sixthiterationlogs | "I keep wishing I could think of a way to…to show the Capitol they don't own me."

WHO: Peeta Mellark
WHERE: The Fountain, Around the Village
WHEN: 5/6
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: Mentions of the arena, death, etc.

The Fountain (Closed to Finnick)

It had been chaos in the arena. The world seemed to explode in a burst of light as everything fell around them, while all he could think of was finding Katniss. He'd run from Finnick's side when the lightening hit and the arena seemed to shatter. He could hardly hear his voice over the ruckus, but he knew he was screaming for Katniss.

Suddenly, everything around him changed. Water filled his lungs as struggled to reach the surface. Had the arena shifted? Had a tidal wave hit them? His body was like a rock, sinking towards the bottom. His useless efforts to kick did nothing but splash the water around him. Someone might hear, another tribute? Would they even bother trying to kill him if managed to make it to the surface. At the moment, the water was doing the work for them.

He struggled, coughing only to have more water fill his mouth. It wasn't going to be long before another canon sounded and another tribute fell.

The Village

It was a bit to take in, more than arenas. There had been days to prepare for that, to let the idea of death to roll over him. This, this had come out of nowhere. Suddenly he was pulled from the Quarter Quell's arena and thrown into the fountain, forced to adapt to a village he didn't know and prepare for dangers he couldn't predict. Were the other tributes here going to try to kill him? Could he trust them long enough to find food?

Everyone walked around normal, unafraid and confident. No one carried weapons like a life line. Instead, they smiled at him as if he were home. It left him dizzy, as if he was suffering from a fever that made the ground spin under him. So many thoughts and so many questions overwhelmed him. Finally, he collapsed on the steps of a bungalow, unconcerned about who it belonged to or what might lurk inside. Instead, he leaned his head against the railing and let out a deep sigh.

If someone was watching, they'd see his weakness, but there was no saying if there would be sponsors. Let them look at him and know he was separated from Katniss, out of his element and worried for her, as well as their allies. He could at least find some humor, smiling softly to him. "Let the 76th Hunger Games begin."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He's known that she carried the blame for the first arena, even if it was self imposed. Though, he had seen that Snow seemed to be looking for someone to hold at fault. But deep in his gut, he couldn't believe that their actions had been enough to push the Districts over the edge. Words were powerful, but were berries as well?

"Katniss, it wouldn't be just for you." He offered, holding her gaze firmly. "He targeted 12 because he wanted to scare the other districts. Our district was different from the others, we didn't have strict Peacekeepers, we existed outside the Capital." For the most part. "He'd target us because we're the district that could give hope to others. It's not just you. It me and Haymitch, it's Gale and everyone else that can fight."

"If I hadn't...it all started with me and Prim. It's about me, Peeta. He wouldn't have done any of it if it hadn't been for me. I just didn't want to play his games anymore."

Peeta, more than anyone else, understands why Snow wants to target her and why she's always going to be a target. There's no place they can hide while he lives. She's going to kill him someday.

"He destroyed our home because we stood against him. Because I stood against him."

"Whatever he says are his reasons, it's still his actions. He made the decision, he was the one that gave the order. Katniss, you didn't convince him to do these things. Whatever he's thinking about you, he's the one who destroyed 12, not you. You can't carry those lives." Not in the same way he knew she carried her kills in the arena.

He knows and he understands. However good with words he is, it isn't enough to take away guilt or the deeper connection between Snow and Katniss. He was a part of this, but couldn't share that same burden. He could only offer to help in these ways, reassuring her and trying to ease away the pain.

"So many lives have been lost over the years, but you give people hope. No matter what he does, hope can be more powerful than fear."

"Hope doesn't do a lot of good if I'm stuck here in this prison or whatever it is," Katniss says. "We have no idea what's going on in the districts if we're stuck here in this place."

And, in a lot of ways, it's worse than 13 because she's not actively doing anything against the Capitol. Here, she's just wasted space - it's nice to have time to breathe but there's other things that need to be done.

"It doesn't seem like many of the other people here are from the Districts." There was Finnick and one of the former victors, Annie. But other than them, everyone else was...almost foreign. It was a strange thing. All the districts were connected, despite the yearly games that pitted them against each other. The other Districts were odd and strange, but they were still familiar in a sense. They all lived under the Capital.

"I don't think the Capital has anything to do with this." It just...didn't fit.

"Then how are we here? You don't just go to bed in one place and wake up in another without the Capitol being involved," Katniss points out. The world isn't what it used to be before the reaping but there has to be a few constants, a few things that make sense.

"It can't just all be changed."

"I don't know, but why hasn't anyone else heard about the Capital or know what Districts are?" It couldn't be a mass conspiracy. From what he had seen, their reactions seemed genuine. The way they discussed this place, it was something otherworldly. While that should make him suspicious, he was more inclined to believe them, much to his surprise.

"We have time to figure it out. Even if this isn't an arena, we need allies here. We'll have to talk to them and maybe they will help us understand where here is."

"It doesn't make any sense," Katniss agrees. "I don't do well with all the political things anyway. This is better for me than anything Snow can throw at me while I'm wearing a dress."

Katniss gestures broadly toward the outdoors, toward the village and the trees and the lake she knows lies beyond. This is what she's good at. This is how she's going to survive.

"You promise not to hurt me? Swear it?"

It stings to hear her ask him that. Whether she told him he thought she was a mutt or not, it seemed impossible to him that he would ever try to hurt her. She had always been first for him, first in survival and first in his heart. He'd take an arrow from her before he'd raise a blade to her.

"I won't, Katniss." His tone was insistent, refusing to accept whatever future she knew. "I swear I won't. We're in this together."

They would always be in it together.

"I keep wishing I could think of a way to…to show the Capitol they don't own me."

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