Hi! So, quick author note: I have a confession to make. It's a big one and a lot of you are going to be very shocked, I know, but I hope you will find it in your heart to be understanding... *Take a deep breath, clear throat* I'm a hayffie writer. I love Haymitch Abernathy. I love Effie Trinket. *breathed out* I'm sooo relieved to have finally come out with this.

...

What do you mean you already knew that? XD

Jokes aside and because it apparently needs saying: this series is mainly hayffie and everlark. They're the stars. Haymitch, Katniss, Effie and Peeta. If you don't like them, if you HATE them, I would strongly suggest you close this fic and move to on to greener pastures where you can read all about your favorite characters and leave mine alone.

Also, on a side note, constructive criticisms are welcome, a polite discussion about canon is welcome, calling names in the comments, trolling and making ridiculous grandiloquent speeches are not. Do not make me moderate the comments on this story, I beg you.

(the problem was on ao3 but I'm putting this here also just in case some people are lost and didn't realize Effie was an important part of this story XD)

2

"Thanks, man. I owe you one." he said gratefully before hanging up the phone, his eyes already fixed on the girl waiting for him at the entrance of the trailer park.

Katniss watched him come closer, her grey eyes unwavering, her dark hair pulled back into a long complicated braid, her father's leather jacket – carefully patched where it had been torn by claws at some point – zipped up almost to her chin… She was beautiful. With the bow and quiver slung over her shoulder and the not so inconspicuous hilt of a blade poking out from her boot, she looked like a warrior in one of those stupid horror movies.

But this wasn't a movie and she was still just a girl who could bleed and die, and Gale wished she would remember that.

"Problem?" she asked when he was close enough, clearly having heard the last of his conversation.

"No. Just school stuff." he dismissed.

Partnering with Sejanus for that Project in English was proving to be the smartest choice he had made all week. The boy was nice in a non-intrusive way. They had become friendly without Gale really noticing because Sejanus was one of those people who made it easy to relax around them. There were no hidden agendas, no complications and no skeletons in the closet. Sejanus was normal and it was refreshing to be around that kind of people sometimes.

"If you're busy…" Katniss said, letting her sentence trail off.

Was he imagining the hint of relief in her voice at the idea that he might not make it to patrol that night?

It never used to be like that.

And he didn't think it was about Mellark either. He wasn't entirely sure what was happening on that front because she hadn't told him – although he could take a wild guess – but he didn't think this distance between them was about that. And he didn't think it was about him looking into ways of relieving her from the Slayer's mantle either, that had been ages ago and he had proven his worth since then. No… He blamed her Watchers for isolating her from her real friends. Who knew what Trinket and that man were putting into her head…

That he wasn't trustworthy, probably.

Mainly, he was sure, because he didn't blindly buy everything they said like she and Mellark did.

"No Abernathy tonight?" he challenged, unable to quite curb the hostility in his tone.

Katniss pursed her lips and her face closed entirely. "He's at Ripper's."

Gale adjusted the strap of his quiver on his shoulder with a snort, following her when she headed to the direction of the closest cemetery. "Finally caved and went for a drink?"

It wasn't that late but the streets were already mostly empty. The shadows of the night were oppressive though and he was glad to be armed. The pale pools of light from the streetlamps weren't enough to be reassuring. There was a buzzing sensation right under his skin, his instinct telling him he was in danger and should run for the closest safe place…

He pushed that aside.

"He's taking his sobriety seriously." she snapped, tossing him a glare. "He went there for information."

"More information we won't use." he pointed out. And, meanwhile, more people would die. "Maybe we should swing by The Capitol then… Just to check…"

"We're hitting the west cemetery." she countered. "He's meeting us there."

"Once the job is done, you mean?" he retorted, unable to stop himself even if he knew he was just annoying her.

She shot him another look and buried her hands in her pockets. He was ready to bet there was a stake hidden there.

That was who she was now… A girl who hid weapons all over her person.

He missed the cute naive girl who would come to him for hunting advice…

She sighed. "He's tired, okay? Don't go poking tonight."

