You guys got that last chapter, right?

You get who that "blond-haired rebel girl" was?

If you have any idea whatsoever, please tell! ^_^

This chapter is sure to appease any and all of Caius's fangirls… (as if the last one didn't; but this one is kind of happy, at least a little bit)

Chapter 24

Petronius awoke from a nightmare. Again. But contrary to some of his earlier ones, this one had nothing to do with the Hunger Games.

"Bad dream?"

Petronius jumped and turned to the source of the voice, which was a dark-haired girl leaning against a nearby tree. "Don't you ever say hello before talking to people?"

Artemis smiled, never a comforting thing. "You know, I read once that your dreams are symbolic translations of your inner wishes –– or fears. Think about it."

Petronius thought about it. "Huh," he said matter-of-factly. "Fears. Right. And I actually like hot dogs."

She cast him an amused glance. "Not. Going. To. Ask." Petronius grinned, and she turned away. "I'm going to liberate stuff now," she called to the rest of her allies, who were spread out around the camp.

"Can I come?" asked Petronius, which struck Artemis as extremely funny.

"Why would I bring you?" she asked, to which Petronius could not reply intelligently.

"Who are you stealing stuff from?" inquired Cornelius, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground with his hammer in hand. He was still wearing the white plastic helmet.

"Liberating stuff from," corrected Artemis. "The only people, besides Caius and our alliance, left in the arena."

Now that Petronius was thinking about it, he realized that Artemis was right. There were only ten tributes left. He marked them off in his mind –– himself, Artemis, Iris, Cornelius, Romulus, Julius, Cynthia, Lucius, Marius, and the insomniac loner named Caius whom Artemis had only ever mentioned with a strange, unidentifiable light in her eyes. Just the alliance, the Elites, and a single loner.

Cornelius still seemed to be thinking about it. "Don't help me out here," he said, stroking an invisible beard with one hand and counting on his fingers with the other. "I got this."

Artemis sighed. "I'm leaving now. He can keep this up all night."

"Keep what up all night?" asked Cornelius obliviously, dropping his hands.

Artemis glared at him, looking extremely annoyed. "Some day you're going to take off that ridiculous helmet," she said ominously. "I'll be waiting."

Nervously, Cornelius touched his helmet to make sure it was still there. Iris laughed as she roasted several juicy grooslings over a small fire. "Ooh, hey, dinner's ready. Artemis, wanna stay for a small leg or two?"

"I already called one of the legs," put in Romulus, rushing forward to grab his before they were all gone.

"Hey, why not?" Artemis shrugged. "I'll have better cover in half an hour anyway."

They ate in contented silence. The birds were delicious, with tender meat and fat that melted in your mouth as you chewed. There were originally three groosling and one leg for each of them, along with large helpings of wings and breasts, but there was an extra leg and a heated debate between Romulus, Petronius, and Cornelius on who would get it. Artemis was watching them argue over the leg when she spoke up and said, "I think it should go to someone who hasn't had one yet."

They all turned to her. "Artemis, we're not that stupid. You already had one," Petronius said.

"I wasn't talking about me," she replied, gesturing to a thick tree at the edge of the clearing. "Come on out, Cai."

A thin, pale face peeked out from behind the tree, and Caius stepped out from his hiding place slowly, almost fearfully. Artemis took the groosling leg from Iris and held it out to him.

"Is that…is that for me?" he inquired in the silence. The boy's voice sounded lonely, almost wistful.

"All yours," replied Artemis.

Cautiously, he took the leg. Artemis gestured to a bare spot on the ground between her and Iris and said, "Sit."

Petronius kept one hand resting subtly on his sword hilt as the darkly dressed boy warily sat down next to Artemis and started tentatively eating his groosling leg. It was obvious that he was very hungry and currently not a threat, but Petronius had seen his black sword and had heard about how Caius had defeated all of the Elites single-handedly –– twice! –– and was willing to bet that if Caius had wanted to, he could have killed all of them already at any one of his opportunities. Petronius shivered at the knowledge that he had been hiding behind the tree for who knew how long and could have at any time attacked.

All eyes were on him as he ate his groosling. Everyone noticed the rips in the knees of his black pants and the tear in his jacket sleeve, which showed the red-spotted bandage that peeked out from underneath. His dark eyes were wide and fearful and surprisingly young, with prominent shadows underneath them evidencing lack of sleep. He was skinnier than they had at first thought. His unkempt, long black hair fell in front of his face, hiding those dark eyes from view. And momentarily, Petronius could almost imagine him as a normal boy. After his previous encounters with him, Caius had become a mysterious, lethal assassin in Petronius's mind. But now that he saw him up close, he didn't seem scary at all. Then Petronius remembered who, exactly, he was thinking about and shook off these thoughts. He had a bad feeling that if he was going to make it to the final battle, it would be against Caius. Better not to make friends with potential enemies. But then…by that logic…he shouldn't even be trusting Artemis.

Within less than a minute Caius had picked every last bit of flesh off the bone. Unsure of himself, he tentatively threw the bare leg bone into the pile of groosling remains they had formed and stood up. "I should go," he said awkwardly.

