The Capitol of Panem [Friday, Fandom Time]
Once again, Katniss' prep team was nervous, though at least this time they didn't weep all over her. She sat still while they buffed her nails and skin, and twined her hair up intricately. Venia was so pale it seemed like her tattoos were leaping off of her skin. The whole time, she avoided Katniss's gaze. Finally, when Cinna came in with the dress she'd be wearing, Venia lifted her eyes, took Katniss's hands, and said, “We would all like you to know what a… privilege it has been to make you look your best.” Then she hastened from the room.
It was certain from Venia’s last words that everyone knew Katniss wouldn’t be returning. Did the whole world know it? Katniss glanced to Cinna. Of course he did. But there was no danger of tears from him.
"So what am I wearing today?" she asked, as pleasantly as she could.
“President Snow put in the dress order himself,” says Cinna. He unzipped the bag, revealing a long, softly yellow gown nearly identical to the dress she'd been interviewed in last year -- the one that had made her twirl.
She rubbed a bit of the silk between her fingers, trying to figure out President Snow’s reasoning. Since she was the greatest offender, her pain and loss and humiliation should be in the brightest spotlight. This will make that clear. It was so barbaric, the president turning favorite dress into her shroud, that the blow struck home, leaving Katniss with a dull ache inside. “Well, it’d be a shame to waste such a pretty dress” was all she could say.
Cinna helped her carefully into the gown. As it settled on her shoulders, she couldn't help giving a shrug of complaint. “It's heavier than last year's, no matter how much it looks like it," she noted quietly.
“I had to make some slight alterations because of the lighting,” said Cinna. She nodded, but she couldn’t see what that had to do with anything.
“You’re ravishing,” he said, once she was decked out in jewelry and shoes and even the same headband as last year's. “Now, Katniss, because this bodice is so fitted, I don’t want you raising your arms above your head. Well, not until you twirl, anyway.”
“Will I be twirling again?” she asked, smiling slightly.
“I’m sure Caesar will ask you. And if he doesn’t, you suggest it yourself. Only not right away. Save it for your big finale,” Cinna instructed her.
“You give me a signal so I know when,” she said.
“All right. Any plans for your interview? I know Haymitch left you two to your own devices,” he said.
“No, this year I’m just winging it. The funny thing is, I’m not nervous at all.” And she wasn't. However much President Snow may have hated her, the Capitol audience was hers.
---
The other tributes were already gathered offstage and were talking softly when Peeta and Katniss arrived. As soon as they spotted her, though, they fell silent. She slowly realized everyone was staring daggers at her dress. Were they jealous of its beauty? The power it might have had to manipulate the crowd?
Finally Finnick said, “I can’t believe Cinna put you in that thing.”
“He didn’t have any choice. President Snow made him,” Katniss said, somewhat defensively.
Cashmere tossed her flowing blond curls back and spit out, “Well, you look ridiculous!” She grabbed her brother’s hand and pulled him into place to lead the procession onto the stage. The other tributes began to line up as well. Katniss, however, was confused because, while they all were angry, some were giving them sympathetic pats on the shoulder, and Johanna Mason actually stopped to straighten her pearl necklace.
“Make him pay for it, okay?” she said.
Katniss nodded, but she didn’t know what she meant. Not until they were all sitting out onstage and Caesar Flickerman, hair and face highlighted in lavender this year, had finished his opening spiel and the tributes began their interviews.
Finally, Katniss began to realize the depth of betrayal felt among the victors and the rage that accompanied it.
But they were so smart, so wonderfully smart about how they played it, because it all came back to reflect on the government and President Snow in particular. Not everyone, of course. There were the old throwbacks, like Brutus and Enobaria, who were just there for another Games, and those too baffled or drugged or lost to join in on the attack. But there were enough victors who still had the wits and the nerve to come out fighting.
Cashmere started it, with a speech about how she just couldn’t stop crying when she thought of how much the people in the Capitol must have been suffering because they would be losing their beloved victors.
