A/N: Canon-typical violence depicted.

KATNISS POV

Peeta and I made our way down to the chariot parade, where we met Effie, who seemed surprised to see us alone. "No Haymitch? Or the baby?" she asked.

"We're a wee bit fussy, the train ride was a bit rough," I explained to her.

"And Lark's just tired," Peeta chimed in, making a joke about Haymitch, and even I couldn't stop the chuckle.

"She's teething so she's in a wee bit of pain," I said.

"Well, darling, you're in the Capitol! We have medicines for that! I'll make sure to get some sent up to you straight away!" Effie exclaimed.

"Oh, that'd be wonderful," I said, and at that moment, Cinna came out with Penelope and Thelma, both of whom were dressed rather modestly and in black dresses.

"Portia should be bringing the other tributes out soon, but here's Miss Penelope and Mrs. Ruewood," Cinna said, delivering the two tributes to us.

"You both look incredible," I said to them with a smile. "Cinna really knows a thing or two about fashion, doesn't he?"

"Is it true that we're going to be on fire?" Penelope asked me nervously.

"It doesn't hurt, we promise," Peeta replied. At that moment, Sage and Eliza were led out by Portia, Eliza dressed in the same black dress and Sage dressed in a black suit of some kind. Sage glared at the two of us, but Peeta and I remained as soft and as neutral as we could.

"You all look great," I said.

"What's going to happen is Thelma and Eliza are going to go out on the first set of chariots together, and then Sage and Penelope will go out on the second set. The first set is all of the mothers and the second is the tributes," Peeta explained.

"No," Sage replied. "I'll go out with my mother."

"Not how it works," Peeta told him firmly. Sage was actually a little older than Peeta, but only by a couple of months, but emotionally, Peeta was much more mature than Sage could ever be. He was a father, a victor and so much more. "It's already been decided. You'll go out with Penelope as if you were the only two tributes."

"But we're not, are we? Our mothers are being dragged into this shit and now my little brothers and sisters will have no one!" Sage snapped back.

"Sage, listen. You're here, and there's no going back. Your name was reaped and no one volunteered for you. Don't you think that I felt that way last year? That everyone who's ever been reaped felt that way?" Peeta replied.

"But you won, didn't you? And you're a merchant so your family wouldn't have suffered if you didn't make it back," Sage said rather nastily.

"That's enough!" Effie exclaimed. "Sage and Penelope, you will ride together, and Thelma and Eliza will ride together. You will be reunited after the parade when you're brought back up to the Tribute Tower." Sage glared at each and every one of us, and I tried to have sympathy for him, but he was making it very difficult. I tried to imagine myself in his shoes, but I wasn't there. It wasn't my mother in the arena, and I certainly knew a thing or two about protecting my family. As the tributes were led away to their respective chariots, I gripped Peeta's arm and rubbed his bicep.

"It'll be okay," I told him.

"His attitude pisses me off," Peeta said through gritted teeth.

"Remember what you said. We work hard for all of them... until we only have one left to worry about," I said, repeating his words back to him. Even though I didn't like them, it was what we had to do. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I know. That doesn't mean I have to like him," he said.

"That's my love," I told him, kissing his cheek. "Come on, let's go and watch the parade. We've got to meet them back up at the tower to tell them about training and all that."

The parade was exactly like it was last year, although with a bit more pizazz, given the fact that it was a Quarter Quell. The mothers of all the tributes went out first, and then came the tributes. In total, there were twenty-four chariots, and Snow gave his brief speech about the Hunger Games and going on about the tributes all representing the strength and valor that Panem valued. When it was over, we escorted our tributes back to their floor, Sage silent the entire time and glaring at everyone. When everyone left the elevator, I grabbed Sage's arm, and he turned around and gave me a nasty glare.

"Watch your attitude. If you want to save your mother, then you need to make yourself likeable to the Capitol otherwise it'll all be over before it's even begun," I hissed at him.

