2.

Katniss glanced at Haymitch's house before reluctantly making her way up the paved alley that led to Trinket's front door. She wasn't sure how she had done it but the front yard didn't look desolate or abandoned anymore, there were square flat stones that formed a path to the door and the outer walls and blinds had all been repainted – white and blue respectively. The house looked really nice and by comparison the state of disrepair of Haymitch's and the rest of the Village was even more glaring.

She glanced at it again before ringing the doorbell. The bike was in the driveway but the house was dark and she couldn't tell if he was there at all.

When the door opened, she turned back to face the Watcher witch.

"Oh!" Trinket exclaimed in surprise, her eyes darting up from her to Haymitch's house. "I thought…" She seemed to think better of voicing whatever it was she had thought and flashed her a bright dazzling smile. "Is there a problem?"

Katniss studied her. Anyone else might have considered jeans and a loose pastel shirt casual clothes but Effie Trinket didn't do casual even when she was obviously doing house chores. The jeans were skinny tight and the holes on the thighs looked studied, the shirt was pale blue silk even if it was stained with wayward spots of paint and her hair was still up in that crown braid that, Katniss had to admit, looked good. There was also a line of blue paint on her cheek, from chin to cheekbone that she was pretty sure the woman hadn't noticed or she wouldn't have answered the door.

"Haymitch texted me. I'm supposed to train with you today." she grumbled. Not happy about it at all. She had tried calling him, she had tried sending messages, she had considered skipping the training session entirely…

And then she had thought that maybe she could use the session to get answers out of someone who would be willing to give them. After all, Trinket was a Watcher too.

"Train. With me." Trinket repeated blankly, her blue eyes traveling from her to the house on the other side of the street again. "He did not mention."

"Did you see him?" she asked, worry slipping in her voice.

"Briefly when I came home." the woman sighed, stepping aside to let her in. "He was… indisposed."

She wrinkled her nose when she said it and Katniss rolled her eyes. "So, drunk."

Trinket hesitated and then closed the front door, shaking her head. "As a skunk."

"He doesn't do it often." she said defensively, eyeing her like a hawk. What would happen if the witch reported that incident to the Council? Would Haymitch be fired? Katniss had no intentions of following her orders.

"He should not do it at all but it is neither here nor there." Trinket sighed, gesturing at her to walk further into the house. "And I suppose there were special circumstances today. Come in, come in. Would you like something to drink? I would not mind some tea."

"Yeah. Okay." Katniss shrugged.

She glanced into the living-room on their way to the kitchen, very curious. Two walls were painted a vivid shade of apple green, the other two a deep earth brown, on each walls big circles in the opposite colors had been added. The furniture was obviously brand new. The couch was white leather, there was a giant screen on the wall, the fluffy rug was a cream color, an electric fire had been added inside the fireplace and everything else was a mix of gleaming mahogany and glass.

The corridors were painted white with a red freeze on the very top of the wall and there were consoles with vases full of flowers or statues that managed to occupy the space without making it feel crowded.

She couldn't help but turn on herself to take everything in, gaping a little. The layout was the very same as Haymitch's house but it couldn't have looked more different.

The door that would have led to the library at Haymitch's was closed and she opened it to take a peek. Trinket must have heard but if she had an objection she didn't voice it. It was obviously an armory. Haymitch had countless weapons stashed in various caches, one in every room of the house – and he had made sure Katniss knew them all, even the ones in the bathroom – but Trinket obviously kept everything in there. There were strange shaped blades and ancient looking bows mounted on the walls, odd symbols shining a little on each of them… Some of them were exposed on red velvet cushions, encased in glass like at the museum… There were spots on the ceiling, to give them the best light… The walls in that room had been painted white and gold…

Katniss hadn't realized she had stepped inside until she was reaching out for the slick bow that looked like it was made out of a bamboo branch hanging on the wall. It looked very simple, too old to function really, but…

"The Bow of Destiny. It belonged to a samurai. It is said the arrows have the power to trap the soul of its victim." Trinket supplied. "It feeds on it."