Gloss recalled the kindness shown there to him and his sister.
Beetee questioned the legality of the Quell, nervous and twitchy as he wondered if it had been fully examined by experts.
Finnick recited a poem he wrote to his one true love in the Capitol, and about a hundred people fainted because they were sure he meant them.
By the time Johanna Mason was called to speak, she was ready to ask if something can’t be done about the situation. Surely the creators of the Quarter Quell never anticipated such love forming between the victors and the Capitol. No one could be so cruel as to sever such a deep bond.
Seeder quietly ruminated about how, back in District Eleven, everyone assumed President Snow was all-powerful. So if he’s all-powerful, why couldn't he change the Quell?
And Chaff, who came right on her heels, insists the president could change the Quell if he wanted to, but he must not have thought it mattered much to anyone.
By the time Katniss was introduced, the audience was an absolute wreck. People were weeping, collapsing, and even calling for change. The sight of Katniss in her yellow silk gown -- what she'd been wearing the night Peeta had declared his love for her before all of Panem -- practically caused a riot. No more Katniss, no more star-crossed lovers living happily ever after, no more wedding. She could see even Caesar’s professionalism showing some cracks as he tried to quiet them so she could speak, but her three minutes began to tick quickly away.
Finally there was a lull and he got out, “So, Katniss, obviously this is a very emotional night for everyone. Is there anything you’d like to say?”
Katniss' voice, in spite of her better efforts, trembled slightly as she began to speak. “Only that I’m so sorry I won't be able to spend my life with all of you, here in the Capitol. But I’m glad I was able to say goodbye. And I'm glad I got to wear this again. Isn't it beautiful?" She didn't even have to look at Cinna for a signal. She knew this was the right time. Katniss began to twirl slowly, raising the sleeves of her heavy gown above her head.
When she heard the screams of the crowd, she thought it was because she was so stunning, or something like that. Then she noticed the smoke rising up around her.
Fire. Not the flickery stuff from last year on the chariot, but something much more real. The flames licked up the sides of her dress. She began to panic as the smoke thickened, and charred bits of black silk rose into the air. Somehow she was afraid to stop, because she wasn't on fire, and she knew Cinna must have been behind whatever was happening. So, instead, she kept spinning and spinning.
Suddenly, the fire was gone, entirely. Katniss came slowly to a stop, wondering if she was naked, and why Cinna would have arranged to burn away her gown.
But she wasn't naked. She was in a dress of the exact design of her yellow gown, only it was now the color of coal and made of tiny feathers. She saw herself on the television screen -- clothed in black, except for stark white patches on her sleeves. Or rather, her wings.
Because Cinna had turned her into a mockingjay.
“Feathers,” said Caesar, carefully reaching out to touch her still-smoldering headpiece. “You’re like a bird.”
“A mockingjay, I think,” she said, giving her wings a small flap. “It’s the bird on the pin I wear as a token.”
A shadow of recognition flickered across Caesar’s face, and Katniss could tell that he knew the mockingjay wasn’t just her token, and that it had come to symbolize so much more. That what would be seen as a flashy costume change in the Capitol was resonating in an entirely different way throughout the districts. But he made the best of it.
“Well, hats off to your stylist. I don’t think anyone can argue that that’s not the most spectacular thing we’ve ever seen in an interview. Cinna, I think you better take a bow!” Caesar gestured for Cinna to rise. He did, and made a small, gracious bow.
And suddenly Katniss was so afraid for him. What had he done? Something terribly dangerous. An act of rebellion in itself. And he had done it for her.
“Don’t worry. I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don’t hurt anyone but myself.”
The significance of her fiery transformation would not be lost on President Snow.
The audience, who had been stunned into silence, broke into wild applause. Katniss could barely hear the buzzer that indicated that her three minutes were up. Caesar thanked her and Katniss went back to her seat, her dress now feeling lighter than air.
