Welcome back, dear readers!

You might have noticed the change in ratin from K+ to T. This is due to this chapter. Anyone squeamish about... animal death.. should not read this chapter. You are hereby warned!

AAAND: auburn, for me, means hazelnut brown, blonde and thus I have never ever thought that there might be anyone thinking "red" for that I use chestnut, fiery and red *smiles*

Thank you, my 5 followers and 2 favourites and I do hope you stay with me *smiles*

Enjoy!

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"Father tell me, we get what we deserve ,Oh we get what we deserve

And way down we go, Way down we go ,Say way down we go , Way down we go

You let your feet run wild , Time has come as we all oh, go down
Yeah but for the fall oh, my , Do you dare to look him right in the eyes?

'Cause they will run you down, down til the dark , Yes and they will run you down, down til you fall
And they will run you down, down til you go , Yeah so you can't crawl no more

And way down we go , Way down…"

Way down we go - Kaleo

Katniss sat upon her favourite tree trunk near the beautiful lake that had played such a huge role in her life recently and smiled as familiar strong arms engulfed her from behind. Over one year had passed since those arms had saved her live. A year full of new things, confusing revelations and Twelve loosing another set of young Citizens in the Games.

"I wouldn´t have survived that night. Not without you!" The embrace tightened, the familiar chin resting itself upon her shoulder. "It was my pleasure!" Closing her eyes, she snuggled into the embrace, amazed at the fact that Peeta smelled like flour and sugar nearly all the time.

"It is a tragedy. A cause for sadness when one looks closely and realizes that none of us have much and still there are those who look down upon those who have less. Makes it nearly funny when you think about it more intensely and realize that all of Panem and especially the upper Districts look down upon us viewing us as worthless insects if people within this very District look upon other people of this very same District just like that, too!"

Peetas grip tightened even further, he was very aware of his strength by now but knew that she hardly objected to such holds and merely adjusted her body to fit the pressure, which made for very intense snuggling sessions.

"You have grown up, kitten!" It was all he said and she laughed, highly amused, putting her hands above his arms and caressing them, all the while laughing.

"May I join you during your hunting, Mrs. Everdeen?" Smiling she kissed his cheek, turning in the embrace like she had done many times so far and got up. Nothing else was said for the next four hours.

Peeta still stuck to his routine, picking berries, herbs and digging up the occasional root. But he had shown aptitude for a spear, which was why she had made him two and ensured that he had one of them with him at all times.

That it was just a very sharp stone atop a sturdy branch of a tree that was as straight as such things could get did not matter. Because the spear raised Peetas self esteem, regardless of how little he actually caught, which was only the occasional rabbit and trout.

"We need to leave, kitten!" She smiled, finishing up her packing of their haul, equally divided, and obeyed, taking his hand and allowing Peeta to lead them out of the woods. They did indeed need to leave, because Gale and his friends were due to brave the woods soon.

As it stood they missed said male and his friends by seconds. The reasons for this were twofold. First was the fact that Rory died several months ago due to some kind of fever no one had ever had within twelve, at least not to her mother´s knowledge, which meant he was mad at her mother for being unable to help his little brother and had found alcohol to be the cure for his pain.

And secondly, Gale was, while still sort of friendly with her, angry at her and frustrated with her. For growing up. For helping secure their home. For bringing over food the first week after the young male´s death.

The increase of Mining Accidents within the last six years had left the Mines in desperate need for Workers, which was why Gale was helping out, screwing up his usual schedule and that joke the Capitol insisted on calling an education.

It meant that most males of the Seam above the age of 16 had been asked to help out and gain a bit of pocket money for their troubles. With this leap in "maturity" Gale and his friends spent most nights, especially Friday Nights, at the Slagheap.

She did understand his need for outlet and he sort of understood her but, despite all the rumours of them getting married at one point in the future they had been to alike for that to work. And now, at the age of 14 she was developing in a young woman that was barely similar to the girl that saw him as her best friend and big brother.

Gale needed a girl that depended on him. That kept the house and loved him to pieces. She could be neither and that was part of why she had decided to stay clear of him. Men like Gale took not kindly to being rejected. And, apparently, they did not like it if the girl they felt were theirs and owed them something repaid it all within two weeks.

