It felt as though the conversation had suddenly taken a more serious turn. Prim hadn't thought that telling the rest of the group about their new sponsor's crush on Gale would have been a very big deal, and it had only been a small, teasing joke. Gale took himself very seriously, much like the older Everdeen girl did, but even Katniss was asking him to lighten up. Prim put her head down, her cheeks slightly flushed as she worried that she had done the wrong thing, and that Gale was mad at her. Finally, she started to understand what Haymitch meant about love being dangerous during the Games. There was training to think about, and the blonde knew she had to get her thoughts in order, or else she would be vulnerable to unnecessary distractions.

“Maybe we can still meet her,” Prim said, filtering back into the conversation. She noticed the look on Effie's face, and then Peeta's, both of them seemed stressed, as if the pressure of hiding in plain sight was beginning to be too much. Prim hadn't noticed Peeta with anyone the night before, but she assumed that Zinna had something to do with the plan. It would have been comforting to meet her, to know more details than she already did, anything else to hold onto to make those seven days a little bit easier. 

Shortly after that conversation fizzled out, breakfast was coming to an end. Prim pushed her plate aside and finished off her juice, glancing to her side at Gale. She wanted to say something, maybe apologize to him before they went downstairs, but there wasn't enough time. She shook her head at herself, only coming out of her own thoughts when Katniss spoke to her. Her eyebrows raised expectantly, a small smile on her lips as she waited for her sister to go on. “Yeah?” she prompted, also setting her empty glass aside. Whatever it was must not have been important and Prim got up to follow the others toward the elevator.

“I'd love that,” Prim grinned, happy to have some time with her sister. Since coming to the Capitol, their relationship had changed some but Prim didn't want to lose the closeness that she had with the older girl.

By this point in time, the elevator ride down to the training area was routine. Haymitch leaned back against the railing as Katniss and Prim made plans for lunch. He thought that was smart of them, it would be good for the girls to be seen without himself or Gale, and that would make all of them less of a target when the Games started to pick up. Of course, Haymitch knew that the career districts would be gunning for them regardless, but some of the others might be more reluctant to take the course of emotional wounds if they all kept some distance between them.

It didn't occur to him to invite Gale to have lunch with him and Haymitch was content with not being close to his fellow tribute. Of course, he had known of Gale for quite some time, even before he had gotten close with Katniss. The people he hung around with in the Seam were always talking about Katniss and Gale bringing extra food from the wilds, how if it wasn't for the two of them, they would have starved. He smiled to himself as his eyes found their way to Katniss, thinking of how strong she was, how vital her presence was back at home. Again, the urge to tell her about the plan crossed his mind, if only to help her focus, to give her a goal to aim for, rather than avoid death for as long as she could before finally giving herself up. For the hundredth time, he decided against it—Peeta would have killed him.

When the four of them reached the training floor, they all split up. Katniss went off in search of Johanna for some reason, and Prim made her way over to the knives, which Haymitch was happy to see. She was making a lot of progress, and the former Victor didn't think that anyone was worried about her dying on day one anymore. As for himself, Haymitch was able to talk Chaff into a sparring match, which he figured would be good way to loosen up that morning. There was still axe training that he could do after lunch, but Haymitch felt pretty confident in his abilities to stay alive, and take down anyone that could stand in the way of escaping the arena.

Finally, it was time for lunch and Haymitch had just finished off a second cup of cold water when he spotted Gale. “Come eat with us,” he decided on a whim, figuring it would do the other tribute some good to get to know a few of the other Victors. After all, alliances were important and although Haymitch knew who would be loyal simply because of his own name, it helped that the older tributes also liked Gale and would be willing to stick their neck out for him.

In the elevator, Prim was chatting with Katniss. “I'm starving,” she said, looking to the dark-haired girl, happy to have some time together again. She squeezed a piece of gauze in her palm, having cut herself just before they broke for lunch. It was minor, but enough that she had to be bandaged up and Prim had noticed a few of the other tributes taking an interest in the scene. She knew that the accident had made her look weak, only widening the target on her back, but she tried not to think of that. There were a lot of things she was trying not to think of at that moment.

After the elevator reached their floor, Prim stepped into the suite after Katniss. “What did you need to talk to Johanna about?” she asked as they sat down at the table where lunch was being served.