Katniss abruptly jumped back. "It's alive?"

"Not in the way you intend it." she denied. "But some of these weapons are bloodthirsty. They are all enchanted. I had the rest of my collection brought over from England a week ago. You are welcome to borrow them but never touch any without checking with me or Haymitch first. Some of those are dangerous. Actually, I would prefer you ask me first before borrowing them."

"Not a problem." she vowed. She would never ever touch any of them. She trusted weapons that weren't hungry for blood a lot more.

She followed Trinket to the kitchen where the kettle was starting to whistle. The kitchen had been painted a bright sunny yellow that was almost blinding to the eye. The cupboards, cabinets and appliances were all a gleaming white. Even the table at the center of the room was made of white lacquered wood. Katniss barely dared sit down and she wasn't surprised that the tea came out of an ornate teapot and was poured in matching china cups with actual saucers. She was careful not to spill a single drop.

"How did you do all this with the house in just two weeks?" she asked finally, when she couldn't keep quiet any longer.

Trinket beamed. "Do you like it?"

"It's… colorful." Katniss hesitated but when it came down to it she realized she did like it. It was bright and everything was obviously worth three times the price of her trailer but it wasn't as in your face as it could have been. It was tasteful, for as much as she could tell – she wasn't an expert. "I like it."

Katniss looked down at the white tiles and noticed a very discreet yellow pattern running over them… Even the details were perfect.

The Art teacher looked genuinely pleased by that. "It is not done yet. The first floor is still a work in progress. Which reminds me... How are you with a paintbrush?" The question was almost sheepish. "I would love to give you a training session, Katniss, but the problem – aside from the obvious fact Haymitch did not think to warn me and I do not have anything prepared – is that the gym is not operational yet."

"Are you putting it in the basement like Haymitch?" she asked, finishing her tea.

"Oh, is that where his is?" Trinket hummed. "No, I am having it on the upper floor. I suppose in his house it would correspond to the second story of the library. I do like to see the sunlight when I train."

"You train?" She frowned.

The woman blushed a little. "Well, I should not say train. I exercise, really. I have to keep in shape. My figure, you see."

The witch brushed a hand on her very flat stomach with a nervous chuckle and Katniss fought not to roll her eyes. "Sure. Alright. What are we painting?"

Trinket seemed pleased that she was willing to stay and help, maybe a little relieved too. She supposed she hadn't been very nice to the Art teacher up until then. She had been annoyed when Haymitch had started bringing her on patrols, all the more so because Gale was already insisting on coming with them all the time and she had enjoyed having some quiet time with Haymitch before that. Now she was lucky if she hit a vampire at all. Gale was always shooting them before she could get close enough to land a punch. It irritated her. So, naturally, Trinket's intrusion had irritated her too.

She wasn't sure she liked the woman much. She was pretty sure she didn't. And the magic thing was creepy and would never stop to be – although she did like it when Trinket made her bow shoot flaming arrows.

It turned out Trinket had been painting her office when she had arrived. The witch gave her a tour of the first floor, pointing out where the gym would be – for now it was a bare room full of boxes – the pink guest room that she had yet to finish decorating, the completely redone bathroom and the office they were to work on. She described what she intended to do with it, where she was going to put the furniture and what kind of wood she had in mind, and Katniss couldn't help but think it would probablylook good. In the end, Trinket steered her toward her bedroom, insisting on lending her some work clothes so she didn't stain her own.

Her bedroom was red and it was a little shocking at first. Like in the living-room, the colors were mixed. Two walls were a deep shade of crimson and the other two were white, there were dark artworks on the white walls and lighter paintings on the red ones… The furniture was made out of gleaming brown wood, and there were touches of red and white everywhere in the room.

