[Flowers] • The Hunger Games

Nine

"Tell me again, what Cato told you?"

Asteria and Gale were alone, waiting for the elevator in the empty basement floor. Things were still hostile between them. But that didn't mean she wanted to see him die in the arena.

"He said they had a spot if I wanted to join them." Gale told her.

She looked over at him, giving him one last glance-over. "I know you don't like me. I'm not asking you to. But if you can't trust me- trust that I don't want to do this anymore. You win, you're a mentor- and either Haymitch or I get out of this shitstorm of a job for the foreseeable future." Asteria told him. She gave a small sigh as he met her eyes. "Team with the careers. At the very least, for the first few days. It'll save you trouble during the cornucopia bloodbath and the ensuing hunt. If you're not gonna listen to that, then at least avoid the cornucopia. If you're not an ally, you'll be a threat to them. Like Thresh, that boy from 11. You don't have to team with Madge. You don't have to talk about her at all. But don't expose the both of you as liars. Make them think you're really the star-crossed lovers from district 12." Asteria told him.

"You're cold, you know that? I guess it makes you perfect for this sort of thing." Gale mumbled.

She brushed it off. "That suit is made of insulated fibers and polyesters, I don't think you're dealing with a tundra, but the nights might get cold. I'm assuming based off the lightly treaded boots and the lack of water-resistant material- it's either a coniferous or a deciduous forest in the arena this year. Which is good, you're used to that terrain more than the careers are. Whether you're with the careers or not- your first main goal is to find water. Unless of course the weather is so harsh you're forced to find shelter first. If you're the victor this year you'll thank me for carboloading you these past few days, you shouldn't feel the effects of hunger even half as fast as the other tributes. Securing a weapon isn't nearly as important as you think it'll be. Even a sharpened stick can be just as lethal as a sword. If you make it past the initial bloodbath your odds of dying from natural causes goes up exponentially the longer you're in the games. Don't eat anything unless you're sure it's safe. I don't care how hungry you are. Double check that your water supply has not been tampered with every time you take a drink. Skipping it even once could take you out of the games the old 'nightlock berry' method. Oh- yeah, don't confuse nightlock for blueberries."

"You need to take a breath after all that?" Gale managed a bit of a smile. It was good that he wasn't nervous. Or if he was- he was good enough at hiding it that even Asteria was convinced.

"Haymitch will handle gaining you sponsors, for the most part. It's my job to work out what you'll actually need in the arena and what I need to funnel my funds through, so you'd better be nicer to me." She joked, as the elevator finally opened. The two of them stepped inside as it started to move upwards. "After you leave here the last person you'll see is Portia, she'll make any final touches on your outfit. The Capitol still cares about fashion, even during the games. Remember that second rule, don't make any genuine personal attachments during the games. I don't care if the girl from eleven reminds you of Katniss' younger sister. Or the boy from four reminds you of your brothers. I don't care if the last two tributes are you and Madge. If you want to win, you've gotta let all of that go. You don't get to decide who you kill. It's not a luxury you'll have, even if you join the career pack. When the numbers are running low...my honest advice is to take out the career pack in their sleep. If that's too much for you- I encourage you to disappear and hope they sort themselves out. I don't care what he says, don't trust Cato. He was bred, born, and raised to win these games. Remember that."

"Anything else?" Gale asked, as the doors opened. In front of them was the hanger, where all of the tributes would get their trackers and would be flown off to the actual arena.