with it. By the time she was done, she had on a tight short gray sequined dress. She had on black heels and a nice necklace. Before she left, she was given a small remote, one that Haymitch had been given too. With the same instructions, she was told to use it when the time felt right. She assumed it would give her and Prim some flames. She walked out and noticed a very handsome Gale. She walked over and caught him staring at them. "Wow, you clean up great." Katniss grinned, mostly trying to get any attention off herself.

Her long hair was down but she did have a small braid in the back, much to her protest.

"I'm not the only one checking you out." Katniss teased as she looked over his shoulder at Finnick Odair.

"Prim, you look amazing." Gale smiled to her as Katniss moved over to get a better look at him. The blond shirtless lover boy walked over to the four and looked from Katniss to Primrose. Gale glanced at him, raising a brow."Hey." He said.

"You two look stunning." Finnick smiled and then acknowledged Gale. "As do you." He winked and opened his fist to reveal some sugar cube. "Want one?" He asked. Gale glanced to the black horses around then and Finnick gave a shrug. "We all deserve some pleasure, our time is sadly limited." He said. Gale remained quiet and kept his eyes on Prim and Katniss, not sure how to read Finnick. He was charming but also very odd.

Katniss glanced over her shoulder at Haymitch and took a step back toward. "No thank you. I guess it pleases you to be shirtless...?" She finally said.

"No one's complained. Are you?" He replied with a harmless smile.

"...No." Katniss glanced off, trying not to blush.

Finnick nodded and moved his hand toward Prim and Haymitch since Katniss and Gale didn't want any. "Can I interest either of you?"

[mmidnight]

Even though there weren't any good parts to the Hunger Games, the most useless part of it, in Haymitch's opinion, was the parade. There was no sense in adding insult to injury and dressing up the tributes for even more entrainment when they were already being sent to die was just another way for the Capitol to show its strength against the citizens of Panem. It was always such a large affair, the real kick off of a new season of brutality, and Haymitch had absolutely loathed it the first time around. He clearly remembered trying to bite one of the stylists when they came near his hair with shears, and he had heavily protested the miner outfits, and the coal dust that had been rubbed on his face. This time around it was sure to be different, especially with Cinna in charge of their district look, but that didn't make the former Victor anymore eager to participate in such a spectacle.

Portia lead he and Gale back to the prep area, and that was where Haymitch lost sight of his fellow tribute. He knew the routine from years ago and he grudgingly stripped down and slid on the gown that was provided for him. Then of course there was the bath, and the magical serum that took away any blemishes or scars from the skin, something that made each person look their very best. Haymitch thought it was degrading and continued to pull away from a woman with a bright yellow wig and matching fingernails as she tried to rub away a scar above his eyebrow that he had gotten during one of his many drunken episodes. “That stays,” he snapped at her, but she didn't listen.

When he had been a mentor, Haymitch had often stressed that the tributes minded their manners and didn't give anyone a reason not to like them until they were actually in the arena. Although, now that he was back in the spot he had once left, he wasn't going to take his own advice. There was nothing that the Capitol or President Snow could do to him anymore, and he knew that his place would be to die in the arena and that gave him the go ahead to be as angry as possible with anyone who wasn't in his alliance.

“Portia wants your hair cut,” said another member of the prep team. He was a man with purple-tinted skin, and jewels embedded around his eyes, and his hair was an unnaturally beautiful shade of blue.

Haymitch shook his head, “no way.”

The two went back and forth for a few minutes before the would-be stylist relented. Haymitch wasn't going to change who he was, or how he looked just because he had been forced back into the arena. He knew that his refusal wasn't going to make Peeta happy, but Haymitch couldn't find it in himself to care. If Peeta was going to continue to be a mentor after this years games came to an end, he would have to learn that not every tribute was going to take his advice. Besides, Haymitch wasn't entirely ready to leave his former position just yet.

Somewhere in a different part of the prep area, Prim was suffering through having her legs waxed. For the first time in her entire life she found herself being envious of the opposite sex, because at least they didn't have to endure hot wax being poured onto their bodies and having their hair yanked out. “We're going to need to do your eyebrows too,” one of Cinna's assistants informed her, and Prim made a face. She couldn't think of anything more unpleasant than having her eyebrows waxed when her legs had hurt enough. “Sorry, they're just...bad. Too big, too much. They simply don't fit your face!”

Until now, Prim had never been made to feel bad about herself and she really didn't think her eyebrows were terrible. She stayed silent, though, having seen the look that Peeta had given Katniss earlier and she didn't want to upset him. Apparently, there was a certain way to act and Prim didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself, or have a reputation for being difficult.

After all of the plucking, trimming, polishing and prepping, Prim was finally deemed ready to go. Her hair was down around her shoulders, slightly curled and she wore one small braid which was supposed to accent her sister's. She hadn't seen Katniss yet, but she had been told that they were dress similarly. She wore a long, silvery dress that didn't look like her at all and tall high heels that she had trouble walking in, although the prep team assured her that if she twisted her ankle, it could be fixed in half a second. Somehow, that wasn't very reassuring.

“I feel weird,” Prim said, taking very small steps as she walked along with Katniss toward their designated chariots. She reached up to rub at her eye but quickly pulled her hand back when she remembered how much work the team had done on her make up. The parade hadn't even started yet, and already Prim couldn't wait to get it over with and get back to who she really was. “But you look nice,” she noted and then joked, “I forgot you had legs.”

Prim had been so busy trying to stay on her feet that she hadn't even noticed that Gale and Haymitch were already out and waiting for them by their chariots. She didn't look up until Katniss said something, and she finally saw Gale. He looked amazing, so much different than he did back home, but it wasn't a bad thing. “Thank you,” Prim said, looking toward her feet to hide her blush. “So do you.”

Gale had been such a distraction that Prim hadn't even noticed a shirtless Finnick Odair coming their way. He looked like a merman, or rather, what she imagined they would look like if they were real. He was getting more stares than anyone else, but his presence was slightly uncomfortable and a little bit unwelcome. Haymitch had said to make friends, though, because 12 could possibly need him for something when it came time to get into the arena. The same went for Johanna Mason, but Prim couldn't see her anywhere. She would hold her tongue and be friendly if Finnick would be the difference between life and death.

“Aren't these for the horses?” she asked and reached out to take a sugar cube from him, but Haymitch quickly grabbed her wrist.

“Don't eat that,” Haymitch said, sounding annoyed before he let go of Prim. “You'll rot your teeth,” he warned the shirtless career, but the blond didn't seem to mind and simply popped the sugar cube into his mouth instead.

The parade was starting soon, and there were plenty of Capitol officials running around and trying to get things in order. There wasn't much time to talk now, and Finnick seemed to know that as well. When it came time to train, or perhaps before then, Haymitch would talk to Finnick about the alliance and see about getting him on their side. They had always gotten along fairly well, even if Haymitch did think the other man reveled a bit too much in his fame and good looks. Regardless, he was still good with the trident and that made him useful to the cause.

An official came over to corral them to their chariots, and Finnick had left in order to take his place. It was then that Haymitch finally got to look at Katniss, and he saw that her hair was down. It had been that way earlier on the train, loose and wavy and it made her look less severe, a little more approachable. “You look nice,” he said, feeling uncomfortable by comparison in his shiny, ridiculous suit. At the very least, none of them were coal miners and Cinna had done a fine job for the second year in a row.

Stepping onto the chariot platform, Haymitch and Gale were the last in line with Katniss and Prim in front of them. He looked toward the other man beside him, “don't expect me to hold your hand.” It was his attempt at a joke, to lighten the tension between them and because for some reason, the Capitol loved to see tributes getting along before slaughtering each other. He kept the remote that Portia had give him in his hand, figuring that he would use it when Katniss did. The fire thing was a little bit predictable, but at least Cinna thought to continue with a theme and this would definitely get them noticed in a good way which would make Peeta's job easier.

Soon enough the parade was underway and Caesar Flickerman was announcing each name and commenting on each outfit in living rooms and village squares all across Panem. There were good designed, bad, and down right ugly, but each tribute was talked about as if they were special and the real stars of the show were the favorites from the past. Career victors, Cashmere and Gloss, boy wonder Finnick Odair, Johanna Mason, and of course, Katniss Everdeen: The Girl On Fire. And she quite literally was once again, with the press of a button district 12 lit up like a Christmas tree, harmless but impressive flames engulfing their bodies as the horses ran them toward their destination. At the end, President Snow made his annual speech and toasted the sacrifices that were about to be made. Although he seemed to be speaking directly to Katniss, a warning in face of her insolence that said this year, she wouldn't be so lucky.

