I throw a purification tablet into the water bottle and screw the lid shut. The stream flows pretty lazily, so I don't want to try drinking straight from it. The water is nice and cool on my hand, though, especially when I've been sweating it out for a while.

"No, seriously! How did you do it?" Although Ema's eyelids are drooping again, she doesn't sound tired yet.

Trucy takes the brim of her hat out of the water and slaps it back on her head. "Oh, come on, Ema. You know a magician never reveals her secrets!"

"You don't have to tell me everything. Just some hints—I can piece the rest together by myself, scientifically."

"Fine. One hint." She leans back, hands wedged between her knees. "The shield was actually a lot heavier than it looked."

"What kind of hint is that?"

Trucy giggles. "...I guess we did still lose the shield and blanket, but they were a hassle to carry around, anyway. It got really warm under that thing!"

"Much better than the total loss we had suspected." Klavier takes his water bottle back and shakes it.

"Agreed." Arms folded, I smile at Trucy. "And I'm still really glad you're okay." Shaking my head, I chuckle. "I can't believe it, either. You get taken hostage, and your first thought is to do a magic trick."

She poses, knuckles pushing at the brim of her hat. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"That's merely the spirit of a true performer, Herr Forehead."

I squint at him. "What are you talking about?"

He snaps. "I suppose someone whose hands shake in front of a crowd wouldn't understand."

"So what?!" I point at him. "Don't tell me you've never had a minor case of stage fright!"

He laughs, leaning forward. "Those born for the stage cannot fear it."

"I'm sure that's true..." Sweating, I splash a bit of water on my face. "Why are you so fixated on being a star, anyway? That's even why you said you volunteered, right?"

He grins. "You've got to keep on rocking if you want to stay on top. Although I've sold quite a bit of music already, this seemed an excellent opportunity to expand my audience."

"Wait, what? Sold music?"

Trucy pouts. "You weren't paying much attention to him in the pre-Games, were you, Polly?"

"Err..." Honestly, I was pretty much trying to ignore him. I'm still kind of trying to ignore him.

Ema groans, throwing her head back. "Don't get him started on this, please."

"Nein, I'm responsible for my own publicity." Klavier smiles. "Perhaps you just haven't consciously put all of the pieces together. Let's see if this will jog your memory."

Setting the water bottle down, he leans forward and starts shredding air guitar with such precision I can almost hear the music.

He did seem good at the guitar during the party. I wouldn't have pegged him as a professional, though. He certainly looks like he's done his share of standard District 7 work.

He rears his air guitar back before finishing with a stroke that leaves his right hand in the air. "Well?"

"Um." How does he expect me to respond? Raucous applause? Declaring that the magic power of the music has told me everything I need to know about his recording history?

"For goodness sake." Trucy huffs and puts her hands on her hips. "He's the lead singer and first guitarist of the Gavinners! Didn't you notice him playing a few of their songs at the party?"

"Gavinners...?"

She sighs, apologizing to Klavier for my ignorance before turning back to me. "They released three hit singles before their debut album, and they have two concert DVDs out there, too." She smiles. "I hunted them all down in my room at the Training Center."

Klavier picks his water bottle up and starts swishing it again. "I had found them on my District's floor, too. Nice of the Capitol to provide us with such quality entertainment."

Where did they have music? It wasn't anywhere that caught my eye, so I assume he must have actually gone around looking to see if they had stocked his own album. How... humble.

"Wait, so it's a whole band?" I press a finger to my forehead.

"Ja. Rock is a thing to be shared." His gaze rests on the stream. "That's not to say there are many in my District with the proper respect for the genre. Fewer have the talent—and only five prodigious young men have the harmony to rock the house."

So he may not even be the youngest member. Huh. I'm... well, I'm not going to say "impressed."

"Wait!" Trucy's hands clench into fists as she stares at him. "Was—Wasn't the boy you volunteered for...?"

Klavier's smile doesn't falter, but I can see the tendons in his hand tensing up as he grips the bottle tighter. "I have been known to steal the spotlight from my bandmates from time to time."

I let my arms drop. "So the reason you volunteered—!"

