Chapter 56:

Jarle Eurydia, District Six, Age 17

Victor of the 131st Hunger Games

Jarle's hands shake as he sits in the clinic waiting room, trying to keep calm and push back the bubbling guilt and fear in him. Guilt that he's the one sitting here today and took several lives to do so, all so he could have a shot at living. But…what makes him worth of living over twenty one others? And then the fear… Fear that the treatment won't work properly and he'll have done all of this for nothing. And fear that Dampero will soon be leaving him alone in the Capitol for the next few months as he got his treatment… He doesn't want to be alone right now, not after everything he went through… But he knows he's lucky enough to even be allowed to stay in the Capitol to finally get rid of his cancer for good.

But he just can't push back that nagging guilt in his mind as he waits, bouncing his leg. He has to hope that the Capitol treatment is way better than any option he had in Six – regardless if he could have paid for it or not. Surely they can get him cancer free, like they promised him before the arena…

"You're making me nervous," Dampero chuckles at him as he closes the magazine he was absentmindedly flipping through.

"Sorry," Jarle says quietly and stops bouncing his leg right away, but instead starts ringing his hands together. "There's just… Well, it's scary that this is finally happening. And I'm just worried…"

"No need to be worried," Dampero tells him but Jarle can see the worry in his eyes. After all, the older mentor has barely left his side ever since he got out of that arena… The first victor for Six since Dampero's so many years ago. He knows how much of a big deal this is for their home and he just…

He wants to get home to them.

Jarle starts tearing up a little bit, unable to help it. "I'm sorry, it's just a lot," he says quietly as he rubs his eyes before putting his face in his hands. Dampero starts rubbing his back, a little awkward at first, but it makes him cry even more. "I just want to be home and be done with all of this. I don't want to be alone in a place I don't know for who knows how many months."

"You won't be alone," Dampero says quietly. "You'll have Bee and their family, who will be stopping by soon so you can meet Sonya and Mari. And I'll be coming to visit as often as they'll let me. Trust me, I'd rather stay here with you than go face the crowds back home alone, but…"

"But they're excited and want to see a victor – or at least the mentor of the victor," Jarle fills in for him with a sigh and nods his head in understanding. "I'd rather be in your shoes than staying here with people I barely know."

"Oh give it a day and you'll be not wanting to leave their home," Dampero says with a small smile as he bumps his shoulder. "Come on, you know Bee. Their family is as scary as they are."

"So not at all," Jarle smiles a little as the nurse calls his name. He stands up with a heavy sigh and Dampero joins him, offering his arm to him. "I'm not dead yet, I can walk on my own," he jokes with him, but still takes his arm. The arena drained what little energy he had left.

"And we're going to keep it that way," Dampero says as they follow the nurse back to a private room. Jarle stops in the doorway to take a deep breath and Dampero frowns beside him. "You can do this…"

"I know, it's just…" Jarle takes a deep breath as he steps into the room and goes to the chair. "Finally sinking in that this is actually happening… For months, I've thought I would never see this day – let alone live to see my twenties. I'm just…" He sits down as the tears start once more and the nurse hands him a box of tissues. "Thanks," he mumbles as he sniffs and grabs a tissue to blow his nose.

"I'll be right back with the doctor," the nurse says before she leaves the room, leaving the two of them in awkward silence broken only by Jarle's small sobs.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess right now," Jarle says quietly, unsure where this is even coming from. "I'm just…overwhelmed by all of this."

"You don't need to apologize to me," Dampero says, smiling at him as his own eyes started watering. "I might not show it, but I'm also a nervous wreck right now. I really don't like the idea of leaving you here, even though I completely trust Bee and their family. But, you're just…"

"The first victor Six has had since you," Jarle finishes quietly and sighs as he leans back. He can't imagine what Dampero has been going through all these years… He has to keep fighting through this treatment and make it home to Six for him and everyone else that finally has hope for the first time in decades. "I'm going to get home."

"You absolutely will," the doctor says as he enters the room and smiles at Jarle. "Welcome, it's an honor to be chosen as your oncologist."

