Sorry for the late update but I was super sick all last week and am still sick, just not as bad and i really wanted to update so yeah I made myself get out of bed...

)o(

The Victory Tour passes me by in a string of events that barely conncet in my mind.

Train, speeches, dinners.

I can feel the crowd's anger, helplessness, hope, all depending on which district I'm in.

We agreed, after Eleven, that I would put on a slight pretence of being docile and complacent, just to make sure to keep me in the Capitol's good graces. The citizens, that is, not Snow and his people. As long as he knows the regular citizens of the Capitol still adore me, he can't afford killing Mum or Katniss or any of my friends. He'd have riots in his own streets, and he must know that.

But my speeches are so far beyond what is reasonable, they drip with dissent when viewed from a District point of view. Words clearly not freely spoken by a young girl forced through such horrors.

I am thankful to the Capitol.

It was the chance of a lifetime.

Panem today, Panem tomorrow, Panem forever.

Really, it is clear what I intend.

And every district that dares to lift their hands into the three finger salute is answered with me doing the same, every single speech ended with four soft notes.

Every speech ended with me half ushered, half dragged of stage.

Snow's trying to counteract all I am doing, it's easy to tell. In the clearly sympathetic districts, such as Eleven, Eight and Five, the Victors are kept at a distance from me at the feasts, clearly not wanting to present us as a unit, as fraternising between districts.

I get to use my own words again in District Five.

I manage to lock eyes with Toby while speaking, silent tears running down his pale cheeks.

I draw strength from having someone to look at, someone I know I'm fighting for. Because this... this is worse than anything I said in Eleven.

"Amber was my friend. She was a sister to me. Above all, she was a hero. She gave her life for me, for someone she loved, for what she believed was the right thing to do. Amber had ideas and morals and integrity, and she decided that was worth dying for. She asked me to make a chance. I'm only a young girl, and I may not know much about the ways of the world, but I will try to do that. And we should all aspire to be more like Amber."

The roar of the crowd is deafening and they move forward rather than back when the peacekeepers move in. They chant my name, first, but someone screams another word and it floods through the crowd like a disease, infection everyone until they once again scream as one.

"Change! Change! Change!"

I'm shaking as I am dragged of stage. This is what I wanted. This is what I'm trying to make happen. It isn't any less scary because of that.

Finnick Odair is twirling me around a dance floor I have now recollection of stepping on. He makes some sort of silly small talk and my mouth forms replies without asking my brain for help, so I just let myself be lead to the music. It's only when I lose sight of Effie and Haymitch that I realise he has been slowly shifting us away from the centre of the dancefloor. I raise an eyebrow in question.

"I quite liked what you said about Annie,"he tells me, and he sounds more sincere than he has all evening. I can't help but smile."Well, it's true."

He smiles aswell, stopping mid-dance and releasing me from his grip, hand coming to my collar to adjust my Mockingjay pin."Well, you continue telling the truth, Primrose. It becomes you."

I want to ask him so many things and I can tell he wants to say more, but the cameras have found as again, their newest victor and their favourite, so there is no time for anything else.

But I leave the feast with a feeling of triumph. Finnick Odair is on my side.

My hands are shaking as I step unto the stage in District Two. I really don't know what to expect here. Their tributes might both have come home, if Peeta and I just had died first – I can't see Crane being stupid enough to antagonise District Two by revoking the rule for their tributes...

Either way, I make my way onto the stage.

Tulia Hadley stands with her face half hidden against her mother, the woman stroking her hair, a stoic look forced unto her face, her husband and son standing motionless. The sorrow still fresh in all their eyes.

Clove's sister, Olive, looks defiant and angry, but she gives me the tiniest nod and I think, maybe, she's not angry at me, but them. Atleast I hope so.

"We have stories, in District Twelve,"I begin, trying to force the tremors from my voice,"About warriors and their adventures. About fighting monsters and saving damsels in distress. About heroes and knights and queens. They are strong and brave and capable. They are admired, those people of legends and stories, and with good reason. They remind me of Cato and Clove. And of what they would have been in another world."

A world without the Hunger Games, goes unspoken.

And now the district that, by all rights, should hate me most is chanting my name, cheering for me. I raise my hands in the same gesture of victory I've seen on their tributes and victors, on Enobaria in god knows how many replays. Once again, I am more dragged than escorted of stage, but to my satisfaction, the peacekeeper's features are unnatural and covered in tatoos. Clearly Capitol. Gotcha.

District One is calm, or maybe it just seems so by comparison. The most exciting thing to happen is Cashmere coming up to speak to me at the Victor's feast. Much like Finnick Odair, she steers me away from the crowd casually."I just wanted to thank you, for Glimmer. You honoured her and that means a lot."

I smile, then falter."She wasn't your -"

I can't even finish the thought, to horrified at the idea, but she understand."No, no relation. She trained in the Academy I teach in, so I knew her."

And when she hugs and I wrap my arms around her in turn, I feel it rather than hear it in the chatter if the room. Cashmere humming our four note tune.

)o(

I found the limited interaction with other victros very strange in the book and figured Snow had it that way on purpose, which was easier to hide with two victors. Everyone fawning over the starcrossed lovers and all, the Capitol probably barely noticed. With Prim, he had a problem to cover something like that up, so he let Victors he thought he controlled interact with her. Oh, Snow, you dumb snot...

also the speeches in CF felt so painfully weird that I'm 32494875% sure Effie wrote them like that on purpose cause she/Haymitch somewhat figured there was no stopping the rebellion, so what the hecky?

I put all the districts together because man would that have gotten tedious if I made each one a chapter...

okay back to bed now urgh