"It is a little daring." Trinket admitted when she saw her gaping. "I felt like having something daring but it might be a little too much…"

"It's… pretty." Katniss offered tentatively once she got used to it.

It would have looked tacky anywhere else, she suspected, like a brothel or something, but Trinket had made it look classy. She was starting to suspect she could make everything look classy. She wasn't sure it was a good thing.

She followed her into the walk-in closet that separated the bedroom from the bathroom and this time, she openly gaped. The color theme in there was clearly pastel green and creamy white. Rows upon rows of dresses, skirts, jackets, pants and tops hanged from carved in rails, all color coded so it looked like a giant rainbow, there was a small round bench seat cushioned in pale green velvet in the middle, a shoe display that took half a wall, holes in the cabinet where purses were exposed… Discreet pale green spirals had been painted on the cream colored wood of the cabinets. It wasn't unlike the armory except this one had clearly been studied with a lot more love.

It looked like a shop.

Trinket laughed when she saw the expression on her face. "I am a little addicted to fashion."

"A little?" Katniss repeated, incredulous.

She wasn't really into shopping. She never had the money to indulge herself with pretty clothes and so she never even looked at that kind of stuff. She bought the cheapest pants and shirts she could find. Prim was more interested than she was and Katniss tried to get her something prettier from time to time than the secondhand stuff but… Her sister would probably have enjoyed being given run to play dress-up in this place even if she was too sensible to ever request it.

She reached toward one of the sparkly dresses on her right and then dropped her hand halfway through, half sure it was haute-couture and she would ruin it just by touching it. Trinket's back had fortunately been turned to her and she missed the moment completely. She was rummaging through still unpacked boxes in the corner of the room. Katniss joined her, curious despite her best intentions.

"Here." the teacher grinned in triumph, holding out a blouse that looked similar to the one she had on. Expensive, in other words.

Katniss shook her head. "It's okay. I can keep my clothes."

"But you might stain them with paint." Trinket argued. "Those are old rags."

The things in the box looked nothing like rags and Katniss scoffed. "You're kidding, right?"

The witch frowned and then shook her head. "I am only keeping them until I am done with the renovations, they are out of fashion. I will give them away afterwards." Her face brightened up suddenly. "Do you want to have a look? You are welcome to anything you'd like. Oh, I know!" And before Katniss could stop her, she dropped the blouse and started rummaging on one of the racks. "I do not think we are the same size but it should fit well enough and if it does not… Well, I might or might not have memorized a whole book about tailoring spells. Ah, ah! Here!" She held out a soft yellow dress. "Try it on!"

The dress looked more expensive than any piece of clothing Katniss had ever owned and, at first, she refused to even touch it. Trinket wouldn't take no for an answer though and she wasn't happy until the Slayer was wearing it and was standing in front of one of the floor to ceiling mirrors in the walk-in closet. Trinket arranged her hair up and grinned.

"You look splendid." the witch offered.

She did look pretty. Innocent, almost.

"You will keep it." Trinket decided.

"But…" Katniss argued.

"No, no, no. I will not hear otherwise." The woman clucked her tongue. "The color does not suit me anyway. I do not know what I had in mind when I bought it. I will not miss it." She gave her a nudge toward the boxes. "Have a look through that, if you wish. As I said, I am simply going to throw them away, they might as well find a second life…" Katniss opened her mouth to protest but Trinket didn't give her time. "You have a younger sister, do you not? Perhaps you can find something in there she might like as well. I have a rather small build. It might fit. And, if not, I do know a few spells as I told you…"

It was the weirdest training session Katniss had ever had. She did find herself going through the boxes, if only to make the woman stop harassing her about it. She was reluctant to try on or accept anything at first but Trinket was so casual about giving them out, like it truly did not matter that the clothes were obviously expensive, and she was so vocal every time Katniss found a piece that suited her really well that she ended up with an entire box full of clothes to take back home. Half of it was stuff she thought Prim might like.

