And we start with episode 7! I will have to confess I have been working on a Christmas story instead of episode 8 so I neeeeeed to get a move on if you want a next episode haha. But it will be done I vow it ;) This episode will deal a bit with Effie and Katniss and their relation to the Slayer line so I hope you're in for a bit of introspection.

The Way Of The Warrior

1

The moment Haymitch slid off her and to the side, Effie shot up in a sitting position, her mind very far from what had just happened.

Shy trickles of sunlight were slipping through the closed drapes and across the floorboards of her bedroom but dawn wasn't that far away yet that they should worry about getting up. She glanced at the glowing numbers on the alarm clock anyway to check the hour was reasonable and then reached for her phone, sliding her legs off the bed…

Only to be pulled backward by two strong arms.

"Where are you going?" he grumbled, his voice gruff. "Ain't done yet. You didn't get off."

Scruffy kisses were roughly and unevenly dropped across her shoulders as he kneeled behind her and tried to maneuver her back on the bed.

"It is fine." she promised, turning her head long enough to kiss whatever patch of skin was closer. "I have something to do."

His arms tightened.

"Don't be angry…" he muttered. "You felt too fucking good… Couldn't wait… I'll make it up to you…"

"Haymitch, it is really not…" she objected. But she was tugged back and between his lips and his hands, she was easily convinced to lie back down…

"Let me make it up to you." he said, a little more seriously, as his mouth traveled south of her body.

She wasn't sure he was still talking about being a little too quick to find his release.

Things had been a little weird between them for the last two weeks, ever since their aborted talk of feelings. She had fully expected him to push her away afterwards but instead…

For how reluctant he had obviously been to share his bed during the two nights she had spent at his place while her house was in repair, Haymitch seemed to have developed a liking to spending the night with her. There were the nightmares to consider, of course, but she knew better than to try to wake him up when the night terrors came out to play. A whispered spell was usually enough to appease his dreams. Perhaps that was why he unconsciously liked sleeping next to her so much. Or maybe it was because he quite enjoyed having his way with her first thing in the morning.

She had expected him to push her away but instead he kept tugging her closer. The sex was taking a desperate hinge with every new day that passed without news of the Careers or of the Reaping. She knew he was worried, she knew he was battling with an urge to disappear at the bottom of a bottle… She knew all that. She also knew she never felt better than when he held her close and nuzzled her neck. She felt safe.

And with the new power pulsing in her veins she needed the feeling.

When Haymitch's mouth finally found the apex of her thighs, her mind went deliciously blank and she gave herself to the thrill that tingled down her spine.

All in all, she mused afterwards, once she was staring at the ceiling, basking in the afterglow with Haymitch lying on his side next to her distractedly playing with her hair, it was a good thing she had casted that spell to soundproof their respective bedrooms. Sound could travel in but it couldn't travel out. He had argued that it could be dangerous, at first, that if either of them were attacked nobody would hear… One awkward breakfast too many with the children had convinced him it was the less of two evils.

She drew out a long sigh and sat up again, reaching for her phone once more.

"We don't have to get up yet…" Haymitch groaned, sneaking an arm around her stomach. "Come on, we went to bed… five fucking hours ago."

Patrol was taking forever nowadays.

With the amount of new vampires roaming around, it was a miracle the Seam still had citizens at all. She had lost count of the number of nests they had destroyed lately. They had taken to divide and conquer. They switched teams around now and then but, usually, it was she and Haymitch taking one side of the town while Katniss and Peeta combed the other half.

"Go back to sleep." she indulged him.

"Go to sleep with me." he coaxed, tugging her back. She resisted this time. "Sweetheart…" he almost whined. "I've still got a good forty minutes before I've got to do the walk of shame…"

She didn't point out that Peeta would probably not be surprised if he came downstairs with her because she still wasn't completely at ease with the idea of the children knowing exactly what they were doing. Somehow, it felt like setting the wrong example. But, in either case, Effie and Peeta took all their meals over at Haymitch's most days so…

"I had an idea while we were…" she explained and then let her voice trail off when she didn't find a nice enough euphemism.

"If you're thinking while we're fucking I'm doing something very wrong." he scoffed and then made a face. "Though I guess I wasn't really doing it right this morning."

