POV District 12 Adoss Drysay

I had spent almost an hour sitting in front of the mirror, trying to brush all the hairspray out. But whatever the prep teams had used and done to my hair, I couldn't really fix it. I'd probably be stuck with this haircut until my hair grew out again. And I'd be dead by that time. My lips curled like a snarling dog, and I dropped the hairbrush. Leaning on my elbows, I stared at myself in the mirror, rhythmically tapping my fingers back and forth along my cheek. "Hey Adoss?" I didn't turn around, I just looked at Zalnys in the mirror. "You going to come eat?"

I looked at him for a moment. "Why?"

He gave me a look, slowly making his way over to me. He was tentative, like I would turn and bite him if he went too fast. "What happened to you? You were actually in a good mood a while ago." I sighed, spinning around in my chair to face him. I just gave him a sorry look instead of responding, and he gave me his sympathetic eyes. He kneeled down beside me, so we were eye level. "I'm not supposed to be the brave one," He whispered, playing with my hair.

"I know," I choked, and his smile reflected back on me.

"Come on, Katniss really wanted both of us to go," He informed me, getting to his feet. I hesitated for a moment, just standing there. He gave me a look as he turned around and started making his way to the door. I still didn't move right away, my feet glued to the chair. I didn't really want to face them. I didn't want to face anyone. If they could just start the Games right then, right in the building, I would sit in my room until someone found me and killed me in the same chair.

I took a deep, shaking breath, and I noticed Zalnys slow his pace. I pushed myself out of my chair, and ran up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He laughed, grabbing the sides of the doorway to keep me from plowing the both of us over. I closed my eyes, and I almost felt like I was back with him in the Seam. He still smelled like coal, though that could easily be due to the dust from the Opening Ceremony. He put his arms over mine, his fingers tracing over my knuckles.

After about a minute, he laced his fingers through mine, gently pulling my arms away. He draped his arm over my shoulders, still holding onto my hand. He led me out into the wide room, and I kept my eyes focused on the table. We were twelve stories up, and I didn't want to look down. Ranoy, Katniss, and Peeta were already at the table. Katniss locked her eyes on me as we joined them, and I remembered what Zalnys had said. What did she have in store?

"Hello," She greeted, though she didn't look up at us. Silence almost instantly crashed down on us, and I bit my tongue. Ranoy cleared his throat, and Katniss gave him a tiny glare of a look. "Well, as you for sure know, the Games are dangerous for everyone. And I don't mean just the tributes, us too," She began, looking rather lost.

"We're going to do everything we can to get one of you out," Peeta cut in quickly. "But the thing is, we can only get one of you."

Zalnys and I shared a look, and then I followed his gaze to Ranoy. He had been sitting silently, eating his food, and when he noticed Zalnys, he gave a look to everyone. "What?"

"Ranoy is on our side," Katniss explained.

That got me even more confused. "As opposed to being on the careers' side?" I asked stupidly, and Katniss gave me a look.

"No, as opposed to being on the Capitol's side," She responded. "He gets the Games like we do."

"Save neither of us then," I butt in, which cut off Peeta. Everyone at the table was staring at me, and I focused on Zalnys, who was gaping at me. "I mean, I'm not going home. I don't want to."

"But Adoss," Zalnys began, looking lost. I could feel the fear expressing on my face, and it slowly turned into a glare.

"Zalnys, I'm can't just go home alone," I barked, and Katniss, Peeta, and Ranoy were instantly on the sidelines. "I'm not going to just go home and move on." I jumped to my feet, and Zalnys looked almost terrified. I could feel the others' gazes burning into me, but I ignored them. "Maybe I shouldn't have spoken for you, I understand that." I turned to them, leaning onto the table. "I'm done with this - I don't need to be apart of it. I'm done, and I'm dead." I made a snarky face, nodding my goodbye and storming away. "Adoss!" I couldn't even recognize who it was that was screaming for me, as the door to my room slammed shut.

POV District 6 Arda Emc

The stars were sparkling above my head. I almost felt like I was home, but I knew I wasn't. The hard, muddy ground wasn't as soft as the bed sheets were. The air didn't smell like fake flowers and strange foods. But the stars still looked the same. I ran my thumb over the buttons on the remote, my hair spread out in a wave around my head. It was still curled, but not as tightly as it had been when I was standing in the chariot. I knew it would flatten out by the time I woke up. I had to hope for that more than I knew, because I didn't want to look too prepped up for the first day of training.