Tightening her grip on Peetas arm and stepping a bit closer she was rewarded with a brilliant smile and a brief hug. It was all she needed to pull her out of her mind, more than enough to quell the simmering anger trying to fester and fill her with joy and love instead.

They began their rounds without a hitch. Somehow, over the course of the past 16 months she and her family had become the saviour of the entire District. What she had begun out of need and gratefulness now was some kind of fixture. The people expected them to help and give them favours.

"Peeta..", softly whispering his name after the implications of it all hit her she tried to calm herself down. There were families and singles that had begun to depend on her and her families help. That not only needed their help but counted on it.

"Don´t worry, love, we´ll just have to help them get back on their own two feet. With a better stand and more security than before. Start with checking their gardens and repairs and go from there…"

Smiling she kissed his cheek marvelling at the wonder that was their relationship. 16 months and Peeta could read her like an open book, needing one word, just the tone she said his name with to know exactly what she wanted to say and she had loved it from the start. Loved him from the start and never felt panic even though someone could read her that well.

Knew her that well. A notion that had been the cause of Nightmares for her. She had freaked out about nor being scared shitless by this, however and it had taken her two days and their first kiss to calm down enough to explain herself.

#At least I am not the only one freaking out here..# And that had been that. She had begun the relationship spilling her secret- she was not good at talking. And Peeta had gladly adjusted to this issue.

She was teaching him to hunt, he was teaching her to talk, not because she had to, but because she felt secure enough to know that Peeta got her. And if he was struggling with understanding her he could easily follow her train of thought.

Before Peeta her explanations had only led to confusion and irritation, which was why she had stopped trying a long time ago, happy enough with hunting and acting instead of talking. Her desire to articulate herself had just ceased to exist, and it got worse after her father´s death.

In Hindsight it had been all too easy to fill her heart with hatred and anger. Recovering from that and leaving this world tainted in red had been the hardest part of it all, after all.

But one needed to be aware that without Peeta, without that bread and without her words impacting her mother enough to return to reality all of this would have never happened. Ever.

With every new development and memory and change she realized that allowing Gales hatred to consume her had been necessary and much easier than dealing with the feelings of someone ripping her heart out that she had felt after that fateful explosion that took her father´s live.

And her mother coming through for her and Prim had been the wakeup call for her as well. Being the Ice Princess did nothing but isolate her and she wanted to get to know Peeta. But to allow love, as it turned out, one needed to allow pain. Grieve was meant to be lived through, not ignored and working through those stages 20 months later had made it even worse. At least for her.

She blinked twice, noting that Peeta was, as always, trading their haul with his aptitude for knowing what to say and how to say it in any given moment. A Charmer. And a dangerous one at that. He could manipulate people and it was so very mesmerizing and wonderful to be part of that.

He made even the worst kind of Twelve Citizens, those that stuck to the rules, forget that they had been poaching, stealing and trespassing to get all of it. Having Peeta with her had increased her costumer stock. That she could just hold him, hug him and look all cute and pleasant only made the whole experience that much better for her.

No need to talk. No need to negotiate. No need to get angry. Peeta was handling it on his own and she had no issues with looking cute or lovable to make it easier for him.

Smiling at him her face softened, their hands entwined while walking to their next costumer. Peeta sold it all, kept the best for them and let her stay in her mind and simply think, allowing her to daydream and work through her issues or memories.

His mother nearly lost her fourth child and only daughter three months ago and he had come to her for help. Since her family had done everything within their power to keep mother and baby alive, well her mother had kept the mother alive, she had stopped beating Peeta.

With his older brothers taking over at the bakery and his father doting on his wife and baby girl Peeta was free to visit her and join her on hunting trips as often as he wanted to. If they didn´t use this to just enjoy each other company then they usually went around the District to ask if anyone needed help.

In school they exchanged smiles and looks and Peeta kept scanning the crowd at the Wrestling matches to check if she was attending them. This recent development had elated Prim as she had loved to watch those Matches and done so with their father as often as possible.

The fact that she had never cared for such things and their inability as well as their lack of stability after their father´s death had led to Prim missing those outings. Because she had loved to dress up, do her hair for something else but Reaping Day.

"We need to stock premade food cans…", she said after they got another two and a bunch of coins for their most recent sale and Peeta slowly ground to a halt, facing her, his eyes darkening due to him thinking it through. "That… but we would need so very much.."

