AN: Second chapter… hopefully I can do this.

Disclaimer: I do not own the franchise known as The Hunger Games. The books were written by Suzanne Collins.

And then the world came crashing down

District two, known to be the capitol's lap dog and main contributor to peacekeepers, was in an uproar. Today was the day many came to know as a horrid day but for the citizens of two, today the youth of the district would attempt to prove their strength, loyalty, and to bring honor and fame.

Every year, districts from mainly one and two would send tributes that had been trained since they were old enough to walk. They were trained to be champions, victors. Most of the victors from previous Hunger Games had been from the first two districts or district four. The winners, the victors, had been past careers. That was the name given to the trained tributes that weren't even tributes yet.

An imposing figure volunteered in place of a scrawny twelve year old boy. The figure wore a sneer as if he thought everyone was beneath him. As he stood on the stage, the girl next to him rolled her eyes. Being escorted in, the sneer gave way to an impassive face as a woman came into the room holding the rough male.

"Cato… you have to be careful, you have to come back to me."

Said the voice softly as the owner of said voice looked up at the muscular teen. Cold blue eyes seemed to soften as the male wrapped his toned arms around the petite figure in front of him.

"Don't worry, mom… I'll come back to you. Plus… I still have to see her… you know that."

The woman nodded as she wiped her eyes and gave her boy an emotion filled hug. Her poor boy, going into these games because he had been trained… had been molded since he was five. Others saw it as bringing honor to district two, but to her… to her it was just another way to lose her loved one. Sure, she was happy for him, she was even hoping he would win for the glory and honor, but mostly she just wanted him to come back to her in one piece.

"Please… be careful."

She whispered before being dragged out by a peacekeeper. Cato nodded before pressing his lips quickly and gently to his mother's forehead, and then he was alone.

As him and the female tribute, Clove, boarded the train he rolled his shoulders, trying to relieve some tension.

Cato

I looked out the window, eyes cold and distant as Clove and I were called into the seating room of our compartment in order to watch the other reapings from the other districts. A fairly fit male and female from district one, a fox faced red head from five, a cripple from ten, a tiny child from eleven while the male tribute was almost as large as I was, and finally… no… Katniss Everdeen. The girl that I had met on accident… the girl that I… Clove looked over at me, worry swimming in her eyes. She knew that the games had just become that much harder for the both of us. It wasn't that Katniss was big or intimidating, but it was because we both had a history with the tanned girl from District twelve… I couldn't stay in the room any longer. I got up swiftly and knocked a chair over in my rush as Clove followed me out.

"Cato! Cato, you know that we didn't know… we can't blame ourselves…"

I looked down at the tiny girl in front of me and swallowed.

"I know…"

My voice cracked before I cleared my throat in order for me to speak as if this situation didn't bother me; though, we both knew that it did… hell, we both knew that it bothered each other.

"You know she did it for Prim…"

I know that, but still… I didn't want to admit anything. Katniss was blind when it came to her own well-being, especially if Prim was involved. I didn't know what to do; my whole world was falling apart now. Call me melodramatic, but it was true.

Clove

As soon as they had called out Primrose, I knew Cato was about to lose it. The girl he had been in love with for the better part of five years was the young girl's elder sister. Just as I had predicted, Cato had jumped up and, essentially, stumbled out the door as I followed, hoping to calm him in some way.

"Cato! Cato, you know that we didn't know… we can't blame ourselves."

As soon as those words left my lips though… I felt awful. Here we were, careers… being trained for this moment for our entire lives… and Katniss volunteered… not for the fame, glory, or money, but for her sister. It was enough of a sacrifice to really hit you where it hurt. The games seemed so idiotic when you saw what Katniss did. Selflessly giving her life up for Prim… that was one thing that I admired about her when first meeting her. Her sheer determination left an impression on me that had stayed even as the years went by.

I was brought out of my thoughts by Cato whispering almost brokenly. It would kill us, but we would do anything within our power to keep the fire in Katniss going. It would dim from losing Cato, but it would still burn and shine and be a beacon of hope to all who saw her. That was when I realized that Cato and I had come to a silent agreement. Protect Katniss Everdeen's fire. Protect her despite the many obstacles in our way. We would be her protectors throughout this whole trial and she would come out on top. No matter the disappointment, we knew the people close to us back in district two would understand. They would understand that we sacrificed ourselves for someone pure, for someone that was a survivor, and for someone that was selfless and loving despite her cold outer shell.

Yes, we would do what our mentors told us to do… join the other careers, but then when the other tributes were killed, minus Katniss of course, we would turn on them before, hopefully, being killed in the midst so that we wouldn't be forced to kill each other… or have Katniss kill one of us.

This was our promise to Katniss, our creed, our reason for getting to the finals of the games.

AN: So, I know that I said I'd probably give some back story to Cato and Katniss, but I'll save that for the next chapter. Lolol. Sorry guys.
If you found anything wrong with this chapter, spelling, grammar, etc., please tell me in a review or even just send me a private message or something.
Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Tell me if I need to broaden my vocabulary or use of pronouns. Anything you can think of, tell me. (: