Greetings to all! I'm back, and here comes yet another continuation from a previous chapter's cliffhanger! How will this mutt encounter unfold? Will our heroes prevail, or become a wild kind of not-so-fine dining? Let's hope it's the former…

Food For Thought (And Fight)

Nessa was surprised when, once she and Foxface got to the Cornucopia, the mutts ignored the Careers' gigantic food stash. If they were hungry enough to eat two humans, why wouldn't they go for the food stash? It had to be a lot tastier than humans, right?

Oh well—the food stash still slowed the mutts down a little, since it blocked their path long enough for Nessa, with Foxface on her back, to climb on top of the Cornucopia building itself. As she sank to her hands and knees, gasping for air, the former giraffe noticed the mutts struggling at the bottom of the structure, trying and failing to climb up and reach them. Foxface had been right; these kinds of mutts couldn't climb. They could leap though, and it wouldn't be long before the scary animals would realize that move was the only way to get to their targets.

Once Nessa caught her breath, she fearfully edged back a little and bit her lip. This was even scarier than the day she and her friends had needed to go into Yuri's basement to get a bucket for his dad! During that time, they'd had to find their way through a void of nothingness, which Bongo had nearly gotten permanently stuck in because there was no gravity above its floor. Not to mention overcome their fears of the strange boxes, odds, and evens—nobody had wanted to step up and see what they actually were, and Matt, Bongo, and Lili kept pointing fingers at each other and their friends. Especially Nessa herself.

"Take it easy on your lip," Foxface said, snapping her ally out of her thoughts. "We already have one injured person on our team!"

Startled, Nessa released her lip. "Sorry," she replied, "It's just, uh-um, well it's just that uh…"

"You can say it. You are afraid of the mutts."

Nessa nodded, her terror increasing as she once again glanced at the vicious creatures. "They're really scary…!"

"Will it help to know that I agree with you?"

"Not really…that actually makes it worse."

"Then what will help?"

"Uh…saying there's nothing to be afraid of?"

Foxface rolled her eyes, despite the scary situation. "How can you say that when you have every right to be afraid of those things?"

"Because the more scared I am, the less things I'm brave enough to do! Every time I get scared of something, I run away and hide! Even when the scary thing gets Lili in trouble!"

"Really?" Foxface asked, half of her fear making way for confusion. "If I remember correctly, you were afraid of the Careers when they were about to hurt Sonia. And yet somehow, you were the one who took charge and distracted them long enough for us to escape. And as you did it, there was absolutely no trace of fear within you. You even sang a song about the situation, which doesn't seem like something one would do in fear!"

"But that was different! The Careers were bad guys I could talk to and understand better. They're not as scary as the mutts!"

One of the mutts leapt higher than the others and almost made it to the top of the Cornucopia, but it didn't quite make it over the edge and slid back down. Foxface shrugged and said, "Alright, that is a good point. But you were still scared of them, and what stopped your fear in its tracks was your realization that Sonia and I were in just as much danger as you were! What's changed here?"

Nessa glanced around and admitted, "Maybe it's that there's nowhere to hide this time." She almost bit her lip again, but stopped herself. "Ohhh…how do we stop the mutts?!"

"I don't know!"

"Why not? You know everything else about the Hunger Games!"

"This is the first time mutts like these have ever been used in the Games, Nessa. If I knew how to stop them I would tell you, but I do not!"

One of the mutts tried to leap higher than before again, only to slide back down the Cornucopia. Nessa stiffened a bit, and seeing this, Foxface decided that that was it. Her companion needed some motivation. Being the optimistic, positive, and determined person she was, she had to have some kind of plan for how to handle the mutts. She just needed to put her fears aside, which she couldn't do on her own this time.

"Alright," Foxface told her, "what will happen if we do not find a way out of the arena? What will Lili say or do?"

Nessa closed her eyes and tried to push her thoughts about the mutts aside. "Lili…without me with her…oh no, she could get into another fight with Matt and Yuri! And without me, she might not stop being mad at them! She could never want to be their friend again, and it would all be my fault for not being there to help her stop being mad at them!"

