Prompt : Please a fic about the time when oria meets her grandparents (effie's people)
Unexpected
"Don't wander too far!" Haymitch uselessly called after his daughter. She was already gone ahead, heading straight for the geese pen. He was slow to follow, his age was catching up with him, but his eyes never strayed away from the bouncing blond ponytail of the six years old.
When she froze, at the corner of the house, and glanced back in his direction, he hurried. Oria wasn't a shy child, by the time he had caught up she had already engaged the two strangers waiting in front of the backdoor.
"Hello! That's so pretty!" she said, making a beeline for the woman.
The very Capitol woman, Haymitch couldn't help but think, out of breath, as he spied the rich clothes the man and the woman were wearing, the wigs and the stuck-up attitudes.
He snatched Oria away and held her against his chest protectively. It was instinctive, really. Capitols never mixed well with children in his mind.
"Daddy!" the girl giggled, wriggling in his arms. He tightened his hold.
"What do you want?" he spat, his grey eyes darting from the man to the woman, trying to evaluate the threat. Truthfully, they didn't look very dangerous. They were old, for one thing, even under the plastic Capitols still insisted on pumping under their skin in a feeble attempt at stopping time from taking its toll.
The man looked to his companion but the woman wasn't forthcoming with an explanation, she was staring at Oria, her mouth slightly gaping, with teary-eyes. Blue eyes. There was something familiar about her but he couldn't quite pinpoint it. He had never met either of them, he was certain of it.
"We apologize for trying the backdoor." the man said after clearing his throat. "We were told we could find Effie Trinket here?"
"My mommy's name is Effie!" Oria blurted out before Haymitch had time to think about it. The Capitol woman pressed a gloved hand to her lips with a small gasp. She took a step closer but Haymitch took two back, half shielding Oria with his shoulder, his heart hammering in his chest. His own behavior was ridiculous, clearly they weren't a danger to his daughter, but the problem ran deeper than what his logic was telling him. It was experience, a fight or flight feeling and with this precious load in his arms, the only good answer was to flee. The little girl didn't seem to realize something was wrong, she settled more comfortably against him, wrapping an arm around his neck so she could see the strangers and went on with her little speech. "But my mommy isn't a trinket… What's a trinket? Like a bauble? Mommy has lot of those…"
"I…" the man's sentence trailed off, clearly taken aback. He was staring at the girl too now and the urge to flee was quickly becoming more than Haymitch could take. "Trinket is a name." the stranger finished lamely.
"Oh." Oria frowned, muddling that over in her head for a second. Then she shrugged. "My mommy's name is Abernathy like me and Daddy."
Shock flashed on their faces but not surprise, Haymitch observed. No… Not surprise.
"Please…" the woman said again, her voice tight with emotion. She was looking at him now but she kept glancing at the child."Would you happen to know where Effie is?"
"Who are you?" he asked at last.
He knew the answer, though. It was her eyes. Same blue as Effie and Oria.
"Elindra Trinket." the woman answered, outstretching a shaking hand. "And this is my husband, Tadius."
He didn't take the hand and she let it fall after a few seconds with a displeased expression. Oria was frowning for entirely new reasons now. She was picking up on the tension, he knew.
"Does she know you're alive?" he asked.
He thought that was the real question, here. Because if she knew they were alive… Why had she never told him? When she had appeared on his doorstep in the middle of the night two years after the rebellion, soaked from the rain and heavily pregnant, he had come to understand he was her last resort. In six years, she had never mentioned any family.
"Why, I suppose so." her father replied coolly. "We would have liked to know she was. She disappeared after the war. No note, no letter, nothing and suddenly, she's on live TV in Twelve."
After the war, Effie had gone through a very difficult period. He didn't know much about those two years except that she had done things she wasn't proud of in an attempt to cope with the memories of her time in prison.
