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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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]

[She watches him through narrowed eyes. She can't help it. The flirting makes her uncomfortable. More uncomfortable than it probably should. It might not be as horrible as the first time she met Finnick Odair, but it's still more than she's used to.

She shakes her head quickly.] It's not. I'm not.

Eeeeeh, I'm not sure I understand?

[He rocks on his feet one leg to the other one, bobbing his head as he goes in a borderline sing song voice]

I'm not worth this. This kind of attention.

[A frown spreads on his face entirely, and his eyes get a bit more serious]

Why?

[Because she should be dead. Because no one really wants a Mockingjay around, anyway. Because she's not nice. She's not all that pretty. There are any number of reasons she can think of.

Her eyes narrow as she looks him over.] Because I'm not a very good person.

[And a coy smile comes on his lips as he folds his hands behind his head, shrugging] What a coincidence, neither am I!

[That's not the response she wanted. He was supposed to leave her alone after that. Not keep talking.

Her eyes narrow in annoyance.] I don't care.

And whaaaaat a coincidence again!! [He leans in closer to her face like, smiling] Nor do I.

[He's leaning in too close. Much too close. If he doesn't stop her quick actions, her hands go to his chest in an attempt to shove him away. He should just be thankful she hasn't gone for her knife.]

Edited 2012-06-09 03:34 (UTC)

[he notices. He could have stopped her, because he's been fighting for years and the recognition shows in his eyes for a split second. But once he's aware it's just a shove and in fact not the knife or anything, he rolls with it. In fact, he rocks over-hard on the shove, pretending the force of her arm sent him flying back into the foot counter behind him, flying half across the room. In mock pain]

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stillplaying - 2012-06-13 23:22 (UTC) - Expand