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Twice Chosen

Clove

The problem with going into the Games to show your family where to shove it was that you didn't always take the time to consider what to do with yourself after the fact.

It wasn't that Clove had volunteered expecting to die, but the knowledge that she didn't really have anyone waiting for her had a particular impact on what she might do with herself next. Her relationship with her parents had always been strained, considering that her father was often away in other Districts in his role as a Peacekeeper, and when her mother had never shown an interest in the Academy herself, she hadn't been able to properly understand Clove's own enthusiasm for attending it. When nothing else in Two had grabbed her interest, Clove had seized on the opportunities of the Academy as a chance to show people what she could really do in a public forum, as opposed to just becoming a masked Peacekeeper in some random District.

It was almost a shame that the Games had ended so abruptly; she didn't doubt that she could have beaten Eleven and Twelve's tributes, to say nothing of showing One's blonde what she was capable of, but it was hard to feel like she'd completely earned it when she hadn't needed to beat everyone in the Games to get here.

The only blessing that everything had ended so quickly was that at least she hadn't needed to… do anything to Cato. She hated that he'd suffered that kind of pain before his death when he'd taken that branch to his eye- she'd already promised herself that she wouldn't look into if that could have been fixed if he'd survived- but at least he'd died in a manner that meant she didn't have to do it herself.

After everything they'd meant to each other back in Two…

His death might have been shocking, but at least getting… blown up… was relatively quick…

The only problem was that she had no idea what she was going to do now.

It wasn't as though she'd gone into the Games planning to lose, but now that she had actually won, she had to face the knowledge that she had more money than she could ever realistically spend in a lifetime and no definite plans on what to spend it on. She'd been serious when she told Caesar that she intended to build herself a garden in Cato's memory, but when he'd been the only person she'd truly connected to in her time at the Academy…

She hadn't been able to stop herself hoping that, just this once, there'd be a way for both of them to go back instead of only one; maybe if she and Cato had made it clear they'd be loyal afterwards, or if they'd had more time to talk about the generations of Legacies they'd give future Games if they were both allowed to live…

Gale

When he watched the recap, what had hurt Gale the most was the way Katniss had just been dismissed like that.

"Would have liked to see what Twelve's girl could do in a clinch, but you can't have everything."

As though Katniss was so easily dismissed… as though she was just a minor obstacle that someone else had to step over to get what they truly wanted, like a rock that had to be dug up to make a road…

If it hadn't been for that stupid cave-in, he just knew Catnip would have won the Games; bread-boy would have been gutted like a fish as soon as the Careers didn't have a use for him, the girls from Eleven and Five could never have stopped her in a fight, Eleven's guy would have gone after the Careers first, and once the guy from Three used up his little bomb trick on the Careers, all Katniss would have to do is get up high and pick them off with that bow…

OK, so the blonde from One had the bow, but from what he'd seen of her in action, Gale doubted that Blondie had the slightest clue how to use that thing beyond 'point at the thing you want dead and pull back'; Katniss could have taken the weapon off her easily enough if she had the chance.

On one level, Gale knew that he was being irrational about this whole mess, but he couldn't help it; just the idea that Katniss Everdeen had died so far away from home, with nothing for company but a bunch of strangers who'd been trying to kill her…

He'd look after her mother and Prim as she wanted, but the first chance he got, Gale was going to do… something to the Capitol…

Haymitch

Another year gone, another pair of corpses for the Capitol.

And he'd really been hopeful about these last two; the girl had looked tough enough to cope with what she'd end up facing in the arena, and the guy had been personable enough that he'd make up for those issues while still able to hold his own if he had to…

Damn cave-in, Haymitch cursed as he downed another glass of alcohol.

If he was going to be leaving here tomorrow, he was going to take full advantage of access to the really good hooch before he returned to another lonely year in Twelve's Victor's Village…

Maybe something in the Quell rules will give us a bit of an edge for a change…

Snow

All in all, it had been a most successful Games as far as Snow was concerned.

Granted, the abrupt deaths of a quarter of the crop in one off-camera moment was somewhat off-putting, but considering Katniss's surprising show during training, it was probably for the best that she be eliminated in such a discreet manner. The Games had a long tradition of airing every noteworthy event that took place during these dramatic days, so the fact that there was no footage of her death in particular would reinforce the idea that she was nothing special.

As for their latest victor, Clove would make a useful subject for appointments; her small size would appeal to the less… publically tolerated tastes of some of his constituents, so long as her evident grief over the loss of her apparent partner in the Games didn't make her do anything too foolish.

With the Games resolved, Snow could see about diverting a bit more attention back into the matter of these gold thefts; One had suffered quite a few losses recently, even if enough had been taken from shops in Two and Four in particular that he was able to ensure that nobody was paying enough attention to the full picture to realise what was happening…

Of course, the question remains as to who would be bold enough to attempt something like this in the first place…