THE NEXT MORNING WAS NOTHING SHORT OF EVENTFUL. Sage had gotten barely an hour of sleep; he tossed and turned and whenever he would begin to drift off, the sounds of the train would jolt him awake. Whether it was a door closing, or footsteps outside his door. A couple times, he heard the command door open and shut, and he would jolt awake fully expecting to see Prim making her way into his room. It was a reminder that would possibly be the only real memories she had of him; she was old enough that she could forget things about him by the time she was old enough for the reaping.

      By the time that Effie Trinket knocked on his door, he was already awake. And he had been for a few hours, pacing his cabin and watching his soundings outside the train change. Now, they were travelling through the mountains, which he had never seen before. He was used to the thick forest outside twelve that would be damaged by a strong storm— these mountains looked indestructible. It was like they were being brought to another cage that surrounded the arena.

      After he took five minutes to freshen up in his bathroom be taking one of the soft clothes that sat on the counter and covered it with cold water; he pressed it against his face a few times— the cool water was enough to wake him up a bit. Despite not being able to sleep, he was still exhausted. He then made his way to the dining car for their team meeting as Effie called it.

"Just in time," Effie beamed, her colorful look that she had worn to the reaping was freshened up with new makeup and a pale face. "Haymitch was just about to begin, weren't you, Haymitch?" she said as she looked to the middle aged, disheveled man for agreement as the same two avoxes from dinner begin to unload a cart of delicious smelling food onto the table. Deedee who already was seated beside Effie, was watching them with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I was just about to begin sharing my lifesaving advice." he said, his tone held a certain amount of sarcasm that irritated Sage. Then even more irritating to Sage was how Haymitch poured himself some coffee, and then pulled out his flask and poured some of his amber colored whiskey into it.

"I'm sure you were..." he murmured as he lowered himself down into a seat. And as soon as the words left his mouth, by the sound of Effie's small gasp he knew they came out louder than he had intended.

"Sage!" she began, "Have some manners!"

     He didn't respond. He wasn't one to ever talk back, not really at least. Sure he could have an attitude with his mother when she would ask him to do something, or with their principal at school when he threatened to report Sage to the peacekeepers for selling small pelts to his classmates. And he knew that Haymitch would join the list of people he would get an attitude with; Effie not so much. Sure, she was a bit of an odd ball, and her perfume was horrendously overwhelming. But she seemed nice enough, and she didn't seem to be mentally capable of understanding why Sage would be irritated to be there in the first place. So instead of saying anything, he began to load up his plate with breakfast— if he was going to die, he might as well enjoy himself how he can. And some frenchtoast, which was something his mother would make whenever she could, and some strawberry syrup with blueberries was something he could enjoy.

Haymitch huffed something under his breath before speaking. "Please, let me know when you're ready to discuss strategy." his voice this time had more obvious sarcasm.

     Sage bit his tongue from saying anything to him again. Although Sage could feel himself growing more irritated towards the man, he would be Sages' on side— hopefully while he was in the arena.

Haymitch watched Sage carefully for a moment, and when Sage said nothing he continued. "For starters, do either of you have some god given gift I should know about?" he asked before taking a drink and then looking at both Sage and Deedee.

       Sage said nothing. He knew he could use a bow and arrow, he knew he could identify a handful of edible berries. He could potentially have a slim chance of winning, Deedee however...there wasn't a chance there. She was small, and frail looking. The Everdeen's were by no means District One contenders, but Sage had never really had to experience real hunger. His father always made it a point to go hunting, and so did Sage. Deedee however looked like the vast majority from the seam.

The silence from Sage and Deedee didn't last long before Sage felt Haymitch's eyes on him as he took a bite of his food.

"You're telling me those pelts at the Hob aren't from you?" Haymitch questioned, "There's some other Everdeen selling them?"

      Sage stared back at him. Was this a trick? What this just a way for them to find out Sage had been breaking the law? Was he supposed to admit it in front of Effie? He had no idea who she would run off and tell once they were in the Capitol.

"Well," Haymitch said with a huff after it was clear that Sage wasn't going to admit to anything. "If it's you, same it for the arena." he told him, "It's better if nobody knows about that."

"Wouldn't that make him a target right away?" Deedee questioned, her voice was high pitched and sounded soft and gentle. That was the first time Sage heard her say a word.

