"Hey Robin Hood," Taiya greeted as Katniss came and sat down at the table.
"What?" Katniss frowned, not understanding the reference.
"Don't worry about it," Finnick shook his head, sending his friend a smile. "Seriously. You react to one nickname and you'll just encourage her. Isn't that right lip Gloss?" Finnick leaned over to look at the man, who had immediately started gathering his lunch tray as soon as he saw Katniss coming.
"She calls you Mr Beach Chick behind your back," Gloss retorted, glaring at Finnick.
"I think you'll find she calls me Mr Sexy Beach Chick and I'm not bothered. I quite like it," he smirked.
"There's one brain cell between the pair of you," Gloss huffed before sulking away.
Taiya didn't follow him this time, she could sense Katniss' anxiety.
She had something to say.
"What's on your mind Mockingjay?" Taiya asked.
"I saw Peeta this morning," Katniss sighed, looking up at the couple opposite her. She didn't even know what to make of her reunion with Peeta, but she trusted them to help. She knew Finnick would always have her back, and she knew Taiya would always have Peeta's back. So between the two of them, she was sure she could get a balanced opinion.
"How'd it go?" Taiya asked cautiously. Most of the time she saw Peeta now he seemed like his old self, lucid. But whenever his mind drifted to Katniss, he'd lose control over himself. She figured today was going to be a bad day for him, it would've taken a lot out of him keeping it together last night at their wedding. "How was he?" Taiya asked quietly, both her and Finnick leaning closer to Katniss so their conversation could remain private.
"He was strapped down," Katniss swallowed. "He had a tube in him to sedate him if he got out of control," she shuddered. "He wasn't fighting or anything…"
"They always keep him strapped down," Taiya sighed. "They had him strapped down the first few times I broke into his room. There was no one in there and he was still strapped down," she glared. "When he, Jo and I hang out now he's free to move around. I kept undoing his restraints whenever the doctors left the room so now they just don't bother whilst we're there."
"How do you feel?" Finnick asked Katniss.
"I don't know... it was him... but he was different. He wasn't very nice."
This caught Taiya's attention and she immediately leaned forward, lifting herself off her seat. "What'd he say?"
"That I wasn't very big. Wasn't very pretty."
Taiya did feel bad about the snort she let out. She did. But she didn't regret it.
"I told him he looked bad as well," Katniss flicked her food around with her fork in embarrassment.
"Good on you," Taiya nodded approvingly. She loved unhinged Peeta, but girl power for the win.
"Thanks," Katniss looked up. "He told me off for not being nice."
"Have you ever been nice?" Taiya frowned. She didn't exactly give off that kind of vibe. Katniss seemed to agree as she smirked and shook her head.
"You're nice," Finnick denied, trying to compliment her.
"He remembers how we met," Katniss sighed, dropping her fork in frustration.
"The bread story," Finnick immediately knew what she was talking about.
"Bread boy has a bread story?" Taiya looked at her husband, needing a few more details to connect the dots.
"He burnt the bread so she could have it when they were younger," Finnick explained.
"Oh yeah!" Taiya gasped in realisation. He'd told her that story before he had been hijacked. That boy had harboured a crush on the girl for years before they were reaped together.
"So he remembered that on his own. Then he brought up Gale," Katniss huffed, ignoring the retching face Taiya made. "He was taunting me with him."
Taiya couldn't help but be a little proud of the bread boy. Hanging out with Johanna had only made him more sassy.
"But hey, it's an improvement," Taiya assured as she moved some food to her mouth. When she looked up, both Finnick and Katniss were looking at her. "What? It is. He was being a jerk, but he wasn't you know…" she moved her hand to her throat and made a choking noise.
"I'm not into the demonstration," Finnick sighed, grabbing her hand and moving it down. "But Tay's right. I think this is a big step for Peeta."
"He was tortured, Katniss. The fact he was even able to speak to you without breaking down is amazing. Don't hold him to the same standards as you used to."
