Sorry everyone...I've been pretty sick as of late. So I haven't had the wherewithal to upload what I even already had written. So, hope you can all forgive me. I'm still sick, so it might be a while until I have the muster to write again that won't sound like I'm in a drugged haze. Hopefully after Wednesday though I'll know what's going on with me and be able to start effectively treating it. Enjoy!

Effie Trinket's duties have apparently not ended with simply picking us up and delivering us by train. She finds us in the stable and ushers us into the elevator to ride up to the apartment we will be staying in during training and the interviews.

I've never been in an elevator before until yesterday at the Justice Building but this one might as well be classified as something entirely different. It's clear glass front allows us to look down on the ground floor until the people look so small they could be insects. It takes mere moments to ride all the way up to the very top and Effie talks the entire time as she tells us of her efforts to find us sponsors based on our over-the-top entrance.

"I've been very mysterious, though," she explains. Her face wrinkles slightly with thought and some frustration. "Because of course Haymitch hasn't bothered to tell me your strategies. But I've done my best with what I had to work with. How Katniss sacrificed herself for her sister. How you've both successfully struggled to overcome the barbarism of your district."

I can't help but stare up at Effie in utter shock. Is that how the Capitol sees all of us in District 12? Barbarians? We may not have the luxuries they do, a majority of our district may be constantly on the brink of starvation, but it's not like we have resorted to cannibalism.

"Everyone has their reservations, naturally. You being from the coal district. But I said, and this was very clever of me, I said, 'Well, if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls!'" My jaw drops before I can catch myself but Effie is so pleased with herself she doesn't notice. Katniss and I both manage to congratulate her on being so clever although we both know just how wrong she was.

I can only hope that our sponsors are either as dumb as she is or that they're too enamored with our fiery clothes to care that our escort is dumber than a biscuit.

"Unfortunately, I can't seal the sponsor deals for you. Only Haymitch can do that," she tells us grimly as the elevator doors open and we're able to step into the apartment for the first time. It's far more lavish than the train and I'm so busy staring at the strange, hovering chandelier wondering how it works that I barely hear Effie's last statement. "But don't worry, I'll get him to the table at gunpoint if necessary." I turn and grin at her and Katniss when I hear this. Even if Effie's a dolt, she's the kind of person who gets stuff done.

Effie drops us off at our bedrooms so that we can settle in and I'm surprised by their vastness. It's as large as the attic bedroom I share with both of my brothers, if not larger. The bed itself is larger than the one my parents share and everything in the room has either a touch screen or a vast panel of buttons. Despite being an interior room without any true windows, one of the walls shows a view of outside but with the press of a button, I am staring at a vast body of water that I can only assume to be the ocean.

I find the shower and am surprised that they somehow get even more technologically advanced than they were on the train. At least a hundred buttons with carefully printed labels face me and I find myself in a rose-scented, hot shower that pulsates to massage my back.

I get out and can't find a towel so I end up trying a new panel of buttons and the next thing I know I'm blasted with warm air. I'm half afraid to seek out a hair dryer so I leave the bathroom and start figuring out how to extract clothes from the closet.

After a few false starts that resulted in strange Capitol trend clothing, I manage to get boxers, a pair of straight cut pants, a button down shirt, and a brown leather jacket. Dressed and clear of makeup I decide to see if I'm allowed to leave my room. The door isn't locked so I assume that means I'm free to explore the apartment.

It's built on two levels with the bedrooms set into the center of the tower allowing almost an entirely unobstructed view of the city all around. The second level goes around the outside edge and is broken into various common areas, a dining room, a television viewing area and even a balcony.

Cinna and Portia are lounging on the couches near the television and I'm kind of glad that they seem to now be a part of our little team. Anything to keep Effie and Haymitch from wasting time tormenting each other. They look up slightly surprised to see me and smile warmly as they wave me over. "So was it as terrible as you thought it'd be?" Cinna asks.

I settle into one of the red velvet couches and shake my head. "No. Being lit on fire it seems was easier than staying on my feet in the chariot."

