It's hard to drag myself out of the soft, soft Training Center bed, but I manage to get up and ready in time for breakfast.

"The thing is," Maya manages to get out without spitting any pancake, "you have to study your survival skills and make friends in the same span of time. You can still ally with people once you run into them in the arena, but it's better to know them beforehand. Makes training more fun, too."

"That makes sense to me." I try to stop shoving my food down too fast. Normally that's not much of a problem, but the quality of Capitol food changes things. "Are there any tributes in particular you think we should look into?"

"Hmm." She leans her cheek on her hand. "It's hard to say this soon. Try to interact with a lot of people today, and then tell me what you think."

"Yes, ma'am!" Trucy twirls her knife in her hand before splitting the last bit of her ham in two.

We manage to spend the rest of the meal just eating, and then it's time to go downstairs.

The elevator doors close as I glance over Trucy. "Are you going to keep wearing all of that until the arena?"

She rises on the balls of her feet a few times, her shawl-cape floating just behind the rest of her. "I don't see why not. It's harder to tell I'm a magician if I'm not wearing any of my costume."

"I think just the hat would do."

She adjusts her gloves and smiles. "Yeah, that's what I'll be bringing to the arena."

We make it to the bottom floor after a few stops and follow the other tributes out. Everyone gathers, I have my district number pinned to my back, and then we're given a speech on the use of the facilities. And now we're free to go wherever we want.

I've only just approached the rows of stands when Trucy exclaims.

"Look! Throwing knives!"

Suddenly my arm is being yanked ahead, and I hurry to stumble after my district partner before she can drag me outright. I don't quite shake off the flustered feeling by the time we come to a stop, but at least I'm not panting.

"Ah, welcome!" the worker says, stepping aside to give us a clear view of the rows of knives. "Are you beginners?"

I sweat. He realizes we're not Careers, right? "Of course—"

"Nope!" Trucy hops over to the stand and starts plucking handles. Stepping to the farthest mark away from the first target, she breathes out and hurls a blade. It sticks in the upper right of the fourth ring.

Maybe she just wanted to skip the lesson and jump into things. I could see her doing that, even if this is inherently dangerous. I'm not even sure that the hazard level registers with her.

She throws the second knife, this time farther to the left. It's pretty much right in line with the first one. She has a tendency to aim high, huh? I wonder if that's a common problem.

The next knife sticks right in the bull's-eye.

I jump, ready to congratulate her, but she seems unfazed.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Now I just stare.

She spins on her foot to face me and spreads her arms out. "Ta-da! How's that?"

"You..." I wipe the sweat off my forehead. "...made a smiley face?"

"Yup! Maybe not the coolest trick, but... Ooh! Okay, Polly! Go stand in front of the next target!"

"What?!" I draw back. A few other tributes are hanging around now, and I don't even want to be in this general area when they try their hands at throwing.

Trucy puts her hands on her hips and pouts. "Well, it'd be a lot harder to outline you in knives if you weren't in front of the target." She folds her arms, looking off at the ceiling. "Although it still wouldn't be the same if it's only around your head and shoulders. All right, here. Stand over there and jump when I say so. I'm sure I can pin your sleeves to the target, and then I'll be able to go all around from there."

"No!"

She goes back to pouting.

"I-I'm pretty sure that's against the rules, anyway," I say quickly, nodding at the worker.

He falters before sighing. "Yeah, we have enough accidents here without that kind of risk. I bet people'd love to see it in the Games, though!"

"Good idea!" Trucy gives him a toothy smile.

I step back. "You'll have to find a different volunteer if you want to try that, I'll tell you right now."

"How about me?"

Turning, I see the boy with the sports visor and a bandage across his nose. He strides a little closer with a confident smile.

"It sounds fun, and it sure looks like I could trust your accuracy." He points a thumb to his chest. "Clay Terran, District 3."

Trucy shakes his hand. "Trucy Enigmar, District 5."

He turns to me.

"Apollo Justice, also District 5."

He gives my hand two firm shakes before letting go. "Nice to meet you both."

"You, too!" Trucy responds before I can get a word in. I just nod.

He relaxes, arms at his sides. "Any chance you could give me a lesson?"

"You know, that's actually my job," calls the instructor, who's handing one knife to the girl from 9.

"True." Clay glances between me and my district partner. "I'm sure you have better things to do, anyway. See you around?" He points his feet toward the instructor but doesn't move away from us yet.

"Sure." I step aside to give him room. "Nice meeting you." Not much more than a first impression, but I guess it is about time I got around to training.

"Yeah." Trucy tilts the brim of her hat down. "Be sure to at least join us for lunch, okay?"

He laughs. "Sure thing. Would you mind if my district partner happened to follow me to the table?"

"That would be great! The more the merrier."

"Uh, yeah." District 3 was that klutz girl, right? Oh, boy.

Although I really can't dismiss her entirely. I'm sure she has just as much to offer as me. Hopefully.

We part ways with Clay to head for the shelter-building station.

"Let me guess," I say as Trucy leads me there. "You can pull a pitched tent out of your hat?"

Her hand flies to her mouth. "Goodness! That wouldn't fit in there! I bet I could pull one out of my magic panties, though!"

"Gack!" I just manage not to clamp my hand over her mouth. "Trucy, we're in public! Quit saying 'panties'!"

"My, what conversation am I missing here?"