It was a bit late by the time they were done but Katniss insisted on helping her with the painting as a payment of some kind – entirely unnecessary according to the teacher but she was reluctant to accept anything for free.

"Did you get a chance to have a word with your friend? Madge, was it?" Trinket asked after ten minutes spent painting in silence. The office was to be white and blue. Trinket was painting the white wall, Katniss was handling the blue one perched on the ladder.

"Not really." Katniss shrugged. "She said she found her aunt's diary a while ago but she didn't know if it was real or not. She started getting suspicious a little after I was called but she was still not sure it was all real. Not until today.." She had seen her hide a stake in her locker a few days before the party at the Capitol. Apparently, Katniss hadn't been as discreet as she would have liked. "That's why she gave me her aunt's pin, in the first place…"

"Would that be the bird brooch you sometimes wear?" Trinket asked. She confirmed and the witch let out a thoughtful hum. "So it used to belong to Maysilee… Did you know there is a spell on it? I can sense it. It is mostly faded though…"

"What kind of spell?" she frowned, a little worried. She had trusted Madge up until that talent show rehearsal but now… She didn't know.

"A protection one. It is white magic, do not worry." the woman dismissed. "I could look into it, if you wish, try to see if I can recast it."

She wasn't sure she wanted that but she didn't see a polite way to tell her no either so she simply shrugged and continued with her explanation. "She didn't know Haymitch was the same Haymitch from her aunt's diary. And I guess… She said she didn't mean to spook him. She sounded sorry."

"The poor girl is not to blame, I suppose." Trinket sighed. "It is not her fault she looks so much like her aunt."

Katniss waited for the lecture about how she should do a better job at keeping the Slayer thing secret but it never came. Trinket seemed lost in her own thoughts and she almost left it at that. Almost. "Miss Trinket?"

The witch startled a little. "Oh… You can call me Effie, please. We are not at school."

It was maybe a little more familiar than she cared to be with the woman but if Haymitch was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt… Maybe she should too. Magic notwithstanding.

"You've… studied Slayers, right?" she hesitated.

Trinket placed the paintbrush in the can of paint and wiped her hands together, looking at her with an inquisitive face. "Of course. Do you have a question about your powers?"

"No." She shook her head, dropping her own paintbrush. "I was just wondering… Haymitch never talks about…" There was no way to ask the question without it sounding like she was snooping behind her Watcher's back but, at the same time, she really wanted answers. "Haymitch's mother was a Slayer, right?"

Trinket studied her for a long moment and then nodded. "Yes. She was. Iris Abernathy. By all accounts one of the finest Slayers of the last century. She is the first Slayer who truly made a difference against Snow. He killed her in the end but she hurt him badly enough that it took him years to recover."

Katniss didn't like lingering on Snow too much. They had been waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Cashmere's threats to take a more concrete turn… The prospect of having to fight a master vampire that had killed as many Slayers as he had… It wasn't a joyful one.

"How old was he when…" she whispered, not even finishing her question.

"Iris had just given birth when she was called. An accident, as I understand it. There is no father on record and her parents had kicked her out so Mags… Her Watcher… Took her in with the baby." She sighed. "Haymitch must have been five when she died, I believe. Perhaps six? I am not quite sure."

"And his brother?" Katniss insisted. "He said he had a brother but…"

"His brother…" Effie hesitated. "Are you certain he would not answer your questions? I feel odd speaking about that. Although… Of course, it is not a secret. His life is all over the Watchers journals." She waved her hand in the air, dismissing her own objections. "I will stick to the broad lines, shall I? He can fill in the rest if he so wishes." She paused and leaned her hip against the only place in the room that wasn't covered in fresh paint: the window. "Are you familiar with Snow's history?"

"I know he's a master vampire which means he was sired by one of the last demons to walk the Earth…" she recounted. "Haymitch told me he was near unstoppable and he likes to think of himself as an emperor or something."