As she passed Peeta, who was headed for his interview, he didn’t meet her eyes.
---
“So, Peeta, what was it like when, after all you’ve been through, you found out about the Quell?” asked Caesar.
“I was in shock. I mean, one minute Katniss and I were talking about wedding plans, and the next....” Peeta trailed off.
“You realized there was never going to be a wedding?” asked Caesar gently.
Peeta paused for a long moment, as if deciding something. He looked out at the spellbound audience, then at tin floor, then finally up at Caesar. “Caesar, do you think all our friends here can keep a secret?”
“I feel quite certain of it,” said Caesar.
“We’re already married,” said Peeta quietly. The crowd reacted in astonishment, and Katniss immediately buried her face in the folds of her skirt so no one would see her utter confusion. She trusted Peeta, of course, because he was better at this, but where could he be going with this?
“But… how can that be?” asked Caesar.
“Oh, it’s not an official marriage. We didn’t go to the Justice Building or anything. But we have this marriage ritual in District Twelve. I don’t know what it’s like in the other districts. But there’s this thing we do,” said Peeta, and he briefly described the toasting ritual performed by couples in Twelve on their wedding day.
“Were your families there?” asked Caesar.
“No, we didn’t tell anyone. Not even Haymitch. And Katniss’ mother would never have approved. But you see, we knew if we were married in the Capitol, there wouldn’t be a toasting. And neither of us really wanted to wait any longer. So one day, we just did it,” Peeta said. “And to us, we’re more married than any piece of paper or big party could make us.”
“So this was before the Quell?” said Caesar.
“Of course before the Quell. I’m sure we’d never have done it after we knew,” said Peeta, starting to get upset. “But who could’ve seen it coming? No one. We went through the Games, we were victors, everyone seemed so thrilled to see us together, and then out of nowhere-I mean, how could we anticipate a thing like that?”
“You couldn’t, Peeta.” Caesar put an arm around his shoulders. “As you say, no one could’ve. But I have to confess, I’m glad you two had at least a few months of happiness together.”
Enormous applause. As if encouraged, Katniss looked up from her feathers, allowing the audience a tragic smile of thanks -- and it helped that the smoke from her gown had made her eyes teary.
“I’m not glad,” said Peeta. “I wish we had waited until the whole thing was done officially.”
Even Caesar was taken aback by this news. “Surely even a brief time is better than no time?”
“Maybe I’d think that, too, Caesar,” said Peeta bitterly, “if it weren’t for the baby.”
And once again, Peeta had dropped a bomb that destroyed every interview that came before him. Or, at least, this year, he detonated the bomb that the victors had been building for the last hour.
Even the most Capitol-loving, Games-hungry, bloodthirsty person out there could not ignore, at least for a moment, how horrific the whole thing was.
Katniss was pregnant.
The audience couldn't absorb the news right away. It had to strike them and sink in and be confirmed by other voices before they began to sound like a herd of wounded animals, moaning, shrieking, calling for help.
And Katniss? She knew her face was projected in a tight close-up on the screen, but she didn't make any effort to hide it. Because for a moment, even she was working through what Peeta had said.
Caesar couldn’t rein in the crowd again, not even when the buzzer sounds. Peeta nodded his good-bye and comes back to his seat without any more conversation. Katniss could see Caesar’s lips moving, but the place was in total chaos and she couldn't hear a word. Only the blast of the anthem, cranked up so loud she could feel it vibrating through her bones, let them know the program had actually ended. She rose, and beside her, Peeta reached out for her. Tears ran down his face. How real were the tears?
She looked out to the crowd, but the faces of Rue's mother and father swam before her -- she was an embodiment, now, of every fear of every parent in Panem. Impulsively, she turned to Chaff, offering her hand. Her fingers closed around the stump that now completed his arm.
Up and down the row, victors joined hands. Some right away, like the morphlings and Beetee and Wiress. Others took a moment, but were pushed into it, like Brutus and Enobaria.