"The entire nation is watching, it's a wonderful publicity opportunity, and I am the face of the band." Pulling at his bangs, he grins at us sideways. "A face that can and has attracted more Fräuleins than Daryan may ever hope to win over." He finishes with such a laugh that I can only imagine a District 7 boy named Daryan swearing out an innocent television screen right now.

His grip on the bottle hasn't let up, though, and I know there's still something he's not telling us. It has to be about his decision to volunteer. If it's not to be a star, or for publicity...

"Tell me, did you have any plans to volunteer before your bandmate was reaped?"

He hesitates before looking over his shoulder at Ema. "Fräulein Scientist? Is the water ready yet?"

He's changing the subject. He's not sure what lie I won't catch him in. But what is he trying to so hard to hide?

Ema drags her wrist toward her face and lets her arm drop. With a slow shake of the head, she sighs. "You'd think if you had that many fangirls, they would have sent us some actual food by now."

Trucy folds her arms. "Yeah, between that and your 8 in training—Oh!"

I've already caught sight of the silver parachute by the time she snaps her gaze up.

Klavier laughs, setting the bottle down and standing to catch the large bowl. "Perhaps my brother merely wanted us to ask."

Somehow, he doesn't seem the type. Maybe he was waiting for us to find water? I can't think of any other reason to hold it back until now.

Ema stares at the stew, clearly unsure whether to be irritated at being proven wrong or overjoyed at the sight and smell of the food. She at least pushes herself up and walks toward us.

That smells so good. The meat, and plums, and—

Wait, wait, wait. Not getting distracted.

"Klavier! Are you going to answer me?"

Separating the spoons, he glances down at me. "About what, Herr Forehead?"

I get to my feet, which doesn't quite have the desired effect when I'm still shorter than him. "Were you planning to volunteer the whole time?"

Silent, he hands a spoon to each of us. "I had been debating it. Between gaining popularity and following my brother's footsteps—" my bracelet tightens—"it seemed like a good idea. I wasn't sure whether to attempt it this year or next." He smiles with his teeth showing. "But my brother won at eighteen, and you could say I'm a bit competitive. Another Gavinner being reaped was, of course, the final push."

What was that about his brother's footsteps? If that wasn't his intention, nor fame, that leaves... What? Non-Careers don't volunteer that often, for that many reasons. The only other thing I can think of is... just trying to save his friend's life.

But why would he try to hide something like that? I would have a lot less trouble trusting him if I knew he didn't expect victory any more than those of us who were reaped. He—

He would seem like less of a threat. And that's not a good idea when all of your sponsors are watching.

Is... Is that really it...?

But... he's not stupid. Maybe he's got a little muscle on me, but this is the Hunger Games. People who come in here are not likely to make it back out. There's a reason people don't volunteer for every friend or family member that goes up on stage. Am I really supposed to believe that this guy is such a reckless, selfless hero he would do that?

But then again... There's his brother. The Capitol expects victory from a Gavin. I don't think it's a stretch to say Daryan wouldn't have any such support. And better sponsors mean better odds.

Does that level out the bet enough? Does that make it just rational enough for him to volunteer? Is he really here because he couldn't stand seeing his bandmate in a place like this?

He... He's not going to tell me anything else about it. Not when he's trying so hard to disguise his motives. And—he still volunteered. He still thinks he can win. So he'll be trying to. No matter why he's here, he's here, and I'll have to watch my back. But maybe he's not such a bad ally.

For now.

We haven't reached the halfway point to our campsite before Ema starts to stumble off the rocks.

Trucy gasps and seizes Ema's shoulder strap before she can lose her footing altogether. With a choking sound, Ema staggers into the mountain face.

"Ema!" I lunge towards her, but she's already safely pressed against the rock.

She's groaning, but she doesn't pick herself up.

"You did well pulling your own weight, Fräulein." Klavier steps down a bit to get past me and then Trucy. "But now it's time for you to rest a bit, ja?"

She lets out a long, low breath as he steps up by her side.

I sigh. "We're on our way back home. You won't have to tolerate this for long."

...Did I say home? I guess it is our home for the night, at least. Not a very sweet one, though.

I'm not sure if I was reassuring or if Ema's just not strong enough to resist, but she stays quiet as Klavier picks her up and sets her over his free shoulder. He has a harder time navigating now, but it's not like we were going that fast before.

Sunset is impending by the time we make it to the cave. It won't be long until the death toll now.

