Puer Begonia, 31, Head Gamemaker

It was all Puer could do not to cancel on her brother for the who-knows-teenth time. Reaping Day was quieter than one would expect. The Gamemakers watched the Reapings live, took notes on the tributes, including notes on any concerning ones, and then headed home to join in on the festivities. As much as Puer wanted to stay in the office, consolidate her notes, and prepare to make any necessary last-minute adjustments to the arena, she also promised to have dinner with Caelus and his family.

That didn't mean Puer couldn't take her work with her. Now, she was sitting on the recliner, watching the late Reaping recaps with Cael and Lars, and taking additional notes. This continued until she was interrupted by a small child jumping on her lap, making Puer jump with surprise. She quickly closed her notebook and looked up to find her niece, Lucina, staring at her with those big brown eyes. "Auntie Purr!" she squealed happily.

Puer couldn't help but giggle at the nickname that Lucina had come up with when she started learning to talk not that long ago. "Hey, you," Puer said with a smile. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"Yes, she is," Lars said, standing up. He walked over to Lucina and plucked her off Puer's lap. "Why are you out of bed, firefly?"

"Ice cream! Ice cream and Auntie Purr!"

"Oh, so you want some ice cream?"

Puer snickered at the exasperated look on Caelus's face. Lars quickly picked up on his subtle disapproval and looked back to Lucina. "Sweetie, it's late. Auntie Purr might want some ice cream too."

"Auntie Purr can share? You said I should share. I wanna share with Auntie Purr!"

"We created a monster…" Caelus muttered.

Puer smiled mischievously. "I would love to share ice cream with you, if your daddies are okay with it, of course."

All three looked at Caelus, who just sighed. "Oh, let her have the ice cream. It's a special occasion, after all."

"Ice cream?"

Puer turned to the hallway and her smile widened as she saw her nephew, Thayer, peeking out into the living room.

Caelus waved him over. "Come on, Thayer. You can share ice cream with your aunt too."

Thayer smiled, knowing his younger sister's antics by now. "Okay."

Lars carried Lucina into the kitchen, with Thayer right behind him. Cael turned to Puer, an amused yet concerned look on his face. "You know you can't keep doing that?"

"Giving the kids a late-night snack? What kind of cool aunt would I be if I didn't spoil my niblings every now and then?"

"I mean, you can't keep working when you're supposed to be relaxing."

Puer sighed and shook her head. "I'm Head Gamemaker, Cael. Relaxation isn't in my job description, especially on Reaping Day."

"On the contrary. Reaping Day is when you should be relaxing. You know you won't get another chance until after the Games. Are you worried about any of the tributes? Aside from the girl who f-bombed the country?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

Several tributes worried Puer. McCoy was probably the most concerning based on the Reaping alone, but her outburst was easily cut from the reruns, and there was a chance that it could be chalked down to emotions being high, but still, an extreme reaction to what was considered to be such a great honor.

There was also Hyacinth, or CiCi, as he preferred to be called. He volunteered in a prison uniform, which intrigued the audience quite a bit, but he also seemed like he had no idea what he was doing. She made a mental note to ask Amber Reeves about that later.

On top of all that, there was something off about Jann Cotton that she couldn't quite pinpoint, and it was that unknown that worried her more than anything else.

There were tributes that Puer didn't have to worry about, of course: the volunteers from the training districts, rogue or not (she still needed to figure out what happened there), Mayfield, Maconson, and Cassia, but the tributes that did worry her…

All it took was a single moment of rebellion, and it would put her job and life in jeopardy.

When Puer explained this to Caelus, he simply shrugged. "Don't stress out too much, Puer. You have absolute control over what goes down in that arena. The only person who can override you is the President himself, and he hasn't done that yet, right?"

Puer shook her head. Despite everything, President Snow seemingly had a great deal of faith in her.

Caelus smiled. "Then don't worry. You got this, sis."

