Cato
After all of Katniss' operations, I sat by her bed. She had multiple tubes strapped to her arms and shoulders. They brought me food. An annoying camera crew filmed me holding her hand. I waited.
There was a sense of calmness to my heart. She was out of the arena and where I could protect her. Katniss gradually became healthier. She drifted in and out of consciousness and I was always there for her.
"Monster Boy, when was the last time you slept?" Haymitch asked and I rubbed my chin, feeling the rough beard beginning to form.
"When did Katniss come out of the arena?" I asked and Haymitch blinked. He set the tray of food he was holding onto the table and shrugged.
"Like, last week. Catch some winks, I'll make sure she doesn't die," He pulled up a chair next to me. I nodded and closed my eyes. Sleep came quickly and my grip on Katniss' hand tightened.
Katniss
I opened my eyes and saw Cato sleeping next to me. I smiled and Haymitch grinned at me.
"Poor idiot stayed up an entire week holding your hand. Made sure you didn't sleepwalk away," He joked. I smiled.
"Well, he's sleeping now."
"After I promised to protect you, he just conked out," He stated and I noticed Cato's hand grasping mine. "Look, the Capitol loves you, but the President is not impressed," Haymitch whispered.
"What?"
"I mean this," He gestured to Cato and me. "This might not work. You need to say that you couldn't bear with the fact that he had to die. Katniss, that ending wasn't brutal. The Capitol loves you, but the President does not. You refused to kill the last one. They always kill the last one,"
"But-"
"Damn it, girl! They will kill your family! Isn't that the whole reason you came out alive?!" He demanded and I nodded.
"Haymitch, there has to be a way that I can get into the President's good graces," I whispered and he nodded.
"I'll figure a way out. For now, you're undecided. Be lovey towards Cato, but the moment I tell you my plan, you need to follow what I say."
"Will Cato be a part of the plans?" I asked and Haymitch nodded.
"Wouldn't dream of leaving him out of anything," He grinned. "I'll leave you two to catch up."
He stood up and began to sway. He walked left, right, and then slammed into the door-frame. Muttering unintelligible curses, he staggered outside.
So he was pretending to be a drunk. That explained a lot of things. I waited until Haymitch was down the hall before looking at Cato. I then noticed that I was not wearing anything but a bandage on my chest and a pair of underwear. I covered my thin body with the blanket and looked back at Cato.
He was a little more peaceful when he slept. The crease between his eyebrows lessened and his usually indifferent expression looked calm. I yawned and looked at the tray Haymitch brought me. There was a bowl of porridge, a cup of some type of mush that tasted like apples, and a glass of water. I sighed.
I scooped some of the porridge into my mouth and was pleasantly surprised when it tasted like chicken. Cato stirred and opened his eyes.
"Good morning," I stated and he smiled.
"Morning. Did you sleep well?" He asked and I nodded. He ruffled my hair and that was when I noticed that it was down and not in it's usual braid. Cato took a deep breath and a doctor walked in.
She batted her eyelashes at Cato and I raised an eyebrow. The doctor checked my vitals and then turned to Cato.
"Victor Cato, you and Victor Haymitch are to attend a meeting to discuss what procedures we are going to use next," She stated and he nodded. Cato kissed my forehead.
"I'll be back," he grinned and I nodded. "Finish your food."
He walked out and the doctor followed him. I smiled and looked out the window. The Capitol shined in the sunlight and I wondered if I could look for a phone.
Cato
I walked into the hallway and into the conference room.
"Ah, now we're all here. Please sit, Victor Cato," The head doctor, a man with black and green hair cropped short, said. I sat by Drunk, facing the four doctors.
"Now, we need to discuss the serious malnutrition our Victor is facing."
Great, let's cancel the Hunger Games!
"Now, Victor Katniss has lost a considerable amount of weight. We want to surgically add more to her. Maybe enlarge her breasts, alter the size of her hips bones, and perhaps dye her skin a less pallid color."
I raised my eyebrows and Haymitch scoffed.
"Yeah, do that, and I'll have my dear friend Cato Arckenson rip your arms off and shove them down your throat," He announced. The doctors whispered among each other and I glared to prove his point.
"Well, she's too skinny for the cameras! We have to do something!" A doctor with leopard tattoos exclaimed.
Isn't this the Capitol? Can't they feed her?
"Then feed her!" Haymitch held his hands up.
"We are, but we can't bring her to her old body shape in 2 days," He explained and we shook our heads.
"Absolutely no surgical alterations," I stated and they sighed.
"There must be some compromise." The head doctor stated.
Pad her clothes. There, problem solved.
"Then we'll tell Cinna to pad her clothes," I stated and they spoke amongst themselves. I tapped my fist with Haymitch's and the idiot doctors turned to face us.
"We believe that your solution will work. In the meantime, Victor Katniss will receive extra food. Only food she likes, so that she will eat more. Thank you for your time," They all gave slight bows when Haymitch and I left.
"Damn idiots. Oh yeah, imagine Katniss' face if we told her we were going to add plastic to her chest," Haymitch guffawed. I had to admit, she would probably claw her way through the doctors.
"We should check up on Peeta," I stated and Haymitch nodded. We walked to the room where Peeta was being kept and opened the door.