"Gah!" Flinching back, I almost ram into the other tribute before I locate him. Standing next to us with his thumbs tucked under his waistband is Mister District 7 himself. Light glints off his huge, pointed necklace, and his hands shine with rings. From this short distance, it's a lot easier to see the resemblance between him and Kristoph. His hair is short, and he dons sunglasses instead of clear lenses, but I can still tell they're brothers.

So this is the little sibling of Kristoph Gavin. He looks friendly enough, but that's meaningless. If anything, it's a family trait, and that only makes it more likely he shares the venomous killer trait, too.

"I must say I'm used to being inspected by the ladies, but this is the first time I've felt this way with a man."

"Eh?" I snap back to focus to find myself still staring at him.

He lowers his sunglasses and smiles at Trucy. "Ah, Fräulein. It's terrible to see a sweet morsel like you in such a dismal place. Can I help?"

"O-oh." She grasps her hands behind her back. "We're heading to the shelter station, is all."

"It's just a shot away," he says with that same smile before inviting us to follow him.

Do we have to…? Well, we should start practicing something. If one tribute is all it takes to scare me away from a stand, we'll have slimmer pickings than we can afford. I guess he can't try anything while we're still in the safety of the Training Center, either. And whether or not that smile is a facade...

I don't want to make an enemy of him.

He at least has the sense to work on a separate project, although he can't seem to help checking in on our tent every once in a while. Trucy and I are capable of doing this ourselves, you know. Not that you're not helping, but... you don't need to be!

By lunchtime, it looks like both our sides have a decent idea of what we're doing. The instructor dismisses the three of us right after the buffet announcement is made, and I distance myself from the stand while Klavier is still setting down his rope and other supplies.

"So?" Trucy starts quietly, coming to a stop in the middle of the aisle. "Do you want to invite him into an alliance?" One hand to her cheek, she gazes into the distance. "I wouldn't mind. He's like... a prince."

"What?" I snap a glance back to find him leaving the stand. I make an effort to keep my voice down. "The important thing isn't whether or not you like him; it's whether or not you can trust him. I may not know him personally, but I know a lot about his brother, not to mention the fact that he threw himself into the Games voluntarily. Can you be sure he's not already planning to kill us?"

She pulls back a little. "Well..."

By now, Klavier is right behind us, so I shake my head at her. She pauses before sidestepping me and eyeing the other tribute.

"Klavier," she says, her hands fisted, "can I ask you one thing?"

Hands on his hips, he leans in with a smile. "Anything for a wonderful Fräulein."

I think to stop her, but it doesn't sound like she's inviting him to an alliance. She can be a trickster, though... Well, I can always reject him from an alliance myself if I have to.

Trucy holds his gaze. "Why did you volunteer?"

Straightening up, he glances to his side. His smile seems frozen as he toys with his bangs, but he turns back to Trucy with a more genuine twist of the lips.

"Because I want to be a star."

Trucy's eyebrows pull together for a second, but she doesn't comment before Klavier bids us goodbye. I breathe out and give her a tap on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's get to the lunch line before it's too long."

She nods, stepping with me, although her eyes are still distant. "Maybe we can ask him again later..."

I watch her. "You think he was lying?"

"Didn't you think so?" She folds her arms. "I wonder why he wouldn't want to tell us, though."

"Are you sure you want to know? He might just not be giving us the whole truth." I push my finger against my forehead. "And it's a lot easier to be a star as a victor than just a tribute."

"That's true." She sighs. "I guess we'll find out later."

"Yeah. For now, let's just worry about lunch and a couple of friendlier tributes."

So we'll at least be eating with Clay and his district partner... I don't remember her name. She had a long ponytail, though.

Actually—is that her up ahead? She seems kind of upset with that guard staring her down. What's going on?

I don't have to draw that much closer to hear her.

"No! I'm not smuggling anything! What's the point of trying to stab somebody at lunch, anyway?"

The man takes a step into what is clearly her personal space. "I'm going to have to pat you down to be sure."

Inches away from punching him, she snarls. "What are you talking about? You didn't pat anybody else down! How am I the only suspicious one?"

He seizes one of her arms and starts frisking at her armpit.

"Get your hands off me!" Wrenching her arm out of his grip, she grabs his arm and twists while lowering herself. With a loud grunt, she thrusts herself back up, and I don't realize she's sent the guard flying until it's too late to dodge.

"Aah!" His shin smacks across my stomach, forcing me to crash backwards onto the ground with him. My spine hits the floor hard, and a second passes before I'm aware enough to realize I can't breathe.

"Oh my gosh!" The District 3 girl speeds over here. "I'm so sorry—it was just a reflex. Are you okay?!"

A-a reflex? Maybe you could get away with that one if you just slapped him.

"Fine," I manage after a second. "I'm fine."

Trucy helps me sit up as the other tribute awkwardly steps to the guard and offers a hand. He takes it and yanks her, yelping, to the ground with him.

"Someone's getting a time-out," he says, voice low.

"B-but I didn't mean to!"

He hauls himself to his feet, dragging her with him and securing her arms behind her back.

"I haven't even had lunch yet!"

He pushes her along in front of him. "Oh, maybe there'll still be something left when you're done."

"Nngh..."

"Um—" I reach towards her, although I'm not getting any closer with the guard there—"I could save you a plate."

"Really?" She jumps a little, and the guard clamps down harder on her arms. She shoots him a glare before grinning at me. "Thank you!"

I fold my arms, trying to ignore the ache below my diaphragm. "No problem."

"Well, we'd better hurry to the lunch area, then!" Trucy leans toward me before pulling back. "You are okay, though, right?"

I stifle a cough. "Yeah. Let's go."