Reed was getting frustrated. It was day three, their last and final day of training. So far the only thing besides camouflaging he had gotten any good at was making traps; which only went well as long as he didn't accidentally get his finger caught in a knot. It didn't help that some of the other tributes would find it amusing half the time he knocked stuff over or tripped on things. It was like they were constantly waiting for him to mess up, hoping for some other reason to laugh at him. And ever since day one, after Wren had told him off, Krasimir had been avoiding him, not even meeting his gaze; although Reed was pretty sure he almost caught him glancing over a lot. He couldn't understand why this annoyed him so greatly. It wasn't like they were friends or allies. In fact, he was kind of surprised Paisley hadn't gone over to talk to Krasimir yet. After all, it hadn't taken her long to form a small alliance with the boy and girl from District 2, the girl from 4, and the boy from 7.

He quickly glanced over at the hand to hand combat station where Krasimir was currently in the process of pinning down one of the trainers. Watching the older boy always made Reed's face go red. It wasn't fair. Why did he have to be thinking like this over someone who would be trying to kill him in only a few days?

"Hey…can you help me out with this?"

A small voice interrupted his thoughts. Reed looked next to him and realized it was Ridge. Up close he could see the boy's eyes held slightly foggy shading over an otherwise clear green color. The blind boy was trying to learn one of the more difficult knots, feeling his way through it but having very little success.

"Here," Reed reached over, carefully pulling the rope from Ridge's hands as to not startle him, "let me undo it so we can start at the beginning. I'm Reed, by the way."

"Thanks. I'm Ridge, but you probably already know that." The boy from 4 replied quietly. "You're the boy from 1 who tripped, aren't you?"

Reed's face went red at the memory, and he nodded in response before mentally smacking himself at the fact that Ridge couldn't see him do so. "Yeah, sadly that's me."

Ridge smiled, shrugging, his gaze focused slightly to the right of Reed's head. "It's alright. Even clumsy you're still better off than me. We just can't let our shortcomings get us down though, right?" Despite his words, his voice held little confidence.

"I guess you're right." Reed replied. "After all, you never know what's going to happen out there."

He spent the rest of day three with Ridge, helping him learn more of the knots and some of the other survival skills he could feel his way through. It made Reed feel a bit better, knowing he was being of some help to someone else.

Day three was the day they showed their skills to the game makers. Reed had no clue what skills he really had that were worth presenting. His skills with weapons were pretty pathetic, and he was sure none of the people wanted to sit around watching him camouflage himself for an hour. In the end he went with spears, because that was the weapon he sucked the least at. He just had to manage not to hurt himself or anyone else with it.

And luck seemed to be with him that day, because even though he may not have hit all the marks perfectly, he did manage to not hurt himself in the process. The game makers didn't look completely impressed, but at least they didn't look completely bored either. It had to be a good sign, right?

Afterward Reed managed to relax somewhat until dinner. He knew their scores would be shared that night and he wasn't expecting to get anything high. Paisley, on the other hand, was quite confident her score would be amazing.

And it was. She managed to get a 10, which garnered the approval from Mickey, Garnet, and their stylists. When it was Reed's turn he kept his fingers crossed for at least a five, but was surprised when he actually got by with a seven. It was more than he had hoped for and even Garnet was surprised.

Most of the other tributes managed to score in the 8-11 range, though, to no one's surprise, Ridge got a four. The tributes from 9 didn't do so well either. Wren got a 9, but Krasimir managed to get an 11. Reed was definitely not comforted by that fact.

The next day they had to prepare for their interviews. This was something Reed had really been dreading. They would have to get up in front of the entire Capitol to speak. Reed was not looking forward to it at all. Garnet did nothing to help his confidence when she told him he better make a good appearance, because it would probably be one of the only things helping him get sponsors once he was in the arena.

The only good thing was that he would get to have some time with Molly once more beforehand. She would be helping him with his suit he would be wearing, which supported much of the same glittery decoration as before for the opening ceremonies yet this time it was a whitish color instead of blue. Molly's non-stop babbling and reassurances comforted Reed, giving him the confidence he needed to get out on the stage with the rest of the tributes. The crowd of Capitol residents was deafening, and the bright stage lights had Reed feeling like he was going to melt.

The host, Caesar, was still quite new, this being his tenth year of doing so, but he held great enthusiasm and was able to keep things rolling while holding the audience's attention. His suit was a shining, deep blue, but his hair and makeup was a rather dark, forest green color. It was weird, but not as odd as some of the Capitol residents' getups.

Being from District 1 meant that Reed and Paisley were slated to go first, but at least that meant they wouldn't have to sit and wait for their turns. Paisley immediately won over the audience with her charm and fierce confidence. This was a show and she was promising them a winner.

All too soon it was Reed's turn and he prayed to all that was holy he would not trip while making his way to center stage. The lights almost blinded him, but he managed a smile as he shook Caesar's hand and meekly waved to the audience.

