Peeta POV

Johanna's voice is filled with rage, "Listen here brainless! I need a real answer. No more of these secrets or I'll bury my ax in your skull!" Gale lets out a chuckle, as do a few of the other members of the band. Some inside joke I assume.

"Good luck," I hear Haymitch mumble. Katniss let's out a sigh and stands up to begin pacing in front of the fire, " My father never told my family that our last name was really Everdeen, because he was the original Everdeen. Then he was only in trouble for illegal hunting and minor thefts. But he didn't want his family to ever get in trouble for it. So he changed his last name before he married my mother. He told me however about our real last name. Then he taught me to hunt and fight. Your mother had him executed for his crimes and our family nearly starved to death. I had to watch them shrink away to nothing. All my life I watched people starve to death and you nobles did nothing to help! Such a simple thing it would be for you people to save the people of this kingdom. But you don't even care; all you care about it expensive dresses and fancy feasts. So I took on the name and tradition of Everdeen and picked up where my father left off. Originally it was just Gale and I, we pulled simple jobs and distributed our spoils. A few people joined in, as the name became more widely known. Then the jobs got bigger, the spoils as well. And so did the group. That's how this came to be. Everyone brought something new to the group, we learned from each other, trained with each other, and trusted each other." She turns to Johanna and growls, "How's that for an answer?"

Haymitch places a tentative hand on her shoulder. She looks up to him and smiles warmly.

"So how did the rest of you come to be here then?" Annie's curious voice still soft and kind like she is, but there is evident sadness in it as well. They all gaze around the fire. Gale sighs and stands closer to the fire. "My father and Katniss' were close. They hunted together, and were executed together. Like Kat I was trying to help my family survive. But also I knew that what Everdeen was doing was right. When Katniss told me her father was Everdeen and that she intended to carry on his legacy I didn't hesitate to join her. My little sister was on the verge of death and something needed to be done."

"I was the next one to join." Haymitch said solemnly, "You're mother executed my entire family, everyone I loved, because they had tried to escape to Silex. I was to come after them, but instead found out they had died. I stumble drunkenly through the woods for days. I finally passed out and these two found me. They fed me and sobered me up. I asked what a twelve year old and a fourteen year old were doing in the woods and they told me. For the longest time they had me pretend to be Everdeen to keep up the act that he was a grown man. But it was Kat here who did all the work, made all the plans, and decided what to do with the loot. She amazed me, I knew I'd follow her anywhere." He grasped her shoulder and she smiled sadly and shyly at him. Being complimented was not something she was used to.

Finnick was the next to speak, "I was the son of a fisherman. Life was easy really, considering the lives of many others. We had food, and shelter. But I still had heard rumors of Everdeen. He was such a hero. I revered him and all the good he was already doing. People praised how he was standing up to the Queen. One day I heard that their last job had been on a road not to far from where I lived. I went into town and found this crazy old drunk blabbering and saying he was with Everdeen. I was the only one who took him seriously. Gale and Kat found me hauling him home. I ended up questioning them about Everdeen. Saying that the old drunk had been bragging about him. I could tell they knew about him so I begged and pleaded them to take me to him. Saying I wanted nothing more than to join them. Boy was I surprised when I found out that the legendary Everdeen I had come to revere was a sixteen year old girl.''

Katniss chuckled, "I believe you laughed and thought we were joking for nearly a month. Till our next job that was. Then came the look of surprise on this jokers face." Haymitch and Gale laughed uproariously and Katniss chuckled behind her smirk. They all must be remembering Finnick's face when he found out. I'll bet it was indeed very amusing.

"I lived in a town not far from where Finnick was," Beetee spoke up, "one day I was traversing between my town and the next. I heard a commotion and knew that it was Everdeen. My whole village had recently received spoils from one of their jobs. It allowed me to purchase the medicine that saved my wife. So I followed them and convinced them that they could use my knowledge of strategy and such."

"Haymitch and I were old buddies. One day when they were distributing I ran into them. Haymitch convinced me to join, and Everdeen that I could be valuable to the group. I was always a good fighter and so I agreed to join." I had never heard Chaff speak more than one sentence so to hear him talk for so long was astonishing.

