Makari comes out of his room ten minutes before they're supposed to go down to the basement, so he only manages to choke down an orange juice before Jack drags them out the door and into the elevator. It's a short trip; they stop on the sixth floor below. Yash and his district partner get on with a tall, lanky man who she assumes is one of the mentors since his hair is a normal 'district' brown.

Yash gives Eila and Makari a small smile. "Morning."

Knowing she and Makari have an ally makes what feels like a world of difference. He's strong, skilled, and resourceful. And he seems to get along with Makari, which takes some of that responsibility off her shoulders.

His district partner; a pale, raven-haired girl; sighs forlornly from the other side of him. Eila looks at him for help, and he rolls his eyes. He mouths, 'ignore her'.

"What are the plans for today?" He asks out loud.

"We should probably hit more survival stations today." She says.

Makari pipes up from beside her. "You'll need all the survival training you can get, Six has, like, no nature, right?"

"Aw, there's the occasional park here and there, but no one really strays from their home except for school, work, and groceries."

Yash offers a sheepish smile. Eila can't imagine a place like that. It must smell horrific. Walking under vibrant green tresses on the way home from school is one of the only joys in her life. The glass doors slide open to the basement. They shuffle out. Jack shoves Eila and Makari out of the lift, but the District 6 mentor grabs onto the shoulder of his two charges.

"I'll meet you both back here at the end of the day. Don't look for Apollonius; he's got a meeting."

Eila freezes. She's heard that voice before. The train station back in District 7. His voice is exactly the same, all gravelly and low. Looking at him up close, his stance is identical to the man that night, awkward and hunched. What on earth was a victor from District 6 doing in District 7?

She knows exactly what he was doing, really. The Capitol does not take kindly to talk of treason. If Snow catches wind of it, he's a goner. She has to force her legs to move forward. The opportunity has presented itself to her to get answers for whatever she heard at the station, and she has to drag herself away. It's almost impossible not to leap back into the lift.

For the second time, Eila and two dozen teenagers listen to the head trainer explain the rules. She's very insistent that they don't fight. She shoots looks at Eila and the girl from One. Eila scans the room for a place to talk as privately as possible. She drags Makari and Yash to the fire-making station. The trainer remembers them from yesterday, and she leaves them alone in favor of helping the clueless boy from District 5 who's tried using the matches as kindling.

Eila picks up a handful of leaves and starts crinkling them between her fingers, hoping it's enough to hide their conversation from any bugs planted nearby. "Pretend to build," She whispers to Makari out of the corner of her mouth.

He raises an eyebrow curiously but does as she asks. He takes a handful of kindling and stacks it carefully.

"Remember when I saw those men at the train station back in Seven? And I called the meeting in the school hall." She says.

Makari's face drops. "Eila, you can't be serious. How could I forget? Don't you think you've gotten into enough trouble as it is?"

The bitterness in his voice is unmistakable.

"There's no way to confirm if our being Reaped was rigged," She says. "Anyway, I know who it is now." She points at Yash. 'It was the mentor from your district in the elevator."

Makari frowns. "How can you be so sure?"

"I'm positive," Eila nods. She notices the perplexed look on Yash's face. She scrunches the leaves more loudly. "He was in Seven," she says. "Talking to some guy about rioting in the districts." Suddenly, something clicks in her brain. "By the Gods…"

"What?"

"The man he was talking to was chubby. Who's, like, the only person in Seven with that body type."

Makari's eyes widen. "Blight! You don't think the victors-"

They're interrupted by a Peacekeeper, but Makari gets what Eila's implying: the victors are scheming against the Capitol. The Peacekeeper makes them move from the station, eyeing them suspiciously as they toddle off to the camouflage table.

"Why was Chiron in-" Yash starts, but Eila holds her hand up.

She says. "We can't talk about it anymore. It's too risky."

Eila starts unsuccessfully turning her arm into a log. The boys pull out paints and decorate their skin as well. The three fall silent and stay that way for a long time.

"We should add more people to our alliance," Makari says suddenly after twenty minutes of tranquil body painting. "Three people aren't gonna get far."

"I'm not sure that's true, but I do agree with adding more people," Yash says. "Who've you got your eye on?"

Makari shrugs. "No one in particular."

Eila looks around the room for possible allies. All six Careers are spread across the room, annoying the other tributes. The girl from District 2 harasses the boy from District 10 to join the pack. A couple of stations over, the boy from Four is speaking with Yash's district partner.

"What if we split up for a couple of hours?" Eila says. "Work the room?"