Foxface stared at her strangely for a moment, but shrugged it off. What mattered was that her ally overcame her fears.

"And even if they don't get into a fight," Nessa continued, her fear of the mutts now beginning to be overshadowed, "Lili won't have someone to read bedtime stories to! Or someone to eat the nuts out of her banana bread, or play dress-up with!"

"Wait, you only just mentioned two other friends of yours. Why couldn't she read and play with them?"

"Because Matt and Yuri don't live with us. Neither do Bongo and Golias."

"W…what? You and your best friend…live together?"

Nessa sighed. She'd have to tell Foxface more details about her life later. First she needed to save both of them from the mutts, without endangering the rest of their allies in the process. Then she once again noticed the Careers' food stash, and that the mutts were still ignoring it despite their hunger. Of course! They couldn't eat two humans if they were full from actual food…

"Hey mutts!" Nessa yelled, standing up and fully managing to push away her fears. "Don't you think the fruits and vegetables around you are more delicious than me and Foxface?"

The mutts continued trying unsuccessfully to climb the Cornucopia, but they didn't show any signs that they'd heard what she had said. So Nessa tried again, this time more politely, hoping the mutts were only disobeying her because she hadn't sounded gentle. "Uh, mutts? Could you please leave us alone and eat the food instead?" When the mutts still didn't acknowledge her request, she added, "Pretty please?"

"They are not seeking politeness," said Foxface.

Nessa frowned in surprise. "Really?"

"They're mutts! They are not the animals you are used to! All they care about is putting up a good fight!"

Hearing that, the former giraffe's face lit up. "That's it! A food fight!"

Foxface did a face palm. "You honestly think we can scare off the mutts by throwing food at them?"

"What I meant was, we should throw the food into their mouths every time they open so they can growl. Then we keep throwing the food, until their tummies get so full they won't be able to try and give us big booboos."

Her ally considered this suggestion, and then gazed at her in wonder. "That is actually not a bad idea."

"Really? You like it?"

Smiling, Foxface said, "There is over enough for all 24 tributes…"

"Good. You throw the food, and I'll go on the other side of this thing and get more."

Foxface nodded. Thankfully, the mutts were only trying to climb the front side of the Cornucopia, and not the back side. That would be sure to give them an advantage…at least for a few minutes. That depended on whether or not the mutts decided to completely surround the giant structure, and whether or not the Game Makers caught on to their strategy and placed more mutts in the arena.

Yikes. Speaking of more mutts, she hoped that wasn't what Geolo, Sonia, Rue, Thresh, Katniss, and Peeta were dealing with right at that moment!

9:00 AM.

Clove groaned as she sat up in bed, and her mood didn't improve when her groan evolved into a yawn. That was it—she was never staying awake until midnight again. Not even if it was for a search mission for a long-lost enemy, like Wish-Trish. Of course, that had turned out to be a wild goose chase. She and Enobaria had looked all over the city, only to come up with nothing. Ugh! She had slept in for nothing!

Yawning again, Clove slid out of bed and slipped a blood-red robe over her silver pyjamas. She glanced at her bedside table, where her tribute outfit currently sat, and considered taking it with her to the District 2 dorm's living room, but reluctantly decided against it. The last few days had consisted of nothing but watching the Hunger Games play on without her and, with Rani and then Enobaria's help, try unsuccessfully to persuade the Capitol to let her into the arena. Today likely wouldn't be any different.

It was a weird feeling, opening the door and leaving her tribute residence bedroom without carrying her tribute outfit just in case. But she might as well stick with it; she knew there were cameras all over the residence, and maybe a depressed appearance would be what'd finally convince everyone that excluding her at the last minute was a mistake.

