AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well folks, this marks the ending of "The 74th Annual Hunger Games". There *might* be 1 more epilogue chapter if I feel like anything else needs to come after this, but otherwise, this story has successfully run its course, and has run it well. We got to see what happened if Katniss did not volunteer for the games, which in turn affected a lot of things down the road. Those who enjoyed this story might also enjoy seeing how Clove is faring a few years down the road in my other fics such as "The 91st, 92nd, or 93rd Annual Hunger Games", which are set in the same AU as this fic. Whatever the case, I hope you enjoyed reading this fic as much as I enjoyed (slowly) writing it. Also stay tuned-there may be a 'sequel' that details the events of the 75th Annual Hunger Games in the absence of a revolution.
Either way... Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 30: The Reunion

It was not a great surprise that Clove enjoyed herself in the Capitol, and perhaps partially due to Enobaria's suggesting, she tried some of that infamous liquid the Capitol used to vomit up food so they could eat more. It was wasteful and decadent to the extreme, but Clove didn't even think about it when she tried it. Instead, she came out of the ladies' room glaring at Enobaria, who was laughing.

"I forgot how much projectile-vomitting hurts," she quipped, smacking her lips as she washed her mouth out for the 3rd time with some more water. "I feel bad for the poor sod who has to clean that…"

"the look on your face though," Enobaria elbowed the smaller victor.

"You know what," Clove riposted without skipping a beat, "I don't think I've actually seen you give such a mirthful smile in all my life, En. Go ahead—laugh it up."
"What, you think just because I'm a sassy, deadpan murderer that I suddenly don't remember what it's like to actually laugh for once?" Enobaria pretended to look hurt. "you wound me, Clove."
"Get over it, you big baby." She elbowed her mentor playfully. The way they playfully jabbed at each other was clearly both women's way of showing affection, and Clove's relationship with her mentor had improved since becoming a victor. Not that it was ever bad in the first place, Clove figured—but it helped to stay on positive terms with the people that understood her problems the best.

"What do you think Elroy is thinking right now?" Clove raised an eyebrow.

"Probably on how he can break into my house and steal my booze," Enobaria replied, "Although I think he'd get a good laugh if he knew what you had just done."
"I take it that this is a sort of hazing ritual?" Clove's eyebrow would have disappeared into her bangs if her hair had not been done up into a fancy bun for her outfit this evening. "the mentor always convinces the new victor to try this stuff, only to see their reaction."
"You know it, kiddo." Enobaria teased. "so don't take too long trying to get another victor from '2… then you can try it on them."

Clove snickered mischievously, and Enobaria patted her shoulder. Perhaps she was not as alone as she thought she was.

The rest of the evening was fairly eventful in terms of how entertained Clove was. She partied hard, just like most citizens from District 2 did, and that made her a bit more excited to go back to home district tomorrow. She owed her friend Cato one last speech about what a great fighter he had been, and she seriously intended to deliver on that one. She wasn't about to read some script from Athena for that one, when she knew she could be fully sincere without inciting rioting or anything.

The next thing Clove remembered was waking up in her train compartment in nothing but her undergarments, her hair still in that bun she had had it in the previous night at the Capitol, except that it was obviously a bit more frayed and frazzled than it had been. She took a shower before throwing on some shorts and a shirt and looking around for Athena, Enobaria, her stylists, or anyone, to explain where she was.

"We're on the way to District 2," Enobaria explained, being the first one that Clove ran into and asked about, "you got wildly drunk last night and went under. We had to drag you back to the train."

"Damn," Clove chuckled, "it sounds like I had a great time."
"Well…" Enobaria shrugged, "don't go too far, or Athena will have a cow trying to find you. You need to get dressed up—we're almost there."

"Alright, alright… fine." Clove pouted, "But tonight I'm not going to stop partying until I drop."
"Fine by me," Enobaria chuckled, "we don't have to drag you to a train tonight."

"But we will certainly miss you!" Athena had stepped in, her chipper voice shattering the attitude of earlier, although that might have been a good thing, in retrospect.

