There had been so much noise disrupting the normally quiet island that Katniss had to go check it out. Buttercup followed her, obviously because he had nothing better to do, though she knew that once something newer and shinier turned up he would chase after it. She didn't mind- if anything, it was familiar. The stupid cat had never forgotten her attempts to drown him as a kitten.
She has a stick of something calle cotton candy, and far be it from Katniss to refuse food. The first clumsy bite had melted in her mouth and her eyes had closed for a moment, savoring it. Sweet and cloying; in the Seam, they had never had sweets.
Her eyes opened again when someone bumped her shoulder, and she froze upon noticing that it was Harry. Somehow, it was still uncomfortable to see him, still. Katniss' mind creates associations that aren't easily wiped away. "...hi," she says awkwardly, barely audible over the noise of everything.
Harry’s mind unfortunately worked in the same way. He had told himself time and time again that he had nothing against Katniss personally. He had told her himself that he didn’t agree with some of the things she believed, but he did not think she was evil in any way. But not being evil was one thing. A very good thing, in all fairness, but it was one thing. Being likeable was a completely separate thing.
He paused for a second, trying to remember how to be social with a person who never was. “Having fun?” Harry asked. He noticed the cotton candy in her hand and tipped his own stick towards her, managing a faint grin. “Good, huh?”
"Yes, it's very...sweet," this feels so stilted, so forced, and Katniss hates it. Even when they were screaming and swearing at each other, at least it felt real. Part of her knows that it's because he doesn't like her, but his so-called morals mean that he has to apparently try to be nice to her anyways. If Katniss had a choice, she'd rather him be honest.
There's so much going on here. So much noise, so many lights and decorations that it seems to be an entirely different world to Katniss. Like something out of the Capitol.
"Candy floss," Harry answered helpfully. "But.. I think Americans call it something different." He remembered Kate calling it something else anyway, but he had been too distracted by everything else, including Kate, to ask her what she meant.
"You been on the rides yet?" he asked. It felt like grasping at straws, but they had to have something in common that wasn't a home world in various states of turmoil and people wanting to kill them. "There's a roller coaster inside the caves. It's kind of amazing."
Candy floss. It didn't look anything like floss to her. Perhaps wool would be a better name for it. Candy wool. Scratchy and comforting like the clothes from District 12, but a brighter shade of pink that surely never existed within the grey streets.
"A roller coaster?" this whole carnival is introducing her to a myriad of things that are new to her, and therefore it's easy to simply sub in any contribution to the conversation with questions. She doesn't even really have to listen to the answers. It's perfect. Katniss has always liked people who enjoyed the sound of their own voice better, anyways. It's easier to tune them out. "What is that?"
Harry blinked, having a hard time fathoming the fact that Katniss didn't know what a roller coaster was. It made sense, if he stopped to think about it, but Harry rarely did that, especially not about fun, unimportant things.
"It's... No, come on." He reached out to grab her wrist, then thought better of it halfway through the motion. He kept his hand to himself and nodded in a direction. "I can't explain it. It's a ride... It's loads of fun. We're going on it. That's the only way to understand."
It's a good thing that he didn't grab her wrist. One year on the island is not nearly enough to fix the past two and it would have degenerated their mostly-civil conversation right now into another fight. Still, Katniss watches the motion of his hand warily before conceding that there wasn't any threat here.
"A ride?" her gaze tips towards the loud metal monstrosity and the screams emanating fro it. "That thing? People go on that for fun?"
"Yes," Harry confirmed with barely restrained enthusiasm. He looked up at the coaster and only saw a good time, imagined the wind whipping through his hair as they hurtled along, heard the shouts of joy. "It's the most fun. It's... It's almost like flying. Really, believe me, you'll love it."
Katniss doesn't love flying. Mostly because she's never really been flying. Hovercrafts hardly counted. She doesn't have a fear of heights or anything - or at least, she doesn't think so, but there's something ironic that these people think that near-death experiences were fun. Probably something about the jolt of adrenalin, but with none of the actual danger to accompany it.