Although, as she came downstairs and entered the living room, Clove was met with an even weirder scenario: nobody was there, and it was well past breakfast time. Enobaria, the District 2 escort, Cato's stylist, even Rani and Brutus—they were all absent. There weren't even any Avoxes around. Even more strangely, all the furniture was a little too neatly-arranged, as though the space hadn't been lived in since last year. The only indication that someone had been here recently was the fact that the television (which Clove knew had been off the last time she'd checked) was on, despite nobody sitting in front of it and watching what it was displaying.

After looking around and seeing nobody nearby, Clove sat in front of the TV and gasped. Her replacement and Foxface were both trapped on top of the Cornucopia, doing something that (judging by the apparent soreness in their arms) they seemed to have been doing for at least half an hour by now: throwing her fellow Careers' food into the mouths of several bloodthirsty wolf-like mutts! One of which, she couldn't help noticing, had a few blonde streaks in its fur and eyes that looked exactly like Cato's…and was that Marvel, lying so many feet away from the scene, apparently unconscious? How much of the Games had she missed?

"Surprised to see her still alive?"

Clove almost screamed when she heard that voice. She whirled around, but it was no hoax. There, casually exiting the kitchen, all alone, was the last person she ever thought she'd see in the District 2 tribute residence, in person: President Snow himself. What was he doing here? Where were Enobaria and the rest of the 2 Tribute staff? Were they busy gathering sponsors for Cato, or did something much bigger happen to them?

Unfazed by her expression, the elderly man walked toward a couch next to Clove's and sat down in it. "I have to admit, Miss Bronzitt," he said, referring to her by her last name as he usually did when addressing specific tributes, "I am surprised too. Considering how childish and naive your replacement is, I expected the other Careers to have polished her off by now."

"They still can," scoffed Clove. "Especially now that they've finally killed that spotlight stealer from District 12."

Surprise flashed through President Snow's eyes. "You didn't hear about what happened early this morning? Katniss Everdeen is still alive. It's your district partner, I'm sorry to say, that was killed next."

Clove stared at him in shock. "Cato's dead?!"

President Snow nodded. "Stabbed directly in the heart, in his sleep, by Sonia Woolweave, the seemingly weak female tribute from District 8. The girl who foolishly lit that campfire on Night 1 and could have been killed in the same way by your ally Glimmer?"

Sonia killing Cato?! That was the most absurd combination she had ever seen in Hunger Games history! Cato should have been the one who killed her, not the other way around! This was a huge humiliation for this year's Career team—and it was all because that stupid, clueless, inexperienced lady had taken her place in the arena. A wicked, vengeful glare manifested on Clove's face. This never would have happened if she hadn't been excluded from the Games. If she'd been there, she could have kept Cato alive!

"I understand your anger at the situation," continued the president. "From what I've come to learn, your district partner was also your best friend. Which is why I'm a bit surprised he volunteered after seeing you become a tribute for the 74th Hunger Games first. Only one of you could have lived in the end, provided the both of you weren't killed. If he hadn't volunteered, the two of you could have stood a chance of both being victors from separate Hunger Games, like District 1 victors Cashmere and Gloss."

"Don't blame this on his impulsiveness," Clove snarled. It took all the effort she had not to succumb to her own anger problems and physically lash out on the ruler of Panem. "I asked Cato why he did it while we were on the train, and he said he couldn't help himself. He just let his impulsiveness and impatience for fame control him, and what you just said didn't click until I explained it to him! Then he promised to make it up to me by keeping us alive until we were the last ones left. That once that happened, he was going to kill himself for me and give the Game Makers a good show while doing it. So we'd both be remembered, and I wouldn't have to die because of his mistake. Seriously, Cato could have been last year's male District 2 tribute, but as soon as his name was drawn, the guy who later became that year's victor volunteered and took his place!"

President Snow said, "You need to accept some of the blame too, Miss Bronzitt. If you had accepted our offer to participate in next year's Hunger Games instead, then your replacement would have let you and Cato survive together through a simple launch mistake." He sighed. "Sadly, now that I know your replacement is trying to start a rebellion from inside the arena, giving her the good kind of credit would be treason to the Treaty Of Treason."