He hadn't lasted that long, that was true, but he had amply made up for it right then so she soothed that concern with a peck to his lips. "I need to call my mother."

He did a double take at that.

Since he was still holding her and didn't seem in any hurry to release her, she reached out for her phone again and scrolled through her contacts.

"Your mother." he repeated flatly, sitting up so he could plaster himself to her back. "You need to call your mother." He sounded flabbergasted, probably because she had never mentioned being in touch before and because every time she had talked about her mother it had been in terrified gibberish about losing control of her own magic. "Your very much black witch of a… Oh…" She tapped the call icon just as he figured it out and she flashed him a smug smile. He snorted. "Sometimes you're brilliant."

"Only sometimes?" she teased.

"Well, you could have thought about it before…" he pointed out.

She let out a fake offended huff and pushed him off her because she didn't really want to talk to her mother with a naked man snuggled against her. He flopped down on the bed with a deep round of chuckles.

She pursed her lips at him in mock displeasure but that only made him smirk.

The look lasted longer than was probably wise and it was far more heated than it should have been given what had just happened between them.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the call finally connected and her mother's disapproving voice reached her ear. "Euphemia."

"Funny." Effie deadpanned. "I thought it was my name. What happened to answering the phone properly, mother?"

There was a long silence at the other end of the line and she could almost picture the pursed lips and the glare.

"Such cheek." her mother huffed. "Did living in the middle of nowhere rub off your manners? Or is it rubbing off on that Watcher of yours, I wonder…"

Effie's whole body tensed and then she forced herself to relax, telling herself it was just a shot in the dark. She had teased her about Haymitch before. Her mother might have guessed that she had been a little infatuated with the idea of him before she had even set foot in the Seam.

She didn't leave time for that idea to take root in Elindra's mind. She swung her legs off the bed and headed to the bathroom because she needed to do something. Sitting still while talking to her mother was never an option. "How crude. I wonder which of us lost their manners. How is father?"

The silence lasted even longer this time. "I am afraid your father is quite tied up at the moment."

Effie briefly paused while crossing the walk-in closet and then decided she didn't mean that literally. Probably. If she did she didn't want to know. She didn't think her parents had any sort of social relationship that wasn't in regard to public appearances anymore so… She fished for another safer subject. "How is Lyssa?"

Asking straight about what she was interested in would be a waste of time. It was better to humor Elindra about what mattered to her, keep up the pretense they were all a normal family – and her father and her sister were a normal family, she supposed – and wear her out.

She cleaned herself up while Elindra prattled about Lyssandra and then started the long process of applying anti-age and wrinkle reducing creams on her face, only listening just enough to make the appropriate noises and let out the occasional 'I see'.

Her sister was her mother's favorite subject but Elindra only managed five minutes of monologue about it that morning. A record, she thought.

"I surmise you did not call me at an ungodly hour to pretend you are interested in what I have to say." Elindra snapped suddenly, cutting herself mid-sentence.

She was in a particularly foul mood that morning, Effie mused, walking back into her bedroom.

Haymitch was finishing to get dressed. He was sitting on the bed, lacing his boots.

"I thought we should not call God's name in vain?" she teased, unable to stop herself. First there was the terrible way to answer the phone, now that phrase… Elindra had impressed upon her as soon as it had become obvious she had some affinities with magic that calling out to a god – any god – without purpose was never a good idea. You never knew what was listening.

"I am quite tired of your impertinence, Euphemia." Elindra sighed. "Rural America is not doing you any favor."

"My apologies." she granted with a sigh of her own. "I did not wish to impose on you. I could call back later if it is more convenient."

Haymitch was standing up. She ignored his lifted eyebrows and the implied question and leaned in for a goodbye peck that he made last a little longer than necessary given that she was on the phone. 'Later' he mouthed and she nodded with a small smile.

She let him make his way out by himself although given the soft mumble of voices that floated up to her bedroom a minute later, he didn't manage to make his escape unnoticed. Peeta got up inexplicably early – something to do with working at a bakery, she had been told – and he didn't always keep to his bedroom; which was alright because she wanted him to feel at home.

