Hi there everyone! This chapter is VERY long (in my opinion) and I am very proud of it! It took three days to complete but I got it done! It was fun imagining District 7.
NOTE: Katniss and Peeta's kids appear in this chapter, but they are MY VERSIONS of their kids. They're names are NOT Willow and Rye, and their ages are different than the ones stated in the book so NO FLAMES PLEASE! I hope this is no inconveinience to anyone.
ANOTHER NOTE: I am still accepting song requests for my playlist! KEEP THIS IN MIND PLEASE!
Okay! I would like to thank BananaLlama6 for being such a big help, go read her Odesta stuff! Enjoy!
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Chapter 7: Back To the Trees Part 1
Johanna's POV
Normally, it's not hard for me to wake up early considering the fact that it was a daily ritual in 7. Get up, get dressed, and be out in time to chop down the first tree. Today is different, when my eyes open, I'm stiff and somewhat nervous.
I can hear Annie and Torrence in the foyer, they're going over the contents of a picnic basket. The ending credits song for the Sharky movie we watched last night can also be heard and I'm gonna take a wild guess that Beetee is watching those credits he so desperately wanted to see. Sometimes his overall geek-ness makes me internally shudder.
I decide that it's best to go home and get my stuff, but I don't want to be pulled back into staying in 7. I promised to stay with Crazy and her son but my district has so many memories, good and bad, that have been rather hard to leave behind. Some harder than others, some I'd rather not admit. My hair is down, the red streaks in it being used as some sort of a 'back off' sign like poisonous dart frogs have. A green t-shirt, tucked into a pair of ripped up skinny jeans with a belt, and large hiking boots create the rest of my outfit. Once my eyeliner is on, I'm ready to go.
Annie is making this a bigger production than this trip really has to be. Yes, we're meeting Katniss and Peeta at the train station, yes it's the first time Torrence has left District 4, and yes Beetee's assistant is now accompanying us, but the red haired woman is stressing out way too much.
"Beetee! Make sure you pack life jackets!" She cries as I walk down the stairs.
"What on earth would you need life jackets for? District 7 is lumber, Annie." I glance at the many suitcases pressed up against the door.
"Well I want to make sure my little boy is safe. What if the train flies off the tracks and into the water?!"
Annie cries as of she's being completely logical.
"Yeah that won't happen." She shoots me a pouty look as I sit on the steps.
There's a knock at the door and Annie scatters, grabbing Torrence and carrying him into the other room. Beetee walks over and opens the door wide. My nose wrinkles in disgust, it's Cadilla Freemarch. Cadilla reminds me of a bubbly college Capitol girl because of her look and her demeanor. Her hair is a shade of ocean blue, curled so it shapes her flawless skin perfectly, she had a tight blue dress with tiny gears scattered on it like sprinkles on ice cream, tall peach colored heals, and a giggly voice completes it all.
"Beetee!" She squeals. They embrace and I throw up in my mouth.
"Welcome, Cadilla!" The older man greets. "Annie! It's just my partner!" He calls.
Annie walks back in slowly, as if she's about to enter a minefield.
"Hi there, I'm Annie Cresta." She says shyly, Torrence at her side.
"Annie Cresta!" Cadilla's voice pops as she says 'Cresta'. "It is such a pleasure to meet you, one of the last remaining victors! Tell me, I must know, how does it feel? Do you ever see Katniss and Peeta Mellark? Do you have special living arrangements made by President Paylor and Plutarch Heavansbee?"
Annie looks absolutely overwhelmed and I can't say I blame her. Beetee's assistant who always wields a clipboard and multicolored pen, is downright nosy and I feel oddly overprotective of Crazy. An awkward silence settles into the air as nobody speaks, but I swear I can hear the sound of Cadilla's wide, but unnerving blue eyes bouncing around in their sockets as she scans Annie's face.
"Cadilla, she's not exactly ready for her questionnaire yet. Let me introduce you to Johanna Mason next." Bad move, Beetee. I don't want to be introduced to her.
I glance upwards at the young woman with the nastiest look I can manage, my eyeliner helps add to the image. She waves slightly and I feel dissatisfied that she didn't flinch backwards, but I can tell the the look scared Torrence because he's hiding behind his mother's legs. Me suddenly standing up causes Cadilla to take a step backwards.
