There had been a split second after entering the suite where Prim thought that Katniss still didn't want anything to do with her. The thought had been swirling in her head since the night before, that Katniss was finally choosing to distance herself from the burden she had taken on years ago. It was logical, to cut ties now before the Games even started, so that it would hurt less when Prim eventually died. Katniss had always done a good job of holding grudges, but Prim was afraid that her older sister could manage to be so cold. It was true that Katniss was no longer the same girl she had been in the previous year—the arena had changed pieces of her, and Prim hoped that Katniss hadn't adopted the predatory attitude that some of the other Victors had taken on. 

All of her worries ceased as Katniss threw her arms around her, and Prim closed her eyes, hugging her sister as tight as she could. It was a relief to know that Katniss did understand why she had been acting so unlike herself, and Prim knew that she had only been trying to help. However, Katniss was abrasive and their thought patterns were very different. Prim couldn't just accept her situation and move on in the blink of an eye, she had needed time to grieve for her old life, and time to worry about dying. It was morbid and it was sad, but it was something that the blonde had needed to do. She was just happy to have Katniss back on her side, to see that she cared again, or rather, that she always would.

“I'm sorry,” Prim whispered, her voice quivering slightly. She couldn't stand it when Katniss cried, it seemed so unfair. “I won't check out like that. I'm here for you.” What their mother had done to Katniss and to her after the accident was almost unforgivable, and Prim felt terrible for shutting the dark-haired girl out the night before. That was exactly what their mother had done, every time affection was shown, she would just sit there. Prim swallowed hard, not wanting to get too emotional when she would have to go back downstairs and continue training after lunch. 

When Gale made himself known, Prim laughed softly at Katniss's threat and wiped her eyes. She didn't like for anyone to see her cry, especially not Gale, but Prim knew how much it bothered Katniss. With one arm still around the older girl, she gave her sister another hug before the three of them headed into the dining room for lunch. After a busy morning of training, Prim had worked up quite the appetite and everything that had been laid out by the Avoxes looked tempting.

Taking a seat next to Katniss at the table, Prim took a bowl of fruit and one of the sandwiches from the tray in front of them. “We'll be okay,” she said, agreeing with Gale as she began to eat. It was nice to have a moment alone, just the three of them. It felt like old times, as if home weren't as far away as she thought. Prim smiled to herself and quietly wished that every day could be the same, that they could freeze time and stop the Games from coming.

“How's the simulation going?” Prim asked Katniss. She had taken a break to watch the older girl from a distance a few times that day and Katniss looked polished as ever when it came to her archery. “Are you going to try when we get back down there?” she followed up, looking to Gale. He was good with that sword, something else that Haymitch had been right about. For being a drunk, he certainly was smart sometimes.

The way that Finnick and Johanna were talking bothered Haymitch just slightly. Neither Victor seemed to be taking their dilemma very seriously, as if they had already accepted the fact that they were going to die. Haymitch himself had done the same thing a month ago, but knowing that Peeta had thought up a plan gave him new hope that the Capitol wouldn't ultimately win every time. He wanted to live, he wanted the other tributes to live and he wanted those who had already done their time to get the hell of the arena if it was possible. Peeta was a good kid, and Haymitch had faith in him even if the others seemed to be wavering.

“I'm relaxed enough,” Haymitch told Johanna, frowning. Although he did agree that she was just angry about being taken down by Katniss the day before. “I can't believe you actually [i]want[/i] to relax around here.” That seemed like the kind of thing that the Capitol would want them to do.

“What else are we supposed to do?” Finnick asked, at a loss. “We can't train twenty-four-seven, and besides, mentors always got the best of everything. They owe us a massage, at least.”