Hi everyone! Sorry again for being away so long; but good news. Summer break has started, and the wifi crisis has been resolved, so hopefully I'll be able to spend more time working on this suspenseful story :) Thanks for your patience!

Oh dear…will Nessa and Foxface succeed in stopping any more tensions from arising between Golias and Johanna? And will Clove find a way to stay on the rebels' team despite nobody being happy with her presence? It's time to read and see…

Skills, Doubts, & Deception

Finnick, Annie, Wiress, and Beetee caught up to the other remaining rebels around five seconds before Nessa fully succeeded in comforting Golias. By then everyone was awake and outside the hijacked hovercraft, and after those who were present explained what the four mentors had missed, Beetee shared his own side of the story. As it turned out, the reason why he'd pulled Wiress and the Fours aside during the tracker jacker chase was because he had a plan specifically designed to take out the venomous insects.

The first part of his plan had been for all four of them to climb up one of the rock towers that had once been a Capitol building; more specifically, one of the towers that had a waterfall gushing out of it. Since there were no pipes, gutters, rivers, lakes, or any of the sort in sight, the male mentor from District 3 had considered all the possibilities and very quickly come to the conclusion that somewhere in the rock towers themselves, there was probably some sort of machinery that albeit harmlessly ran straight into the ground and collected liquid from the sewers. That water was then purified by a filter that he'd also assumed was hidden within the rock tower, so that when the liquid reached the spout that would allow it to flow out as a waterfall, it would emerge as fresh, clean water. Facts that instantly prompted Beetee to come up with an idea…

Trusting that their allies and friends would be able to evade the result of his plan's success (if it was going to be successful), the other three present mentors agreed to the plan once they were informed of all the details. They then managed to locate a waterfall, where they climbed up the tower it was gushing out of. Next, Finnick and Annie worked together to chip some of the rocks around the spout, until there was a tunnel just above the waterfall that was big enough for Wiress to climb into.

She made her way inside the tower after that, where she quickly discovered that Beetee's speculations were correct—and once she found the mechanisms that reached into the ground, she studied how the structure worked and found a way to immensely and significantly increase the amount of water pulled into and thrust out of the tower. She also increased the speed of the mechanisms' job-doing to an extremely high level that even the fastest hovercraft couldn't quite measure up to, before bravely allowing the now much bigger and rougher waterfall to propel her out of the tower. The structure had exploded with a gigantic SPLASH the moment she was out, which was revealed to be what had caused the unexpected flood in the Capitol. Luckily, all four mentors had been able to survive the flood, since, being from District 4, Finnick and Annie were very excellent swimmers. They not only managed to stay afloat, but also had Beetee and Wiress ride on their backs until Golias's scenery-changing spell wore off an hour later. Therefore causing the buildings to turn back to normal and the flood to vanish as though it had never occurred at all.

"We spent most of the night searching for you once we realized the city had resumed its original form," Beetee was now concluding. "When we couldn't find you, we considered the circumstances and eventually decided you may have come here. So we took refuge in an alley behind a store until morning."

"Well that would certainly explain everything," remarked Effie. She still felt a little rattled just from the very memory of the flood, and then made a mental note to herself: gain Nessa's share of proper body usage mentoring once she, Golias, and the female tribute from District 5 returned. If she ever came close to dying again simply because she still wasn't entirely accustomed to being in her body, who knew what could happen if her companions wouldn't be available to save her next time?

The four newly-arrived mentors were then filled in on their allies' and Nessa's team's plans for the future, including Johanna's hopes to sneak back into the Capitol and rescue everyone who had been imprisoned there. After that, the teams confirmed that Thresh, Rue, and Geolo's tracker-removal-induced wounds, like Foxface's, had all healed by the time they'd woken up today, and then everyone's next steps were confirmed: while Nessa and the evacuated tributes carried on with their plan to pick up most of their loved ones and bring them to America, Effie, Golias, Yuri, and the mentors would be going to District 4 so they could reunite with Bongo and Objectiva. Then they'd return to the Capitol and see what they could do to rescue their captured allies, and if that went according to plan, they would then track down Lili's aunt and cousin before reuniting with Nessa's team and proceed alongside them for the rest of their journey.

Rue was quick to recommend that Astilbo, Toolip, and Fern stay with her during each team's mission, wanting them to stay safe after Iris and Daisy's capture. Everyone agreed that was the best thing to do, which meant there was only one problem to address before the teams parted ways: Clove.