"Okay, we should probably go now if we're going to catch our train!" Everyone else agrees with me and begins to grab backpacks and luggage that they may need. I don't have one single bag.
As Beetee, Annie, and Cadilla walk outside, Torrence tugs at a rip in my jeans. I look down at his worried little face and kneel so that we're eye to eye.
"Auntie Johanna, I scared." He whimpers.
"Is it because we're leaving 4 or is it because of Cadilla Freemarch's face?" I inquire. He stifles a laugh.
"Both. I want mommy to be happy."
"She's happy, I assure you. Your her little ball of happiness or whatever."
"You sure, Auntie Johanna?" The little boy asks.
"One hundred and fifty percent sure, little man." I smirk and lift him up.
"Let's go! I wanna ride a train!" Torrence cheers and we follow the other three. I turn off the lights and and lock the door before catching up with the adults.
It's a beautiful sunny day, Annie couldn't have picked a more perfect time to take Torrence out of 4, and aside from Freemarch's constant chatter, things are pretty nice. The train station is within walking distance so we're going by foot because Cadilla and Beetee want to 'take in the day' or whatever, so the rest of us don't object. Katniss and Peeta will be waiting at the train for us with their two kids, Ruella and Patrick, and then we'll all start the longer ride to District 7. Yes, I'm still worried about returning even though I haven't been gone for very long. The pressure of bringing this large party isn't helping either.
"So tell me Johanna, what's District 7 like? I have visited many districts, but never the district of lumber!" Cadilla squeaks.
"Calm down, wood isn't that interesting." I say flatly, in the hopes of leaving her hanging.
"Well they said that grain wouldn't be very interesting but I still enjoyed District 9 a great deal!"
"Good for you. Who's 'they'?" I ask out of pure curiosity. Cadilla purses her lips and puts her perfectly pedicured hands on her hips. I wrinkle my nose in the deepest sense of disgust.
"Well my college of course! After I got a fully paid scholarship and graduated at the top of my class, everyone there practically worshiped me! Even after I left! That's when I applied for the job to be Beetee's-" she says his name extremely lovingly. "-new assistant!"
"I bet he was surprised when he got that application." My eyes roll.
We're silent for the rest of the walk to the train station which luckily, isn't very far away. There's an awkward settling of the air around Beetee's assistant and I, and I'm sure everyone in that entire train station can sense it creeping up on them as our party looks for Katniss and Peeta. Finally we find them, they're leaning up against a wall underneath a large clock, with two children at their feet. The girl, Ruella, is older than her brother. With dirty blond locks and gray seam eyes, she's obviously theirs. Patrick, the young chubby boy, has blond hair and bright blue eyes, taking a lot more from his father in the looks department.
Nonetheless, they're cute kids, Patrick is about two years younger then Torrence, and Ruella is about three years older. We all run up to meet them.
"Katniss!" Annie squeals and they both embrace. Peeta pries Annie from his wife for a hug, they've always been good friends, and with Peeta's immense strength it must not be that hard.
"Annie we've missed you so much!" Peeta smiles, ruffling Torrence's curls.
"Oh Peeta I've missed you too! How are you guys doing?" The red-haired woman asks.
"We're doing...good actually. Very good. Haymitch helped push Plutarch to lift my ban and Peeta's been improving as well. We've also got these two troublemakers to keep us in line as well." Katniss cracks a small smile as she looks down at her children.
"Johanna!" The boy with the bread smiles and I accept a quick hug. His brawn scares me for a moment, but I ease into the hug.
"How have you been?" Katniss asks me.
"Well, as you know, I'm gonna be staying with Annie and the kid for a little while so I guess I'm ok."
"That's nice..." A small voice says, I look down to see Ruella smiling nervously.
"Hello! I'm Cadilla Freemarch, Beetee's new assistant!" She seems to like that word 'new' way to much and my fists clench in anger as the two words echo in the back of my mind. "Tick tock..."
"Hello..." Katniss doesn't even reach out to meet Cadilla's outstretched hand and it makes me realize how much I've missed Brainless.
After we all say our hellos and introduce the kids, it's time to board the train. We head to the District 7 slot and Cadilla feels the need to be the very first one of our party to be seated. Brainless and I both agree that she reminds us of a Capitol girl, and plot to prank her somehow. Torrence snuggles in next to his mother who is chatting busily with Peeta, so I sit beside the little boy, across with Katniss who is beside her husband. Ruella sits in between her parents and Patrick settles down on his daddy's lap. Beetee winks at us and takes Cadilla to another compartment so we won't have to deal with her and I slowly feel the anger I've pinned on the older man start to simmer down.
