Seneca is walking to dinner. His head is filled with thoughts of the Victor of the Games, of how her ally asked her to kill him, begged her. It shocked him, but he cannot deny that he felt a little bit of pleasure when she killed the 12 boy. Mellark was beginning to annoy him, sticking to Katniss Everdeen like glue...'I can't believe I'm jealous', Seneca thinks. But the fire in Katniss' eyes and the poise of her body as she waited for the hover-craft is too much for Seneca to forget about. He doesn't usually feel like this. Not these kinds of emotions, not this head-over-heels in love feeling. He knows that she would never accept him, because of his being the Head Gamemaker. In her eyes, he is the cause of her pain, of her near-death.
He does feel for her though, and for all of those who died in the games. He pities that they must fight and die for something that they had no part in, that they were simply born into. Seneca walks on, deep in thought, when he hears something. He doesn't pause, rounding the corner to see Katniss. She looks like a deer caught in headlights, ready to run or fight at a moments notice. Seneca smiles at her and introduces himself. She just nods and watches him with a weariness in her eyes. Slowly though, as they chat, she seems to relax and even cracks a smile.
The sight of it makes him smile too, she's even prettier when she's happy. He realises that he's going to be seriously late, so he excuses myself quickly and heads to dinner. Once he's there, his head is filled with thoughts of her. Katniss is smart and brave, loyal and strong. She's everything he's ever wanted in a woman and more. She may be scarred mentally and emotionally from the arena, and she may be mourning, but Seneca Crane always gets the girl. Always, period.
Seneca strolls out of the dining room earlier than usual, having been too distracted to eat all that much. He decides that the only thing to do is go to the roof, and maybe that will clear his mind. He stands by the invisible forcefield, knowing exactly where it is because of the many times he's been up here since the start of this Games. He first visited this spot the day of the Tribute Parade, and almost every day since he has come here. The only time he didn't visit was the night before the beginning of the true Games. He had been busy making sure that the arena was secure and checking and double checking the minuscule cameras.
Seneca looks out over the Capitol, knowing that he can't be seen. To those below, the roof area is non-existent. He hears footsteps tapping their way towards him and the person stops beside him. He turns, surprised to see Katniss seemingly watching the festivities of the Capitol people. "Katniss." He greets her, and she nods. "Seneca." She replies, not looking at him, though he wishes that she would. He wants to see her eyes and figure out where the fire in them, the spark, comes from.
They stand there in silence for a while, not uncomfortable, but the kind of silence where you're happy in the other's presence and just don't feel the need for words. Katniss seems to be thinking about something, a small frown on her face. Suddenly, she turns to Seneca, asking,"How do you do it? The Games?". He takes a moment to think about that. He's never wondered about what he does for a living, it pays the bills and more, so why should he? He gets to live in comfort and the Capitol as well as President Snow are kept happy. But, is organizing the deaths of 23 teenagers per year really what you want to do in order to keep yourself happy? A niggling thought in the back of his mind asks.
So he simply answers Katniss with a shake of his head and a quiet, reserved, "I don't know." And in reality, he doesn't know anymore. When Katniss leaves, she stays in Seneca's mind, and until they see each other again, and her question circles in his mind, never quite leaving him. He hasn't made any impression on her (he thinks) but that one question will change everything for the Girl on Fire and the Head Gamemaker who, in essence, created who she is. Inspired the Mockingjay.