Nodding solemnly, she stepped a bit closer. "We would need the Hob people, love.." "And the family's. As many of them as possible.." Peeta smiled wryly, matching her own wry expression before he kissed her. It took several minutes before either of them felt ready to move towards their last stop for the day. The Hob.

The plan was rather simple. Theoretically everyone and their dog were allowed, legally, to use a patch of their land as small garden. The issue in Twelve was that nearly no one owned the land their house stood on, nor said house.

Those gardens they had helped design would be the first to be destroyed alongside all pets the people had acquired over the years. Pet´s and any useful animals needed license, one that had to be renewed once a year and demanded a certain fee. Having animals without that license was illegal, and they would be the next to be removed. Their goat and cat were such illegal cases.

But back to the matter of food. All the salt in the world and more or less proper cooling storage could not prevent supplies from spoiling and even dried, smoked and otherwise prepared supplies or meals were bound to spoil within a certain amount of time.

An issue that caused most of the deaths during winter and Spring in Twelve. If you took into account the law´s regarding pet´s, private gardens and added the harsh winters, wet autumns and the portions of terressae that got smaller as more people claimed the boxes, the entire District lost up to 15 people in the months of August till January alone.

This little calculation did not include the odd Mining Accident or other freak accidents nor the number of abused children or those females forced to sell their body to get food and choosing to die instead. Nor did it entail all those deaths happening due to a lacking healthcare system.

Their and especially Katniss action come by due to her own desperation, had prevented 13 such deaths by enlisting her family, Peeta and everyone else who was okay with just earning favours to prevent people from dying of starvation or freezing.

The cheese they made from the milk of their goat was illegal, regardless of them merely using it for trading. The fondness of their Head Peacekeeper of said cheese had been enough to prevent any punishment so far. But with them saving lives that should not have been saved the situation got a whole new meaning.

Should the Peacekeepers be replaced or ask to enforce the laws, as written – basically if push came to shove – all of this would be gone alongside the Hob and whoever was still inside.

Which was why they not only needed to check those gardens and ensure that the people could survive without depending on help from Katniss, Peeta or anyone else, but also needed to ensure that there were savings. That people could hide properly stored and preserved food.

And that was what turned a simple plan into a minefield. Because they needed to prepare. They needed to help and they needed to ensure that the people understood that it was better to be prepared for no reason than to need it and have no further resources and options.

Not only that, if they were honest to themselves, but they needed a solid working plan within several days in order to make those changes before the games begun again.

Exchanging another glance, they nodded at each other. The first step was to spread the word, the rest would happen slowly but surely over the next months.

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The day dawned bright and gentle. The Day three months before the 74th Hunger Games and nearly over two years since they had begun to set the plan into motion.

The 73th Hunger Games had been one unlike those Twelve had ever lived to see so far with two Merchant children being reaped, one of which the Majors youngest and Madge´s little brother and the girl from one of their only Peacekeeper family. Most other Peacekeepers were single.

Because it was far from common to reap the children of the Peacekeepers force her death in the middle of the bloodbath had caused the Capitol and upper Districts to protest it all. In order to stop the Citizens, outcry the Capitol had moved swiftly, ensuring that her parents fell into disgrace.

The couple had lost their social standing, daughter, job and home within six days after their twelve-year-old daughter was reaped. The outcry had been due to the lack of Citizens of Twelve volunteering for the poor girl, because why would anyone do that for a child of the enemy if they hardly did it for their family?

That, however, led to a punishment for their entire District. Terressae were being withheld for eight months. They managed, due to the pairs effort and the new philosophy of helping each other but they lost the 40 people that should have never survived the previous winters, according to statistic.

But, unlike previous years, all of them had been above the age of 65 and living alone. None of those losses had been younger, no one had died during childbirth and no one had died due to starvation. It was a first. And it was visible change. Because all of them had been in the Care Centre next to the Justice Building and square.

40 Deaths and all of them happened in the only Capitol led institution housing the old and the orphaned. It was one of the few jobs a female of the District could get that did not involve any kind of illegal or sexual actions.

Jobs that were lost forever now. Because in reaction to it the Care Centre was closed down. There had been a voting in the Capitol, with the inhabitants gone the Care Centre became useless and leaving it unused wasn´t a good idea.

