"Dahlia Blossom. Don't let the name fool you. She's better known as the Black Dahlia. And she didn't earn that nickname by smiling and looking pretty."
"She sure knows how to perform for the camera."
"Because she knows how to play the game. She alwa...
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Although many members of the squad had been reluctant to trust him, Peeta had been given a gun to complete his look for the next propo. However Boggs, who seemed to have drawn the same conclusions about Coin's plan that Dahlia and Finnick had deduced, ensured the magazine was emptied of all its ammunition before handing it over. Then the Star Squad gathered their own weapons and were on the move once more.
The Odairs had taken up position at Peeta's side as they travelled to their next filming location. He asked them some questions and they tried their best to answer, filling in as many gaps in his memory as they could. But they knew, just as Haymitch realised with Dahlia and Finnick, that the person he really needed to talk to was Katniss. She was the best person to help him through this trauma, yet she was the one keeping the furthest distance from him.
As they strolled through the abandoned Capitol streets, Peeta was given a speech to learn and memorise for the propo. However, the boy was struggling enough with recalling his own memories and now he was being forced to cram more words into his overwhelmed mind. The situation felt very similar to Peeta's experience in the Capitol, where he was told exactly what to say in front of the cameras and pressured to spout words that weren't his own. The resemblances between Coin and Snow were growing by the second.
Though Dahlia and Finnick weren't happy about the arrangements, Peeta seemed relatively willing to comply, so they were determined to help him. "'To the citizens of the Capitol, our war is not with you.'" Finnick read out from the paper gripped in his hands while Dahlia held his trident.
"To the citizens of the Capitol, our war is not with you." Peeta repeated back, his tone monotonous and mechanical with little passion for what he was saying.
"'You will be a vital part of the democracy that follows our victory.'" Finnick continued as Dahlia tried her best not to roll her eyes at the words written for him.
"Be a vital part of the democracy that follows our victory." Peeta mumbled almost inaudibly after him, managing to stumble his way through the uninspiring speech.
Finnick grinned in triumph, patting Peeta on the shoulder and assuring him, "You got it."
"Okay." Peeta nodded, not seeming at all eager to go through with the propo.
After handing Finnick his trident, Dahlia held her hand out for the speech. "Can I see that?" She asked quietly, furrowing her brows in discontent once Finnick passed the paper into her awaiting palm. "I bet Coin wrote this shit. Only she could make an inspirational speech sound like the most boring lecture you've ever heard." Dahlia's grumbling complaints never failed to make Finnick snort with laughter, and it seemed her displeasure for Coin could even bring a faint smile to Peeta's face too. The sight made a grin stretch across Dahlia's lips and she placed a reassuring hand on his arm as she murmured, "You'll do just fine, Peeta. Even an illiterate child could do this speech with more life than Coin."