Rue took a long look at Thresh, the intimidating large man who never said much. "Thresh and I are cousins. We were both raised as healers. After one bad mission they brought Gale to our village seeking a healer. They were directed to us and we fixed him up. They questioned us about Everdeen and found that we also respected what he was doing. So they asked if we would come and be the healers for the group. They taught us to fight and we taught them healing plants and other healing techniques. I also taught them to hide in the trees and how to move silently among the treetops. That was when we built our camp above the ground."

Madge gave Finnick a playful punch in the shoulder before beginning her tale. "My father was the sheriff of the village where I grew up. One day this lot travelled through and stopped at the local tavern where I had been working. That joker leaned on the bar all suave and intoxicated. He flirted rather shamelessly and needless to say no matter how attractive he was it pissed me off a bit. I went outside for a break and he followed me. Out of fear I pulled my throwing knives from where I kept them hidden in my skirt. I secured his clothing to the wall and Gale saw the whole thing. He offered me a place among Everdeen's men, saying that my skill would be very useful. I agreed. I hated working at the tavern, drunk men get handsy and I was more than willing to get out of there."

"Well Peet you kind of know what happened to me. But I doubt a lot of it is truth. Everdeen's actions were huge by this point. There was not a corner of Panem that didn't know his name. I hated how my uncle talked about how much better we were than all the other scum. We rode through the nearby village one day and a man asked us for some coins. He made the mistake of grabbing my uncle's cloak. Uncle took his sword and killed him. He told me it was the right thing to do because that scum had the nerve to touch him and ruin his cloak. I was so repulsed. That night I told uncle I wanted to come visit you at the castle. I grabbed all the valuables I could and set out hoping Everdeen would intercept me. I took the minimal guard I could without causing suspicion and made sure they were rather inexperienced. It worked and when they caught us I surrendered and begged them to allow me to join." He had made his way towards me and clapped me on the back. "And here I am!"

That only left Marvel. "I was one of the guards Cato assigned to come with him. When Cato surrendered I did too. I was so tired of having to treat the villagers the way we did. Pushing them around, even stealing from them. Arresting some for things that were not their faults. Sometimes we had to execute them. It made me sick. I was with Cato and his uncle Crane that day Cato spoke of. I saw the disgust on Cato's face mirrored in my own. So I volunteered to be part of his guard. I had a feeling he was going out in search of Everdeen and I wanted to join as well. To actually fight for a worthy cause."

The rest of the evening was filled with joy. A few musical instruments were procured and Chaff, Beetee and Thresh played them around the fire. After the first few songs Annie grabbed Finnick's hand and they danced a playful jig. Johanna followed suit and grabbed Gale's hand, a devious smirk upon her lips when she saw how clearly uncomfortable Gale was. Cato took hold of Madge's hand and Marvel took Rue's and they joined the merry dancing. Gale only made it one dance so I took his place as Johanna's partner.

"Hey sweetheart,'' Haymitch hollered, "grace us with a song?"

Katniss was about to reject the offer but then Rue gasped, "Oh yes please Katniss?" A softness crossed her eyes as if she simply couldn't refuse Rue. I wonder why? But she nods in agreement.

A new tune begins to play but I don't recognize it. Katniss opens her mouth and begins to sing. But my mind doesn't even register the words because her voice it enticing and captivating. If I thought I had fallen for the girl at the ball, or the eyes that I dreamed of, I never knew what falling was until tonight. Hearing her sing, everything else fell silent as if the whole world quieted just to hear her voice, I know that now I am officially a goner. A playful nudge in my ribs brings me back to the present.

"You're staring Peet," Johanna mutters, "and drooling." My hand instinctively goes to my mouth to wipe the drool away but it finds nothing. Johanna laughs and continues the dancing.

That night as I fall asleep I can't keep my mind off of Katniss Everdeen. She was beautiful at the ball. But now that I have seen her for who she really is she is stunning. I'm in awe of the skills she possesses in fighting. How graceful and lethal she is. But what haunts me the most is her voice.