After a little more plant-memorizing, I end up at the axe-throwing station with Trucy and Athena. The short, raccoon-looking guy from 12 is here, too, but Robin is the only one we do much chatting with. Despite his aptitude at throwing things to the ground, he doesn't have the best aim. Even Trucy isn't that great with weapons this weighty.

Once we're ready to get back into things after our first break, Athena and I go for the same axe, but we both pull back before our hands can collide.

"Sorry. Go ahead." I take a step back, looking at the ground.

"Thanks." She slips the weapon out of its stand before turning to me and putting one hand on her hip. "Are you still upset about yesterday?"

"I, uh..." I rub at my scalp until I get the feeling I'm holding up the line. "I'm still really sorry about that."

She grins. "Then I forgive you. Vamos—let's get back to practice."

"Right!" I grab an axe and get out of Trucy's way. "So... we're still friends?"

"Of course." She pauses, propping the axe on the floor to tap her earring a few times. "Even... if I do end up allying with Simon?"

"Huh?" I follow her to the throwing range. "Is that what you're planning to do?" It would be a smart move, but it's hard to imagine. He was a big part of what sent her into silence yesterday.

Then again... What was it I overheard him telling her earlier?

"If I heard correctly, we're working at exact cross-purposes. So tell me, Cykes-dono, how do you plan to achieve your goal if you cannot keep an eye trained on me?"

Then she said something about him being perfectly able to defend himself, to which he responded with a hand slam and "Give me a reason to."

It's not really any of my business what Athena decides to do. The important part is that we're friends. Even if we don't necessarily defend each other from attack, we're still allies in a way. As long as this wouldn't lead to us hurting each other, I can't object.

Athena frowns. "I might. I'm still thinking about it."

"That's all right. Go with whatever seems safer to you." I smile. "It would be silly to choose otherwise."

"You're right!" Widget chirps. Athena hops over to the next mannequin. "I'm glad you understand, Apollo. I don't want to make an enemy of you—and not just because, well, you know..."

Because enemies are the ones that kill each other in the arena. I agree, though. Maya was right. It's good to have friends, even in a situation like this. You can't get that close, but it's nice to have each other's backs while you still have the chance.

"Thanks. I'm glad we're friends, too."

The trainer cuts in with a rather loud throat-clearing, and we get back to our axe-throwing. I just don't have a knack for this, but maybe if I practice a little more...

That line of thought persists for about an hour before it's clearly time to throw in the towel. My arm's haven't quite realized the strain I've put them through yet, but if I'm not going to get discernibly better at this, it's not worth my time. There's very little of it left, too.

"I think it's time for me to head out." With a thank-you to the instructor, I start toward the storage nook.

Trucy lets out a sigh, her hands on her hips. "Yeah, I think I've done about all I can, too."

"Hmm, all right." Athena thinks for a moment. "I'm going to stick around here for a while longer." She smiles, flashing a peace sign. "Have fun, you guys! I'll see you around. Hey, Robin! Bet I can land more hits than you before the Center closes!"

Robin drops his axe in favor of clenching both fists and roaring. "It's OOOOONNNN!"

Leaving them to that, I help Trucy put up her axe, and we step into the aisle. Nearby and unoccupied is a stream-fording station, which sounds useful enough to me. It starts out with more of a lecture, but I don't mind the opportunity to catch my breath and cool down. So long as I learn something, it's not wasted time.

We're practicing a team crossing in a thigh-high endless current before a flash across the aisle distracts me. Although I don't lose my footing, I unclasp my hands for a second, and Trucy has to give me a tug before our elbows can come unhooked.

"Ack!" I clamp my hands together again and, once the instructor has the floor moving, resume walking.

What was that? It looked like some sort of television screen, but not projecting from a stand. Wait, was it coming from Widget? And what was Athena doing with it? The instructor didn't seem concerned, although I only saw him for a second.

I glance back that way but slip on the artificial riverbed in the same instant. With a "glurk," my face hits the water, and Trucy's arm is the only thing keeping me from shooting to the back of the tank. When I bring my head up above the surface gasping, I can see that she's gripping the side of the enclosure to keep herself from going down. The instructor barks at the both of us—me for being a doofus and Trucy for grabbing things that won't be there in the arena—but she doesn't see fit to kick us out yet. She brings the moving floor and the current to a stop until we've regrouped, and then we try again.

It doesn't take much longer for us to graduate from the station—although not with honors—so I dry off and hurry to where Athena still stands with that blue screen in front of her. She and Robin have put away the axes; there may not be any time left to use them, with the stations cleaning up for the demonstrations.

As I'm approaching, slicking back the drooping remnants of my hair spikes, the first thing I hear is a shout from Robin.

"BUT I'LL NEVER BE AS PRETTY AS JUNIPER!"

...What?

Athena immediately sends a glance back at me, and I wonder if I said that aloud, but I'm close enough for her to notice me otherwise.

"Hey, Apollo."

"Hey." I come to a stop at her right. The screen in front of her throbs with a picture of Robin as well as a few faces I've seen on Widget in the corners. Happy, mad, sad, surprised. The mad one is radiating rings of light at the moment. "Mind if I ask what's going on?"