He was kept in a room any other patient would be kept in. There was a sheet covering him from shoulder to ankle.
"I can't imagine how his family must feel right now." I stated and Haymitch nodded. We looked in silence at the newly cleaned and treated Peeta. The doctors were not afraid to restore him to his original health, if not better.
Now why would you care?
He's my Tribute.
But you're not-
Why must everyone except my family associate me with being a monster?
"Cato. We need to talk about Katniss and her relationship with you," Haymitch said, crossing his arms.
What, is he her father now?
"Why do you ask?"
"Monster Boy... the Capitol isn't happy. It's like they've been slapped in the face. If you want to keep her alive, then she has to work to get on the President's good side."
"I know. I knew from the beginning. She would never sacrifice herself when there's her family back home," Haymitch nodded.
"Are you willing to be lovey in front of the entire country?"
Are you?
I sighed and rubbed my temples. "Haymitch, the question is... is she?"
"Ah, our wild card. Never know what the hell she might do," Haymitch muttered and I nodded.
"Haymitch, we need to keep her alive. She's a spark."
"What?" He asked and I pointed out the window and to the balcony.
"It's hot. We should talk outside."
"Ah..." We walked out and closed the veranda door. "Continue."
"Haymitch, there have never been two Victors. The only reason there are Victors is to give the people of the Districts hope. Now there are two from 12. Not from 1 or my District, but from low, dirty, and underfed District 12. You saw what happened in 11 when Katniss put flowers on that dead girl's body. The rebelled. There was an uprising. Drunk, this is a chance for the country to rise."
"..." Haymitch was silent and then he laughed. "So there is a brain in that skull! I thought you were just a dumb killer! Don't worry, Monster Boy, things'll work out," He said and we re-entered the room to see the door creaking open.
The door opened and I saw a Katniss wrapped in a sheet silently close it. She had wrapped her blanket around her and peering outside to see if anyone had seen her.
She may be a hunter, but she's a lousy spy.
"Well hi there," I said and she jumped. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" I asked, trying to conceal my laughter. Haymitch began to laugh. Katniss gaped at me and blinked a few times.
"I- um... I just... I followed you," She said lamely. I nodded and quickly covered Peeta before she could see him.
Best not show her how terrible of a doctor she was.
Oh shut up.
I walked over and picked her up before she could come closer. She yelped in surprise and I chuckled.
"We need to get you back to your room," I carried her into her room and set Katniss down onto her bed. "Stay put. You need your strength."
"And if I don't want to stay put? If I decide I want to wander around and set things on fire?" She asked and I laughed.
"Then I'll have the doctors strap you into the bed and add locks onto the outside of your door," I smiled and she pursed her lips.
"Fine. What are we going to do about the next interview? I don't know if I can do to whole Victor thing," I nodded and held her hand in mine.
"Katniss... Haymitch and I were talking... We want you to become a happy, flouncy, careless little girl for the cameras," The look on her face was one of pure anger.
She might slap you.
Well then I'll probably deserve it.
"Cato, I got through so that I could be serious with you! And now you want me to... Do you even know how I feel about you?!" She grabbed my wrists. I looked up at the ceiling and groaned.
"Katniss, I will always love you, but I think I'd rather have you alive and away than dead and close. You need to think about your family. You volunteered for Prim. Not me, but Prim! You need to stay alive!" I kissed her and she bit my lip with vehemence. "Ow!"
"I hate you," She glared at me and I nodded.
"I hate me too," Katniss stared at me with tears in her eyes. She let go of my wrists and put her face in her hands.
"What the hell are we going to do?" She whispered and I shook my head. I sat down on her bed and placed a hand on her bare shoulder. I rubbed my thumb against her smooth skin and glared at the ground.
"We're going to survive."
Katniss
A few days later, they sent me to Cinna's rooms to be stuffed into yet another dress. He put me in one that shamed the others. It shimmered like a candle and made me feel a bit better about myself.
"Wow," Cato stood in the doorway. He was holding a little girl's hand. She looked to be nine or ten and had long brown hair. The girl wore a light pink and blue dress that had spots of gold and silver on it. A Capitol child, but not one at the same time. She had no alterations to her body and her clothing looked moderately normal. There was something different about her.
My initial reaction was to glare at her until Cato took her away, but instead he led her to me.
"Katniss, I would like for you to meet my sister, Junallia Rose Arckenson. Juna, this is Katniss," He introduced us. I shook her hand. She smiled at me. They looked nothing alike!
Aside from the last name they both shared, Junallia and her brother were complete opposites. Her hair and eyes were brown, but Cato's hair was blonde and he had green eyes. She looked like she always smiled and that reminded me of Prim.
"It's nice to meet you," I said and she smiled more.
"Told'ya she would win," She said to Cato and Cato smiled at her. His expression was something I'd never seen before. Cato looked truly happy with this little girl. "I'm Junallia, but everyone calls me Juna."
"I'm Katniss," I replied and she nodded.
"I knew you would win. I watched you win with Cato," She said and I smiled. Cato turned to me as the countdown began. Not for me to die, but for me to face the country yet again.
"Katniss, are you ready?" He asked and I nodded. I was ready to face the spotlight. To face the world
Hi everyone,
Thanks for staying with me. I've hit a small case of writers block, but I'm sure it'll clear up.
-Kelly