"Later will not be more convenient, I might not be able to get in touch. I have been quite busy lately." Elindra answered. Effie didn't dare ask if she was busy selling her black arts to the highest bidder. "What is it you need me for? Do you need help for a spell? I beg you not to attempt anything too strenuous, you do not have the power, Euphemia."

She had to bite the words down to keep them from escaping. She was dying to tell her that she was not as lame or average as her mother had always told her, that she had found hidden depths to her powers, that spells that had previously drained her were now so much easier to cast… Fireballs and frost conjuring barely took any energy now.

She held her tongue.

She wanted advices but prudence told her that either her mother would accuse her of lying and it would hurt or Elindra would try to manipulate her into using all that new power for her own gain.

"I actually managed a cloaking spell just right a few weeks ago." she boasted, unable not to somehow try and shift her mother's opinion.

"A cloaking spell?" Elindra hummed, slightly distracted.

Effie headed to the walk-in closet to select an outfit for the day, trailing her hand over soft fabrics and shimmering dresses. "Against evil. The whole suburb we live in. Nothing with evil intentions will be able to see or enter the Village. It was quite a difficult spell."

"The whole Village? I would say." her mother commented. "How did you do that? Do you have a more experienced witch on hand?"

It was disappointing to her that her mother still didn't believe in her abilities but it was not surprising so she chose a blinding pink blouse and a dove grey pencil skirt and busied herself inspecting her shelves full of heels.

"Not quite." she denied. "But Haymitch did assist."

Which was not a lie.

"Ah, yes. The Watcher extraordinary." Elindra mocked. "The one you still have to replace… I do not understand how you have not snatched that Slayer yet."

She pursed her lips and grabbed a pair of ankle high lovely boots. "It is not my aim. My aim is to keep the Slayer alive."

"A futile attempt." her mother judged. "Now if you were calling to tell me about the cloaking spell, well done." The congratulations were so ironic and dismissive that Effie clenched her jaw. "I am afraid I must go now. As I said I am quite…"

"Have you ever heard of something called a Reaping? Or The Reaping, perhaps?" she cut her off.

She moved on to selecting underwear while her mother dropped into an uneasy sort of silence. It was almost a whole minute before Elindra spoke again. She spoke calmly when she did but there was something alarmed in her voice and if something could alarm Elindra, it truly wasn't good.

"Darling, if someone is planning a Reaping in your town you need to come home as soon as you can." Elindra surprisingly declared. "Do not pack. Drive to the closest airport and get on a plane. I will pay for the expense. Actually, I could use you here. Even with your lack of power, you might be of some assistance to me."

That was never going to happen. She had no interest in taking up the family business that witches in her maternal line had kept going for generations.

"I cannot do that." she refused. "However, I would be grateful if you could tell me anything about the ritual…"

"It is dark." Elindra scoffed. "Darker than most witches, wizards and warlocks care to wander. A Reaping is essentially an exchange. A sacrifice for a prize."

She had expected something of that essence but she still licked her lips, her fingers clutching the pale pink bra she had just picked up. "What kind of sacrifice?"

"Innocent blood, I believe." Elindra answered. "I do not remember the particulars. The ritual is detailed in one of the spell books I inherited from your great-grandmother, I am sure, but it must be centuries old…"

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back in silent gratefulness. At last, they had something. "Could you take a picture of the relevant pages and send them to me? Or maybe even scan them?"

Her mother wasn't impressed with the suggestion. "You want me to subject a centuries old book to a camera flash or a printer?" She huffed before Effie could answer that very rhetorical question. "I will see that the book gets to you but I will not defile it."

It was more than she had expected. "Thank you. Can you tell me anything else?"

"Not from memory." Elindra sighed. "I can tell you that it would take someone with extraordinary power to pull a Reaping off." Her mother was silent a moment and then real concern slipped in her voice. "Euphemia, darling, you would be no match against such a witch. Comehome."

The unpleasant sting of her mother's magic made her hiss and she took the phone away from her ear to glare at it for a moment before pressing it back to her cheek. "Do not try to compel me."

Elindra let out an annoyed huff. "I am only trying to look out for you."