That was why the Capitol voted if the Centre should be turned in either another prison, empty building and soon ruins or a new, bigger, modern school. The Citizens voted for a new school. Which was the best of the offered choices and far from what they really needed.

Turning the Care Centre into a school had given them an excuse to renovate the Justice building and empty out all of the houses their Peacekeepers had previously lived within. Said Security detail had been asked to move into the Justice Building for the duration of all if this.

The now empty houses were, according to the official statement, going to be turned into flats for the poor and homeless. No one in Twelve believed that this would ever happen, though. Especially as the Capitol ensured that no one used them until this mysterious time when they would change them, by building electrical fences around them.

Apparently, the fact that electricity in Twelve was like playing cards and getting a joker once in a while. Hence, Katniss, Peeta and several other were able to easily circumvent the fence and empty those houses.

Raiding those houses was the best option, as they would probably be destroyed alongside their old school building. And then they would have a new school building in close proximity to the Justice building that would house new teachers and a shitload of new technology.

In all honesty, Katniss and Peeta wouldn´t be surprised if they were Peacekeepers stationed within the new school as well. For security's sake, of course. The mere thought of that caused her to fell cold inside out.

That this was the first time in over 60 years that the Capitol did anything in their District, with the exception of ensuring that the electricity worked during the 2 weeks of Hunger Games each year, was causing uneasy feelings for several people within the District.

With every new passing week and the increase bustle around the Justice building and soon to be new school the uneasiness grew. There was something else going on and the rumour mill was working fast, one rumour faster worse than the last one.

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Katniss was sitting in her room packing the last of their "in case of" bags, the final step of their plan, six weeks after the builders had arrived. Every family "in the know" was preparing various survival bags and hiding them away just in case something really dramatic should happen.

She had just finished putting the last can filled with dried fruit into the bag when the speakers went on, their Head peacekeeper demanding for immediate attendance at the Justice Building.

Taking several deep breaths, she put the bag into the trunk of their stove. The trunk was basically an empty cupboard that could be opened like a chest and had been added in most kitchenettes all around the District to look like just a part of the make up.

It could be used as workspace and no one would think to try to move the wooden plank upwards to find hidden stacks. They had ensured that it would not look suspicious. This useless piece of additional workspace was designed to look just like that and nothing else for this very purpose, after all. (And of course, it had been Peeta to come up with that)

A space "Designed to hide what needs to be hidden" and they had come up with a lot of such additions to their furniture that looked like just something that had always been a part of said piece of furniture or, in some cases, like an addition in order to make the piece of furniture sturdy with a bunch of engravings to pretty them up.

Her mother and sister returned while she was dressing in one of her newer dresses, both returning from the Maskins, whose mother had just gone into labour a few hours ago. They exchanged a glance and got ready in utter silence and left mere ten minutes later.

None of those making their way to the Square spoke. Despite the uneasiness and rumour mill no one was going to speculate on why they were called. All of them sure about one thing. This was about the new schools and Justice Building. All but two of them so very sure the entire progression came to a halt when the first twenty people realized that the builders were still there.

The sea of people split and begun to form painfully familiar lines. This were the lines they formed at Reaping Day when the Capitol was doing the Head Count. And this time it was a throughout one where they were asked for their name, age, job and living quarters.

Most people, while confused, eased up when the age areas were absent and instead the children were asked to stay with their parents.

"My dear fellow Citizens of District Twelve! I do know that this call comes as a surprise but we wanted to inform you that the school will open in two weeks. Because of that we require all school aged children's measurements for their new uniform that will be shipped over alongside all new schoolbooks and school supplies!"

Feeling light headed and out of her depth briefly she searched for Peeta in the crowd, one long look between them conveying their worries about what this meant. "Because of this we have been granted a new shipment of uniforms and I have been told that on top of getting all of our measurements we will get a proper Physical Exam! Once done all of you can sign up for terressae again, because they will arrive alongside all of our new uniforms within the next two weeks!"

Their Major was partly faking his enthusiasm and partly pleasantly surprised about all of this but it had the opposite effect on her. Her blood was running cold, her senses screaming at her to run and run and never ever stop to look back. Instead Katniss met Peetas eyes again.

They would get through this. Regardless of what "this" was going to be. Even though both of their minds were running a mile a minute coming up with ideas, strikes, counter strikes and what they probably needed to be prepared for, mentally at least.