By the time the anthem ended, all twenty-four stood in one unbroken line, the first public display of unity since the Dark Days. And the cameras, of course, realized this too late before the stage lights were cut.
[OOC welcome as per usual, NFB/NFI, stolen from Catching Fire!]
It was certain from Venia’s last words that everyone knew Katniss wouldn’t be returning. Did the whole world know it? Katniss glanced to Cinna. Of course he did. But there was no danger of tears from him.
"So what am I wearing today?" she asked, as pleasantly as she could.
“President Snow put in the dress order himself,” says Cinna. He unzipped the bag, revealing a long, softly yellow gown nearly identical to the dress she'd been interviewed in last year -- the one that had made her twirl.
She rubbed a bit of the silk between her fingers, trying to figure out President Snow’s reasoning. Since she was the greatest offender, her pain and loss and humiliation should be in the brightest spotlight. This will make that clear. It was so barbaric, the president turning favorite dress into her shroud, that the blow struck home, leaving Katniss with a dull ache inside. “Well, it’d be a shame to waste such a pretty dress” was all she could say.
Cinna helped her carefully into the gown. As it settled on her shoulders, she couldn't help giving a shrug of complaint. “It's heavier than last year's, no matter how much it looks like it," she noted quietly.
“I had to make some slight alterations because of the lighting,” said Cinna. She nodded, but she couldn’t see what that had to do with anything.
“You’re ravishing,” he said, once she was decked out in jewelry and shoes and even the same headband as last year's. “Now, Katniss, because this bodice is so fitted, I don’t want you raising your arms above your head. Well, not until you twirl, anyway.”
“Will I be twirling again?” she asked, smiling slightly.
“I’m sure Caesar will ask you. And if he doesn’t, you suggest it yourself. Only not right away. Save it for your big finale,” Cinna instructed her.
“You give me a signal so I know when,” she said.
“All right. Any plans for your interview? I know Haymitch left you two to your own devices,” he said.
“No, this year I’m just winging it. The funny thing is, I’m not nervous at all.” And she wasn't. However much President Snow may have hated her, the Capitol audience was hers.
---
The other tributes were already gathered offstage and were talking softly when Peeta and Katniss arrived. As soon as they spotted her, though, they fell silent. She slowly realized everyone was staring daggers at her dress. Were they jealous of its beauty? The power it might have had to manipulate the crowd?
Finally Finnick said, “I can’t believe Cinna put you in that thing.”
“He didn’t have any choice. President Snow made him,” Katniss said, somewhat defensively.
Cashmere tossed her flowing blond curls back and spit out, “Well, you look ridiculous!” She grabbed her brother’s hand and pulled him into place to lead the procession onto the stage. The other tributes began to line up as well. Katniss, however, was confused because, while they all were angry, some were giving them sympathetic pats on the shoulder, and Johanna Mason actually stopped to straighten her pearl necklace.
“Make him pay for it, okay?” she said.
Katniss nodded, but she didn’t know what she meant. Not until they were all sitting out onstage and Caesar Flickerman, hair and face highlighted in lavender this year, had finished his opening spiel and the tributes began their interviews.
Finally, Katniss began to realize the depth of betrayal felt among the victors and the rage that accompanied it.
But they were so smart, so wonderfully smart about how they played it, because it all came back to reflect on the government and President Snow in particular. Not everyone, of course. There were the old throwbacks, like Brutus and Enobaria, who were just there for another Games, and those too baffled or drugged or lost to join in on the attack. But there were enough victors who still had the wits and the nerve to come out fighting.
Cashmere started it, with a speech about how she just couldn’t stop crying when she thought of how much the people in the Capitol must have been suffering because they would be losing their beloved victors.
Gloss recalled the kindness shown there to him and his sister.
Beetee questioned the legality of the Quell, nervous and twitchy as he wondered if it had been fully examined by experts.
