Katniss awoke in a cold sweat, her heart slamming against her ribcage with painful ferocity. Within a few moments Prim was at her side, sleep-clouded blue eyes peering at her from her position next to the bed. Katniss pushed away the strands of brown hair that hung in front of her eyes to see Prim more clearly. The young girl was worried; she always got a little crease just above her eyebrows when she was worried.

"I'm fine, Prim, go back to sleep," Katniss assured, in a voice she hoped was as convincing as it was when they were younger, back in 12. By the sour look on Prim's face, she wasn't buying it. Silently acquiescing to Prim's equally as silent request to share their bed, Katniss lifted the blanket and the young girl pushed herself up and into the bed, allowing Katniss to spoon her from behind. "I really am fine. It was just a nightmare. Nothing new there."

"Yes, but with your hijacking, it's probably better if I'm here." Katniss couldn't disagree with that statement. With some of the anger drained in her system, she had begun to miss the comfort of another person's touch. The poison was still inside her. Whether it was her imagination or not, she could feel it in her veins and swimming around in her brain. But having been in the hospital, away from everyone and hundreds of feet underground, in the antiseptic environment of 13, she missed human touch. She missed the expanse of the sky. She missed the smell of the woods, the feel of an arrow between her fingers. Being in her family's compartment now assuaged that feeling, at least partially. Just days after Johanna left, her doctor cleared her to return to her family, assuming her need to be under sedation was gone with Johanna miles away. "Does it hurt?"

"Does what hurt?" Katniss whispered, running her fingers through Prim's curly blonde mane. Of all the things that had changed in the last two years, Prim's hair had not. It was still gentle and soft. It felt like a touchstone Katniss could still hold onto, something to ground her back into reality.

"The poison in your system," the young blonde clarified. "Sometimes you wince and I wonder if it's hurting you."

Katniss licked her dry lips. "A little. I can feel it in my muscles. It's like being shocked by electricity." Not that either of them had much experience with that, with 12 rarely getting any electricity it all, but it wasn't hard to imagine. "Could be worse though. It could always be worse."

They fell into silence and Katniss assumed Prim had fallen asleep. Primrose always had an easier time falling asleep than Katniss did. She was too young when their father died to have the same nightmares Katniss had, trying to tell her father to run. Hearing the song of the canary come to an eerie halt. "I miss them."

Primrose's sudden, soft admittance made Katniss blink a few times in surprise. It took her a few moments to realize Prim was talking about Johanna and John. Possibly Gale, too. They'd left over a week ago, and not a day went by that Prim didn't ask to see the propos they were filming. "Me too."

Prim turned over to face Katniss, shoving her hands underneath her head. "Do you really?"

Katniss bobbed her head. "It's strange. When I first got here, all I could think about was killing Johanna for what she did to you. For what I thought she did." Prim nodded. "Even as the memories started coming back clearer, I was so angry with her. How could she let this happen to me? And I don't think that resentment was all the Capitol's doing."

Prim reached her hand up to tuck a strand of Katniss's hair behind her ear. "She was a wreck without you." Katniss raised an eyebrow wordlessly. "When we first got here, when Johanna first got here, she was totally different. Withdrawn. It was like seeing a ghost."

"She seemed fine when I got here," Katniss responded evenly. "Other than what I did..."

"That's because you're alive. We thought you were dead," Prim whispered, a slight crack in her voice. Buttercup jumped on the bed with them, tossing a hiss Katniss's way. "Shh, Buttercup. You'll wake Mom."

"I can't believe Johanna found you in all that rubble." Buttercup hissed again, more quietly, and pawed between them to get comfortable on top of Katniss's blanket. "And that she would waste space in her bag for this mangy beast."

"He's not mangy," Prim protested quietly. Katniss rolled her eyes and Prim relented. "Anyway, we all thought you were dead. Plutarch Heavensbee, President Coin, everyone. Until the night Gale did his interview. He told Johanna you were alive."

Katniss recalled that particular night. That was the night they started the torture. All the other days she spent in a cell, getting just enough food to survive and enough morphling to keep her sedated. Then that night, they strapped her to the metal table and cracked a burning whip across her back. Then, the hijacking. "I thought she was dead, too. The whole time, they told me she was dead. Told me she was captured by the Capitol and killed."

"Exactly. And when Gale returned, they must have moved you because he said you were dead because he couldn't hear your screams. Then you and Johanna both saw each other during your interview."

"Yeah." Katniss remembered that day vividly. Seeing Johanna's beautiful face surrounded by all those flames, hearing her powerful words. Seeing how vibrantly alive she was, it overpowered the poisonous venom inside her, at least long enough for her to blurt out her warning.

"Johanna leveraged her weight as the Mockingjay to get you out." Katniss blinked a few times. "John told me Johanna agreed to support the President when the time comes to call for a new leader, if she agreed to send a rescue effort for you."

"So she sold herself for me?"

Prim shrugged. "I guess. John was pretty proud about how many times Johanna went toe to toe with President Coin." Katniss managed a very small smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth. That sounded like Johanna. Brave. Brash. Smart. "Nobody does that here. Nobody questions her. She compromises for no one."

"Sounds like Snow," Katniss mumbled.

Prim hummed thoughtfully and Katniss could see the whirring in her eyes as she tried to respond. She knew Prim was trying to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say without setting her off. It was thoughtful and kind, as was Prim's personality. "I think the difference is, like Finnick said, Snow stole his power. He robbed it from people with poison and lies. President Coin came into power because she's good at it. And I think President Coin wants Panem to be better."

"Do you trust her?" Katniss questioned, scrutinizing at her younger sister.

Prim mused on that as well for a few long moments. "More importantly, Johanna trusts her. Enough that she was willing to trade anything she had to offer to get you back safely."

"And then I tried to kill her," Katniss added drolly, squeezing her eyes shut.

"That wasn't you," Prim replied soothingly, rubbing Katniss's thin bicep. "It was the venom."

Katniss opened her eyes to stare into Prim's blue ones. It seemed Prim had aged five years in the short time they were separated. No longer was she the innocent little girl Johanna volunteered for. Now she was a doctor-in-training, someone trusted with lives. A healer, like their mother. But better, with their father's sense. Katniss finally felt like she didn't have to shield Prim from the world. "The thing is, Prim? It kinda was me."

"What do you mean?" Prim asked with a set of narrowed blue eyes.

"I mean, I knew it was Johanna. I could see who it was and my immediate reaction was because of the venom. Because I thought she killed you." Katniss let out a shuddering breath. "But for a second, I knew she didn't kill you. I was just angry with her. I was angry with her for getting Gale first. I was angry with her for forgetting about me. It was me. My anger. Not the Capitol."

