It pained Katniss to consider the fact that she wouldn't be able to help Prim in the arena. Things would be different. It would be a situation where you always had to be thinking ahead, thinking about everything and everyone around you, in a constant fight for your life. Sleep and relaxation would be next to impossible. Sleep would come if they were lucky and traveled in a group. Relaxation on the other hand, was dangerous and meant that you were letting your guard down. Of course there were rare times in the Games when you may find peace and quiet but that didn't necessarily equate to relaxation. 

Showing Prim the sorts of traps she had developed herself, as well as learned with Gale from their years in the wilderness, were coming in handy. And it may have been easier to teach Prim because they were sisters and knew how to best explain and show things. Gale had told her how he had tried once or twice but how it didn't work out. For Katniss though, Prim wasn't a bad student though in Katniss' own mind, she may have not been the best teacher herself. But overall, considering their sisterly bond, it made things easier for both of them which did let them relax a little and enjoy the time together, not just the educational life saving value.

"Good." Katniss said as Prim triggered her trap. The woman with them mentioned that a subtle change would ensure a better kill and Katniss could tell Prim just wanted to do something else. Prim would need to confront her wall eventually and Katniss didn't want to push her to hard or too far but at the same time, in the Games, hesitation to kill would just give someone else time to do the same thing to you. It was tricky and Katniss gave her sister a nod. "Alright." She decided a different trap, one that would help gather water, if that was even possible given the future state of the arena.

When Prim mentioned Haymitch, she looked over to where he was and shrugged. "I dunno." She glanced back down at the items she was using to construct her trap. She used a series of leaves and some stocks to act as a gathering system for water. "You need to use whatever you can to collect water but even then, you need a fire to boil it, just to be safe." She warned her sister, staying focused as best she could. If she stayed busy, it would take the luxury of worrying away. "I know one year, the water was acid or something, that it burned and wasn't safe." She said, trying to remember if Haymitch had told her something like that or if she had watched it one of one the many recordings. "You need to ba careful but still aware of your surroundings. Caution doesn't mean being slow or relaxed, it means being active and preparing for whatever you can think of."

Gale knew his approach with Haymitch had not gone well at all and he wondered if he should try approaching Peeta or Katniss because right now, he didn't feel like he could count on Haymitch. And if he tried to talk to Prim about this issue, he didn't think it would help matters much. Gale was trying to keep things balanced and fair for everyone but that was a troublesome task and he'd rather be able to count on Haymitch, rather than question him or the actions of Katniss. The less drama everyone was involved with, the better, but Gale knew Katniss and he knew her rash actions would be a risk. He wanted Haymitch to help manage that if possible, but right now Gale wasn't sure if he could put faith in a man who wouldn't even have a conversation about what was really going on, what was really important.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing workouts with Finnich. He could sometimes feel Johanna or Beetee watching him briefly but he also knew they were being monitored by officials. Gale was hoping he could find a way to communicate better with Haymitch but part of Gale thought that maybe the older man just refused to connect, even on the level that Katniss and Prim needed to be kept safe. Gale knew playing these kinds of dangerous games would be hard but he knew there was a plan put in place to help get everyone out. The plan needed to succeed. And that meant making peace with Haymitch, somehow.

As training wrapped up, he said goodbye to Finnick and waved to the others with a tired smile before he headed off to the elevator with a group of others, mostly fresh faces who was struggling not to become overwhelmed by the daunting task set out before them. He made small talk with a few but made sure to keep thing light and impersonal. Their days were numbered and Gale would try his hardest to make sure his own and the others in the alliance, weren't numbered. When he got to their floor, he saw Effie and Peeta talking closely and for a moment, he wondered if it was about the plan and the night before's information gathering. "Hey." He greeted them.

Effie spun around in her light aquamarine high heels with feathers and gems. "Oh Gale, we didn't hear you come up. I thought for a second you could have been-"

"Haymitch, yeah I'm not." Gale grinned a little. "I'm gonna go take a shower." He said and headed off. 

"The celebrations will start in thirty minutes so be quick!" Effie called to him and turned back to Peeta who had already resigned to her scheme of sorts. The blond baker could sense things were circulating between his four Tributes and he hoped they weren't mucking things up. He took a seat on the couch and soon Katniss and Prim came up together, talking about him it seemed because when they stepped out, they smiled and quieted down. "Welcome back you two." Effie greeted. "I suppose Haymitch is taking his time getting back." She said, trying not to make a fuss. Katniss patted Prim on the shoulder and headed off to her own room. She and Prim had been talking about Peeta, but it was good things, saying how great of a guy he was and such.

Back in his room, Gale had already hopped in the shower and was washing himself off, trying not to get into his own head too much. He thought a third attempt might be suicidal but he wanted to try one more time before going to Katniss about his concerns. Gale dragged his nails through his hair, trying to think of something less troubling and pictured him and Prim together at the Ball. That was fun, she looked so pretty. He then found himself needing to take a bit longer in the shower than planned but when he got out, he was at least in a bit of a better mood. He got dressed in a pair of black slacks that seemed waterproof somehow. 

Then he pulled on a grey tank top and headed out of his room to see Peeta still on the touch reading. This time, the table where they all ate was filled with three times as many trays of food and drink and dessert. He felt his mouth water and he sat down beside Peeta. "I guess she is serious about a party." He joked as he saw Effie putting up the last of the decorations. There were balloons and streams and even some weird light thing that flashed different mood lighting tones across the living room. The elevator opened and their stylists arrived. Gale had to wager that anyone else wouldn't be allowed to come up to their floor, even for a birthday party.

"She means well." Peeta considered.

"Says you, you're not the one who has to watch their figure." Gale nudged him.

Peeta returned the nudge playfully and before the boys could get into some kind of girly banter, Katniss came out and sat on the other side of Peeta and rested her arm on the back of the couch. "Behave you two." She warned with a grin as she glanced around and smiled at Cinna. They had some catching up to, that's for sure. Her hair was down and wavy, she had on a black tee shirt and a pair of grey shorts. For her, the mood was pretty good and there was no way she was going to complain about a party. Any good time that could be had now, she wanted to take full advantage of. "Thank you." She said and watched the adults pour themselves a drink.

"This night is all about you." Gale said to Peeta.

"You deserve it." Katniss added as she got up to get a drink, likely a nonalcoholic one though. Peeta moved to get up but she stopped him. "What can I get you?" She asked him. Maybe she felt a little bad about finding happiness where she did, that it wasn't with Peeta. But he was moving on that helped them both. Still, she did care about him and even though she didn't know about the plan, she did feel like she owed him a lot. Haymitch may have helped her from the outside of the arena, but Peeta kept her sane, kept her alive and she'd never forget that. He deserved happiness, not to be back in the Capitol with the of them.

"Sparkling juice?"

"Coming right up." She nodded and headed up to the dining table with Gale, who still couldn't figure out why Katniss was appearing more open and easy going, than her usual closed off self. For now, he didn't mind the change and got him and Prim a drink while Katniss headed back down to give their mentor his own drink.