"I spoke to Finnick Odair earlier today. He looked terrified. Most of the kids did."

"What am I supposed to do with that information?"

"You're supposed to explain why they think they have no shot. Finnick told me he was going to die, Maddox told me he was going to die."

"That's surprising to you because...?"

"They're children. Just like Canaan and me. They have no hope, and they're children."

"Again, how is that surprising? They're being sent into an arena with five Career tributes. They know they're dying. Look I love Maddox, he's an amazing kid, but just looking at him, I know he's not making it out of there." Ellis brushed a hand through his dreadlocks, staring tiredly at the siblings before him.

"How is that fair?" Canaan piped up, running a hand over his face. "How is it fair to pit them against each other when some of them have no shot? Especially when some of them are getting trained! Surely someone should report the whole Career system to Snow? He'd get rid of it in a second!"

"It's not fair. It's just how it is, and Snow doesn't care about fairness. Do you think he'd endorse a tv show where kids kill each other if he cared about justice and fairness? This is all up to him, he makes the decisions... He just makes the ones that benefit him the most. Snow gives Districts One, Two and Four leniency because it makes the Games entertaining and makes the Districts lose hope."

On one hand, Asha appreciated the bluntness with which Ellis explained everything. He didn't embellish or sugarcoat, he gave the facts and that was that. On the other hand, Ellis' bluntness made Asha want to throw up. She had always had a small aversion to President Snow, a man who made her skin crawl every time she spoke to him, but she had never imagined him to be a monster who rigged the Hunger Games.

"I've answered enough of your questions, now you answer mine. Why are you here?"

"We told you, we're looking for answers." Canaan spoke determinedly, staring at Ellis.

"I heard that much. I mean why now? The Games have been going on for sixty-five years, both of you have been alive for fourteen and sixteen of those years, and nothing's suddenly changed. Why now? What changed?" Canaan turned to his sister, having no answer to give to the man. As much as he wanted to support his sister, she had started this, which meant only she knew why she took such a sudden interest in the topic.

"It's the first time I've seen them in the flesh. They were always pixels on a screen until the Tribute Parade this year. I never needed to care for them because they never felt real... but they are. They're kids, just like Canaan and I, they're human beings, just like Canaan and I, and they're dying with no sense of hope. I need to understand why. I know it's such a vague question, and I'll probably still not have the full answer for years, but I'm not going to get an answer if I don't start asking." Tears clung onto Asha's eyelashes, holding on for dear life, begging not to drop onto her cheeks.

"Why you? You're Flickerman's kids. You're putting yourselves and him at risk, for something that's never bothered you in the past. You've got everything you could possibly want or need out there, so why you?"

Ellis Pullet was the victor of the 26th Hunger Games, he had seen many District Ten tributes come and go and he had suffered and lost a lot to survive with a life that he didn't find especially enjoyable. If he had learnt anything in the thirty-nine years since his supposed victory, it was that people were rarely who they seemed to be. People who seemed the most trustworthy were often the ones who broke his trust the most, and those who he had believed would likely betray him had been the few people to stick with him. This fact had been so pertinent to his life that he always prioritised the question of trust when he met new people. He was sceptical and paranoid and had spent a large portion of his life in solitude. He needed to know who to trust and who to be cautious of. Yet when he first saw Asha Flickerman in the District Ten apartment of the Tribute Centre, he had quickly realised that she was a mystery. She was a hundred winds blowing in different directions, a tornado of energy and determination and she was unpredictable. So when the young girl answered his question, he couldn't help but feel defeated. He could not deduce whether or not she was trustworthy, he just had to decide to trust her or not to trust her.

"I'm the one asking, because if the Games, and Snow, and the Capitol, are as awful as you make them out to be, I need to know. Everything you've said, if it's true-"

"If?"

"If it's true, then I'm certain my father knows about it, and he's choosing not to do anything about it." She considered her next words, offering Canaan time to take a breath, coming to the same realisation she had hours before. "I need to know if I'm living with a monster, and I need to know what I can do about it. But I won't know any of that until my questions get answered, until I know about everything. That's why it's me."

Silence grew among the group, Ellis contemplating her words, before asking a final question.

"Why here? If you're so worried about your father, why not ask him? Why are you here, talking to a twelve-year-old boy from District Ten that you didn't even know existed until yesterday? That didn't even matter to you until today?" Asha hesitated answering the question, she didn't know Ellis, she had never heard of him before, she wasn't sure if she should open up to him. But Ellis was a sceptical man, she could deduce that, simply from his questions, and she knew that if she wanted him or anyone else to trust her enough to answer her questions, she needed to trust them enough to answer theirs.

"Look-" She shut her eyes tightly, debating if she should put hers and Canaan's private family life on display. They had spent their lives trying to earn privacy while their father tried to drag them into the spotlight. Was she really going to go against what she had spent her life fighting for? "I never saw my dad as a monster, but I've known since the day he adopted me that he's not a good father. He never cared for our feelings, our wants, our needs. If I tell him that I need answers, he'll only give me the real ones if it benefits him. Meaning that I'll never be sure if he's telling me the truth. The tributes? They don't know me, some probably don't like me, but they're kids, just like me. They're scared and they're hopeless and I'm from the Capitol. Whether they think I have a chance at saving them or they just see me as someone willing to listen to them before they die, they're much more likely to tell me the truth."

Silence grew among the three, Asha picking at her nails, Canaan tugging on his suit sleeves and Ellis rubbing the back of his neck. They were all waiting for Ellis to respond. Even he wasn't sure what he was going to say until the words would leave his lips. He had options. He could report them and have security escort them from the buildings. It would get them in trouble, but it would keep him and Maddox safe and healthy. He could refuse to answer their questions and force them to leave. Or he could speak with them for an hour or so, answer as many questions as he could, and hope that that would satisfy them. He couldn't be sure what they would do with that information, he couldn't be sure if they'd help or report him back, he could tell Asha was unpredictable.

But if Ellis had tried to predict anything about her, it would be that she couldn't care less for the tributes, that she would report them instantly, that she would continue enjoying her lavish life without caring for the tributes or the District citizens. And if Asha were as unpredictable as Ellis was deducing, then all he could truly do was jump and trust that she would do the exact opposite of what he expected.

"Alright, I'll answer your questions."

Sam speaks : YES! Another chapter done!!!! Today's my final day of Christmas break, I'm back in school tomorrow, so I wanted to get out as many chapters as I could for you guys since I don't know how fast I'll be working for the near-ish future (I have mock exams in February and March, then real exams in May and June, so I'm literally gonna be studying and working non-stop).

I don't really have much to say about this chapter to be honest, it's basically a Part 2 to chapter 5, getting more information, meeting Ellis, etc. I'm still absolutely in love with Asha's determination though! I know I'm the one writing her this way, but I'm so obsessed with how much she's determined to learn more and help if help is needed (which it obviously is).

Feedback is appreciated, and I hope you enjoyed Chapter 6!!! Bye!!!!!