Clove stared at him. "A rebellion? Someone as clueless as she is?"

"She may be clueless and childish, but she also happens to be very intelligent and a little too caring about the wellbeing of the tributes she's with. She has now formed alliances with all of the tributes except your friends from District 1. Including the most reserved, like Finch McLight. Or, as you and the other tributes have decided to call her, Foxface."

"I knew she was on her team, but…everyone? Including Fire Girl?!" When the president nodded, Clove's glare deepened. "That girl from 8 never would have stabbed Cato if she hadn't gotten on my replacement's good side, would she?"

"You never can tell," President Snow replied. "Which is why the Game Makers and I didn't do anything about this rebellion when we should have. As a result, the hovercraft that was sent in to collect Cato's corpse has been crashed and will now be fixed and used by your now-pretend ally, Geolo Keyship. Used to transport himself and the rest of the arena rebellion out of Panem."

Pushing aside her feelings of betrayal regarding Geolo (well, for now), Clove pointed at the TV, which was still showing the same scene: her replacement grabbing food from the Careers' stash, and Foxface throwing it into the mutts' mouths. "Can't you send mutts like those after Keyship and the others?"

"The Game Makers tried that already. The mutts were strong, but Katniss Everdeen and Thresh Croppez were stronger. They were able to defeat all of them ten minutes ago, at the same time your replacement decided to start a food fight. Which will unfortunately succeed, seeing as the Game Makers cannot program their muttations any further once they are released. They could restart the forest fire that reunited Miss Everdeen with your allies, but that would seem repetitive in the eyes of our viewers. And our viewers are already upset with us as it is for lying to them about the launch mistake's origins."

"Can't you just make the weather do something to stop the rebellion?" Clove inquired. Yet deep down, she knew where this conversation was going. To a topic that was almost too good to be true.

President Snow gave the tiniest smile. "I admire the way you think, Miss Bronzitt. But I'm afraid that won't be an option either. Frankly, the Game Makers and I are afraid to make any decisions impacting the fate of our tributes. The Peacekeepers of the Capitol, who have been investigating some peculiar activities involving scenery-changing that could only have been brought on magic rather than science…they have recently received word from the Peacekeepers of District 1 that these peculiar activities are the fault of three magical talking animals. And one of these animals was spotted at the Capitol's train station through a security camera two days ago, confirming the report is true."

And to prove it, the president took a lit tablet out from under the couch—a tablet that displayed a video of a talking green kangaroo with a tuft of auburn hair, seemingly speaking to some invisible people—and showed the footage to Clove. The video began with the kangaroo just landing on the floor and on his feet, in front of a handcar and just recovering from a sneeze. Then, almost dropping something too small to be observed clearly in the process, the kangaroo said to a blank space, "Oopsie…no one else is here, right Effie?"

"Quite fortunately, no one," sighed a young woman's voice that, despite sounding unfamiliar, had a Capitol accent within it. "Now hurry, let's get onboard and leave before someone does come."

Next, the kangaroo bounced onto the handcar, and before Clove could blink, he had his hands on the handcar's pump.

"Which district should we go to?" asked another unfamiliar woman's voice, which didn't have a Capitol accent like the first.

"It'll likely take resources from the wealthiest district's hospital to heal a tiny fairy from a door crush accident," said the first woman. "District 1 it is…but, seeing as I've only ever been to the poorest district, we will have to rely on those distance-measuring signs to find our way there."

President Snow paused the video and said, "The other two animals were described as a giant round blue elephant, and a pink giraffe with primrose spots, blue glasses, and lavender bows on her horns. I'm assuming the giraffe is the soul that Miss Everdeen's escort, Effie Trinket, swapped bodies with, as you somehow became aware of previously."

Clove gave him a knowing look. "And that Effie and the other two animals teamed up with each other and two fairies—one of whom is Wish-Trish, the fairy who made me realize all this stuff is really possible—and are now in Panem, trying to find my replacement and undo the switch because it's driving Effie insane?"

