Breakfast was soon over, and the group of four made their way over to the elevator, ready for another day of training. Haymitch was looking forward to seeing Katniss in action once more, and that extended to Gale as well, but the one he was most concerned about was Prim. He felt good about the progress they had made the night before, and was confident that the younger Everdeen sister was going to start trying. If she didn't, Haymitch wasn't sure what else he, or anyone else could do for her but he hoped it wouldn't come to that. His hope for the entire day was that the other tributes would start to take 12 a little more seriously, and think they had more competition than just Katniss and her killer shot with a bow and arrow.

Once they were down in the training area, Katniss had made her way over to the simulator toward the back and Haymitch followed along. He liked watching her work, and those years hunting past the fence in 12 had made her an expert at shooting, which was a rarely seen skill in the Games. Almost anyone could swing a sword or throw an ax if they tried hard enough, but not everyone had the patience or the eyes to be a hunter. That was one of the things that made Katniss so special, she was unique and one of a kind.

Standing with Gale and Prim and a modestly sized crowd of other tributes, the group watched as Katniss took out many holographic enemies in the training simulator. A year fresh off of the Games, and the added security back in 12 hadn't made her at all rusty and her movements were as fluid and sure as ever. Haymitch was proud and he gave a look around to see a few other impressed expressions on faces. Some, however, appeared to be jealous and maybe even a little worried. That was a good thing to Haymitch, and he cheered along with Gale once Katniss had completed her session.

“Get going,” he said to Prim. “I said first thing, I meant first thing.” The blonde gave him an annoyed look, but Haymitch didn't take it to heart, especially since Prim was moving toward a station that was entirely devoted to distance weapons, complete with a set of targets for practice. He followed her too, much less worried about his own training, but he was happy to see that Katniss had taken an interest in Prim. He hoped the two would be able to talk at some point, to make up and show the rest of the tributes that they really should have been running scared.

As Prim walked up to the station, she could feel people watching her and more than likely waiting for her to screw it all up. Among the curious crowd were a few loud-mouthed careers, and of course, she heard Gale's voice, him coming to her defense. It was stressful to know that he was there too, and Prim was slightly more nervous but she still wanted to try. Even if she ended up being horrible at throwing knives and had to try and find a different weapon to practice with for the next two weeks, at least she could say she had done something to help herself. It was best not to think about screwing up, though and Prim tried to think about doing well as she stepped up to the platform.

The woman running the training was olive-skinned, and wore a friendly smile that said she wanted the tributes to live. It was weirdly comforting, and Prim relaxed her shoulders before speaking up. “Will you show me?” she asked, picking up one of the knives.

Haymitch had been right, the stance wasn't much different from archery and Prim let the instructor position her as she listened to the instructions on how to throw and do it well. She was told to aim for the most vital parts of the body and a dummy that had seen better days was position directly in front of her, close enough to make out the features of a molded face but far enough away to be something of a challenge. Prim nodded as the woman stepped back and she blocked out the crowd around her as she felt the weight of the knife in her hand. Carefully, she raised her hand back and took a deep breath before winding up and letting the weapon go. The slender, sharp blade caught the hip of the target, just barely deep enough to stay embedded and Prim heard a few of the careers laughing behind her.

“You need to throw harder,” the instructor said and Prim accepted another knife to try again. She repeated the practiced stance and tried a second time where the knife hit the target somewhere in the stomach, a little deeper that time. It was a critical hit, but not lethal. After all, Haymitch had survived for quite a long time after being cut open, long enough to win the first Quarter Quell.

The next dozen throws were better and better and Prim was learning quickly with the encouraging help of the woman who ran the station. The crowd around her had began to thin out, apparently not interested in watching someone do well as opposed to falling flat on their face, but Prim didn't care about any of that. Finally, there was one last throw before she needed a break and the blonde thrust the knife through the air and toward a fresh dummy. The blade stuck deeply in its throat, down to the handle and Prim couldn't believe the wave of pride that washed over her. She was expected to this to another tribute, a living human with vulnerable and tender skin, a road map of blood-full veins beneath the surface; a person, someone's stolen child.

“Good,” the woman said, her smile still friendly. “Keep working at it.” 

Prim blinked, not fully understanding what was happening until she heard someone clapping from the gallery around her. She turned to see Haymitch, the man giving her a thumbs up and he actually looked proud. Prim smiled back, owing him more than she could really say. Her shoulder was a little sore and she thought a moment of rest would be a good thing, so she stepped down to join her friends. Mostly, she was looking to Katniss, hoping her sister would be proud of her, or at least want to speak to her again. She had watched her sister before and was certainly proud of Katniss's unmatched skills.

“Hope you're planning on doing more of that,” Haymitch grinned as Prim joined them and the new Career pack sulked off, in search of someone else to torment for the time being.