As for her being on TV… They had attended a remembrance ceremony two days earlier with Peeta – Katniss had stayed home with the kids – it wasn't surprising the cameras had focused on them rather than on the speaker.
Still, if Effie had never contacted her parents before there must be a reason.
"Tadius." Mrs Trinket snapped, glaring at her husband before turning to Haymitch once again. "We are just anxious to see our daughter. I am sure you understand…" The blue eyes settled on the child and Haymitch held Oria even tighter.
The girl didn't like it. "Let me go, silly Daddy, you're going to crush me!"
She wriggled so much he had no other choice than to put her down or risk dropping her. Oria was quick when she wanted to be and she rushed to the woman without wasting a second.
"So pretty…" she awed at the golden dress Mrs Trinket was wearing. It shimmered under the pale autumn's sun. Oria reached for it and then thought better of it, probably thinking back to all the times Effie chided her for doing so without permission. "Can I touch?"
"May I touch." the woman corrected in a whisper, much in the same manner Effie always did. "And no, not until you wash your hands. We wouldn't want to dirty it, would we?" She studied Oria's outfit with a snobbish wince. Haymitch would have bet the thick purple pants and the white knitted sweater with the pink and blue giant flower on the front didn't meet her Capitol standards. "What's your name, darling?"
"Oria." the little girl answered with a pout at being denied.
"Oria…" Mrs Trinket repeated with a smile. "That's lovely. Lovely indeed. You look just like your mother when she was your age… Doesn't she, Tadius?"
"Yes, she does." Mr Trinket offered with a fond smile.
"You know Mommy?" Oria asked.
"Oh, your mother is my…" the woman started to explain.
Haymitch grabbed Oria under the armpits and lifted her up again before she could finish. He wasn't sure what Effie would want to do and there was no point introducing relatives that might not remain in his daughter's future.
"Effie will be back soon." he said. "You can wait for her here."
His priority was to get Oria away from them but that was without taking into account his daughter's stubborn nature. The child gasped and waved a finger in his face.
"It's rude, Daddy!" Oria lectured him, imitating her mother's style. "When you have guests, you give them drinks and you tell them to do like they're at their own home." She shook her head, sending her long wavy ponytail swaying left and right. "You don't listen to Mommy."
"Oh, and you do, baby girl?" he snorted. "Should we tell Mommy about the tree climbing then?"
Oria wrinkled her little nose. "Huh, huh… You pinky-swear promised you won't tell."
"Maybe I changed my mind." he shrugged. The movement made her jump and she clung to his neck, all giggles.
The two Capitols were still there and still very much staring, to Haymitch's utter annoyance. Although Oria had a point, he supposed. And, more than that, if he let them there, Effie would stumble upon them without warning but if he got them into the kitchen, he could talk to her before.
"Let's be clear." he growled. "If she doesn't want to see you, you're out."
The lack of manners clearly didn't please the woman who pursed her lips tight in disapproval but the man nodded once.
The reasons of Oria's insistence on proper behavior quickly became obvious when he opened the door and she rushed to the kitchen sink, dragging a chair on her way. He had never seen her watching her hands so quickly before. She lost no time in running to the woman again.
"Can I touch now?" she asked.
"May I touch." Mrs Trinket corrected again. "And yes you may if I may sit down?"
The question was a bit sarcastic and probably a gibe at Haymitch's lack of cordiality. He didn't even bother with a reply, leaning against the kitchen counter and peering through the window when he wasn't watching Oria.
The little girl seemed happy to play hostess for now, showing them to chairs and finally getting her hands on the shimmering golden dress.
"It itches." she declared, taking her fingers away with a disappointed face.
It brought a smirk on Haymitch's lips. It was notorious that Oria despised any itching pieces of clothing and what she deemed itching sometimes puzzled both her mother and her father.
"You wanna drink?" she asked Mrs Trinket, clearly bored with the dress now. She looked at Haymitch pleadingly without waiting for an answer. "Hot cocoa?"
