p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="74c035cb7af49c0d7fa609d1c49a5d93"After a day of riding the train Lysander was finally back home where the citizens were waiting and cheering his return. Unlike the cheering at the capitol who cheered for a celebrity, the cheering here was a welcome home from war kind of cheer. He looked through the crowd where he saw Tally and Star crying tears of joy that he'd returned home to them. The sight of them made him happier than he'd been in days, he jumped down from the stage and ran to hug them. To him it felt as though embracing a loved one was erasing the darkness he wanted to hold them forever as he felt that if he let go they'd disappear right in front of him. As he stood there holding his sisters, Dusk, the boy he'd volunteered for, walked up to him and thanked him for stepping in. "Thank you for saving my life, I don't think I could've survived that" Dusk said endearingly. Lysander smiled and nodded "I can't do it every year, you're still eligible for a few years so stay on your toes okay" Lysander tells Dusk who nods understandingly. Lysander initially starts walking home with Tally and Star before Jackson calls out "Hang on" causing Lysander to stop moving. "What's up?" He asks. "You live in the village now, follow me" Jackson tells him. Confused Lysander Tally and Star follow Jackson a few miles until they reach a neighborhood filled with houses around 5 in total. Each house looked unique to the others, some were 2 stories and some had porches that wrapped around. He saw an elderly woman sitting on a rocking chair staring off into space on the porch of a house while a man was working on his garden at the house across from hers, he was in a deep focus as he pruned branches off his bushes. "Other victors from before our times, since we're so much younger we decided it was best to let them retire from all of this" Jackson says as they keep walking. In the distance Lysander saw what looked like his old home but it wasn't falling apart or had holes in the roof or walls. "It's a small start but you can change it however you want, you can make it bigger, add a porch, add as many rooms as you want. Lots of benefits" Jackson says with a forced smile. Lysander slowly walks into the house where it's fully furnished, the pantry and fridge are fully stocked and it's clean of any dust, dirt and rats. He invited Tally and Star inside so they could have lunch. After sitting for a while Lysander speaks up "What if you 2 moved in with me, I have more than enough food for 3 people" Tally and Star look at him then each other shocked at what they heard. "I also really don't want to live in this house alone, not after everything that's happened" Lysander says, almost tearing up. Tally and Star each grab one of his hands and smile at him "You won't have to worry about that, we're family aren't we" Star says. Lysander squeezes their hands and smiles at them while tears run down his cheek, The rest of the day Lysander is able to push his dread down as he enjoys being with his 2 favorite people he has left./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="0415a815ad5e16444150e586b130a864"After a few weeks of living in his new home Lysander does feel his nightmares are more manageable and he can sleep a little longer than he could before, however the time for him to go on his victory tour is fast approaching and all he wants to do is skip it since it'll be a few weeks of train travel to talk to citizens of districts whose children came home in a box. In order to help his conscience he did have talks with the mayor to make a special cemetery for all tributes of district 10 who never made it home, the mayor did like the idea of honoring those who were picked against their will, but knew that he didn't want to risk the ire of the capitol. "I'm sorry Lysander. I would love to but that could bring risks we can't handle" the mayor tells him worriedly. "Can't we do something, there's families in mourning and I wanna do something for them" Lysander asks the mayor. "I might be able to have a plaque made with the names of all 134 tribute who didn't survive on it" the mayor responds. Hearing that almost knocked the wind out of Lysander, he didn't realize so many people died over the almost 70 years since the start of the games. "I don't think the capitol will mind if something small can be used to honor our fallen, I mean they honor their loved ones like everyone does. Ah what the hell, I'll get the names of every tribute over the last 70 years and have someone make the plaque" the mayor says as he sits at his desk. Lysander thanks him for his time and leaves the office. He makes his way to the old barn he worked at before the games and is working with the cattle in the field. He tried to go back to his regular job of butchering the cattle but holding the knife was impossible and whenever he looked at the cattle all he could see was the face of the district 5 boy he killed. Several times he collapsed in tears at the sight, his boss was kind enough to allow him to keep working but moved him over to feeding the cattle who have been designated as breeders and can't be slaughtered and can live the rest of their lives peacefully. Lysander is able to enjoy the peaceful times in the field, the sounds of mooing from the cows, and wind blowing through the grass and trees. He's able to keep his mind busy with work and not have to remember the arena. He has indulged in some late night drinking to help when his nightmares are too bad./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="e049be015f9bce7dc9c93963ff82171d"After several weeks home trying his best to get through the emotional and psychological turmoil he hears a knock at his door. When he opens it Winter is standing there with a somber face, she's dressed in a subtle long skirt and button up long sleeve shirt nothing like what normal capitol citizens wear, at first Lysander didn't even recognize her. "Winter, is that you?" Lysander asks. She nods without speaking, after a moment she speaks up "May I come in" she asks softly. He welcomes her in and she heads to the dining room and sits at his table. "It's almost time for the victory tour and I'm here to escort you around the districts so if there's anything you need please feel free to ask" she says in the most somber tone he's heard. "Are you okay Winter?" he asks her, concerned. "No I'm not, I feel like my whole life has been a lie, I was always brought up to believe that the Hunger Games made victors proud and were people to be looked