As the parties began, the tributes were taken back to the area they had left a short time before. The parade was over, the flames on district 12's outfits had been extinguished, and both Effie and Peeta were making their way toward them.

“You looked marvelous!” Effie praised, excited as ever about the most superficial things. “And you get the top floor suite again. We'll have dinner, we'll relax, you've all had such a long day! The real work is just about to begin!”

[Genkai]

In hindsight, she should have warned her sister about the stylists. Last year, Katniss had put up a tough fight against a few unfortunate souls. She may have kicked one or two of them in the face but she really didn't like their waxing and pulling and prodding. Katniss didn't think Prim would suffer as much as she had but they both seemed to come out of it alive. She watched Finnick interact with her sister, making sure he didn't try or say anything she didn't approve of. While Prim wasn't much younger than her, Katniss still felt an instinct to keep her safe and out of harms way, which in this instance was a very friendly fish boy. When he left, Katniss glanced back to Haymitch who uttered a stiff compliment. "Thanks..." She replied and glanced down at her feet, not sure if he was joking or trying to be nice. Whether or not he was sincere probably didn't matter at the moment as she stood by Prim, ready to get it all over with so she could kick the heels off, or risk using them as a weapon against the first person who looked at her wrong.

He wasn't as surprised as he probably appeared. Gale knew Prim was more than the cute shadow behind her fearless sister. He knew that underneath her shyness, Prim was more than the girl you could overlook in a crowd. The long dress and change of style just confirmed that Prim wasn't a little kid, that she was an attractive woman who didn't need to attach herself to other people like him or Katniss. He couldn't help but smile as she headed off with Katniss, his dark eyes following the blond more than the brunette. While she was the same person he traversed woods with, this made him see yet another side to Primrose Everdeen and he was rather intrigued. He found himself on autopilot and when Haymitch made a joke, he snapped back to reality. "What kind of date are you?" Gale chuckled softly and looked ahead to see Prim and Katniss were ready to go.

The procession began and Peeta headed off with Effie to watch it all unfold.

The flames were displayed by both Katniss and Haymitch and Katniss held Prim's hand under the chariot as they looked forward, expressions plain and unmoving as Peeta told them. Katniss could hear Snow speaking, giving everyone a warning cloaked in fraudulent warmth. Katniss refused to let people pay for her actions and she did her best to not flinch when he said the usual 'may the odds be ever in your favor' jab. It stung more than usual but that was probably because she knew luck had nothing to do with the Capital's sick source of entertainment. When they were off the chariots, Katniss was smiling though it had something to do with the fact she was about to go up to their suite which meant she could get changed. "Great, that's the best news I've heard all day, Effie." Katniss said happily, which caused Gale to look to her, surprised to hear actual sincere joy in her voice. "What?" Katniss caught Gale's look and hit his arm. "I know how to smile." She joked.

"Nothing nothing, catnip. I just hadn't seen one in a while. Thought they were extinct." Gale grinned.

As everyone migrated to the elevator, Gale hung back to walk with Prim. "It's one thing to see the fire on tv but it's another to actually be part of it." He commented to her. Gale hadn't been scared or worried but it was just weird to stand next to someone and suddenly see fire all around you. "I guess Haymitch cleans up real nice." He then said and leaned closer to Prim so he could say more quietly, "I heard him yelling about no one touching his hair, I didn't expect that." He smirked a little, not thinking he could be such a diva about something he probably needed to be cut anyway. Gale wasn't fussy so he pretty happy he hadn't made a scene like Haymitch. He considered Katniss could have acted similarly but he hoped Prim hadn't lost her calm while being groomed. "You and Katniss should consider wearing your hair down more often you know, it looks nice." He said as he straightened up.

He knew in the arena, a braid or something would better though.

The group got onto the large glass elevator and someone slipped their arm through before the doors could close. Gale looked up to see Johanna standing in the middle of their pack. She had on a nice dress like Katniss and Primrose but her makeup was a lot more edgy and her accessories were more spiky and intimidating. He stepped back a bit more and she turned around to them, giving them a twisted smile. "You guys look great, my stylist is a moron. I mean trees? Lumber...lame." She muttered and pulled her bun out, letting her long hair down. Her make up had branch effects and her dress, while pretty, was meant to mimic bark. Johanna pulled her hair back and looked at Peeta. "Mind unzipping me, handsome?" She asked him. Katniss glanced to Peeta, giving him a slight look. Even though she wasn't with him, she still considered this a bit inappropriate. Peeta stepped forward and did just that. "It's a shame you're not in the Games this time, now that you're on the market, as rumors whisper..." She turned around and pushed the rest of her dress down.

"We could have have some fun together." Johanna said and stepped out of her dress, wearing nothing but a pair of black panties.

"We'll have fun though. I assure you, that." She then gave Haymitch and Gale a wink and stepped off on her floor, her heels clicking as she went, her clothes and accessorizes on the floor. Gale glanced to Peeta, a bit envious of the guy. Gale couldn't really help but pay Johanna the compliment of looking. Of course looking did seem rude but so did averting his gaze. He smirked a bit and pocketed his hands, his mood suddenly a lot better now. Looking to Prim and Katniss, he noticed their expressions much different than his, Peeta's and Haymitch's. Effie didn't seem too bothered but it was still evident that she found the spectacle uncalled for. Katniss folded her arms, finding her happiness fleeting rather quickly. She gave the boys a dirty look. So what if Johanna was stripping? Did that warrant them to act like morons? It's not like breasts were that rare. A snarky remark almost slipped past her lips but she held back as they got to their floor.

Katniss quickly stormed off, ready to get her shoes off and slit Johanna's throat.

She wasn't sure what bothered her though. Gale and Peeta looking or Haymitch? She rolled her eyes and sat down on one of the velvet couches. She pulled off her shoes and restrained herself from throwing them somewhere, at someone. Gale loosened his tie and removed his blazer and hung it up as he sat down next to Katniss while Effie began to talk about what was where and what time they'd need to be up tomorrow morning for training. Peeta came in next and congratulated them on a good ceremony. It still felt weird for the baker to be a mentor to Haymitch but he couldn't change it now. He just had to get used to it and know Haymitch wasn't too bothered by that sort of thing. "Tomorrow you guys will train, you should start off simple and just get a feel for everyone. We're given a few extra days due to the...capacity of Tributes this year." He explained, trying to remember the things he had been told during the meeting with all the mentors.

Katniss nodded. "Got it." She said and got up and picked up her shoes and headed off to her room to get changed. She closed her door and rested her back against it, not sure why she suddenly felt so drained. Minutes ago, she was fine and when Johanna came around, she changed. Katniss threw her shoes to the side and let out a groan, not sure what was going on. She shrugged and assumed it was stress and went to get into something comfortable. She pulled off her dress without a man's help and pulled on a pair of black pants a pale blue tee shirt. It was fitted for her thanks to the Capital's need to perfect every last detail before the blood bath. She walked back out and saw Gale had also changed out of his suit and was now looking heading off. He now had on dark jeans and a long black sleeve shirt with the number '12' on it. She plopped back on the couch, trying to shake of the bitterness of whatever she was feeling.

Effie announced dinner with be in about a half hour and that they should go look around and relax until then. Katniss rubbed her face and realized she hadn't taken off her makeup. "Fuck." She looked at her hands and realized she must look like some raccoon now with a messy face. Katniss laughed a little to herself and tried to use the back of her hands to get some of the mascara out of her eyes but it was just making matters worse. "This is ridiculous..." She snorted, though her eyes were slightly burning, she was happy for some kind of distraction. Gale meanwhile, had moved to another part of the large floor suite. There were many stone and glass accents everywhere. It was all pretty open in terms of the floor plan but it let him find a place to look out at the large city of spoiled people, eyes blinded. He leaned against a low stone wall and looked through the glass window a few feet in front of him, as the ledge he was looking out, was indoors but in a niche where it felt like he was in some kind of hideaway.

Down below, he could see all the way down to the lobby but heights weren't his downfall, so he paid no mind to that.

[mmidnight]

It had been surreal to be part of the parade, and the procession had happened so fast that Prim had barely been able to take it all in. She had been holding Katniss's hand under the chariot, and did her best not to look surprised as her sister's dress caught fire and harmlessly burned as they rode along. From then on, not showing any kind of emotion to the public was vital and both Haymitch and Peeta had made a point to remind them that they could only show personality during the interviews. That was something else to be nervous about—all of those people and answering such invasive questions in order to receive gifts in the arena? It was a foreign process to Prim, and she hoped that she wouldn't let anyone down.