"What do you care? I'm dead anyway," he spat at me, ripping his wrist from my hand.

"I know what it's like to want to protect my younger siblings and not be able to. I know what it's like to see my whole family suffer and not being able to do anything about it. And I know what it's like to be the eldest child with a big family."

"You have one sister. You don't know anything ."

"You don't know me . Don't be a fool, you know I appeared out of nowhere when we were eight years old. You were one of the kids who mocked me." He stared at me for a moment, seemingly lost for words. "I'm going to do what I can to help you get you or your mother out of that arena, but her odds do not look well. You know it, and I know it. And if I can't get either of you out of the arena... I'll do what I can for your family."

"We don't take charity."

"It wasn't charity before when I traded with your family. It won't be charity now. Now go, off you get. Get out of this and get ready for dinner, we've got work to do." Glad to be dismissed, he stalked off, and with a final sigh, I gathered myself and exited the elevator.

We talked over dinner to assess our tributes' strengths. Penelope really didn't have any - she was a middle child, her older brothers were already in the mines and her younger siblings all went to school. We established that she could hide, but she certainly wasn't built like a killer. Sage, on the other hand, was very adept at scaling trees, houses and wielding heavy tools. He was built like a miner, and would have been in the mines upon his last reaping if it weren't for his name being called. Thelma and Eliza were not very skilled at all when it came to combat or surviving, other than doing what they could to make money to feed their families. Sage was our best shot at winning the Games this year, and we all knew that.

"He's very skilled. He could at least make it to the top ten, maybe even the top five," Haymitch said to us when we were chatting in the Hotel later that evening, after we had sent our tributes to bed. "Him we can work with. The others ain't got a shot."

"We want to try to help all of our tributes, Haymitch, no matter how skilled they are," Peeta told him.

"It don't work like that, boy. Sage is a good-lookin' kid. The Capitol already has its eye on him. We'll focus on him, try and get him out," Haymitch replied.

"If we get him out... he can have a better life for his family. If we can't save his mother, at least we can give him that, but he wants us to try and save his mother," I chimed in.

"There's no way that's happening, Katniss. I hate to say it, but I really don't think Eliza has any shot," Peeta told me.

"You said the same thing about yourself last year and look where you are," I spat back.

"Yeah, because of you. I wouldn't have survived if we didn't team up. If they didn't announce the same-district winners... I would have died by the river. You wouldn't have come looking for me," Peeta replied, and that stung. He really didn't believe that I would have gone looking for him? In truth, after our night together before our Games, I wanted to be in the arena with no one but him, but I didn't tell him that, and there would have been no reason for him to believe me, anyway.

"Peeta..." I said softly, my eyes showing him all of my emotions. "I wanted to go and find you... but I thought you were with the careers, and that you'd wanted to kill me... You have no idea how much it hurt me to think that."

"I was trying to protect you... I thought if I could put myself between you and them, you'd get out and I'd at least be able to take a couple of them out, so you'd have less to fight," he confessed. I couldn't stop myself from throwing my arms around him, trying to be mindful of Lark in his lap, and he wrapped his free arm around me tightly.

"All right, all right, moment's over. I'm tryin' to teach y'all to be mentors here," Haymitch said, breaking the embrace between Peeta and I. "Y'all gotta choose one to save. It sucks ass, you wanna bring all of 'em home, but you just can't do that. Since this is your first year, I'm still doin' a majority of the stuff and you two will be shadowin' me. We got plenty of time for y'all to get this right. We're gonna try and save Sage, but , if we have extra funds, and either Penelope or Thelma or Eliza needs somethin', we'll send it their way."

"No matter what, three of them are going to die. I don't know if I can call that 'getting it right'," I said, and then I stood. "I'm going to put Lark to bed. It's getting late, and we've got to send our tributes off to training in the morning." Peeta kissed our daughter's honey golden curls and passed her to me, and I carried her off to bed. When I came out, Peeta was alone and looked quite frustrated. "You all right?" Peeta let out a sigh.

