POV District 3 Moria Kegariss

I tapped my toes on the cold ground of the elevator. I hadn't bothered to put on shoes - again - as I went down to meet Mylute. I could still feel Eagee's cold stare on the back of my neck, and I continuously kept looking over my shoulder to make sure he wasn't actually there. "I'm going to loose my mind before I even get in the Games," I muttered, only for myself to hear, which only enforced the idea. My eyes then skimmed the top of the elevator, but there weren't any blue lights. I ran my arms over my shoulders, goosebumps over my arms. I really was alone in there.

Once the elevator doors opened on the ground floor, I slipped out and made an immediate turn for the door. I walked forward, and I realized the crack of the door was gone. "Was I dreaming?" I whispered, fear creeping through. Had I just dreamed everything, and now I really was standing alone for no reason? I narrowed my eyes, frowning at the wall. That wouldn't make sense. Aldmos had still been my ally, he acted like it all day, and Mylute had waved at me. What if he was playing me, to get me in trouble?

I looked over my shoulder, my eyes following the line of cameras that wrapped around the room until I looked up at the tiny light on the ceiling. A clicking noise brought my attention back, and I saw the crack in the wall. But I hesitated. I had my arms crossed over me, shivering in the cold, staring at the bump in the wall. I heaved a sigh, trying to convince myself. It was only a few days before the Games, they couldn't kill me, and they couldn't hurt me. It would show.

I started forward, and finally moved my arms so I could slide my fingers through the door and pry it open. As I did, I remembered I wouldn't be seen for the next three days, and the Capitol had a lot of means of covering their tracks. But I was too late. I found Mylute - alone in the room, to my relief - spinning around in a chair. He stopped himself with his foot as soon as he saw me, and I saw some sort of remote in his left hand. He gave me a deathly look, and I shriveled away, afraid he had been playing me.

Suddenly he added a smile, and jumped out of his chair. "Hey," He greeted, pulling me into the room.

"Hi." He took a quick sweep of the room before pulling the door shut behind him. I realized something - he was scoping the room. He didn't trust me either, or at least not enough that he didn't have to check. It he didn't trust me, he couldn't be planning anything against me, or else it wouldn't matter.

"Sit down," He told me, leaning over to press a few buttons on the side of one screen. I did, sitting stone stiff. Mylute sat back on the arm of the chair, and he began flipping through camera footage on the largest monitor on the center of the screen. "I'll be honest with you," He spoke up eventually. "There's no single-players."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I crawled out of my spider cage, leaning forward and gripping the arm chairs.

"Lots of people have already formed alliances. You only have District partners you could possibly squeeze in with," He took a deep breath in, sighing. "And honestly, I think you only have one option - District 12, Zalnys and Adoss." He paused on video of the pair working together with the spears. "They're the only two that seem to be rather open to the idea. The only other strictly District pair is Cidet and Aleas from District 7. But Cidet is very brash."

"What do they know about Aldmos?" I continued, frozen in place, my eyes fixed on the screen.

Mylute shrugged his shoulders beside me. "Not much yet."

I heaved a sigh. I fell back into the chair, crossing my arms over my chest. "Screw it." Mylute slipped down beside me in the chair, giving me a concerned look. I stared at the screen for a few moments before I finally met his gaze. "It'll be just me and Aldmos."

"You can always try some of the careers," He stuttered, moving towards the screen. "Ludacris is clearly a swing in their group. And Luipos will ditch them with Arale if he feels that they won't take his sister."

I stared at him, studying his face. When he turned back to me, he frowned. I shrugged my shoulders, shaking my head gently. "It's not worth it. I need to focus on actually learning some skills and maybe if we get a good training score, some people will come to us." Mylute opened his mouth, but he said nothing. I gave him a look, speaking for him, "Sometimes it's the better position."

He sighed. He didn't speak for a long while. "Ok...ok, maybe you're right." I picked my feet off the ground, pulling my knees to my chest as he started to spin the chair back and forth with his toes. "I'm not just saying this, but I do think you have some potential - if you decide to actually touch a weapon."

My face got hot, realizing how much attention he had paid me. And the fact that I hadn't impressed. "What about Aldmos?"

Mylute turned to me, biting his lip. "Em," And I huffed a sigh. "Well, the two of you have connections with a higher power," He informed me, making a face and mimicking a Capitol voice. His voice was too normal, and it cracked and sounded like he had swallowed a cactus when he tried to pretend to be a cliché. I started laughing, and I covered my mouth with my hands. He narrowed his eyes, trying to hold back a mischevious smile, before he started pushing the chair around in a circle.

My laugh grew quiet, running out of air in my lungs. Mylute was cheering, using his momentum to get us moving faster. When I finally got myself to calm down, my enjoyment turning into a big of fear as I curled up tighter. I slipped my hand in front of him, gripping the two arms of the chair as if it was the only thing holding the two of us from flying into the monitors. "You won't rig the training, will you?" I called out.

Mylute slowed us down, dragging his foot across the floor. "You don't want me to?" He asked, looking at me.

I nodded. "I think I'm in enough potential danger. A glossy training score would be icing on the cake," I told him shakily, my voice tight. Fear slipped across my scalp. I was telling how bad the Capitol was to one of them.

"I know," Mylute breathed. I glanced towards the screen, which had played through to the end of training and was showing an empty room. His eyes narrowed at me in the corner of my sight, and his hand slipped under my chin. My muscles froze, and he guided my head back towards him. "Is that why you look so scared?"

I shook my head, keeping my eyes locked on him. I studied his striped face, judging my possible responses. "No," I stuttered. "It's because I'm telling how bad my perception of the Capitol is to own of it's own puppeteers." I was careful how I worded it - at first - but once I finished, I could feel all the color drain from my face.

He nodded, taking in what I said like it meant nothing. He stayed silent, watching me. I wondered if he was waiting for me to crack, but I instantly tried to erase it from my mind. I trusted Mylute - possibly. How well could I trust a gamemaker? He was the head gamemaker, as if to make it worse. I started trying to push myself away from him, but while my arms strained, I didn't move. I wouldn't let myself. But he was trusting me, to not turn him in, wasn't he? He'd get in just as much trouble as I would. Right?

Mylute then leaned his forehead against mine. My organs were twisting and screaming inside me. I suddenly had the feeling every single breathing person could see me right now. I wanted to break away, just to check for cameras. I started thinking through a layout of the room in my head, and I tried to remember if there was a blue light anywhere. But I didn't know the room, I didn't know if there was one there. And I couldn't bring myself to move away for one second, to check. "Maybe not puppeteer." I could feel his breath on my face, and he was keeping his eyes locked on my face, and I stared back at him. "Maybe puppet."