President Snow nodded. "And since we now know the animals have the ability to magically change the layouts of any scenery they see, it's come to my understanding that they might be able to do the same with the arena's scenery, should it be necessary for their friend's sake. The Hunger Games are being broadcast all around Panem, so I wouldn't put it past them to do such a thing. Only if and when the rebellion escapes the arena will their abilities be unable to reach them through a screen…which leads me to the reason why I am here, confiding all this to you despite everything we've been through."

"And that reason is…?" Clove asked, doing everything she could to hide the anticipation from her voice and expression.

Putting the tablet on a nearby table, the president concluded, "Because now, our only hope of stopping these rebels from leaving Panem is someone intervening as soon as they leave the arena. I doubt our remaining Peacekeepers will be too helpful after many of their own were killed in the Games by some of the current tributes…but you just might manage to play a few mind tricks on your replacement. Enough to lead the authorities right to her."

Clove chuckled, but shook her head. "They're gonna know I'm not trying to make a truce or something. I'm a Career! And Careers aren't exactly trusted that much…"

"Miss Bronzitt, you are the only person who can help us. There was already a rebellion in which a district resident left Panem. The last thing our nation needs is a rebellion in which eight people leave, seven of whom are tributes of the Hunger Games. Think about it…it would be the perfect way to avenge Cato's death when the rebels least expect it, don't you agree?"

"Well…giving Sonia Woolweave what she should have gotten on Day 1 does sound appealing," admitted Clove. "But there has to be more in it for me if I'm going to agree to this."

President Snow smiled. "This will be the first time someone from one of the districts has ever stopped a rebellion. So here is the deal: if you succeed in finding the rebels and helping us capture them, you will not only be allowed to punish Miss Woolweave, your replacement, and whoever else you want however you wish. You will also be rewarded with the wealthy life that is given to every Hunger Games victor, along with a prestigious job that will only exist if you prevail in your mission."

"Is it that faithful assassin job I've always dreamed of?" Clove asked, inhaling in surprise and delight.

"Even better than that," explained President Snow. "You will become the leader of a brand new team of Peacekeepers unlike any other. Their name will be entirely your choice, and their mission from that moment on will be to hunt down the fairies, the talking animals, and the very place where they have all come from. You will then capture them and bring them back to Panem, where they will be used to make future Hunger Games much more interesting…and magical. But the best part of all is that they will also transfer their magic to you and your team. You will be the first group of magical assassins that the nation has ever seen. And therefore, Miss Bronzitt, as their invulnerable leader, you will be famous and respected throughout all of Panem."

Clove's lips curved into the biggest smile she had ever smiled before at that thought. Wealth, fame, completed violent revenge, even magical powers—and she would be the first and only tribute to receive all of those things together. That was even better than competing in the Hunger Games and winning, even better than any reward she'd ever known about! Especially the magic part of the prize; with that, she might be able to resurrect Cato and give him a chance to share that one-of-a-kind life with her! It was perfect.

"I accept your offer," decided Clove. "Where do I start?"

Smiling, the president replied, "Your replacement became distraught enough to expose her true intentions to the cameras. Thanks to her, I now know that before she and her friends will be leaving Panem, they will stop by the Capitol's hospital and steal some medicine for Foxface's injured leg. I will see to it that you arrive there first, with weapons of your choice supplied very generously from the Training Centre."

Clove smiled back and held up her arm, showing President Snow the bump under its skin where her tribute tracker had been injected on her way to the arena. "I won't let you down."

In satisfaction, President Snow opened his mouth to respond positively—and as soon as he did, one of the mutts on the TV let out a loud, disgusting belch. Startled, he and Clove both turned their attention back to the screen, where they could see Foxface and Clove's replacement were still engaging in their food-throwing routine, this time with the food from the right side of the Cornucopia. The mutts were still trying to jump up and reach the duo, but half of them were now moving a bit slower than they had been. The clueless lady in Effie Trinket's body was now gathering the food and throwing it to help the process go faster, which wasn't a pleasant sight. As for Marvel, he still hadn't regained consciousness and realized what was happening.