Finnick recited a poem he wrote to his one true love in the Capitol, and about a hundred people fainted because they were sure he meant them.
By the time Johanna Mason was called to speak, she was ready to ask if something can’t be done about the situation. Surely the creators of the Quarter Quell never anticipated such love forming between the victors and the Capitol. No one could be so cruel as to sever such a deep bond.
Seeder quietly ruminated about how, back in District Eleven, everyone assumed President Snow was all-powerful. So if he’s all-powerful, why couldn't he change the Quell?
And Chaff, who came right on her heels, insists the president could change the Quell if he wanted to, but he must not have thought it mattered much to anyone.
By the time Katniss was introduced, the audience was an absolute wreck. People were weeping, collapsing, and even calling for change. The sight of Katniss in her yellow silk gown -- what she'd been wearing the night Peeta had declared his love for her before all of Panem -- practically caused a riot. No more Katniss, no more star-crossed lovers living happily ever after, no more wedding. She could see even Caesar’s professionalism showing some cracks as he tried to quiet them so she could speak, but her three minutes began to tick quickly away.
Finally there was a lull and he got out, “So, Katniss, obviously this is a very emotional night for everyone. Is there anything you’d like to say?”
Katniss' voice, in spite of her better efforts, trembled slightly as she began to speak. “Only that I’m so sorry I won't be able to spend my life with all of you, here in the Capitol. But I’m glad I was able to say goodbye. And I'm glad I got to wear this again. Isn't it beautiful?" She didn't even have to look at Cinna for a signal. She knew this was the right time. Katniss began to twirl slowly, raising the sleeves of her heavy gown above her head.
When she heard the screams of the crowd, she thought it was because she was so stunning, or something like that. Then she noticed the smoke rising up around her.
Fire. Not the flickery stuff from last year on the chariot, but something much more real. The flames licked up the sides of her dress. She began to panic as the smoke thickened, and charred bits of black silk rose into the air. Somehow she was afraid to stop, because she wasn't on fire, and she knew Cinna must have been behind whatever was happening. So, instead, she kept spinning and spinning.
Suddenly, the fire was gone, entirely. Katniss came slowly to a stop, wondering if she was naked, and why Cinna would have arranged to burn away her gown.
But she wasn't naked. She was in a dress of the exact design of her yellow gown, only it was now the color of coal and made of tiny feathers. She saw herself on the television screen -- clothed in black, except for stark white patches on her sleeves. Or rather, her wings.
Because Cinna had turned her into a mockingjay.
“Feathers,” said Caesar, carefully reaching out to touch her still-smoldering headpiece. “You’re like a bird.”
“A mockingjay, I think,” she said, giving her wings a small flap. “It’s the bird on the pin I wear as a token.”
A shadow of recognition flickered across Caesar’s face, and Katniss could tell that he knew the mockingjay wasn’t just her token, and that it had come to symbolize so much more. That what would be seen as a flashy costume change in the Capitol was resonating in an entirely different way throughout the districts. But he made the best of it.
“Well, hats off to your stylist. I don’t think anyone can argue that that’s not the most spectacular thing we’ve ever seen in an interview. Cinna, I think you better take a bow!” Caesar gestured for Cinna to rise. He did, and made a small, gracious bow.
And suddenly Katniss was so afraid for him. What had he done? Something terribly dangerous. An act of rebellion in itself. And he had done it for her.
“Don’t worry. I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don’t hurt anyone but myself.”
The significance of her fiery transformation would not be lost on President Snow.
The audience, who had been stunned into silence, broke into wild applause. Katniss could barely hear the buzzer that indicated that her three minutes were up. Caesar thanked her and Katniss went back to her seat, her dress now feeling lighter than air.
As she passed Peeta, who was headed for his interview, he didn’t meet her eyes.
---
“So, Peeta, what was it like when, after all you’ve been through, you found out about the Quell?” asked Caesar.
“I was in shock. I mean, one minute Katniss and I were talking about wedding plans, and the next....” Peeta trailed off.
