A few days later Cinna and my prep team arrived in District 12. I wish I could say that I was happy to see Cinna again but his face only reminded me of what I would face beginning the next day. My prep team was no easier to see. They reminded me of the nameless people who sat, cheering, while I had been forced to watch the re-run of the games. Forced to relive the deaths of the tributes.

Dinner that night had a somber tone to it. My mother was polite, accepting compliments fro Octavia and Venia while answering any questions that Flavius could come up with but tried to keep things quiet. I assumed that she didn't want me to over think the reason why they were here and risk a relapse. I appreciated what she was doing but I could still feel the despair and panic beginning to suffocate my mind. Halfway through the meal I had to excuse myself.

I walked out to the porch and leaned agains the railing, looking up at the few stars that were struggling to peek out from behind the blanket of clouds. I heard footsteps behind me then silence as I continued to look at the stars, trying to pick out the few constellations I knew.

Soon Cinna broke the silence, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

I nodded and glanced over at him to see him looking up at some of the stars that I couldn't name. I realized he probably hand't seen my nod so I opened my mouth to speak right when he did.

"I remember when my dad brought me here. He worked as a secretary to Snow's personal secretary. A bit redundant I know but apparently the secretary only wanted to write so much. Anyway, he had to come out here to check on the output of the mine. I was on holiday from school and my mother was recovering from a recent surgery, she had opted to surgically change her eye color, and so couldn't watch me. My father decided to take me with him rather than allow me to stay unsupervised. The only part of the trip I remember in detail is when we first got off the train. The whole setup was so different from what I was used to. I was used to seeing Peacekeepers but everyone was just moving along so slowly."

He paused and turned from the sky to look at me. "That's what I fell in love with first, the slowness of everything. No one was rushing around like the world would end if they didn't get to their destination as soon as possible. The further into the District we got the more I enjoyed myself. When we got back I knew I wanted to do something involving District 12. That was the only trip my father ever took me on."

It made sense now that he had chosen to design outfits for District 12. "That's why you do it then? Design for 12, I mean. Because it reminds you of a happy time with your father?"

He smiled, a sad, half-smile and said, "Perhaps. Although I think it has more to do with the slowness. I never did understand why people chose to hurry along with their life."

"So where's your father now? Is he still secretary to the secretary?"

His gaze turned back to the stars. "No. He hans't had that position for years now."

"Why not?"

"He suffers from Alzheimers. a disease in the brain. We can fix many things int eh Capitol but not much progress has been made on dementia. You get inoculated at birth but there's still a two percent failure rate. My dad was just an unlucky part of that statistic. No he lives in a small room inside a large hospital. He doesn't remember me anymore but the doctors say there could still be hope. I've started to lose faith though," He laughed quietly and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't meant to go into all of that. I just wanted to tell you a bit of what I thought about your District."

I moved closer and pulled him into a quick hug before moving back and saying, "Come on. It's getting cold."

~⁂~

The next morning a fresh layer of snow covered the ground. Early in the morning my prep team woke me up and brought me to Beauty Base Zero, stating that there was no point to change much when it was just going to be covered up again. When they were about halfway through I heard a commotion downstairs and realized that the camera men must have arrived. Glancing out the small window in the bathroom I saw that the snow had started to fall lightly again.

I don't remember anything that I said in front of the cameras. I was asked about my talent, which Cinna had helped me to develop, and many other things that didn't really register. As soon as they had finished questioning me Cinna bundled me up and the camera men packed up their cameras, not wanting them to get ruined by the snow which was coming down harder now. My small entourage followed me to the train stop where we had to wait for a few minutes because the train was running late. Haymitch met us there, drunk as always. My mother and Prim had stayed back at the house, never having been one for goodbyes when they knew I was coming back.

The train arrived, looking exactly the same as when I had been on it for the games, and we all got on, going our separate ways to our rooms. Effie, who had just come in on the train, told me to be ready for the next morning because District 11 was going consist of "a big, big speech since I had been allies with that tragic little girl." I just nodded my head and shut the door. The bed looked inviting after being talked to all day long and I fell onto it before shutting my eyes and falling into a restless sleep.

~⁂~

A/N: Completely unedited! Yay! The victory tour is starting! I had to completely rewrite this whole chapter because the last one just wasn't working for me.

I know that Cinna was a part of the rebellion and that was a reason why he asked to design for District 12 but for the purposes of this story no rebellious act has been committed. So I needed another reason for him to have designed. I decided that the bond between a father and a son was a good enough reason, although he didn't want to admit it.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I don't quite know when I can start working on the next chapter because I'm busy this weekend, next weekend and I have lots of projects due this coming week and the next. I will work on it though!