A/N: Back again! With my goal to finish this story by the end of the summer, hopefully earlier, I'm churning these out as fast as I can while still maintaining some level of high quality (hopefully!) Today, we have the Fourth Morning of the Pre Games, and we're visiting Gaia Imani, the District Eight Female, along with Oakes Laine, the District Seven Mentor. This update should push us over 200,000 total words! I can't believe we're so far into this! After this chapter, the tributes will be prepping for the interviews! Enjoy your read today, I hope it's a decent one!

Trigger warnings: Profanity

Gaia's song is Burnt Norton (Interlude) by Lana Del Rey, and Oakes's song is Religion by Lana Del Rey.

What might have been and what has been

Point to one end, which is always present

Footfalls echo in the memory

Down the passage which we did not take

Towards the door we never opened

Into the rose-garden

Gaia Imani, 15

District Eight Female

I wake up from a lucid dream. I was sitting in a rose garden, softly petting the velveteen petals and pruning the thorns so they could not hurt me. Originally, I'd lost control of the dream, and it had surged around me, rosebushes shooting out their branches like spiny tentacles, ready to wrap themselves around me and crush me. But I regained dominance and pushed them back, and I sat in a rose garden, smelling the soft, sweet fragrance of the flowers as I stroked their petals and traced the lines of their leaves. It was a patient dream, a complacent one, better than the reckless nightmares that have been plaguing me as of late.

I go through my morning routine rather seamlessly, the events slipping past like the water that gushes from the shower head when I bathe myself. I dry off and walk over to the space in front of my door, where the Avox usually puts my training uniform while I'm asleep. But then I remember that I don't need to wear a training uniform anymore. What do I wear, then? I slide back on the slip I've been given to sleep in and crack open a door. Uriah is the only other one up, and he doesn't notice my door opening, focused on making his face grumpy and sipping his black coffee. A few Avoxes hover around, placing platters of food on the dining table and doing unneeded cleaning to pass the time. I snap my fingers, and the nearest one notices and bounds over obediently.

"Where do I get clothes?" I inquire quietly, and the Avox pushes past me carefully and plods into my room. She shows me a little closet nestled in the corner that I'd neglected to notice. When I open the door, however, it's anything but little.

"Holy mother of Snow," I breathe. Racks of clothing fill the hallway-like space, with anything and everything imaginable, from dresses to cardigans to rompers to jeans. And it's all in my size, I realize when I check the tags of a couple of things. I squeal in delight and start sifting through things, looking for the most beautiful thing to wear, while the Avox watches ruefully from the doorway and drifts off. Poor thing.

Eventually, I settle on a short charcoal gray skirt that ends right above my knees and a floral button up that I tuck in which is predominantly colored with pastel pinks and soft greens. I then select a comfortable pair of charcoal flats and salmon colored socks, and I choose a few sparkly bracelets and a necklace with a pink heart gem pendant on the end. I even grab a pair of blocky black false glasses that completes the outfit. I've never been a vain girl, but I have to admit that I look stylish, if a little unlike myself, as I pose in front of the body sized mirror propped up inside the huge closet. I giggle at some faces I make, and then I tread out into the dining room.

Woof and Calico look up, a little wowed by my transformation. Calico's snazzed up as well; he's not one to miss a chance to dress nicely, as I imagine he had designer clothes back home. He's wearing a dress shirt, slacks, and a tie that make him look pretty dapper, and a set of boots that he lovingly tells me are Vera Gunnar. Woof is sort of dressed up too in his normal, laid back style. And Uriah's as ignorant as ever, not even looking up from the padlet where he's reading the news from once I pull out my chair and sit down.

I pile plenty of food onto my plate, not afraid to stock up on the pastries and sugarcoated fruits. I need to stock up on the fat due to my stick thin frame, and thankfully the best food in the world is available to help plump me up. Now that I don't have to worry about training, I'm tempted to eat myself sick and silly, but I don't go truly overboard. I do have interviews tonight; I don't want to throw up all over Fabula Obcubo while she's asking me what my favorite meal in the Capitol has been so far. Though that would be a memorable joke. She asks me that question, I throw up, and say, "That one!"

Definitely not doing that? Just an idea.