"Yes, well…" Effie pursed her lips. "Unlike your typical demon, he did not want to trigger an apocalypse and bring the old ones back. He wanted to rule Earth so it is no wonder he eventually ended up here on the Hellmouth. The town was his for centuries. He controlled most of the state, really. Not openly, of course, but… Let us just say people knew better than to come out at night." She nervously played with one of the rings on her finger. "Snow liked games. Arenas. He captured people, demons, witches… Anyone he thought strong enough to give a good show. He built his empire on it. Monsters that old… They often go crazy. He grew obsessed with the idea of capturing a Slayer. A lot of his loyal servants deserted him at that point, afraid he would bring doom upon them all."

Trinket, Katniss decided, had a way with words when she wasn't simply chatting to fill the silence. She was riveted to the story even if the picture she painted was terrifying.

"When Iris was called on the Seam, the Council took it as a sign." Effie continued. "A rogue Slayer right on the Hellmouth…"

"Rogue?" Katniss frowned. Her frown only deepened once the Watcher had explained the whole concept of Potentials. The idea that the Council gathered girls from all around the world, some of them babies, just because they could possibly one day turn into a Slayer… It was chilling. She understood better why Haymitch didn't like them. "Why didn't they send another Slayer before? I mean if it was that bad…"

"Because they knew none of them would be a match against Snow and they were unwilling to sacrifice them on a suicidal mission." Effie answered. "You have to understand… Lately… And when I say lately, I mean the last century or so, we have been out of luck with Slayers. A lot of us fear the balance has tipped toward evil. Slayers survive one year, two at most and then get killed." Katniss flinched and Effie immediately reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "Haymitch has the best survival rate of all Watchers. Johanna Mason reached her twentieth birthday. His Slayers… They survive the odds."

"But not forever." Katniss snorted. She gently shrugged her hand off and folded her arms in front of her chest. "Okay. So how does that relate to Haymitch's brother?"

"In her second year as a Slayer, Snow captured Iris and tossed her in that arena." Effie explained. "She defeated her opponents, managed to start a rebellion and eventually escaped. According to Mags' journal she came back to the house, worse for the wear and with a baby in her arms. She claimed to have found him amongst the few humans Snow kept in the arena as fighters and food. Mags told me later sending him to an orphanage would have meant sending him back to Snow. He liked eating children." Effie, at least, seemed to share her disgust. "So… They kept him."

"And what happened to him?" she asked. "He said he died."

"Snow turned him. A little before Mabel Larson's death, I believe." Effie answered. "Tormenting Haymitch had become a twisted game of his at some point down the line. I think Haymitch was the one who staked Hayden but I am not sure. The journals are laconic about that and the subject was painful for Mags so I never pried for the details."

It was horrible.

She imagined herself having to stake Prim and… She hugged herself tighter.

"And Mabel…" she insisted. "She was his girlfriend, right? She was another Slayer."

"Mags' third Slayer and her last, yes." Effie confirmed. "As for her relationship with Haymitch… He will tell you about that himself if he so wishes. It is an open secret but… Still. I do not feel comfortable discussing his love life."

Which told her everything she needed to know, really.

"And he became a Watcher despite… everything?" she murmured. He had lost his mother, his brother and his girl to this life and still he…

"Oh, it didn't happen right away." Effie objected. "After Mabel… Mags decided they needed to leave, go back to England. I think she was trying to protect him, really. With Iris gone, Haymitch was the next best thing. Snow liked toying with him, he was a little obsessed… Old creatures are not that sane, he played a game of cat and mouse and Haymitch proved to be an apt mouse. But sooner or later, he would have tired of it and killed him. Mags knew that but Haymitch had other ideas."

"He wanted to stay and fight." Katniss guessed.

