"You've got to be kidding me." He hisses, hands clutching either side of the delicate glass table. It digs into his palms and leaves slight indents. None of this is relevant to him.

"You think I'm happy about this? You think I'm happy that seventy-four years of tradition have just been shit on?" Brutus takes another swig from the tiny glass in his hands. He shakes his head and lets out a bitter laugh.

In one second he's on his feet and throwing the glass across the room, shattering it against the wall. Just about anyone else would be horrified by this reaction, but not Cato. He was used to his mentors reactions by now. He himself was struggling not to toss the table and watch it shatter against the floor.

Both men stood in the empty room, unsure what to take their anger out on. Enobaria had laughed when she found out. To the point that she slouched over and grabbed onto her ribs to control the shaking. Clove had been nowhere near them, perhaps too cowardly to face the both of them. Or maybe she was off with her new leader. The Careers new leader.

His temper snapped in that single thought. Cato threw the table to the ground and was only slightly disappointed when it did not shatter. A nice long crack now marred the surface instead.

"I'm going to kill him." He said in a voice that would scare anyone who valued their own safety.

"I would hope so."

"Not just that. I'm going to make them regret the moment this silly little idea popped into their head."

"Of course."

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"You're going to help me get sponsors, aren't you?"

"I've invested fourteen years in you. What's another few weeks?"

It's a good answer and it tames his anger enough that he doesn't snap the neck of the Avox who attempts to pick up the table.

Katniss admires the bows from across the room, wondering what the difference between the metal ones of the Capitol are compared to the wooden ones of her home.

A few times people wander over and sample them, listen to the instructor and maybe hit close to the target. The only one who does even moderately good is the District 1 girl, but even her attempt is decent at best.

She shakes her head and does her best to focus on the snares in front of her. Today was the second day of training, tomorrow they'd have one final day of training and then the next there would be private sessions. The day after this their scores would be released and then that night there would be interviews with Caesar. The following morning the games begin. Her fingers shook and messed up the snare she was attempting at the idea of what would take place in just a mere few days.

The games, the thing that would surely be her death.

She undid the knots and began again, tightening her loose ends and making sure it came out perfectly. She waved away the instructor who was practically breathing on her neck, attempting to give her advice on how to make this better. What he said was a complete contradiction to what Gale would say though, and for that she refused to listen.

She didn't notice the immediate silence that followed in the room. It wasn't too loud to begin with but soon even the Gamemakers and their constant drunk laughing was gone.

She turned to the door where the brute from District 2 entered. He looked entirely displeased at the sight before him, eyes glaring and mouth twitching downward. Katniss followed his line of eyesight and found herself looking at the boy from District 6. She couldn't help but notice that many of the Careers were beginning to draw in on the two.

The District 6 and the District 2 males were beginning to move in on each other. Katniss had a strange recollection of two wild dogs fighting in the forest once, how they hadn't given up until one was laying on the forest floor with its entrails strewn across the dirt and the other stood above with its muzzle stained red. She had watched from the safety of a high tree, half tempted to shoot the victorious dog but then deciding it was a shame to kill something that fought so hard to live. It had been a bountiful summer, anyway.

She was protected from the two boys by both distance and the four days it would take to reach the arena and for that she looked at both of them with curiosity, as did everybody else in the training room.

They were talking but she couldn't hear. It probably didn't matter either, from the few sharp words she could catch she knew that it was mostly swearing and threats. On their side of the room Peacekeepers were slowly moving forward. They were ready to take the boys down if need be.

As it turns out, they were needed. Both boys lunged at each other and would no doubt kill one another if it weren't for the Peacekeepers to drag them apart.

They were dragged out on different sides of the room while the other tributes, instructors, and Gamemakers looked on.

This wasn't the part that surprised her most, but rather when the District 6 boy came back in and joined the Careers and the girl from 2.

When the boy from 2 returned he went alone to decapitate several dummies with a sword.

Peeta brought it up over dinner. Effie nodded and quickly change conversation onto the topic, "I was actually discussing this with Antony! It's the dirtiest little piece of gossip I've heard in quite a while."

"And you wouldn't deny us by refusing to give the details, would you Effie?" Cinna asks, passing food down to the other end of the table.

"Certainly not. Antony, for those of you who don't know, is the District 2 escort. He finally has to be ashamed of his District! It's actually rather sad. You see the District 6 boy… Oh what was his name? Jason! That's his name, yes he rallied up District 1, 2, and 4 to join him. Very persuasive I hear. But apparently not persuasive enough because the District 2 boy… His name was… Cato! Yes, Cato refused to join him. He said he was going to be the leader of those three districts. Apparently not though, because 1 and 4 aren't with them. Not even his own district partner! Can you imagine?"