up to because they did the work to make the capitol stronger, but after really seeing the toll it took on you and the others I realized that you were broken, for no more reason than that you're all being punished for something you weren't alive for" Winter says as she starts crying. "I'm sorry" Lysander says, not knowing what to say. "What do you have to be sorry for, you fought for your life just to come home and the citizens of the capitol cheered for you to die in there. If it wasn't illegal I'd never watch the games again" Winter says. Lysander can't really say anything that he thinks will help her so he decides to give her a hug in hopes that she'll feel a little better. At first she doesn't know what to do but quickly she lets herself go and cries hard while she holds him. For several minutes he lets her cry on him while he hugs her, in that time Jackson and Tiffany walked in ready to go while Tally and Star stepped out to give them privacy. "Hey Winter, we gotta get going" Lysander whispers in her ear. She leans off him revealing a large wet spot of a combination of snot and tears on his shirt. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry Lysander," Winter says, holding her hands to her mouth. "It's fine, it's not the shirt I was wearing to the tour" Lysander says trying not to upset her. "Well we gotta get going," Jackson says in a hurried tone. Lysander quickly runs to his room and gets a new shirt on before heading to the train where they begin their journey to district 12. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="0415a815ad5e16444150e586b130a864"After a few weeks of living in his new home Lysander does feel his nightmares are more manageable and he can sleep a little longer than he could before, however the time for him to go on his victory tour is fast approaching and all he wants to do is skip it since it'll be a few weeks of train travel to talk to citizens of districts whose children came home in a box. In order to help his conscience he did have talks with the mayor to make a special cemetery for all tributes of district 10 who never made it home, the mayor did like the idea of honoring those who were picked against their will, but knew that he didn't want to risk the ire of the capitol. "I'm sorry Lysander. I would love to but that could bring risks we can't handle" the mayor tells him worriedly. "Can't we do something, there's families in mourning and I wanna do something for them" Lysander asks the mayor. "I might be able to have a plaque made with the names of all 134 tribute who didn't survive on it" the mayor responds. Hearing that almost knocked the wind out of Lysander, he didn't realize so many people died over the almost 70 years since the start of the games. "I don't think the capitol will mind if something small can be used to honor our fallen, I mean they honor their loved ones like everyone does. Ah what the hell, I'll get the names of every tribute over the last 70 years and have someone make the plaque" the mayor says as he sits at his desk. Lysander thanks him for his time and leaves the office. He makes his way to the old barn he worked at before the games and is working with the cattle in the field. He tried to go back to his regular job of butchering the cattle but holding the knife was impossible and whenever he looked at the cattle all he could see was the face of the district 5 boy he killed. Several times he collapsed in tears at the sight, his boss was kind enough to allow him to keep working but moved him over to feeding the cattle who have been designated as breeders and can't be slaughtered and can live the rest of their lives peacefully. Lysander is able to enjoy the peaceful times in the field, the sounds of mooing from the cows, and wind blowing through the grass and trees. He's able to keep his mind busy with work and not have to remember the arena. He has indulged in some late night drinking to help when his nightmares are too bad./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="e049be015f9bce7dc9c93963ff82171d"After several weeks home trying his best to get through the emotional and psychological turmoil he hears a knock at his door. When he opens it Winter is standing there with a somber face, she's dressed in a subtle long skirt and button up long sleeve shirt nothing like what normal capitol citizens wear, at first Lysander didn't even recognize her. "Winter, is that you?" Lysander asks. She nods without speaking, after a moment she speaks up "May I come in" she asks softly. He welcomes her in and she heads to the dining room and sits at his table. "It's almost time for the victory tour and I'm here to escort you around the districts so if there's anything you need please feel free to ask" she says in the most somber tone he's heard. "Are you okay Winter?" he asks her, concerned. "No I'm not, I feel like my whole life has been a lie, I was always brought up to believe that the Hunger Games made victors proud and were people to be looked up to because they did the work to make the capitol stronger, but after really seeing the toll it took on you and the others I realized that you were broken, for no more reason than that you're all being punished for something you weren't alive for" Winter says as she starts crying. "I'm sorry" Lysander says, not knowing what to say. "What do you have to be sorry for, you fought for your life just to come home and the citizens of the capitol cheered for you to die in there. If it wasn't illegal I'd never watch the games again" Winter says. Lysander can't really say anything that he thinks will help her so he decides to give her a hug in hopes that she'll feel a little better. At first she doesn't know what to do but quickly she lets herself go and cries hard while she holds him. For several minutes he lets her cry on him while he hugs her, in that time Jackson and Tiffany walked in ready to go while Tally and Star stepped out to give them privacy. "Hey Winter, we gotta get going" Lysander whispers in her ear. She leans off him revealing a large wet spot of a combination of snot and tears on his shirt. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry Lysander," Winter says, holding her hands to her mouth. "It's fine, it's not the shirt I was wearing to the tour" Lysander says trying not to upset her. "Well we gotta get going," Jackson says in a hurried tone. Lysander quickly runs to his room and gets a new shirt on before heading to the train where they begin their journey to district 12. /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" /p