"You'll have to let me parade around the capital in that attire sometime." the almost familiar voice rung through the weave of people. Twelve districts, two in each, all dressed in some sort of way to represent their district. She should have stayed with her own tributes, give them advice on how not to panic when the fake electricity bolts bounced off their costume. Yet she hadn't, her mind and eyes too occupied with Haymitch and his own tributes.

Peeta and Katniss turned their heads at the same time, the new voice dancing around their ears nearly putting them both on edge. Though, the pair recognized her after a moment. Neither were use to seeing the winner of the 73rd Annual Hunger games without blood or nightlock berries spread across her. Now she's stood tall, a healthy amount of weight gained, her skin cleared, and her attire far from the items of clothing she'd bloodied up in the arena.

Zoya Butterfield.

"Ah, look who showed up." Cinna smiled her way. When Zoya smiled, her grin favored one side of her mouth more. Her teeth had been fixed recently, once over lapping each other slightly and now pearly white and completely straight, "Haymitch was looking for you."

"Well, enjoying my last moments of fame before a new victor is crowned." Zoya lied, lied straight through her fixed teeth. All the attention had been on her for the past year, everywhere she went something was said, patted on the back, congratulated. Congratulated for having killed people, could you imagine? Having a new victor was all she'd been looking forward to the entire year, but she'd never say that in the presence of every district, all watching her. Zoya turned her head to the pair of District 12 tributes, "What about these two? Should I bother making a bet on either of them?"

"No one thought you'd win, yet you did." Katniss commented, because Zoyas attitude was rubbing her the wrong way. She acted like Haymitch, like it was all some joke because she wasn't the one about to die. Zoyas eyebrow rose as Katniss stared at her, "No one made bets on you."

Zoya cracked a smirk across her lips, "And I made them regret every second they didn't."

Her words made Katniss almost smile, feeling slightly better now they she'd seen through the arrogance and now was looking at a rebel, a hater of the Capital, someone on their side.

"And what about you?" Zoya turned to look at Peeta. His eyes widened slightly, the sudden attention she laid onto him having a source of panic set in. Zoya was all Panem had been talking about for the past year, the way she'd won her games so clever, so worth speaking about. He'd seen her, of course, everyone had seen her. But in person, so close, with all her attention set into him was nerve racking, "Some makeup team you have. Are you worth putting a bet on after already marking up such a pretty face?"

The clear bruise on his jaw was covered in makeup, but standing close under the bright lights made it clear. Peeta remembered what Haymitch said, telling him it would make him look intimidating and tough because the audience would think he'd already gotten mixed up with a tribute before entering the arena. Peeta was looking for a quick story in his head before she spoke up again, "Did you get it before or after you got off the train?"

It was almost terrifying how she could know such a thing.

"Before." Peeta spoke, blinking at her, "Threw a glass out of Haymitches hand."

"Was it red wine or white?" Zoya tiled her head in questioning.

"Red." Peeta answered immediately.

Zoya hummed in response, "Suppose that's where he is now then? Clearly not bothering to give his lovely tributes any advice."

"He probably shouldn't be near an open flame." Katniss spoke up, one of her eyebrows rose when she spoke. Her words made Zoya laugh, laugh at such a bad time and in such a bad place.

"I'll find him in the crowd." Zoya hummed, walking forward as she looked over her shoulder at the three, "If you manage to impress me, I will consider placing my bets on the two of you."

Then she'd be gone, turning the corner and heading toward the crowd. Her presence linger, so intimidating in a way it felt as though she'd still be there, lingering, even when she truly wasn't.

"Zoya Butterflied." Cinna spoke, though he was sure the pair knew very well who she was, "You'll want to be on her good side."

"She's terrifying." Peeta admitted.

"Why would I want to be on her good side?" Katniss looked at Cinna in questioning, "She's arrogant."

She was, but in a way, Katniss sort of liked.

"After the way she won her games last year, the Capital adores her." Cinna informed the pair. Peeta looked to the side, feeling like her burning gaze was still staring into his soul. She wasn't, nowhere in sight.

"All of a reason not to trust her then." Katniss held her head higher as she spoke of Zoya, "Especially after how she won."

"All more of a reason you want to be on her good side." Cinna smiled, fixing Katniss's braid behind her head.

"He's a career. You know what that is?" Haymitch asked over dinner. Zoya was invited to dine with them that night, score her a spot across from Katniss as she picked at the lamb stew.

"From District One." Katniss hummed, stuffing her face as the talk of the arrogant boy from district one rung across the table, after the pair's training day.

"And two." Haymitch hummed.

"Sometimes four." Zoya leaned back in her chair, holding her glass up like she'd made a toast. She thought of Finnick, her closest friend aside from Rosalind.

"They train in a special academy until they're eighteen. Then they volunteer. By that point, they're pretty lethal." Haymitch spoke over a glass of red wine, dipping his steak into it every few seconds.

"You volunteering is seen as a threat to them." Zoya spoke, making eye contact with Katniss from across the table, "Being from District 12."