President Snow started to speak again, and when a second mutt unintentionally interrupted him by burping, Clove turned off the TV. She then turned to the president and said, "Okay…guess I'd better start getting ready."

"Go ahead," the man agreed. "I will go inform my staff that you've accepted my offer. And one more thing…may the odds be ever in your favour."

Clove gave him one more smile and then headed upstairs to her bedroom. Once she got there, she closed the door and began to change into her tribute outfit. This was it—her big moment had finally arrived. Except it was even bigger than she could have imagined…which only made her more determined to succeed in it.

Twenty-five minutes after the second mutt burped, all the mutts finally gave up trying to catch their intended prey and lay on the ground together, either belching or moaning as they struggled to fast.

"Sorry, mutts," Nessa said, genuinely in regret. "But humans and animals aren't delicious snacks. Real food is." She then lay down, her arms feeling very sore after gathering and throwing food for nearly an hour. "Phew…"

Foxface repositioned herself so that she could lie on her back too, being very careful not to put pressure on her arms and especially her bandaged leg. "We…we really did it…"

"We sure did," replied Nessa. She prudently walked over so she could lie next to her. "I'm sorry that took longer than I thought. Your arms must be so sore."

"They will get better," her ally said, managing a small smile despite her condition.

The two of them lay there in silence for a while, before Foxface asked, "How did you push through the food gathering and throwing? Well, what I mean is, you come from a place that only involves fun and yet…you managed to keep up the routine just now for that long as though you were used to aching arms."

Nessa sighed sadly. "Well…when your best friend tells you to push a heavy stool around so many times, or blows a really loud whistle in your face because you broke a game rule…you do get kind of used to it."

"What?"

"What what?"

Foxface stared at Nessa in surprise. "She is your best friend, even someone you live with, and that is how she treats you?"

"Well, Lili can be a little bossy sometimes, but—"

"A little bossy? Nessa, I have never had a best friend before, but I know how to tell when someone is not friendly."

"But Lili is friendly! Sometimes it's hard to be with her, but she can also be nice to us! She reads me stories, she lets me have tea parties with her, she always likes it when we share our things…"

Unconvinced, Foxface admitted, "Those are good deeds, but…sadly, where I come from, many people will perform good deeds just so others will be their servants and nothing more than that. It is only when someone truly listens to your thoughts, feelings, and opinions, rather than their own, and acknowledges them that they are proving themselves to be true friends. And honestly, if it hadn't been for you, I never would have learned how true friendship works."

Now Nessa felt even more bad for the girl. She'd really had no friends until meeting her? That was so sad, and hard to imagine! Could someone really spend so many years without a true friend, like Lili? Speaking of Lili, she was a true friend, no matter what Foxface thought. Lili did care about her friends' feelings; Nessa knew she did. She did overdo it when encouraging Yuri to share his things (to the point where it seemed really forceful), but she was always the first one (well, aside from Golias) to get worried and ask him if he was okay when he fell down (whether he got a booboo from it or not). Plus, maybe Lili had quite a few moments where she treated Matt like nothing more than an assistant, but she was also the first one to forgive him when he apologized for using up all their gingerbread house candy.

And of course, there was all the affection Nessa herself had received from her. Maybe Lili did boss her around a lot more than she did with the boys, and maybe she never apologized for it like she often apologized to them for bossing them around, but despite that and being pretty selfish, Lili often acknowledged all of her friends' thoughts and feelings too. Sometimes she also took responsibility for her own mistakes and apologized for those, and whenever she did, it was always honest and sentimental.

Nessa felt proud of herself as she explained all that to Foxface, who, despite seeming to understand her relationship with Lili better, asked, "What are the rest of your friends like?"