Makari scrunches his face, "There's nothing I want to do less. What if I work with Yash, and you go around the room? Me and Yash can talk strategy or something."

There's no telling Makari what to do. The scowl on his face makes that apparent. It's the same scowl he wears back home at school. It's his way or no way.

"Okay," Eila cedes. She tries not to let the irritation seep into her voice. "I'll try win some of the others over."

She wipes their arms clean of the body paint, says "Wish me luck," and wanders into the middle of the gymnasium. She's not impressed by the dozen kids barely capable of running more than ten meters, but there are still tributes who could be worth the time. The boy from Ten is tall and scrappy. The girl from Nine swings across a rope course, her defined biceps rippling. Eila's eyes land on the girl from District 11. Tall, capable, no-nonsense attitude. She makes a beeline for her.

She doesn't acknowledge Eila when she joins her. Eila watches her for several moments, observing her long fingers fiddling with the logs. She struggles to start a fire, but Eila hangs back until the girl starts tutting in frustration.

"You want to move your hands down when starting a fire."

The girl looks at her with a hard-to-read expression. She slowly moves her hands down the stick and, sure enough, sparks catch. The kindling crackles to life.

"Thanks." The girl says. The corners of her mouth tilt up slightly.

"No worries. You learn how to make fires pretty quickly in Seven. We have a lot of logging camps."

"Useful."

Eila watches her douse the fire and start again. She repeats the process, once more moving her hands downwards as she twists the stick back and forth between her hands. Once again, the fire comes to crackles to life. She does this two more times.

"It's not a good idea to set fires in the games. I don't know why I'm learning to make one, but thank you." She says.

Eila offers her a smile. "No worries. I'm Eila, by the way." She holds her hand out.

The girl shakes her hand. "Clem."

Now that the girl's facing her, it's hard to ignore how pretty she is. Soft brown eyes, plush lips, a soft jawline. Her eyelashes are long, and as she focuses on what she's doing, they flutter slightly when she squints. Eila's brain stutters, and she stares at her for several seconds until Clem gives her a look.

"Everything okay?"

"Oh-" Eila awkwardly looks away. "I was just, um, thinking."

"About?"

"I was wondering if you maybe wanted to join my alliance?" She cringes at how childlike she sounds. "We're looking for more members."

Clem sighs in a way that makes Eila's heart sink. It's dripping with irritation. Eila tries not to feel stupid and self-conscious.

"Look," Clem says. She tears down the fire she made and replaces the wood with another fresh supply. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm not looking to join any alliances if I'm being honest. The last thing I need is other people to worry about. It's a good way to get killed."

"That's fair enough," Eila says. "The offer still stands, so if you change your mind, there's a spot for you with us. I'd appreciate having you there."

Clem gives her a small smile, "If I catch you in the arena, we'll see."

She goes back to her firemaking, and Eila stands up. What did she mean by 'catch?'. Clem didn't seem bloodthirsty, but would she attack if they ran into each other in the arena? Eila looks back at Clem, and her heart flips a little. She's pretty. So pretty. Eila finds herself wishing they weren't in this situation, then realizes losing romance isn't what's bad about being here. She huffs and turns away.

Pull it together, girl. Know your priorities.

Eila follows the crowd into the lunch room, off to the side of the gymnasium. Yesterday, most tributes sat by themselves, prodding their lunches sadly. Today, she notices the pairs and trios sharing meals. Clem is alone.

Yash waves Eila over from the table he's found. It's not just him and Makari at the table; a girl and two boys have joined them for lunch.

"We have some new friends?" She asks as she slides next to Yash. "You must have convinced Makari to socialize."

Makari throws a chunk of bread at her.

"Visia Tang and Chip Kumar from District 3." Yash gestures to the mousey pair of tributes beside him. Then he points to the dark-skinned tribute on the other side of Makari. "Thatcher Grady of District 11."

Eila nods to them. "You want to be part of our alliance?"

"We hope to be," Visia says.

"Well, ya can't just get in. What skills do you have?"

"Visia and I are smart," Chip says. "We're not as strong as any of you guys, but if the arena is urban in any way, we'll be really valuable."

If the arena is natural, they'll be useless except as bait. Eila almost recoils at the intrusive thought; what kind of person is she to consider using these kids as sacrifices? But as the seconds tick away, the idea takes root in her brain more deeply. It's horrific, but it might be necessary. It could save her life.

"What about you?" She asks Thatcher. "You probably picked up some skills from living in Eleven, right?"

He shrugs. "I'm from the lower class. My village is out of the way, so we don't get much work in the fields, but I'm good with identifying plants. And I can use a knife well enough."

