After seeing that Darius has been turned into an Avox and assigned to her floor, Katniss is overwhelmed by guilt and horror. Because any open acknowledgment would only bring Darius more punishment, Katniss says nothing, isolates herself, and later creates a brief, secret moment of contact by spilling peas at dinner so she and Darius can touch hands while cleaning them up. Katniss refuses Peeta's comfort that night because Darius's suffering feels tied to Gale, District 12, and President Snow's deliberate cruelty.

Katniss spends a miserable night haunted by dreams about mutilated tongues and wakes dreading training. At breakfast, Haymitch gives Katniss and Peeta two clear instructions: continue performing their romance and start making allies. Katniss resists because she distrusts the other victors and knows any alliance could end in betrayal, but Haymitch argues that returning victors already have long-standing relationships and will target District 12 first unless Katniss and Peeta become desirable partners.

In the Training Center, Katniss separates from Peeta and works through practical stations, first at knots and then at fire-making. Finnick briefly intrudes with flirtation, but Katniss finds more promising company with Wiress and Beetee of District 3, who are intelligent inventors rather than showy performers. While talking with them, Katniss tries to probe for signs of rebellion in District 3 and learns from their sharp observation that a force field has been placed between the tributes and the Gamemakers, including a visible weak spot or "chink."

At lunch and throughout the afternoon, Katniss reluctantly follows Haymitch's advice and socializes with more victors. She remains wary of Chaff, Cashmere, Gloss, and Enobaria, but she grows interested in Mags after seeing both her skill and her quiet decency. When Katniss remembers that Mags volunteered to save another tribute, Katniss decides she wants Mags, along with Wiress and Beetee, as allies. Later, Katniss retreats to the archery station for relief and performs so well against moving targets that most of the victors stop to watch; as a result, many tributes suddenly want her as an ally, and Haymitch learns that her value in the field has risen sharply.

Over the next two days, Katniss spends time with nearly all the returning tributes and finds that knowing them only makes the coming slaughter harder to bear. Before the private sessions, Katniss and Peeta openly admit how terrible it will be to kill people they now understand and, in some cases, like. When Katniss enters her own session, she senses that Peeta has already unsettled the Gamemakers and decides to go further. Drawing on what she learned in training, Katniss hangs a dummy in a noose and paints the name "SENECA CRANE" on it in red, directly taunting the Capitol by invoking the executed Head Gamemaker.