"You're both aleady targets." Haymitch told her, not sugarcoating it at all. "You're from Twelve, sweetheart. That makes you a easy target all ready. Twelve doesn't have a good track record for being home victors."

"But this year will change that," Effie said quickly, shooting daggers at Haymitch. "This year will put District Tweleve back on the map." her smile seemed incredibly forced. Her tone was chirpy, but it sounded faked.

      Sage, once again, opted to just stay quiet. If Haymitch would keep trying to give him advice, he would listen. Maybe Haymitch was right, keeping his talent with a bow and arrow a secret might be a good idea. But it was a toss up, if he proved himself early on it could get him some allies. And allies could help him last longer. But it could also make him a bigger target to tributes like the careers. If he seemed like a threat, he could be one of the first tributes the careers wanted to knock off.

"Today you'll be with your prep teams," Haymitch said, staring at Effie as if to tell her not to give them any false hope. "your stylist will be the one to get you ready for tonight for the parade. They will get you ready for your training, interview...and the arena."

"Great..." Sage mumbled.

      The parade was never a highlight for Twelve. There was only so much that could be done with coal mining. It usually includes tributes wearing next to nothing and being covered in a dusting of dark makeup to resemble soot, along with some obnoxious headpiece that was meant to resemble and headlamp.

Effie cleared her throat, "So," she began, growing uncomfortable with the silence at the table. "tell us about yourselves. Any siblings? Deedee?"

Deedee shook her head, "Just me and my uncle, he owns the warehouse where the Hod is." she explained simply, looking down at Haymitch who had just mentioned the Hob.

"Sage?"

"Two sisters." he replied simply, looking back down at his plate and taking a bite.

     Sage wasn't usually one to refuse to engage in conversation. His parents had always taught him to be polite and speak with anyone who spoke to him; regardless of who they were. But sitting on a train that was nearing the place where they would be primed for the arena just to die in a few days...it didn't sit well with him. Especially having Effie sitting at the table, trying to get to know Sage and Dedee as if she didn't think they would be dying soon. As if she was going to become good friends with them.

"How old are they?"

"Ten and six," Sage replied, "maybe you'll meet one of them someday." he added without entirely thinking about the words and bitterness that came out with them. His eyes glanced up and scanned the table, Effie sat at the end of the table her hand gripping a fork tightly as she took a sip of her drink. Dedee had her eyes stuck on Effie, and when his eyes landed on Haymitch's he was met with the mentors eyes staring right back at him.

      But before Haymitch could mutter a single word, the train car suddenly went dark. Both Dedee and Sage sat up right, and their eyes turned to the windows as they went through a tunnel. Sage didn't move from his seat until after the train left the tunnel— letting the sun flood the dining car once again. He quickly stood up and look out the window— if he recalled correctly, the only way into the Capitol was the tunnels if you went on a train, and over the mountains surrounding it if you were flying there. In school, they learned about the major missteps of the rebels during the uprising. And one of them was that they couldn't get into the Capitol without being seen because of the limited entrances in.

      Sure enough, when Sage looked out the window his eyes were met by the beautiful sight of the Capitol they were approaching. He would be stupid to say it wasn't one of the best things he had ever seen. The sun that was now above the mountains shimmered off of the water that they were going by and it made the area seem much brighter that it probably was. The Capitol had tall buildings that shined in the sunlight, and as they grew closer he saw a large building that the train tracks were leading them to. The Capitol train station. As they pulled into it, Sage noticed the sea's of people that were already there. Immediately, as the train began to slow abruptly— Sage saw the crowds' excitement begin to peek. The smiles on their faces, some of which were colorful like Effie's, their elaborate clothes that were of all different types of colors— although greens and oranges seemed to be quite popular among them; all of it made Sage feel a bit sick to his stomach. They all had everything— while there were people in the districts that were starving. They didn't even have to offer up tributes for the games, they just cheered when the districts did and placed bets on the unlucky ones who were tossed into the arena while families at home were watching and were heartbroken.

"This is where the show starts for you two," Haymitch said simply as he quickly downed his spiked coffee before standing up. Sage turned as he walked towards him, and his eyes went past Haymitch and glanced at Dedee as she frantically made herself look more presentable. "and just a tip, if you can't make Effie like you, you won't be able to make them like you." he stated quietly as he stood in front of Sage. "Think you can do that?" he asked in a very patronising way.