Suddenly the stars flickered, forcing me to open my eyes again. Then they shut off, and I sat up as the sound of the door opening reached me. I looked over my shoulder, and I'iem was standing in the doorway. "You broke the sky," I commented, watching him.

He smiled, looking down at his feet. I turned myself towards him as he came closer. I stayed silent as he took his time, eventually plopping down onto my bed. "Thing is Arda," At first it didn't prick my attention. He paused and looked up at my face, and when I ran the sentence through my mind again, I realized it.

"Kay," I stuttered, looking at him wide in fear. Did he tell anyone? If he did, would I get in trouble? What would happen to me?

"-is your sister," He finished, watching me. I nodded slowly. My mouth was open, but no words came out. "Your twins, Kay and Bourr, they came to visit me after the Reaping," He explained gently. "They told me the story." My eyes drifted down to my hands, away from him. "It's very brave, what you did," He offered, bending down to try and catch my attention.

"If I was brave I would've said my name," I responded, finally looking up to meet his eyes. He gave me a sympathetic look, but he didn't correct me. "What am I going to do?" I asked, my voice cracking and shaking as tears started to rush to my eyes.

"It's ok," He said, grabbing my shaking hands. But my arms started shaking afterwards. "We can tell Orird and Delet, and they can figure out what to do." I sniffed, blinking away the tears. "I promised them, and I promised you. I'll take care of you, and nothing bad will happen."

POV District 3 Moria Kegariss

I was shaking as I rode down the elevator - not from the cold, from fear. I knew the doors would be locked on the bottom floor, I wasn't trying to escape the building - just my floor. Eagee had spent all dinner strategizing with Irrhin Vorchaler and Pilyn Electer, our mentors. I spent the entire dinner talking about some of the systems they had in the building Coale. "You think Coale will sponsor you?" He had asked afterwards, and evil smile on his face.

I shut my eyes tight, trying to get the image of his devilish smirk out of my head. The elevator came to a smooth stop, and I looked up at the door. My hair was still gently curled, but it was wrapped around my shoulders instead of a ponytail. I still had my makeup on, but everything else had been taken off. I had put on a long grey shirt and black shorts, and a sheer grey robe around my shoulders that looked nicer than my curtains back home. It didn't even really have sleeves, so it was like a cape. But Coale wouldn't let me out of my room without it.

The doors slid open, and my bare feet froze on the cold white marble. I felt more lost than ever, looking out at the dark, empty room. I leaned back onto the wall beside the elevators, crossing my arms over my chest and looking around. Then something started clicking. I looked around, and up at the tall ceiling that stretched above me. It went all the way up to the twelve floor, and all the floors the tributes lived on were on the opposite side of the elevators. A tiny blue light flashed every so often, far up on the top of the ceiling.

I kept my eyes focused on it as I slowly pushed myself off the wall and walked over. The light seemed to move. I let my eyes trail down, and I noticed another blue light in the corner, wrapping around left of the elevators. I looked towards the rounded corner near the front doors, and there was a blue light there. In spun around, and there were blue lights in every corner.

I slowed to a stop, wobbly on my feet and dizzy. As I regained my balance, something caught my eye. A shadow in the wall. I crept towards it, my feet still a bit unsteady. I reached out towards the uneven wall, and my fingers wrapped around the edge. I was able to stick my fingers under it, and I slowly pulled it open. It was even darker inside, but slowly light blue and green lights, and monitors with glowing pictures revealed themselves. Once I had opened it just wide enough to fit my shoulders in, I stuck my head in. My eyes traced around the room, and when I reached the left corner, there was a man standing there.

I gasped, leaping back and fumbling to slam the door. I fell backwards, and I started trying to scramble away. My finger nails clicked on the floor, my hands shaking. For once I actually felt like I wanted to go into the Games - at least survive to that point. Those monitors were hooked up to cameras - that's what the blue lights were, they were on the cameras. I had found it, and I had found someone in there. He had looked straight at me, he had seen me.

I wanted to move, but my legs were frozen in place. Silence gripped the room, and when I had finally started to calm down, he slipped out of the room. My hands flew to my mouth, fighting to keep from screaming. He didn't say anything. He closed the door in the wall behind him with his foot, and then stood over me. He crossed his arms, looking...disappointed. My expression softened, and my hands fell a bit. He wasn't all that intimidating.