"I can take care of myself, Mother." she promised. "Do you personally know of any witch who could succeed? Perhaps someone who lives close to the Seam Hellmouth? I do not think they have a witch yet… It has been weeks, surely they would have attempted it by now if they had someone?"

"Perhaps." Elindra hummed, clearly deep in thought. "Or perhaps the conditions for the ritual are not met yet." She thought a little more and then clucked her tongue. "I know a couple of witches who could probably manage it but one is in Europe and the other one is in Africa. The others are all leading covens and they would not attempt it. It is extreme dark arts, I told you. Most witches fear to tread there. In the States themselves, I only know of one who could pull something like that off."

"Who?" she asked.

"Me." Elindra answered simply, as if the answer should have been obvious.

Effie relaxed. "Where exactly in Europe does that other witch live?"

"Last I heard, she was in Italy." Elindra dismissed. "She moves around. She fancies herself in love with a half-breed."

Italy. Enobaria had come from Italy with a missing ceremonial dagger and leaving behind an abbey full of dead nuns.

Effie didn't believe in coincidences. "Thank you, Mother."

Elindra sighed. "I am not sure I should be thanked for encouraging you in your folly. You sister and your father would be most displeased if something happened to you, do be careful."

Her sister and her father but would her mother truly care or would she move on with barely a tinge of regret? Black magic corrupted, Effie knew, and the first thing to go was love.

They said their goodbyes after she made Elindra promise again to send her the book with the details of the ritual.

By the time she made it downstairs, showered, dressed and wearing enough make-up to last the day, Effie was humming. Peeta had already started breakfast without waiting for her. He had baked muffins and the warm pastries were delicious. When he nudged a travel mug full of coffee – exactly as she liked it – in her direction, she beamed.

"I do not know how I lived so long without you." she proclaimed.

She knew she should probably have been the one making sure he didn't skip breakfast and had something warm to drink in the morning but she had realized quickly in their cohabitation that Peeta loved to bake and that it pleased him to take care of her in some measure.

"Same." The boy grinned and it was contagious.

She felt herself softening and she squeezed his shoulder as she walked past him, leading the way to Haymitch's house. Peeta was slowly opening. Two weeks weren't long enough that he had stopped flinching at sudden movements but he was slowly relaxing and she was relieved to see him adapt so well.

That and he had seemed to enjoy the few magic lessons she had found time to impart.

Haymitch's house was in complete chaos like it tended to be most mornings. She supposed that it was what happened when two extremely disorganized people shared a roof. Poor Prim couldn't compensate for that by herself.

Katniss was shouting from somewhere upstairs, asking after a textbook she had lost and needed for school. Haymitch was shouting back from the kitchen table that she should just stop leaving her stuff all over the house if she couldn't keep track and it was slowly but surely developing into a shouted snippy match. Prim was stoically drinking her glass of orange juice and petting the monstrous cat that was drinking from a bowl of milk directly on the table.

Unhygienic, Effie thought, barely stopping herself from making a face.

"Good morning, Haymitch." she called loudly, to keep up the pretense for the two-third of their children who hadn't spotted him sneaking out that morning. "Good morning, dear."

"Morning, sweetheart." Haymitch mumbled.

Prim's answer was a little more cheerful but the look she and Peeta exchanged told Effie she wasn't fooled.

"I have news." she declared. "If you think your Slayer could stop hunting her missing textbook long enough to come down. The book in question is down in the gym, by the way."

Haymitch eyed her up and down with lifted eyebrows. "How can you possibly know that?"

She tossed him the very same kind of look, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "I like to keep track of everything that goes on."

"Do you, now?" he challenged, tilting his head to the side.

Katniss barged in at that moment, a scowl on her face. Clearly she had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Her grey eyes darted from Haymitch to Effie and then found Peeta's. The Slayer let out an infuriated sigh.

"Are they flirting again?" the girl asked in a long suffering tone.

Effie huffed in indignation.

Haymitch scoffed a protest.

Peeta and Prim answered in a remarkable chorus. "Do they ever stop?"

The crimson of her cheeks clashed atrociously with her pink blouse.

When we start with hayffie being all cute and a mysterious black witch on the loose, nothing can go wrong, can it? *cheshire cat smile*

Let me know your thoughts!