stillplaying | 4th Game [action]

[Today is a day that Katniss Everdeen never should have lived to see. Today - give or take the few days difference between Luceti's calender and Panem's - is the day she turns eighteen.

Life in the Seam. Two arenas. An uprising. Becoming the Mockingjay. Acting as assassin. Her own attempts at suicide. The bombs that took the wrong life.

The odds were never in her favor. Today was a day she never should have lived to see.

It's like any other day. She wakes up in her bed, shaking and sweating from a nightmare that lingers in the back of her mind. Watching Prim die again and again. Being physically incapable of rescuing her sister each and every time. And then panicking when she wakes up in a still unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar bed.

Peeta had won. Maybe she hadn't fought this argument hard enough. But earlier this week, they packed up their treehouse shelter and moved into town. To house 43. Where Peeta's leg won't make it difficult for him to travel to town or climb up ladders. Where they live close to a bakery he could work at. Where Rue could more easily attend school.

Where she could wander around the village for the rest of the day, trying to forget every little event that led to today even as she reminds herself of all the deaths that led to her being able to turn eighteen. She carries her bow and arrow, but she has no intention to hunt. Today is an amnesty. Even if she never considered the game killed for food a part of her death toll, she can't bring herself to kill anything.

Instead, she explores the town in a way she's never bothered to before. She spends time inspecting the river and parts of the north eastern woods not too far from the house. Studying the other buildings. Going in and out of shops. She goes to the bakery and the library. Returns to the welcome center and the clothing store. Even steps into the Seventh Heaven restaurant to look but not eat. She has no appetite.

Her final stop of the day, before heading back to her new home, is at the item shop. It's easy to lose herself inside of there. To examine strange objects from other worlds that she's never seen before. And then to find something unexpected: her father's plant book.

As she flips through it, each page earning a careful caress as she studies her father's handwriting. And wonders what he would think if he were here in Luceti with her today. Would he be proud? Or would he be disappointed, loathe the girl she grew up to be?

She clutches the book to her chest before heading out and quietly whispers:] Happy birthday, Katniss Everdeen.

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[I am going to overhead assume in and out of shops includes the grocery at some point(s) - the second time she comes in Masaomi Kida, who witnessed her doing it the first time too, quirks into a smirk on his lips and saunters on over, eating a bag of spicy cheetos. And as he does, here it comes, one of his amazing pick up lines! It's, it's...!]

Hey, hey, looking to spice up your life? I gotta say, you don't need it because you already seem quite hot.

[Assume away! She's in the frozen goods aisle when the boy walks over. The confusion has little to do with the freezers themselves but as to why anyone would chose to have cold, old meat over freshly caught game.

Though, quickly enough, the confusion is directed in the boy's direction after he talks. If pick up lines like that were common in Panem, she'd be blushing. A lot. Instead:] I think it's kind of cold in this section.

[...PFFFTHAHAHA. No seriously he holds his stomach as he bursts out laughing. This girl looks about his age and she- oh man these place]

[The action makes her feel both confused and uncomfortable. She's never been fond of being laughed at. Especially when she doesn't know why.

Her first instinct is to react with hostility, which is easy enough to do. She scowls and glares at the boy.] What?

[Hahaha- Ha hhahah. Okay. Okay. He reigns it in, holding his sides with one hand and then offering her the Flaming Hot Cheetos with the other]

It's- That wasn't a serious question.

[It wasn't? Okay... Maybe she should just let that one go. She looks at the offered bag instead but doesn't take one. It's too unfamiliar.]

What is that?

Some cheetos. Spicy... cheese. Things.

[;... Man what is in them?]

[Good question.

Still, she's seen him eat it. Which means it's safe. And even though she doesn't really have much of an appetite, well. Trying all these new foods has been one of her favorite parts of life in Luceti.

So she takes one and bites half of it. It's better than the coconut milk. And even worthy of a slight grin.]

Not too spicy for you, huuuuh. [Flaming Hot ones after all. And... okay, that's actually a rewarding little smile. His own lips quirk up himself and he places a hand on his chest before pulling into a faux bow] My pleasure to give you a snack suitable.

[A little bit spicy. But she thinks she's had worse. A glance at her fingers does confirm one thing: it's definitely a messy snack.]

We don't have these in Panem.

That's not that unusual. I know a girl who grew up eating seals.

[...He says this like this is totally outlandish and why would you ever]

[She looks kind of quizzical. What's the big deal? Meat is meat, no matter the source.]

....And nevermind.

[Okay. She can do that. Very easily.

So she nods, still quiet.]

...Iiiin any case. I'm Masaomi Kida, and you are-?

Katniss Everdeen.

[She knows by now that there’s no harm in giving her name. No one knows of the Mockingjay here, the infamous face of the rebellion turned assassin. No one cares. It’s freeing.]

Well, Katniss! That's a poetic name if you ask me.

[And he places a hand on his heart slowly, as if opening it in]

[Poetic? That's the first time she's heard that.]

It's a plant.

...Is it? I've never really hard of that one?

[She nods.] It has edible roots.

Oh, what a charming comparison. Eating your roots would probably be an endeavor.

[She doesn't get the comparison. It probably shows.] They don't taste much different from potatoes.

Ho, ho! I should try some meat and Katniss down the line then!

[...She's missing all his jokes. Presumably, she'll miss this one too, but it's a test]

[She tilts her head a little, studying him. It's not quite the same behavior she remembers from first meeting Finnick. The jokes are awful. Hard to comprehend. But that tone is there. That laugh and that same kind of smile. He's flirting with her. She sees that now, even if the joke is still a little... strange.

But the realization that he is flirting is still enough to make her blush. She's not all that pretty. Not very nice. And yet...]

Why?

Why because it sounds as hot as those cheetos I just gave you!

[With a little tone of being faux-exasperated. He even sighs like this was the most obvious thing ever, leaning his body to the left]

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