They chuckle at my comment and Portia sips from a glass of wine. "Don't worry my dear. Your interview outfit will be far tamer. And you'll only need to sit."

"We still have some time before dinner is served. Would you like to see something?" Cinna asks and he stands. I'm a little surprised by his abruptness but it's not from overenthusiasm. He truly thinks that whatever he's going to show me is important. Portia waves dismissively indicating she's got no desire to follow and so I get up and follow Cinna to what appears to be just another bedroom door. But it opens up onto a stairwell leading up.

I'm surprised because I doubt every other apartment has this stairwell. But we are the topmost floor and so there is more room above us than anyone else. He leads me up the winding stairs and pushes through another door and we're on the roof. At least, we're in a glass walled structure on the roof. But he doesn't stop here to admire the view but leads me to yet another door. We're now outside at the mercy of the wind that's whipping at my hair and clothes. I can hear the people celebrating in the streets and a musical, metallic tinkling.

"I like it up here," Cinna shouts above the sound of the wind. "A person can hear themselves think up here." I give him a sideways glance before carefully making my way to the edge. We're pretty high up and only a railint keeps us from falling to the streets below. Between the beeping car horns and the wind I can barely hear him shout let alone myself think. I then I realize what he's getting at. If I can't hear, then the Capitol's cameras can't either.

"Why are we allowed up here? I could just jump right now. Then they'd be short a tribute." I wouldn't. I couldn't leave Katniss alone now but I'm surprised some of the past tributes didn't seek the faster way out.

"They know you can't," he replies calmly even though he's shouting. He bends down and picks up a small stone. He gently lofts it to the edge and I wonder if that's safe if it were to drop on some poor citizen below. But there is a spark of light and the stone is rebounded right back to Cinna who catches it and drops it again. "Electric field," he says turning his back to me.

I follow him back inside seeing a garden on the other side of the glass dome that seem to be the source of the metallic tinkling. Windchimes, I realize and smile. Must be hundreds of them to cause so much noise.

Back in the apartment, I join him and Portia on the balcony. The tower itself shields us from the wind and it's enjoyable if you can forget that I'll probably be dead soon.

It isn't long before I see Katniss entering the dining room with Effie. She too has taken the opportunity to wash away the makeup from the opening ceremonies and is dressed simply in pants and a green tunic. Cinna smiles down at me and I wonder if he's managed to already see through me as we join them and are served glasses of wine by servants dressed in white tunics. I accept but drink conservatively as I want to keep at my most alert as we need to start discussing further strategy.

Just in time for the first course, Haymitch arrives looking like he's spent even more time than us in the Remake Center. He's clean, shaven and even sober. It seems that the four adults are intent on making small talk that mainly has to do with our clothing from tonight and what we'll be wearing for our interviews. So Katniss and I are mostly quiet throughout the meal as more servants in white tunics bring and clear the courses of mushroom soup, salad with the smallest tomatoes I've ever seen, and thinly sliced roast beef served with noodles.

We're finishing with a serving of cheese and delicious blue grapes when an amazing cake is set on the table. The ginger-haired servant sets it ablaze and it flickers much like we did this evening. Katniss is staring at it wondrously when she looks to the girl and speaks. "What makes it burn? Is it alcohol?" she asks cautiously. "That's the last thing I wa-oh! I know you!"

Her declaration has silenced the entire table as we all look at Katniss and then the servant girl. The poor thing looks horrified at the claim and her already pale features go ghostly white. She only shakes her head and practically flees the room.

"Don't be ridiculous, Katniss. How could you possibly know an Avox?" Effie accuses. "The very thought."

"What's an Avox?" Katniss asks sheepishly and I can't help but wonder the same thing.

"Someone who committed a crime. They cut her tongue so she can't speak," Haymitch replies fixing a hard gaze on Katniss. "She's prbably a traitor of some sort. Not likely you'd know her." His words on the surface are a mere explaination but I can sense he means it more as a warning as his eyes are very sharp and intense.