After I'm done eating, I speak up. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Today's interviews, as I'm guessing you know," Woof replies, his voice muffled a little by the food in his mouth.. He finishes chewing the bite of waffle in his mouth before continuing. "They start at nine tonight, and it's around nine in the morning now. I'd like to be talking about interview angle more in depth sometime around two or three, but until then you're free to go and do whatever you want. Fun Floors are open."

"Oh!" I say, smiling. "I'll go there with Carmen, Sage, and Bernie then."

There's a silence. Woof and Uriah awkwardly eye each other while Calico continues to doze through his hearty breakfast, gulping down copious amounts of bacon. Alexandrius is still asleep, enjoying a day where he doesn't have to be up early to wish us well at training and such. I don't mind one of the grumpy members of our crew missing breakfast. Alexandrius is usually hard to deal with, even for someone as docile as myself. The look the Mentors are giving each other are questionable, however. Are they still doubting my choice of allies? I know they're not ideal, but a girl's gotta take what she can take.

"What's wrong?" I inquire kindly.

"Well, um...Carmen's water broke last night," Woof gushes. "Eris sent out a notification to myself, Unity, and Anneliese so we could tell her allies, you and the other two. You can publicize it or anything, it's just so you know she won't be able to attend whatever activities you do today."

"Can I go see her?!" I ask excitedly.

"I guess," Uriah grumbles.

"You should really leave her be-" Woof begins, but I cut him off by jumping to my feet and sprinting across the apartment's open floor plan to the elevator. I slam my palm into the button, and the doors slide open automatically. I step inside.

"Gaia-" Woof starts once again, standing.

I just shout, "Bye! See you guys later!" as the doors of the elevator sweep closed. The elevator ascends rapidly once I've pressed the Twelve button, and the doors slide open to reveal a scene of utter chaos.

Lord is the singular calm spot, placidly eating his cereal at the dining room table with a pensive look on his face. He seems oblivious to the swarming knot of Avoxes and people crowded around the doorway into what I'm assuming is Carmen's room. A few Avoxes run around, trying to redirect people and deliver things that the woman in labor has requested. I jog over to the cluster of people and elbow my way into the room. There's definitely more than have been informed of the birth. I find myself squashed on the outside fringes of the room. I can barely make out a few of Carmen's locks splayed out across one of her pillows, and I can hear her grunts.

There is room cleared around the bed, and I can see two people crouched by the one side. Bernie holds Carmen's hand, looking rather mournful, while Sage watches next to her with fear in her eyes. Their hands are entwined. I kneel beside Sage, and grab her free hand. I look over at Carmen.

"Hello Gaia," Carmen whispers, and then she flinches. "C-contraction."

"Hey," I mutter quietly. "Don't pay attention to me. Just focus on giving birth, Carm."

She nods a little and squeezes her eyes shut as she breathes heavily. Bernie reaches out and wipes some hair out of Carmen's eyes and swipes sweat off of her forehead. Eris gives her a testy look, and Bernie murmurs, "I'm going into the Games," as a simple, broken reply. And then Bernie's eyes light up.

"I've helped cats give birth before," Bernie whispers, her eyes opening wide. "And I'm going into the Games."

"Oh Bernie," I mutter.

"I don't have a chance, and we know it," Bernie sighs. "I can help her. Even if I die...I can help her." People clear from around the bed. Even Sage and I take a step back, and we embrace each other tightly as we watch Bernie crouch between Carmen's spread legs.

"Cat anatomy isn't the same as a human's," Carmen coughs. "You won't be able to do much."

"I'm your best bet, Carm. Any help I can give is good," Bernie states simply, and we all know that she's right. I never knew such a little, broken girl could be so brave.

Everything is fine now

Let sleeping dogs lay

All our minds made up now

All our beds are made

No one's out of time, no

Chips fall wherever they may

Leave it all behind, let the ocean wash it away

Oakes Laine, 36

District Seven Mentor

I don't know what else I can do this year. While I am the more experienced Mentor, I am more fatherly. Marrying and having two adorable children does that to you. Paula is icy and sarcastic and cruel in her warped youthfulness, and she is the better Mentor. Usually, no matter the original shuffling of the tributes, the stronger tribute ends up with Paula, and the weaker one drifts over to me for comfort and a tender morale boost.