As President Snow concluded his telling speech, the line of horse-driven chariots proceeded back where they had come from. Putting on a show for the public was finally over for the night, and Prim was looking forward to going upstairs and getting changed. She was tired from all of the activity, but she also hadn't slept well on the train the night before and ready to crawl into bed for the night. Katniss had mentioned sometime earlier that the Capitol offered the best of everything during their stay, and the beds were no exception. She couldn't wait to find out for herself.

Effie and Peeta were coming toward them, and the woman was talking about how gorgeous the parade had looked, and how, of course, district 12 had looked the best. Prim was happy for the approval and followed along toward the elevator as she talked with Gale. He really did look handsome in his suit, even if the shiny fabric wasn't his thing but Prim couldn't ignore how good he looked. “That's something to use against him later,” she joked about Haymitch, surprised that he was so attached to his hair. It really did need to be cut, and it was a shame that Portia hadn't been able to convince him of such. Gale's compliment about her hair fell a little short, and Prim was used to being mentioned in the same breath as Katniss when it came to their friend. She smiled, though, glad that he liked it.

In the elevator, Prim leaned back against the glass, taking some of the pressure off of her feet. The height of the heels wasn't something she was used to, and Prim's feet were aching and sore. She really couldn't wait to get upstairs. Suddenly, someone was delaying the elevator with their arm and there stood Johanna Mason. Prim recognized her from the tapes on the train, but she thought it was a little odd that she was complaining to a group of strangers—with the exception of Effie and Haymitch—about her stylist. Prim had tried to be polite until Johanna started stripping down with Peeta's assistance, and she quickly averted her eyes, shocked by Johanna's boldness.

The heavy flirting was something that Prim could have done without, and the way Gale's eyes seemed to linger on Johanna's nearly naked form made her angry and jealous. She looked to Katniss and saw that her sister was as unamused as she was, which made her feel a bit better. Haymitch was trying to hide his smile, and Effie looked mildly displeased.

“That is not how ladies should act,” said Effie once Johanna had left the elevator at her floor. Her bark-like dress was still on the floor, along with her accessories. “If you two ever did something like that,” she went on, looking to both Katniss and Prim, “well. There would just be...no dessert.”

Prim found herself rolling her eyes and leaving the elevator as they entered the penthouse suite. It was large and expensive looking, decorated with different sculptures and paintings, and all different types of brightly colored, but still matching furniture that all looked very comfortable. She took a seat on the arm of a chair and pulled off her high heels as Peeta announced how the next few days would go, but she wasn't paying much attention and was still angry from what had transpired just minutes before. “Thanks, Peeta,” she said, truly happy that they had some kind of schedule. She too picked up her shoes and disappeared down the hall on the other side of the room. She just wanted some time alone, a chance to decompress and bury that ugly spark of jealousy.

Once in her room, she set her shoes down in the closet that had been provided and reached back to unzip her dress without the help of a man. Johanna had just been showing off and Prim frowned as she looked through the clothes, wanting to find something comfortable. Tucked into the fold out wardrobe was a full-length mirror and Prim turned to it, inspecting herself. She didn't look anything like Johanna and actually thought she was fairly scrawny. She turned a few times, looking at herself from different angles before giving up with a defeated sigh and grabbing some clothes. The black cotton pants had been fitted for her, as had the t-shirt she had slipped on. After, Prim went to wash off her make up, but she left her hair down, remembering what Gale had said earlier before his eyes had been all over Johanna.

Finally, she was starting to settle down, but Prim didn't go back out into the living area. Instead, she continued to explore the suite they had been given, feeling that she might as well enjoy the place while she was there. Slowly, she walked along the hallway and peeked into a few other rooms before coming to an opening in the floor plan. It seemed to overlook the rest of the Capitol and as Prim stepped closer to the window, she noticed a ledge that was tucked away behind the heavy wall accents. Gale was down there too, changed out of his suit by now. “It's beautiful from up here,” she said, blue eyes focused on the buildings in the distance, all lit up and stretching for miles into the sky. Back home, it was pitch black by now, but there in the Capitol, the night was young and the people were decadent.

The room had cleared out incredibly fast after the group had come into the Capitol-provided housing. Haymitch knew that Katniss was angry with what Johanna had done in the elevator, and it was obvious that Prim hadn't been impressed either. Neither of them knew that was just how she was, though, brash and abrasive, opinionated. Johanna was an incredibly strong person, and the fact that she had even thought to try and rile up 12 said something. He hoped that the Everdeen's anger wouldn't put a damper on the alliance they would desperately need with the former Victor from district 7. Inwardly, Haymitch made a note to talk with Johanna during training the next day.

For the moment, Haymitch was by himself. Effie had gone to check on dinner and Peeta had left the room soon after Gale, more than likely to change out of the parade outfits. Haymitch took off his jacket and tie and rolled up his shirt sleeves to his elbows before making himself a drink. For now, he was comfortable with everything and wanted to relax further until the real work began. Off to the side of the dining room, there was a drink cart filled with various liquors, juices and sparkling waters, along with copious amounts of ice. Haymitch had made a promise to Katniss, and everyone else by association, and he intended to keep his word.

He reached for a bottle of amber-colored juice and gave it a sniff before pouring some of it over the ice in his glass. He took a sip, pleased with the sweetness, but he still thought it could have used something else. Before becoming even further tempted, Katniss had returned to the room and Haymitch could practically feel her seething from where he stood. Every once in a while, she would let her guard down and Haymitch could read her like a book. It was those times when they seemed to get along the best, when she would laugh and share pieces of herself that he had never been able to deduce from simply looking at her. She was more than just a poor girl from 12, more than a symbol for the inevitable uprising and as she sat there and ruined her make up with her hand, it was as though Haymitch was seeing her for the very first time.

Guilt didn't even begin to describe it.

It was now blindingly clear why Haymitch had agreed to take Peeta's place in the games. It was more than concern for the baker, and more than just doing the right thing by both tributes. Katniss had been the reason all along, she was his motivation, the reason for being sober and the one person he had always wanted to be there for. She had changed his life when they had met the year before—angry and difficult, she was a challenge, a pain in the ass that brought out the best in him, qualities that had been buried for years. She deserved more than this.

“You alright over there?” he asked, clearing his throat. Quickly, he finished off his drink and felt silly for pouring himself another out of habit. He moved closer to Katniss, coming around the side of the couch and taking a seat. Her mascara was smeared around her eyes, making her look like an angry raccoon and he couldn't help but chuckle softly, a noise that he knew she wouldn't appreciate. He took another sip from his glass and was instantly annoyed by the taste of only juice. After what was going on in his head, Haymitch could have used a whole bottle of whatever was over there, let alone one drink. Later, he would have to tell Effie or one of the Avoxes to do away with the hospitality if he was going to be of any use to anyone later on.

Setting his half-full glass down on the steel and crystal coffee table in front of them, Haymitch turned to face Katniss. “What happened back there,” he said, referring to the elevator. “That was just Johanna being herself. You can't let her get to you.” It didn't occur to him that Katniss was angry that he and the other men had looked, or even approved of what the other woman had done. If anything, Haymitch assumed that Katniss was upset over Peeta's role in it. Jealousy was a strange thing, hard to understand and difficult to let go.

Although he had enjoyed the free show, behavior like that wasn't something that Haymitch respected. If Katniss had pulled the same stunt, he would have been livid with her. Shaking his head, Haymitch realized he didn't even want to think of her that way. “At least she doesn't get dessert,” he said, attempting to joke with her. It was hard telling whether or not Katniss would have it, but Haymitch was just glad that she wasn't armed with her high heels anymore. The last thing he needed was the pointy end of a shoe coming at his face.

[Genkai]

Gale felt so out of place.

So alone.

When Prim made her presence known, he motioned for her to stand next to him. "Yeah, it...it really is." He sighed and reached out for her hand, putting his atop hers, their fingers lacing together as he then rested them against the top of the cool stone wall separating them from the edge of everything. "To be honest I was beginning to feel unlike myself, like being here was changing me." He said to her as he kept his eyes set on the view sprawled out before them. "But it kind of feels like home now." He said and glanced down at their hands. He smiled to Prim and leaned against the wall. He was feeling a lot better now. When he had been alone, able to reflect on the city and its people and their weird obsession with the Hunger Games, he felt like he was slowly going insane.