"We're not sending them off to training tomorrow... Snow's having some kind of special brunch for a handful of Victors, and we're going to that... with Lark," he said. My stomach dropped and I let out a small gasp, but I suppose I should have known it was inevitable. He stood up and crossed the room to me, then took both of my hands in his and squeezed. "It'll be okay... He won't hurt her."

"Not unless he has to," I said nervously.

"And we won't give him a reason to," Peeta replied confidently. "We can do this. We're doing it for her." I nodded, but I wasn't reassured, so he pulled me into his arms and held me against his chest, kissing the top of my head. "Let's get to bed... We've got an early start."

As we dressed for brunch, our prep teams came back in to prepare us for it, while Haymitch and Effie went off to send our tributes to training. Listening to Octavia and Flavius, evidently, the guest list included Finnick Odair, Annie Cresta, Glitter Pash, Clarabella Dustin of Five, John Sellers of Six and Rodney Fuller of Ten. The other victors were evidently busy mentoring their tributes. Lark was dressed in what was described as 'a cute little Capitol dress appropriate only for the Capitol's little darling' (a statement that made me sick) that also matched my own dress and Peeta's suit, and we were ushered into a car that would take us to the Presidents' Mansion. Peeta held my hand tightly as I held Lark on my lap, and he bent down to my ear to nip at it. "We're gonna get through this," he whispered very quietly. "Remember, I love you. We're in this together."

"Together," I replied, giving his hand a tight squeeze. If Peeta had died in the arena and I had to do this by myself, caring for Lark and having to take her to the Capitol, I don't think I would still be alive to do any of those things. There was no way I could get through any of this without Peeta by my side. When we arrived at the Mansion, we were led inside to a grand dining room, where already, the other victors were milling about. Also invited were Enobaria Heller from Two, Prodigy Prelius from One, Beetee Latier from Three and Odeon Avisdee from Five, evidently, and we were greeted first by Glitter and Prodigy, who were nearest to the door.

"Oh, what a sight," said Prodigy, taking in the three of us dressed almost identical. "She's an adorable little one."

"Thank you," I said, feigning a smile.

"How old is she now?" Prodigy asked me.

"She'll be five months in about a week," I replied.

"Well, she's looking as much the darling as everyone says she is," Prodigy said, offering Lark her finger. Prodigy Prelius was actually a very beautiful woman, with Sandy blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. Her face was affected by age, but in the Hall of Victors in the Victors' Hotel, her portrait from when she won her games showed a very beautiful young face of sixteen back in 2142. I couldn't help but sympathise with the middle-aged woman, who lost her own daughter in the Games, and wondered how she felt being in the same room as the girl who outlived her daughter in those same Games. Lark took her finger and giggled, and I couldn't help but smile at the joy expressed by my daughter. Finnick Odair approached us next, and Prodigy stepped away as Finnick extended a hand for us all to shake.

"Pleasure to see you all again. You didn't stay long in the lounge yesterday," he said, more specifically to Peeta and me.

"We were tired. It was a long train ride from Twelve," Peeta replied, and Finnick nodded as if he understood.

"This must be your beautiful little girl," Finnick replied, looking at Lark, and I couldn't help but tighten my grip on her and hope he didn't notice. Finnick Odair, I knew, was practically the Capitol's darling, the way he had affairs with Capitolites. If there was anyone in this room that I trusted the least, it was him. The way he turned on his allies in the arena the year he won sickened me to think about and I pretended to brush back a piece of Lark's hair.

"Yes, this is Lark. Isn't she an absolute beauty? Beautiful, like her mother." Peeta said, sensing my apprehension. He was apprehensive, too - I could see it very clearly, but that was only because I knew him so well. To others who didn't know him, he could hide it well.

"She looks a lot more like you, Peeta. There certainly isn't any doubt that she's yours, is there?" Finnick said to him, and Peeta's jaw tightened.