She kept insisting that she really had changed, and that Nessa's team would be better off with her going with them through the districts in case the Peacekeepers ambushed them again, but nobody was keen on trusting her (although, unlike his companions, Geolo didn't say this out loud due to his still-present fear of her). Even Finnick and Annie, whom she thought would be easier on her because they'd been in alliances with tributes from her district back before they became victors, had their doubts. They tried to be polite about it, but it was hard to ignore the fact that Clove was not only from a district filled with violence-loving psychos, but also had more reasons to hate her "allies" than to so much as like them. Nessa had been the reason why she'd missed her opportunity to really shine as a tribute, Katniss had continuously made her jealous before the Games had even begun, and Sonia was the reason why her district partner was now dead. And could someone as psycho-sociopathic as her really turn into a good person in that short amount of time?

However, despite everyone's obvious uneasiness about her presence and hopes of booting her off the team, one person surprised everyone by finally speaking up and deciding that trusting Clove might be worth a try. That person, quite startlingly, was Yuri, who, as Haymitch then pointed out, was among the rebels that wouldn't even have to deal with her if she tagged along. Plus he was one of Nessa's friends from home, and he knew by now that the three tributes who had tried to hurt her back in the arena were all friends with Clove and had been all about avenging the latter. So…not only was his statement shocking to begin with, but why was it coming out of him, of all the members of the two rebel teams combined?

Yuri quickly realized the man had a point and stared at the ground, awkwardly rubbing the palms of his hands together. "Um…well…" He swallowed hard. While getting to know Golias and then the rest of his friends had decreased his shyness, there were still a few occasions where he didn't know what to say—even when the very possibility of evil and tough choices weren't involved in the situation, which had always been the case until now. This was one of those occasions, which seemed to come more often when he needed to deliver a large speech to make sure that the right thing happened. And, having learned well from the time he almost didn't give his new (and good-natured) babysitter a chance, the boy knew that, for the sake of not hurting her feelings out of distrust, giving Clove a chance was a better option. But when he was reminded of the fact that Clove's friends had all wanted to give one of his friends a big booboo, well…was standing up for her really the right thing to do? Then again, what if she really had changed into a good person? What if she really didn't have anything against certain members of the group? If that was the case, then turning her down out of distrust would hurt her feelings for sure—and she wouldn't even deserve that!

Now unsure of whether or not he should stick to his decision, exactly as he'd been last night (which was why he hadn't said anything about this topic until he'd dreamed about what happened with his new babysitter minutes after going to sleep in the hovercraft), Yuri nervously shifted his gaze toward Clove, trying to read the hopeful look in her eyes and see if it was genuine. As far as he could tell, it was…or she was just that good at acting. It was impossible to tell which of those two possibilities was truly the case—even if he or anyone else were to simply ask her if her newfound goodness was really there. The only way anyone would know if she'd turned good or not was if they trusted her, and waited to see if she betrayed them or not.

But of course that last part wasn't something Yuri could say out loud, in case Clove really hadn't turned good, so he said the only thing he could say; even though it was likely going to put him at odds with those of his teammates that didn't trust the Career: "Listen…I know you all really don't like this girl…but, she says she's a new person now! And I think she could be right, even if she might not be. The only way we'll know for sure is if you give her a chance."

Astilbo was all set to reply, "And what if giving her a chance makes us all get captured by the Peacekeepers in the end?" But the moment he opened his mouth, Yuri gave him a look that was half nervous, and half an annoyed knowing frown. Which the 11-year-old took to mean, I know there's a chance that could happen too, but it's the only way we'll know if she's good or not. And what if she is, and she really will be good at helping you if the Peacekeepers come back?

Fern caught her brother letting out a sigh of defeat, and shook her head sternly. "No. We are not putting up with her for the rest of our adventure. Out of all of us, the elephant aside, Yuri's the one who's spent the least amount of time with someone from District 2! We can't choose what we're gonna do about her just because of something he said!"

"But he's right," said Astilbo. "We won't know for sure unless we give her a chance. And besides! Now that the Twelves are gone, Thresh is the only real fighter—no offence to anyone else—that's gonna do the family-and-friends-rescuing part! If you think about it, having just one real fighter on one part of the team might not be such a good idea…"

"But District 2 people are meanies!" Toolip retorted. "Every year they're the ones who make our tributes lose the Games!"