But when Prim found him, when he saw her, everything stopped spinning and even his mind could settle down. He then looked back down at their hands. His were bigger than hers, had more wear thanks to the hunting he did while she stayed indoors. Though that dynamic had already begun to change after Katniss had been taken from them. Prim and Gale went outside more and soon he knew, her hands would be able to reflect how strong she was on the inside. Thanks to the primping of the Capital, many scars and bruises had been erased and it somehow saddened him to think that a person's history, their bumps and scrapes could somehow just vanish. "I miss the cut I had here." He used his other hand to gesture to the line that used to run from the end of his thumb, to the side of his wrist, on the back of his hand. He got that when he had been shooting with Katniss when they were younger, back then the damage served as a firm reminder to always be safe and aware of everything around you.

He then moved his hand that was atop Prim's and traced his fingers to where a small scar would have been. "They're trying to change us." He muttered. He refused to let them turn him into one of them, someone polished and pretty. It made him sick and he longer for home. Rather than dwell on the bit of anger, he looked back to Prim and found comfort in the fact that despite the Capital's meddling, he could still see her for her. He could never look at Johanna and see anything but the Capital's strings attached to her. He knew she may need to be their ally but for now he wanted to push all of that aside. "If they're going to change us, we should change for the better so we can be stronger and help those we care about." Gale said, still looking at her, feeling more warm and relaxed than when he was out with Haymitch, being paraded like some glorified house pet. For now though, he was happy where he was, in his mind, back home with all his scars earned, where they belonged. And he had Prim. "I'm glad I'm here, I don't regret volunteering." He said quietly as his hand went back down, this time curling around her's.

"You're stuck with me a little while longer." Gale grinned, teasingly.

Since Katniss was doing her best to behave more, she had to limit herself and not let out anymore swear words. She knew Effie didn't like it and she also knew it had to be adjusted for the interviews in a week. Still, she couldn't help but swear in her head but it wasn't nearly as gratifying as yelling it aloud. She hadn't noticed Haymitch was around, as she was preoccupied with trying not to blind herself with the black gunk. Even his words fell on deaf ears, it wasn't until she felt someone sit by her, that she noticed Haymitch was going to witness a moment of weakness, not just weakness though, a moment of stupidity. Katniss blushed and tried to roll her eyes but that proved to be difficult since one of her eyes was glued shut. She heard him chuckle softly and it only agitated her even more, summoning more red to cross her face. "Don't laugh at me." She whined helplessly and let out a huff of tiredness and annoyance. This was how she was going to die, death by mascara.

That would be a hilarious news segment.

Now she was tempted to just fall over and die if it meant having a laugh about it.

Having finally looked up, she glanced to Haymitch who told her to think nothing of what Johanna had done. She swallowed and glanced off, not sure if he was defending Johanna or trying to make her feel better. Katniss couldn't tell and it bothered her, made her anxious and a little worried. Her first instinct was to make a snippy remark at him about his perverted crush on a total psychopath but his next comment caused her to hold her tongue. Katniss smiled slightly. "I feel like she needs to stab her dessert and throw it across the room...only then she can devour her prey." She laughed a little and looked down at her hands, stained with black crud. She glanced back to Haymitch and decided if he was going to sit there, he could at least be useful. "Come here." Katniss muttered and pulled his arm over and rolled down the sleeve so she could use to get somewhat clean. She didn't feel very bad about messing up his shirt, though he did look good in something tailored to him, she Capital could just clean it or get him a new one.

Katniss used his shirt to get around her eyes and along her cheeks so that most of the muck was off her, she then just wiped her hands on her black pants, not caring too much about appearances. "Thanks." She said as she handed his arm back to him, smiling slightly. "Sorry about your shirt, you do like good in it." She considered and glanced down, her blush nearly gone, hadn't it not been for her comment. "I don't think Johanna's your type." She couldn't help but say out of nowhere. "So you know..." She looked up to Haymitch and remembered hearing a few whispers about what Gale had said about Haymitch's hair. "I don't think she likes your hair but I do, it suits you." Katniss said and decided she would now rather be in a lake filled with mascara because she felt incredibly out of her element. "Just like wearing deadly mascara suits her." She quickly said, trying to hide once again behind a witty comment.

Still, she couldn't help but laugh a little at their current situation. "I'm glad you're not letting them change something about you, even if it's your hair."

[mmidnight]

It was strange to think that a place could be so beautiful, and hold such ugly secrets and practices at the same time. From below, the city was alive with light and color as the after parties raged on. Vaguely, Prim could make out the sound of music, the soft thud of a bass line that had floated itself all the way up to their suite. The blonde didn't understand how the Capitol citizens could be celebrating when so many would soon be dead, or how they could sit idly by and mistake murder for entertainment. Seventy-five years ago, something had gone terribly wrong and Prim had never considered just how bleak and terrible the world could be until she had been Reaped for a second time. Fate had to be accepted, and Prim knew that she could no longer ignore the circumstances that currently surrounded her.

The warmth of Gale's hand on her was surprising, enough to dull her somewhat dangerous thoughts. His hands were so much bigger than hers, rough and calloused from all of his time in the woods. She was used to seeing them with a scrape or two, and had come accustomed to the scar on the side. That was all gone thanks to the Capitol and Prim understood where he was coming from when he spoke. Slowly, her fingers moved between his, touching his skin, committing the feel of him to memory as her heart jumped inside of her chest. “You know it's there,” she said, referring to his newly healed scar. Prim didn't want Gale to feel bad about this, to feel like he was losing part of himself or that the Capitol had the final say in who he would be.

In a way, Prim understood the loneliness he felt, but she wished with everything in her heart that Gale had never volunteered. When they had discussed in months ago, Prim had wanted him to stay for the most selfish reasons, but now she just wanted him to be safe. Gale was a good person, and a very vital part of what kept the people in the Seam fed. If he wasn't there when Katniss couldn't be, they were going to starve to death come winter. Then there was his family to think of, how his mother must miss him terribly, how Posy who would never know just how wonderful her big brother truly was. It made Prim teary-eyed just thinking of it and subconsciously, she found herself giving Gale's hand a squeeze.

“You got a hair cut, Gale,” she finally told him, laughing softly. “You're still you and they can't take that away.” Prim looked up at him, the side of Gale's handsome face was bathed in the softness of the colorful lights below them. He was perfect, but she couldn't stop herself from disagreeing with his words. “I wish you hadn't volunteered.” It wasn't meant to be mean, and it wasn't out of anger, it was just the truth. “You're too good for this.” They all were, Katniss, Haymitch, every former Victor and unnamed tribute who had been stolen from their families over the years. No one deserved such cruelty.

Again, his hand had found hers and their fingers twined once more. She may not have been glad that he volunteered and got himself into this mess, but it wasn't all bad. “I'm glad for this moment, though,” she paused, “if that makes any kind of sense.” She laughed and shook her head, cheeks flushed as she chanced a glance at Gale.

The air in the living room had felt incredibly tense, but all of that seemed to melt away with the sound of Katniss's laughter. She had a way about her, for being so incredibly strong, the moments when she allowed herself to be vulnerable, when she relaxed, were the times she was most likable. It was those times between them, each moment added up, that Haymitch had finally acknowledged the truth that he had been avoiding for nearly a year. Everything about the situation was incredibly unfair and Haymitch knew that he would have to keep himself all the more guarded until he died. Katniss didn't need to know.

Relaxing, Haymitch found himself laughing at the dark-haired girl's joke. Johanna was intimidating, but Katniss needed to realize that they had more in common than just a bad attitude. They could use each other in the thick of it, and once he, Prim and Gale were gone, she would need someone to get her all the way to the end. “She's really not as bad as you think,” he insisted with a small smirk, and didn't protest as Katniss took hold of his arm.

It was too late for him to speak up before Katniss was already wiping off her make up on his sleeve. Effie was going to love this, that large black stain on such expensive fabric—it was sure to be the only topic of discussion come dinner time. “You're the worst person I've ever met,” he said once Katniss had released his sleeve, although his tone did nothing to back up his words and he even found himself laughing again. Although most of her make up was now gone, there were remnants of black mascara stubbornly clinging to her skin, but she looked like less of a raccoon.

