A/N: Updated 2/3/2014 with some edits

The next day, Noah was sniffly but he would take that over the hacking cough that plagued him after the fire. Waking up mid-day, he checked his campsite. Searching his traps, he found what appeared to be a skunk as well as another squirrel. As he began disassembling one trap so he could re-use it, another tribute poked out of the bushes. Gasping, Noah backed up and unsheathed his knife.

"Did you kill that?" The red-haired girl from Five asked. Nodding, Noah looked at the skunk. "Is this yours?" She asked as she held up a length of rope that was tied to the animal's ankle.

"Uhhuh." Noah muttered. "Um - where's your district partner?"

"He died in the bloodbath." Noah nodded then his eyes widened as he realized who the girl was.

"After he killed my sister -" The red-haired girl backed away.

"I - I'm just trying to find food." She stammered noticing the knife in Noah's hand.

" - Half." Noah said quickly. "Half this skunk." The two tributes cut the skunk loose from the trap and skinned it.

"There. Half." The girl nodded before hurrying away.

"Kid's too nice." Finnick muttered over Beetee's shoulder watching the exchange on Beetee's tablet. Ignoring the glare from Wiress, Finnick continued. "I know you don't want him to kill in there, but he needs some motivation to get home."

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Beetee growled.

"No, but I know you want your son to live." The sound of a chair tipping over jolted Finnick's gaze at Noah gathering leaves on the monitor on Beetee and Wiress' workstation.

"You don't -" Wiress hissed. "You don't have a child you raised in -"

"Nuts! Chill out!" Johanna called from her station. "Finnick really is trying to help!"

"So what?" Wiress yelled stamping her foot. "Send him a weapon or -"

"That's exactly what you should do." Haymitch said ambling over before taking a swig from an amber bottle. "At the right time, mind you. Give the kid a sign that he needs to change up his game to come home." Wiress' heavy breathing as she fought back sobs was the only sound in the mentor room.

"I will show them -" She whispered after a long moment. "That he can fight."

As night fell, Noah made a new camp nearer to the center of the arena. A rustling noise startled him before he saw a small figure climb a tree in the distance. Making out two figures making signs to each other in the trees, he realized the two were hatching a plan. Shortly after the national anthem played, he saw something fall to the ground from a tree that was very near the Careers' camp.

Dozing off and on during the night, Noah wondered what would happen once morning came. Shouts of pain from the Careers' camp startled him to full wakefulness. As he approached their camp, he saw them fighting off tracker-jackers.

"Hurry up!" Brutus screamed at Enobria as she tapped her tablet to send a canister of bug spray that would deflect the tracker-jackers as well as lessen the effects of their stings. As the parachute fell to the ground, it was snatched by a small hand before Noah fled from the scene before the tracker-jacker mutts came for him. "WHERE DID IT GO?" Brutus screamed.

"I believe our son knows the answer to that question." Beetee said smugly as Wiress smiled taking his hand under the table. As Noah ran, he sprayed himself with the bug spray to ward off the tracker jackers that would have otherwise followed him. Beetee laughed with relief knowing his son was safe from the mutts. Wiress smiled knowing Noah's actions put the Careers at a disadvantage. Their relief was broken by a scream of anger as Glimmer and the District Four girl fell to the ground succumbing to their stings followed closely by the District Two tributes falling to the ground twitching with some sort of seizure activity.

"DUDE!" Finnick yelped as Brutus sprang from his chair and ran toward the District Three workstation. Finnick had a split second to react as Brutus' fists flew through the air. "GET BACK!" He yelled knowing Brutus would have punched Beetee into a bloody pulp if given the chance.

"I'LL KILL YOU, THREE!" Brutus screamed in fury before howling and doubling over thanks to Chaff's swift kick to his crotch. The door to the mentor room burst open ending the commotion.

"Hey! I'll send in Peacekeepers to this room if you all don't sit back down!" Seneca Crane called into the mentor room. "Fight through your tributes, you all know that!"

"It's cool, man. We got it." Chaff called over Brutus' cursing and moaning as Gloss, Cashmere, and Enobria dragged him back to his workstation. "Brutus might want a doctor for his junk though."

"He's ok -" Wiress began watching Noah spray himself once more before closing the nozzle of the bug spray and placing it in his backpack. Taking Beetee's tablet, she scrolled down the list of gifts to send Noah a coil of wire and some more iodine tablets.

"Thanks, mom and dad!" Noah called as he set up several traps in case the Careers that made it through the tracker-jacker swarm headed his way. After determining the coast was clear, Noah sat down and tried to see how many nuts from a trail-mix pack he could catch in his mouth. "Ten for me!" He cheered as his parents chuckled.

Much to Beetee and Wiress' relief, The Capitol was entertained by the Careers and Katniss Everdeen recovering from the tracker-jacker venom for the remainder of the day and the next day. The mentors were impressed by Katniss' determination to steal Glimmer's bow and arrows even as the venom was taking over.

On the second day after Katniss set the mutts on the Careers, Noah woke up very close to the Careers' camp. Tiptoeing toward Cato, the large District Two boy, Noah unraveled a spool of wire. "Stay asleep - stay asleep -" Noah murmured a second before Cato opened his eyes and jumped at Noah pinning him to the ground

"What are you doing?" Cato growled.

"Traps!" Noah gasped as Cato pressed on his airway. "I'm - making - a trap -"

"Who's there?" Another voice asked.

"Shut up, Loverboy!" Cato growled. "Little victors' kid trying to kill us all like his daddy did!"

"Wait - I don't even have a battery!" Noah gasped. "I was trying to do it for you!"

"Like hell you were!" The voice of Cato's district partner growled.

"I was!" Looking toward the Cornocupia, Noah forced Cato's hand off of himself and sat up. "Mom and Dad taught me how to make a trap from the mines. Around the Cornucopia."

"That's the sign! That's it - send something!" Wiress breathed gripping her husband's shoulders as she peered at his tablet.

"OW! Wiress - quit - my shoulders - I'll send it!" Beetee gasped sending Noah a toolkit that cost half of Noah and Estelle's sponsor money. Reaching his hands back, he gripped Wiress' hands as they waited.

"See?" Noah asked opening his toolkit. "You all are still sick - sorta - so - yeah."

"How exactly will you do that?" 'Loverboy' the District Twelve tribute asked.

"Um - well, we can booby-trap the food." Noah explained before Clove snorted.

"Except, we want to eat it."

"Well, we can make a maze so if someone tries to steal it, they get trapped." The Careers were silent. "Mom and Dad said it worked. And they got out of the arena."

"Ok, kid." Cato said before grabbing Noah by the shoulders and snarling into his face. "But remember this, one move, and you're dead!"