When the chariots pulled off, Heather ran to them without hesitation. She hugged Katniss first.
"You guys were so amazing out there," Heather exclaimed and kissed Katniss in the cheek. Surprisingly, Katniss didn't mind the affection and she looked to be giddy from earlier. Heather then moved on to Peeta and also gave him a kiss as well.
She turned to Cinna and Portia. "Thank you," Heather said, referring to their work.
They both nodded to her in acknowledgment. Heather wasn't the only who was enthusiastic about their performances as Effie was chatting up Katniss and Peeta for the rest of the day. Heather didn't pay much attention to her, still mad about her behaviour in the train.
During dinner, they were joined by Cinna and Portia. Usually, stylists don't always dine with their tributes. But Cinna and Portia proved to be valuable and it was a good opportunity to plan some strategies with them so they could harvest some sponsors for Katniss and Peeta.
A silent young man, an avox, offered them all stemmed glasses of wine. Heather turned it down, not wanting anything to do it. To everyone's shock, Haymitch does as well. When no one was looking, he smiled at Heather as if saying 'See? I'm keeping my promise'. Heather returned the gesture, knowing how hard it was for him to do that.
Surprising though, Katniss accepted and took a sip of the dry liquid. She winced a bit but she didn't seem to mind it. On the other hand, Peeta was focused on his food. He looked to be mentally exhausted and not wanting to socialize with them.
Heather turned her attention to the stylists and once again, complimented them on their work and idea. As they were discussing the interview costumes, a red-headed Avox girl placed a delicious cake on the table and neatly lit it. The cake blazed up and then the flames flickered around the edges until it finally went out.
Heather regarded the scene with wonder and astonishment. She saw some similar types of pastries before at parties she had attended in the past, but she was still amazed at this sight.
"What makes it burn? Is it alcohol?" Katniss asked excitedly, looking up at the Avox. "That's the last thing I wa - oh! I know you!"
The room fell under silence at Katniss' exclamation. All the adults shared the same thought that Katniss couldn't possibly know this avox.
"Don't be ridiculous, Katniss. How could you possibly know an Avox?" Effie snapped. "The very thought."
"What's an Avox?" Katniss asked stupidly.
"Someone who committed a crime. They cut her tongue so she can't speak," Haymitch explained. "She's probably a traitor of some sort. Not likely you'd know her."
"And even if you did, you're not to speak to one of them unless it's to give an order," Effie added. "Of course, you don't really know her."
Katniss frowned at their words. "No, I guess not, I just - " she stuttered.
Heather was about just to jump in to help her but Peeta beat her to it. He snapped his fingers. "Delly Cartwright. That's who it is. I kept thinking she looked familiar as well. Then I realized she's a dead ringer for Delly."
Heather narrowed her eyes at him. She knew Delly Cartwright and the Avox looked nothing like her. Still, Katniss agreed at Peeta's suggestion. "Of course, that's who I was thinking of. It must be the hair."
Delly had blonde hair.
"Something about the eyes, too," Peeta said.
Delly's eyes were blue, not dark brown.
The energy at the table relaxed. "Oh, well. If that's all it is," Cinna said. "And yes, the cake has spirits, but all the alcohol has burned off. I ordered it specially in honor of your fiery debut."
Heather was the only one who didn't believe the lie. She made a mental note to talk to Katniss later tonight.
They ate the cake then moved to the sitting room in order to watch the replay of the opening ceremonies. A few of the other couples made a nice impression, but none of them stood out in the way Katniss and Peeta did.
"Whose idea was the hand holding?" Haymitch asked. Heather perked up at the question. She didn't pay attention to the hand holding and dismissed it from her mind but looking at Haymitch enquiring about this, she became curious as well.
"Cinna's," Portia answered.
"Just the perfect touch of rebellion," Haymitch said.
Heather elbowed him in the stomach. They were in the Capitol! He wasn't drunk, he shouldn't be spewing perilous things like that.