“I looked good in it until you used it for a rag,” he corrected, although he wasn't all that bothered. She continued to speak, though, mentioning Johanna again and Haymitch vaguely wondered if Katniss had been jealous. Perhaps Peeta's participation had nothing to do with her storming off of the elevator, or the way she had snapped before going to change. Had they been back home, out in the woods or in her living room in front of the fire, Haymitch might have allowed himself to read deeper into her actions. But he was going to die, and accepting that finally felt unfair.

Running a hand through the hair that had been saved from the scissors earlier, Haymitch shrugged his shoulders lightly. “I didn't let them cut it the first time, and I wasn't going to let them do it this time,” he explained. “They can only change you if you let them.” Because that was what the Capitol liked to do, it was what they were good at.

Haymitch reached over and gently rubbed away a stray streak of black below Katniss's right eye. “You looked nice tonight. I don't know if you believed me before.” He meant it, though and he meant it now too; smeared make up, no make up, it didn't matter.

[Genkai]

Gale felt Prim squeeze his hand, it provided more comfort than she’d ever know. Katniss was a comfort, sure, but with Prim it felt more...he wasn’t sure how to describe it but it just felt different, and he liked it. “Oh? Yeah.” He smiled and brought his other hand up to his trimmed hair. It wasn’t too short but he knew he had needed a haircut before the Reaping and now he looked as he normally would, except better and more perfect. Prim then said he shouldn’t have volunteered and that he was too good for it.

Didn’t she understand?

He did it for her and he didn’t regret it. He wasn’t trying to protect her since he knew she could hold her own and had Katniss, he just wanted to spend more time with Primrose, that being apart from her and watching he in the Games while he sat back in District 12, would kill him. Gale bit his lower lip, wondering why the pain in his heart felt different when he thought about both sisters in the arena. He shook it off, not wanting to ruin the moment with him getting stuck in his own head. “I’m glad I did, we’re still together and I’m not letting the Capital take you away.” He told her gently but firmly. He didn’t want her blaming herself for him being where he was. It was a choice he made, simple as that.

Their hands were then reunited and he looked to her, still unable to take his eyes off her. To him they weren’t stuck like prisoners inside a lavish hotel, they were back home and everything was completely normal. He couldn’t be happier. “It makes a little sense.” He shrugged slightly. He got what she was trying to say. Gale broke his eyes free of Prim’s entrapment and took one last look out at the darkening sky where glittering skyscrapers were flashing various lights to the world. Red, greens, purples, and pinks were dancing across the sky as people celebrated another exciting year of the Hunger Games. “Let’s look around so more.” He said and kept hold of her hand as he led them off down the long wide stretch of floor.

Of course she knew Haymitch was joking when he told her that she was the worst person he ever knew. She knew Haymitch Speak by now, which meant she was one of the best people he knew. “How sweet.” She grinned, her mocking tone matching his. “Shut up.” She pouted when he soon made a complaint about his shirt. She knew he really didn’t care and he couldn’t act well enough to make her feel the least bit sorry for what she did. The two continued to sit around and she found herself feeling much better for whatever reason. It seemed the more she was around the sober fellow, the more at ease she felt, the more safe she felt, and the more determined she was to keep him alive.

She didn’t want to lose him, she couldn’t.

The blond then moved a hand to her face to wipe off some of the black stuff. Katniss didn’t flinch or lean away, much to her surprise. She made no attempt at biting or growling so at least that meant something. Katniss smiled sheepishly at his comment. “Sincerity isn’t something either of us are great at.” She pointed out to him. To her, the dress and makeup weren’t her but it did help to know that he still thought she looked nice. “But thank you.” Katniss said, remembering her manners. Though it did honestly mean something to her, that Haymitch thought she looked nice. His opinion was important to her and if she ever disappointed him or upset him, it would greatly affect her.

The Girl on Fire reached over and flicked a finger through his hair, trying to picture him with a different style. She honestly couldn’t and gave up on that vision. She quickly dropped her hand and let out a sigh. Even she knew these creeping feelings she was collecting, were dangerous. Her attachment to everyone would be her downfall, and she was prepared for that. She wanted to beg Haymitch to save Prim or Gale if it came to the choice, that Katniss didn’t care if he let her die in order to save someone else, or even himself. She knew he’d just yell at her though and she didn’t want to fight with him.

Gale led Prim around, their fingers still linked together. They found several areas with decorative plants and fountains. He didn’t know why they had to go to so much trouble for them. Gale was anxious about training in the morning. He knew everyone would be sizing one another up and that Peeta didn’t want them showing off just yet. Gale hoped Prim kept calm and that no one paid them much mind. “I heard there’s a Ball this week, I guess there’s dancing and drink and it’s really fancy.” He rubbed his neck with his other hand. “I’ve never danced before.” It was a bit funny to worry about the silliest thing but that’s exactly what Gale was doing. “No one in our district ever needed to dance, there was nothing to really celebrate.” He said to Prim, though she knew that. “I hope Johanna keeps her clothes on.” He laughed.

“Haymitch,” Katniss spoke up as she leaned against the couch. The whole ordeal with the ceremony had brought back memories of her first time, last year. She was remembering all those she killed and the feeling that she’d never see her loved ones again. She knew everyone was counting on her to do it all again but she was seriously starting to get scared. Hell, she had been scared the moment President Snow announced the rules for the Quarter Quell. “I don’t know if I can do it again.” He had made it clear that this was about more than herself but the mere thought of fighting, something she actually wasn’t fond of despite her skill set, made her sick to her stomach. “No one deserves to die, not me or Prim...or even Johanna. And especially not you.” She whispered.

It was then that it started to hit her, really hit her.

That’s why she had to fight, because no one deserved to die. No one in the past, present or future. If she could do something to prove that the Games were wrong and cruel and pointless, then those who died may have had purpose after all. She looked back up to him. “I’m not letting anyone die, not anymore.” She told him, finding resolve. Rather than let Haymitch be some sacrifice, she was going to have him witness a new dawn. Just then, Effie came out from down the long hall leading to the common space and announced dinner had arrived. Then a long parade of people walked in and set down many trays of delectable dishes, treats and drinks. Effie explained their dinner was late because they were on the top floor. Katniss got up and Effie gawked at Haymitch’s ruined shirt. “He did it, not me.” Katniss held up her hands in defense but it was pretty clear to Effie that Katniss was lying, due to the cheeky smile on the archer’s face. “I’ll go find Prim and Gale.”

With that, she ran off and jogged all the way around the massive floor and found Gale and Prim trying to figure out what the painting on the wall by the hot tub meant. “It’s clearly someone who has lost their mind.” Gale said to Prim, arms folded across his chest. The painting in question was of a figure on the floor, with a faceless crowd surrounding it. The only color on the canvas was the golden sun streaming through the huddled mass of people. “Oh hey.” He turned to Katniss and tapping Prim on the shoulder.

“Guys, dinner.” Katniss said, looking at the pair.

“Great, I’m starving.” Gale smiled and headed back. Katniss held up Prim and looked over her shoulder, not too sure if she understood the smile Gale had been wearing with Prim.

“I’m glad you two are still looking out for each other.” She just said and put an arm around Prim and headed back to the living room and kitchen area. When they got back, even Peeta was seated up at the table. Effie and Peeta had the head positions which left a spot open beside Haymitch and Gale. Katniss let Prim go up first which left her the final seat next to Haymitch. “Looks good. It better taste good.” She said. Effie began describing the items to Gale and Prim who appeared a bit awe struck. Gale was happy to try a bit of everything but knew he needed to pace himself since he had never had so much to eat in one sitting, even when he was at the Everdeen household. He looked to Prim, certain she’d like the dessert tray that was set aside for them to enjoy.

And since they kept their clothes on, they could have as much dessert as they wanted.

[mmidnight]

It was true. Prim didn't understand Gale's reasons or motivation for volunteering, and she had never thought of herself as special, or important enough that someone else would want to lay down their life for her. The year before, she hadn't understood Katniss's reasoning either, but at least that had made a little more sense. Gale had been so close to being safe, to leaving the Games behind in the past and moving on with his life and instead he had chose to come to a place he knew he would never leave. Maybe Prim was a little more selfish than everyone else and while that did nothing to help the guilt that had been hanging over her, logic eased the pain. After all, so many years had gone by without a volunteer in 12, so the young blonde couldn't help but wonder; why now? Why for her?

“They won't,” Prim assured Gale before she squeezed his hand again. The Capitol wouldn't be taking her away, some other tribute would, but Prim didn't have the heart or desire to ruin the moment when Gale was being so honest. Before she had assumed that Gale had volunteered to help Katniss, but now, she wasn't sure that her sister had much to do with the decision.