Eila tries not to be disappointed. None of them have any game-changing skills, but the more of them there are, the better, she supposes.

"Okay. So we've got ourselves our little group. Now I need to pick your brains; how do we get rid of the Careers? If we want to have a chance, they need to go."

The table is silent for a long time. It's funny how the Threes wear their brainstorming on their face. Finally, Thatcher says, "We could steal the supplies little by little and stash it somewhere? They won't notice their supplies disappearing until a chunk of it is gone. Like the girl from District 5 last year, she only took small portions at a time so no one would notice."

The mention of last year's games tickles a memory in Eila's mind. "Remember last year when the boy from District 3 rigged all those bombs around the Cornucopia?"

Chip rolls his eyes.

"Chase's strategy was messy. Who sets up mines that close to each other? There's no way he thought the supplies wouldn't be decimated when one of the mines went off. It's his own fault the boy from Two freaked out on him."

"The Capitol commentators definitely thought it was brilliant," Visia says, nudging him with her elbow. They share a chuckle.

"Right…," Eila says. "When Katniss Everdeen destroyed the Career pack's supplies, they panicked. Get rid of their resources, and they're screwed."

Visia and Chip nod their heads eagerly. "We're like an anti-Career pack!" Visia says. She's the youngest of the group, but Eila still cringes at how immature she sounds.

"That's easier said than done," Yash says. "If they're smart, the Cornucopia will be guarded heavily. And why would we destroy the supplies? We need them as much as everyone else."

Eila shrugs. "We'll have to scope out what's in the arena before we decide. See if we can work with what's there. It's a good thing, the ability to think on your feet. We have the same numbers they do. I say we have a good chance to overpower them. If we play our cards right."

The bell rings, signifying the end of lunch. Thanks to Yash recruiting people, Eila doesn't have to go and talk up any more tributes, and she can focus on actually training. The boys go off to learn about poisonous animals.

Eila leads Visia to the axe station. "You need some weapon training." She says.

The trainer lets her work independently, partially because Visia is abysmal with the weapon. Eila loses herself in the sequences. In Seven, the Peacekeepers heavily regulate the axes so no one can use them for anything besides hacking down trees. Having one in her hand calms her, though. The familiarity of the handle is comforting, though the cold metal feels foreign on her palms. The axes in Seven have rough, wooden handles.

Someone's voice fades into her head. Initially, it sounds muffled, like they're under a blanket. It becomes recognizable, and Eila's heart sinks. She turns. The girl from District 1 brandishes a training axe towards her head.

"When we're in the games, I'm going to kill you with your own weapon, logger."

Eila's lips curl into a snarl. "Don't you ever get bored of being an annoying twat? Go piss off someone else."

Blondie smirks. "You're not so special, kid. I've been chatting with all the fodder."

Eila's body reacts before her brain, and she shoves her. Hard.

The Career is taken completely off guard, and she stumbles backward, landing hard on her arse on the cold floor. Eila freezes for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then, the smug look on the girl's face re-enters her mind, and she stomps forward.

She takes a fist full of blonde hair and pulls. Blondie screams. A collection of gasps bounces around the room. The boy from Ten cheers her on. She has no rationality in her head; her hands have control of her brain. They slap the One girl across the head. She claws at Eila's hands. Eila tries to shove her face into the ground, but someone grabs her from behind and lifts her from the floor.

She yells and thrashes in the person's arms, kicking her legs back, trying to free herself.

"Let go of me!" She screams. "I'm sick of this fucker thinking she owns the place!"

The District 1 girl flips her blonde hair off her face and runs at Eila. Eila kicks her legs out, connecting with the girl's chest and sending her back to the floor. She doesn't stay down for long and tries to lunge at Eila again, but a Peacekeeper intercepts her before she gets far.

Eila's dragged off as well. They're both shoved out of the gymnasium and down a hallway. All the anger coursing through Eila's veins dissipates, turning into anxiety. Could it be justified if the Capitol turned them into Avoxes before the arena? What would they say to the public?

Eila's thoughts gnaw away at her, but Blondie's thoughts are preoccupied with glaring daggers at her. They reach the end of a hallway, where a dark red door sits. Eila's Peacekeeper opens the door and shoves them into a small room. A middle-aged man is sitting at a desk in purple robes. Gamemaker's robes. Eila starts chewing the skin from her lips.

"Please sit, girls." He gestures to the two chairs facing him. "Your mentors have been called and will be here shortly."