"Now you are just plain adorable, Reed Dawson." Caesar grinned. "I can only assume you're trying to fake us all out here thanks to that 7 you earned. Are you feeling nervous?"

Reed was pretty sure he hadn't been trying to fake anyone out, but, hey, if that's what everyone wanted to believe than it was better than thinking him weak. He figured he may as well be honest while answering the questions, as long as he could get the audience to like him at the same time. "Oh, most definitely." He smiled weakly. "I think almost all the other tributes are about a foot taller than me. It's intimidating."

Caesar laughed, along with the audience. Reed was pretty sure he heard some 'aww's out in the crowd and could only hope those were 'aw, he's so cute and tiny' aww's. "That's true; most of them definitely have a height advantage upon you. I think District 11's boy tribute is 6'2'', but that's okay. While they'll have to duck under things you can just slip on by. And I'm sure you'll have no trouble hiding in small spaces."

"Now I know how embarrassing your little trip up the stairs must have been during the reaping." Caesar noted with a small smile. "Naturally clumsy? Or were you just nervous to stand up there on stage next to such a pretty girl as Paisley?"

Apparently the audience found that amusing too, but Reed didn't. His face had gone pink again, but he tried to be a good sport about it. "Might have been both…"

"Well, we'll just have to hope you don't take a fall during the Games." Caesar laughed.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Reed smiled, "just as long as the game makers don't put any staircases in the arena." He was relieved the audience found him amusing, and, for once, was kind of glad for his adorableness factor.

Thankfully his time was soon up and he got to return to his seat with the other tributes, allowing himself to breathe easier now that he was no longer in the spotlight.

Almost all the other tributes managed to handle Caesar's questions and the crowd pretty well. Ridge almost went the wrong way and walked off the stage until Caesar helped him out. Other than that there were hardly any incidents. When it was finally Krasimir's turn, Reed found himself suddenly paying a bit more attention and immediately felt silly. Why was he getting so hung up on the older tribute?

"Krasimir!" Caesar grinned, shaking the boy's hand like they were old friends. "What a name. Do your friends call you that back home or do you have a nickname?"

Krasimir laughed, nodding in response to the question. "Oh yes. They call me Raz most of the time; although my parents usually call me by my full name when I'm in trouble, which only happens on occasion, you know." He winked at the audience, causing them to laugh.

"Ah, do we have ourselves a trouble maker?" Caesar laughed. "So, Raz- can I call you Raz?" Krasimir nodded in response. "Lovely! So, we've been wondering, you seem like such a friendly fellow. How well do you feel prepared for the Games?"

"I'm feeling pretty confident, which is good since I want to win, though apparently my talent at making friends isn't going to come in handy here is it?"

"No, I don't think so." Caesar shook his head. "I must say, you've caused quite a stir with the Capitol's ladies. Is there a special girl in your life back home that might get a little jealous?"

Krasimir shook his head, laughing. To Reed it almost seemed like Krasimir was laughing at a joke that only he, himself, understood. "Oh, no. There's no girl back home."

"Ooh," Caesar turned his face towards the audience, "did you hear that ladies? He's still available." He winked, laughing when there was quite a response from the female part of the audience which caused Krasimir's face to go quite red.

"So, we have time for one last question. You're eighteen, were you surprised, maybe even shocked, your name got called your last year able to participate in the Games?"

"No." Krasimir responded, maybe a bit too quickly. "I wanted my name to be called."

That surprised Reed. It wasn't exactly normal for the tributes from the further districts to want their names called during a reaping. Apparently Reed wasn't the only one surprised or confused. Caesar even sounded confused as he spoke once more. "And why is that?"

Krasimir was silent for a moment before finally responding in a voice that was quieter than before. "For my cousin: Livisa. I'm going to win for her." The friendly look in his eyes was gone, replaced with strong, deadly confidence that Reed found terrifying.

Caesar looked touched by Krasimir's response. "And I'm sure if you win she'll be quite proud of you. She'll be able to tell everyone back home that her cousin is one tough, brave fellow."

"She won't." Krasimir shook his head. "She died, five years ago during the Games. And that's why I have to win."

There was more 'aww'ing from the audience as Caesar gave him a sad smile. "Then you'll have a guardian angel watching over you the entire way. Won't he, audience?" The audience quite loudly agreed.

Once Krasimir's interview was over the last two interviews went by fairly quickly and then they were finally able to get off the stage. Reed was tired. He just wanted to sleep, knowing that the next day was the day they were finally going into the arena. It was a scary thought. Who knew how much time he had left to live?

Before he went to sleep though he asked Garnet if she remembered Krasimir's cousin, Livisa. Five years ago had been quite some time and Reed could hardly remember that year's tributes. Garnet nodded in response, though all she really remembered was that the girl had been only twelve during the Games and had only lasted about four days.

The thought made Reed sad, and kind of glad he was an only child who didn't have many friends. He couldn't imagine what it must feel like to watch someone you love fight to survive, especially at such a young age.