"Thanks…" Jarle says awkwardly and rubs his neck as the nurse comes in and starts getting him prepped. "So… What's…your success rate with curing this cancer?" he asks the doctor quietly as the nurses work on setting up IVs in him. He barely flinches at the needles, having done this so many times with the tests to figure out what was wrong with him.

"Oh we've perfected this treatment over the years and have a 99% success rate," the doctor says as he flips through Jarle's charts and makes some notes. "I am completely confident that you will be cured of your cancer."

Jarle lets out a sigh of relief as the nurse sets up the IV back for him. "That's the best news I've ever heard," he says quietly and the doctor gives him a smile. "All of this will have been worth it…"

"We're giving only the best treatment available for our newest victor," the doctor says. "It is truly an honor to be your doctor for this."

Dampero looks at his phone when it beeps before smiling at Jarle. "That's Bee, they just got here. I'll be right back with them."

"Okay," Jarle says quietly as the nurse finishes up and the doctor asks him if he has any questions. But his brain is barely processing all of this and he's just struggling to believe that this is finally happening. He's finally going to get a chance at life after thinking he was a dead man walking…

He keeps his head down and just tries to keep himself together before Bee and their family come in, not wanting their first impression of him to be him as a crying mess. Dampero clears his throat and Jarle slowly looks up at them, offering Bee a small smile.

They immediately grin and make a small noise of excitement at seeing him – the same reaction they've been giving him ever since he got out of the arena. He can't even blame them, he knows his victory is also a big deal for them as their first victor too. "I'm so happy to see you getting your treatment," they say and start fanning their face. "Crap, I said I wasn't going to cry but I'm totally going to cry!"

Beside them, their wife starts laughing a little and Jarle smiles at her. She holds her hand out to Dampero. "Someone owes me money here," she says and Dampero just sighs as he gets out his wallet and slaps a bill into her hand. "I knew Bee was going to cry, but he thought they got their tears out. I'm Sonya, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Jarle says politely as their daughter nervously pokes her head around Sonya and he waves at her. "Hi there, no need to be scared of me."

But there was reason to be afraid of him. He volunteered for the Hunger Games and killed people – kids her age…

Sonya puts a hand on her shoulder and pushes the young girl forward. "Come on, Mari, no need to be afraid to meet him."

"But he's a victor!" Mari whispers to her and hides her face in embarrassment.

"And so is Uncle Dee Dee," Sonya says and Dampero immediately points at Jarle when he gives him a shit grin at that. He is totally going to tease him about that later.

"Sure, I'm a victor, but I'm not scary," Jarle tells the girl and gestures at his arm. "In fact, I'm trapped here for the next couple of hours!"

Mari tentatively steps towards him, kicking her foot on the floor as she blushes. "My parents said you're staying with us…?"

Jarle nods his head and gives the two an appreciative smile. Now that they're here…he doesn't understand why he was so nervous about it. He knows Bee, and of course their family is just as nice as they are… "Yeah, it seems like it. At least for the next couple of months."

Mari smiles at him and sits down in the chair next to him. "Iris is going to be so jealous I get to have the newest victor living with me!" she says, her smile turning to a grin. "Oh, you'll have to meet her, she's my best friend! And while you're in the Capitol we can take you to all sorts of places. We can go to the fair – oh we gotta go to the water park, I love the big slide but Iris always chickens out on it with me. This will be so much fun, when can we get started?!"

"How about you start making a list and we'll get started on it as soon as I feel well enough to go out in the city?" Jarle asks her, starting to relax as he grins at her. Because for the first time in a long while he just feels…

Hopeful.

Yep, I'm finally back and updating. I know, don't be too surprised lol. Just had to prioritize job hunting and stuff, but I'm finally at a point where I can get back into the swing of writing and updates! So here we finally have Jarle, who was written who knows how long ago lol.

Going to try to get back into updating this every week again (assuming I remember lol). I have through the 137th written at this point so we have a good stockpile. And yes, Renegades will be coming soon, probably Friday. It's been written, just honestly had no motivation to post it, oops. But don't worry, I'll be finishing both of these stories. I've come too far to not see them through at this point.

So, hopefully I will see you next Wednesday with one of my favorite D2 victors (who also happens to be the favorite of a certain Gamemaker).