AN: Thank you all so much for getting this story to over 300 reviews! I'm absolutely blown away. I hope I can keep you all coming back for more!
Chimera
Katniss didn't think she'd ever felt such frigid air. The moment the bay door opened, she'd rushed to put on her parka and gloves, even pulling up the hood. They hadn't even gone outside yet. When she looked up from pulling on the second thick glove, Katniss found Miss Snow studying her bemusedly.
"What?" Katniss bit out. Snow smiled before she leaned forward and pressed a button on the consol in front of her.
"Raise the temperature to thirty degrees throughout the entire zone, not enough to melt anything."
"Copy."
"Better?" Snow asked Katniss as she too stood and began to slip into her own outerwear. "Negative ten was perhaps a bit extreme but I will not hesitate to lower the temperature again if you attempt to explore your cousin carnally on this outing. Understood?"
Katniss nodded.
"You are under the employ of the Capitol now, only those who pay may have the privileges of knowing you in that way for now."
Katniss didn't dignify the explanation with a response; she just leveled a cool gaze at the woman. It earned her a sly smirk in return. Snow slipped into her own coat, hers different only in the generous fur lined cuffs and collar. She gestured with an ungloved hand, silently telling the young victor to lead the way. Katniss did as she was bid, as she neared the door, she looked into the aft compartment to see Haymitch sitting rigidly with a red flushed face. He didn't look at her even though he had to have seen her peripherally. She suppressed a sigh; he would hate her pity. Katniss stopped halfway down the ramp when she heard Miss Snow's stern sounding voice behind her.
"It is not enough to have landed in it Mr. Abernathy, you must actually step foot into it." Katniss continued down, she didn't want to see or hear her mentor chastised by this woman. Once clear of the craft, she scanned the white-blanketed environment for any signs of Gale. He was nowhere to be seen.
"This way." Snow stepped past her and toward the edge of the thick woods. It was eerie how much this place looked like the forbidden area outside of District 12. Katniss resisted the urge to look behind her for the electric fence surrounding her District though she did look behind her to find Haymitch. He was just now peering out of the hovercraft; he made an annoyed face when he caught her watching him. He looked odd wearing the puffy parka; he'd lost weight since coming to the Capitol but not enough to flatter himself wearing this outdoor getup. He also looked sorely out of place, as she'd never seen him in a natural setting before.
"I'm coming sweetheart, quit staring." She couldn't suppress the small smile but did turn around and follow after Snow who now had a good head start on her victors. Katniss set out at a pace that would keep her from losing sight of Snow but slow enough for Haymitch to catch up easily.
"So, why are you here?" She asked when he'd finally caught up. He just shook his head, a stern look on his face. They didn't say anything else as they followed a steadily moving Snow through the drifts and large trees.
"Follow in my footsteps unless you want to discover more of this arena than you'd like." She called back. It wasn't hard to do since the white powder on the ground made her simple to track. The few times that Katniss looked up to check their location relative to their guide, she saw the woman looking at some sort of screen attached to the sleeve of her coat. They walked for a half an hour and Katniss realized that she'd become soft over the past months. She hadn't hunted or done anything remotely physical… except sex, since before the victory tour. The deep snow, combined with the fairly steep incline left her breathless. Haymitch was having an even harder time, breathing hard and stopping every fifty yards or so to catch his breath. Their guide did not slow down in the least and finally, she disappeared over to top of a ridge.
"Holy shit I'm out of shape." Haymitch panted, stopping once more to lean over and grip his knees.
"You mean lifting bottles to your lips hasn't done the trick all these years?" She sat down, waiting for him, not doing all that much better. She smiled. She figured if she couldn't console him about his current apprehension, she could replace it with irritation.
"I knew there was a reason I still didn't like you kid." It seemed to work because he stood up and walked past her and up the hill in a huff. She smiled as she stood but her heart stopped in her chest as she had an epiphany. She felt sick. She though of every time that Snow had seen her in the past month. Every time, Katniss had been struggling with her situation, sullen, depressed, despondent. Every time, Snow had pissed her off with one comment or another and for the first time, Katniss understood why. She'd been manipulating her, just like she'd just manipulated Haymitch, forced out a 'useless' mindset with anger. It left her feeling far colder than the wintery environment that surrounded her. It had come so easily, almost second nature. Is this how easy it was for Snow? Did she not plan her manipulative attacks? Was it this easy for Peeta, not even having to think about it? She rubbed absently at her knees.