"He's tired." he repeated flatly, swallowing down the heap of sarcastic remarks he would have loved to let loose.

"He's feeling the weight of the wards on the Village." she explained. "We didn't think he would have to keep them up that long. We thought Effie would be ready to take over by now. He's not a witch, he doesn't have the juice."

Gale made a huge effort and didn't say what he wanted to say: magic wasn't the solution and instead of hiding behind it, they should either take the fight to the weakened vampire while he was still weak or decide this was too much to handle for them and skip town.

"How's Mellark?" he asked instead. He did almost every night. The boy had saved his brother's life and, in any case, regardless of his relationship with Katniss, he had never wished any ill on him.

"Same." Katniss sighed again. She sounded and looked tired too. Not that Abernathy would recognize that and give her an easy night for once. "He came down to the basement today. Effie suggested he trained with me but he didn't feel up to it just yet." She forced a smile. "That's progress though."

Maybe, Gale mused, but if they considered it progress when the boy went down a flight of stairs, maybe it was also time to call in a professional. It was obvious Mellark needed help none of them could give.

"Effie is doing a little bit better." she volunteered after a few minutes of walking in silence. "She's not up to any magic tricks yet but… We did some yoga today. She fell asleep like a log afterwards, she was still asleep when we left…" She flashed him another forced smile. "Progress." she insisted.

"Right." It was all he could think to say because none of that seemed like progress to him. Luckily, though, the cemetery gates were in sight and he didn't have to talk anymore. They never talked while they hunted, that was a tacit rule they had developed years earlier.

It was in that very graveyard that he had learned the truth months earlier, he mused, as they followed the tortuous paths between graves. Katniss was keeping a sharp eye out for freshly upturned dirt or something… His mind was mostly drifting to more prosaic concerns.

When the first vampire jumped on them, he reached for his bow but he was too slow.

Katniss had already let out two arrows.

The second vampire he hadn't even noticed burst into a cloud of dust.

His fingers had barely brushed his weapon.

She did have amazing reflexes.

"You should keep the bow ready." she advised.

The comment vexed him a little but he did as he was told and shouldered off his bow. She didn't bother. She slung hers right over her shoulder.

She did pull out the stake though.

They kept walking and found a vampire still half-stuck in the earth. She dispatched it without a moment of hesitation.

"So many new ones…" he remarked.

"I know. It's been that way for months." she replied, clearly not pleased. "They're growing an army."

"All the more reasons to act before they get themselves another one." he countered. They had killed quite a few during the Reaping… If they could attack before they regroup…

She took a deep breath, clearly trying to remain patient. "We get reckless, we get killed, there'll be no one left to stop Snow."

Yeah… He had heard the speech before. He had even understood Abernathy's point at the time. But that had been weeks earlier and they were still…

There was a scream in the distance.

Katniss had taken off running before he could even process it.

He followed of course but she was too quick, too fast, and by the time he jumped over headstones and found the right patch of the cemetery the noise had come from, she was already in the thick of the fray.

There were three demons, humanoid-shaped but with reptilian features. Very ugly. They also seemed to have retractable pikes coming in and out of their forearms at will.

And there was a dead woman on the ground.

Katniss was fighting the three of them at the same time, a whirlwind of kicking arms and legs, her braid swinging left and right in the air behind her…

Gale notched an arrow and let it loose, aiming for one of the demon's heart – or where he figured the heart should be.

It was a perfect shot and the arrow would have found its target if the tip hadn't glided off the hard skin of its chest…

It had the unfortunate effect of attracting the demon's attention on him.

It abandoned Katniss to the other two to march on him with a weird demonic roar and Gale let out another stream of arrows, aiming for the head… Every arrow was knocked aside by a big arm, too fast for him to process…

When he was a foot away from him the demon slid the pike out of his forearm and Gale dropped the bow and ducked, coming back up with his fists raised, not quite sure how he was going to knock out something so huge but very determined to do it.

He had a decent enough punch, after all.

But brawling and fighting, as it turned out, were two very different things.

He didn't manage to avoid the backslap and the hit left him dizzy and, while he stumbled back, the demon lifted his arm, ready to impale him on his spike…

He saw it coming through the shock.

