"Why are boys from 4 so stupid!" Taiya roared as she swiped her arm across the table, sending the bowl of fruit flying across the room.

"Calm her down," Tyler instructed Finnick firmly.

"What am I meant to do?" Finnick asked, both he and Tyler were standing against the edge of the train, trying to avoid getting in her way. "There's no ocean to throw her into."

Tyler's eyebrows raised and he and Finnick both turned back to Taiya before darting forward and grabbing her, dragging her out of the dining room and into her room. Tyler dashed forward and turned on the shower and the two men pulled her under the stream until she stopped yelling. She was now just slumped against Finnick's chest, letting him hold her.

"Why did he do that?" she sobbed.

All three of them looked towards the doorway. They could hear Moxie giving the tributes a tour.

"They're here," Tyler pointed out. "I guess we could just ask him," he suggested, giving the girl a small smile as he rubbed her cheek and left the room.

"Here," Finnick said quietly as he handed her a towel. "Are you in control?"

Taiya nodded as she quickly ran the towel over her hair. "I want to talk to him."

"Don't yell," Finnick warned. "It won't achieve anything."

"I won't," Taiya agreed. "But I want to."

"Come on," Finnick grabbed her hand. "They'll be waiting."

Taiya solemnly followed him towards the dining room, quickly dropping his hand before entering, to prevent Moxie from seeing them.

"Hey," Shark greeted, quickly standing up from the table. "Did you swim?" he asked as he took in her wet clothes.

"Had a shower," she replied numbly.

"In your clothes?" he asked with a small smirk, trying to banter with her as usual.

"Sit down," she instructed firmly, as she walked forward and took a seat opposite him.

"How exciting is this!" Moxie clapped. "Such a family affair the games are for you, aren't they Taiya?" she innocently asked.

"Moxie," Tyler warned, lightly tapping the woman on the hand.

"Why did you volunteer?" Taiya asked her cousin immediately.

Shark opened his mouth before he looked to the side at Annie, who'd been sitting there staring at the table as she rocked backwards and forwards. She didn't seem to be listening at all.

"She lost her cousin because he volunteered to save you. I'm returning the favour."

"It's not a favour!" Taiya gasped incredulously. "This your life."

"That was different circumstances as well kid," Finnick sighed.

"I know," Shark agreed. "But I can't let that family lose her as well."

"What about our family?" Taiya sighed.

"I said goodbye to my parents already," Shark shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but Taiya could see his eyes, he wasn't as emotionless about this as he wanted to appear.

"You alright Annie?" Taiya asked softly and the girl jumped before nodding.

This was Theo's cousin. His only cousin. How was she meant to watch this girl die? But if she lived, Shark died.

"It's different for us you know," Taiya explained when out at dinner with Seneca. "You don't really experience it as we do."

"I understand that," Seneca nodded.

"You and I are close now right? But I still live in the districts. Imagine if I was reaped again and had to go in there?"

Seneca dropped his head as he started to understand how traumatising the Games were for those in the districts. "I'd be devastated," he confessed. "I can't even begin to describe it."

"I know," Taiya nodded. "Trust me I know. He's my cousin, and she's one of my best friends and Theo's cousin."

Seneca nodded as he leaned forward and grabbed her hands. He looked around nervously before he brushed her hand with one finger, silently urging her to move forward.

Taiya frowned as she leaned forward at the table so his lips were positioned by her ear.

"The arena is a forest with a giant dam on the edge. The water is fresh, safe to drink," he whispered before leaning back, glancing around the room to make sure no one had heard.

Taiya stared at him in shock. He'd never told her anything about the current Games just in case she went back on her word and told her team. But now he was freely giving her information so she could use it to her advantage.

She leaned forward and grabbed a hold of his hand and squeezed it. "Thank you," she whispered sincerely.