"You comin' sweetheart?" She snapped out of her troubling thoughts and jumped up. All thoughts of exhaustion were gone, replaced by confusion and worry. Katniss finally caught up to Haymitch just as he crested the top of the ridge and Snow wasn't far off, standing at the edge of a small drop-off. She waited until they came within a few feet of her before pointing down to a spot within a small valley about a quarter mile away. Katniss didn't see anything but a dead, white landscape until it moved and it took her breath away. The deer like animal was pure white except for its massive black antlers that blended perfectly with the barren tree branches surrounding it. Then she saw Miss Snow's hand move to the left. Katniss followed the line of sight and finally saw Gale. He was stalking the beast. She could see the bow he held taunt, ready to lease the arrow at his prey. He seemed to take a few cat like steps forward before pausing. She knew what he was doing, could feel it like she was there herself. She knew he'd be holding his breath, keeping both eyes open and focused and then he'd slowly breath out through pursed lips.
She didn't need to see the tiny object to know that he'd leased the arrow. A split second later, the buck staggered and started to flee, the arrow lodged deeply in its neck. Katniss was about to quietly curse him for wounding rather than killing it when she what happened next forced her to take a step back. The animals head was suddenly severed from its body, the red arterial spray visible even from their far distance, painting the once white landscape shades of red and pink. That had been no regular arrow. Katniss was about to head down the hill to the man she hadn't seen in over a month when Snow's hand shot out to block her path. She didn't say a word, instead she continued staring intently at the man below. Katniss followed her line of sight and watched as Gale very cautiously made his way over to the fallen animal. He seemed to be using the bow to prod at the ground in front of him.
"What the fuck is he doing?" Haymitch asked under his breath. He got his answer a half second later when a light rumbling was heard all down the small valley. A sinking terror ran through Katniss when she watched as a three foot wide, one hundred yard long crevasse opened up in front of Gale, the snow falling away into the inky blackness below. This was obviously not his first experience with the deadly environmental trap. He then hopped over it and made his way over to his kill. It was then that Snow started down the steep decline, toward the hunter below.
It only took five or so minutes to reach Gale. He noticed their approach soon after they'd departed the ridge. Miss Snow jumped the narrow but unknown dept of the scar in the earth as though it were nothing. Kantiss had peered into it, swallowed hard when she found she couldn't see the bottom and then jumped. Haymitch treated it much the same way she did.
The surprise she'd felt at seeing the effects of that deadly arrow, the disquieting dread she'd felt when she'd seen the snow fall away into the crevasse and the unsettling revelation that she'd manipulated Haymitch in exactly the same way Miss Snow did with her all melted away the moment she saw that smile.
"Hey Catnip." He said it the same way he would if they'd just met up to do some hunting outside of 12. He helped cover the last few yards between them and pulled her into a fierce hug, picking her up and spinning around. It felt carefree. It felt good. It felt like Gale. "I missed you." He said into her ear.
"I missed you too." She quietly returned. Then he put her down. "You seem like you're doing fine here."
He looked over at his kill, his hand going back behind his head and scratching. "Yeah, this place isn't all that bad once you get to know her." Katniss couldn't help but smile. It was so refreshing to see someone who didn't seem beaten down but this situation. She couldn't help the thought that ran through her mind just then. Would he be handling the prostitution as well as this if that had been his fate rather than arena testing? Would he handle himself more like Finnick or Peeta? She pushed the thoughts aside. She came here to see him and escape her reality, not bring it with her. It was Snow's cool voice that snapped her attention away from Gale.
"Mr. Hawthorne, Mr. Abernathy, would the two of you please come with me for a minute."
"What?" Katniss started to protest.
"We will return momentarily. Please remain here." Katniss looked to both men, their surprise matched hers. They hadn't been expecting this either. Gale looked at her, an apology in his eyes before he headed off after an already departing Miss Snow. Haymitch didn't look at her but she saw his shoulders tense as he too followed her away and into the thick cops a little over a hundred yards away.
Katniss huffed. What the hell was she supposed to do now? She turned around, unwilling to walk too far away, not with the threat of more snow-covered cracks in the earth, ready to swallow her up unexpectedly. It would be like being buried alive… unbidden, images of her father popped into her mind. She immediately pushed them away. She couldn't think of him, not here, not anywhere. He was something she needed to keep hidden safely away. She turned again, desperate for something to distract her. She didn't have to look long. The giant stag seemed to do the trick.
Katniss had seen deer before, had even killed a couple but they had never looked anything like this. This one was at least five times larger than any she had ever seen. Its coat was white and downy, not course and brown like she was used to. Upon closer inspection it wasn't really a deer at all; its hooves weren't cloven. In fact, they weren't hooves at all but paws, more like a cat's but massive. She walked over to the now severed head and noticed that its face also wasn't like anything she'd ever seen before. It terrified her. The snout was long but more canine than bovine. She couldn't tell if this was a predator or not so she reached forward to get a look at its teeth. She was surprised again to find both canines and crushing molars. This thing was an omnivore like pigs and humans. She circled around the carcass to get a look at its end. Like all other parts, this one was just as confounding. She'd never even seen a tail like this. It was long and thin like a cat's, but the end had its own little tuft of soft, downy fur. She crouched down next to it and pulled off a glove. She needed to know if it was as soft as it looked. It was.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Katniss bolted up and spun around. Would this woman ever stop sneaking up on her? She nodded dumbly. "It's one of my favorites. You can tell it's one of the newer creations, its eyes are all black." Katniss couldn't help but look to confirm what Miss Snow had just said. She saw the half lidded eyes of the strange beast's decapitated head and saw the hauntingly black eyes. Snow continued. "The older models eyes are clear, we had to add color to them but these newer ones, developed about twenty years ago, always black." Snow stepped past her and kneeled in the bloody snow next to the head, staining her white pants. She reached out and grasped the ear, manipulating it until she revealed a small tattoo on the inside.