Prim's eyes widened in what Katniss assumed was shock, before they returned to their normal size and she analyzed Katniss for a few long beats. "I understand why you were mad, and I think Johanna would, too. You may have been able to feel something real, but the venom is what made you attack her. You didn't want to hurt her."

"I did, a little bit. Not kill her, but - I don't know. It's hard to get through what the Capitol made me feel, but I know for a fact that when I had my hands around her throat," Katniss choked out, tears slipping down her cheeks and over the bridge of her nose, "that I hated her for everything she did. I hated her for volunteering. I hated her for this rebellion." Katniss sniffed and her voice caught in her throat. "I hated her for leaving me."

Prim pulled Katniss close to her, allowing the brunette to soak her bedshirt with her tears. Prim gently stroked her hair, smothering Katniss's sobs. "No one is going to blame you for feeling that way," Prim assured her in a soft voice. "We don't know what the tracker-jacker venom does besides mess with your memory. The way I've seen it, when you have a high emotional reaction, it seems to be make it worse. I'm sure seeing Johanna for the first time, after all you've been through, it was exactly what President Snow wanted. That mixture of emotions plus the venom? He knew you'd be uncontrollable. He was counting on it."

Katniss took in a few shuddering breaths to calm herself down. Prim was right. As angry as she was with Johanna, she never would've hurt her intentionally. "Even though I hated her, I still missed her. I miss her now, too."

Prim tucked Katniss's hair behind her ear. "I know you do. I can see it in your eyes."

Katniss smiled. "Can you? When did you get so wise?"

Prim giggled, pulling away from Katniss and snuggling into her pillow. "I've always been wise. You just haven't always been listening."

"Excellent shooting, Soldier Everdeen," Soldier York remarked from over Katniss's right shoulder. The stern older woman gave her a nod, and then she returned her attention to the fake Peacekeeper dummies they were meant to be shooting. Her dummy was drenched in red paint. As it turned out, gun shooting was similar to archery in what it took to aim and take down a target. It was even easier with rifles, since there was little need to calculate the arc of a bullet as Katniss did with her arrows. It shot straight through, especially from these short distances. She had done extremely well with the sniper rifles, and that was part of the reason she was graduated into the advanced classes only after a week of training.

With Johanna in the Capitol, Katniss was integrated into the general population of 13 over the course of three weeks. She didn't have to wear her manacles anymore, or be flanked by guards around the block. Her head doctor, to assist her in easing back into normal life, suggested the training program. It entailed some time outside, some more time in Beetee's laboratory with the bow he made for her, and learning to shoot the rifles and follow simple orders.

Of course, when she walked into the crowded lunchroom after Training, she noticed the few guards along the perimeter make note of her existence silently between them. Apparently she could be trusted with a rifle on the shooting range, but not with a fork in the cafeteria. She got her tray of food and glanced around for her mother or Prim. Neither of them were present so Katniss ambled to a free table in a far corner of the room and sat down with her tray. If Madge was around she'd find Katniss and sit down, but Katniss wasn't going to try and find the blonde. Sometimes all the memory jogging was just too exhausting.

After a few minutes of watching the District 13 citizens silently, Katniss's view was obscured by the hulking figure of Haymitch, who abruptly plopped his tray across from her, then swiped it to the side so he could lean his forearms on the table. "Miss Everdeen," he greeted in is gravelly voice.

Katniss looked up. "Haymitch," she stated flatly, an edge of reproach in her tone.

"You're looking better," Haymitch replied with a nod. He pursed his lips. "Not great, but better."

Her eyebrow rose in the air and she rolled her eyes. "Thanks." She let her gaze linger on Haymitch's form for a while. His small beard was scraggly, but overall his appearance was much improved. The bloat of drink was gone, leaving him with defined cheekbones and eyes that weren't bloodshot or puffy, but clear, bright blue and gray. His hair was much neater, too, but it still hung in lazy tendrils around his face. Haymitch's steely gaze didn't relent and Katniss sighed. "What do you want, Haymitch?"

He shook his pointer finger back and forth. "It's not about what I want, never has been. It's about what you want, Katniss." He clasped his hands in front of him. "You have a meeting with President Coin on your arm, is that right?" He nodded toward her forearm. Katniss glanced at the anemic purple ink on her arm that read MEETING - COMMAND. She didn't know what that meant, exactly, but assumed it was important. On one of Gale's infrequent visits his commincuff had gone off with the same instructions. Katniss remembered being glad for it, because as nice as it was to see her friend, his visits were usually loaded and emotional.

"What do you mean? What is President Coin going to ask me?" Suddenly, Katniss was stricken with worry. She didn't know of what she was worried, but an impending meeting with President Coin didn't sound like something she'd want to do. Something about the leader put Katniss off, no matter how much Prim said she and Johanna vouched for her.

Haymitch shrugged. "Could be to do a propo. Though I'm not sure who would film it, with Cressida and her team in the Capitol with Johanna." Katniss's hands twitched and she quickly placed them in her lap. Haymitch raised his eyebrow, but said nothing about it. "Look, I don't know what it is. Smart money bets that she's going to ask you to go to the Capitol." He leaned back. "The propos they've been doing haven't been as inspiring as they thought they would be. Plutarch's been trying to tell Coin to put Johanna and her team in actual combat, and she won't. They've stalled in a rebel encampment outside the real action in the Capitol."

Katniss snorted. "What am I going to do? March into the Capitol and kill Johanna? That'll be great for Panem," she said with a roll of her eyes. Haymitch's suddenly sober face made Katniss freeze. "You don't think that's her plan, right? Send me to the Capitol to kill her?"

"No, no," he waved her off with his hand. "President Coin is ruthless, but she won't risk the biggest thing she has going for her right now. They're close to Snow, the real army, and she won't risk losing Johanna or Gale with victory that close."

"So why send me?" Katniss asked, looking deep into Haymitch's eyes for the truth beyond what he was going to say. The feelings of betrayal for his part in the rebellion never waned inside her. Haymitch was excellent at deception.

Haymitch shook his head. "I don't know. It might not even be that. It could be something as simple as checking up on you. Because of Johanna, you've made quite an impression on President Coin, without even being here. I'm sure she wants to meet the reason she had to eat crow in front of her entire district and promise immunity to the prisoners in the Capitol." The mentor kept his gaze on Katniss until his attention was brought over her shoulder and a rare, genuine smile appeared on his face. As quickly as it appeared it vanished as he looked back to Katniss. "I just want you to be prepared. That's still my job."

