Finnick PoV

May Jynn started her speech about how she was expecting one of them to be the next one to sit here with her in the following year. She mainly addressed Fresud though. He did look like a winner. That grin the lean to his shoulders. I had thought like him once too. You could clearly see that he was the kind of child that was acting mean and bullied others to feel mighty.

Cresta on the other hand looked easily distracted. She glanced at Hoodge from the side who was looking at the ceiling probably searching for one of his imaginary monsters that always haunted his dreams. The monsters every victor had but only few showed to the outside world.

"I am sure that this year will be lucky for District 4! I can feel it in my guts!" exclaimed May Jynn in the typical Capitol accent which I learned to despise over the years. "I feel something in my small toe I am not sure whether it is victory though." Hoodge exclaimed and caused Cresta to gaze at him with a curious interest.

I frowned looking at her myself. She seemed to try to understand his behavior. If she succeeded and learned to analyze her enemies she could have a chance of surviving by luck. "What is your strategy?" I asked still looking at her curious myself now. May Jynn looked at me displeased since I had interrupted her monologue that was now solely addressed to Fresud. I ignored her gaze though. I couldn't bother right now to put up with a stuck up Capitol person only concerned about her hair. "I am going to join the Careers and win the games." Fresud sneered and slumped in his chair like he already won the games simply by being drawn.

"I didn't ask you, Fresud," I countered annoyed at his cocky behavior and frowned unnerved. This guy would be a lot of trouble. The kind that started fights before the games and was too hot headed and arrogant to stick to plans. I already hated him. Not because he was the way he was, but because I knew with his behavior he would surely be the next face imprinted on my closed eyelids. The next kid, which would surely die. And he would give another family a reason to despise me.

"I don't care whether you asked me! You have to listen to me. You are my mentor and you have to help me!" Fresud answered and I would have snapped his neck if Mags wouldn't have held me back with a meaningful look. Luckily Alistair answered in my stead. "Exactly. We are your mentors so you two better listen closely now. Don't get me wrong. I have family and a lovely granddaughter. I don't hate children, but we can't treat you like that anymore. You are now tributes in the game and you will be treated as adults. You will have to survive. And to survive you will have to possess three things. One might be easier for you then the other it depends on what kind of person you are, but nothing changes the fact that you will have to change your view." I always envied him for being this calm. It looked too easy when he did it. I could still remember how much of a despicable brat I was when I got here and he had later told me that he really had wanted to give me a slap, but living in his big family had taught him better. Sometimes I wished my family could still do the same for me.

"Perfect and what are those points?" Fresud asked as if he already knew them perfectly well. Cresta also looked at the other expectantly. She seemed to still not want to look at me. It was probably better if there was distance and it was a welcomed change.

Alistair looked at Hoodge expectantly who cleared his throat. "The first thing... listen really, really closely the first thing is...!" he looked at the ceiling distracted. "Hoodge!" All of us victors scolded him at once making him snap to attention again. "The first thing is adaption. Adapt to the situation and the people." He looked behind him with a frown. "Did anyone else see that bunny just now?"

I sighed and shook my head he was really shaken every game. It was like he was reliving his own games again and everything got stirred up again.

"So you only have to adapt?" Fresud asked with a frown. "And that is supposed to be hard?" I rolled my eyes. He clearly understood nothing at all.

"There is more to it than you think, Mathew," said Mags with a smile. "There is also point two. You will have to think. It sounds easy, but it isn't you will have to use your mind a lot in the games. Simply using muscles won't win you anything if you are fighting against an intelligent opponent." It was hard for me to not add that this point would be the hardest for him, but he just acted cocky again like he already knew everything to survive.

"And the third point…," I began my voice as even and smooth as I managed using my capitol member reserved voice. "Is instinct. Without a natural sense of which way to go or who to trust and who to kill you will die within a matter of hours." I didn't sugarcoat it. I tried that the first year and I saw them die. One slaughtered in the first minutes the other slowly draining of blood after 2 days. Mary and Robert had been their names. I would never forget those two frightful faces. The pleading tone when they asked me how I did it and if they could do it too.

"And that's it? That is easy," Fresud exclaimed. "Don't be too sure of yourself. Everyone else knows those basic rules as well. If it were easy nobody would die."

An uncomfortable silence spread across the room and filled every inch with a queasy feeling that wouldn't go away until May Jynn clapped her hands and two Avoxes came in. "I think it's time for dinner! It will be lovely the food on the train is one of the best!" She never failed to look ridiculous when smiling. Like a grotesque painting of a 3 year old that saw smiles too wide and cheerful.

The food was served and slowly conversation sat in again. Mags tried to get Cresta to talk a little more she seemed like a nice and polite girl. I was distracted by the others though. Fresud ate anything he wanted and was pretty messy with it, which got himself a disgusted look by May Jynn. Of course the fine Capitol people weren't used to others eating without manners. I myself didn't really like looking at something like that, but May Jynn's face was hilarious.

Alistair tried to get Hoodge to sit back at the table, which was pretty hard considering he hung behind the couch searching for the rabbit he had seen.

Just when I considered standing up and helping Alistair, Cresta started talking. Mags got her to talk about her family reaction. When I heard about her father I couldn't help myself. "You must really hate him now." She looked at me like I just said her favorite pet died in a tragic accident I had caused. "No! Why would I hate him? I never could he is my father." "But he still acted wrong. He should have been worried or sad. You aren't supposed to be happy if your daughter goes off to..." I broke off. I may be cold but telling her to her face that I thought she was going to die was too much. "Going to die?," she asked though and looked at me her jaw set. "No... no! I didn't mean...," I tried to take a verbal step back and explain what I meant instead when I really meant just that. "I know that everybody here thinks I will die. I am a girl and I am not well trained. I come from a wealthy family and I shouldn't be here. Even I think I will die, but I will try to survive as long as I can." She surprised me with that confession nobody who had a strategy would say that freely, nobody who was really trained would take that kind of direction and yet she said it. The room fell silent once again and I looked at her stunned searching for words I didn't have when suddenly I saw a blurred motion at my right side. Before I knew what was happening Hoodge had thrown himself onto the table directly into the large soup bowl gripping a white tissue with a way too high triumphant laugh that filled the entire room. "I got the bunny!"