     Two peacekeepers then entered the dining car. They then unlocked the door and slid it open, allowing the roars from the crowds to flood into dining car. The sound of the cheering from the crowds was almost deafening. Sage watched as Haymitch went from the sloppy, sometimes arrogant looking drunk that he was used to seeing in District Twelve when he left Victor's Village to a decent enough looking Victor with his head held just high enough to seem proud of his title as he offered a wave that wasn't entirely genuine. But to the crowds waiting to great them it seemed to be the most genuine thing they had ever seen.

Maybe he does know what he's doing, he thought to himself as Effie approached the door and guided Dedee off of the train to join Haymitch. She then paused before stepping out and waited for Sage to follow behind Dedee.

       Sage took a deep breath before he walked towards the door— everything on the outside of the train, hell everything inside the train, was completely new to him. The crowds in the Capitol weren't the same as the crowd that had been gazing up at him on the stage in District Twelve. But as he stepped in the doorway and took Effie's direction to step down and off the train, the act seemed to come to him. After years of hearing people talk about tributes, and watching them in the games— he knew he learned one thing for sure. The Capitol loved a charismatic tribute. So as soon as his feet were firmly on the ground, he smiled to the crowds and waved to them. As soon as he had done it, he knew it wasn't natural. Not one bit. It felt sickening to do. But as he waved, the crowds who could see him clearly began to cheer even louder.

      Sage felt a hand grip his shoulder, he looked to the side to see Haymitch who still was sporting the faked expression that was convincing the people of the Capitol he was happy to be there. Haymitch tightened his grip on Sage's shoulder as they began to walk.

"All of these people are potentially a sponsor for you in the arena," he reminded him, "so keep that up." he said, throwing in a small wave as if to show him what to do. And the people who saw him went crazy for it.

If only they could have smelt the whiskey that was already on his breath at that time of day.

     The room that Haymitch brought Sage to before bringing Dedee to another was more than he would have expected. The walls weren't as tall as they had been in the long halls. There were no windows, and there was a metal bed that had a hospital gown on it. He had heard a thing or two about the prep teams and he wasn't exactly looking forward to handing himself over to them almost literally on a silver platter. But Sage changed into the gown and then sat on the edge of the metal bed, his eyes wandered around the room while he waited. There was a massive vanity that was much fancier than the one his mother had to sell a few years earlier to get a bit of extra cash. It didn't have a mirror on it though, and there was a light that was switched off that was extended over him. As he waited and looked around at all the foreign things in the room that he had never really seen before— he couldn't help but fidget with the bracelet that Katniss had made for him. And as he ran his fingers over a few of the beads, he could feel every uneven imperfection on them. He couldn't help but wonder what they were all doing in District Twelve. Had everyone gone on as normal, leaving his family reeling after the reaping? Had Katniss or Prim gone to school?

     He was pulled out of his thoughts by a knock on the door and then by three people walking into the room. The first was a woman who was thin and was sporting exceptionally long eyelashes, the second was a man had dark skin and hair who seemed to not be sporting any extreme accessories besides a thin line of gold across his eyelids, then the third was a man was a powdery complexion that had a light blue shade of hair.

"Sage Everdeen," the woman began, "definitely not the worst we've gotten, wouldn't you say so Flavius?" she asked as she stepped up beside Sage, immediately beginning to examine his face as he pretended not to be offended on behalf of the tributes that had been stuck with these people in the past.

"Definitely not," the powdery man replied as the woman stood before him and gently turned his head from side to side.

"I'm Octavia," the woman said, introducing herself finally.

"Flavius," the man added.

"And I'm Cinna," the third member said stepping up near Octavia, almost pushing her out of her place. "they can be a bit much, sometimes." he said glancing at the two members of the team who were getting to work to get things ready.

"Nice to meet you, I guess," Sage stated, peering around Cinna to see what they were doing at the vanity.

Cinna turned and looked in the same direction, "You're lucky this year," he stated, "Marcel, your stylist, actually took a few tips this year for your look."

Sage scoffed, "I wouldn't exactly call that getting lucky."

Cinna arched a brow, "But if people remember you," he paused, "then that must be a bit of luck, right?"

AUTHORS NOTE;
Thank you for reading! I read the entirety of Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes yesterday, so I'm in a Hunger Games mood I guess you could say! So I'm hoping to finish editing a few of these chapters today!

Please let me know what you think! I love Sage and everything I have in store for him.

stay classy!
*edited*