"Katniss," a high, affected voice called from behind her. Katniss merely smirked at Haymitch before looking up over her shoulder at Effie. If anyone's transformation was more shocking than Haymitch's, it was Effie's. Gone were her appalling wigs and pasty white makeup. Instead her hair was tied back in a makeshift wrap and her pale skin was free of any decoration. Still, she somehow managed to make some sort of high heels out what looking like copper wiring, and look put together and attractive. "It is lovely to see you again, dear."

"Nice to see you too," Katniss replied automatically. Truthfully she hadn't given Effie much thought since the day she left the Training Center, but she was glad to see the escort doing well. Or at least, not in the Capitol. Surely they would have taken her as an accomplice once they found out Haymitch was in on it. Katniss looked between the two of them - and the not-so-obvious look they shared and she stood up. "I should go." She glanced around awkwardly. "Prepare for my meeting with President Coin, I guess."

Katniss had no intention of preparing, but Effie's arrival made her feel like a third wheel. "Katniss," Haymitch said as she grabbed her tray from the table. She stared at him blankly. "President Coin. She's ...watch what you say, okay? You're not exactly Miss Congeniality, and neither is she. But she's not a woman you want to piss off."

"I find her impossibly rude," Effie cut in, sitting in Katniss's vacated seat across from Haymitch. She pulled her napkin out and placed it in her lap. "No sense of decorum." Effie expelled a theatrical sigh. "But I suppose that's to be expected, having lived in this dungeon for the however-many years of her life."

Haymitch and Katniss shared a look before the brunette turned on her heel and walked out of the cafeteria and into the hallway. A soldier that Katniss didn't bother to learn the name of grabbed her attention and escorted her to what she presumed was President Coin's office. When the door was opened for her, it wasn't an office, but a large room with a long desk in the center, as well as a lot of screens on the walls. Katniss didn't understand most of what was displayed on the screens, save for the map of Panem with different points illuminated in red and green. It was military jargon and none of it particularly interesting.

President Coin was hunched over the end of the long table with her palms flat against the glass surface. There was a correspondence under her gaze that she tore her eyes from to look up at Katniss. "Solider Everdeen."

"President Coin," Katniss replied with a respectful nod. "You wanted to meet with me?"

The gray-haired woman gave her a very small smile. Katniss didn't like the way she was smiling. It felt suspicious. Then again, she was suspicious of everyone these days. Not being able to rely on her intuition was one of the things Katniss was most angry about. "Yes. Please, have a seat." Katniss shrugged and sat on one of the seats, drumming her fingertips on the tabletop. President Coin watched her anxious behavior with a set of narrowed eyes. "I asked Soldier York to keep me appraised of your progress in the training program." Katniss lifted her eyebrows. "She says you're doing well. Are you enjoying it?"

"It gets me outside," Katniss offered curtly. Upon seeing that President Coin was expecting something more thorough, Katniss searched her mind for a better compliment. "I like using my bow that Beetee made."

"It's an impressive weapon," the older woman agreed, walking around the table toward Katniss with slow steps. "And how are you finding the rest of Thirteen?"

"It's fine." Whether it was the venom, or just naturally in her personality, Katniss found herself thin on patience. There was no way the busy President of Thirteen, the future President of Panem, cared what some hunter from District 12 thought of her life's work. "Why did you ask me here?"

The corner of the other woman's mouth turned upward for a moment. "Your reputation precedes you, Soldier Everdeen."

"I'm sure it does. I nearly killed the face of your rebellion."

"Not just because of that." President Coin cleared her throat. "I didn't care to meet the volunteer for the Quarter Quell, or the victim of the Capitol's torture, or Johanna's paramour and attempted assassin." Katniss's cheeks flamed. "I've been curious to really meet the girl who has been controlling this rebellion from its very inception," President Coin stated. Katniss raised one eyebrow very slowly. She was unsure of how she had controlled anything, being locked in the Capitol and tortured. President Coin chuckled and sat down in the chair next to Katniss, swiveling on it to face her. She crossed her legs and placed her hands on top of her knee. "Do you know about the pox epidemic we had here in Thirteen?"

"Prim mentioned it," Katniss informed. Which was true, at some point Prim mentioned it when Katniss noted the disfigured children, how very few children there were. The only healthy looking people in the district were the refugees from 12.

"It started with the children," she began, her pale eyes narrowed intently on Katniss. "The virus lays dormant for up to two weeks, incubating in the host, without any signs of symptoms. One day, suddenly, entire classes of seven year olds, including their instructor, were all stricken with a disease we had never seen. The next day, it spread to their families, then across all of Thirteen. Before we could even begin preventative measures, it was affecting nearly every family here, including my own." Katniss felt a very faint tug of sympathy, but it was fairly small. The venom dulled her already small capacity for empathy. "My daughter contracted it through her classmates, and my husband got it from her. I wasn't," she paused and her voice tightened, "in the compartment much." The older woman sighed. "I was spared, but they were not. Death does not discriminate."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Katniss mumbled genuinely.

Her lips spread in a tight smile. "Thank you. It was a devastating blow for the entire district. Many of our men were made sterile, and the few pregnancies that were successful, many of the children died in infancy, or are now disabled in one way or another. Life was already a struggle here, but that epidemic made things exorbitantly more difficult."

Katniss blinked up at the older woman. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Soldier Everdeen, we took a risk, here in Thirteen, in taking in refugees. We gambled the lives of every person here because I and my advisors, as well as some of the defectors from the Capitol, saw the spark of revolution beginning in your district the day Johanna volunteered for your sister."

Katniss swallowed and nodded her head. That day was as clear as it had ever been. The drop of her stomach as her sister's name was called. The twisting inside as Johanna volunteered before she had the chance. Kissing the tips of her fingers and giving Johanna the seldom-used three-fingered salute as tears streamed down her face. Watching as her other best friend got reaped, knowing they'd have to fight each other to the death. Yes, that day was seared into her mind. That was the day that began the sickness that was loving Johanna. One that, like Thirteen's pox epidemic, was unseen in her for who knows how long. But that was the first day the symptoms started for a disease she never shook.

"Doesn't seem like much of a risk to me," Katniss mused. "Taking in healthy people into a district that has almost no children and a bunch of sterile men? It sounds like you needed us just as much as we needed you."

President Coin's jaw twitched, but her face remained placid. "That would be correct, Soldier Everdeen. It was a mutually advantageous risk that worked in both our favors. Rescuing you, however, was not. That was I risk I took, an expense Thirteen covered, solely because the girl I saw in the arena, was not the girl who arrived here in Thirteen. The spark of the revolution was gone. I pressed everyone to tell me why, to explain to me how that could've been extinguished, and everywhere I looked I came up with only one answer. Katniss Everdeen."

