Hi everyone! This is life without the Berries, and what would have happened if the world was not out to kill Peeta and Katniss =)
I own no characters that are mentioned in the book "The Hunger Game" by Suzanne Collin or "Catching Fire" or "Mockingjay" just thought I would make that clear, enjoy!
Katniss…
I still lave nightmares about the arena.
Peeta and I were on top of the cornucopia and Cato was being ripped apart by the mutts. Him asking me to shoot him for mercy. The cannon.
Then they took Peeta and I up in the hovercraft to safety. But no one is really safe after being in the arena, no one.
During our victory tour, Peeta asked me to marry him. He said that he could not live a life without me.
I was shocked. But I did love him so I said yes, of course.
The capitol will be hosting our wedding.
Later on the President announced the Quarter Quell. "Everyone who thought that they were safe is not" is what the president said. So for the 75 hunger games, everyone 18-24 will be eligible to be reaped. That was a relief to me because Prim is only 13 and she will not be reaped, but Gales could still be reaped.
Now we are back to Reaping day, today.
I am on the stage, my first time being a victor about to mentor, as I listen to Effie trill on and on about how wonderful the Hunger Games are. All I can think of is "when is Haymitch going to hug her so we can get on with it."
Right when I think that Haymitch stumbles onto the stage and hugs Effie. I love when that happens.
Then like always, Haymitch face plants off the stage as Effie walk proud but a little shaken to the ball with the girls name.
She calls out a name "Taylor Hickory" I obviously know her, but not well.
Taylor lived in the Seam like me, she is 20, but she was a little better fed than most because her mother sold food in the market.
Taylor walks up the stage scared and frightened.
Then Effie bounces over to the other ball and calls out a name "Cole Aspen"
I know him too. But he is from the market place, where Peeta used to live. He is 23, which means that he has worked in the mines for the past five to six years, he is strong.
He walks up to the stage looking tough and intense, I can work with this.
Effie asks for volunteers and I swear you can hear a cricket a mile away.
The reaping is over quickly and the peacekeepers push Taylor and Cole off the stage into the Justice Building.
I feel bad for them; I know what they are about to go through. Taylor is the oldest of three and Cole is the middle of five.
I will do whatever I can to bring them home, I promise to myself.
Peeta…
Katniss and I walk off the stage hand in hand to the train. We are told that we are allowed to linger for about an hour or so until the tributes are done saying their good-byes.
We step onto the platform and I realize that we should have lingered a little longer because there are about thirty reporters here from different capitol magazines.
We are immediately bombarded with questions about the wedding and our mentoring.
I look to Katniss for help. She winks, sticks her hands in her mouth and blows.
I shut my ears because Katniss can whistle really loudly.
All of a sudden all of the journalist stop asking questions.
Katniss looks at me and I do my thing.
"Hi everyone. Katniss and I would like some of the aspects of the wedding to be a secret, but I will tell you one thing, the wedding colors are going to be black and white. As for the Mentoring, we will try our very hardest to bring a tribute home.
Now if you will excuse us we need to board the train."
The journalist are too shell shocked to realize that I have just told them our colors that we quickly enter the train never letting go of the other's hand.
After about an hour of roaming the train, our very terrified and shaken tributes arrive with a very drunk Haymitch and a bouncing Effie.
Effie give us our room key, even though we all know one of the rooms won't be used to all due to all of Katniss's nightmares and I probably will be roaming the train when she gets a nightmare.
Taylor and Cole quickly go to their room and so do Katniss and myself.
Effie…
Everyone goes into their room including myself
I am so excited for the games I can barely contain myself! I wonder if district 12 will have another victor this year, Cole looked very strong.
It doesn't matter either way though because Katniss and Peeta are getting married in the next year!
I am one of the few people who are helping plan the wedding; I am just so excited I might bounce off the train.
I heard Peeta talking to the cameramen on the platform before entering the train, he told them the colors!
I know right! What was he thinking? Well I guess he wants to keep the capitol on the edge of their seats. In that case, well played Peeta.
After the tributes and mentors hour of roaming and crying is up, I walk to everyone's room and tell them that it is time for dinner.
Taylor and Cole come not questions asked. But these mentors want nothing to do with these kids.
So I open Katniss's door and find her and Peeta them making out, real classy mentors. Katniss quickly looks up and then stands up and walks over to me like she is going to strangle me.
