The two Everdeen sisters cuddled up on the couch, a level below the dining area as Peeta and Haymitch began a patient game of chess. Katniss wasn’t too interested but she’d provide commentary every now and then to both boys just for fun. Soon she noticed Prim beginning to doze off, which she expected, considering the little duck had hardly gotten any sleep to begin with. “Night Prim.” Katniss smiled as her sister kissed her on the cheek. She looked back over to see Gale still reading a book while Effie was doing a touch up on her nails. For a second, Katniss could consider them all normal people, not about to die fighting for their lives. It made her uncomfortable and when Haymitch said his own goodnights, she found her mind sinking back into turmoil.

She silently headed off to bed a little while later and shut the door behind her, it sliding out from the wall to close her off from everyone else. She decided what she had on had been fine to sleep in but she knew sleep wouldn’t come easily to her. She paced around the room and fiddled with the hologram tech before just turning it off to reveal the extravagant skyline. She hadn’t been amused with the snow, forest or tropical themes, nor did she consider them to be hints as to what the arena would hold for them. Instead, she sat on the edge of her bed and thought about all the various situations she might find herself in. All of them had someone she cared about in danger, with her helpless and forced to watch.

She suddenly felt her meal creeping back up.

Finally getting into bed, she found herself already shaking, knowing that her sleep would not be restful. When she had Prim, she slept Prim. When she trained with Haymitch, she slept fine but tomorrow she would be with killers, people who hated her and she no longer felt safe. A few hours later, she found herself in another bad dream, her night had been plagued with them and this had been the worst of thus far. She was in a forest and it was snowing but the snow was ash and she kept hearing Prim’s name calling out for her in pain and terror. She ran through the trees and saw Gale and Peeta’s dead body and as she reached back to get her bow, she found nothing there. She ran towards the two careers, she recognized them as Gloss and Cashmere. They sliced Prim’s throat and as she spun around, she saw Haymitch hanging in the tree.

“No.” She twitched in her bed, trying to move to get to them though she knew it was too late. “Prim, Peeta…” She couldn’t breathe, her whole body was stiff and she was definitely struggling. “No.” She felt someone move her and out of instinct, she moved to grab onto whoever it was to try and attack or get the upper hand. Katniss snapped her eyes open and realized she had also been crying, she panted and tried to catch her breath as she loosened her hold on Haymitch’s arm. She pushed herself up and looked around, trying to figure where she was. “You’re alright.” She reached out to touch his face, needing to double check to be sure. “You’re not…” She moved her hand down to his neck, her fingertips not finding a mark or cut. Katniss felt sore and tired, as if the rest she got had done more harm than good. Removing her hand from him, she used it to wipe her eyes, pretty sure she looked ridiculous. Haymitch was the last person she knew she should tell her troubles to. He’d tell her suck it up and look at the bigger picture. It was easy for him when he didn’t have anyone to care about. “S-sorry...it was just...just a bad dream.” She tried to collect herself despite her low shaky voice.

The desserts had been fine with Gale but he figured he needed to not indulge.

If he was going to be in top physical form, he couldn’t be risky with his meals. It was a silly notion but he knew if he could save Prim and Katniss and maybe even Haymitch, he needed to focus on what was important, and not anything trivial. He sat down and found a nice selection of books. He was reading about survival and tricks to tie knots as everyone else found something to do. He watched Katniss and Prim out of the corner of his eye and when Katniss spoke up to tease Peeta or Haymitch, he’d glance up to see how far along they were on their game of chess. He might consider having a go with Peeta later in the week if he could handle it but the mental stress he foresaw, would be too much to even focus on chess, as weird as that seemed.

“Good night.” He waved to Prim when she left and then Haymitch took his leave, following by a silent Katniss. Gale got up and said goodnight to Effie who was the only one remaining. She wished him sweet dreams and he smirked. He headed back to his room which was a bit of a walk but he didn’t mind it all that much. He let the door automatically close behind him as he pulled off his shirt and walked over to the bathroom. After fiddling, he finally turned on the shower and finished getting undressed. He stretched and hopped into the shower, making sure to be quick in case the rooms had thin walls but based on their walk and what he had seen, the rooms were pretty secure and sound proof.

After his hot shower, he dried himself off and slipped into a gray pair of pants and headed over to bed. He sat down and looked around. Spotting a small silver remote, he picked it up and began to mess with it and saw he could change the wall. He picked the woods because it made him feel calm. And unlike his best friend, he kept it set since the lie was of at least some comfort. Gale laid back, his legs dangling off the side of the bed as his arms went behind his head. Tomorrow he would be able to size his competitors up and see what they were all made of. He worried about Prim and knew if they made friends, it might make them seem less of a target and possibly more appealing. Gale pushed himself up and decided to walk around the floor and try to ease himself into a more relaxed state, than that of a worried zombie.

When he walked out, he passed Prim’s door and paused, wondering if she asleep or not. Something told him she wasn’t. Gale thought he heard Prim and he knew she wasn’t. He knew he should be upset, that she should be in bed getting as much rest as she possibly could but he wasn’t. No, he was actually happy. He could use someone to talk to, or just sit with. Gale knocked on the door and then it opened for him. “Hey Prim, can I come in?” He asked softly as he stepped through the door. Her room was the same as his, except he actually wanted to be in hers, at least it had life and comfort. He walked over to her, smiling gently. “You can’t sleep either?” He question and sat down by her. “I know tomorrow is important and so is every other minute we spend here but...it feels like I’m suffocating. Haymitch and the others can deal with this but I-” He cut himself off. He was trying to help Prim, not push his troubles onto her. He reached over and touched her head. “Your hair is a mess.” He smiled a bit more. "I like it though, it suits you more...for some reason." He shrugged a little and moved a leg up on the bed, leaving the outside one to dangle.