He was about to leave when Iris jumped up. "Wait!" she yelped. "That wound on your arm. Are you okay?"

Eyes wide, Caius stared at the eleven-year-old girl. "Um…"

"I have medicine," offered Iris. "Sit back down."

"I –– "

"Sit!" Iris may have been small, and she may have been young, but she possessed her grandfather's charisma, determination, and ferocity. Gingerly, Caius sat down again. "Take off your jacket, and let me see that wound." He obeyed uncomfortably, conscious of the four other pairs of eyes watching.

Underneath his jacket was a loose gray tunic with only one sleeve –– the right sleeve had been torn off below the shoulder. And where that sleeve had once been was a neatly tied white and red bandage around his bicep. Iris knelt next to Caius and started to unwrap this bandage, revealing the wound. It wasn't too bad, but it was relatively deep, and had already begun bleeding again.

"When did this happen?" Iris inquired.

He hesitated. "Second day. Some shirtless kid stole my sword and gave me this while we were fighting."

Out of the corner of his eye, Caius saw Petronius stiffen, but paid no notice.

"You keep reopening the wound," explained Iris. "That's why it hasn't been healing. It should have at least set by now."

With the efficiency of an experienced healer, the girl wet a clean cloth and dabbed it on the wound. Caius grimaced several times but said nothing, emotionless as usual. But when Iris pulled out a small silver medicine jar, his eyes visibly widened, and a flicker of something –– fear? –– darted across his face.

Iris's blue eyes glittered, as she obviously recognized the suspicion on the older boy's face, a suspicion founded by fear. "Medicine," she said, giving a comforting smile. "Give me your arm." Reluctantly, he let her spread the clear substance over the wound with her gentle yet controlled hands. "You can put your jacket back on," instructed Iris as she handed him a new white strip of cloth, "just don't put this clean bandage on until morning. Let the wound air out overnight."

Caius stood up, slipped his jacket back on, and stuffed the bandage in his pocket. "Thank you," he said hesitantly, "for everything." Then, without another word, he turned towards the dark woods and disappeared into the shadows.

Everyone was silent for a very long time afterwards, until Romulus stood up and sat next to Iris, where Caius had been. "Don't you ever compare yourself to your grandfather."

Iris looked at Romulus, bewildered. "What?"

"I've heard you talk in your sleep. You think you're no better than he was."

She was almost speechless. "I –– but I –– "

"I've seen the proof." Romulus reached out and cradled Iris's tiny hands in his. "Coriolanus Snow's hands were meant to take lives. These hands –– your hands –– are meant to save them."

Iris inhaled shakily, then bowed her head. "Thank you, Romulus."

"But that doesn't mean you shouldn't stop hunting," the boy blustered. "You're the only one here who can use a bow, and we need that food."

Iris gave a dry, humorless laugh. "Yeah. I won't."

That was when Romulus realized that he was holding her hands, then quickly let go of them and scooted awkwardly away from Iris. Cornelius muttered something about young love, then silence drifted over the camp as they watched the small campfire's flames.

After quite a while, Artemis stood up. Without even looking his direction, she said, "Petronius."

"What?" the District 10 representative asked.

"I don't think you're happy."

It was creepy how she did that. She hadn't even looked at him. "What am I not happy about?" inquired Petronius, very obviously and very foolishly testing Artemis.

"A certain boy who just stole your groosling leg," she replied, turning to him.

Wow. She had gotten it spot-on. "Well, why not?" he blustered, standing up to meet her. "Why wouldn't I be not happy? We don't even know if we can trust him, and you're inviting him inside our camp for dinner and personal therapy sessions with the healer."

"Therapy sessions? Petro, you're pathetic."

"The point is," Petronius argued, "we should be eliminating the last threats. And currently, he's the only threat."

"So this is how it is? Just like previous years? Banding up to eliminate the lesser threats, then turning on yourselves? Just like the Careers?"

Petronius hesitated. Those had been his exact words to Julius on that day so long ago in the Training Center when he had been invited into the group of Elites. He wondered if Artemis had overheard, and realized that she probably had. The repetition of his words was deliberate, and almost as if she was saying silently, Hypocrite. "I never said that we were banding up."

"Ah, but did you imply it through different wording?"

She was insufferable. "No."

"I don't see what the problem is, then."

"The problem is…that! Just that!"

"If you're referring to Caius, or at least I believe you are, that was what you look for in an ally."

"Then why haven't you asked him to join us?"

"Petro, I don't think you fully understand what he and I are going through."

"Don't call me Petro."

"I will say it again –– you don't understand."

"And you do?"

"He is simply not the kind who associates with others. No, he will not turn against us now. Yes, if it comes to it, he will have to. But until that day comes, he can be trusted. The Games are difficult as they are, and you're not making them any easier by arguing about every little thing that makes you suspicious, which includes tributes who have done absolutely nothing to harm you."

"Oh, so now you're saying that you're better than me? Is that it?"

"I said nothing of the sort."

"Yes, you did. You said I don't understand."

"You don't. Now stop picking on Caius."

"Why? I don't trust him. Why do you?"