"Is that why I have earned your presence?" sarcasm dripped off her words as she chewed on one side of her mouth.

Zoya hummed, taking a sip of the white wine with a nod, "I find District Five very boring, the two on fire happen to desperately need my attention it seems."

"To what? Poison a bunch of tributes they aren't dumb enough to fall for that two times in a row?" Katniss made her witty remark oddly quick. The way non of Katniss's words caused any harm on Zoya was irking, the Everdeen girl digging deeper under her skin.

"Well, maybe." Peeta shyly spoke up, having the attention brought to him, "If someone is desperate enough for a parachute, I doubt they'd stop to think if it was a reoccurring trick."

Zoya pointed at Peeta, looking at Haymitch, nodding. Peeta wanted to know what it meant, what she was nodding about, why she'd focused on him. Zoya found the little bit of conversation she had with Peeta fascinating, his mind, such a gentle place.

"So the career districts get special treatment and we get a sober mentor?" Katniss rose her eyebrows at Zoya, glancing at her white wine in hand, "Barley."

"They don't revive any special treatment!" Effy cut in with a smirk, her lavender hair standing out even more under the dinning lights, "In fact, they stay in the exact same apartment as you do. And I don't think they let them have dessert. And you can. Luckily, the two of you have decent manners. The pair last year ate everything with their hands like a couple of savages. It completely upset my digestion."

Zoya found herself turning her head toward Effy rather quick, "District 12 isn't feed like the capital is. I highly doubt that they were thinking of manors when eating for the first time in who knows how long."

Something about Zoyas remark scored her some points with Katniss. Though, she hadn't liked the fact that Zoya was speaking for them, she was glad someone had said to to shut the big haired woman up. Katniss dropped her fort and began eating with her hands to prove a point, making Zoya give a subtle nod from across the table.

"So, how good are they?" Peeta changed the subject, looking from Zoya to Haymitch. Her comment had him red in the face, almost flustered as if she'd been standing up for him individually. Zoya clearly hadn't been, more so standing up for the capitals ignorance and privilege, but it still pulled him in.

"Obviously they're pretty good. They win it almost every year." Haymitch hummed, cutting off another piece of his steak.

"Almost." Effy smiled.

"Almost." Zoya repeated, sending Peeta a wink across the table.

"They can be arrogant." Haymitch spoke about the careers.

"Sure District Five isn't one of them?" Katniss mumbled, though she'd been clear to be loud enough for Zoya to hear.

"And arrogance can be a big problem." Haymitch went with her words, staring over at her in a way of showing he'd been speaking about her while she spoke of Zoya, "I hear you can shoot."

Katniss was silent a second, "I'm all right."

"She's better then all right. My father buys her squirrels." Peeta spoke up, getting a look of disbelief from Katniss, "He says she hits them right in the eye every time."

Katniss, feeling annoyed by his words, turned their way, "Peeta is strong."

"What?" he gave a odd look.

"We can tell." Zoya hummed, meeting his eye with a smile.

"He can throw a hundred pound sack of flour right over his head. I've seen it." Katniss said confidently, a nod of her head when she spoke.

"Okay, well , i'm not gonna kill anybody with a sack of flour." Peeta almost laugh, though it was clearly more out of disbelief then anything. Effy gave a odd look in agreement.

"No, but you might have a better chance of winning if somebody comes after you with a knife." Katniss spoke in pure annoyance, though her tone was rather matter of fact. Zoya wondered why she took such a large defense to Peetas words, that seemed to be a compliment. She suspected perhaps it embarrassed her to sale squirrels, though Zoya found it rather impressive to hit them in the eye each time.

"I have no chance of winner! None! All right?" Peeta cut her off, anger taking over his usual gentle, kind tone. The table looked his way in silence at the out burst, not expecting it. The eyes on him flushed a embarrassment across his cheeks, "It's true. Everyone knows it."

"Why would you think that?" Zoya asked after taking a sip of her drink, being the only one to speak on his matter. She sound it unfair how pushed to the side Peetas pain seemed to be, clearly seeing it suddenly snap, "And why do you think you know what everyone else is thinking? With that super power, you have ever chance at winning."

Her joke was almost comforting if his mother's words hadn't been bouncing around his brain since the reaping, "You know what my mother said? She said District 12 might finally have a winner. But she wasn't talking about me. She was talking about you."

He looked at Katniss with his final sentence. She hadn't said anything back, not sure what to say like the rest of them. Peeta tossed his napkin onto the table as he stood, "I'm not very hungry."

Zoya waited a second, finishing off her drink as she hummed. With an excuse that she needed to head back to District Five for a late night mentoring, she made a pit stop at Peeta Mellarks room.

•

kylie speaks

<zoyabutterfield3

if you guys are confused as
to why there are a few extra
lines to the movies lines, i am
going to be combining the book
and the movies together for this
one! like the comment about the
manors that effy made, haymitch punching peeta, district 4 being apart of the
careers! i just wanted to let you
guys know i will be doing that and it isn't just me making up
lines as i go haha.