Explaining her feelings was difficult, but Prim welcomed the new distraction that would come from exploring the rest of the suite. There were so many different things to see on the top floor, and Prim thought it would be a shame not to take it all in when she would never have another opportunity like this. If she was going to die in just a few weeks time, the blonde thought her last days might as well be fun. It was a twisted way of thinking, but it was infinitely easier than dwelling on the things she couldn't change. Instead, she set off with Gale, hand in hand as they discovered many other rooms, a few fountains, and potted plants.

The tension in the living room had finally dissipated and Haymitch was fully relaxed. He remembered the year before when he had first met Katniss and Peeta, and how she had given him such a hard time about drinking and not helping them as much as he could have. He felt guilty about that, and he knew that he could have prepared both tributes more, but the truth was that Haymitch had stopped trying long before the 74th Reaping. Katniss made him want to be different, to try again and not be so complacent with the lives that were being lost year after year. He thought he would have more time, though, more years to mentor but Snow had different plans. There had been a part of him that knew, of course, that once Katniss refused to play by their rules that everything would change. It was just hard to accept.

As Katniss reached out, the feeling of her fingers carding through his hair brought Haymitch back to reality. He usually wasn't comfortable with such unsolicited breeches of personal space, but he didn't mind so much when it was her. He watched her, trying to figure out what was going on in her hair, and the somber look in her eyes told him that something had changed. They weren't joking about his ruined shirt anymore, and it was obvious that Katniss was stuck on something. That kind of inward retreating was dangerous anywhere, but if it kept happening, she was sure to be caught in the arena.

“Hey,” he said, giving Katniss a nudge on the thigh, “bring it back, sweetheart.” If she wanted to talk, he would listen, but he wasn't going to let her get caught up in the things she could neither change nor predict.

When he spoke again, her voice sounded tired and Haymitch frowned at her words. She was doubting herself and her ability to carry on when she knew that she was going to be surrounded by death. This was what Snow wanted, he wanted to break her but Haymitch wasn't going to let that happen. “You can,” he disagreed. “You can because you have to or else all of this is for nothing.” It may not have been comforting, or even what she wanted to hear, but Haymitch wasn't in the business of sugarcoating things. If he hadn't thought that Katniss could handle it, he wouldn't have stuck by her, he wouldn't have bothered to volunteer for Peeta, or trained with her on those bitterly cold nights not long ago.

They could have talked more, maybe even come up with a plan to get everyone out, but Effie had come into the room to call them for dinner. This conversation would have to be revisited, but for now, Haymitch could deal with the escort and the miffed look on her face. “Yeah,” he scoffed, “got my make up all over my shirt.”

Effie frowned as Katniss left the room in search of Prim and Gale. “That's expensive fabric,” she told the former mentor with a huff.

Haymitch could only shrug in response as he and Effie went to join Peeta at the table in the dining room.

The penthouse was much larger than Prim had originally thought, but she and Gale had found all sorts of new and interesting things. There was a hot tub surrounded by many off-putting paintings, which Prim thought defeated the purpose of relaxing when such disturbing art was staring back at someone. She and Gale had moved onto the last painting in the room after interpreting a few others to be the aftermath of a bomb, a house fire, and a self-portrait of a crying face. The Capitol really knew how to live it up.

“Maybe they're escaping,” Prim suggested, tilting her head thoughtfully. She decided that she liked that painting the best, but highly doubted she would be coming back this room in particular.

When Katniss found them and announced that dinner was ready, Prim was happy to follow along. This was the first time that she had any kind of appetite since the day before. “We're looking out for you too,” she reminded Katniss and stayed by her side as the three of them headed for the dining room. When they arrived, Haymitch, Peeta and Effie were already seated and Prim took the empty spot next to Gale where she would be across from Katniss. The food that was laid out on the table looked amazing, and there was a very tempting dessert tray set off to the side.

“This looks really good,” she said, which seemed to please Effie greatly.

“Are you all excited to train tomorrow?” the escort asked, looking around to the four tributes.

Haymitch scoffed, obviously thinking the question was ridiculous. “Are you kidding? I know your brain is being choked off by that ugly wig, but try and think about that for a second.”

Prim wasn't excited to train, afraid that it would make the games that much more real but she was also worried that she was going to be terrible at everything. Instead of vocalizing that, she listened to Haymitch and Effie snap at each other while eating from a bowl full of lamb stew. Katniss had talked about the dish when she had come home, and Prim had always wanted to try it.

Once Haymitch was done arguing with Effie, he cut into a thick piece of steak. “You should be thinking skills, ways to impress the Gamemakers and one weakness to really improve on,” he said, naturally falling back into that mentor state of mind. He didn't mean to outshine Peeta, but this had been his job for the last twenty-five years and giving advice was a hard habit to break. “You,” he said to Gale, “what do you do?” Katniss was covered with her archery, but Gale and Prim needed to do something besides stand there and look pretty.

[Genkai]

Katniss glanced from Effie to Prim when the colorful woman asked if they were excited. She wasn't excited but she was ready to do what had to be done, even if it was unfair and cruel and pointless. Gale on the other hand, was the opposite of excited. He was nervous but he refused to let anyone know that. He didn't count on getting out alive but he knew Katniss and Primrose needed to, some way. the only hope he had was with trusting Peeta to do something. Gale looked at the two adults who went back and forth. It was all beginning to hit Gale and he knew that there was no way he'd be able to make it. He had skills, skills to go far but he didn't think he'd make it to the end, not like Katniss. He also knew Prim would be kept safe, if not by him or Katniss, maybe by a possible alliance they could make. It was a risk but he was sure other tributes and past victors wanted to stay alive, rather than stab one another in the back, for a set time anyway.

"I'm pretty good with a bow and arrow." He spoke up when Haymitch looked at him. "I'm pretty quick on my feet, I'm able to hunt and track, I can climb alright and think a sword might also be usable if needed." He said, listing off what he thought were skill strengths. "I think I'd need to improve on making things from scratch in the wild. Improvisations aren't something I can pull off easily." He shrugged. Making traps took time and nimble hands and that wasn't something he had the patience to do. And he needed help making weapons if he was unarmed in the middle of nowhere. Those sorts of things would be helpful in dire situations. Gale glanced down at his plate and ate a bit more of the vegetables, just glad to have something fresh nourishing on his plate. His mind couldn't help but go back to when he was home, struggling to feed those he loved. He then worried for his family and how they would struggle. He was sure Prim's mother may welcome his family into her home for the time being but with the unrest, he couldn't be too certain.

"He is pretty good with most things." Katniss agreed. "We've trained together since we were little kids, he's got as much talent as I do." She insisted. Gale almost choked on his food and looked to her, not believing that they were on the same level, maybe close but he knew she was more fearless than he was. Her skills were only improving where he had found little opportunity to practice archery. Katniss took a drink and shrugged, not seeing why Gale was so modest. Like Prim, she wasn't happy that he volunteered but she knew it was better to have him keep Prim safe when someone finally put a spear through her heart. Katniss wiped her mouth and sat back in her chair, trying to figure out what Prim would be good at. Prim would probably be good with climbing and gathering. "If anything, Prim might do better with long range attacks." She spoke up and looked around the table. "Maybe throwing knives or something." Katniss didn't feel comfortable with Prim getting close and dealing with the risks of hand to hand combat. "She's doing well with a bow too...but they might limit those and if someone wants to take me out, they'd grab the bow and leave me unarmed."

Peeta looked at everyone, seeing a lot of unrest but also interest in the topic of tomorrow's training and what each of them could bring to the table. He wasn't surprised when Haymitch took the initiative nor was he too bothered. Peeta knew the man was still in the mindset of having to prepare everyone else for the worst case scenario but what he was neglecting was himself. The sacrifice Haymitch was making wasn't going to fall to the wayside to be forgotten. No. The blond wanted to keep Haymitch and everyone else alive and he was beginning to gather a solid idea but he needed more time to talk to people, people like Plutarch. Maybe something could work. "What about you?" The young adult spoke up and looked to Haymitch. Of course Peeta knew what Haymitch was good at, or decent at, but he knew Haymitch needed to work on his own short comings. "You need help with foraging, skills Gale and Katniss have, and you're clever and can think up tricks on the spot, an area Gale and Katniss need help with." He pointed out and then looked to Prim, though with her, he knew the least.

