Surviving the Same War

Chapter 14

CHRISTINA POV

"Wake up!" I sang into the girls' ears. "Let's get breakfast then get Katniss some clothes! Hmm. Where should we go? Hey Katniss, do you want a tattoo?"

"Shut up!" Tris yelled in my face. She is clearly not a morning person.

"Whatever. Here Katniss, wear these clothes until we get yours. Now, hurry up so we can eat with the guys." Katniss went to change and Tris took a short shower.

"Finally," I said, "Let's go already."

We walked over to the Pit and sat down at the table with the guys.

"Hey, how was it last night?" I heard Peeta say to Katniss. They began their own little conversation and we began ours. The table was split subconsciously, one side was us and the other was them. It didn't seem right so I tried to get everyone in on one conversation.

"Hey, did you guys hear what Katniss did last night?" I got everyone's attention now. "So we played truth or dare, and I dared Katniss to use her bow to shoot some food."

"Did she shoot them?" Zeke asked.

"Of course she shot them. She is the best hunter in all of Panem!" Peeta said, making Katniss blush.

"Ya, she shot them, but that wasn't the cool part! Christina tossed them in the air and-" Tris began.

"Wait!" I shouted, giving everyone a friendly glare. "Let me finish! So I did toss them and Katniss did shoot them, but she shot them against the wall and made a face! It was really cool! You guys should come and see it before we go shopping later."

"Ya, I want to see! But wait, shopping?" Uriah asked. "I thought Katniss was going to go through Tris's landscape today."

"She will, but later. She doesn't have any clothes with her so we have to get her some." I retort. "We should go soon, hurry and finish your food." Tris was still eating, so I just grabbed her food and tossed it into the garbage. "Let's go, there are a lot of shops and little time."

We entered the store Tris works at and started walking around.

"Hey, I'm going to go talk to Tori, I'll be back later." Tris said.

"Okay, see you later. So, Katniss, what's your style?" I ask. I 'm thinking she should be wearing some black pants and a tank top with a jacket over, but that's just me.

"I really don't have one I guess." She replies carelessly.

"How could you not have a style? The clothes you came were stylish." I say, a little bit surprised.

"I didn't pick those out. 13 did, for this assignment." That's strange, but hey, not where I live.

"Oh, here come on, I'll find you a style!" I rush all throughout the store picking up bundles of clothes that would look good on her. "Here, try these on."

She walked into the changing room and came out a few minutes later wearing a black long sleeve shirt and some ugly shorts.

"Eww! What was I thinking?! Take those off before somebody sees you! Try this outfit on instead." She gave a confused look but just changed and came out wearing black pants and a short top.

"Not gonna happen." She said calmly, grabbing some clothes randomly out of the pile and went to change again. Five minutes passed, no Katniss. Ten minutes, same.

"I'm just going to go and get you some shoes." I say, sounding rude unintentionally.

The shoes on the racks are hideous. I have to hold back a gag just to go deeper into the isle. Finally, I spot these blackish-gray boots and grab them. They are leather and have a small platform in the back, yet somehow they look perfect for running. There's a small gray stripe on the sides and a zipper in the back. Perfect!

"Katniiiisssss!" I sing, "Found your shoes!" I went over to the dressing rooms and Katniss still wasn't out. "Katniss? Is everything all right?"

"Whe- Where did you get these clothes?" She says in a muffled voice. The door opens ad she steps out, her eyes red and puffy. She's shaking and demands again. "Where did you find these?!"

"Off the rack-"

"NO! Look!" She shoves the clothes into my face, a pair of loose dark green pants, a black shirt, and a double zipper jacket. "Where did you get these? I wore them in the Hunger Games, they are exactly the same."

"That's common, it's easy to think of a design like that." I say, trying to reassure myself more than her.

Is it possible that somehow, we are connected to Panem? I push the thought out of my mind and focus on Katniss's clothes. After another hour of trying on clothes, we finally finished shopping for Katniss. She got 5 pairs of pants, some t-shirts, tank tops, a jacket, and the boots I saw earlier.

"Come on, let's go pay for this. I think Tris can hook us up with a discount. Speak of the devil." Tris came with Tori trailing her and showed us to the counter.

"Here, I'll pay. Employee discount." We payed and took our bags outside. "Wait, I have an idea! Let's get some tattoos!" Tris exclaimed. "I've been wanting to et another one, and now is the perfect time since Katniss can get one too!"

"What's a tattoo?" Katniss asked.

"It's kind of like- well it's hard to explain, but they look like this," Tris lifted up her sleeve to show her Dauntless symbol. "It can be anything you want, and it stays there." Katniss showed some interest in the subject, "Come on, it's just around the corner."

I decided to lead the way since I worked there. "And here we are. Katniss, if you want to get one, there are some pictures on the wall over there." The room is pretty empty, it's a slow day.

"Um, thanks, but I want to see one of you get yours first." She replied a little nervous.

"That's okay. I was going to get one anyways." She walked up to the the new person, Stacy, and showed her small words she wanted tattooed in a circle on her back.

"Lay down on the table." Stacy said, patting down Tris's back with alcohol. "It's going to sting a bit, but it won't hurt."

Her hand steadied as she began drawing the words Tris wanted on her back in a small ring on we back. After a while, the tattoo was finished and Tris sat up.

"Later I'll show you what it said. Katniss, did you want to get one?" She gave and unsure nod, but quickly pulled something out of her pocket.

"Can you draw this?" Katniss pulls put a small pin with some strange bird on it.

"What is that?" Stacy asked.

"It's called-" Katniss began.

"Oh, it's just some bird that she drew. We had it made onto a pin. It's really cool, right?" I had to interrupt, she shouldn't be giving information like this out so easily.

"Ya, I guess." Stacy replied. "Where do you want it?"

Katniss pointed to her right shoulder. "Here, please." Stacy nodded and patted her shoulder with the alcohol. The needle pressed up against her shoulder and her body stiffened. The tattoo was finally finished and looked amazing. There was a bird looking down, as if it was shy. Something was in its mouth,

I paid for the tattoos and we started walking back to Tris's apartment. "Hey, Katniss? Where did you get that pin?"

"Before my first Hunger Games, my friend Madge came to visit me and gave me the pin to wear in the arena. It kind of became my symbol when I rebelled, I was known as The Mockingjay. The Mockingjay was already a sign against the Capital because during the rebellion, they created mutts called Jabberjays. The Jabberjays recorded enemy conversations but were eventually turned against them, so the Capital let them die in the wilderness. They never died though, they mated with female Mockingbirds. I've kept the pin and never let it go. Madge, she was my one of my 2 friends I had, but she died when the Capital destroyed District 12, this was the last thing she wanted me to have, so I've kept it." Her eyes started to water and her voice started cracking. We entered the room where the guys were waiting.

"Katniss, it's awesome that you have that. Get ready though, you're about to go in Tris's landscape." I say and open the door for them to walk in.

"Finally, you guys came. Give your bags to Christina." Four said leading them into the chair. "Just remember while your in there, it's not real."