"Such a scandal." Portia chuckled as she poured more salad onto her plate.

"Oh indeed, can you imagine the shame he must feel?"

"Gracious no." Portia replied, shaking her head back and forth.

"But does this mean anything for us?" Katniss asked sharply, eyes fixated on Haymitch. He was silent for a moment as the others slowly began to turn to him.

He pondered over it for a minute before slowly nodding. "Assuming you make it past the bloodbath? You might just do well."

He was restless and no amount of pacing could change that. Dinner had been a violent affair, as had most things in his life since the change in alliance.

His body had shook at the effort not to lunge across the table and wrap his arms around the neck of the girl he'd known for years now. Her smug grin only made it worse. He wasn't sure what Jason was offering her, but clearly it made her feel safe enough to antagonize him.

Brutus eventually snapped at her and he himself seemed to be working on not attacking her physically. He'd made mention however, that she was lucky Enobaria was there to handle whatever sponsor she managed to get, for he refused to help a traitor.

"I'm a traitor? He's the one who refused to join us."

"Refuse to join that District 6 slum. Between the two of you, you're the traitor." He left it at that.

Cato could only hope that District 2 felt the same way. Especially his father who would rather die than have his son ruin the family name. Cato was the youngest of three male siblings, all of whom had been trained for the games but only him who had been picked.

Suddenly there was no honor in dying in the games, not at the hands of his former allies. Dying at the hands of another Tribute was just as dishonorable. Maybe the male from District 11, no one else. He could just as easily die by something in the arena such as a mutation or tricks by the Gamemakers. But nothing else suited him, it was a victory he was going for and nothing else would be good enough.

He stopped pacing when he realized how late it was getting. Tomorrow would be the final day in the Training Center, after that the important stuff would begin.

He wondered if there was any way to get new allies. Perhaps Glimmer would be willing to join him again. She flirted with him enough during the parade but something told Cato that she would be a useless ally. He would end up watching her back more than she would his. Marvel and the pair from 4 seemed just as useless, Clove was a definite no go.

For now he gave up on thinking. Instead he collapsed into bed and tried not to think about the shameful ways he could die.

The sun set over the Capitol and twilight settled in as the sky slowly dimmed from purple to black. Most Capitol citizens were getting ready for the parties that night while the Training Center slowly died down as Tributes finished their dinner.

Katniss stared out the window from her bedroom, watching all the little ants on the ground scurrying from building to building.

In the hallway outside her door she could hear everybody bidding each other good night. She hadn't changed into her pajamas yet and knew it was a useless endeavor. Whenever she closed her eyes all she could think about was Prim and the Games.

She sucked a deep breath in and tried to calm herself down.

Maybe a glass of milk would help, she thought. She ventured out of her room and into the kitchen, pausing when she saw the redhead Avox girl. No doubt the Capitol was watching them.

Shamefully, Katniss looks at the ground and requests a glass.

The glass is poured and the Avox girl returns to the corner.

She pauses her drinking when she hears the near silent elevator moving up and down through the Tributes quarters. "The elevators aren't shut off?"'

The Avox girl makes a subtle shake of the head.

Katniss eyes the doors curiously and wonders if the training center would be open. She set her glass down and slowly made her ways to the door, cautious as though President Snow himself would demand she back away.

But he didn't, no one did.

She presses the button and a few seconds later the doors open to an empty box that she steps into.

She presses another button and soon the box carries her down closer to the floor.

It dings and releases her into the Training Center. She slowly steps out and waits for a group of Peacekeepers to tell her to return to her room. Instead she's left alone in the empty halls outside the gym.

She gives a small push onto the doors and is delighted when they open freely to her. She has the entire gym to herself, void of Tributes or Gamekeepers.

Immediately, almost without hesitation, she heads straight to the archery station and picks up a bow after running her hand over the smooth surface.

She notches the arrow and goes through the familiar pattern of aiming and release.

Her arrow wobbles and misses the mark by a bit. She twists her face in a scowl before loading the next arrow up and taking a deep breath before releasing it.

"Impressive."

She swings around, eyes wide and terrified. She thinks it's a Peacekeeper at first. Here to take her back to her room. But it doesn't matter if a Peacekeeper knows she's talented in archery.

It does matter, however, when she's looking into the eyes of the District 2 boy.