"You have the most to prove." Peeta told Primrose, not trying to sound mean. "But that can be an advantage."

Katniss held her tongue. Everyone knew Prim was Katniss' downfall, that she would do anything to protect her little sister and she could tell Peeta had almost let a similar comment slip out.

"I think it's time for dessert!" Effie clasped her hands together and got up to make herself on espresso while the Avoxes brought around the tray to let everyone pick what they wanted. Gale turned down a dessert and just decided to have a bowl of fresh fruit. Katniss grabbed a chocolate coconut cream tart and Peeta snagged a small strawberry and vanilla cake. Katniss stuck her finger in the whipped cream which had bits of chocolate and toasted coconuts. The contrast between their meals and how they'd be fending for themselves in 10 or so days was agonizing but Katniss knew she had to just deal with it. Haymitch was right, if she gave up, it would all be for nothing. She licked her finger and glanced over at Gale, surprised he wasn't interested in any of the desserts. Then again, she knew it wasn't really his thing.

"Don't stay up too late." Peeta warned everyone as he dug into his cake. While they were all training, he would be busy with the other mentors working on getting ready to kiss up to sponsors. Peeta would be networking and hoping that things didn't get out of hand during training.

"Yes, mother." Gale grinned at Peeta. Though Gale was feeling better about the boy, it was still easy to poke fun.

[mmidnight]

All of Haymitch's questions were only meant to make Peeta's job easier. The former mentor was hoping to cover the bases that Peeta had yet to think of, and with training coming quickly in the morning, everyone needed to be thinking of what they could do and if they could do it well. Truthfully, he wasn't very worried about Gale and knew that he was just as good as Katniss when it came to most things, and if he could hunt, then he certainly could kill. These were the realities that came with the games, having to get over the fact that blood was going to be spilled, that people were going to die and that no one who wanted to go home was going to get there with clean hands.

“You should get comfortable with a sword,” Haymitch told Gale, not wanting him to bother with archery. “There's only going to be one bow, and Katniss isn't the only archer. If they can lure her into the Cornucopia for it, they will.” It was quite obvious that the Capitol would do anything they could to take Katniss out early and Haymitch was already trying to anticipate every dirty trick. “Besides,” he said, looking back to Gale after chewing another bite of steak, “you're a big guy. You might as well have a weapon to match.”

He wasn't surprised when Peeta questioned him and his abilities, but Haymitch hadn't been very worried about that. “I used an ax last time, there's bound to be a few of them lying around,” he explained with an unconcerned shrug of his shoulders. He had been practicing that with Katniss anyway, brushing up on his old technique and although he was now much older, Haymitch still thought that he was pretty deadly. Foraging skills weren't going to matter, not if they were going to be staying in a group and Haymitch knew from experience that sometimes the arena didn't even provide anything edible.

The real issue was Prim, and had been all along. She was Katniss's Achilles heel, the one person she would defend until the very end and Haymitch was sure that the girl knew it. There was no sense in harping on Prim about her lack of combat skills, but he agreed with Katniss about a distance weapon. If Prim could defend herself from far away, Katniss could focus on keeping herself alive. “A blow gun would be good too,” he added, thinking of Maysilee. Prim sort of reminded him of her, but Haymitch could only hope that she didn't meet a similar fate in the arena.

Prim knew that no one was expecting much from her, and if she felt like starting some kind of argument, she would have admitted that she wasn't expecting much either. She knew enough about the Hunger Games and had watched enough tapes to know that many tributes like her didn't make it past the first five minutes. Maybe it would have been easier that way, for her to die early and not slow Katniss, Haymitch and Gale down. They could move on, and make it to the end, they might even be able to go home. She sighed to herself and finished with her dinner. “I'll do the best I can,” she promised. Even though weapons weren't her thing, she wasn't going to waste all of the free training, and the extra days before the games.

Thankfully, Effie was there to break up the tension and dessert was finally passed around. From the tray, Prim picked up a raspberry tart with lots of whipped cream piled on top. The taste was sweet and the confection was so much different from anything she could have gotten back home. “Fruit?” she asked, looking to Gale after licking away a stray dollop of whipped cream for her lip. “That's surprising.”

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and made sure to mind Peeta's advice of going to bed early. After not sleeping well the night before, and all of the excitement from the parade, Prim was really exhausted. For an hour after dinner she had sat with Katniss in the lounge area and watched as Haymitch and Peeta played an oddly interesting game of chess. She watched that for a while before her eyes began to feel heavy and Prim announced that she was going to bed. She gave Katniss a kiss on the cheek and said goodnight to Haymitch, Effie, Peeta and Gale before heading back to her room. She took a quick shower and relaxed further before throwing on something simple to sleep in and crawling into bed.

“I'm going to bed too,” Haymitch said, moving one of his pieces on the chess board. He and Peeta could finish their game tomorrow if there was any sort of time for it. “Goodnight,” he nodded to everyone else in the room and made his way down the hall. He had yet to actually go to his room and hadn't inspected any part of the suite until now. The room, as usual was nice. There was the standard closet off to the side, a plush-looking bed and various decorations that it made the interior feel less cold. Pushing his hair from his face, Haymitch unbuttoned his ruined his shirt and tossed it in a chair by the door, along with his pants and tie. He padded over to the dresser and chose a pair of black pants to sleep in before turning down the heavy covers of the bed and sliding between the sheets.

One thing he could say for the Capitol was that they really liked to go all out in terms of comfort. Quickly, the blond man settled down and sleep began to take over. He was so tired that his worries didn't play any sort of factor in sleep that night, and it came easily. He was out like a light for a solid few hours when an outside noise caught his attention. He sat up in bed, hair a mess as he listened closely, but there it was again. It sounded like a call for help, albeit a muffled one. Rubbing at his eyes, Haymitch began to fully wake and he threw the covers back.

After walking out into the dark hallway, Haymitch was able to hear better and it was clear that the pained noise was coming from Katniss's room. He knew that she had nightmares, that was something they had talked about on one of their many nights in the woods, but Haymitch had hoped that those dreams wouldn't bother her here. He walked toward her room and entered quietly, vaguely able to make out her body under all of the blankets.

“Katniss,” he said, coming to her side. “Katniss, wake up...” He reached out gently and gave her a shake, hoping not to startle her too much, but he knew all too well what it was like to come out of a nightmare without realizing that it was over.

On the other side of the penthouse, Prim had been lying awake since going to bed. Although she had been tired when she had gone to shower, once she laid down she was wide awake. It was her mind that was racing, playing out every scenario over and over and each one ended with her being dead. The guilt that she had felt all along was even worse now because Prim didn't want anyone to feel like they had to carry her, or that they needed to keep her alive, but she knew Katniss and Gale would never want to leave her behind. The games were going to be a mess, and Peeta was right, she had the most to prove and she was going to fail miserably.

Even though she had learned a lot from Gale the year before, those skills weren't developed enough to keep her alive and there was only so much time to train. It wasn't like she would be at Katniss's level with anything in just a few weeks time. Frustratedly, Prim sighed into her pillow and turned onto her side, trying her hardest to shake the thoughts that were keeping her awake. “Just sleep,” she whispered to herself, “you need to sleep.”

[Genkai]

The two Everdeen sisters cuddled up on the couch, a level below the dining area as Peeta and Haymitch began a patient game of chess. Katniss wasn’t too interested but she’d provide commentary every now and then to both boys just for fun. Soon she noticed Prim beginning to doze off, which she expected, considering the little duck had hardly gotten any sleep to begin with. “Night Prim.” Katniss smiled as her sister kissed her on the cheek. She looked back over to see Gale still reading a book while Effie was doing a touch up on her nails. For a second, Katniss could consider them all normal people, not about to die fighting for their lives. It made her uncomfortable and when Haymitch said his own goodnights, she found her mind sinking back into turmoil.

She silently headed off to bed a little while later and shut the door behind her, it sliding out from the wall to close her off from everyone else. She decided what she had on had been fine to sleep in but she knew sleep wouldn’t come easily to her. She paced around the room and fiddled with the hologram tech before just turning it off to reveal the extravagant skyline. She hadn’t been amused with the snow, forest or tropical themes, nor did she consider them to be hints as to what the arena would hold for them. Instead, she sat on the edge of her bed and thought about all the various situations she might find herself in. All of them had someone she cared about in danger, with her helpless and forced to watch.

She suddenly felt her meal creeping back up.