"There's no reason there would be. Katniss and I love each other very much," Peeta replied calmly, his hand moving protectively around my waist and holding me close to him. I could see clearly now why Peeta wasn't overly fond of him. Finnick Odair was cheeky, suspicious and every bit the peacock Haymitch said he was. Finnick chuckled to himself.

"Yes indeed, you must have the happiest of marriages. You did get my wedding present, did you not?" he asked us. He'd sent us a knotted rope net, a very strange gift to send a newly married couple - in fact, sending a wedding gift at all to a newly married couple in District Twelve was strange, but in the world of the Capitol, things were different - and we hadn't known what to do with it, so we left it in its box and stored it in the basement.

"Yes, the, uh... the rope net," Peeta said. "We thought it was very lovely. It's hanging up on our wall." What an adept liar.

"I'm glad to hear. Annie and I made it together. Katniss might know a thing or two about it, being Hebridean. It's a Hebridean tradition, is it not?" Finnick asked, looking at me, and I tried not to raise my eyebrow. What Hebridean tradition involved sending a newly married couple a knotted rope? I tried to remember if my parents had one, and then I remembered, hanging from the ceiling of their attic bedroom, the knotted rope that hung from the rafters - it was a Hebridean tradition.

"Yes, the lìon pòsaidh . The wedding net. It's tradition for a close friend or family member to send a knotted rope net to a newly married couple that they tie around each other at the altar as yet another symbol of unity," I replied confidently, remembering the purpose of the wedding net.

"Didn't have time to perform that tradition, I'm sure," Finnick replied snidely. He could see right through all of us, I was sure of it. "Brunch is about to start soon. Peeta, you and I should get a drink at the lounge together sometime. You're a real pleasure to talk to."

"That sounds nice, Finnick. We'll have to do that," Peeta replied, and Finnick left us standing there exchanging a glance, trying not to let the discomfort show. Not long after, we were all told to sit down, and then to stand when Snow entered the room and sat at the head of the table.

"How glad I am you all could join me today. Mr. Latier, Ms. Prelius, Mr. Avisdee, Ms. Heller, Mr. Odair, Miss Dustin, Mr. Sellers, Miss Cresta, Mr. Fuller, Miss Pash, Mr. and Mrs. Mellark, and the newest member of our little family... Miss Lark Mellark," Snow said as he sat down, and all eyes turned to us, where I sat holding Lark tightly on my lap. "Mrs. Mellark, I shall fetch a high chair for your dear little girl."

"She's been quite fussy lately, I'm afraid," I said, trying to hide the tremor in my voice.

"She's teething so she's a bit grumpy when she's not sitting in one of our laps," Peeta chimed in, sounding a bit sturdier than me, but Snow waved a hand.

"She will be given a treatment for that, and it should make her pain nonexistent," said Snow, and he summoned an Avox to bring a high chair in. I expected the Avox to place it right beside me, but I was surprised by the Avox placing the high chair beside Snow. My eyes widened just a little and I gripped Lark a little tighter as the Avox came over to me to fetch her. I glanced at Peeta, whose jaw was quite tight and his hands were balled into fists in his lap, but one look at Snow told me not to dare defy him, so I hesitantly allowed the Avox to take my daughter from my arms and sit her in the high chair beside Snow. Another power move. A couple of sympathetic eyes fell on me, most notably from Prodigy Prelius, Glitter Pash and Annie Cresta, and even Finnick's eyes showed a little sympathy, but his face did not. Lark began to cry the moment she was taken from my arms, but another Avox produced an ice ring for her, and she gladly took that to chew on. "Shall we have brunch?"

I was uncomfortable the entire time with my infant daughter sitting beside Snow. She was too close to him - he could hurt her if he wanted to. I felt Peeta's firm hand grasp mine, his nondominant left gripping my nondominant right, and we hardly spoke throughout our meal. "So, Katniss, Peeta, how do you like mentoring so far?" Finnick asked us, inviting us into conversation.

