Author's Note: Don't own the Hunger Games. Just own the story. I aspire to be on TvTropes(dot)org. Get me there. Also, I'd like to point out that this is a big background story that must be revealed slowly. I did just drop a bomb on y'all last chapter. And also I've decided to see if I can explore the rest of the world that (magically, presumably because A Wizard Did It) doesn't exist for whatever reason (government cover-up?). So yeah… Mystery! Mysteries of their life march on. Oh, and sorry for the long wait. I had a huge writer's block and I'm applying to college. Real life comes first. Also, worship me.
"I shot him. Four times. Once for my mother, once for my father, twice for my sister."
Gale didn't understand why he hadn't started to wonder further about Venus's history after being told that she killed the person who murdered her family. Or why he didn't press further for the motives for a man to kill an entire family. He figured that he just didn't want to know. He knew that with the Capitol during those times, it was bound to be horrible. Venus didn't seemed all the inclined to tell him either. She simply smiled as if she hadn't just announced she murdered a man in cold blood and asked, "So… do you want to go out? Maybe we can explore the woods."
Gale, all too eager to forget about what Venus told him, nodded. He grabbed his leather jacket as Venus tied her hair back. He frowned and asked, "Don't you have a coat?"
Venus laughed as she went into his closet, pulling out one of his trench coats with an arched eyebrow. "A trench coat? Really? But you know, it's cool, so I think I'll wear it."
Gale laughed as she pulled the trench coat over her tiny body with a look of pride on her face. She giggled as he asked through his laughs, "Do you realize how tiny you look in that coat?"
Venus raised an eyebrow and grinned. "I've heard rumors," she deadpanned.
Gale couldn't help but laugh at Venus's sarcastic humor, which he found himself slowly getting used to again. Venus had a way of making him feel at ease without feeling exactly like Katniss. Maybe it was because while she was insane, she had a good grasp on reality. He took a hold of her hand, saying, "Well, let's go."
Venus followed him out into the woods with a small smirk on her face. He liked her smirk well enough to not mention it. He noticed whenever he said he liked something about her, she did her best to ruin it for him. So he liked to avoid mentioning things he liked, though he could never figure out why she would intentionally ruin something nice about herself. He noticed that somehow, she ended up leading him deeper in the woods, muttering something about, "Just a bit further."
He didn't question Venus as she led him through the thickness of the woods before the two of them stumbled across a clearing. Or maybe he stumbled but Venus clearly had no surprise it was there. She grinned and said to someone who wasn't there, "Yes, I remember."
She sat down in front of the clearing as if she wasn't exactly there anymore, as if she was remembering something else. He sat next to her, and it was a long time before Venus explained herself. "I used to come here with Artemis… and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend was reaped four years before I was… and two years before they died… and this was where we came after he was reaped."
What could he say to that? He couldn't figure out what to say to her. Venus didn't seem to need comfort, and she didn't seem to need much to make her smile. He didn't understand her and yet at the same time, he understood her completely. He figured he was mostly likely going insane, but in the best way possible. It was her turning to him and smiling that caught him off guard. "Why are you smiling at me?"
"I've just never felt so at ease with anyone… not since Artemis."