Hand poised above the screen, she smiles. "Sure. This is the Mood Matrix. It's a program on Widget that helps to sort out people's emotions—you know how the brunt of the data is gathered." Considering she's not saying it outright, she must mean her own sense of hearing. "Normally I look for emotions that conflict with what a person is saying, but right now the anger is overwhelming anything else in Robin's voice. In this case, I try to probe the conversation to find out what's causing the excess emotion." Grinning, she crosses her arms. "Want to give it a try?"

"Er—" I turn my toward Robin—"are you all right with this...?"

"Of course he is!" Athena clenches her fists and frowns. I get the feeling she's been asked this on more than one occasion. "This is psychological therapy! It only does good!"

"O-okay, okay." Although I have to admit that Robin's looking a little uncomfortable, clutching his upper arm like that. "You doing all right over there?"

"Uh... Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." His eyes flick back and forth, but he doesn't look either of us in the eye.

"All right, then." I step up to the screen and look it over. Aside from the raging mad face, it's just Robin from crown to hip and the words "I'll never be as pretty as Juniper" over him.

Um, so I... Um...

"Just poke at different parts of the screen—" Athena taps Robin's paint-stained headband with one finger, lighting it up—"until you think you've found the source of the anger. Then press Probe."

"Okay..." I lift my hand over the screen, dip it towards Robin's head, then pull back.

Athena doesn't stifle her laughter very well.

"We don't use this kind of technology where I come from, all right?!"

Athena grins. "Sorry."

Sure you are.

Taking a deep breath, I poke at the screen a few times to get my bearings.

So I'm trying to figure out what's making Robin so angry. And it has something to do with the fact that he can't be as pretty as Juniper...? Er, okay. Well, his hair's kind of short, but I don't know that that means anything. There's his face, but, uh, he doesn't have any deformities. It can't be his outfit when Juniper doesn't have much of a different repertoire here, as far as I can tell. Unless that training brace is keeping him from being able to wear certain things. It does go all the way around his chest.

Well, I don't have any better ideas. I'm sure Athena would have warned me if getting it wrong hurt anything.

I select the brace and hit Probe.

"Hmm." Athena nudges me away from the screen and looks over it. "You think Robin's anger is directed at the brace..." She glances at the text on the screen before staring at Robin. "You want to take it off, but you can't."

"O-of course I can't!" Sweating, Robin seems to brace for impact. "This is important for building muscle, man! How am I supposed to be manly without it?!"

What is he talking about? I'm not that muscular, and I'm certainly manly enough. I don't see how he...

He...

He?

"Robin!" Athena surges forward, her palms slamming onto the table in front of her. "Are you actually—"

I clamp my hand across her mouth before she can finish. She makes a muffled exclamation before pushing my arm away. With a growl, I pull her back by the elbow and lower my voice.

"Athena. We can't do this."

"What are you talking about?" She nearly spits in my face. "The discord in Robin's voice is almost gone, and I know I've figured it out! You have, too, haven't you? That she's—"

She sees my hand coming in time to dodge but still shuts her mouth. Her scowl says she certainly isn't happy about it, though.

"I thought so, but we're both wrong." I raise my eyebrows. "If Robin is a girl, then the Capitol made a mistake reaping her alongside Juniper." I glance at the instructors in the area, at the few Gamemakers lingering up above us. Dropping my voice to such a low volume it hurts my throat, I say, "Do you want to look the Capitol in the eye, right now, and tell them that they were wrong?"

Athena freezes, her rage cooling instantly. "But... Robin..." She throws a glance at the 11, who's fingering her restraints but not doing anything about them.

I nod and look over at her myself. "Robin. You don't have to be that concerned about being 'manly.' Maybe by your district's standards, being strong all of the time is important, but we're in the Capitol now, and you'll have a Capitol audience. I know you've at least interacted with your stylists, right?"

Gripping her arm harder—not pleasant thoughts, I'm guessing, although she of all people would have plenty of reason—she nods stiffly.

"So I think you know they don't have such strict standards about their men." I smile. "So be yourself. As much as you, uh, feel comfortable with, at least." I consider throwing in a wink, but there are a few onlookers, and I don't want to be too obvious that I mean "don't take off the brace."

"You... think so?" Robin swallows as a guard tells us to clear out for lunch. Athena shuts down the Mood Matrix and takes a few steps. The rest of us stay with her.

"We do." She smiles. "Of course, you'll have to impress the viewers, but I believe you can do that whether you're a little bit girly or not."

Robin hesitates before charging Athena and me with a hug, giggling madly. "Thank you!"

I grin. "Don't mention it."

Keeping myself from stumbling, I take a second to figure out where I'm going. Some tributes ahead are lining up by the lunch area, while Trucy's a few steps in front of me. And then there are Juniper and Hugh—both looking shocked. How close were they standing when we figured it out? By their faces, I'm guessing they put the pieces together, too.

Robin hasn't completely let go of us by the time we get near the chattering crowd. I can just hear her whisper, "Boys take more tessarae" before she hops to her other friends.