"The arena is a forest with a giant dam on the edge. You can drink it. You don't need iodine tablets," Taiya explained as she relayed all the information Seneca had given her. "Most tributes will wait for iodine tablets because that's what the training teaches you, but it'll be fine to drink. So fill up your drink bottles fast. Dehydration is just as dangerous as the other tributes will be. There will also be some weapons and packs inside the tree line, not in the Cornucopia. Go for those. If you take those you can avoid the bloodbath."

"How'd you find this out?" Shark asked.

Taiya looked up at Finnick who sat beside her. "Seneca Crane told me at dinner."

"Seneca Crane?" Shark asked in confusion. District 4 was relatively isolated from the gossip of the Capitol. Those in the know liked to keep the gossip to themselves so they could feel superior to the rest of the District. Most were unaware of her relationship with Seneca, including her own cousin.

"Seneca Crane is my boyfriend whilst I'm in the Capital," Taiya explained nervously.

"Boyfriend?" Annie asked. "What about Finnick?"

Honestly, the less they knew about the whole situation, the better. "Finnick gets dates," she vaguely explained. "Look, there's a chance Caesar Flickerman might ask either of you about Seneca and me. You need to say that I'm madly in love with him, but do not tell anyone the information about the arena."

"Hang on, back to the boyfriend thing?" Shark asked confused.

"It's complicated, ok?" Taiya sighed. "Trust me. It's important. If anyone asks, just say I talk about him all the time."

"I'm so confused," Shark groaned as he fell back into the couch. "But it does explain the joke the guy from 1 made about you at training."

"What'd he say?" Taiya asked.

"Just made a crack about how if he wins maybe he'll pull your attention away from the Capitol guy," Shark shrugged dismissively.

"Look kid," Tyler sighed as he took over. "Just say what you're told. As far as either of you are aware, Finnick and Taiya are just friends. Nothing more. Now Taiya," he turned to the girl. "What did you do to get this information?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing," Taiya answered honestly. "He just gave it to me."

"You ok?" Seneca asked as he held her hand. The countdown was on and the Games were 10 seconds away from starting.

"No," she stuttered as she grabbed onto his arm.

"If they do what you told them they should be ok," Seneca comforted her. She looked at him and nodded before turning back to the screen. It'd begun.

Red blood was flying everywhere as the savage Careers made quick work of the higher districts. No mercy was shown. Annie and Shark weren't invited to be part of the Careers this year. Annie was very obviously a weak link, and Shark had refused to part from her.

"Look," Seneca tapped her hand. "They're in the forest and they've got weapons. They did well."

Taiya swallowed as she relaxed her head slightly onto his shoulder. They'd made it through the blood bath at least. But there was a long way to go. A very long way.

The Games were a week and a half in. They'd started off bloody, but had stagnated and become relatively dull. The arena was too large and it was hard for tributes to find each other. Not to mention the seemingly endless amount of rabbits in the arena that became food for the tributes.

Taiya felt eyes on her, so she lifted her head from Seneca's shoulder to look at him. "What?" she asked.

Seneca looked around the room again in worry. "Come with me," he took her hand and pulled her to a couch in the corner with relative privacy.
"Are you ok?" she asked him. He was sweating.

"Yeah," he nodded as he ran a hand down his face.

"What is it?"

"I did something," he stuttered.

"What did you do?" Taiya asked, sitting up straight in concern.

"The Games are losing interest. People hate this year. Hamlet Gaul, the head Gamemaker, he knows that he has to intervene in order for something to happen and get viewer interest back up."

"What's he planning?" Taiya asked quietly.

"Mutts," Seneca replied making Taiya stiffen. If there was one thing more horrifying than the concept of the Games themselves, it was the mutts that were created to push things along.

"What kind of mutts?"

"Bears."

"Oh my god," Taiya breathed. There was no way Shark and Annie would be able to beat bears.

"Hamlet himself activated them to start tomorrow. But he didn't log off on his account."

"Seneca?" Taiya's eyes widened as she grabbed his hand. "What did you do?" she panicked.