Situating myself near the entrance, I pull out the clipboard and pull the plastic wrap off. I might as well jot down who's gone if I can. It can't hurt to keep track.

I'm going to have to write down Clay's name... And I don't even know who else's at this point... Athena? Juniper? Hugh? Robin? One of Trucy's other friends?

I... think there were six cannons total today.

"Paper makes good kindling, but I don't believe an intense stare is going to be enough to light it."

Jumping, I frown at Klavier. "What? I'm not..." I sigh. "Do we need to start a fire? Because we don't have enough to keep one going for any amount of time." There were some small bushes dotting the rocks, but we didn't pick up any branches.

"I think we'll be fine. It's a bit cool, but the wind doesn't reach us here." Settling against the other side of the wall, he looks out at the sunset. "Ready to see who's left to play the game tonight?"

"Yeah." I twist the pen in my fingers. "I'll go ahead and take notes, to keep track of how far we've come."

"Good idea." Trucy sits a little bit behind me. I can feel her watching me intently.

"I'll be fine," I tell her quietly. I can't say I'm over much of anything, but I've done more than enough crying today. I'm going to focus on my notes. Just writing some genders and districts. No crying.

I probably click the pen twenty times before the anthem starts up. Now it's just the Capitol seal over the night sky. Nothing to write down about that.

First is the girl from 1. A Career down, right from the start. I wonder who managed that.

I glance at Klavier but flick my gaze back to the sky. It's hard to tell in the dim light, but he didn't seem to be reacting with anything but surprise. I guess he did say that a male attacked him.

Not until Clay's face appears do I notice the stars twinkling behind the projection.

My eyes prickle immediately.

D-darn it...! I...

I can't...

I do my level best not to make a sound, but I can't keep the tears in my eyes, even if I shut them.

Th-there he was... among the stars. But—! He shouldn't... Not like this...! Not... like this...

I feel Trucy hugging me, her arms trembling, but I don't manage to look back at the night sky until the anthem is already fading. The girl from 12, then the Capitol seal. Shoot...

"Trucy...?" I take a deep breath, craning my neck towards her. "Who was... after Clay?"

She casts her gaze to the ground. "I... didn't see. Sorry."

...Of course. She was friends with him, too. Who wasn't...?

Wh-who would do this...?!

I suck in a breath, wiping my face clean and turning to Klavier. "I... missed a couple. Who all was up there?"

He meets my gaze, a gleam of moonlight going around his lenses. "Ah. It was Fräulein Arme from 1, Herr Terran from 3, Constance from 6…" He trails off, staring at the wall.

Trucy grips her fingers. "Klavier?"

He snaps his gaze back to us. "Ach, my apologies. Just needed a moment to remember. After her were one each from, um, 8, 10, and 12."

"Eight?" Trucy gasps, hand flying to her mouth. "J-Jinxie's from 8!"

"Ah, no, no. The only other Fräuleins were from 10 and 12."

"Oh…" Trucy looks down. "So, Florent…"

I scribble the genders and districts down before shutting my eyes. It's not as hard to handle when I can't see it...

"Well, I'll go ahead with the first watch of the night." Klavier is standing when I look up, though I can't see his mouth move in the lack of light. "I'm a bit of a night owl, anyway."

"Thank you." Trucy starts scooting back. "Good night."

"Good night." I think he turns to smile at her, but I can only see the glint on his shades moving.

I get to my feet, although I don't go any farther into the tunnel. "You know, they're called sunglasses for a reason."

He laughs quietly. "I wear my sunglasses at night. It's not a crime."

"Crime doesn't get you killed here, stupidity does. You can't see anyone coming with those things on." I cross my arms. "Are they prescription or something?" His brother has glasses, after all.

"Of course not."

My bracelet doesn't react. Maybe he really is that stupid, and I've been sorely overestimating him.

Or maybe I can't see any tells when I can't actually see.

I try not to sigh. "Listen, if you can't see anything without wrecking your night vision with those, you shouldn't even be on a night watch."

"I told you—" his voice has hardened—"they are not prescription." A slash of light tells me he's finally yanked them off.

"Fine." Whether or not I'm right, I'm not winning this battle. If we're going to be allies, I have to trust him enough to pull some of the weight. "Good night."