After three days I got to upgrade to an extra half-inch of wire. It was the difference between sipping soup from a coffee stirrer and actually being able to eat flat or mushy food, so I was in heaven. It also meant I went from mumbley whispers to quiet speech and could actually talk to my mentor and the other Victors. Naturally, that meant it was party time.
"You didn't get to see anything in the Capitol aside from the Games building, did you?" Mags said as we waited for the rest of the Victors to gather in the lobby.
"Cities aren't really my thing anyway. I'll be glad to get home and see the sea again," I said.
"It's not all city. There's some pretty stuff around if you go far enough," Mags said. By then most of the Victors had arrived, and they started putting their two cents in.
"Yeah, you Fours like water, right? I got just the place," Hyden said.
Whatever the mysterious place was, getting there was half the fun. We took a train, and the scenery was lovely. I thought I'd be tired of rock after the Arena, but the mountains out the window were gray and snowy, not orange and dry.
We had to do a bit of hiking after we got to our stop, but it was worth it. I used to think lakes were barely a taste of water and only the ocean showed its true beauty, but I'd never seen a lake like that. I heard the waterfalls before I saw them, and I was amazed at how spectacular and ethereal they were. The white water fell into a teal pool as translucent as glass. I'd seen water that color before at twilight, but never so perfectly clear. I could see all the way to the rocks on the bottom.
"Like it?" Hyden asked.
"It's gorgeous," I said. He preened.
"They call it Hanging Lake. I like to come here because I am also gorgeous," he said.
"Can I swim in it?" I asked.
"I hope so. You're from Four," he said. He ran ahead of me, throwing off his shirt, and jumped in.
Luckily I'd worn a black undershirt. I dove in after him and splashed in the cool water as the others followed at their own pace. Some had gotten wind of Hyden's plan and wore swimsuits. Others wore their clothes or underclothes, like me and Ava. Others just whipped it all off and jumped in. At first I was stunned, but then I realized it made more sense than I thought. We'd all been stripped by our stylists at least once, and it probably happened every year when the Victors came back to gather for a new Games. Nudity was certainly no big deal in the Capitol, and it rubbed off eventually. Also, most of the exhibitionists were Careers like Pray, Azure, and Peridot. Careers were a proud lot, and they had nothing to be self-conscious about. Then there was Toby and Lena, who probably couldn't tell the difference. After a few minutes, I didn't notice it either. But I was glad Aiden had gone skinny dipping once on a dare from me, so this wasn't my first experience with naked men.
It felt amazing to be in water again. I'd missed the weightlessness that felt like I was flying in another world. The water washed over me like an embrace and I slid my fingers through it just to feel it push back on me. I stood under the falls and let them pound against my back and soak my hair to my head. I floated on my back and let the motion of the falls drift me to the center of the lake. I stared at the sky and wondered how air and water could be such lovely and different shades of blue. I slid under the water and traversed the lake in a single breath, turning up to watch the light dance on the surface.
The other Victors splashed around in various activities. Mags, Jonah and Shelle, my compatriots from Four, swam around like a school of fish. Bambi and Nubu were less confident, and they stuck close to Mags as she taught them how to swim. Toby preferred to stay on the shore and poke at the surface with Lena, watching the circles radiate out from their fingers. Azure ducked Pray and started a war that nearly emptied the lake. Hyden and I weren't exactly vigilant in checking the depth of the water before we cliff-dived over the falls, but no one was killed, so no big deal.
"So what made you want to volunteer?" Peridot asked as I wallowed in the shallows.
"I dunno. I could bring honor and glory to Four," I said.
"Bull. What's the real reason? I joined to see if I could win," she said.
"I just like killing people," Hyden said. "But only when it's okay," he added hastily when the outliers stared at him and started moving away.
"I wanted a challenge," I admitted. "I wanted to see what I was made of."
"Did you?" Mags asked.
"I got more than I ever bargained for. I only wish all the others had been like me. It would have been more challenging if we were all trained, like for you," I said, looking at Ava.
"Any regrets? It's okay if you do. Most of us do," Mags said.
"I'm sorry about Diggory. But I didn't kill him," I said. She was probably talking about the ones I did kill. I didn't regret that. I wished the outlying Tributes didn't get caught up in this, but if I hadn't killed them they still would have died. It would be smart of them to start training so they'd only lose volunteers and not little kids. That would make the Games better for everyone.
"I guess I should be traumatized and feel damaged, but I really don't," I said. "I'm going to be thirsty for weeks and I never want to get punched in the face again, but I feel like I made it. I went through the worst anyone in Panem can, and I'm ready to go back home and relax. I'm tired of violence and ugliness. I'm ready to see something pretty." And the only thing prettier than the lake around me was the sea.
TranscendentElvenRanger: If you have any particular epilogue in mind for Careen I can add it in the upcoming final chapter. Otherwise I'll put together a normal epilogue and then it's All-Stars time.
The Victors all stick together in my universe, but it makes sense that Careers bond more closely with other Careers. Then there's Pray, who everyone is still scared of except Ava.
The gang is at Hanging Lake in Colorado, since the Wiki said the Capitol is in the Rockies. That's why the picture doesn't match the Arena.