Most of their group were caught off guard and would soon draw various conclusions. None of which would be hidden by a blank face and a weak smile, like the pair. No, their reactions would be clearly visible and plain as day. They had not thought to teach their group to hide their feelings, something both of them were proficient at.

In a world where people starved to death crafting masks and hiding one's feelings seemed pointless. They had known that teaching doing so, at least to the bunch of people that were essential to the plan, would have cost too much time and patience. Which neither of them had had to spare.

Being beaten by his mother and being forced to hide her weaknesses to the point of developing aggressions for having them had taught both of them to wipe their faces clean of any emotion. But where Peeta could fake smiles and pleasantries she preferred to merely scowl.

Well, that had been her preferred method of reacting. She had grown up though. The same went for her beloved Boy with the Bread.

Once the words had sunk in some of their groups members flinched, visibly and their Majors smile slipped. Not long, for less than ten second, but they had seen it and Katniss fought the urge to run away, surprising her body´s twitching that could soon turn into tremors of fear otherwise.

Saving more than the recently lost 40 people and preventing so many of the Citizens from knocking on deaths door had not been received well at the Capitol, it seemed. The powers to be were unhappy with the sudden increase in Health in their District. The sudden lack of Deaths due to Starvation.

Noting that Gale, several row´s in front of her had finally gotten the message of a Health Check no one had ever bothered to give them, stiffening in a painful manner she began to look around, finding her worst fears come true. Less than a quarter of their Peacekeeper forces were in attendance.

Someone had talked. Someone of the group had revealed the plan. The Peacekeepers were raiding theirs houses while they were stuck at the square kept from leaving until all of them had gotten that damn Health check that would prove without a doubt that the overall health and nutrition level of all of the Districts Citizen had improved. Vastly improved.

Biting her tounged to stop the scream of rage from escaping she tried to take several deep and calming breaths without drawing attention to her. Something had gone terribly wrong and it was their fault for trying to save them all instead of choosing wisely and carefully whom to allow in on the entire plan.

Groups of 30 were moved into the Justice Building to get those health checks. It was one way to slow the entire process down for hours and it allowed everyone to digest the information and start to panic. There was no doubt that someone was watching them and very closely observing their reactions. All of their reactions.

Due to the position of the square looking out into the District had always been impossible, one couldn´t allow the upper Districts to see how much of a mudhole the outer District of Twelve truly was, after all, and with the Peacekeepers at the exit and the new additions to the buildings trying to steal herself to one of the spots that would allow her to take a peek was not a good idea.

It took more than six hours until the last patch of groups, including that of Katniss, were due for the Check-up.

The Justice Building was sparkling inside and filled with the typical smells and noises of a building under construction, only much more clinical and organised than any of them were used to.

Passing the main hallway, the visitation rooms for the Tributes, the Dining Hall which usually housed the Victors Banquet during the Victory Tour and the corridor that led into the prison that was directly connected to the Justice Building they were ushered up the stairs into a make shift hospital.

The room was filled with small tables and milky screens, all of which had one Nurse in attendance. They were ushered behind those screens, one person per screen and asked to undress. After stripping the Nurse took their measurements in sordid detail before they took two vials of blood and tested their heart rate and pulse.

It was easy not to blush, at least for her, even though she had to stand there naked for five minutes until she got the go ahead to dress again. She merely needed to think about the chaos that would await her once they got out of this damned building and square and into the District proper and any and all feelings of shame or humiliation went as fast as they tried to surface.

She doubted that anyone else was taking this in stride, though. It was humiliating and all it would take was one Nurse moving too fast to topple one of those screens, after all. This was designed to bring them down a peg or two, disguised as something they truly had been in need of. A Health Examination and new uniforms.

"Wonderful, Mrs. Everdeen! There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, you are one healthy young Lady!", the Nurse proclaimed after leaving her to wait for another ten minutes and she met those mud brown eyes, feeling like the woman was less than enthusiastic about that result. It was really hard to bite her tounge and prevent herself from concluding her observation out loud, though.

In her mind it was more than bad enough that the proclamation had been delivered in such a depressed tone of voice. In what kind of world did they live if a perfect Health Condition was something bad and depressing?

Thankfully she was told to leave shortly after this announcement and she did so gladly, even though she would have liked to get a closer look at the folder the Nurse clutched to her chest.