She wolfs the rest of her candy wool down first. No need to let it go to waste.
"I've never been flying."
Except for the one time when she had wings, but she had been controlling that. Not some sort of machine. Though even Katniss had to admit it there had been an element of exhilaration in it.
Harry watched her shove the candy floss into her mouth with something like admiration. He didn't follow suit; he knew there was plenty more around, sweets and food of all kinds, but he didn't think it was a bad choice. He munched more leisurely on a few more handfuls as they joined the short line.
"But don't you want to?" he asked. "If you knew you could, wouldn't you want to take off?"
There was food all around, and that was true on the island no matter what, but Katniss had never gotten around her habit of eating as if she'd never see food again. After spending so many years without, she crammed as much as she could down as often as she could. Sometimes, her table manners were less-than-perfect.
"I had wings once. But that's different," the screaming didn't seem to be relenting as she stared up at the roller coaster. "They sound scared."
Harry blinked at the statement, then distractedly glanced up at the ride. "Good scared," he said. "Like when you feel like things might go out of control but you know they really won't." Harry had to admit that he rarely felt the good sort of scared in his life, but he did know it existed and that he wished he could feel it more often.
"Um," he mumbled, bringing his attention back to Katniss. "When did you have wings?"
"One weekend. Everyone had something different about them," it's weird to be standing here and talking like this - like normal people would. Civil, for now. Katniss isn't good at small talk. She figures it's only so long until something goes wrong. There's a reason why she chooses to recluse herself - only, it seems like the island won't ever let her because people keep running into her no matter where she goes.
She has a stick of something calle cotton candy, and far be it from Katniss to refuse food. The first clumsy bite had melted in her mouth and her eyes had closed for a moment, savoring it. Sweet and cloying; in the Seam, they had never had sweets.
Her eyes opened again when someone bumped her shoulder, and she froze upon noticing that it was Harry. Somehow, it was still uncomfortable to see him, still. Katniss' mind creates associations that aren't easily wiped away. "...hi," she says awkwardly, barely audible over the noise of everything.
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He paused for a second, trying to remember how to be social with a person who never was. “Having fun?” Harry asked. He noticed the cotton candy in her hand and tipped his own stick towards her, managing a faint grin. “Good, huh?”
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There's so much going on here. So much noise, so many lights and decorations that it seems to be an entirely different world to Katniss. Like something out of the Capitol.
"What's it called?"
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"You been on the rides yet?" he asked. It felt like grasping at straws, but they had to have something in common that wasn't a home world in various states of turmoil and people wanting to kill them. "There's a roller coaster inside the caves. It's kind of amazing."
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"A roller coaster?" this whole carnival is introducing her to a myriad of things that are new to her, and therefore it's easy to simply sub in any contribution to the conversation with questions. She doesn't even really have to listen to the answers. It's perfect. Katniss has always liked people who enjoyed the sound of their own voice better, anyways. It's easier to tune them out. "What is that?"
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"It's... No, come on." He reached out to grab her wrist, then thought better of it halfway through the motion. He kept his hand to himself and nodded in a direction. "I can't explain it. It's a ride... It's loads of fun. We're going on it. That's the only way to understand."
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"A ride?" her gaze tips towards the loud metal monstrosity and the screams emanating fro it. "That thing? People go on that for fun?"
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How could anyone not love flying?
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She wolfs the rest of her candy wool down first. No need to let it go to waste.
"I've never been flying."
Except for the one time when she had wings, but she had been controlling that. Not some sort of machine. Though even Katniss had to admit it there had been an element of exhilaration in it.
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"But don't you want to?" he asked. "If you knew you could, wouldn't you want to take off?"
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"I had wings once. But that's different," the screaming didn't seem to be relenting as she stared up at the roller coaster. "They sound scared."
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"Um," he mumbled, bringing his attention back to Katniss. "When did you have wings?"
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