A/N: For Em.

"Play nice," Brutus warns as he leads her over to another fellow trainee. "Scare this one off, too, and you'll have no one left to partner with if you ever want to make it to the Games."

She takes one look at the meathead before her- twice her size, half as smart, and nowhere near as pretty- and snorts. "Like hell."

"I agree," the meathead says. Huh. She hadn't figured him capable of speech. "Even I couldn't help her be chosen to volunteer."

Oh, he did not just say that. Her eyes flash. "You're on."

Behind them, Brutus just grins.