This year, all four of us are rather confused. The natural order has been disrupted. While Ivy scored a point lower than Baron, their odds are only apart by a single point. Ivy is at the highest level of a 6, while Baron is at the lowest level of a 7. Their skill sets are nearly identical, and they both have personalities and histories that provide various advantages and disadvantages. Baron stays more with me and Ivy more with Paula, but things feel off.

There is always the weaker tribute. It's rare to have two tributes who score above a 5. While it's more common to have two high scorers in a stronger District like Seven, it's still something I struggle to deal with. Baron is looking up to me to give him advice about how to outwit Careers and murder opponents efficiently, and I lack that expertise. While I did survive a Games, I never survived the modern ones. I fought my way through the Games of old, where the inflated scores and the shiny new look of the whole thing covered up the fact that they were actually rather boring. Half of the kids starved, and I only killed three, which is not a lot compared to most of the Victors. Paula offed six alone in the era of the Careers. I never had to run into a Bloodbath where six trained killers were plotting to wipe all of us out, or trick a stronger opponent into a trap. I was that opponent. I was by far the strongest tribute in my year. I was the first tribute to ever score a "10", the equivalent of today's 8. While I can give advice based on what I've watched, I've never lived the modern Games like Paula. I'm almost useless in some respects.

"Please give him some advice," I sigh, sitting at the dining room table. Baron is slouching on the couch, tuned out to the world and watching a movie about real life magicians, enamored with their feats of sleight of hand. Ivy's run off to rendezvous with her alliance on one of the Fun Floors at some breakfast place Pumpkin told Omri about. She was gone by the time I was awake and eating at the table.

"Phfho? Baerohn?" Paula asks through a mouthful of hashed browns.

"Swallow," I instruct with another sigh, and she rolls her eyes and gulps down the food in her mouth.

"I can handle myself, 'Dad'," she snarks before shoveling more food into her mouth. To mock me, she chews with her mouth open and smirks.

"Your immaturity is disgusting sometimes, Paula."

"Your maturity is disturbing sometimes, Oakes."

"I need you to give Baron advice," I cut in, pruning the banter between us short.

"Aren't you capable of that yourself?" she quips quizzically, raising an eyebrow at me as she swallows another forkful of hashed browns.

"I don't have the same experiences as you. You know how to deal with Careers. You killed three! Careers didn't even exist in my time!"

"You've never needed help before," Paula murmurs. "I never realized...are you admitting that I'm the better Mentor!"

I sigh. I often sigh around Paula, if you haven't noticed. "Don't make this about that. I'm just suggesting that your advice, stemming from personal experience, about Careers might help Baron more than the information I can give him, as they never existed in the era I won."

"You always are trying to cover something up when you get all official and intelligent sounding," Paula laughs. "So I am the better Mentor."

"Are you going to make me curse?"

"You are such a father, I can't even. I'll go talk to him." She stands up and lopes across the room, collapsing on the couch next to him. She sits there silently, watching the television with him mindlessly. Her Mentoring strategy is definitely different than mine. I would have eased the TV off and suggested that we go sit on the balcony, and then ask them how they're feeling about the Games. Isn't that what good Mentors do?

Oh hell, I am such a dad.

Oh my gosh. I just cursed, didn't I? I hope my kids- oh wait. I'm in the Capitol.

Yep. Such a dad.

A/N: Sorry if this chapter is crap. Gaia's POV got sort of off-the-rails cliched in some ways but I couldn't think of a way to rewrite it, and I kept Oakes's super duper short because I wanted to get something out today, and he's not that important in the grand scheme of things. Definitely not my best, but I'm saving that for things like the Interview Preparations, which is the next chapter! After that, we have the almighty Interviews themselves, and then the last half dozen or so chapters of the final fun day and the wrap leading to the Games. We're getting a lot closer!

THIS PUSHES US OVER 200,000 I AM SO HAPPY :D We're also on trend to hit over 1,000 reviews by the end of this I think!? :D yes!

What did you think of these two? Thoughts on Bernie and Carmen?

Trivia:

Gaia (1 pt.) - What color is her skirt?

Oakes (1 pt.) - How many tributes did Oakes kill in his Games?

Until Next Time,

Tracee