"This one is five years old. Growing them slowly, gestating them inside animals of similar size makes them docile." Katniss listened closely, highly curious even though she couldn't fathom why she was getting a lesson on mutation breeding. "The ones we grow quickly in large amniotic vats, in a matter of days or hours, are the vicious ones. You saw evidence of that in the arena." She had. Those muts that were made to slightly resemble all of the dead tributes had been savage. She saw Snow stroking its long white muzzle. "This one was gestated inside of a cow, raised on milk for several months, fed a variety of vegetables and meat and cared for meticulously before being brought here. It received better treatment than any single person of your district. And now it's dead." She finished the last statement quietly.
Gale and Haymitch were just getting back as she finished the last line. Neither said anything. Gale looked as he did before but Haymitch looked the worse for wear. He looked even more agitated, his brow was a mass of knots and his hands were clenching and unclenching at his sides. He looked at the mut for a few long seconds before turning away.
Snow didn't acknowledge them. "I call this one chimera." She ran her hand down it one last time before standing. "Keep her company boys, I'll be back shortly." Snow walked over to the pack she'd left, picked it up and walked away. "Two minutes." She said over her shoulder. Katniss watched her go for a moment before a hand on her check pulled her attention away.
"Hey." Gale said quietly. He ran his finger below her right eye, his eyes clouding over. Thankfully that was as far as his observation of her injury went. He seemed to know that talking about it would only make things worse and they had precious little time as it was. Katniss heard a branch break, her head automatically turning to where Snow was disappearing into the underbrush once more. For the briefest of moments, Katniss saw the woman pulling something round and metallic from the bag she carried and then she was swallowed up out of sight. A kiss brought her back.
She turned back and wrapped her arms around the tall man, squeezing for all she was worth. "Katnip?" She pulled away to look at his face she heard the question in his tone. "Do you trust me?" He asked quietly, his eyes intently searching hers.
"Of course." She furrowed her brow though, confused by the question that didn't seem to have any context at the moment. "Why would…" He cut her off with a light kiss.
"You know I would never do anything to hurt you, right?" She didn't like these questions. They made her suspicious and uncomfortable.
"Gale why…" again, he cut her off.
"You know that right?" His eyes had taken on a harder, more desperate quality. "I need to know that you know that."
"Yes I know that." She said a little exasperated. She was about to try to ask what he meant a third time but she couldn't even get a word out. "Remember that, ok?" She just nodded but she'd be lying if she said it wasn't starting to irritate her. Then she was given a command that she was, quite frankly, getting tired of hearing people give her. "Survive the next four weeks."
OoOoO
MaidenAlice: Yeah, the dreams are supposed to be both symbolic of what she's going through but also contain a bit of foreshadowing for future events. You're speculations are dead on this time. Her time with Gale is very different from last time. No sex, taken away for an unknown reason by Snow with Haymitch and then ending with confusing questions. Her feelings have only become more confused this time. I love observations, keep em coming!
TruIdentity: Villains are definitely the most fun. For one, they aren't constrained by goodness or doing the right thing. They are usually far more mysterious than the good guys and they tend to be the ones that can have all the fun. I love em!
Big Bear J: I don't even… Funny review for my 300th.
Carla: I use the dreams so that I don't have to do a ton of internal monologue. I do a little bit of both so really I'm glad you appreciate it. I love throwing more Haymitch in. I want him to be a main character in my story, not just a side one that you rarely see. But I'm biased. Your welcome! I could answer why Snow wants only the truth but I can't, just that it has to do with her past. You'll learn more about her childhood and life as the story continues, only in little snippets though because I'm a big jerk like that. Enough to keep you from starving but not enough to satisfy the hunger completely. Her mother… you're the first to ask aloud… you will eventually find out. Act III will be a lot more revealing in this respect. I couldn't agree with you more that our experiences create a great deal of our personality. I had Snow say much the same thing to Katniss and Peeta in the limo on the way to their 'advertisement'. It's one theme I've been slowly working into the story. I'll do another, this first one was a hoot! And thank you for the congrats on 300! I never really thought it would get that many!