That's when Katniss revealed what it was that was truly upsetting her. "He sees the real me now. Not the idealised version. He thinks of me as deadly. Violent. All the worst qualities. The real me."
"I'm going to have to disagree," Finnick took the lead on this one. "Peeta's smart. He watched you for years, you weren't trying to impress him, you weren't trying to manipulate him into liking you. He came to those conclusions all on his own. He saw the unfiltered version of you. Now he's looking at you with a filter. It's not the same. I've spoken to him a few times when I'm meeting Tay. He's getting better every day, Katniss. Just give him time."
You ready to go?" Tyler asked, approaching the table and laying a hand on Taiya's shoulder.
Taiya slowly turned to look up at him. "Ready for what?" she asked nervously.
"Our meeting," he frowned, not liking where this was going.
"You and I have a meeting?"
"Taiya," he groaned, running a hand down his face. "Did you listen to anything I said at breakfast?" he sighed, putting his hands on his hips.
"Yes, I did actually," she had listened for the first 15 minutes when he just complained about Bucks's snoring, she may have tuned out after that.
"You and I have a meeting with Plutarch."
"With Plutarch? No," she instantly whined. He should have known when she nodded her head calmly when he was telling her earlier that she hadn't been listening to him. "Why do we have to have a meeting? I haven't even done anything bad in like... a week."
"He wants to talk about your next steps. Now that you're more stable he wants to integrate you more in everyday life here."
"Do you think if I did something bad he'd let me stay sitting down and watching?"
Tyler didn't have any words. He just stared at her dumbfounded until his mind stopped spiralling. "No." he elected for a one-word answer, knowing it was kinder than the words currently running through his mind.
"Damn," Taiya deflated. Tyler matched her action and dropped his head into his hands.
Seeing he was distracted, Taiya's eyes were searching, and when they met her target, she flung her arm up, waving him over.
Gloss turned his head to look at her and shook his head no, jerking his head towards Katniss. She just shook her head more aggressively, not caring that he didn't like the younger girl, and waved her hand more frantically.
Gloss' dramatic huff was audible across the cafeteria as he stomped back over to her.
When he got closer, Taiya held her finger to her lips, needing him to be quiet to not attract Tyler's attention.
Gloss just raised his eyebrows questioningly.
Taiya glanced at Tyler, he wasn't paying much notice, he was busy rubbing circles on his temples, trying to keep a headache at bay. So she pulled Gloss down and whispered in his ear.
Finnick and Katniss just watched them nervously, neither one was brave enough to call the pair out on their, perhaps, reckless behaviour, and neither was brave enough to dob on them to Tyler. They didn't want to be targeted.
By the time Tyler opened his eyes, Gloss was gone.
"When's the meeting?" Taiya smiled at him.
He instantly looked sceptical. She'd been all ready to complain, but now she seemed perfectly content to go. He glanced over at Finnick and Katniss, who were both focused on their empty lunch trays. They were no help.
"10 minutes," Tyler answered her.
"Great," she jumped up when she saw Gloss nod from the doorway of the cafeteria. "Let's go, don't want to be late. That'd give a bad impression."
"Since when do you care about impressions? Whatever. Let's just go."
"Mrs Odair out," she said quietly, throwing Katniss a peace sign and bending down to quickly peck Finnick's lips before she walked past Tyler, making a beeline for the doorway.
Tyler glanced at Katniss and Finnick desperately one last time, but neither would make eye contact, so he let out a groan as he trailed after Taiya.
Maybe if he was walking a little closer he would have seen that in the high-five Taiya gave Gloss as she walked out the door, he'd slipped a pen into her hand.
Tyler had scoped out the room before they got there. All the pens were missing from the middle of the table. That was the first thing Taiya noticed when they walked into the meeting room in which Plutarch was waiting for them.
"Miss Ambersnow!" Plutarch stood up with an enthusiastic greeting, his eyes lighting up. "Please," he gestured with an arm for her to take a seat opposite him.