“You realized there was never going to be a wedding?” asked Caesar gently.
Peeta paused for a long moment, as if deciding something. He looked out at the spellbound audience, then at tin floor, then finally up at Caesar. “Caesar, do you think all our friends here can keep a secret?”
“I feel quite certain of it,” said Caesar.
“We’re already married,” said Peeta quietly. The crowd reacted in astonishment, and Katniss immediately buried her face in the folds of her skirt so no one would see her utter confusion. She trusted Peeta, of course, because he was better at this, but where could he be going with this?
“But… how can that be?” asked Caesar.
“Oh, it’s not an official marriage. We didn’t go to the Justice Building or anything. But we have this marriage ritual in District Twelve. I don’t know what it’s like in the other districts. But there’s this thing we do,” said Peeta, and he briefly described the toasting ritual performed by couples in Twelve on their wedding day.
“Were your families there?” asked Caesar.
“No, we didn’t tell anyone. Not even Haymitch. And Katniss’ mother would never have approved. But you see, we knew if we were married in the Capitol, there wouldn’t be a toasting. And neither of us really wanted to wait any longer. So one day, we just did it,” Peeta said. “And to us, we’re more married than any piece of paper or big party could make us.”
“So this was before the Quell?” said Caesar.
“Of course before the Quell. I’m sure we’d never have done it after we knew,” said Peeta, starting to get upset. “But who could’ve seen it coming? No one. We went through the Games, we were victors, everyone seemed so thrilled to see us together, and then out of nowhere-I mean, how could we anticipate a thing like that?”
“You couldn’t, Peeta.” Caesar put an arm around his shoulders. “As you say, no one could’ve. But I have to confess, I’m glad you two had at least a few months of happiness together.”
Enormous applause. As if encouraged, Katniss looked up from her feathers, allowing the audience a tragic smile of thanks -- and it helped that the smoke from her gown had made her eyes teary.
“I’m not glad,” said Peeta. “I wish we had waited until the whole thing was done officially.”
Even Caesar was taken aback by this news. “Surely even a brief time is better than no time?”
“Maybe I’d think that, too, Caesar,” said Peeta bitterly, “if it weren’t for the baby.”
And once again, Peeta had dropped a bomb that destroyed every interview that came before him. Or, at least, this year, he detonated the bomb that the victors had been building for the last hour.
Even the most Capitol-loving, Games-hungry, bloodthirsty person out there could not ignore, at least for a moment, how horrific the whole thing was.
Katniss was pregnant.
The audience couldn't absorb the news right away. It had to strike them and sink in and be confirmed by other voices before they began to sound like a herd of wounded animals, moaning, shrieking, calling for help.
And Katniss? She knew her face was projected in a tight close-up on the screen, but she didn't make any effort to hide it. Because for a moment, even she was working through what Peeta had said.
Caesar couldn’t rein in the crowd again, not even when the buzzer sounds. Peeta nodded his good-bye and comes back to his seat without any more conversation. Katniss could see Caesar’s lips moving, but the place was in total chaos and she couldn't hear a word. Only the blast of the anthem, cranked up so loud she could feel it vibrating through her bones, let them know the program had actually ended. She rose, and beside her, Peeta reached out for her. Tears ran down his face. How real were the tears?
She looked out to the crowd, but the faces of Rue's mother and father swam before her -- she was an embodiment, now, of every fear of every parent in Panem. Impulsively, she turned to Chaff, offering her hand. Her fingers closed around the stump that now completed his arm.
Up and down the row, victors joined hands. Some right away, like the morphlings and Beetee and Wiress. Others took a moment, but were pushed into it, like Brutus and Enobaria.
By the time the anthem ended, all twenty-four stood in one unbroken line, the first public display of unity since the Dark Days. And the cameras, of course, realized this too late before the stage lights were cut.
[OOC welcome as per usual, NFB/NFI, stolen from Catching Fire!]