"I swapped the parts of the arena they were going to be active in," he stuttered and she gasped. "They were going to be in your cousin's sector and I… I… I moved them. They'll be on the other side of the arena."

"Seneca," she pulled him closer and grabbed his face. "Why did you do that!"

"I couldn't just do nothing," he whispered, desperately trying to avoid her eyes. "It's ok. The change was made under Hamlet's log-in. Not mine. It can't be traced."

"Cameras!"

"Disabled," he replied.

As she stared at the man it suddenly dawned on her. Her leverage over Snow.

"Good afternoon Miss Ambersnow," the President greeted her as she arrived at his office.

"President Snow," she smiled.

"I take it you've come here today to agree to my previous proposition?"

"I have not, unfortunately," she smiled.

"That is unfortunate," he smiled calmly back at her. "You have no shortage of loved ones available."

"I actually come here with a different offer."

He studied her face for a moment, trying to determine what angle she was playing. "Very well," he agreed. "You may present your case."

"You wanted me to make Seneca Crane fall in love with me so that you could exert influence over the Games through me when he becomes head Gamemaker, is that correct?"

"It is indeed, Miss Ambersnow," he nodded cautiously.

"What you didn't account for in this plan was that I could use my own influence," she smirked. President Snow merely tilted his head, wanting to hear more. "The man is undoubtedly in love with me. I care for him, I don't deny that. But I won't ever love him. It does leave me in quite a powerful position though," she smiled. "I'm very well aware that Seneca's father used to accept many bribes when he was a Gamemaker. Seneca does have more integrity than that, but as you pointed out all those years ago, men often yield to women they love. I bet if I asked, he would do anything I wanted in that arena. I could have the Games rigged in 4's favour every single year, and he would do it so long as it made me happy. You can't deny him the Head Gamemaker position either, it'd raise too many questions. And then when 4 starts winning everyone will question the integrity of the Games, that would reflect on you."

Snow smiled at her. She had learnt a lot over the years. He had to respect that.

"I congratulate you Miss Ambersnow," he conceded. "The Capitol suits you."

"I will not marry him. If he asks, you will refuse him. Tell him you cannot allow for a Capitol and District marriage. He won't argue with you. We will continue as we were, a situation that was working for everyone. I will be with him when I am in the Capitol and I will be happy with Finnick at home. You will also ensure that District 4 win's the Games this year. In return I will have Seneca do your bidding," she proposed. "The original deal."

Snow slowly nodded his head. "Well played Miss Ambersnow. I'll agree to your terms. But tell me," he leant forward. "Who is it you wish to win this year? Dear Annie Cresta, or your own cousin Mr Kelpin?" he smirked maliciously.

Taiya's tough facade cracked slightly. "Shark," she replied quietly. "I want Shark to win."

Snow nodded his head as he leaned back. "Consider it done. District 4 will have a victor. Seneca Crane will be elevated to Head Gamemaker next year and I expect a return on my investment Miss Ambersnow."

"Thank you, sir," she nodded, before standing and hurrying out of his office.

"What's going on?" Taiya asked as she entered the mentor room. Finnick, Tyler, Haymitch and Johanna were gathered around District 4's station.

"Woah, hey there," Haymitch darted forward and grabbed her, attempting to pull her back out of the room. His half-drunk strength was no match for her though, and she merely shrugged his arms off her and walked around him to get a view of the television.

"Is that now?" she asked shakily. Caesar and Claudius were discussing the tribute map. The career pack was fast approaching where the two district 4 markers were. When no one answered her she turned back to look at the group of victors. "Do something!" she yelled, pulling the attention of the other mentors in the room. "Tyler!"

"Get her out of here," Tyler requested of Johanna.

"Don't," Finnick said quietly, grabbing Johanna's arm. "It won't help her."

Taiya spun around back to the screen frantically. "Come on! Move!" she yelled at them. They couldn't hear her. She ran forward so she was in line with District 1's station. "Shark!" she yelled desperately. She knew he couldn't hear her, but he did hear something.