They were finally allowed to leave the square after Night had fallen and even though it was well past 10 p.m. and dark no one could miss the recent changes in their District.

The empty buildings had been removed and replaced by statues of President Snow, Roses and the Emblem of Panem. Their little church, which was just a crematory with a chamber to give their death one final respect was gone alongside their graveyard.

This in itself was devastating enough, they might not have had enough body parts to bury their father but they had held a funeral and put up a wooden cross in front of a small patch of earth that already held her grandmothers remains.

No, it was the huge podium that held four whipping posts and several slings a bit further to the side, the new place to hang people, that had been put atop said church and cemetery. Above a place that had allowed them to grieve and give respects to the death now was an entire platform designed for punishment.

Where before the Peacekeeper had to erect either of this fur public punishment they now had this area readymade, gleaming in a new metallic way even in the Darkness of night. They had even gone so far as to remove the painstakingly made and engraved crosses and burnt them in front of this monstrosity.

It was not any kind of guess, though, but the fact that the fire had only been started shortly before they left the square, ensuring that they could watch the crosses burn to ash.

All of this had to have been brought with the hovercrafts that had delivered all the materials for the renovation, there was no way they would have missed those things approaching. None of them had any religious believes but visiting a grave, even though there was no body to bury, had given comfort. And all of this was gone now.

All of them were looking grim and grudgingly accepting, those returning to their wits gently guiding those still in shock away or simply gathering their kids to go home. Taking Prims hand she followed the example and forced herself to not stop and turn when the screaming started.

The children of District Twelve were screaming, screeching and crying and the noise grew steadily with every step they took. It took her less than twenty minutes to figure out the reason and by then it was too late. Prim ran towards their house, towards the orange ball of fur that had been cut into half and thrown at their porch, next to the head of their goat. Parts of said goat were strewn about.

Prims scream of desperation, her tears and utter devastation joined that of the children all around the District and she could do nothing but watch for several long moments.

They would repair the fence, telling them that some kind of wind animal had gotten inside the District and killed all of the pets and animals. But worst of all was watching Prim cry for the damn cat that had helped her in getting over their father´s death and had been a source of joy and happiness for her baby sister while the goat had been a priceless source of income for all of them.

Her mother, Arianna, gently pried Prim off of the part of her cat that held the head and gently began to guide her inside while she calmly began to collect the animal parts. Stowing them into her hunting bag she begun to remove the blood by digging up the earth and throwing it over the most visible spots before she checked on her mother and sister, nodding at the older woman, and left.

Soon she was joining the groups of parents and siblings carrying parts of animals, just like her, all of them with one goal in mind. Reaching the newest and very big statue of President Snow all of them threw their bags down, not interested in keeping them. Instead they added fuel once the bags had been arranged around the statue and lit the fire.

With the cats and other animals gone the rats would creep into the District, bringing diseases with them and feeding everything they could easily access. Like the bags of carrots and potatoes they all tended to store in the lowest drawer. She did not need to look around to know how sombre and grim all of them looked.

None of those watching it burn felt sad. They had skipped sadness and entered the realm of sorrow and hatred. They would have accepted the recent changes, unhappy and frightened. But this, this had been going too far too fast.

Nothing they had done so far would protect the people of illnesses brought in by rats.

There was no cure they had access to for that kind of disease. They never had had them. And even though there were no rats near Twelve she would bet her soul on it that there would be many of them soon enough.

Exchanging glances with some of those around her she knew that all of them knew that no wild animal had done this. That was why none of them minded that they were trying to melt that hideous thing looking like the President.

Feeling a coldly amused smile grow on her face and her eyes lit up in triumph she decided to leave the protest burial. Let them repair the fucking fence. Let them release rats. They had ensured that no one was forced to stay in Twelve if they did not want to.

Because alongside ensuring that there were various sturdy escape tunnels beneath District Twelve they had also ensured that no mere animal could get at their supplies. Not even concrete eating mutts. At least not at first. And if the fire was melting the lower part of the statue and turning the upper part a tarnished silver, she would claim to death that this had never been intentional.

Taking Peetas hand, they both had gotten this kind of grin that just did not fit the occasion and decided to leave, sharing said grin and one look, assured that the smoke was still covering the interaction they shared a kiss and parted.

Each of them was returning home and preparing for the next interesting thing to happen. And if nothing else at least the start of school would be one of those.