"We're enjoying it. One of our tributes is being a little difficult, but... he shows a lot of promise," Peeta said. I was grateful for his silver tongue - I would never be able to answer Finnick.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Darcy shows promise indeed, but he is unlikely to survive," Snow said. "His greatest weakness is his heart, and his mouth." He was referring to the Sage's anger towards the Capitol, suggesting that Sage likely had said some choice words thinking he was alone. But one is never alone in the Capitol. I would have to mention that to him, next time I was around him, but it was probably already too late for him. Sage had painted a target on his back with his words, and there was no way Snow was going to let him survive now.

The rest of the brunch went by relatively uneventful, save for my constant discomfort of Lark being seated beside Snow, and when it was finally over after another hour, Snow left us to return to our tributes, and an Avox brought Lark back to me. She was fussing a little, but she stopped when she was back in my arms, and I squeezed her tightly. "Shh, my little bird, it's okay. Mummy's got you," I told her, trying to soothe her. The Avox returned with a tray, and on the tray was a little jar of medicine along with a note. For the pain. May it suit your needs - C. S. It was from Snow - the medicine that he'd mentioned for her gums. I couldn't deny the gift, or it would be seen as defiance, so I thanked the Avox and took it, and we were on our way. Peeta was silent the whole ride back to the Hotel, and I reached over to take his hand, but he moved his hand out of the way. With a sigh, I simply brushed my fingers through Lark's curls as we rode in silence.

EPSILON POV

With now just three days until the start of the next Hunger Games, we held a brief meeting with Theta and Kappa, who were sat together and on our screen. "He's not biting," Kappa was saying. "I don't think he trusts me."

"With that big balls attitude you always got, I don't blame him. I wouldn't trust you, either," Theta told him, and Kappa rolled his eyes at the older man beside him.

"Keep trying. Peeta Mellark is our key to the Mockingjay," said Alpha.

"I will," said Kappa, and he looked at Theta. "And you need to help me out here. He trusts you more than he trusts me."

"That boy don't trust me!" Theta exclaimed with a laugh. "I'll do what I can, the boy's just as stubborn as she is. Remember, they got that kid to protect, and they're both fiercely protective of her."

"Especially after the stunt Snow pulled at brunch the other day," said Kappa. "He made the baby sit next to him in a high chair. If neither of them were so afraid of him, I was sure they'd claw his eyes out."

"Use that to your advantage," said Alpha. "Your blockers have been on for too long now. This meeting is adjourned." With that said, the screens went dark, and we all stood from our spots at the table - well, all except for me and Eta, who seemed a little sad.

"You okay?" I asked her, and she nodded.

"Yeah... Just another Hunger Games. I hate how they kill kids every year, and then to force their mothers in, too? Snow gets more cruel every year. No wonder Katniss and Peeta fear him," she replied.

"I know... I can't blame them one bit... Hopefully, they can find time to talk to him, or find a way to make him trust them. Then they'll never have to live in fear again," I said. I then checked the time on the wall clock. "C'mon, a charaid . Dinner's coming soon." She smiled and nodded, and we left the command room together.

PEETA POV

I was pissed about Snow making Lark sit next to him, and there was nothing I could do about it. I hate to say that I took it out a little on Katniss by not speaking to her for most of the day, but it wasn't her fault. We both knew that if she denied him, Snow would have retaliated in some way. Later that evening, when I caught her wiping her eyes on her sleeve, I gave her a tight hug in a way of a silent apology, which she gratefully returned, and I was ashamed that I had abandoned her in that moment.