The spike came down in an unforgiving arc and…

The sword flashed out of nowhere, slamming down and breaking the spike in half.

The demon roared in pain but it was all it had time to do because suddenly it was lacking a head.

Abernathy planted the tip of his sword on the ground and heavily leaned on it, panting hard.

Gale's ears were still ringing but he spat the blood in his mouth and immediately turned to where he had last seen Katniss.

The girl had gotten rid of one demon by stabbing it in the eye, it seemed, but was still fighting the third one.

"Do something!" he ordered Abernathy, taking a step closer to the fight to… to help.

"Don't you fucking dare." the man snapped. "I ain't saving your life again tonight."

However he seemed entirely willing to let his Slayer get skewered…

"Sword!" Katniss suddenly ordered, in a way that seemed totally out of the blue to Gale.

He didn't even have time to wink before the sword was flying in the air. She caught it by the hilt, whirled on herself and slammed it through the inbuilt armor at the chest that his arrows hadn't been able to pierce. She pushed it home a little bit, just to be sure it had reached its target, and then slid it out, letting the demon body fall to the ground.

Then, she kneeled next to the dead woman and checked for a pulse.

Given her somber face, she probably knew she wouldn't find one before she even touched her.

She stood back up slowly and handed the sword back to Abernathy.

Gale watched with a disgusted wince as he wiped the bloodied blade on the demon's body before putting it back in its sheath over his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Katniss asked him.

His face smarted from the hit he had taken but he stood straighter all the same, torn between happiness and annoyance at the concern he could read in her eyes. "I'm fine. Are you?" He glared at Abernathy. "Why didn't you help her?"

"'Cause she had it." the man growled, glaring right back. He did look bad, as Katniss had said. There were dark bags under his bloodshot eyes and a tightness around his mouth… But Gale wasn't sure how much was due to that stupid magic and how much came from his craving a drink. "Unlike you." The last part was spat with irritation and he turned to Katniss, pointing at him without even looking at him. "That's exactly why having him on patrol ain't a good idea. Battles won't always be long range. If he can't handle himself in a fight…"

"I can handle myself." Gale cut him off in a hiss.

Abernathy barely glanced at him but snored. "Yeah. I saw." The man shook his head. "I told you to show up at training."

"I'm not training with you." he argued.

"Then you train with Effie. Or you train with Katniss if you really want to get your ass kicked." the Watcher retorted. "But you're done coming with us until I'm sure you won't get yourself killed."

Gale opened and closed his mouth in outrage and then looked at Katniss but she winced and shrugged.

"I told you to come to training…" the girl hesitated.

"Mellark…" he started arguing.

"Peeta trained." Abernathy interrupted. "And the wrestling experience came in handy. We're done for tonight. We're gonna walk him home and go through the woods." He nodded at the heap of dead demons. "Polgaras usually stick together. I'm betting there are more of them out there." His grey eyes fell on the dead woman and his face tightened. "We need to call the police too."

"Katniss." Gale snapped.

His friend was still wincing but she didn't hurry in disagreeing with Abernathy. It only reinforced his impression that she wasn't entirely glad to have him around.

He had thought they had been making progress but… Maybe not.

"I've been doing everything you say." he reminded her. "I've been following your lead."

And it hadn't always been easy because she often took tactical decisions that he deemed stupid. Like rushing those demons earlier.

"Look…" she hesitated. "Thing is… Haymitch isn't wrong. You should be able to defend yourself if you're gonna tag along."

"I can…" he argued.

"You're very good with a bow." Abernathy cut in again and Gale had to remind himself that raging wouldn't help his cause, that if he started screaming at the man's head it would only make Katniss mad because he had her indoctrinated or something, but… Fuck, it was hard. "Honestly, you're one of the best I've seen, boy. But a bow ain't always practical. You want to go on patrol, you learn to fight. Times like these… Ain't optional."

A part of him could recognize there was logic in what the man was saying but mostly he was certain of one thing: this was just another ploy to get rid of him.

It's noooot going better for Gale but at least he made a friend... What did you think?