"They may be meanies, but that doesn't mean Clove's a meanie too," Yuri pointed out.

Thresh curtly shrugged. "I can teach Five what I know. Don't need Two."

"Um, I uh…" Geolo paused for a moment to swallow very very hard, before adding, "…I don't want to upset you or anything, sir…I-I mean, Thresh…I mean…but um…Fox won't be able to do much. She's healed a lot by now, but I saw her before she and Nessa went to find Golias. And um…Nessa's still giving her back rides, and I could never get as strong as you are in any departments…really I can't, so uh…well…unless you want to mentor Rue, um…"

Although he clearly wasn't happy about it, Thresh understood Geolo's point and turned toward the mentors. Already knowing what he was going to say, Seeder sighed and reluctantly admitted, "I'm sorry, but…breaking into the Capitol to rescue everyone that was taken prisoner is an even more dangerous act than what you will be doing. And seeing as Golias and Yuri will likely need as much protection as possible…we mentors are all better off providing that protection. The hovercraft you and your allies succeeded in smuggling might be able to cover for our absence, but if the Peacekeepers decide to take you on using hovercrafts of their own, then you'll be outclassed for sure. However, if Clove goes with you, considering the fact that the Capitol's always had a particular fondness for her district…the authorities may take it easier on you."

"The Capitol only likes District 2 more because President Snow's a meanie just like everybody there is!" Toolip declared.

"Yes, but while I don't like saying it, that's the point," clarified Astilbo. "If the Capitol likes District 2 so much, then they won't do anything to hurt us as long as Clove's on our team."

"I know," Rue said, having decided to take everyone else's opinions into consideration before unleashing her own, "but what if they're not going to do anything because they want to let her be the one to hurt us? She was deprived of a long-awaited chance to go inside the arena and really show Panem her strengths because no one stopped Nessa from being launched in her place. The Capitol's probably hoping they can make it up to her somehow…so if the right people find out she's with us, that might mean the Peacekeepers will show up with weapons and cameras."

It was indeed a very tense and long debate; so tense, in fact, that not one member of either team seemed to notice when Effie discreetly went back inside the hovercraft, presumably because she was unsure of whose side to take on this matter. And as she listened to it transpire, Clove couldn't help but feel a temptation to smile. This whole thing was going a lot better than she'd expected, and the best part was that the odds would never have been this much in her favor if Fire Girl hadn't decided to extinguish her own chances of freedom. Her arch enemy had really screwed the rebels' team—and now they had no choice but to go easy on her! All they had to do now was really acknowledge the "Thresh is the family-and-friends gatherer team's only real fighter" factor, and she could officially affirm to herself that everything was going her way.

However, Clove knew she couldn't rejoice quite yet, even in secret. There was still a chance that everyone who disagreed with Yuri's statement would eventually win the debate, and even if they didn't, there would still be one particular circumstance possibly jeopardizing her chances of staying on the rebels' team. And that circumstance had something to do with the real reason why she'd tried to keep the contents of her backpack a secret from Thresh back in the hospital—which he may or may not have discovered when he'd forcefully opened her backpack to get out the knife that had been used to cut Geolo's tracker out.

Simultaneously, Foxface (after she and him had been officially introduced to each other by Nessa) was giving Golias some tips on how to "do things right" should a problem arise during the next parts of each team's missions. Nessa would occasionally clarify (or ask her to clarify) some of the terms she used to describe the survival tactics she would mention, since the fox-like tribute could sometimes use some pretty big words when giving advice.

The first tip Foxface brought up was, not surprisingly, to not stop running when being chased by enemies—no matter how hard doing so was—until you had truly escaped them. "I know," he politely and almost immediately replied, since Haymitch and Johanna had already told him this earlier.

"But you must keep that in mind even when you actually are being chased," affirmed Foxface. "I am serious. If you forget any advice I am giving you, even if it is because you are scared, the nasty people or mutts that are after you will catch up to you. And when they do, they will not be gentle with you simply because you would never mean them any harm. They will take you away, and you may even...the point is, you do not want to know what will happen if the Peacekeepers succeed in capturing you."

"Gotcha."

"Now, secondly…I am not sure why you blocked a plane driver's view, but—"

"I was just so scared that I didn't wanna look and I thought Yuri was scared too," Golias wistfully sighed. "But it's okay. I'm not gonna do that again."