"Because he's like me," she snapped, finally shutting Petronius up. "Because he has nothing else to lose." She took in a deep, almost shaky breath, and then said, "He doesn't work with people because they remind him of those he lost, not because he thinks he's better than everyone else. He doesn't trust others because they don't trust him. He doesn't show his emotions because if he did, we would never see him do anything but cry. He doesn't sleep because doing so brings the memories back. He doesn't talk about his past because he fears it. The reason I trust him is because I know his motives. They're mine, too. We don't have anything else to lose."

Petronius was silent for a moment, then he shot back, "Do you think that I don't have troubles?"

"Blazes no, I'm not that ignorant," she retorted. "You're in the arena. You have problems that multiply themselves by tenfold with every step you take. But you certainly have it better than some of us. Your parents didn't abandon you, and they are not waiting for execution."

"They're in prison," snapped Petronius, but Artemis wasn't done yet.

"In prison, yes, but waiting for release and not their execution, and anticipating the moment they will see you face to face," she countered. "And your only sister. Safe, healthy, and not in the arena."

"The rebels took her!"

"They took her, yes, but they gave her to a family who will love her and treat her like a normal child. You have your family to look forward to seeing in the future. You want to get out of the arena to see them again. But Caius and Iris and Romulus and I, we only have ourselves. Ourselves and each other."

Petronius, as hard as he tried, could not think of anything to top that. But it turned out that he did not have to, his large ego being saved by six soft thuds nearby. They all turned to see six packages, all different shapes and all dangling from silver parachutes, settle on the ground. Romulus, the closest to the packages, held up a hand and said, "I'll open them."

"Romulus, they –– " protested Iris, but he glanced at her, nodded once reassuringly, knelt, and untied a rectangle-shaped box.

"It has three letters on it," the boy said, puzzled. "A, H, G…"

"Those are my initials," blurted Artemis. "Artemis Hecate Gossamer."

"And this one," said Romulus, picking up another, larger one, "has the letters I, M, S…"

"Iris Medea Snow," whispered Iris.

"P, A, L…"

"Petronius Artolian Lyre," said Petronius.

"C, R, T…"

"Cornelius Renatus Thyme," murmured Cornelius.

"R, D, C… Romulus Darius Crown," said Romulus. "That's one for each of us. With our initials. But what's that one?" He picked up the last one, a cylinder, and looked at the letters on it. "C, A, A…"

"Give me that," said Artemis, snatching the container from Romulus's hands. "That's not for any of us."

"Who is it for, then?" asked Petronius.

Iris gasped. "C, A, A," she repeated, her blue eyes wide. "Caius Adrian Angelico. But why…?"

"Let's find out," said Romulus, taking his own box and pressing the latch to open the metal lid. Several people gasped, but nothing happened and Romulus was left unharmed, still peering into the box. "Pepperoni pizza? Cool!"

"What?" asked Petronius, taking his and opening it. "NO. WAY. Hot dogs!"

"Hot dogs?" repeated Artemis cynically. The smell of frankfurters filled the air, and Petronius dipped his hand into the silver box and pulled out the aforementioned hot dog, complete with a bun.

"Mmmmm," said Petronius, taking a deep breath of the hot dog smell. He had apparently already forgotten his nightmare.

Iris opened hers. "A salad?" she asked, drawing out a plastic container. "With raspberry vinaigrette, chicken, candied walnuts, blue cheese, and sliced apples, no less."

"Mac 'n' cheese!" sang Cornelius, letting the smells of warm, thick pasta waft out of his container.

"Chocolate!" gasped Artemis upon looking inside her container, but then she got a hold of herself, narrowed her eyes suspiciously, and said to no one in particular, "What's going on here?"

"I love this kind of salad," said Iris dreamily. "Favorite ever."

"Mine too!" said Romulus, but then he furrowed his brow and corrected, "The pizza, I mean, not the salad."

"Hot dogs," repeated Petronius dazedly. "The world's best food. This is just plain weird."

"No," said Artemis. "It's more than just weird. They're mocking us."

"How?" inquired Iris.

"Don't you get it?" asked Artemis. "There haven't been any deaths since Lystria…sorry, Romulus. The Gamemakers must be getting bored."

"It's the calm before the storm," said Petronius.

"And this," said Artemis, pulling out a chocolate bar, "is nothing more than the last meal before the execution."

Dramatically, she took a large bite.

Caius: …

Me: Cai…?

Caius: …

Me: Come on out of that corner, love…what's wrong?

Caius: You made me look weak.

Me: No, I made you look lovable! There's no way Artemis won't fall for you now!

Caius: W-W-WHAAAAT?!

Me: Umm, never mind.

Caius: But why's it always me?

Me: What do you mean?

Caius: Why do you always pick on me? It's always me! "Oh, I need a character to take out my angst on. I'll give Caius a horrible, heartbreaking backstory!" "Oh, I need to bribe the reviewers. I'll steal Caius's fruit!" "Oh, I need someone to fall in love with that chocoholic brat of a so-called genius. Caius should be willing!" WHY'S IT ALWAYS ME?!

Me: …
I dunno.

Caius: …