Katniss looked up at the woman, to see her scrutinizing her appearance quite closely. Katniss didn't know what President Coin was looking for. Perhaps a reason as to why Johanna was unable to function without her. Katniss couldn't explain that; she wasn't the same without Johanna, either. "That's what they told me. Peeta, Madge, and Prim, my mother. They said she was upset."

"She was more than upset. She was a detriment to the entire operation. We agreed to rescue you and Soldier Hawthorne, as well as the other victors, in exchange for Johanna's improved behavior and commitment as the Mockingjay. The whole deal hinged upon your safe return, which is why I was forced to make not one, but two, highly dangerous and expensive missions to the Capitol to extract you."

"Thank you."

President Coin nodded. "You're welcome. I didn't have a choice, Soldier Everdeen. Johanna made it impossible."

Katniss smiled. "Sounds like her."

"It does, doesn't it?" There was something in President Coin's faint smile that took Katniss by surprise. Fondness. "Johanna Mason has gone from a lovesick teenager to the leader of a rebellion in a short few months under our care. She has changed in ways I could not fathom, as stubborn as she is." Her pale eyes narrowed. "She is steadfastly loyal to her friends. The lengths she has gone to in order to protect Soldier Hawthorne and Soldier Odair, even saving the life of her camerawoman in Eight, have both surprised and inspired a lot of people." Katniss stuffed her hands beneath her legs and dug her nails into her thighs. All of those people vying for Johanna's attention, it made her mind begin to cloud. "All from a girl who spent the first week or so she was here hiding in closets. Only one thing has remained consistent about Johanna since day one. Her devotion to you. You have the single most influence over Johanna, and consequently, the entire rebellion, than any other person in Panem, excluding President Snow and possibly myself. Even in your," she paused thoughtfully, "altered state. Johanna adores you."

Katniss blinked to the ground. Hours of torture, hearing about how terrible Johanna was from the Capitol, followed by this onslaught of how wonderful she was and how much they loved one another, it muddled her already fragile grasp on reality. She squeezed her eyes shut to clear the swarming buzz of her thoughts. It was like slapping a hand into a small pond and watching all the dirt and flora make the once clear water murky. "I know."

"You started this rebellion, Soldier Everdeen, whether you know it or not. That is a lot of power to vest in someone whose only public statement on the war was a coerced call for a cease-fire," she stated with a hard stare. Katniss chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"I support the rebellion," she replied weakly.

"I should hope so." The woman sighed and uncrossed her legs. "Let us not waste any time. I am authorizing your departure to the Capitol to assist the other victors in their propos. You will join the Star Squad, led by Soldier Boggs, and follow his orders, as well as anything asked of you by the camera crew." President Coin lifted herself from her seat and looked down at Katniss. "Do you understand?"

Katniss nodded her head. She was going to the Capitol. Johanna was in the Capitol. It made her feel itchy. "What am I going for? Isn't the fighting almost over?"

"We are close to victory, yes. Mr. Heavensbee seems to think more inspiring propos are necessary to corral the support of some of the sluggish areas in the districts, as well as gain traction inside the Capitol itself with our supporters there. I have agreed to this because I concur that any support we can gain at this point would be beneficial in the long-running sustainment of a prosperous Panem." President Coin pursed her lips. "I also think it's imperative that you, as well as Johanna, show your loyalty to the rebellion in the most public way possible. As I've said, your influence with Johanna, and over the districts themselves, can be very important in these last few weeks and going into my Presidency." Her mouth relaxed into a smile. "Johanna requested your assistance with the propos specifically. And of course, I don't think it could hurt the rebellion for Panem to see its star-crossed lovers reunited."

"But I'm -" Katniss cut herself off. The head doctor indicated she was making good progress, and the therapy with Peeta as well as the others who had come to visit her, helped significantly. But deep down, she was afraid of herself. "Prim and I have noticed that when my emotions are very strong, the venom tends to make me act differently. Or think differently."

The woman peered down at her. "Do you believe that you're a threat to Soldier Mason's life?"

Thinking about Johanna didn't elicit the immediate venomous anger anymore. Thinking about Johanna made her feel the painful ache of loneliness and the overwhelming urge to keep Johanna safe. From Katniss herself, from everything. "No."

"Then it's settled." President Coin straightened her posture. "Disregard anything else on your schedule for today. You will report to the hovercraft hangar and meet with Soldier Black, immediately. She will be bringing you to the rendezvous point with the Star Squad." Katniss got up from her chair, looking into the blank eyes of the anticipated leader of Panem. "Make no mistake, Soldier Everdeen. My main concern is victory for the rebels and the rebuilding of Panem. One of my secondary concerns is for Johanna. Her involvement in Panem's future is very important." The woman leaned in closer. "She and I came to an agreement that in addition to authorizing your rescue, I was to grant all the victors and prisoners being held in the Capitol immunity. It was an unpopular addendum, but I agreed to it nonetheless, because I required Johanna's influence as the Mockingjay."

Katniss crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "I've never known Johanna to compromise for anyone."

"Her and I both. But Johanna and I are in accord, working toward the same goal. We need each other, and the mark of a good leader is the ability to put differences aside, and make personal sacrifices, for the greater good." She placed her palm flat on the table. "Allow me to speak plainly, Soldier Everdeen. If Johanna should die between now and my election as President of Panem, the immunity for the former prisoners and victors will be nullified. If you are the reason Johanna meets her demise, I will see that you hang for it. Am I understood?"

Katniss nodded her head, suppressing the shiver that collected at the top of her spine and threatened to tumble down her vertebrae. "Yes."

"Good." The older woman walked back toward the front of the table, straightening the stack of papers in front of her. "Soldier Everdeen, I ask that you not speak of your departure to anyone on your way to the hangar. For your safety, it is best that we keep this information classified until you arrive in the Capitol."

"Sure," Katniss agreed. "Anything else?"

"No, that will be all." Their eyes met over the length of the table and Katniss felt uncomfortable underneath the penetrating gaze of the older woman. The venom must have altered her judgment, because there was no reason for her to feel uneasy about the President, especially if Johanna trusted her so implicitly. "You're dismissed, Soldier Everdeen."

Katniss detoured to Beetee's laboratory to retrieve her bow and arrows, and then jogged up the flights of stairs toward the main level. She wasn't familiar with the layout of 13; she only went to therapy, training, and the cafeteria without delineation. The only elevator door she knew of was on the main floor. Before reaching the elevator, she nearly ran smack into a small, frail young woman with long red hair. As she stepped back to make sure she hadn't hurt the woman, she recognized the bright green eyes.