To cut a long story short, Clove soon found herself dressed in a rather sharp looking suit of sorts, that looked like one of those higher-ranked military officers. The khaki color of her pants went oddly well with the navy blue of her jacket and her black shoes, and Clove couldn't help but smirk at how sharp she looked, especially with her hair in a very conservative bun, no less. She mentally noted that she wanted to take it out soon, but she'd make it last at least until she got trashed tonight at the party. After all, it was common knowledge that while District 2 was disciplined and loyal, that they actually also partied hard—so maybe being the "Capitol Lapdog" wasn't as bad as some might have thought.

While Clove was fairly confident stepping out into the square where she was greeted with passionate cheers for their newest victor, her eyes got slightly watery upon seeing Cato's face behind his grieving parents. She had felt neutral or indifferent about 21 of the tributes—everyone except Rue, who she had oddly admired thanks to her cunning and deadly antics in the arena; and Cato, her powerful and loyal partner and ally to the very bitter end of the games.

Thus, her speech about Cato was along those same lines.

"I think that most of us know about the scripted speeches we victors give in each district," she began, "but I'm not going to do that here. Anyone who saw those games knows that Cato was my loyal, lifetime ally all the way from the moment we stepped off those pedestals to the moment we got the heartbreaking news of the rule change revoke. We were virtually inseparable, and we made a hell of a team. We laughed together, we fought together, we hunted together, and we thought we had won together. Know this—Cato Salazar fought bravely and valiantly, and was the worthiest of opponents to me. He deserved this victory as much as I did. Those who witnessed it know that it was simply business—and that I too wish that he were here now to see this."
her speech continued for a few more minutes, praising Cato for everything she had liked about the boy during the time she had known him. despite getting teary-eyed again near the end, she kept her composure, and as she finished her speech, the crowds erupted into thunderous applause for a speech well-given. After the crowds dispersed, a smirk developed on Clove's face as she headed to the feast. It was time to party till she crashed.

However, before she could reach the drinks, she was stopped by a fairly casually dressed woman that had the same hair and freckles that Clove did.

"Chive!?" Clove gawked, "the hell did you come from?"

"Why do you think I wasn't in '12?" Chive retorted, "I got a week and a half's worth of leave time the night before you pulled into District 11, and so I knew I would catch you here."

"Shit, Chive…" Clove threw her arms around her sister, a light stream of tears flowing down both sides of your face, "you would not BELIEVE how lonely I've been. I mean… sure I've got Elroy and En… but mom and dad are still the same deadbeat fucks that they've always been, and you were so far away…"

"Well, you know full well that I'll visit whenever I can, right, baby sister?" Chive undid Clove's bun and ruffled her younger sister's hair, "I tried talking to them too and they don't even remember me. Just… don't get too lonely with me, eh?"

Clove squeezed her sister tighter. "I won't… just—thanks, Chive. I know I'm probably an ungrateful little shit about 80% of the time, but the games were a good lesson for me—a Rite of Passage, so to speak. Losing Cato, fighting Rue, realizing that I miss her too… it's weird, sister. It's so weird…"

"I can't even begin to imagine what you might have gone through, even after watching it all on live TV," Chive admitted, "and I'm not going to try and console you by pretending that there's nothing wrong with you. Whatever happened out there, Clove—just know that you can always talk about it with me. I might not be able to understand it as well as I would like, but I'm here for you—I'm here to be that shoulder you can lean on whenever you need."

"That's…" Clove sighed, "That's more than I could ever ask for. Thank you, Chive,"
"Anytime," she ruffled Clove's now messy hair. "now… I believe overhearing you saying something about partying till you're under a table?" a smirk appeared on Chive's face, and Clove's suddenly matched it.
"That sounds like something I would say," she nodded in agreement, and with that, the two of them spent the final night of the 74th Victory Tour together. There would be trials and hardships along the way—of that Clove had no doubt—but that didn't stop her from enjoying herself for now. What mattered most at this point though, was that her tour—and her troubles in the 74th arena—were over now, and she was ready to handle whatever else came her way…