"So Torrence, this is your first time out of 4?" Peeta asks with a smile. The little boy with the sea green eyes nods as he clutches his mother's arm.
"Well we've never been to 7 so Johanna will have to be a good tour guide." Brainless nods in my direction and I half smile.
"Mommy...I'm kinda scared." Torrence mumbles.
"Oh sweetie, you have no need to be. Your safe as can be, all the districts are, so you have nothing to worry about." Annie kisses his forehead lovingly.
"Did Daddy ever travel?" An awkward silence settles into the air. Katniss looks at the opposite wall of the train, Peeta's mouth is gaping open, and Annie is trying to hold something back. My guess is, she's trying to hold back tears. Torrence always asks the most interesting questions.
"Daddy traveled...a lot..." The widow chokes on the disappearing air in her throat.
"Cool." The little boy responds.
"Do you want to be like your daddy, Torrence?" Peeta asks and this time, receives a large and enthusiastic nod which makes the two across from Annie and I giggle.
"Are you excited to go home, Johanna?" Katniss inquires.
"Yeah...I guess so, I mean I wasn't gone for that long so...I dunno." I say this all as I curse at myself mentally. I didn't mean for any of that to come out so shakily and make the ones around me doubtful.
"Mom, how long is a ride to 7?" Ruella squeezes her mom's arm like the little boy across from her.
"About two hours if my memory serves me correct..." Brainless ponders. "Am I right, Johanna?"
"Correct." I nod.
"Yeah so we have about an hour and forty-five minuets to go." Katniss tells her daughter.
"I'm going to sleep." The young girl says, resting her feet against her father. Soon enough, the motion of the train rocks Ruella Mellark to sleep.
Slowly but surely, all three kids drift off into slumber. Patrick rests against Peeta, and Torrence's legs rest across mine as his head lays on Annie's lap. It amazes me how peaceful the trio of children look, and all four of us adults just stop and marvel at them for a minuet, it almost resembles a moment of silence that we would hold in 13 when someone had fallen. Of course, we never told Coin, but she didn't need to know we were actually honoring the dead. I remember Finnick's moment of silence quite well...it wasn't very silent. After Beetee told Annie, nothing was ever silent. Everything was either tears or rumors, sometimes a mix of the two, but of course the president didn't care. Something urges me to hug Brainless across the way and thank her for what she did at the execution, but I halt myself.
"Annie..." Katniss suddenly says, breaking the silence. We all turn and look at her.
"Yes, Katniss?"
"I'm sorry..." The Mockingjay sighs deeply. "I'm so sorry I can't even explain and I know I'm not normally like this but...it's probably my fault."
"What are you talking about?" Annie looks at her with glossed over sea green eyes.
"I'm sorry that I didn't go back for Finnick. I could've, we had so many weapons, but instead I blew him to bits with the Holo. I took the easy way out. I just want you to know, Annie, you were one of his last thoughts...he loved you so very much..." Brainless looks at Annie Cresta-Odair who has odd, shaking smile on her face. Tears slip from both their eyes as they embrace, Peeta patting their backs as an attempt to comfort them.
"I forgive you. In fact I was never mad." The poor mad girl says and Katniss smiles.
"Thank you so much...if you ever need anything, Peeta and I are here." Katniss says as she sits back, gesturing to herself and her husband. I have to hold back tears myself, never knowing that such phenomena went on down in that tunnel.
"We're here!" Beetee suddenly pops up in the aisle next to Cadilla.
"Ooh! Let's wake up the kiddos!" Annie jumps up, trying to hide the tears in her eyes.
Torrence yawns sleepily and rolls over on top of me which makes us all laugh. Patrick starts to fuss an cry once he's awoken but Peeta gives him a nibble of a cupcake that he kept sealed up in a plastic bag. Katniss rolls her eyes and picks up Ruella who grumbles, gray eyes looking heavy and annoyed. We grab our backpacks loaded with water bottles, energy bars, maps, and other miscellaneous items and head outside into the sun. Annie puts on a sunhat that she weaved herself and we all stand in the District 7 square. Shops litter the area around the perimeter, trees towering above us, it reminds me of an old western town just a lot more lush. The kids instantly perk up after hearing shouts of "TIMBER!" and bells from the doors of the old-timey wood shops ring in their ears.