The day of the interviews came, and Sage didn't like us any more than he had the day he was reaped. Tomorrow, he would go into the arena, and he was quite pissed about it. Mothers and children interviewed together and Sage's interview was mostly Eliza speaking. Penelope's was pretty okay, but in truth, there was nothing spectacular about either of their interviews, and Cinna had not put flames on Penelope's dress. Our tributes didn't stand a chance. That night, we rode up to the twelfth floor of the Tribute Tower with our four tributes to say our final goodbyes, and Sage seemed a lot softer than he was before. "I know it's not either of your faults, if me or my mom don't make it out..." he began, and we gave him a gentle smile that he quickly removed. "It's the Capitol's fault. We're dying for people's pleasure, and I've accepted that." He wasn't going to survive the first day.

Early the next day, we were to meet at Tribute Tower, where, on a lower floor, mentors would sit and try to send gifts to their tributes, if they could afford it. Each district had a different room to go into and watch the Games from, which focused specifically on their tributes. Haymitch pointed out various buttons to us. "This here is where you go to check how much money you've got. As you can see, we've got a decent amount right now, thanks to you two and the whole 'star-crossed lovers' shit, but gifts get more expensive the longer the Games go on, so we gotta go out and get more . Peeta, that's your job," said Haymitch, pointing to me, and then he pointed at Lark in Katniss's arms. "And her job, too. Bring her with you when you go talk up your tributes to them Capitol folk. They love her."

"I don't think..." Katniss began, but Haymitch held up a hand to stop her.

"It don't matter what you think no more. The kid is a Capitol favourite, and her daddy's gonna go out and get more sponsors," he told her rather crudely, and she scowled at him. I quickly put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a look that suggested we needed to listen to him.

"I'll keep her safe. You know I will," I told her quietly. She only nodded, not meeting my eyes, as she handed Lark to me. Lark giggled as I brought her up to my face and kissed her sweet little cheek before resting her on my forearm. I then bent down to kiss Katniss's cheek, but she moved away. "Katniss..."

"You should get out there soon... the Games are about to start," she said, and I sighed.

"Fine," I replied, and Haymitch looked between us.

"Trouble in paradise?" he asked, and Katniss scowled at him.

"Everything's fine, Haymitch," I said, and I kissed Katniss's cheek when she wasn't looking, surprising her. "I'll see you soon, all right?" She looked away from me, and I left the compartment and made my way to the main lobby, where already, a lot of Capitolites and mentors were seated waiting for the Games to start.

"Mr. Mellark!" called a voice, and I had to fight to hide the cringe in my face as I recognised the voice. It was Serous Magnificent, with his mint green hair and lavender skin tone, still the same hideous mess he was before. Wiping the scowl off my face, I turned around and pasted a smile to my face.

"Mr. Magnificent! How... wonderful to see you again," I said, extending a hand for him to graciously take and kiss.

"This must be your beautiful daughter. I've heard so much about her! Little Miss... Lark, am I correct?" he asked me.

"Yes," I replied.

"Ah, what a name... It's a shame she was born before the naming contest. She could have had a beautiful Capitol name!" the purple idiot exclaimed. I had to fight against everything in me that wanted to punch the living shit out of this horrible person for insulting me and my daughter, but I swallowed my pride and nodded.

"What do you think of my tributes this year?" I asked him, changing the subject.

"That boy, Sage... He's a rather attractive fellow, isn't he?" said Serous.

"I'm married so I don't think I'm allowed to comment," I said, trying to take a stab at humour while dreaming of pulverising this buffoon.

"I do hope he wins. I'd certainly love to meet him," said the man, and suddenly, I was grateful that Snow wanted Sage killed off. Dying in the arena was a better fate than what awaited him if he lived. Serous Magnificent suddenly let out a loud guffaw. "I must go and find my family, we agreed to watch the start of the Games together. I will most certainly be rooting for your tribute. Happy Hunger Games!" With that said, he stalked off, and I sent a nasty glare his way before a giggle from Lark drew my attention to her, and I then looked up to see Finnick Odair approaching me.

"Finnick," I said as he approached.

"Peeta," he replied, and he stood beside me, watching Serous Magnificent walk off. "One of your... buyers?" I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye before looking away. "I know a thing or two about that... I've certainly held his company a few times."

