Now, Marius had become vaguely aware of the danger even children could pose from the clips of the Games he had the misfortune of witnessing, even though he actively made a point to avoid them. So he tensed at the boy's conclusion, and every fibre in his being wanted to protest that he will not allow Courfeyrac to die by the child's hands, and that children should be enjoying their life and their innocence instead of murdering people, anyway.

But he was unarmed; he regretted leaving the pocket knife near the ground where he had been sitting only a while back. That, along with Courfeyrac's plea and the boy sheathing his knife, managed to keep his mouth shut.

Still, he cast a wide-eyed, worried glance at his friend. "I... I suppose we must have a system, if you say so."