"This place is awesome!" Torrence exclaims, tugging on his mom's sundress.
"Stay with mommy, Torrence." Annie orders with a slight laugh.
"Where to first, Johanna? Do would you like to get your belongings to bring back to the train? Then we can spend the rest of the day exploring." Beetee suggests while eyeing the map that he is clutching tightly in his hands.
"That sounds fine with me. Here, let's go to the Victor's Village." I point at the general area where my home is on Beetee's map everyone begins to follow me.
"Old fashioned, lush, loud, overall very beautiful!" Cadilla chatters in tune with the scribbling on her clipboard. "Definitely one of my favorites..."
As we walk, people point and gasp things like "Look! Katniss and Peeta!" and "Is that Annie Cresta?! I thought she died!" The lot of us find it hard to brush most of these things off our shoulders, but we walk right through the crowds, not making eye-contact with the majority of the patrons. All of us except Cadilla that is. The bubbly woman is blowing kisses and waving, I don't tell her that she looks like a total idiot because nobody knows who the heck she is, I just watch her in my own amusement. Torrence is holding his mother's hand and stroking her fingers, whispering soothing words so that she doesn't start freaking out because of the whispers. Soon Beetee notifies a pack of Peacekeepers hailing from District 2 of our uncomfortableness and they hold back the crowd so we can make our way up to my house.
"Most of the places around here were bought by lucky high-bidding citizens in a auction for the fallen victors houses." I explain as we walk through the grounds underneath a canopy of trees, patches of sunlight burning through the shade.
"Why isn't anyone here?" Ruella asks, peering in a window of a large house directly across the street from mine. "It doesn't have any furniture."
I feel as if I have just been popped, deflated, airless and stricken to the grass below. I know that house, the only house that bidders didn't bid for out of honor, it's somewhat of a landmark here in 7. This home was the home of my fallen district partner Blight who ran headfirst into the force field. I partially blame myself for his death, but I never thought much of it until now.
"They just couldn't sell it, Ruella, it's fine." I assure her quickly.
I never cared much about Blight, but the rest of District 7 did. He held charity events, worked from dusk to dawn in the forests, and acted like a big brother or a son to everyone. When he went into the arena and won, everyone in the entire district rejoiced, but when the both of us were reaped together for the Quell, things changed. Blight had always hung around me after I won my games. He brung me treats from the local candy store, took my shifts at the lumber yard, and offered to clean my front yard numerous times, but I never accepted his offers. Once we went into the arena together, he tried to protect me in and way her could, but then he died. I've made my decision, I'm staying in District 4 with Annie and Torrence.
"Here we go." I say, pushing the door open to my home. Everyone walks in and Beetee begins to cough from all the dust. "We won't be here very long. Everyone grab one of my suitcases after I pack them and we'll be set to explore 7."
I take Annie, Katniss, and Ruella upstairs with me to help me pack up the clothes and other things I need to take back to 4. We chatter about Ruella's birthday present, a shiny gold Mockingjay pin, and what we'll be doing for the rest of the day. We plan on visiting the sweets shop in the square, walking through the forest, and maybe going for horse rides at the local stable, as suggested by Annie. Once we're done, we drag a total of six suitcases and the backpacks downstairs for Peeta, Beetee, and Cadilla to carry.
"Here." Katniss says, handing a pack to the assistant.
"Um no. I have more important things to carry than Ms. Mason's luggage." Cadilla scoffs as if she's been offered to carry a handful of worms.
"Fine. I'll get it." Katniss snaps.
I take some final glances around my house. Nothing in the bathrooms, living room, or closets worth taking but the kitchen is a different story. I find a box of hard candy in the back of a cupboard that has Blight's signature next to "From" on the tag. For some reason it warms my heart and I stick it into my bag. I don't plan on eating it though.
With some final announcements to the rest of the party, we all step outside and I lock the door. Beetee points us in the direction of the train station and I stare at Blight's house for a moment before following the group out of the Victor's Village. After we drop this stuff off at the train, we'll be free to explore.
Or at least the rest of them will be.
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Okay so that's only part 1 of the District 7 trip! I hope you all liked that chapter, I was particularly proud of it an I hope it made up for my absence! Don't forget to put songs in your reveiws! Love you all! ~PurpleKittyFangirl