"You should probably be careful about what you say too," Nessa put in. "I don't know if there's cameras in the Capitol too, but there were some in the arena we got out of. They were hidden so well that I could never tell where they were. So everyone found out about our escape plan before it even worked!"

"Good point," commented Foxface. "And yes, there are cameras in the Capitol. Even in the spaces where the tributes are supposed to stay until the Hunger Games begin! My district partner learned this after our escort told him not to talk while eating due to the cameras being there. So…yes. Be extremely careful with what you say and do, or else things will not go well."

"But wouldn't the bad guys try to find us anyway?" Golias asked. "I mean, we're going back to the Capitol to save Matt and Lili and everyone else they took away, so…you know."

Foxface stared him in the eyes. "It is not just your true intentions that the cameras are there to capture on film, Golias. In fact, there is a strong chance that the Peacekeepers are already aware that you wish to save your captured friends, based on your love for them. But if a camera happens to hear you mention that you are not as experienced with tense situations, or…or that you have a particularly strong fondness for one friend of yours in particular…the Peacekeepers will find a way to use that information against you. They will set up traps that are too powerful for you to handle, and if they learn there is someone you especially love, they will take that someone—"

"And make me let them win just so he won't get hurt," finished Golias, staring at the ground. "Like Johanna said before we saw Caesar Flickerman talking to the city and then to Glimmer."

Nessa flinched. "How many times did she get mad at you?"

"A lot of times," admitted the elephant. "And I didn't even do anything wrong that time, I know I didn't! All I said was that I didn't want Yuri to get in trouble because he and Matt and Lili were in Panem!"

"Were there cameras in the area you were in at the time?" Foxface inquired, though she clearly already knew that the answer was yes.

"Well I didn't see any, but…" Then Golias glanced from Nessa to Foxface, and as he slowly but surely realized that he'd made yet another really bad mistake, his eyes widened, and he gasped in horror. "Oh no…!"

"It's okay, Golias," reassured Nessa. "You didn't know there were cameras watching you."

"But now Yuri's gonna be in more trouble than the rest of us if the Peacekeepers find us!" the elephant bellowed in peril. "They're gonna go after him first, and they're gonna tell me that I have to do what they want or—"

"Calm down!" Foxface ordered. "Your best friend being in this situation is one matter, but if you panic like you are doing right now at all during your part of the mission, then Johanna and possibly the other mentors will only see you as weaker. And she has already given you enough lectures as it is."

"But I can't just not feel scared if—"

"I am not asking you to not feel scared. I am asking you to not let the Peacekeepers know it if you are scared. Even if they manage to close in on Yuri. That may or may not happen, considering the strong people that will be with you, but if it does, you must prove to your allies and your enemies that you are not weak. If everyone sees you as mentally strong, then you and your best friend will not be targeted as constantly. And for that to work, you must not panic, or let your sadness get to you as it did when the two of us officially met. Not even if something bad happens to Yuri. They must see you as strong in all ways, and they must not assume that your best friend is also your weakness."

Nessa stared at her first tribute ally in surprise. "You think Yuri makes him weak?"

Immediately Foxface stiffened. Even though she and Sonia had technically made amends, she still couldn't help but picture the strawberry blonde tribute eyeing her wearily and wrongfully accusing her of being superficial. That might not be exactly how Golias would respond if she answered Nessa's question with a yes, considering the fact that he hadn't once said Johanna wasn't being nice to him despite what she'd said about him clearly being hurtful. Yet he would be mentally hurt for sure, just as Sonia had been after she'd called her an idiot. He strongly valued Yuri, and the last thing Foxface wanted was for herself to once again become at bigger-than-necessary odds with someone helping her just because she'd inadvertently sounded blunt when talking about their flaws. Especially if that someone was already at odds with the most fierce and stubborn Hunger Games victor of all time. She'd learned well from what had happened with Sonia…

Though at the same time, the fact that Golias apparently seemed to care about Yuri more than he cared about Lili and their friend Matt (it wasn't that he didn't care about them at all, it was clear he did, but did anyone else notice the exact words he'd used at one point during their conversation had been "I didn't want Yuri to get in trouble because he and Matt and Lili were in Panem?") was impossible to deny or ignore. It wasn't just because it put Yuri at risk of being held hostage either—what if the Peacekeepers in the districts her own team would be travelling to had seen Nessa telling Sonia and Rue that Golias was her love interest, somehow acquired the possibly-existent footage of the elephant revealing just how much he loved Yuri, and tried using it to mess with Nessa's mind so she would be easier to capture?