"I think you should focus on getting sponsorships for your tributes instead of standing here talking to me," I told him sternly.

"They're twelve and thirteen years old, I don't think anyone is going to want to sponsor them... unfortunately," Finnick replied. "Gaia, the thirteen-year-old, is very sweet, and so is Fisher. They're both excellent swimmers and so are their mothers, but the careers won't ally with kids. They're all eighteen years old, the careers from one and two, and their mothers, while out of practice, are still trained to kill."

"Have those districts ever seen a tribute younger than seventeen?" I asked him.

"Not in our lifetimes," Finnick replied, and he gave me a smile. "Guess I'd better go... talk up my tributes. Hopefully, at least one of them will survive the initial bloodbath. Good luck." He then looked at Lark. "Goodbye, honey. It was very nice to see you," he said to her, and she giggled as he waved and walked away. I had to take a deep breath - I needed to get sponsors for my tributes, and having Lark with me was putting me on edge. When it was time for her to nap, I'd take her back to the control room to Katniss and I'd come back here and try again, but until then, I had to do what I could.

The screens kicked on and Caesar Flickerman came on the screen to talk about the Games getting ready to start with... whatever the curly-haired freak beside him's name was. Claudius Templesmith? Something like that. They talked about how the tributes were currently waiting to be taken up to the arena from underneath it, and then they finally showed the arena. It was like something they'd never done before - an urban environment, with buildings and roads and all kinds of urban elements. Sage would do well here, and Penelope, Thelma and Eliza could hide easily. The cornucopia was in the middle of some kind of large park, and the tributes started to rise from each of the platforms that surrounded the cornucopia - forty-eight in total. I saw Sage come up and look around fiercely, probably for his mother, who was on the other side of the cornucopia, and then he assessed his surroundings when he couldn't see her. The sixty second countdown commenced, and I sat in a chair holding Lark tightly against my chest. I felt the seat beside me sink down and a hand slide over mine, and when I looked to my right, Glitter Pash was sitting beside me with sympathetic eyes.

"This is always the hardest part," she whispered to me, and we both turned our attention to the screens, comforting one another as we waited for the initial bloodbath. When the cannons went off, the bloodbath commenced, and it was so much chaos that we really couldn't tell who was killed and who ran off. Sage was foolish and he ran towards the cornucopia trying to find his mother, and he grabbed a pack and narrowly avoided a knife being thrown at him by the District Two girl, and then he spotted his mother still on her platform and ran towards her, the two of them running off into the cityscape. Thank God, at least the two of them were safe. Penelope and Thelma I still had no idea what had happened to them, but I was sure I would find out soon. The bloodbath took about twenty minutes to end as tributes tried to grab packs and supplies and ran off or formed alliances if they were careers. When it finally ended, I looked at Glitter, thanking her with my eyes, before I got up and headed back to command.

"You're back early," Haymitch said as I entered the room.

"I couldn't take being out there anymore, and I don't think Lark liked it very much, either," I said back.

"Yeah, well, she doesn't like crowds," Katniss said firmly, snatching Lark from my arms and walking back to the table.

"Katniss, what is your problem with me?" I snapped at her, frustrated with her behaviour towards me. "Are you stressed? Because in case it has escaped your notice, I'm stressed, too!"

"Hey, hey! Quit arguin', you two!" Haymitch snapped at us. "Whatever the hell your problem is, work it out quickly, because we ain't got time for that shit." He stopped and looked at the screen, which showed the trackers of each of our tributes. Three were lit up, and one was dark. "We lost a tribute."

"Who?" Katniss asked, moving to see the screen.

"Thelma," I replied. "She must have tried to grab something for her and Penelope."

"We'll see it on the recap," Haymitch said.

"Where's Sage and Eliza?" I asked.

"Where's Penelope?" asked Katniss.