He wore a suit, though it was sleeveless. He had short cut, brown hair, matching brown eyes, and tan skin. He had faint tiger stripes tattooed into his skin, but otherwise was normal looking. But I could see his muscles without his sleeves, which is what scared me. "I thought you were braver than this," His voice was deeper and more fluid than any other Capitol voice I had heard.

"I thought you'd be more violent than this," I replied, my voice soft and my body still shaking.

He cracked a smile at me. "You don't even know who I am, do you?" I narrowed my eyes, looking him over. I shook my head - I would remember a tiger. "Mylute Picker," He said, stepping forward and offering me a hand.

I gave him a suspicious look, tentatively taking it. "Moria Kegariss." He pulled me up to my feet, and I almost fell back over again, but he didn't waver at all while I regained my balance.

"I know who you are," He responded, as if telling him my name was stupid. "The girl with the gears on her face." I glared at him, but he just smiled back. "The District 3 girl," He corrected. I looked at him in silence for a moment, confusion. "Somethin on your mind?" He asked, lifting his chin.

"Your name sounds familiar," I responded as I studied his face.

"Well, there's too ways you could know," He told me. "Maybe you know Belm Picker, District 7 escort? He's my older brother - by a year." I didn't respond. I knew the name, but I felt like there was more to the story. "Oh yes," He said, taking note of my expression. "Or you could be thinking of me as the head gamemaker for this year, and this year only."

My eyes widened. "You're the head gamemaker?" He nodded. "Belm Picker's your brother?" He nodded again. "You look and act nothing a like."

Mylute smiled, glancing at the floor while he kept silent. "Yes well," he huffed, looking back to me. "I'm the more...rejected, of the pair of us."

"You look rather young to be a gamemaker," I commented, looking him over. He shrugged. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen," He replied, and instantly looked up at me with wide eyes.

"Seventeen? And wouldn't that mean Belm Picker is eighteen?" I gaped.

Mylute lunged torward at me, grabbing my cheeks with one hand and pulling my face close to his. "You better keep your trap shut," He hissed at me. "You wanna know the truth? My uncle lied for us. He got us our spots, and I play my cards right, I'll be doing better than a gamemaker by next year." His breath was hot on my face, and I was shaking violently. "I control the Games, remember that," He added, snarling like a dog. I nodded, and he let go of me, and I instantly collapsed to the floor - by choice.

He looked down at me, glaring, when something started beeping on him. He pulled a small pager out of his pocket, and looked from it to me. He huffed, slipping the pager back in his pocket. "It turns out I need a ride up the elevators - you're coming with me, and you'll stop at the third floor." I nodded, and as soon as I got to my feet, her grabbed my arm and pulled me along beside him.

The elevator doors opened as soon as we reached it, and I wondered if his pager had been able to call the elevator. He pulled me in beside him, and let go only for a second to quickly pressed two buttons - third floor, and an unmarked button. I was still shaking, and he glanced over at me. His grip loosened, and the slight pain wore away. I counted the floors as we went up. When we passed the second floor, he let go of my arm.

"I'm sorry if I made you say something you shouldn't have," I whispered, my stomach beginning to turn and my face getting hot. I looked at him, catching him studying me. When I caught his eye, he waved me off silently and looked away. "I won't tell anyone." Mylute looked at me again, his expression softer. I grinded my teeth, and suddenly turned and wrapped my arms around his waist. "I promise."

I could feel all his muscles tense in him. "This a custom in District 3?" He said uncomfortably, and I pulled away. I could feel my face turning even redder. "It's fine," He covered quickly, sounding embarrassed himself. "It's just different in the Capitol." I didn't respond, biting down on the tip of my tongue. He shrugged, "It's fine." The elevator came to a stop, and the doors slid open. The lights were off, and everyone had gone to bed - just like I had left it. "I'll see you in training tomorrow."

I nodded a goodbye silently, stepping out onto District 3's floor. I looked over my shoulder, and he gave a bit of a wave to me as the doors closed. I let out a heaving sigh, that I had kept locked up in my lungs. As my breathing started to even out, I looked at the little pager in my hand - that I had taken from Mylute's pocket when I hugged him. I pulled it close to my face, trying to find the right button. I had seen a model similar to this before. I quickly got to the previous message. "Roof top. District 5 tribute. Immediate attention."