Still, he was right. The other couples were standing stiffly apart, never touching or acknowledging each other, as if their fellow tribute did not exist, as if the Games had already begun.
"Tomorrow morning is the first training session. Meet us for breakfast and we'll tell you exactly how we want you to play it," Haymitch told Peeta and Katniss, speaking for both him and Heather. Heather didn't care and let him do what he wanted to do, but it seemed that it bothered Katniss. Perhaps she didn't like Haymitch being in charge as she didn't fully trust him. "Now go get some sleep while the grown-ups talk."
Heather waved and wished them a good night. When they walked down the corridor and disappeared, Heather turned to Cinna and asked, "So, have you already designed Katniss' dress? Are you going to continue with the 'girl on fire' act?"
"Of course," he answered. "I'm thinking about adding the flames to it again."
Heather clapped. "Oooh, that'd be amazing."
They spend some time discussing ways to make their interview outfits match with their personalities. Mostly, it was Heather talking with the stylists since she knew Katniss and Peeta the best out of them. Effie tried to jump in whenever she could but Heather didn't give her a room for that. It was pitiful but Heather didn't have any self-control in her to stop herself. Clearly, Haymitch was amused by this.
Later that night, Cinna and Portia left and Effie retarded to her room. Heather and Haymitch remained in the sitting room with Heather's head on his shoulder.
"Are you going to sleep with me, tonight?" Haymitch asked with hopeful eyes. After he stopped drinking, his nightmares intensified but he slept better when Heather was by his side.
"Yea," Heather said. "But I need to talk to Katniss first."
He gave her a puzzling look but didn't question her. He was curious, she knew. But he didn't really care about it unless it had to do with him. She kissed him on the lips, promising that she'll see him later in his room.
When Heather arrived at Katniss' room, she saw the same Avox girl from earlier and Katniss conversing.
"Kat?" Heather called out.
Both girls turned to her. The Avox girl lowered her head and exited the room, carrying Katniss' unitard in her arms. Katniss and Heather watched her and when she was out of sight, Heather closed the door and looked at Katniss.
"I don't want to drag this long since it's already late so tell me what's going on," Heather said and went to sit on a chair. "Did you see her when you were out in the woods?"
Katniss nodded her head, confirming her guess. She sat down in her bed and took a moment before she started her story, "We were hunting in the woods one day," Heather knew that 'we' were her and Gale. "Suddenly all the birds stopped singing, except one. Like they were giving a silent warning call. And then we saw her. I'm sure it was the same girl. A boy was with her and their clothes were tattered. They had dark circles under their eyes from no sleep. They were running as if their lives depended on it. Then a hovercraft appeared out of nowhere. It didn't make a sound, but they saw it. A net dropped down on the girl and carried her up, fast, so fast like the elevator. They shot some sort of spear through the boy. It was attached to a cable and they hauled him up as well. But I'm certain he was dead. We heard the girl scream once. The boy's name, I think. Then it was gone, the hovercraft. Vanished into thin air. And the birds began to sing again, as if nothing had happened."
"They didn't see you, did they?" Heather asked as she started to pull apart her chignon.
Katniss remained silent. Then she wet her lips and said, "Yes, the girl… she saw me." Heather frowned as she saw the look of pain in Katniss' face. She felt strongly about the treatment of Avoxes and while Katniss didn't do the right thing by not helping them, Heather knew that Katniss interfering would do nothing but get her caught as well and made into an Avox.
"Why do you think they ran away?" Katniss asked. "I mean, they looked like they were from the Capitol."
"The Capitol isn't a paradise. Just like the districts, if you don't follow the rules, you're punished," Heather told her. "Except the rules here are more complicated."
Heather pushed her hair away in frustration, wondering if she should elaborate more on how things worked in the Capitol. She decided against it after ruling out the fact that the girl already had too much on her plate and didn't need more complications in her life.
She walked over to her and leaned in to kiss her in the forehead. "Get some sleep," she told her. "Trust me, you'll need it."