"They're really nice," the former giraffe replied. "Matt really likes soccer, and he always thinks about our feelings just as much as his. So does his best friend, Bongo. He loves bouncing, and he can be a little um…too energetic…sometimes, but he always wants to help us feel better when bad things happen. Then there's Yuri. He doesn't always like sharing, but he always cares about us and helps us. And Golias, Yuri's best friend, loves us too. He likes helping Yuri and the rest of us feel better when we're sad, and he's really good at making us laugh!" Just the thought of it made Nessa giggle now, as she finished her sentence.

"They do not boss anyone around too, do they?" Foxface asked.

"Yuri sometimes gets mad when he doesn't wanna share, but…apart from that, not at all." Then, as she said this, Nessa suddenly became aware of the same thing Foxface was realizing upon hearing that sentence: while she was always more determined to make Lili happy, the girl's bossiness had resulted in herself having more fun spending time with Matt, Yuri, Bongo, and Golias more than she did with her. Her own best friend! The very reason why she had wished herself into Effie's body…

Though somehow, now that her first ally from Panem had expressed her opinions about Lili, for the first time since the switch had happened, Nessa found herself wondering if it was really herself who was to blame for it happening. Was that the case, because she had made the one wish she'd vowed never to make…or was it Lili's fault for not treating her exactly as nicely as the boys had? Or even as nicely as she treated the boys? Nessa didn't want to think Foxface's comments were true when it came to her best friend, but—after all the really bossy things Lili had done towards the former giraffe without ever apologizing for—she had to admit it was hard not to. Which, to her chagrin, she realized had been how she'd felt even before she and Effie had traded bodies. She'd just concealed that fact from everyone including herself, out of belief that Lili would someday fully learn from her mistakes and that no matter how tense things got between them, best friends never left each other's sides.

Nessa felt a lump in her throat beginning to form, and quickly swallowed it away. She had to stay strong at all times, but never more so than right now. Her new friends in Panem needed her, and there was still so much to be done. But since it would take a while for Geolo to fix the hovercraft and get it ready for the long-awaited escape, the only thing she needed to focus on for the moment was staying with her companion, and making sure nothing bad happened to either of them.

Pushing her thoughts aside, Nessa turned her attention back to Foxface and was surprised when she saw her expression. It was exactly like the apologetic gaze she usually gave Golias when Lili bossed him around, except with a frown instead of a smile. She must have read her mind when she'd been thinking about Lili just then—and it occurred to Nessa that, despite their relationship's rocky beginning and different personalities, her ally truly felt bad for her and understood her feelings. Even the ones she felt ashamed of and tried to hide. She really was a good person underneath her reserved side…

Smiling, Nessa held Foxface's hand, which she slowly did in return after briefly feeling surprised at the gesture. They then spent the rest of their time on top of the Cornucopia in silence, watching the sky above them and listening to the gentle sounds of the forest nearby. It was such a relaxing moment that Nessa secretly wished she could have one-on-one moments like this with her male friends from back home too—a thought that awakened another not-much-fun revelation. It was the possibility that even if Lili did allow her to spend quality time with them, the respective pairs of Matt and Bongo and Yuri and Golias would be too caught up in their own best friend relationships to really focus on her. Not that they didn't care about her, she knew they did; but was it enough for them to realize that unlike their own friendships, what she and Lili had wasn't always easy for her?

Nessa quickly became aware of how silly that thought was and brushed it off. The important thing was that despite all her rising doubts, there were now other friendships of hers that she did know for sure were honest, close, and permanent. And one of those friendships, as odd as it would probably sound, was with the most antisocial person in the Hunger Games arena. Foxface likely wasn't ready to admit that, but as far as the former giraffe was concerned, what they had was evolving in a positive direction.

Well, that's a wrap for the time being. Brace yourselves, because the next chapter will probably be filled with a lot of drama. That part mostly depends on a specific upcoming circumstance…;)…but one thing I can say for sure is that there will be some new faces (and old ones) involved in the entry you'll be reading soon. See you later!