The elevator ride down to the training floor seemed to take forever, or maybe that was just Prim worrying about it the whole time. Peeta's comments from the night before had stuck with her, and even though Katniss and Gale seemed to believe that she wasn't entirely useless, the blonde girl begged to differ. Even if she did get her hands on a weapon, she doubted that she would ever be able to use it against anyone; like Katniss, she didn't want to kill. Unfortunately, Prim knew that she had to try and she wanted to protect Katniss and help her make it to the end of the games. If she were to sit idly by and let other people do the dirty work for her, she wasn't going to last. Before stepping out of the elevator, Prim did her best to steel off her emotions and blanked any sort of look on her face. Now wasn't the time to show weakness.

The training area was massive, equipped with the latest and best technology and the best weapons. There were many stations that taught survival skills, areas for sparring, and at least ten stations set up for target practice. Watching over them were the Gamemakers that Haymitch had spoken of, sitting safely behind a force field. They were paying very little attention to the group of forty-eight and Prim was glad for that. It took some of the pressure off of her.

Prim had thought that 12 would stick together, but Haymitch had migrated toward his old friends, Katniss had already split off and Gale had gone to pick a weapon. In a way, Prim was glad to be alone and was eager to show her friends that she could handle herself and didn't need constant protecting. Although she was only a year younger than Katniss, Prim was often sheltered and the games were a chance to get away from all of that. She walked along the training area, seeing tributes working on an obstacle course and getting familiar with each other. The career pack had already formed, naturally doubled in size and Prim could feel their eyes on her as she passed by, but she refused to acknowledge them.

Toward the back of the room was a station that dealt exclusively with plants. She stood for a moment and looked down at the green leaves growing upwards from the artificial soil and identified everything correctly from just a glance. “Would you like to try?” asked a Capitol official. She was much more normal looking than Effie or any of the stylists and her face seemed friendly. Prim nodded and began to point out plants that were poisonous and others that were safe to eat, along with which ones could be used for medicine. If anyone was non-mortally wounded in the arena, Prim was confident that she would be able to heal them.

By one of the fake trees, Prim noticed a presence and she looked over to see a small girl watching her. She was thin and pale, with bright red hair and freckles that made her look younger than she was. “Hi,” she said, hoping to coax the girl out of her shell. The redhead looked awfully frightened. Eventually, the younger girl had come forward and Prim got to know her throughout the morning. Her name was Iva and she was thirteen years old and from District 5. Haymitch and Peeta had both said to make friends while they were there, and Prim wasn't one to count anyone out. After all, Rue had saved Katniss in the games the year before no one had openly thought of her as a contender.

After lunch was announced, Iva stayed close to Prim's side and she was happy to see that Gale had also made a friend. She looked around for Haymitch or Katniss, wondering where they had gone off to, but both tributes seemed to have cleared out of the room. Something was definitely off about them, and Prim hoped that they could resolve it before the games began. For now, Prim was feeling good. “I don't want to go back up there,” she said, shaking her head. The penthouse, open as it was, had started to feel a bit claustrophobic. “Let's go to the cafeteria,” she said, hoping Iva and Yelven would want to join them.

The new group of four exited the training area and entered the cafeteria where lunch had been laid out neatly and was being served by the Avoxes. The large room was full of tributes who had broken off into groups. Most of the old victors sat together, while some of the new ones kept to their district, but Prim saw Haymitch among a crowded table, the members of which included both Finnick and Johanna.

Across the cafeteria, Haymitch was having a good time with his old friends. All morning they had been telling stories and catching up with one another and it was a welcomed distraction from whatever was going on between himself and Katniss. Although he had intentions to train and get familiar with his old weapon of choice, Haymitch hadn't quite made it that far and was more interested in talking to Chaff and Seeder. The plan, or rather, the intention to start one, had been put aside for the moment because Haymitch had a full two weeks to figure everything out. Besides, he reasoned to himself that he needed to get a feel for everyone once again. Time in the Capitol had a way of changing people and there was no telling who was ready to rebel.

Lunch was halfway over and Haymitch had barely touched his food, but most of the tributes began to make their way back to the training facility. The group of former tributes at the thinned some, leaving Chaff, Johanna, Finnick and himself at the table. “What's been going on there in eleven?” he asked, looking to Chaff. The man was a good friend, someone whom Haymitch often passed the bottle around with. It was a shame that he had to come back to this horrid place.

The large man shook his head, a grave look on his face. “Not good,” he answered. “More Peacekeepers, people are starving. Dying for just an extra loaf of bread.”

While District 11 had always been more heavily guarded than 12, Haymitch was worried by Chaff's words. During Katniss and Peeta's victory tour, Haymitch had witnessed the violence in that district, the way a man had been gunned down for simply offering a hand gesture. Hearing Chaff speak so badly of the place worried Haymitch even more. 

“Seven is the same way,” Johanna offered, keeping her voice down. “Those two new tributes barely have anything to them, and I heard there's Peacekeepers busting into houses now.” The woman scoffed in disgust. “It's not right.” She looked to Finnick, prompting him to speak about his home.

Finnick could only shrug, “four is four. It's not like the other districts, but there's been more Peacekeepers.” He looked to Haymitch, “after the victory tour they sent a lot more in and anyone who's out after curfew gets whipped, or worse. They're not starving, but...they're prisoners.” 

“What can we do about it?” Chaff asked. “We're here.”

“We're here because of this one's tribute,” Johanna glared to Haymitch. “She doesn't play by the rules and we all have to suffer for it.”

Haymitch frowned, angered by Johanna's words. He knew that she was used to riling people up, but she picked the wrong target. “It's not her fault,” he said. “Are you telling me that if they had changed the rules during your games and then changed them back you wouldn't have found a way to not play their game? Bullshit.” He glared. “Any one of you would have done what she did if you were even half as smart.”

Finnick rolled his eyes. “Do you have a plan for us or not?” 

He didn't, and Haymitch knew that he didn't, but he would try. “Maybe,” he replied and Johanna groaned. “I'll see what I can do.” He looked back to his friends, wanting to save them even if they thought they were there because of Katniss. This was bigger than her, but she was the key to the start of it. Haymitch knew he would have to set aside his anger and get talking with Peeta if any of them stood a chance against the Capitol.