Foxface sighed. If Golias and everyone he'd soon be heading off with were going to stand a greater chance of prevailing in their part of the mission, then this was something he simply had to hear. For the sake of everyone, but particularly him. So, pushing aside her concerns regarding his likely reaction to this, the tribute from District 5 replied, "It is one thing to deeply care about someone. But it is another thing to think about their safety a lot more than that of the rest of your loved ones solely because…because…"

"Because?" Nessa and Golias inquired in unison.

Foxface thought hard, but she just couldn't find the right words to finish her sentence. There was a missing piece regarding Golias's personality that she hadn't yet gathered, and she had a feeling that neither he nor Nessa would be able to supply her or even themselves with it so easily. They simply weren't aware of that detail. But what exactly was the right way to describe it? Saying it was that Golias was obsessed with Yuri didn't sound quite right, and she couldn't say it was that he considered Yuri to be not just his best friend, but his favourite friend, either. For that could not only not even be true, but could also break Nessa's heart and thereby jeopardize her focus for the rest of their journey. Yet the fox-like tribute could tell by some of the things Golias had said during this conversation that the piece was there, and his perhaps overly strong fondness for Yuri had everything to do with it.

After half a minute passed and she was still unable to finish her sentence, Foxface finally decided that the best thing to do was to conclude this part of the conversation by saying, "All I am saying is that the Peacekeepers must not assume that he is your weakness, or anything like that. Yuri may be your best friend, Golias, but you cannot let yourself be held back by your emotions. And no matter what happens, you must prove to everyone who may be after you that…that you like everyone else who is rebelling against the Capitol just as much as you like Yuri. That way, the chances that he will be used against you will not be as high."

"Oh," her two companions said, once again in unison. Then Golias, now calmer but still a little nervous, added, "Okay…I'll try that. Even if they take Yuri…but what if they really do it?! How can I show them I'm not…that I'm not…?"

"Just do not let your fears and any other negative emotions affect you too much," advised Foxface, secretly doing her best to hold back a weary sigh. "Tell the Peacekeepers that you are strong, brave, and skillful, and you will prove it to them if they do not believe you. If you are a magical animal like Nessa was before the body swap, use your talents. And if they try to hurt you…your best choice, honestly, is to fight back."

Golias gawked at Foxface in fear and placed his right ear against the side of his head. "I have to fight them?!"

Nessa quickly came to his side to try to ease his worry. "You won't have to really hurt them. You can just take your own sword and block theirs every time they swing it at you! I did that when one of Clove's friends tried to hurt me and some of my tribute friends."

"Nessa, these particular enemies do not carry swords or daggers. They carry weapons that neither of you likely have any experience with facing or wielding. Not to mention their fists and their legs. Therefore, Golias will not be able to ward them off by winning a sword or dagger duel."

"So what do I do if the Peacekeepers wanna give me a booboo?" asked Golias.

"As I said, use your talents. They do not only have to be your magic either. They can be everything you are good at."

Golias tooted his trunk, and chuckled. "Oh, I know there's a lot of stuff I'm good at. I can juggle, I can blow so hard that it makes a pirate ship move, and uh…and I always win when my friends and I play rope-pulling."

"Yeah," Nessa happily nodded, "he does. He can play by himself against all of us together, and he still wins! And then Lili and Matt and Yuri and Bongo and I go flying backwards and we land in a big pile." Then she noticed Foxface's eyes widen a little, and she added, "But we never get any booboos."

Foxface quickly shook off whatever was going through her mind and said, "One more thing. As…upset…as some of the mentors may be, listen to their advice. They may be very different from you, but they will manage to help you more than you realize."

Golias amicably laughed a little. "Yeah." He then chuckled, and said, "Come on, let's go find the other rebels."

"Wait for me!" Nessa cheerfully said. She lifted Foxface onto her back again and then followed the elephant as he headed back the way they'd come.

However, once Golias was too far ahead to hear her, Nessa whispered to her ally, "Why didn't you ask Golias if he wanted Yuri to come with us to the districts instead of going with him to the Capitol?"

Foxface inhaled softly. "I was tempted to do so. But…especially in the current circumstances, someone who lets their emotions get the better of them that much simply by the thought of something bad happening to a loved one would never have agreed to such an offer."