"Perhaps." the witch offered. "I do not know the specifics. All I know is that when he was almost seventeen, he skipped town with another demon hunter and they spent a while doing freelance jobs. Then Mags managed to convince him to come back and had him enrolled in the Watcher Academy. He graduated in record time and was chosen to be the new Slayer's Watcher when a rogue one appeared in the Seam – Maysilee. It is my understanding that Mags refused the assignment so he was the one with the most experience about the town and Snow. It seemed like fate, I suppose."

There was a real touch of respect to Effie's voice and Katniss realized she genuinely admired him.

"Then, of course, he came back here and there was Maysilee… The Slayer who died stopping Snow." Effie concluded. "You can imagine why he would be so… upset about her memory."

"I guess." she answered. It was a lot of information and a lot to think about. She almost wanted to cross the street to give Haymitch the hug he so obviously needed but she knew he wouldn't appreciate it. And he could be nasty when he was drunk. She glanced at the window and noticed the darkening sky. "I need to get going. I have to go home to check on Prim before I go on patrol."

"Oh, give me five minutes to change and I will drop you off." Effie offered. "I should go with you on patrol."

Katniss winced. "It's not necessary."

"Are one of your boys coming with you?" the woman challenged.

"They're not my boys and I don't need them." she cringed. "I can handle myself."

"Well, of course, you can." Effie huffed. "You are the Slayer. I simply meant you might enjoy some company." The woman frowned and placed her hands on her hips in a very displeased pose. "Have those boys been hinting you are not capable?"

Katniss stared at her, looking for the deceit and then realized Effie was not lying. She one hundred percent believed that she could go out on patrol by herself and she was simply offering to keep her company. The fact that she could probably set a vampire on fire if things got out of hands was simply an added bonus.

"Fine." Katniss granted, simply because she was tired of feeling Gale's worried eyes on her back and she could have used some positive support. "Come along."

"Great!" Effie beamed. "It will be a girls night! Oh, where did I put my leather pants…"

It didn't take her five minutes to change but closer to half an hour. Katniss didn't see why she needed high heels and a sparkling top to go hunting vampires but in the last couple of weeks she had learned not to question her patrolling outfits. Haymitch spent half the time mocking her about it anyway to the point she had developed the suspicion he just brought the woman along as a distraction.

She wasn't very happy to let Effie inside the trailer but she needed to check up on Prim and while the witch seemed resigned to wait in the car, it seemed a bit harsh after the time they had just spent together. She was extremely reluctant though, particularly after she had seen what her house looked like, but if Effie was shocked or troubled by the modest interior, she didn't let on.

Katniss suspected her manners didn't allow it.

Prim was delighted to meet her though and not short of questions about magic. She was even more thrilled once Katniss told her about the box she had brought in. Effie looked so happy at the warm welcome that she even stopped acting so uptight to laugh along with the twelve year-old. She also tossed curious glances at the closed door of their mother's bedroom but was too polite to ask the obvious question.

"Why so glum?" Effie asked, after they had left again and were on their way to the cemetery.

She deliberated between answering or not and then shrugged. "Gale will probably be there and he will shoot all the vampires. Again."

Effie glanced at her and then pointedly turned the car left, on the opposite direction of the graveyard. "How about we patrol through town instead? I know Haymitch prefers keeping the fledgling population under control but there are plenty of vampires to be found in dark alleys."

She had never thought about that. They focused their patrols around the cemeteries and the woods.

Who knew Effie Trinket could actually teach her some things?

As it turned out, it was slightly different to fight vampires in the streets and in narrow alleys but she saved a few people and she had the gratifying feeling of actually making a difference once they both decided to call it a night. The witch made a few remarks about her fighting style that she took under consideration, which seemed to make her happy.

She still wasn't sure she liked Effie Trinket.

But girls night wasn't as terrible as she had feared it would be.

So... Katniss is learning to like Effie quirks and magic and all... What did you think about the glimpses in Haymitch's backstory? I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know!