I have no acceptable excuse for having taken so long to update, but I promise I will have more chapters up very soon without such a large span of time in between! Thank you to everyone who has stuck around and continues to show interest in the story. I hope you enjoy!

For the first time since her stay there, Ramsey spent a whole day out of her room- by choice. She had refused to leave Johanna's side for two days after she had finally woken up, though she became more willing to explore District 13 after that.

Only with Finnick by her side.

Which he couldn't say he minded, time with Ramsey was precious.

Her small hands would intertwine themselves with his and she'd lean her head against his arm as they'd walk. It wasn't hard to see that he'd become her whole support system. She spent every moment she could with Johanna, and she had to be strong for her friend. So when she could be weak with Finnick, she took advantage of it.

He showed her all of the command rooms, all of the training facilities, the arsenals, everything that District 13 had to offer. He explained what had happened as far as the revolution was concerned, where progress had been made, where the fight was still a dire struggle to uphold.

She was taken back with amazement.

Having spent so much time in her room, she had failed to fully grasp the fact that District 13 even existed in the first place. Her whole life she had been taught that it was only a mere pile of rubble in a radioactive wasteland, a perfect example of why no one was to rise against the Capitol.

And now, here she was, exploring the thriving underground colony.

The citizens were shocked to say the least at her newfound bouts of exploration. Hardly any of them had even believed that she was really alive and there, considering her self-solidarity.

They stared as her and Finnick would pass by, their eyes wide with curiosity, yet their fear of her still evident. She was a monster to them, a Capitol trained killing machine.

"Finnick, they're staring again."

Her voice was low as she spoke into his sleeve, though he had no hard time hearing her. He pursed his lips and sighed as he kissed the top of her head, the small blonde's chin held high.

He never had the right answers for when she said things like that. He was all too well aware of the apprehension people felt towards her. Given the side of her that he had been able to encounter, he couldn't understand how anyone could ever feel illy towards her. Though it was times like that that he had to step back and think of who she was.

Ramsey Clyde: a silent killer, a certifiable lunatic, a victor.

A victim.

It was those times that he could fully understand why people felt about her like they did.

But yet again, she proved to be the most impressive human being he had ever met.

She didn't avert her eyes as people stared at her with an underlying combination of hatred and fear. She marched on with her chin raised high and her gaze on whatever had first sparked her interest. She acted as if she wasn't bothered by the stares.

They had returned to her room shortly after, both plopping onto the small bed beside one another, their bodies instinctively twisting to grow closer.

Things had continued to go up for them- in any other world, they would've been madly in love. But because of the circumstances, any truly normal relationship would be nearly impossible. They did their best with what they could, though.

"Finnick, tell me about Peeta. What is it that's going on?"

Finnick sighed once again, his hand rubbing circles onto her spine.

Finnick laid on his back, Ramsey tucked beneath his arm, her body turned sideways as to rest her cheek on his collarbone and her hand on his abdomen.

Peeta was a tough subject among the district.

"The term they're using is, hijacked. His brain was hijacked by the Capitol," he began, the small blonde hanging onto every word as her mind processed it through, "it's a form of fear conditioning. It involves tracker jacker venom, you know how that works."

Ramsey cringed as memories rushed in of her only encounter with the tracker jackers. It didn't go unnoticed by Finnick.

He yanked her even closer, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

She listened on.

"With the use of the venom, they were able to change his memories," he paused, releasing a puff of air through his front teeth, "mostly just his memories of Katniss. They made him think that she's dangerous, evil even. That she's the enemy and she needs to be killed."

Ramsey pulled her face from his neck, staring at him with absolute sadness in her stormy eyes.

She had changed.

Considerably.

Though she was still the fairly wily and lethal coyote that she had always been, there was a shift. Undoubtably brought on by a number of things, the rising of the rebellion, the Quarter Quell, her brother's return, Johanna's rescue. But more than any of that, it was Finnick.

With his natural charisma and his undying infatuation with her, he had managed to wiggle into her heart. His company brought her a joy and comfort she had never experienced before and his smile managed to light up even the darkest cavities of her being.

And because of that, just the thought of something like that happening to Finnick brought forth an irrational amount of fear.

She didn't know what she would do if something like that happened to Finnick, to her Finnick.

"How is Katniss handling it all?"

She asked the only question that she could relate to as she tried to figure out how she might react be it her in Katniss' place.

Finnick thought for a moment, staring up at the ceiling as he did so before returning his gaze back to her.

"She's uh," he looked for a better way to say it, "she's heartbroken."

He found no better word.

And that was all it took.

Ramsey was out of his arms before he even knew what was happening, her small body careening out of the room and down the hall. But then he knew exactly where she was going, and he slowly made his way to weapons control with Beetee to occupy his time.

She marched through the corridors, ignoring any and all passing glances. She came to a stop in front of the unfamiliar door, hesitation slowly setting in.

She swallowed a thick lump in her throat as her hand raised to knock on the door.

She waited a moment.

There was no response, though Ramsey knew she was in there. She slowly pushed open the heavy metal door, her small face peeking into the poorly lit room.

The brunette sat on her bed, her profile facing Ramsey, her mouth set in a thin line and her eyes slightly puffy.

Ramsey wasted no time in entering the room and shutting the door, weaving her way towards the bed and standing in front of her.

Katniss' eyes snapped up towards her, hatred filling them like wildfire.

"What're you doing here?"

Her lip curled up as she stared up at the blonde. Ramsey's face never faltered as she returned the hard stare.

"I'm here to talk to you."

"What's there to talk about?"

Ramsey set her jaw, pursing her lips and slowly sitting on the floor in front of Katniss.

"Peeta."

"Don't talk about Peeta."

They stared at one another for another moment, millions of emotions racing through each of their minds.

"Listen here, Katniss. I'm not playing around-"

"Neither am I, Ramsey. Leave."

"No."

It was evident that Katniss' anger was rising, though with each passing moment Ramsey was only growing calmer.

"Let's talk about Peeta,"

"No."

Ramsey shrugged and leaned back against her wrists, her eyes slowly scanning the room. It was no different than her own, she was surprised that the great mockingjay didn't have a more extravagant living space.

"Ramsey, leave."

She didn't even acknowledge the command as she continued to look around. After a moment Katniss huffed out an aggregated puff of air.

Twenty minutes passed as they sat there in silence. Every now and then they would make eye contact, though those occasions were sparse.

After another ten minutes, the silence was broken.

"He saved my life, you know- way before the Games."

Katniss' voice was quiet as she spoke, Ramsey's eyes slowly coming to rest on the younger girl. She nodded to acknowledge that she had spoken and Katniss slowly continued on.

She talked for hours of her and Peeta. Of every moment they had ever shared. From throwing the bread to save her life to admitting he loved her during his interview, taking on Cato to save her life, proposing the idea of marriage, volunteering for the Quarter Quell in order to keep her alive, coming up with the baby lie to gain sympathy, and everything in between.

Ramsey listened on faithfully, never interrupting or even speaking- she merely listened. She wasn't sure how long they sat there, or even why Katniss was really telling her everything.

At one point she watched as the tears pooled into her eyes and a few managed to slip and fall down her cheeks, though she acted as if it never happened.

Even after she had finished her stories, Ramsey stayed there. Neither of them moved or even spoke after that. But their silent company proved to be enough.

Though Katniss would never admit it, she was more than relieved to have had Ramsey there.