"And even if you did, you're not to speak to one of them unless it's to give an order. Of course you don't really know her." Effie waves her hand dismissively but she's still agitated by Katniss' mistake of breaking some unspoken Capitol rule of etiquette.

"No, I guess not. I just-" Katniss is stammering and at a loss for how to rectify the situation. She also looks absolutely terrified.

I snap my fingers and suddenly the adults are looking at me instead of Katniss. "Delly Cartwright. That's who it is," I say wagging my finger. "I kept thinking she looked familiar as well. Then I realized she was a dead ringer for Delly." That Avox is no more like Delly than Katniss is, but none of the adults know that. And if Haymitch does by chance, he doesn't let on.

"Of course, that's who I was thinking of," Katniss says after the few moments it takes for her to recover and follow my lead. "It must be the hair."

"Something about the eyes too," I add as I gaze directly into Katniss' watching the relief wash over her.

"Oh, well. If that's all it is," Cinna says and it seems to be the final word on the discussion of the Avox girl. "And yes, the cake has spirits, but the alcohol has burned off. I ordered it specially in honor of your fiery debut."

The cake is cut and served and we eat in silence before moving back to the room with the red couches and the large television. The opening ceremonies are being rebroadcast now for all of Panem to view and I wonder how our families and friends are watching. Are they nervous for us yet, seeing our competition? What will they think of our costumes?

No one makes nearly the impression we did and when we finally are shown for the first time, the adults all issue an "Ahh!" of wonder and I can barely contain my own sigh of surprise.

"Whose idea was the handholding?" Haymitch inquires.

Portia beams as she playfully nudges Cinna. "Cinna's."

"Just the perfect touch of rebellion. Very nice," Haymitch comments with a grin. Until he says it, I don't realize just how much we stand out for doing it. Everyone else looked as if they were trying to ignore or elbow out their fellow tribute. Yes, I suppose rebellion is the word to use. It will certainly be rebelling against the rules for me to go into the Arena with the intent to protect Katniss above myself. So rebelling now, already, seems perfect to me somehow.

Haymitch is now sitting back thoughtfully, a smirk playing on his lips as we watch the rest of the ceremony. As the screen is turned off he turns to look at Katniss and I. "Tomorrow morning is the first training session. Meet me for breakfast and I'll tell you exactly how I want to play it. Now go get some sleep while the grown-ups talk."

He gives us a dismissive wave and we leave, walking together back to our rooms. By the time we get to Katniss' door I'm determined to find out exactly what happened at dinner. I lean against the door frame meaning she'll have to brush past me to get in if she doesn't like our conversation. "So, Delly Cartwright. Imagine finding her lookalike here."

She stands still and makes no move to get by me, but she's not saying anything either and I sigh as I relax my posture slightly. "Have you been on the roof yet?" Her eyebrows raise at the change in topic and she shakes her head in the negative. "Cinna showed me. You can practically see the whole city. The wind's a bit loud, though."

It takes her only a moment to catch my meaning and she smiles. "Can we just go up?"

"Sure, come on," I say and gently take her by the arm to spin her around and lead her partially back down the hall to the stairs.

Once again, I'm out on the roof with the wind tearing at my hair and I guide her to the railing near where we'd stood before. "I asked Cinna why they let us up here. Weren't they worried that some tributes might decide to jump over the side?"

"What'd he say?" she asks gripping the rail tightly as if the wind might toss her over.

"You can't." I hold my hand out over the rail and I'm surprised by the force of the zap that shoots through my fingertips and yank my arm back. Perhaps I should have used the stone myself in order to demonstrate. "Some kind of electric field throws you back on the roof."

"Always worried about our safety," she retorts. "Do you think they're watching us now?"

I shrug. I have gotten the feeling that every moment is at the very least under surveillance if not publicly aired. "Maybe. Come see the garden."