"Hot cocoa what?" he mumbled mechanically, glancing outside, hoping to spy Effie's approach.
"Hot cocoa please." the little girl sighed.
Haymitch frowned at her. "You're turning into a brat, baby girl. Be careful or you can say goodbye to this week bow lesson."
The answer was immediate and the puppy eyes enough to soften a heart of stone. "Sorry, Daddy."
"Bow lesson?" Mr Trinket coughed politely, while Haymitch fixed Oria a drink.
"Auntie Katniss is teaching me." Oria explained, climbing on the chair and sitting on her knees exactly like Effie told her to never do. "What's that on your head?"
"A wig." the man offered.
"Why is it blue?" the child insisted.
With his back turned to them, Haymitch couldn't help but smirk.
"Well because…" Mr Trinket stammered.
"Fashion, darling." Mrs Trinket cut in. "We will get you a pretty wig too. Wouldn't you like that?"
Haymitch didn't even have time to open his mouth.
"Ugh, no!" Oria retorted, swinging on the chair so hard the back legs kept lifting from the ground. "Must itch."
"If you fall, don't come crying." Haymitch warned her. He ignored the horrified look the Capitols gave him and placed a steaming mug in front of her before pushing on the back of her chair to make his point.
His rebuke fell on deaf ears.
"Why are you wearing a wig?" Oria asked, staring at the ridiculous thing curiously. "You don't have hair?"
Haymitch didn't even bother to try and hide his chuckles.
It took ten more minutes of relentless questioning on Oria's part and awkward answering on the Trinkets before he spied Effie walking up to the house. He glanced at their daughter but she was very busy drinking her cocoa and reducing the Capitol to embarrassed stutters. She didn't even blink when he stepped outside, careful to leave the door open.
Effie greeted him with a warm smile that faltered when she glimpsed his grim face.
"What's wrong?" she asked at once. "Where's Oria?"
"Inside. She's fine." he was quick to reassure her.
"Oh…" she breathed out in relief. "You scared me. Why do you look so sullen then? What happened?"
"Your parents are here, sweetheart." he told her.
He tried to keep the accusation out of his voice but she flinched nonetheless.
"I see." she commented flatly. She avoided his eyes, worrying her hands in front of her. "How are they?"
"Fine for people I thought six feet deep." he snorted.
"I never said they were dead." she said defensively.
"You never said they were alive either." he shrugged. "It's fine. I guess you had your reasons."
"Not really. I just…" She swallowed with visible difficulties. "We have our differences. The war… We didn't part on good terms."
"It's fine, Princess." he repeated quietly, squeezing her hand.
She forced a smile on her lips and pecked his mouth before walking the short way to the kitchen. He shadowed her, smiling himself when Oria launched herself at her with an excited "Mommy!". Effie hugged her close like she did every day but she was nervous, Haymitch could feel it.
"Mother." she whispered. "Father."
Mrs Trinket had bolted to her feet as soon as Effie had walked in and she lost no time in stepping around the table and embracing her daughter.
Sensing that Effie would be fine, he grabbed the bag of stale bread and nudged Oria outside. "Come on, baby girl. Time to feed the geese."
"Is Mommy crying?" she asked as soon as he had closed the kitchen door behind them.
"No." he lied. "She had something in her eye."
"Oh… Okay." Oria accepted his answer with a shrug and ran to the pen. Feeding the geese was an endless task because the girl always wanted to make sure all the birds got their full and, of course, she needed at least ten minutes to recount her day in details to Greta. He didn't know how long a goose lived but he hoped for their sake that one would have a long healthy life.
It had been at least half an hour and he was contemplating the idea of taking Oria to Katniss and Peeta's when the kitchen door opened again.
He knew at first glance Effie had been crying but she was smiling too – a real smile – so it couldn't be that bad.
"Oria, come here." she called to the little girl before ushering her inside. "I want you to meet your grandparents."