When they sit, he doesn't speak another word to them. Everything is quiet for a long time. The only noise is the faint rumbling of Capitol life outside the building. Eila can't help but look down at her lap to avoid any eye contact with the guy. The Gamemaker has a book open, scanning the pages dutifully until the door clicks open and the mentors glide in.

Blondie's brother/mentor wears disappointment on his face, and when she's not glaring over at Eila, she looks embarrassed. In comparison, Johanna looks completely smug. She must have some sort of friendship with Luster because she keeps wiggling her eyebrows when he looks at her.

"As you now know," the Gamemaker says before anyone else can get a word in. "Your tributes had an altercation during training today."

He lowers his eyes to Eila and the District 1 girl.

"This is not on, girls. There hasn't been a fight to this degree during training since the forty-first Hunger Games."

Clearly, they're supposed to feel remorse. The man shakes his head ever so slightly and keeps huffing out of his nose. Eila feels no expected remorse.

Johanna keeps nudging her slightly on the back, and Eila can just imagine the smirk on her mentor's face.

"This is a violation of the clearly laid out rules." The man continues. "Unfortunately, there's not much we can do. The games begin in earnest three days from now."

He puts his hand on his mouth and looks up at the roof. Several moments pass. Eila's heart skips and races when Heavensbee says how close the games are. It's not like she didn't know, but it sounds so much more real coming out of a Gamemaker's mouth.

"We'll let you off with a warning." He says after what feels like an eternity. " I feel this rivalry will be hashed out in the arena. But if this unprofessionalism happens again, there will be consequences. You may feel nothing more can happen if you're already facing death, but you have friends and family back in your districts."

He stares from his plush chair as if waiting for them to apologize. Eila opens her mouth to start, but for some reason, he begins speaking again.

"The two of you must ensure this doesn't happen again." He says to the mentors. "They're your charges. If you're not committed to your role as mentor and Victor, perhaps your monthly allowances need re-evaluation."

"Relax, Heavensbee," Johanna says. "It won't happen again, right girls?"

She and Blondie shake their heads.

Heavensbee sighs dramatically as if two teenagers wrestling on the floor have brought down the world on his shoulders. "Okay. Training has concluded anyway. Take them back to the apartments. In separate elevators."

Johanna says, "Sir, yes, sir."

Heavensbee gives her a look.

Eila is close to trembling. The trip on the lift is only a few seconds, but it feels like several minutes. Johanna is probably expected to punish her. Eila almost wishes she was turned into an Avox.

"Good job, kid. I'm proud of you." Johanna says the moment the apartment door closes. "Those Ones think they can do what they please, and you showed them you're not letting them get away with it. The Twos aren't much better, but at least they have honor."

"You don't think they'll punish my family?"

Her family's already been through so much. If the consequences of her impulsive actions harm them, she'll never forgive herself. Johanna's jaw clenches, and she studies the wall behind Eila momentarily. If Johanna has to think about it, it's not reassuring.

"I don't think your family will be harmed," Johanna says. "Stay out of trouble from now on, though. President Snow can be… unpredictable. He likes to mess with 'naughty' tributes. Plus, I don't want my Victor's allowance cut."

"You mean the gamemakers make it harder for me in the arena? What if Makari's caught in the crossfire? He didn't do anything. I know they only care about giving a good show but risking a tribute's life for no reason seems counterproductive."

Johanna sighs. Her brown eyes flit up to the roof.

"I'm going to be honest with you," Her eyes return to Eila's face. "If you're in a situation where leaving Makari could save your life, do it."

Eila frowns. "What? Why?"

"The mentors have been talking. Think about how he's gone about this whole thing. On the way to the Capitol, he stayed in his room for hours, probably crying. He walks around with a victim mentality. I don't know what the history between you is or what you did, but I have noticed he blames you for his being here. He sticks to the survival stations during training. He's what the Careers call cannon fodder; one of the tributes who need to die before the real contenders can play. You're going to be disadvantaged if you're loyal to him."

Eila says. "So you want me to abandon him because you don't think he has a chance."

"I never said that. He's not willing to try, and that's dangerous for you." She sees the look on Eila's face. "I'm sorry, kid, it's the truth."

Eila can't say anything else.

"Let's go eat, hey?" Johanna says.

Makari's in a much better mood than he has been and jokes around with Jack and Johanna during dinner. Probably because of how the day went with their new allies. Blight's usual scowl is replaced with an actual smile. He's very nice to Makari, and Eila can't help but think of how two-faced it is. She realizes they're 'treating him to the best final days possible.'

She avoids Makari's eyes the whole night.