[She's so caught up in this new information that the subtleties in his behavior don't register with her. (Not that they'd be likely to on a regular basis; for all her talents, Katniss Everdeen isn't the most adept at picking up those social cues.) Where has she heard this before? A magic castle that occasionally messes with people for the fun of it.....
....... Oh. It suddenly hits her. With a bit of horror.]
[All he wants to do is hold her. Kiss her. Touch her. Tell her everything will be okay and that he'll always be there. Everything is like after the 74th Hunger Games. Distant, cold. He's looking at her with the same sort of disappointed shock. But the love is still there, burning hungrily and desperately as it hits him as well.]
No, she can't. I'd rather be alone than you being forced into another game.
[In an instant, this changes things. Of course, initially, she'd been wary about getting involved in another game. Just the word alone has so many sinister connotations now. But if Peeta's there....--
The boy with the bread. No matter what, she can't lose him. Just as she did then, she has to do everything she can to make sure he stays alive.]
[No, he has to be strong. He can't let her end up in a game just because he misses her. Lying came so easy after a little practice. He becomes blank, the nobody that could lie and kill.]
[It doesn't matter how she feels about Peeta right now. (Confused, at best.) How Peeta feels about her. (Indecipherable.) What matters is that if she hadn't done what she did, he would have died in that arena. No matter how strained anything is, if she has any say, that won't have been for nothing.
[He could never convince her of anything, could he? Not even the simplest things. He steps up to her, his face softening. He takes her hands in his, barely speaking above a whisper.]
Katniss. No one needs me. But you... you have Gale, your mother... and Prim. You have to convince her to send you back for Prim.
[He sighs. The words were eerily similar to words he had whispered in her ear before. Maybe this time they would work.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
....... Oh. It suddenly hits her. With a bit of horror.]
That's the one.
no subject
No, she can't. I'd rather be alone than you being forced into another game.
no subject
The boy with the bread. No matter what, she can't lose him. Just as she did then, she has to do everything she can to make sure he stays alive.]
I'm coming.
no subject
[No, he has to be strong. He can't let her end up in a game just because he misses her. Lying came so easy after a little practice. He becomes blank, the nobody that could lie and kill.]
No, I don't need you. Tell her that.
no subject
Her expression hardens.]
You need me. We both know that.
no subject
Katniss. No one needs me. But you... you have Gale, your mother... and Prim. You have to convince her to send you back for Prim.
[He sighs. The words were eerily similar to words he had whispered in her ear before. Maybe this time they would work.]