"Annie," Katniss said aloud, surprised. The girl's clouded eyes reminded Katniss of her own. Now she knew what it was like to be under such consuming mental anguish. Where she once might have felt pity or even exasperation, now she felt a sense of connection. "Sorry about that. A little distracted."

"Are you going to the Capitol?" Annie asked in urgent, hushed tones. Katniss raised an eyebrow and Annie gently pulled her to the side of the hallway by the crook of her elbow. "I overheard your mentor talking about it to that woman with the outrageous shoes. I know that's where Finnick went," she explained, "the Capitol. They won't tell me, but I know. I know she went because she wants to kill President Snow."

"She can get in line for that," Katniss scoffed.

"Are you going?" she pressed, her clouded eyes wide and imploring.

How could she deny it? She was running through the hallways in her full uniform with a bow and quiver strapped to her back. "Yes," Katniss affirmed. "As soon as I get to the hangar."

"They're not telling me anything," Annie blurted out. "About how they're doing. About how Finnick is. I just need to know she's okay. That she's safe."

"No one is safe," Katniss countered immediately. "Not you, here. No one. Not until maybe this is all over." Annie's worried look didn't cease and Katniss sighed. "If something happened to Finnick, you would be the first to know. President Coin would probably have some paperwork for you to sign or something, right? She loves rules and regulations and stamping things." Annie nodded quickly. "I'm sure Finnick is fine."

"You're right, I just worry. I always worry. When Finnick is gone, it's like I'm a boat with no sails. But she always comes back." Annie's eyes blinked up at her. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Katniss assured her with a nod. "Actually I do."

Annie gave her a quick smile before her thin lips set back into a line. She dug into the pocket of her pants and withdrew a short rope. "Here, take this." Katniss plucked the rope from her hands and smiled. "Even if you don't use it, Finnick will. But I think you need it more than she does."

She squeezed the girl's upper arm and gave her a brief smile. "I'll see what I can do about communications when I get there. Take care, Annie." Katniss paused as she shoved the rope into her pocket. "But don't say anything about this to anyone, okay?"

Annie shrugged, her eyes and attention already elsewhere. "Who would I tell?"

Katniss rushed past the unstable victor and arrived at the elevators, almost skidding to a halt. One of the soldiers standing guard looked down at her. "Soldier Everdeen," she introduced as formally as possible. "I was instructed to meet Soldier Black in the hangar."

She felt like she was in the presence of Peacekeepers, with the non-verbal, suspicious way the two soldiers communicated. One of them opened the elevator, and stepped inside with Katniss in tow. The elevator descended, then shot across laterally until they came to the hangar.

When she stepped off the elevator she was approached by a tall, broad-shouldered young woman with short black hair that hung in ringlets over a pair of sapphire blue eyes. She didn't look to be much older than Katniss herself; maybe 20 or 21. "Soldier Everdeen?" Katniss nodded. "Great. I'm Soldier Black. You and I will be joining Squad 451 in the Capitol." Katniss nodded her assent and the two of them stalked toward the silver hovercraft.

The machine hummed in waiting, its hatch gaping open for their entry. The hovercrafts looked larger than life to Katniss. Back in 12 there was nothing even close to this; only the armored trucks the Peacekeepers drove, but Katniss barely saw those all the way out in the Seam. The inside of the hovercraft was different than the one that picked her up from the arena. There were no plush seats on either side of that one - just a white interior with loads of guards waiting to pounce on her.

She shook her head of the memory and climbed aboard, shucking her bow and quiver down at her feet. She strapped herself into the seat nearest the exit. Soldier Black sat across from her and within moments, the ramp of the hovercraft groaned closed and silently they took off into the air. No other soldiers were occupied the remaining seats on either side, which seemed oddly wasteful to Katniss, coming from a district where even a piece of scrap paper is saved and reused.

Once they were at a cruising altitude, Katniss allowed herself to relax a little. Soldier Black's eyes peered down at Katniss's knuckles, which were pure white as she gripped the seat. "First time in a hovercraft?" she mused with an indulgent smile.

Katniss shook her head. "First time by choice," she clarified. The woman's face briefly registered confusion, then realization, and then guilt, swept over her. "It's okay. There's no way for you to know any of that, really. When you go to the arena, the hovercraft picks you up from the top of the Training Center."

"Right, sorry," Soldier Black responded, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly. "Forgot who I was talking to for a second."

Katniss smirked. "It's okay. It was nice to be asked a normal question for once." The pair sat in awkward silence for another few moments, until Katniss met the woman's deep blue eyes again. "You're from there, right? Thirteen?"

Soldier Black nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Katniss snorted. "You don't have to do that with me. I'm barely even a soldier."

Soldier Black moved some of her hair out of her eyes. "Everyone in Thirteen is a solider, Soldier Everdeen," Black explained, resting her hands on the straps that held them into their seats. "You get that title once you enroll in the training program, those of us that do."

"Is that what you wanted? To be a soldier?" Katniss inquired.

The raven-haired girl nodded eagerly. "Yeah. My parents wanted me to be in the doctor-training program, but I don't have the skills for that. I don't like to deal with people."

Katniss chuckled and nodded. "I understand. My sister is in that program, but she's got healer's hands, like my mother. Me? I don't do so well with cleaning wounds and that kind of thing. I think I'm more suited to this. More like hunting, like I did back home."

"I'd much rather be Solder Black than Doctor Black," the girl confirmed with a firm nod of her head. "But like I said, everyone in Thirteen is a soldier. I mean, I haven't heard my first name in like ten years," she revealed with a sigh.

"What's your first name?" Katniss prodded.

"Poppy," she revealed with a shy smile.

Katniss grinned back at her. "Poppy Black. That's a pretty name." The brunette sank back in her seat and stared across at the other girl. "I'll call you Poppy, if you want. If you don't pull that 'Soldier Everdeen' stuff with me, and don't call me ma'am."

Her deep blue eyes sparkled with humor and she gave her a nod. "Deal, Katniss. You guys don't have a system like that at all in Twelve? Our education on the other districts in Panem was fairly limited. I know that you're the mining district. Coal."

Katniss nodded. "We were the coal district," she corrected. "The Capitol put an end to that when the firebombed the place and flattened it to the ground."

Soldier Black's eyes grew wide and sympathy flashed across her face. "Right. Again, sorry. I can't seem to start a conversation today. I'm just a little nervous, is all. This is my first time going into actual combat. I've trained for years, obviously, we all do, but doing the Block that many times can only prepare you so much."

Katniss's forehead scrunched in confusion. "The Block?"