I looked upwards, as if I could see what was happening through the ceiling. I slowly walked over to the other elevator, side by side with the one Mylute was traveling in, and pressed the button. It came down silently, and I quietly tapped my fingers on the pager when I stepped in. I bent down next to the buttons, and the one at the far right bottom was also unmarked. But there was a small etching in the black casing right above it, and when I ran my fingers over it, I found an r-o-o-f. I hesitated for only a heartbeat before pressing the button, and fell back as it began to shoot up.

POV District 12 Zalnys En'beli

I peered through the doorway. The lights were still on, though they were dimmed. I took a deep breath before taking a quick glance around the corner. Ranoy had gone to bed, but Katniss and Peeta were still awake at the table. I could just barely hear their voices drifting towards me. "I think its good they got in a fight," Katniss's voice came.

"And why's that?" Peeta inquired, sounding rather frustrated.

"Life isn't always going to be soft on people, especially in the Games," She responded gruffly. "The sooner they know that, the better." There was a pause, and then Katniss continued. "What? They also can't both come back. They need to learn that too, because we stole that opportunity."

"Didn't they both say that they wanted to die instead of go home? And they weren't even saying the other should go home," Peeta pointed out. "They wanted to go out together, and somehow, Adoss didn't know that was Zalnys' intentions."

"Unless their messing with us," Katniss cut in.

"I don't think they are," Peeta responded evenly. "And it's a very noble cause. If either of them change their mind - just say the word - and we'll do everything we can to save them. If not, let them play out their game."

"That's not how it's supposed to work Peeta," Katniss replied, sounding like a growl. "We're supposed to try. Even if we've never succeeded."

I had never realized it. Haymitch Abernathy, the victor who mentored both Peeta and Katniss, only every brought two victors - from the same game - within twenty-five years. They two of them had brought none. I had to be impressed that neither of them acted like him, who had been famous in District 12 as a drunk, but I felt bad for them. They had to endure the deaths of all the District 12 kids on their hands. "I know," Peeta sighed. "I want to do what's best for them."

"Then just let Adoss's out burst break them apart."

"One of them is going to die, if not both," Peeta pointed out. "I want them to be as happy as anyone can be in their situation. I like her, she reminds me of Willow."

"Then all the more reason to protect them from eachother!"

I stepped back, letting the door close. I didn't want to hear them anymore. I turned around, the room only lit by the bright lights from the rest of the Capitol. Adoss had fallen asleep not long after she had left, and I had slipped in to find makeup streamed down her face. I wanted to wake her up, but I didn't. I fell back into one of the chairs beside her bed, tapping my fingers on the arm of the chair. I stared out at the Capitol until I fell asleep.

POV District 3 Moria Kegariss

The door slid open silently to the elevator, and I was instantly hit by the wind. "Aldmos Sulorad! - is that your name?" I recognized Mylute's voice, screaming over the wind. I cautiously stepped out behind him, and luckily his back was turned to me. I followed his gaze, and standing on the edge of the building, I recognized as the boy from District 5 - just like the pager had said.

"Not like anyone else knows it!" Aldmos screamed back. "Back home, I'm known as the crazy kid!"

"Prove them wrong!" Mylute called back. "They don't know you - you can show them!"

"How!" Aldmos sneered back, jerking over his shoulder threateningly to look at Mylute. "By dying alone on the streets of District 13? I'd rather die here!"

"There's a force field!" Mylute screamed back quickly as Aldmos turned around. Every muscle in his body was tense, simply waiting for the wind to blow him and Aldmos off the roof itself. "It'll bounce you right back!"

"Not if you aim it right!" Aldmos responded, sounding proud of himself. "I aim it right, it'll bounce me right over the corner to the other force field! I'll get enough electric shocks by the time I hit the ceiling, you'll be too late."

"You can get allies if you show your intelligence in the training!" Mylute offered. "I'm the head gamemaker, I have connections!"

"You can't make them!" Aldmos shot back. Mylute was about to say something, but Aldmos continued. "I know you can't! You can give me a number, but that's a strength evaluation - not a mental! They all know my mental evaluation is zero! Nobody will ally with me!"

"You-" Mylute began, but Aldmos cut him off.