Puer nodded. While her concerns were nowhere near abated, she didn't want to worry her brother any more than she already had, and she certainly didn't want the kids picking up on it.

So, Puer forced a smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I do. I do."

She had to.

Augustus Braun, 29, District One Mentor

"Damn it all…" Augustus groaned as he stormed into the train station.

"I don't know why you're so upset," Leonidas said calmly. "She would have been chosen had the dean not been bribed. All it really means is extra paperwork."

"And the other Career districts looking at us like we can't control our students," Augustus retorted. "By the way, you're doing the paperwork, not me."

"Fair enough, she is my protégé after all. Are you sure you don't want me to mentor this year? It's not too late."

Augustus shook his head with zero hesitation. "Yes, I'm sure."

He wasn't about to give up mentoring for a year just because of a rogue volunteer. He'd handled rogues before, and unlike the airheaded Glimmer Verity, this one at least had some skill and talent. Besides, he wouldn't be able to see Amber and the rest of his friends if he skipped this year.

Leonidas nodded. Augustus could tell it pained the older victor to not be there for Safira, but he was needed at the Academy. Academy administration was always difficult for Augustus, and he wasn't sure if it would be still standing when Leonidas returned. "Probably for the best," he said. "You've always been better at mentoring than me. I trust Safira with you a lot more than I trust myself."

Augustus sighed. "No pressure there. Have you said goodbye to her yet?"

"I did. I gave her that old ring I took into the arena with me for her token. It brought me good luck, as you can see. I am pleased to say that I was a welcome surprise after a rather interesting conversation with her parents. I get the feeling I'll be having a conversation of my own later tonight."

Augustus shuddered, knowing full well the annoyance of dealing with Academy parents.

"Why did my kid fail their torture test? Why is my kid making a C in alliance management? Why is my kid unhappy in school?"

"Because they don't actually want to be here and are only doing it because you want to live vicariously through them?" Augustus was no longer allowed to do parent-teacher conferences by himself after that one. Apparently, honesty was not the best policy when it came to the rejects.

"Well, good luck with that," Augustus said. "Seriously, good luck. I could hear the shouting from the first floor."

A pleasant female voice over the intercom interrupted the conversation and instructed everyone to stand clear as the train pulled into the station. "Well, I guess this is it," Leonidas said wistfully. "Take care of my girl, okay?"

Augustus smiled. "I will. You have my word."

The train coasted to a stop right as the car carrying Safira and Caden arrived at the station. The car door opened and cameras immediately began swarming the two tributes. Safira looked confident and pleased with herself. Caden, on the other hand, looked bored and annoyed, while the escort just looked confused.

"Great start…" Augustus thought as he stood aside to let them board. He wanted to mentor a victor. He wanted to ensure one of these kids made it home alive, but at the same time, he loved mentoring. Would he be forced to step aside should one of these kids win?

Not that it mattered. The lives of these kids mattered more than a job. And surely the one mentor rule wouldn't last forever. Perhaps Augustus could pull some strings that would allow him to keep going if either of them won.

Augustus stepped onto the train behind the others and he entered the dining car where he knew Safira and Caden would be waiting for him to give lifesaving advice, more of the same to them, but invaluable all the same.

Excitement rose in Augustus. Another year of guiding and teaching, another year of doing what he can for those kids, another year with his friends, and another year with Amber. His best friend was one of the biggest reasons he wanted to stay on as a mentor. She made his first year as mentor bearable, between the crippling guilt and the insanity of those Games in general. It was tradition, that the victor of the previous Games helped the current one learn how to mentor during the Games. Finnick helped Amber, and Amber helped him. He tried to be the same guiding hand to Halcyon Fraiser, and then to Mercury Soll since Halcyon's loss of touch with reality prevented him from carrying on the tradition.

The Hunger Games were one of the hardest times of the year, having lost every kid he mentored, but there was something about teaching and doing what he could to alleviate the guilt and regret that he had from being a tribute himself.

Not to mention, his friends were there, and they understood what he went through.