"Hide!" he whispered to Annie.

"What?" she asked.

"Someone's coming. Hide, now, quickly," he begged urgently as he shoved her towards the bushes.

"You hide too, please hide," she pleaded with him. But Shark instead picked up his spear.

"Well, well," the district 2 male taunted. "I guess we found the fish boy. Where's your district partner?"

"Don't know," Shark denied. "We separated this morning."

"That's a shame. It would've been easier to kill you both in one go," the man smirked.

"Let's just do it and go," the district 1 boy sighed in irritation.

"I want to savour this," district 2 smirked.

"Just hurry up," the district 2 girl sighed. "There are still others to hunt."

"If you insist," the boy snarled before turning back to Shark.

The next thing Taiya knew, her legs had collapsed from underneath her. She was being held into Gloss' chest. He grabbed her and spun her around. She may not have been able to see, but she could hear. And that triggered a breakdown of such ferocity that hadn't been seen in years.

She began screaming and kicking wildly in Gloss' arms, but he only tightened his grip on her.

"Taiya, Taiya," Cashmere tried to pull her attention. She didn't stop until Taiya's foot connected with her hip, sending her to the ground.

"Hey, hey, come on fish stick," Johanna begged as she kept darting back to avoid Taiya's kicks.

"He promised! He promised!" Taiya roared in rage, as most of the victors in the room circled around her.

"Promised?" Tyler asked as he ran away from the district 4 station. The careers had cleared out and Annie was no longer in imminent danger so he was able to run over to try and help. "Who promised you what?"

"SNOW! He said, he said!" she cried.

"What did you promise him? What did you promise?" Tyler asked in a panic. He had no idea what she could have agreed to if it meant saving her cousin.

"I played his game," she cried as her head fell back against Gloss' shoulder. "This isn't happening. This isn't happening," she sobbed as she raised her hands to cover her face.

"Finnick get over here!" Tyler yelled. The boy had been frozen at the mentor station, unable to move as he watched a kid he'd known for years get beheaded.

Haymitch lurked at the back of the room as he pulled a flask out of his pocket. He knew as well as the others did that there was no comforting someone from this kind of grief.

"Tay," Finnick said quietly as he approached her. This did nothing but trigger a louder sob from the girl. Finnick looked up at Gloss who was cautiously loosening his grip on her. She'd stopped wildly kicking and was now bawling. "Here," he whispered as he held his arms open, allowing Gloss to pass the girl over to him, and she immediately collapsed in his hold.

"Get her out of here," Haymitch muttered as he walked forward. "Take her to your apartment," he said as he placed a hand on the back of her head. "Sponsors might visit soon to congratulate District 2. They can't see this."

Finnick nodded and slowly began escorting her out of the room, carrying most of her weight as she wailed in despair. He almost reached the elevator when her legs gave way again and he grabbed her waist to steady her.

"I'm so sorry Tay," he whispered. "I'm so sorry," he sobbed as he grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. It was one of his least favourite sounds, her crying, and each cry struck his heart a little harder. "I'm so sorry," he whispered as he kissed the top of her head. They were out of sight of the sponsor's elevator, so it was unlikely they'd be seen. Their cries could still attract attention, but neither was able to move.

It was just unfortunate that someone else was seeking her out and had been drawn to their location after hearing her sobs. Seneca. After seeing his girlfriend's cousin killed he immediately raced down to the mentor area. She'd told him she'd been breaking the rules and entering the mentor stations during this year so she could keep a closer eye on her cousin. So it was where he expected her to be. He'd hurried down to comfort his girlfriend, knowing she'd need his support. The last thing he expected to see was his girlfriend's head on Finnick's shoulder as he held the devastated girl, comforting her with kisses on the side of her head.

I am on an updating role! After this, there are only 4 chapters left of this part and then Catching Fire! The next chapter will probably be short as well