"Yeah, you know. The Weapons Proficiency Exam, the written tests, the Block." Katniss's stare continued to be as blank as before. "Is this news to you?" Her eyes got impossibly wider. "Shit."

"What? Is that a big deal? What's the Block?"

"It's a setup of Capitol blocks that we have built in Thirteen to simulate combat scenarios. Everyone who goes through the training program has to pass the Block first before they can be given an assignment. It's how they see that you're battle-ready." She ran her fingers through her mop of black curls and shook them out.

"Well, I did three weeks of training. I was in the advanced classes," she added weakly. The horrified look on Soldier Black's face made Katniss shrink back into her seat. "I'm really good with my bow."

Soldier Black huffed. "You could be a sniper with that bow from four hundred yards and it wouldn't matter. You don't know how to follow an order. You've never seen a combat scenario. How did President Coin let this happen?"

"She - she told me Johanna asked for me. For propos."

"That's why you're going?" she scoffed. "I'm going because one of their unit members got killed. I didn't know you were going because the Mockingjay made a special request. I suppose when she wants something, the rules and regs go out the window."

"Johanna has done more for this rebellion than anyone else in Panem," Katniss responded heatedly. "You don't - don't insult her. You don't know her," Katniss snarled in a low voice, a loud buzz winding its way through her brain.

Soldier Black raised her eyebrow. "You're right, I don't know her," she replied blandly. "But I do know you're untrained and likely to get me or someone else blown to bits."

Katniss blinked to the ground. She had done a significant amount of training. Some of that included mock combat scenarios, but they had only gone through it once. "I can handle myself, Poppy," Katniss countered. "I've been hunting since I was eleven. And, in case you've forgotten since you don't have Hunger Games where you're from, I was in the arena." Katniss narrowed her eyes and peered up at Soldier Black. "Nothing they simulated in that Block could be half as horrible as what we went through in the arena."

Soldier Black rolled her eyes. "We're not going into the arena, Katniss."

"Yeah, Soldier Black, we are."

The hovercraft took them only to District 12, since no aircraft used by rebel forces could get near the Capitol without being destroyed by sentries on the ground. Soldier Black explained, on the long cargo train ride to the Capitol, that neither the Capitol nor the rebellion could use the aircrafts anymore. The Capitol's fleet was wiped out in District 2, and the President and his lackeys were probably saving any remaining aircrafts for a last minute escape.

Once they arrived in a remote village in District 2, Soldier Black and Katniss made the trek from the village to one of the mountain tunnels that ran in from 2 to the Capitol. "I thought President Coin said we were close to victory," Katniss noted as they traversed the long walk over the glowing green line that marked their course to the rebel camp. "We won't be far into the city at this rate." Katniss looked down at the paper map Soldier Black had her study on the ride to District 2. "Haven't they been gone for weeks?"

Soldier Black shrugged her shoulders. "Squad 451 is in this area," she said, pointing to a small grid inside a square on the map. "The edges of the Capitol were still under some fire when they arrived, so they stayed back here. There are a lot of rebel soldiers in this area, or so I've been told. It's still considered active, though, which is why I'm going. One of the twins died."

"Twins?"

"The Leeg twins?" Katniss blinked at her. "I guess I should brief you on who's in our Squad. The leader is Boggs, who you might have met. The others are Jackson from Thirteen, and Cressida's camera crew team from the Capitol. Castor, his brother Pollux who's the avox, and Messalla. And of course, your friends Soldier Hawthorne, Soldier Corun, Soldier Odair, Soldier Mason and the Mockingjay."

Gale, presumably Cashmere, Finnick, John and Johanna. Her 'friends.' Katniss sighed. She wasn't sure any of them would be happy to see her. Possibly Johanna, but even that was a stretch. "Those aren't my friends," Katniss said aloud, her voice toneless. "They were my friends, maybe, once. Now? I don't know."

Soldier Black looked over at Katniss sympathetically. "Because of the hijacking?"

Katniss bobbed her head distractedly. "The things I felt for them once, I don't feel it anymore. I have to put names to people and places to understand what they meant to me. But for some people it's just too hard. The memories are too painful."

"What sort of names do you use?" she asked, kicking a loose pebble down the tracks as they continued toward the Capitol.

"Identifiers," Katniss replied. "Take Cashmere, for example. Soldier Corun. The Capitol broke down what I knew of her until she turned into an enemy. So for Cashmere, I had to put an identifier on her. Girl. Career. Blonde. Smart. Then I expand on that with other things I remember. She's good with a sword. Her brother was Gloss, who was killed in the arena. She's from District One. After a while, I can remember her being my ally. The memory becomes less shiny."

"Shiny?"

"Yeah. Sometimes it's yellowish, but the memories the Capitol altered, they're shiny. It's one of the ways I can tell it's not true, on a good day."

Soldier Black shook her head a few times. "That is messed up. I can't imagine waking up one day and not knowing who was my friend and who was an enemy."

"Even little things," Katniss continued. "The name of my math teacher. The color of the bow I put on the goat I bought for Prim." Katniss expelled a melancholy sigh. "But you can't imagine what it was like for me to look into Johanna's eyes and want to kill her. The only person besides my sister in this world that I knew I truly loved, and I wanted her dead."

"Is it any better? I mean, I presume it is because you're about to go into combat with her," Soldier Black reasoned.

Katniss shrugged. "Most of the time, yeah. I don't hate her anymore, or want her dead. My feelings for her have come back to me in fragments." Soldier Black raised her eyebrow quizzically and Katniss shook her head. "I don't know how else to describe it. It's like piecing together a puzzle, you know? I have all these pieces of her, some of them real, some of them fake, and I'm trying to put together the right picture." The brunette reached up to twirl the end of her braid. "At the moment, the only real feelings for her I've been able to understand and, um, feel again, are this sense of longing when she's not around," Katniss explained, and Soldier Black smiled faintly, "and the overwhelming urge to protect her. Like, like I get jealous of other people when they get too close to her." Katniss screwed her eyes shut to try and ignore the flipping of her stomach. "The venom is still in there, you know? I can feel it. Johanna makes me feel things, strong things, and it makes me act in a way that I probably shouldn't. But not toward her anymore. Toward everyone else. People I see as threats to her."

Soldier Black pursed her lips. "I'm not one to question orders, but President Coin must be very confident in you to send you into combat untrained and possibly still unbalanced." Katniss didn't meet her eyes; instead she looked ahead at the growing light in front of them. They were almost at camp. "Or perhaps it's Johanna that President Coin has the confidence in."