Taiya huffed slightly, but with one small tap from Tyler, she complied and made her way to the designated spot.
As they arrived at the seats, Tyler pulled back the chair for her before they both settled down. Plutarch's smile remained wide as he leaned forward.
"How are you?" he inquired. "Did you enjoy your engagement party last night?"
Taiya hesitated for a moment. She did enjoy it. Immensely. But she'd been so sour about the whole thing in the lead-up that she didn't want to give Plutarch the satisfaction. Very maturely though, she decided to be truthful.
"Yes I did," she admitted, her lips pursed slightly.
Plutarch nodded pleased with her response. "Glad to hear that. Now let's get down to business," he said, shifting the focus. He shuffled his papers, clearly indicating the start of the meeting.
Taiya sensed this was her moment.
She casually reached into her pocket, retrieving the pen Gloss had slipped her earlier, and twirled it between her fingers.
"So," she began, catching Plutarch's attention as he looked up. As he noticed the pen in her hand, his expression froze and his face seemed to lose some colour.
Tyler followed Plutarch's gaze and let out an audible groan as he saw what was in Taiya's hand. He knew she'd been up to something. "Why, why, why?" Taiya heard him mutter under his breath.
Sensing the discomfort she caused, Taiya maintained a pleasant smile, hoping to steer the conversation away from any discussion that might lead to Plutarch's 'next steps' plan.
"So what business?" Taiya smiled.
Plutarch didn't answer, he just glanced nervously at Tyler. Tyler, however, was fixated on the pen, contemplating how to address the situation and snatch the pen away without prompting a poor response from Taiya.
Taiya chuckled, satisfied enough with the reactions she'd already gotten as she spun the pen in her hands. "How's the propo looking?"
This seemed to slightly distract Plutarch, he did love to talk about his propos. If she kept him on this topic long enough, maybe he'd forget his meeting plan.
"I'm pleased with it," he nodded. "I mean it's not my vision," he smiled at her. "It's missing the..." he hesitated, looking for the right word. "Razzle-dazzle."
Taiya's pen spinning immediately stopped. She didn't know what adjective she'd been expecting him to drop, but it wasn't that.
Razzle-dazzle…
Tyler jumped on her momentary shock and quickly leaned across her and snatched the pen out of her hand.
She didn't even care. She couldn't wait to tell Finnick she'd heard Plutarch use the phrase razzle-dazzle.
"I'm pleased with it overall though," he let out a sigh of relief when the pen was moved a safe distance away from her.
Taiya turned her head to look at Tyler, wondering if he was as gobsmacked with Plutarch's word choice as she was. He was, but he was determined to get her to focus, so he just put his hand on top of Taiya's head and turned it back to look at Plutarch.
"Anyway," Plutarch returned his focus to the papers. "I don't want to be the bearer of bad news," he looked at her sadly. "But unfortunately, I have to tell you, due to your lack of training since you've been here, at this stage I'm afraid we can't clear you for permission to go to the Capitol and fight in the rebellion."
Plutarch held his breath, not sure what her reaction was going to be. He didn't anticipate a good reaction from Katniss, which was why he'd tasked Haymitch with breaking the news to her.
But Taiya surprised him.
"Wait, I can't go to the Capitol and fight with the rebels?" she leaned forward.
"I'm afraid not. I am sorry Taiya."
"That's ok," she smiled, leaning back. "I don't want to go, so that works out perfectly."
"You don't want to join in?" he frowned, he thought the victors would be the first ones lining up to tear down the Capitol.
"Not really," she shrugged. "I've done enough right? I was cannon fodder for your plan, got kidnapped and became a prisoner of war. I feel like I've done my fair share. Besides, I don't think I'm exactly 'soldier material'," she used air quotes to emphasise her point.
Plutarch did have to nod at that. She wasn't very good at following orders.