"But you were the one who said Yuri was making him weak…"

"No, I said he is not to do things that could let the Peacekeepers think that," said Foxface. But in reality, Nessa was right. Yuri was Golias's weakness; or at least his main weakness. That had been what she'd meant. Yet she couldn't explain why and place him on the path of fixing it without a clear understanding of what exactly went through the animal's mind whenever it came to Yuri and everything that had to do with him aside from the fact that the duo were best friends. It was clear that Golias had an overly strong fondness for him and was also really sensitive and emotional, but…was it inflicted by an obsession? Just some mental health issues? A slight misunderstanding over what the term "best friend" really meant? What was the cause of it?

Foxface gulped. This was the first time she'd ever gotten stumped while analyzing someone's personality, and it couldn't have happened at a worse time. Golias seemed to be in more danger than anyone else here, and since he seemed unbelievably even more vulnerable than Nessa, she knew for a fact that whatever it was that made Yuri his weakness, that part of him was eventually going to cause a major problem during his part of the mission. And she, Nessa, and everyone still with them wouldn't even know how that would unfold because by the time it would happen, they'd be too busy gathering up all their allies' loved ones and then leaving Panem.

She could only hope that when Golias's weakness did lead him to a downfall, the mentors would be able to sniff out the detail that she shockingly could not. She could also only hope that if Johanna Mason was present for that unveiling, she wouldn't bring him to tears like she had today. Although, Foxface had to admit, she probably would end up doing that.

Nessa grew nervous when, as she returned accompanied by Golias and Foxface, she saw the tense energy amongst the other rebels. Effie was just coming out of the hovercraft with a seeming hope that nobody would notice she'd even gone back into it, Johanna had gotten angry yet again, the other mentors all looked nervous and reluctant about doing something, Yuri looked like he'd said something he shouldn't have said and was regretting it, Toolip, Fern, and Thresh looked frustrated (and in the girls' case, a little scared too) but also like they were in defeat, Geolo looked like he was about to faint, and Rue and Astilbo were worriedly glancing at Clove, who was staring at the ground in a way that seemed awkward at first sight, but at closer inspection seemed…well, neutral. Which probably wasn't good either, because having adopted many neutral expressions herself in the past, Nessa knew that a neutral expression could only mean that an argument had just occurred, and Clove had only been able to stand back, reluctantly watch it play out, and maybe even unsuccessfully try to simmer it down. An all-too-relatable position through the former giraffe's eyes.

"What's going on?" Golias asked, also worried about the scene before them.

Rue sighed and reluctantly answered, "Clove's coming with those of us who are going to the districts."

"What?!" Nessa and Foxface exclaimed in shock, and in unison. Golias, meanwhile, chose to simply remain silent.

"I know, none of us are happy about it either," the youngest tribute agreed. "But we talked it over, and she's insisting that she's on our side. And, well…Thresh will be able to get us pretty far, but without Katniss and Peeta…"

"We may need her," Foxface finished. She then dispiritedly let her head sag forward so that her face touched Nessa's back. She'd been hoping Clove would be booted off the team ever since her first ally had told her about her presence minutes ago, and had had a good feeling that she would be, since all of the districts knew how unreliable Careers like her could be. However, the furtive tribute had at the time been so focused on Katniss's self sacrifice, Nessa's recommendation that she try to trust her other allies, and Golias's predicament that, well…she hadn't taken the time to consider the circumstances that would possibly leave them no choice but to keep Clove on their team. One of the circumstances was the one Rue just mentioned, and the other was the for-once-beneficial fact that District 2 was particularly loyal to and respected by the Capitol. Which meant that if the Peacekeepers caught up to them, the chances of them attacking them would (or could; Careers weren't always so lucky) be lessened by Clove's presence. But then again, what if having the knife-loving Career on their team resulted in them getting attacked by her? When there was only one other evacuated tribute here that was a pure warrior?

Foxface swallowed hard. Had she and her allies not experienced enough close-to-death situations already? Why did Clove have to enter the picture, in this way, right when it looked like the authorities were the only obstacles they still had to deal with? She could already tell that the remainder of their mission was not going to go well…and now, all she could do was hope that if the tribute Nessa replaced tried anything cruel, Thresh would intervene and ultimately stop her. She still felt frightened by him too of course, but considering the circumstances regarding the current situation, she had to admit that if Clove was lying about changing for the better (which she likely was), then basically…he was their only hope if they wanted to make it out of Panem alive and with their loved ones.

