I'm not entirely sure what to say...

My chapter title describes this chapter so perfectly what is there left to?

Oh yeah-


A Career boy from Two laid sound asleep next to a dying fire.

The embers were just bright enough for me to see one other Career was with him. Both were curled up in sleeping bags as if they had been on a camping trip the entire time. No worries to plague their sleeping heads.

Pulling out a throwing knife I snuck up carefully on the two.

Clinically I severed the one boy's spine before he could properly cry out. His gurgled dying pleas woke the other Career who was ready faster than one could say 'kumquat.' No matter, I could still kill this Career girl.

The fight was dirty. Not only did she try to stab me with her sword, and I perforate her with my knife, there was biting and scratching. Both of us fought like savage beasts; each of us ready to kill the other and claim the prize of living on to win the Hunger Games.

Then I remembered I was from District Twelve.

The Career girl smiled wickedly before she stabbed me through the ribs and into my heart.

A pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and shook me awake.

Heart pounding wildly from the dream I blinked away the after image of my death and focused on the person who stood over me. Relief flooded Father's face as a small smile tickled the corners of his mouth.

"You'll wake the neighbors with a scream like that." He chided jokingly and helped me sit up.

"I screamed?" shock flickered through me. Never in my life had I so much as even snored in my sleep.

Father nodded, "The first thing that came to my mind was that a Peacekeeper was in here torturing you— my goodness can you scream when you want to."

"The nightmare… I dreamed I was in the Hunger Games and I was in a fight with a Career girl." Shivers worked their way up my spine, "Then she stabbed me in the heart."

Folding my small self into his large arms, Father stroked my hair soothingly, "Don't worry. You are named Titania for a reason. Titanium metal has the highest strength to weight ratio of any metal. Your Mother and I figured that you too have great inner strength."

Really what he said made me feel better but it left me confused.

Continuing on Father added, "You have the highest strength to good ratio that Panem has never seen."

"Good?" I asked through the fog of tiredness that was creeping back up on me now that I was calm.

Not saying a word my Father pointed to my heart. Tucking me back into bed, Father kissed me on the forehead and said, "Goodnight, little darling."

"Goodnight Dad."

Blissfully dreamless sleep curled around me and did not let go until grey morning light touched my eyelids. The temptation to just keep sleeping tickled my fancy until something caught my attention.

Tap.

Not completely sure I had even heard anything I tucked down into my blanket to get some more rest.

Tap. Tap-tap.

Something was hitting the small window in my room. Curiously I stood and looked out the dirty glass to see a dark haired boy throwing pebbles at it.

"Haymitch Abernathy, I am going to break your nose permanently this time." I muttered tiredly under my breath.

Pulling on some everyday clothing, my black boots, and my leather jacket I stepped out into the chilled morning air. The streets were still mostly dark as the sun had just started to rise over the horizon. Walking around my house to the side my window faced I found a smiley Haymitch leaning against the shop wall as if he had been there doing nothing the entire night.

"Hello Sleeping Beauty."

I batted his greeting away like it had been a thirsty mosquito, "What is it?"

His trademark debonair smile came out, "I just thought we could hang out."

When you get to know Haymitch you start to understand the messages he has behind his words.

Let's go to the woods.

Since he had already gotten me out of bed and into the street I decided that the two of us might as well, "Yeah, fine."

"Don't sound so excited." Haymitch nudged me with his elbow in a teasing manner, "You'll give people the wrong idea about us."

"I don't care what their ideas are about you and I, Haymitch."

My friend knew me better than that however, "So if Aster, Lilly, Feta, and the others found out about us being in cahoots, you would feel just fine and dandy about that?"

Those girls on their own would try to pry me and Haymitch apart faster than light could travel across the universe. The same strange emotion I had last night came back. Again it squeezed my heart and burned my throat making my eyes want to tear up.

"Let's just go." I muttered and turned away from Haymitch's probing grey eyes.

Everything was quiet in the slowly brightening streets. All the dreary old buildings were quiet as they watched the two of us navigate through the Upper-district and down into the Seam where the houses turned into falling apart little shacks. Eventually we made it to where Haymitch lived and we stopped by there.

Really the building Haymitch lived in was a two room hut. His family slept in the one room and cooked, played, and watched the Hunger Games in the other. Mrs. Abernathy sat on the threadbare couch— one of the only pieces of furniture in the house— staring at the opposite wall.

"Hello?" I said quietly so that she wouldn't get startled.

No response. This was starting to make me worry.

"Mrs. Abernathy?" I spoke louder this time.

Nothing.

I stayed at the door while Haymitch knelt in front of his mother and grabbed her hands in his, "Mom, what's wrong?"

Noticing us for the first time she shook her head, tears sliding down her face. All of the words Mrs. Abernathy tried to speak caught in her throat; almost as though they refused to be uttered.

Whole minutes slipped by before she could talk, "Haymitch your Father is trying to get the Peacekeepers to deem me an unfit parent. He wants to take you boys away to where he lives on the edge of the District."

Shaking with anger Haymitch dropped her hands, stood, and started making some pretty agitated gesticulations, "That drunken imbecile! Just because he is feeling some post-Reaping guilt doesn't mean he can try to take Sawyer and me away! The Peacekeepers would put us in the community home before they ever sentenced us to live with him!"

Ever since the first time I had come to Haymitch's house I had always assumed that his Father was dead. No one mentioned him, hinted at his existence, or even showed signs a male head of house had ever lived there. Since there was a total lack of presense in the father department, it seemed natural for me to assume that my friend just didn't want to talk about a father he was embarrassed to have ever had.

"You are not an unfit mother." I almost whispered. Really a small part of me felt like I should walk out the door while no one was paying attention, but these were my true friends and second family. Here was one of the few places where I belonged.

Mrs. Abernathy began to cry more and Haymitch looked at me like he'd forgotten I was there. His gaze was sharper than the knife I had wielded in my dream last night as he stopped pacing the length of the small room.

"Haymitch let's go." I suggested with a nod of my head, "There's only one thing to do now."

Grey eyes met my blue ones with understanding and intense disbelief, "You would do that for us?"

"I would work every day of every year to help you guys." I blushingly admitted, unable to meet Haymitch's gaze while I said it, "You are just as much of a family to me as my own."

"Of course we are." Haymitch gave me a rare genuine smile with a strange warm look in his eyes.

Throwing my arms around my friend's neck I laughed quietly, "Haymitch, you and Sawyer are like brothers to me. I will always try to help you silly boys."

Mrs. Abernathy stood and wrapped her thin arms around us in a surprisingly tight hug.

When the three of us stepped back Haymitch's usual sarcastic smile transparently masked something strange; an emotion that was vulnerable, surprisingly strong, and even a little hurt.

"Now let's go hang out and find a way to prove our Mom is the best."

Somehow I didn't think that's what he really wanted to say.


Sorry these last two chapter have been a tad shorter.

I'm working on it.