The sound of talking and the general bustle of people filled their ears and jerked Katniss's attention forward. They must've been getting closer to the exit, Katniss thought. It was nearing nightfall and Soldier Black had estimated they'd get there just before sunset, around dinnertime. She was right. There were lots of soldiers in small camps, pitching tents and talking amongst themselves when she and Soldier Black emerged from the tunnel. Soldier Black ushered Katniss through the separate camps until familiar faces started cropping up.

Katniss was glad that Soldier Black was escorting her, because she would have frozen in place upon seeing Johanna had the older girl not had a guiding hand around her elbow. She was in a plain uniform, not her Mockingjay suit, sitting on a stool across from a woman with black hair that was pulled back into a bun. Katniss narrowed her eyes to try and identify the woman, but she couldn't. Johanna had her palms out flat, turned upward, and the other woman had her hands hovering above Johanna's, palm side down.

Quickly Johanna flipped her hands over and slapped the tops of the other woman's knuckles. "Ugh," Johanna whined, shaking her head. "Jackson, you really suck at this. You're supposed to pull your hands away when I go to slap them."

"I can barely see your hands!" Jackson protested. She crossed her arms over her chest. "This is a stupid game."

Johanna laughed and playfully swatted the woman on the knee. "Because you lost," she teased with a grin. Johanna looked up over Jackson's shoulder and locked eyes with Katniss. The levity on her face vanished as Katniss's gray hues met with wide brown ones. Johanna shakily rose to her feet and Katniss watched her mouth slip open. Jackson turned to look over her shoulder and then stood up as well, twisting her body to face the two soldiers. She took one step back and slightly in front of Johanna in a protective maneuver that did not go unnoticed by Katniss. The buzzing returned inside her brain. Johanna's eyes bounced over to the other woman, then back to Katniss. "Katniss," she breathed.

Soldier Black raised an unimpressed eyebrow toward Johanna. "Where's Soldier Boggs?"

Boggs appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, though Katniss hadn't noticed if he was standing there already, because she was staring at Johanna so intensely. "Soldier Black," he greeted with a nod. "It's good to see you again." His eyes moved to Katniss. "Soldier Everdeen."

"We're here to report to Squad 451, sir," Soldier Black replied. "Soldier Everdeen and I were cleared for duty."

"Welcome to the squad!" Finnick announced, walking around one of the tents with her hands in the air dramatically. Katniss felt her entire body tense, but she clenched and unclenched her fists to relieve the anxiety inside her. Finnick was not an enemy. Finnick. Four. Swimming. Trident. Ally. Annie. Katniss's breath became shallow but her heart rate decreased. "Soldier Everdeen, it's nice to see you reporting for duty as well. Enjoying your stay in the Capitol?"

Katniss felt the corner of her mouth turn upward. "Better than last time," she joked morbidly. Finnick's jaw slackened for a moment before she burst out laughing. "How about you, Odair?"

"Much better than last time," she agreed with a wide grin.

"Your weapons, please, Soldier Everdeen," Boggs instructed curtly. "Your rifle, and your bow and quiver." Katniss pulled her rifle from off her shoulder and handed it over, then reluctantly gave up her bow and quiver. "Thank you."

Boggs retreated to another tent and Katniss stood awkwardly in front of the communal heater. Katniss spotted Johanna's brother talking to another group of soldiers, and Cashmere and Gale were deeply involved in a quiet, heated conversation off to the side. The filmmakers were nowhere to be seen. Soldier Black turned to face her, her body perpendicular to Katniss. She placed a hand gently on Katniss's shoulder. "Soldier Everdeen, let's get you a tent set up, okay?"

Katniss followed Soldier Black as they retrieved their tents and she instructed Katniss on how to properly prop the tent up so it wouldn't blow over. Johanna and Boggs were rapt in conversation with one another, until Johanna broke eye contact to peer over at Katniss before blinking away. The dinner whistle blew overhead before Katniss could discern the emotion on Johanna's face.

Once they returned to their camp after eating at the canteen, Katniss observed two small stools propped up outside her tent. Soldier Black looked from the stools across the heater to Boggs. "She's under guard?"

Boggs looked up from a paper map and sighed. "Soldier Everdeen is still classified as a threat to Soldier Mason," Boggs stated plainly. "We will have a two-person watch on her while she sleeps, that's all. President Coin asked that I place someone on guard with her, since she will be in constant, prolonged contact with Soldier Mason. We don't know how she'll react under stressful circumstances, and I'm not taking any chances."

Katniss looked around, but the raven-haired girl was out of sight. Katniss felt the itchiness in the tips of her fingers at the urge to find Johanna and protect her from some unseen threat. "It's fine," Katniss assented with a nod. "I understand."

"Good." Boggs glanced down at the clipboard in his hands. "First rotation is Soldier Hawthorne and Soldier Odair, from 20:00 hours until midnight. Second rotation is Soldier Mason Alpha and Soldier Jackson, midnight to four."

"Soldier Mason Alpha?" Katniss questioned as Johanna crawled out from one of the tents and stood next to Boggs. Katniss paused a moment to appraise Johanna's appearance for the first time since arriving. Her hair was swept back in a ponytail, with some strands of her hair hanging in front of her face. They must've applied some makeup to her because her eyes were lined with a coal black smear, slightly faded ruby red painted on her lips. She looked stunning. Katniss was suddenly floored by the image of Johanna before her Games, in that light up fire dress and her smoldering makeup, being pulled by the onyx horses down the City Circle. She recalled the stirring in the depths of her stomach that traveled incrementally lower until Katniss realized her feelings for Johanna were not exactly platonic. Katniss felt herself feeling that same reaction again. Lust. She could add that piece to the picture she was trying to build of Johanna.

Boggs smiled. "Johanna came up with that to avoid confusion between she and her brother." Katniss snorted as Johanna beamed proudly. "The other option she presented was using the nicknames she's created for everyone."

Johanna nudged Boggs with her elbow. "Soldier Six-Pack over here didn't like that idea," she pouted, jerking her thumb at the commanding officer.

Soldier Black remained unmoved. "Sir, do you really think Soldier Mason ...Alpha should be on watch?" Soldier Black questioned as Johanna shot her a stern glare. Soldier Black made brief eye contact with her before looking back to Boggs. "She isn't equipped to -"

"Soldier Mason is a very equipped, very talented soldier," Boggs stated.

"I have no doubt of that," Soldier Black interrupted sternly. "I have doubts about her ability to neutralize Katniss as a threat, if it came to that."

"And you could?" Johanna inquired with a scoff, raising her eyebrow. Soldier Black gave her a short, but rather unconvincing nod. "No one is neutralizing Katniss," Johanna growled at the taller woman. "It's a guard. For her protection as much as mine." She eyed Boggs. "Or so I'm told."