I lead her around to the other side which has flower beds, potted trees and bushes and the sound of the windchimes is so fiercely loud that we can barely hear one another even if she were to talk into my ear. I give her an expectant look as I still want to know what Katniss knew about the Avox and how.

She bends down and sniffs a bloom and I squat down beside her. "We were hunting in the woods one day. Hidden, waiting for game."

"You and your father?" I ask and her face falls slightly.

"No, my friend Gale. Suddenly all the birds stopped singing at once. Except one. As if it were giving a warning call. And then we saw her. I'm sure it was the same girl. A boy was with her. Their clothes were tattered. They had dark circles under their eyes from no sleep. They were running as if their lives depended on it." She looks up at me briefly as she falls silent. Her eyes are full of guilt and I want nothing more than to hold her and reassure her. But reassurements are pointless right now.

"The hovercraft appeared out of nowhere. I mean, one moment the sky was empty and the next it was there. It didn't make a sound, but they saw it. A net dropped down on the girl and carried her up, fast, so fast like the elevator. They shot some sort of spear through the boy. It was attached to a cable and they hauled him up as well. But I'm certain he was dead. We heard the girl scream once. The boy's name, I think. Then it was gone, the hovercraft. Vanished into thin air. And the birds began to sing again, as if nothing had happened."

"Did they see you?" I ask thinking about the Avox girl's horror when Katniss had drawn attention to her.

"I don't know. We were under a shelf of rock," she answers.

She starts to shake and I sigh as I quickly remove my jacket. "You're shivering." She hesitates at first when I go to wrap it around her shoulders but then finally accepts it. I hope this means she's starting to accept that I want to be friends. But so often it seems she'd rather be like the other tributes, stiff and ignoring each other's existence.

"They were from here?" I ask not so much because I expect Katniss to know but I've never seen anyone like the Avox girl come from the Districts. She gives a shrug and a nod that indicates she believes the same. "Where do you suppose they were going?"

"I don't know that." We're both quiet as we ponder it. Not much is left after District 12, just the wilderness and the toxic ruins of District 13. "Or why would they leave here."

"I'd leave here," I blurt out so quickly and loudly that I could have been easily heard even over the chimes. I glance around wondering if the adults would come looking for us here and then smile at Katniss nervously before laughing lightly. "I'd go home now if they'd let me. But you have to admit the food's prime."

She gives me this look like she's trying to memorize my tells and it makes me nervous how she scrutinizes me. "It's getting chilly. We better go in." I lead her back inside the dome since we're no longer planning to discuss anything deemed questionable, and then head back to our rooms.

"Your friend Gale. He's the one who took your sister away at the reaping?" Not one of my smoothest lines, but considering my inability to carry a conversation with Katniss over the last eleven years, I think I'm doing okay.

"Yes. Do you know him?" she asks a little surprised.

"Not really. I hear the girls talk about him a lot. I thought he was your cousin or something. You favor each other." I scratch the back of my head and duck my gaze trying to not appear too jealous. Despite living in the Seam, Gale has the eye of every girl in school. I don't care too much about that. It's just he has the only eye I do care about as well.

"No, we're not related."

I nod. I knew that. I don't know why I asked. Maybe I was hoping she'd correct me and tell me they were dating or not. "Did he come to say good-bye to you?"

"Yes. So did your father. He brought me cookies."

My eyebrows arch up that she has chosen to mention Gale and my father in the same breath. Does this mean the town baker is held in equal esteem or what? "Really? Well, he likes you and your sister. I think he wishes he had a daughter instead of a household of boys," I joke. Even if only to appease mother who gave up on having a daughter after me.

It is her turn to look surprised and I smile. "He knew your mother when they were kids."

"Oh, yes. She grew up in town." By now we're back to her room and she's shrugging off the jacket. "See you in the morning then."

"See you," I reply throwing the jacket over my arm as I leave.

I find my room to have already been cleaned of my discarded clothes. I shed my layers into a new heap until I'm in my boxers and I quietly crawl into bed. I can't help but wonder why it's required emminent death to get me to finally talk to Katniss Everdeen about anything.