With Primrose being pretty much unresponsive to her, Katniss didn't know what else to do. Katniss was Prim's sister and wanted to believe she could hold her own, that she wasn't as useless as she thought she was. But on the other hand, Katniss was a Tribute who couldn't spend the Games worrying about Prim. Katniss would do anything for her, yes, which meant dying and killing for her. But it would be foolish and selfish of Prim to just mope around, lost in the situation they couldn't change. If Prim was worried about everyone having to do things for her or Katniss pulling away, it was already happening thanks to Prim's own actions. When her sister asked to leave, Katniss wasn't sure what she could do was it was deflating and annoying. All she was trying to do was get Prim to have some confidence, to contribute to what everyone else was fighting against (President Snow) and yet Prim just kept getting in her own way.

Katniss couldn't relate.

When she was pushed into the Games, she had a reason to not waiver and was Prim. Katniss went into attack mode pretty quick and only became unsettled when it came to making people like her. Prim was easily charming and sweet and everything Katniss wasn't. And Katniss also believed in Prim's ability and improvement. She saw how she shot an arrow and wondered why Prim was neglecting that skill or not trying something new as everyone had suggested. The woman just glared at her food and pushed down the urge to storm after her sister for acting like a brat. She hated the feeling of anger and bitterness that she had for the way Prim was treating everyone and her pity party was getting old. They needed to focus and Katniss needed to be able to trust Prim and Gale, that they could get out alive somehow, that when she died Prim wouldn't crumble like their mother had. 

Katniss tuned out Haymitch for the time being as she locked herself in her own head. Gale was also a loss for words. He didn't get what Prim was so upset about. She had done so well and seemed so pleased with her actions today. He had no idea what she had to be angry or worried about, except the obvious but she wasn't the only one struggling with dying or killing people. Continuing to eat, he noticed Katniss clam back up thanks to Prim's actions. Gale sighed and looked up as Haymitch and Effie asked about Peeta briefly. It wasn't like the nice guy to be rude and skip a meal, especially one where they would all catch up on their first day antics. As Haymitch shifted attention to him, he looked up. "Thanks." Gale smiled lightly and glanced to Katniss who was still ignoring everyone. "I think it would be good to go against someone more experienced, i'd be able to see how they use it and maybe it would help.” He spoke up and looked to Effie, trying to find some relief to the sudden tension hanging over the table.

Next Haymitch addressed Katniss who looked up from her food which she was now just pushing around to make an abstract picture with various shapes. “Yeah, I plan on using that simulation thing or whatever.” Katniss replied and got up. She wasn’t mad at Gale or Haymitch or the others but she was getting pretty annoyed with her sister and that made her want some space. She could talk to Gale later. “We’ll talk later tonight.” She said to Gale. It was a statement more than a question or offer since she needed to know how Gale fit into the emotional storm hitting Prim. If neither could help, she had no other choice but to step back and she hated it. “I’m gonna walk around, I’ll try not to punch anyway while I’m out, unless I see President Snow, I’m not making any promises.” Katniss joked and patted Haymitch’s shoulder before turning and heading down the stairs as Effie let out a huff, obviously not getting the joke. But before Effie could warn Katniss, Peeta stepped into the living room and Katniss found herself oddly happy to see him. “What have you been up to…?”

Peeta looked to the adults and then to Katniss. “I heard I should be giving you some kind of lecture.” Peeta said having stalled, he didn’t need Katniss to know about what he was doing and he was still questioning whether or not to include Effie or Haymitch. His best bets were Gale and Prim, even if they were a risk and a longshot. Katniss rolled her eyes at Peeta’s attempt at mentoring. She didn’t feel like humoring the guy right now. “Come on, we should talk.” Peeta said and grabbed her hand and headed off to the elevator. They rode up to the top floor. While the building was different than the first one, it still brought him comfort to return to some kind of familiar location. As they got outside, Katniss began to explain what was going on with her and her sister and Peeta was quick to try and help his friend. After everything, he still cared for her. “You and Prim are different and you won’t always see eye to eye. I know it’s hard to feel helpless and that you want to fix this but I think she shares the same view which is why she needs to find confidence by her own choice, not with you and Gale pushing her.”

“I just wish she wasn’t here. I did everything to protect her and I just made it worse.” Katniss said and Peeta grabbed her hand as they stood by the edge of the room, overlooking the navy blue tinted sky filled with lights and sounds of good cheer.

Since it seemed everyone was getting up, he decided to go read for a bit. Prim had given off the firm impression she didn’t want him nor Katniss around her and it bummed him out and pissed him off a little, considering how well the day was. Still, he would just see if Effie or Haymitch or even Peeta could do anything about it because going into the Games, their heads had to be straight, not riddled with nonsense. Katniss seemed okay, despite her sister’s mindset which made him a bit happy. If Prim’s emotions rubbed off on Katniss, they’d be back to where they had started this morning. “Dinner was good.” He snagged a bowl of fruit and yogurt for dessert and got up. “I’ll be in my room.” He knew not to get too comfortable though, that Katniss would want to talk to him about something and he didn’t have a great feeling about it. He jogged down the steps and headed off to his room with a book in his other hand. This time it was about interrogation tactics, which he thought may help him in a tight spot.

Leaving his door open slightly to signal that he was free to talk or whatever, Gale set his bowl down by the bedside table and laid back and flipped open his book. He thought about the progress Prim had made, as well as himself. He shook his head, not feeling great about the constant struggle they had to endure. The Games in his mind, couldn’t be as what was leading up to them. Rubbing his neck, he flipped a few pages and found something of interest. After a few minutes, he set it aside and began to eat some of the cool fresh dessert as he tried to relax his mind. Picking up the remote, spoon still in his mouth, he turned on the tv, not used to such things. Sure, Katniss had one but it wasn’t used unless the Capital made some big announcement. He checked out the various channels and found something documenting the Games and the previous winners. He watched for a while as it turned to rumors of which Tributes were with who, he lost interest and turned it off. He couldn’t believe how stupid some people were.

So he reopened his book and went back to something with real value.