Finally getting into bed, she found herself already shaking, knowing that her sleep would not be restful. When she had Prim, she slept Prim. When she trained with Haymitch, she slept fine but tomorrow she would be with killers, people who hated her and she no longer felt safe. A few hours later, she found herself in another bad dream, her night had been plagued with them and this had been the worst of thus far. She was in a forest and it was snowing but the snow was ash and she kept hearing Prim’s name calling out for her in pain and terror. She ran through the trees and saw Gale and Peeta’s dead body and as she reached back to get her bow, she found nothing there. She ran towards the two careers, she recognized them as Gloss and Cashmere. They sliced Prim’s throat and as she spun around, she saw Haymitch hanging in the tree.

“No.” She twitched in her bed, trying to move to get to them though she knew it was too late. “Prim, Peeta…” She couldn’t breathe, her whole body was stiff and she was definitely struggling. “No.” She felt someone move her and out of instinct, she moved to grab onto whoever it was to try and attack or get the upper hand. Katniss snapped her eyes open and realized she had also been crying, she panted and tried to catch her breath as she loosened her hold on Haymitch’s arm. She pushed herself up and looked around, trying to figure where she was. “You’re alright.” She reached out to touch his face, needing to double check to be sure. “You’re not…” She moved her hand down to his neck, her fingertips not finding a mark or cut. Katniss felt sore and tired, as if the rest she got had done more harm than good. Removing her hand from him, she used it to wipe her eyes, pretty sure she looked ridiculous. Haymitch was the last person she knew she should tell her troubles to. He’d tell her suck it up and look at the bigger picture. It was easy for him when he didn’t have anyone to care about. “S-sorry...it was just...just a bad dream.” She tried to collect herself despite her low shaky voice.

The desserts had been fine with Gale but he figured he needed to not indulge.

If he was going to be in top physical form, he couldn’t be risky with his meals. It was a silly notion but he knew if he could save Prim and Katniss and maybe even Haymitch, he needed to focus on what was important, and not anything trivial. He sat down and found a nice selection of books. He was reading about survival and tricks to tie knots as everyone else found something to do. He watched Katniss and Prim out of the corner of his eye and when Katniss spoke up to tease Peeta or Haymitch, he’d glance up to see how far along they were on their game of chess. He might consider having a go with Peeta later in the week if he could handle it but the mental stress he foresaw, would be too much to even focus on chess, as weird as that seemed.

“Good night.” He waved to Prim when she left and then Haymitch took his leave, following by a silent Katniss. Gale got up and said goodnight to Effie who was the only one remaining. She wished him sweet dreams and he smirked. He headed back to his room which was a bit of a walk but he didn’t mind it all that much. He let the door automatically close behind him as he pulled off his shirt and walked over to the bathroom. After fiddling, he finally turned on the shower and finished getting undressed. He stretched and hopped into the shower, making sure to be quick in case the rooms had thin walls but based on their walk and what he had seen, the rooms were pretty secure and sound proof.

After his hot shower, he dried himself off and slipped into a gray pair of pants and headed over to bed. He sat down and looked around. Spotting a small silver remote, he picked it up and began to mess with it and saw he could change the wall. He picked the woods because it made him feel calm. And unlike his best friend, he kept it set since the lie was of at least some comfort. Gale laid back, his legs dangling off the side of the bed as his arms went behind his head. Tomorrow he would be able to size his competitors up and see what they were all made of. He worried about Prim and knew if they made friends, it might make them seem less of a target and possibly more appealing. Gale pushed himself up and decided to walk around the floor and try to ease himself into a more relaxed state, than that of a worried zombie.

When he walked out, he passed Prim’s door and paused, wondering if she asleep or not. Something told him she wasn’t. Gale thought he heard Prim and he knew she wasn’t. He knew he should be upset, that she should be in bed getting as much rest as she possibly could but he wasn’t. No, he was actually happy. He could use someone to talk to, or just sit with. Gale knocked on the door and then it opened for him. “Hey Prim, can I come in?” He asked softly as he stepped through the door. Her room was the same as his, except he actually wanted to be in hers, at least it had life and comfort. He walked over to her, smiling gently. “You can’t sleep either?” He question and sat down by her. “I know tomorrow is important and so is every other minute we spend here but...it feels like I’m suffocating. Haymitch and the others can deal with this but I-” He cut himself off. He was trying to help Prim, not push his troubles onto her. He reached over and touched her head. “Your hair is a mess.” He smiled a bit more. "I like it though, it suits you more...for some reason." He shrugged a little and moved a leg up on the bed, leaving the outside one to dangle.

[mmidnight]

After winning his first games, Haymitch had naively thought that he would come home the same person. That somehow killing and watching people die would be left behind at the Capitol, and not haunt him for years to come. He had been where Katniss was right now, trapped inside of her head, living out her worst fears and watching the horrors that she had already lived through play on repeat until she could shake herself away. The Victors had always been promised fame and fortune for their time, but no one had ever thought to talk about the invisible scars and the trauma that stayed with every winner. It wasn't just Haymitch who felt this way, and even the most well adjusted Victor had their problems. It was why Johanna acted the way she did, and why Finnick played to the few strengths he had left. This quell had been cruel, and seeing Katniss this way only made Haymitch more angry about the whole thing.

It was dark in her room, but as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, Haymitch could make out the tears staining Katniss's cheeks. He leaned closer to her, giving her another shake as she said the names of those she cared about the most. “Come on, Katniss,” he said to her, and wasn't surprised as her hand shot out violently to grab him. Her nails dug briefly into his skin before her eyes popped open and her grip immediately slackened. She looked confused, unsure of where she was and again, Haymitch sympathized. His nightmares had lessened over the years, but they still crept up on him every now and then. Katniss shouldn't have ever had to get used to this.

“I'm alright,” he confirmed with a nod, letting her touch him and make sure for herself. He took a seat on the edge of her bed and watched as she wiped her eyes. It was clear that Katniss was embarrassed by what happened, and maybe even a little ashamed, but Haymitch just wanted to make sure she was okay. All lectures aside, he was there as a friend for the moment, someone who cared about her as more than just a symbol and the key to a brighter, more hopeful future.

Her voice was shaking, and although Katniss tried to assure him that it was only a bad dream, Haymitch knew better. “Been there,” he confessed, trying to make her feel better about it. “When I first came home after everything was over, I used to have dreams about Maysilee. I'd try and save her and something always went wrong and it was always my fault.” It had taken him a long time to even speak to Maysilee's sister afterward, and Haymitch always felt guilty for being the one to come home. “I know it feels real, but,” he paused, unsure of what he was even going to say when Katniss truly did have so much to lose.

Haymitch sighed, “I don't know what to say to help you.” He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, at a loss for what to do. The only thing that had stopped his nightmares was getting blackout drunk and that wasn't exactly something to recommend.

Some time ago, Prim had wondered how long she could lay in the dark with her eyes closed before she finally fell asleep, but the blonde had began to obsess about that too. Her mind simply wouldn't turn off and Prim was finding new things to think about every few seconds. If it wasn't training, then it was the games, and then her mother, and then Gale's mother, and his siblings, and how many people there were going to be watching her during those interviews with Caesar Flickerman. Prim wasn't cut out for this sort of thing, but she did think that Gale was. She didn't know why he was doubting himself, or why he was letting it keep him awake, but she was the smallest big glad he had come to find her.

“Oh,” she laughed softly when he mentioned her hair. She reached up to run her fingers through it and then scooted over to make room for Gale to sit down. The bed was big, double the size of the one she had back at home and so much more comfortable. She laid her head down on the pillow, on her side as she looked up at Gale through the darkness in the room. She could barely see him, and that didn't seem ideal for conversation.

Her eyes adjusted to the dark all over again and Prim spotted a remote on the nightstand next to Gale. She shifted around a little and reached across him, grabbing it and pressing one of the buttons. The overhead lights remained off but the wall across from the bed glowed to life with an image of a forest. “I didn't know that was going to happen,” she said, surprised. It reminded her of home, though and it provided enough light so that she could finally see Gale. She set the remote aside and turned back to him, finally noticing that he wasn't wearing a shirt. Her eyes lingered on him for longer than they should have before Prim forced herself to look away. “I'm sorry you feel like you're suffocating,” she told him as she lay back down. “I feel like that too and I'm so worried about tomorrow that I can't sleep. I'm exhausted, but,” she sighed, afraid she was saying too much. “You shouldn't worry so much. You're going to do great.” Gale was like Katniss, he had all the necessary skills to survive but he was just over thinking it.