"Solider Mason Alpha has asked to be put in rotation, and I see no problem with that," Boggs replied evenly. Johanna's hard stare was intently leveled at Soldier Black, and Katniss watched the tenseness in their space escalate. It was interesting to feel the dynamics shift between them. Johanna saw Soldier Black as a threat; Katniss had seen that look in Johanna's eyes many times during their hunting. For some reason, that greatly pleased the young brunette. She bit her lip to hide a smile. "It's time to turn in. We've got more to do tomorrow. Odair, Hawthorne. Take your guard."

Katniss fell into an easy rapport with Gale through his shift. Even Finnick, though Katniss still felt the lingering feelings of betrayal and jealousy toward the blonde, was helpful in relaxing her. She let them talk to one another about the propos they'd been shooting, and how angry Gale was that they hadn't seen any actual combat. Soon after they were relieved of their duty, Jackson and Johanna set themselves up near the heater. Katniss sat cross-legged inside her sleeping bag; tangling and untangling the length of rope Annie had given her.

Muffled sobs from Leeg's tent reached the three women outside; Jackson and Johanna shared a sympathetic look. Katniss eyed between them and spoke up. "What happened to her sister?" Katniss asked quietly, peering up at them.

Jackson turned to her and wiped her face of expression. "Active pod. She shot it."

"The streets are booby-trapped," Johanna elaborated. "Luckily Plutarch gave us a holographic map of the Capitol, but not everything is on there. Or some of the information is inaccurate, I guess. Every street could be a new horror."

"Like the arena," Katniss mumbled. "The wedges in the arena."

Johanna swallowed thickly and nodded her head. "Right, like the arena." Johanna's eyes traveled down Katniss's face to her hands, tangled in the rope. "Annie give you that?"

Katniss looked down at where Johanna was staring and nodded. "Yeah, before I left." Abruptly she glanced up. "Is there any way Finnick can get in touch with Thirteen? Annie's going insane without hearing from her. Well, I mean, relatively speaking. It's making her upset."

"Maybe tomorrow after we shoot propos, I'll get in touch with Haymitch. If he can get Annie to Command then I'll give Finnick my earpiece and they can talk," Johanna offered with a smile. "It would be good for Finnick, too. She's a little nutty herself without her other half."

"Is that what that is?" Jackson cut in with a smirk.

"Part of it," Johanna explained. She moved off her stool and settled next to Katniss, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her elbows. "Can't say I blame her, you know? It's the plight of those of us in love with beautiful women who always seem to slip out of our grasp." Johanna met Katniss's eyes for a moment from her peripheral vision, then settled her eyes on her shoes.

After a long, meaningful pause, Jackson chuckled to break the tension and remarked, "Is that so?"

Katniss nodded her head before Johanna could respond. She peered down at her hands, having successfully woven an intricate knot. Her eyes shot over to gaze at Johanna, who was watching her weave. "Can I ask you another question?"

Johanna looked at Jackson, then back to Katniss. "Sure." Katniss eyed Jackson warily and Johanna waved her off. "Jackson is good. She's an ally. She's our friend. Everyone in our squad is."

"Our squad?" Katniss repeated.

Jackson hummed in agreement. "This is your squad now, Soldier Everdeen. You can trust us. Everyone. And we will trust you."

Katniss scoffed, "Nobody trusts me."

"You saved our lives in Thirteen," Jackson protested gently. Upon looking up at her, Katniss found her black eyes earnest. There was something strangely familiar about Soldier Jackson, but Katniss couldn't quite put her finger on it. Could be another memory she lost somehow. "That's not something we forget or take lightly."

"I trust you," Johanna added in a soft voice, offering a small smile.

The other girl snorted. "Yeah, sure. That's why you had Boggs put me under guard," Katniss accused in a low grumble.

Johanna bristled. "I didn't ask Boggs to put you under guard. I told him it wasn't necessary."

"That's true," Jackson interjected. "Johanna told him the guard was unfair but he said President Coin insisted."

"Which is stupid because she's the reason you're here," Johanna finished angrily, hugging her arms around her calves. Katniss watched her reaction with keen interest, trying to process all the information she was being presented.

After a long amount of silence, Katniss looked over at Johanna. "President Coin is the reason I'm here?" she asked, confusion and a hint of disappointment in her tone.

Johanna cocked her head to the side. "Well, yeah. I assume you didn't volunteer to do propos?" Katniss shook her head. "She sent you here to spice them up, right?"

Katniss felt her heartbeat thumping in her ears. The repeated pounding was overcome by loud buzzing and Katniss screwed her eyes shut in an attempt to concentrate. "Yes, but she said you suggested I come."

The raven-haired girl looked to Soldier Jackson, then back to Katniss. "I haven't spoken to President Coin since we left three weeks ago," Johanna revealed slowly. "I didn't know you were coming." Johanna swallowed and Katniss watched Johanna process the information in her eyes. She was stricken with the urge to place a hand on her, comfort her, but Katniss couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead she fidgeted in her lap. "I would never bring you here. This place is dangerous. I would never, ever put you in harm's way."

Katniss was touched by the amount of concern Johanna managed to intone in her words. Their love must've been very deep for Johanna to still care so very much for her. Katniss ached badly to return that level of care. The only time she came close was seeing Johanna in District Two. But she didn't want Johanna hurt just to rekindle something she lost. "I thought you were just doing propos?"

"Yes, but this place is still live. Pods still active." There was something behind Johanna's tone that Katniss couldn't place. Under normal circumstances maybe she could, but her perception was too altered for her to suss out anything beyond Johanna's words. But she knew her well enough to see there was something she was hiding. "We're still at war."

Katniss shrugged and laid down in her sleeping bag, shoving the rope back into her pocket. "Not war," Katniss disagreed, staring up at the vast blackness above them. Even with most of the buildings nearby dilapidated or destroyed, the lights from the city made the stars disappear. Just like in Thirteen, no stars hung in the sky. "We're still just pieces in the games, Johanna."

Johanna expelled a breath and drew her eyes to the same sky Katniss was staring up toward. They could be anywhere, in any arena, staring up at some Capitol-created sky with no stars and untold dangers all around them. But Johanna wouldn't take that lying down. She was the girl on fire, and fire was catching. "Not for long, Katniss. Not for long."

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay between chapters. Without an outline I'm flying by the seat of my pants again. And I've got a boner for my other story, Fireworks, so that keeps sapping my inspiration. I know you want the Joniss, and it's coming, but it's going to take some time. Bear with me, ladies and gents.

Thanks to Johannas-Motivational-Insults for her beta reading and all her insightful suggestions.