Victors were a small circle, but a tight one, and not even the Quarter Quell could change that.

Kaia Blanken, 18, District Twelve Mentor

Kaia Blanken was a nervous wreck.

This was the first year she was mentoring, and she'd have no one to help her, no one at all. Mako promised to show her the ropes, which Kaia was grateful for, but still, she was nervous. She had only won last year, meaning all eyes would be on Twelve, including six Career eyes.

She wasn't quite sure what to make of her two tributes, Cole was a skinny kid from the Seam, but scrawny kids from the Seam could win. She and Haymitch were living and not-so-living proof of that. People would count him out, but Kaia would not. Amoransia on the other hand, was a volunteer, like her. Kaia had no clue why Amoransia volunteered. Katniss Everdeen volunteered for her sister Primrose. Kaia had volunteered for her pregnant cousin. There were no apparent ties between Amoransia and Minuet, the girl who was reaped.

Kaia supposed it didn't matter. Amoransia would have eyes on her for her brave act, and Cole looked stronger despite being only sixteen and from the Seam. At first glance, they had a shot, and unlike her own mentor, Kaia would actually give a damn.

She did pity the Fives though. With the imminent birth of Rosalie's granddaughter, Five was without a mentor, so Saffra Glenn was tapped. Kaia could barely hear Mako snickering into the phone the night she found out she'd be mentoring outliers again over the sound of Saffra shouting and screaming at Lyme and Mars, clearly unhappy with this assignment. "Serves her right," Mako had said.

Kaia was so grateful for Mako. Her Victory Tour was hard enough, given that the fire she started killed so many, and so many hated her as a result. It didn't help that the spotlights and cameras were so overwhelming. She had always been quiet and introverted, and the idea of being thrust into the public eye was terrifying to her.

Mako, sweet, extroverted Mako, noticed Kaia's discomfort while she was in District Two and managed to sneak her away for some peace and quiet. After making sure she was okay, Mako began striking up a conversation, and Kaia found herself drawn to the other victor's comforting and cheerful personality. Before long, Mako had "adopted" Kaia and the girls had talked constantly on the phone over the past six months.

Despite Mako's assistance though, there was only going to be so much she could do to help, and so much that Kaia was willing to let her help with, not wanting Mako to sacrifice her tributes for her own.

Mako's words to her echoed in her mind. "Do your best, but don't forget, you're just a kid too."

Kaia didn't certainly feel like a kid. She felt so incredibly old, and there was no Haymitch to share the burden. There was no other victor who cared until she met Mako.

Kaia would be on her own for a lot of this, and Kaia was not used to being alone. She had always been surrounded by people: her family at home, then her allies in the arena, until they weren't around anymore.

However, Amoransia and Cole were counting on her, and she knew that she couldn't let them down. She just hoped they wouldn't be wary around her like so many were after she burned her arena down, afraid that she would snap again and torch the Hob or something. (The thought made Kaia chuckle despite herself.)

One of the kids under her care would die, but she would not let it be both. She couldn't let it be both.

She would do her best to save one of them and be a better mentor than Saffra Glenn.

That was enough motivation to step out into the dining car, where her tributes were digging into a meal while Effie was rambling on about something. They both looked up at her, both fearful and expectant. Kaia gave them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'm here to help."

And so they began.

"Victors were a small circle, but a tight one, and not even the Quarter Quell could change that." Unless your name is Finnick Odair. I will note that Augustus is not as upset with him as other victors (like Amber. She bruised his jaw.) for reasons that have yet to be revealed but I think everyone can easily guess why.

I decided to add in Kaia as a third POV character. The underlying narrative will be light, given that this is my first SYOT, but still relevant for future stories. I figured having the Head Gamemaker, a Career Victor, and an Outlier Victor as our storytellers outside the tributes would be a fun mix of things.

I hope you enjoyed this brief yet light little interlude! Next time, we will begin our goodbyes with Macha, Cordy, Viorica, Gideon, CiCi, and Ansi!