.Forest Fire (Johanna Mason X F.OC).

-Game-

Boom.

Boom.

Paige watched the screen without emotions.

She had done all she could.

She played the game, she flaunted herself as 7's career, she gave them all the advice she could, she watched them train, she gave them strategies, she found them allies, she got them tokens, she mentored them, she found them sponsors.

And yet the bloodbath took them away moments later.

Paige sank slowly to the ground, watching the screen showing the face of the two children she coached to their death... Her tributes would not be coming home.

It felt like she couldn't breathe no matter how fast she was gasping for air, grabbing her chest as she hunched over, forehead on the ground.

She crumpled her clothes in her hands, wanting to rip it and tear her heart out, images of how she lost Marcus dancing through her vision.

She reached up, smacking her palm on the side of the tube she was standing next too, the tube in which the little girl she failed had stood in moments before, the girl she failed to keep out of the games.

She could barely register the thumping of rapidly approaching step towards the room before the door was thrown open.

"Paige."

She jerked herself up, pushing up and stumbling into Johanna's arms, falling against her, the other victor needing to catch her whole weight or both would have collapsed to the ground.

"T-they are gone..." Paige stuttered as it hurt so bad, holding on her in a vice grip.

"I know.... I'm sorry.... Let's go find the others."

Johanna might only be half a forehead taller then the girl and looked like she was from a similar mold but she was stronger so it was easy for her to lift the crying girl.

--------------------------------------------------

Out of all the victors, Paige and Enobaria had a weird friendship, all because of a dead girl that became important to the 71sts victor.

So it was not Finnick or Heymitch that Johanna looked for first and foremost but the career, and the woman indulged the decade younger victors of 7.

Johanna grew morbidly used to the death of tributes, you are always hurt but oddly come to expect it to happen, but it pained her to see the other cry into another woman's arms.

She knew this was dangerous, Snow would avoid killing victors yes but he already did it if the story of one named Lucy from 12 was true but there was no way of proving it and even she didn't feel like knowing.

She had grown to care for the 71sts victor more then she should, Snow could do something to her is he wanted.

Johanna looked at the broken girl.

She wouldn't let Snow lay a finger on her, she promised herself, she'll have to die before he does.

---------------------------------------------------

Johanna watched almost sadly as the young victor would beat Heymitch to the grave if this went on.

She had left her for half an hour to walk Enobaria back to her place and when she came back the district's apartment was trashed, everything the could be moved had been thrown, pushed, knocked over. Everything that couldn't be moved was dented, broken, scratched.

She stepped over bloody glass shards, towards the girl sitting with her back to the wall, elbows propped up on her knees and fingers threaded through her hair, holding her head up with the hold on her head, her hair and hands stained with the blood of the cuts on her fingers and palms, a half empty bottle of gin this time, resting in the space between her legs.

"This is why I don't get close, this is why I don't mentor." She righted the little coffee table and pulled it over, sitting on it right in front of the girl that didn't move.

Johanna picked up the alcohol, reading the ingredient without really doing so, this was pure stuff, everything was pure stuff in the Capitol but she always made sure, it was not unseen that drugs would be mixed in and the bastards here even put them in the ingredient list.

She flipped the bottle to look at the from of it and took a big swig of it.

"Does it ever get easier?" Paige whispered. "Sending them to their death?"

"No, you just learn to try to limit the pain."

"By leaving them without advice and someone to help them outside the games." She said.

"Most of the time yes."

"Letting them die in fear knowing we already abandoned then." She crossed her arms across her knees and laid her arm in them making it impossible for Johanna to see her expression anymore.

"At least it is a short life in the arena most times and a quick death, they don't get to suffer like we don't either. If you stopped mento--" "No." Paige just told her off, Johanna not having heard the girl take position on anything ever since her games when she had declared she's bringing her brother home.

Paige had always drifted since she came back, letting Johanna make the choices for her, eating when she was given food, changing out of booze or vomit covered clothes if she was made too, Paige lost all autonomy of her useless life and yet..... No.... That was something Johanna hadn't heard in a long while.

"No?" She questioned back, drinking again from the Capitol's expensive liquor and handed it to the girl that was reaching for the bottle.

"They don't deserve to be abandoned." Paige took a gulp that was more alcohol then the two Johanna herself took, The bottle slipping because of the blood but not falling out of her hands. "They don't deserve this, none of this, we didn't deserve none of this but I will not let them go in that arena alone." Johanna quickly got to her feet as Paige pushed on her legs and pushed herself part way up the wall before stumbling to stand. "I'll do my best damned efforts to get them home, I'll give them a fighting chance because all you need is hope."

Johanna watched her, unable to keep the small smile off her face tho Paige couldn't see, she had dropped her head before throwing it back and just chugging the rest of the liquor.

The inferno the young woman was was long drowned out but the spark might have just flickered back on with the weakest of lights but the breeze unable to put it out like it did before.