That doesn't bother me at all though, so I kindly tell them that it is time for dinner. Peeta nods and grabs Katniss before she can strangle me
He says "thank you" and I leave for the dinning cart
Katniss…
I cannot believe Effie would just walk in on us kissing! I meant does she respect anyone's privacy? I think not!
Peeta assures me that it is no big deal and that I should forget it and focus on keeping a tribute alive.
I don't even think that the tributes will listen to us considering we are younger than them, but we also are their lifelines.
As we enter the dinning cart I notice that Cole and Taylor are there and so is Effie, no Haymitch. He is obviously drunk, typical.
We get served Lamb stew, my favorite, I told the capitol that this the best part about the capitol, and it totally is!
After our meal we go to the compartment with the T.V. and watch all of the reapings. I notice that Peeta brought a note pad, is he taking notes?
When the first reaping start, District 1, A girl is called who look around 21 and looks excited, but a 24 year old girl volunteers and a young 18 year old man is call, but a 24 year old volunteers. He is massive.
District 2 the same thing happened.
In District 3 though there are two 18 year olds.
District 4 there is a 21-year-old girl volunteer and a 18 year old boy volunteer. (maybe he was going to volunteer before he found out about the quarter quell)
District 5, no volunteers for the 22 and 23-year-old tributes
No more volunteers for any of the District actually. I am not that surprised.
Cole and Taylor go to their room, and so does Effie and Haymitch. Well actually Haymitch was drunk and never came out of his room.
Peeta and I follow in their footsteps.
I go to my room and Peeta goes to his, but I have a feeling I am going to wake up and Peeta is in my bed.
I walk into my room and collapse onto my bed and quickly fall into a deep sleep filled with nightmares of the arena
Nightmare…
All that I see is Rue.
Rue in the tree with me that first night. But she has a knife, and it is soaked with blood, her blood.
End of nightmare… (N/A when someone screams during a nightmare it tends not to last very long, sorry)
I notice Peeta holding me; he is brushing my sweaty hair out of my face.
I look into his sad blue eyes that question if I am all right. Mine reply yes, and he kisses me.
We fall asleep with his arms around me.
XXXXXXXX
"Big Big day!" shout Effie through my door, ugh.
Peeta tells me more kindly that we have tributes to worry about and that we will be in the capitol in a couple of hours.
Peeta returns to his room to get ready for the day, and I do the same.
He meets me outside of my door and we walk to the dining cart together. Everyone is there surprisingly, including Haymitch, wow.
Taylor looks at us
"you guys are supposed to be mentoring us, and that is not happening. Haymitch is drunk and Katniss and Peeta can't stop touching each other. Do your JOB!"
Haymitch laughs and says
"stay alive"
Peeta and I also laugh. Then Peeta gets serious
"When we get to the capitol you will be put in the hands of your stylist. Taylor you will probably have Cinna and Cole you will probably have Portia. The prep team will do things to you that you don't like, don't complain. Got it"
They shake their heads in unison.
Peeta…
The tributes, Haymitch, and Effie finally leave the train once we arrive in the capitol, leaving Katniss and me alone.
We are staying behind for a bit because we think that the camera men and women won't bombard us with question, and if we wait a while. Maybe they will get bored and move to another tribute train.
Boy were we wrong.
After about 20 minutes of Katniss and I staying behind, we decide it is time to get off the train.
There is about 10 yard from the train to the car, and it is all filled up with camera people.
We have to move smartly.
Katniss whispers something in my ear but I am too concentrated on getting out of this camera frenzy to notice.
I got it. We do the same thing we did on the district 12 platform.
Katniss and I step off the train. Katniss whistles and I speak, like always:
"Hi everyone. It is great to be back in the capitol mentoring our first game, and even greater that it is the quarter quell." *by this time Katniss and I are halfway to the car.
"We have some huge wedding plans that might get spilled, but who knows. We also know which one of those beautiful wedding dresses that Katniss will wear, but lets leave that secret for now. *Katniss and I are already in the car and I close the door.
"Wow" is all Katniss can say
"That was pretty scary, are you ok?"
"Peeta, I brought you back from the dead, and fought to the death against 22 other tribute, and you think I am scared of a couple hundred of camera men and women? Then yes, that was terrifying."
We both burst out into laughter and I lean in to kiss Katniss on the nose. Unfortunately I miss and kiss her lips, oops.
Reviews, Comments? =)
Next chapter will be Pregame evens! But we won't get to the real mentoring until later.
I do know that the real reaping age is 12-18 but these are the quarter quells. Anything is possible. (Catching fire tributes went in (definitely not 12-18))