And...here we go!
KATNISS P.O.V
As Peeta and I walked into our apartment in the Capitol, Haymitch seemed to be setting up some sort of recording on the enormous screen.
"What - " I began, but Haymitch hushed me and continued tinkering.
After a few seconds, he straightened up and gestured with his hands. "Sit down, you two. We have a lot to talk about."
Deciding it would be better not to question it, we both sank onto the white puffy sofa as the reel began to play.
"This year's tributes," Haymitch begins. Two people flash up on the screen, the number one rotating below them. "District 1 - Rose Hathaway and Dimitri Belikov."
The girl, Rose, has a rather square forehead but otherwise a very pretty face, a curvaceous figure, and a dark ponytail. She looks tough, and so does her district partner - a slightly older man with shaggy dark brown hair.
"Both dhampirs - half human, half vampire, trained all their lives to protect the Moroi, the royal vampires," Haymitch says. A clip is shown from one of their training sessions - both are excellent hand-to-hand fighters. Dimitri eventually manages to pin Rose down, but his eyes are soft, and so are hers.
"District 2, Clarissa 'Clary' Fray and Jace Wayland," Haymitch says, clicking to the next slide. A girl and a boy, again, with the number two. The girl has defined eyebrows, porcelain skin and red curly hair. The boy is dignified-looking, with thick blond hair and a slight hook in his nose. The boy - Jace - in particular has a lean, muscled look about him.
"Shadowhunters, the both of them," Haymitch says. "Jace, especially, is lethal - quite arrogant, but lethal. Clary is new to it, won two years ago on a fluke - she managed to get her final opponent to practically smash his brains out running into a tree." Another clip is shown, another training session - Jace is an expert. Clary is clumsier, but still skilled.
"District 3," Haymitch says. "Teresa and Thomas."
"No last names?" Peeta breaks in.
"No-one knows their last names," Haymitch says gravely. "Not even them. Both woke up with no memories when they turned sixteen. Nobody's quite sure what happened to them. Tough lives, these two." The girl has a button nose, startling blue eyes and thick dark hair fluffed around her shoulders. Skinny, but not mean-looking. The boy is taller, broad-shouldered, with a slightly funny nose and dark brown hair - but handsome. Very handsome.
"Very clever," Haymitch says. "Exceptionally smart, actually, especially Thomas. Probably the smartest tributes ever. And both gifted with speed and stamina - Thomas is set records when he ran from one end of his arena to the other in just three hours."
Instead of training, we're shown a piece from each of their games. Teresa is small, but quick and sharp. Haymitch was right about Thomas - he's fast. Almost superhumanly fast. We see him running briefly through a forest to get away from a blond boy, and he's practically a blur.
"District 4, Finnick and Mags."
"District 5, the Pevensies. Won back-to-back." The girl has full lips and pale skin, yet again with dark hair. Another archer - beautifully aligned. She's a pro. Her brother is slightly older, with thick blonde hair and a sword. "Peter and Susan. Rumour has it they were once kings and queens. They have a younger brother and sister at home, Edmund and Lucy. They'll want to get back to them pretty bad."
"District 6, Tobias 'Four' Eaton and Beatrice 'Tris' Prior." An older guy with close-cropped golden brown hair, tanned skin, a full lower lip and a stern face. A girl with greyish-blue eyes and long, straight blonde hair. "Deadly. Both can handle guns and knives, no problem. Excellent at unarmed combat, especially Four. Both known Divergents, so any mind games the Capitol pulls in the arena won't work on them." A clip is shown, training again. Four seems to rely both on technique and brute strength, the muscles in his arms popping. Tris is weaker but quicker. Suddenly, we're shown another clip - their reapings, this year. Tris is holding a baby, swaddled in a blanket, seemingly struggling not to cry. Four is holding her close.
"They have a newborn son, James," Haymitch says, and I feel like I've been punched in the gut. I can't kill them. They have a baby. A family.
"I'm not killing them," I suddenly hear Peeta say.
Haymitch shrugs.
"District 7, Perseus 'Percy' Jackson and Annabeth Chase," Haymitch says, clicking on. They both have startling eyes - the boy, Percy, has sparkling green, while Annabeth has shocking grey. "Young couple. No kids this time. Demigods - Annabeth is a daughter of Athena, very clever, very good with a dagger. Percy is a son of Poseidon. Able to control water, best swordsman the Games have ever seen." We're shown them in training, sparring with each other. Annabeth's curly blonde hair is flying as she ducks and swivels over Percy's brilliantly handled sword strokes.
We're shown the rest, then Haymitch says, "I want you two to become allies with them."
"Who?" I say.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Make it a big pack."
"Well, I'm not murdering anyone who has kids," I say, "so 6 is safe."
"The rest, as well," Haymitch says. He suddenly looks furtive. "Make sure you become allies. This is big, okay? Bigger than big."
Before I can ask what he means, both me and Peeta are sent off to bed.
Uuuuhhhhhh...cookies, anyone?