"Venus. Venus Keane."
How amazing it was to realize that this girl was a soldier in the war, and that she had been the girl that had been sobbing for ages. The girl he had comforted before she snapped at him. I don't need your sympathy were her exact words to him. Gale hadn't expected to see her again. He remembered her golden locks pulled into a pony tail, fierceness her eyes. He could've seen himself asking her out if it weren't for Katniss. He still couldn't ask her out. He was too damaged to ask her for anything. However, he found himself interested in her mental state. "What did you mean by you're not sure of your mental state?"
Venus gave him an odd half smile, her eyes seeming to spark with knowledge of him. For the first time in his life, he wondered if his thoughts were truly safe. It was such a ridiculous thought that he pushed it away. Venus couldn't have found a way into his thoughts. His thoughts were where he was safest. Nothing, not even a war or losing Katniss could've taken that away. The girl replied, as if it were obvious, "You of all people should know, Soldier Hawthorne."
The old camaraderie in being a soldier was back. It was clear from her face that she resented some part of being a soldier. He could understand this, relate even. There was no full on smile on her face, that each smile was always half a smile. Then again, if she had gone insane because of the war, he doubted she'd be laughing. He couldn't help but contradict that with the insane never react appropriately. So was she as insane as she claimed or simply living in survivor's guilt, like he was? Gale shook his head, and stated, "I have no clue what you're talking about, Soldier Keane."
Her smile seemed to vanish right away, replaced by a puzzled look. It took seconds before her confusion was replaced with understanding. Her already wide eyes seemed to widen and her pink lips fell into an "oh". She brushed a curl out of her face. "Of course you wouldn't. You don't see hallucinations during the day. Only at night when the nightmares come out."
Gale was taken aback by how frank this girl was about hallucinations. They were normal to her, part of the process. And she had already realized that he had nightmares about the bombs, about the moment when pain became the only reason Katniss stayed around. His nightmares returned back to the war, and waking up alone seemed to only fuel the horrors he had. He couldn't resist. "How the fuck do you know I have nightmares," he snapped at the poor girl.
The girl didn't even flinch. He could normally scare off girls who seemed interested, make them not want him anymore. However, Venus seemed determined to talk to him, hold him back from work. Work… it sparked in his head as the girl replied, "Because I have them too. I can't imagine not having them. They're as regular as the hallucinations."
This girl had the ability to make him stay planted where he was. Because as ruined as his mind was, even he wasn't having hallucinations. What could this girl of possibly witnessed that triggered hallucinations? He couldn't imagine what horrors she had seen no matter how wide eyed and innocent her face looked. "Why do you even have hallucinations?"
The girl looked almost delighted… if it weren't for the lack of the smile on her face. Her bright, delighted eyes clashed with frown and Gale found himself wishing she would at least smile. It seemed creepy that all her facial expression was done in her eyes, rather than her mouth. Her mouth was static, and it made him ponder why. "You asked the right question. Too bad I'm not going to answer in full."
Gale was left in confusion as the girl sauntered off, effectively ending the conversation.