Nessa, meanwhile, simply eyed the tribute she'd accidentally replaced hesitantly, not sure exactly what to say. What really was there to say? She didn't want to start their practically-forced alliance off on the wrong foot, especially if the Career was telling the truth about becoming nice. But after all the close calls she'd faced because of Cato, Glimmer, and Marvel, how angry she had seen Clove get back in the launch room, and the way she was used to that tribute being described…well, she had to admit, even she had trouble believing that District 2's girl tribute had really become a good person.

Unfortunately Clove seemed to pick up on the former giraffe's thoughts right away, and once she realized it based on the Career's slight change in expression, Nessa stiffened and gulped. Knowing how scary the other Careers could be when they were mad, she did not want to make this one mad…especially not now…

She sighed with relief when, two seconds after her expression had changed, Clove smiled in what Nessa hoped was a warm way and said, "Don't worry. What happened under the arena…all is…all's forgiven."

"Note the way she stopped talking for a bit twice in the middle of that 'official forgiveness,'" Fern side-whispered to Astilbo. He discreetly and quickly nodded before glancing around, hoping nobody other than himself had heard what his sister had just said. Luckily, nobody else had…well, except for one particular companion of theirs.

"Uh, maybe it's still a real forgiveness," Golias said, smiling politely and amicably. "Yuri always means it when he says he forgives his friends, and sometimes he stops talking for a second in the middle of it."

"Yeah!" Clove added, nodding. "Yeah, it is a real forgiveness. Please guys, you have to trust me! Like, really. You have to…if you want to get out of as much trouble with the Peacekeepers as possible."

There was then a moment of silence, which was tense (and for some members of both teams, awkward) for everyone including her. The odds still looked like they were in her favor, and she couldn't be prouder of that, but she knew there was still a chance they wouldn't stay that way. It might have been confirmed that she'd be going with Nessa and her arena friends (not to mention Eleven Girl's present siblings) for the rest of their journey, but still—what if Thresh ratted her out? Told everyone else another reason why they shouldn't trust her: a reason that, while not fully sniffed out, definitely had something to do with her secretly having a fairy hidden inside her backpack with her weapons? On the bright side at least, if it wasn't for his knowledge of Wish-Trish's presence, she'd have nothing to worry about…but come on. Why couldn't she have had nothing to worry about?! Why couldn't he have just cut out that Keyship boy's tracker some other way, instead of snooping through her backpack?

Amazingly, however, Thresh chose not to rat her out (at least for now; you could never be too careful), seeming to have finally accepted the fact that he and her were the only present tributes that were "real fighters." Yet that didn't stop him from remaining wary of her presence all the same; he made this clear by being the one who broke the silence in a way he hoped would be unforgettable: glaring intensely at the Career, clenching his fist and making sure she saw him doing it, and barking, "No betrayals…or else."

Clove could only nod, her eyes wide with fear. Effie then took the opportunity to change the subject for the sake of lessening all the tension around her, and as she did, the Career waited until Thresh's back was turned and stared at him intently. He may have decided to keep what he knew about the whole Wish-Trish thing a secret today, but that didn't mean he would keep that up for the rest of the nation evacuation. Sooner or later, his loved ones and his teammates' were going to join their team, and she just knew that at least some of those people would turn out to be good at violent combat. Why wouldn't they be? Katniss Everdeen came from one of Panem's weakest districts and was too young to possibly be a coal miner, and yet she'd somehow managed to woo the Game Makers more than any Career ever had in Hunger Games history! She had to have gotten those talents from somewhere, right?

The point was, Clove knew she had only been allowed in the team for longer than the moment Nessa's group had landed because without her, Thresh was the only person her replacement would be staying with who would actually be able to beat up any Peacekeepers that tried to kill them. But once they started picking up their loved ones and at least one of those loved ones turned out to be a tough warrior to beat, she could be in danger of not only being kicked off the team, but also exposed by Thresh. Which meant that, as risky as it was, she had to find some way to get rid of him—and fast. It wasn't going to be right now, but once they got to District 8, she'd work something out.

She just had to make sure that when she did lure him out of the picture, she didn't die in the process. She would also have to make sure that when the big moment came, Nessa and the other people she was going to betray later on as planned would be too preoccupied with other matters to realize the true cause of their powerful ally's disappearance.

Yikes. Will Golias succeed in proving that he's not the weakest link on his team? And can Nessa and her own team sniff out Clove's true intentions before it's too late? Stay tuned to find out ;)