"I would like to enrol you in a training camp of sorts though," he suggested. "Three weeks of it. You are a good fighter, and I would like to see you more involved," he tried to encourage. "If the Assignment Board deems you fit by the end, we can review your case and perhaps clear you."
"But I don't want to go," Taiya shook her head. "So why bother training?"
"You may change your mind when you speak to your peers," Plutarch gently told her.
Taiya understood his subtle warning. This is what Buck and Haymitch warned her about. Plutarch thought Finnick would be keen to march on the Capitol, and if Taiya knew that, she'd want to be by his side. If you had one, you had the other. They were a two-for-one deal. All Plutarch and Coin had to do was convince one-half of the couple that joining in the rebellion's attack on the Capitol was a good idea.
The sad thing was, Taiya knew Finnick would genuinely want to join in. He wouldn't need convincing, he had such a good heart he'd just want to altruistically want to help the cause.
"Can I think about it?"
Plutarch slid a sheet of paper across the table. "Training starts tomorrow. I really hope you attend."
"She'll be there," Tyler confirmed.
Both Buck and Gloss watched in disgust as Finnick ran his hand up and down Taiya's back, whispering in her ear while she sat there with her head in her hands, crying crocodile tears for Tyler's benefit. Everyone else at the table was ignoring her dramatics.
"How could you do this to me?"
But Tyler was also ignoring her. She wasn't crying real tears, so he wasn't that bothered.
"I don't want to go."
"You're going," Tyler answered bluntly. "Plutarch and Coin requested it, and we can't be ruffling any more feathers."
"If you let me keep my pen in that meeting maybe I could have a new unstable bracelet issued to me and I wouldn't have to go," she lifted her head to glare at her mentor.
"That reminds me," Tyler leaned around Buck and smacked Gloss over the back of the head.
"Ow!" the man complained, lifting his hand to hold the spot Tyler had attacked. "What the hell was that for?"
"You know what that was for," Tyler couldn't even be bothered entertaining a conversation with Gloss right now.
A loud clatter from beside Taiya made everyone at the table jump, not one had been expecting it.
Johanna had aggressively slammed her dinner tray down, sloshing soup over the side before she huffed and dropped into the seat next to Taiya.
"I hate this place."
"What's up with you?" Taiya asked.
"Apparently, I'm not fit to go to the Capitol," Johanna scowled, in an absolute rage.
"Me neither! High-five!" Taiya happily held her hand up.
Johanna did not match her happiness though. She wanted to be in the Capitol.
"Katniss got told the same, she's not cleared either," Johanna told them all. "She and I are fuming."
Taiya had to hide her smile. At least the soon-to-be-roommates already had something to bond over.
"There's no way they can keep me from going," Johanna shook her head. "I'll kill a crew and fly Katniss and I both there myself. I don't care. What do these people know about the Capitol anyway?" she scoffed. "They haven't left their bunker here since the end of the last war. We know the Capitol. They should be begging us to go."
"Please don't kill a flight crew," Tyler requested. If it were anyone else he would have just passed the comment off as a joke. But this was Johanna. And you could never tell just how serious she was.
"They're letting Katniss start training tomorrow though. I'm going to join. If we can prove over the next few weeks that we'd make good soldiers they might re-evaluate us."
"Oh hey they're trying to make me train too," Taiya elbowed Johanna.
"They're not trying to, you're going," Tyler pointed his spoon in her direction.
"We'll see," Taiya winked at him.
Johanna just snorted. "Yeah right. You in a training camp? You used to be decent Tay, I'll admit that. But since we've been here you're the laziest person I know. The other day you made Peeta swap to your chair so you could lie down. You were sitting down anyway, I really don't understand how that made you tired. There's no way you'd survive a training camp."
Taiya's eyes immediately hardened as she watched her friend who was chuckling to herself. And then she turned to Tyler. "I'll be there.
ShiaraS46: How about Tinnick? Finniya? HAHA! I do like The Fish Sticks though