"The girl's hidin' out in some building and Sage and Eliza are still runnin' through the streets," Haymitch said, referring to the digital map on the table in front of us. "Urban environment. Ain't that cool? Don't think they've ever done that before. We've had jungles, forests, beaches, deserts, frozen tundras, but never cities."

"It's hard to be excited about that when our tributes are in danger," Katniss replied, and I let out a sigh.

"Do you want to go lie down? I can stay here with Haymitch," I said to her, trying not to let the frustrated tone show in my voice.

"No, I'll thank you not to assume shit about me," she spat back.

"Will you two shut up and focus?" Haymitch snapped at us, and we both glared at him before looking at the screen again.

"At least we have three left still. Other districts aren't so lucky," I said after a moment.

"District Seven has two left - the girl and the boy's mother - and District Nine has one left, just the boy. Eight has one. Ten's doin' good, One's lost the girl, and Two's still got all four," Haymitch said.

"What about Four?" I asked, and Haymitch sighed.

"The girl and the boy are both dead. It's just the mothers now," he replied. We sat in silence for a bit longer, keeping an eye on our tributes. Penelope was trying to quiet her sobs in the shell of some hollowed out building, while Sage was trying to give his mother water in another building on the other side of the arena. "The boy's got a heart after all." Haymitch and I shared another chuckle, but that seemed to set Katniss off.

"So that's funny, huh?" she said, glaring at me, and I lost my smile. "That's his mother. Of course he loves her."

"No one was denying that," I told her. "Katniss, you need to calm down."

"Don't tell me what to do," she hissed at me.

"I'm not telling you to do anything, but I'd appreciate it if you'd stop yelling at me in front of our daughter," I replied as calmly as I could.

"Why don't you just go back out and try to get more sponsors?" Katniss told me firmly.

"How about you both get your asses out of here while I try to save these kids? Go back to the suite and stay there. Keep an eye on the Games, if somethin' excitin happens, I'll send an Avox up, but you're both pissin' me off with your bickerin'. Sort out your shit, or y'all ain't comin' back in here!" Haymitch snapped at us. Without a word, we both left, and we made our way to the elevator, Lark securely in Katniss's arms.

"Katniss, whatever your problem is with me, you need to spit it out so we can figure this out. I can't read your mind," I told her.

"I'm not talking about this," she replied, looking away from me.

"Then at least tell me why you're mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you. "

"Then why are you acting like it? Katniss, if it's not me you're mad at, then stop taking it out on me!" She didn't answer me, so I took her by the shoulders and turned her to face me. "Listen. I know you're stressed. I'm stressed, too. These are our first Games as mentors, and we... we have a lot of expectations being put on us... But we're in this together , remember? We can't do this without each other. Honey, I need you, okay? Don't shut me out." She looked away from me, first at the floor and then down at Lark in her arms, and she sighed.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

"It's okay," I told her, and she let me pull her into my arms for a hug. "Let's just get back to our room, put Lark down and watch the Games... It'll all be over soon." I kissed the top of her head, and when the elevator arrived on our floor, we both got out and made our way to our suite. Katniss went to put Lark down and I turned on the television, where the Games were, of course the only option available to watch. I sighed to myself, running my hand over my face. These Games were going to be probably one of the most difficult yet as I sit back helplessly hoping to bring home at least one of my tributes.

Later that evening, when things finally quieted down, the symbol flashed in the sky of the arena along with the anthem, and the faces of the dead tributes started to show. The girl from One, the boy and the boy's mother from Three, the boy and the girl from Four, the boy, the girl and the girl's mother from Five, the girl and the girl's mother from Six, the boy and the girl's mother from Seven, all four tributes from Eight, the girl, the girl's mother and the boy's mother from Nine, the boy and the girl's mother from Ten, and Thelma from Twelve. "Twenty-two tributes," Katniss muttered quietly.

"Twenty-six left," I replied, also quietly. Twenty-two dead, and twenty-six still living. It was going to be a long Game.

A/N: How far will the surviving tributes from District Twelve get? Will any of them survive?

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