"Shut up! If you really wanted me to stop, you'd come get me!" Aldmos watched Mylute, but he didn't move forward. Aldmos turned, and took a step forward.

"I'll ally with you!" I screamed over the wind, my throat quickly getting strained. Both of them whipped around to look at me.

"The rest of your team will agree to that?" Aldmos shot back, his voice cracking a bit.

"I don't have a 'rest of the team'!" I replied, and Mylute looked even more shocked. I sniffed, tears running to my eyes. I wasn't lying. "Eagee hates me! Everyone can see I'm not strong, I'm just smart."

Aldmos pulled himself away from the edge of the roof. I glanced at Mylute, but he was just staring at me. He made a small motion towards Aldmos, and mouthed, "Promise".

I paused for a moment, then I remembered. I took one last look at Mylute before running over to Aldmos, throwing my arms around him. "I promise you, Aldmos! I'll be your ally! I'll protect you - if you protect yourself until we get there!"

"You're name's Moria, right?" He asked, talking in my ear so he didn't have to scream. I nodded.

"Aldmos," Mylute called after a few moments. "You ready to go back to your floor?" Aldmos hesitated, looking up at him, before nodding. I pulled away from him, but grabbed his hand as the pair of us walked over to Mylute. When we reached him, Mylute put his hand on Aldmos's back. It would seem like comfort to him, but I had to think he was also trying to prevent him from making another escape. We stepped inside the small room with the elevators, and Mylute ushered him in and pressed the floor five button for him.

"Are you coming?" Aldmos asked, looking at the pair of us.

I shook my head. "We'll be right down," Mylute answered.

"I'll see you tomorrow at training," I told him, and Aldmos nodded, a smile growing on his face. The doors slid closed, and I took in a deep breath.

"You are a lot smarter than I thought," Mylute complimented, turning back to me. "How did you know about this?" His eyes fell to my hands. I tossed it in the air, and he looked it over as he caught it. "My pager," He breathed, looking back up at me. He kept his eyes locked on me as he put his hand into his pocket, only to come up empty handed. He studied for a moment, and I kept quiet, biting back a smile that was slowly breaking it's way through the surface. A look of realization came to his face, "You sneaky devil."

"Glad I did, didn't you?" I pointed out. My heart was beating fast in my chest, and he reached out to touch my cheek. My face got hot with embarrassment, realizing my tears had spilled over.

"Did you really not have any allies?" He asked, studying my face. I nodded silently, my throat tightening as I bit down on my tongue. "I had absolutely know idea how. I would take you as an ally within seconds."

"Well, its not like you couldn't get reaped," I mumbled, and I instantly covered my mouth with my hands. "Sorry," I choked out through my fingers.

He smiled at me. "It's ok, as long as you only tell me," Mylute replied. "You're a lot braver too." I sniffed, my eyes getting flooded again. He made a sympathetic face, and suddenly pulled me to him in a hug. "What's wrong now?" He asked, slowly rocking me back and forth.

"Aldmos and I are in the same boat," I whimpered, my eyes burning. "Everyone seems to hate me - but I don't even have a reputation or anything, not one that I'm aware of. Eagee just hates me, for no reason. And it's not like I'll get any other allies, especially with Aldmos as a required ally for anyone else."

"I'm sure that there will be a few that will want to be your ally, atleast before Aldmos chases them away," Mylute said, trying to make a joke. He must've quickly realized it was wasted on me, and he rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Yeah, maybe the cute little twelve-year-olds," I sniffed, trying to make a joke myself.

"They've both got their brothers hovering over them," Mylute replied, pulling away from me to look me in the eyes. "There's got to be some other rejects around here though."

"What, are you being serious?" I asked, sniffing as I started to calm down. My heart was still thumping in my throat, but I had stopped crying.

He nodded. "I'm head gamemaker. I control the Games. You don't tell anyone about my brother and me, and you keep Aldmos from doing anything drastic, and I'll try to scrounge up another ally or two for you."

I smiled at him. "Thank you."

He nodded, smiling back. "How about this, come down tomorrow night by that door. I'll be the only one there." I nodded to him, and the elevator door opened again - empty. He ushered me into the elevator, his arm across my shoulders, pressing the third floor and ground floor buttons.

"And anyways," He mumbled as the elevator started to move down. "I'm the one that should be thanking you. I couldn't lost everything today - you saved me."