Caged | The Hunger Games AU ✓

ii. monorail

"hi," she says cautiously.

"hi," i reply back with just as much tentativeness. my eyebrows crease together in confusion. "not to be rude or anything, seeing as this is your house, but what are you doing here?"

"i...just.." she is quiet for a couple of seconds, then takes a breath and starts again. "i gave katniss something last year, so i thought it would only be fair to give you something, too."

the mockingjay pin– that's what she had given katniss. but what does she want to give me?

my question is soon answered when she presses something cold into my hand. when i look at it, i see it's a pin similar to katniss's, but this one is silver instead of gold and the creature on it is a phoenix. its wings spread out so far that the tips surpass the ring around its body, its head tilted up as if it's looking to the sky above. i wonder in the back of my mind if she has a hidden collection of bird pins.

"phoenixes are interesting creatures," she explains as i examine it carefully. "born from the ashes, tears healing wounds. they're fictional, of course, but that doesn't make them any less beautiful."

i smile at her, pinning my gift to my dress. "thank you, madge. it's beautiful."

"you're welcome." she offers a smile of her own that doesn't quite hide the pity in her eyes. "i have to go now; your family will be here soon to say goodbye. good luck."

with that, she walks out of the room, and i am met with silence.

not even ten minutes after madge's departure, the door opens and this time i am met with my mom and father. my mom has tears in her eyes and my father's face is scrunched up like he's trying very hard not to cry.

i stand up and immediately notice my brother is nowhere to be found. "where's roy?" 

"he wanted to talk to you separately," my mom replies, trying to hold her tears down. "goodness, look at you! i don't think i ever told you how much i love you."

"i don't want to you to say anything you wouldn't say if i wasn't about to be sent off to die," i tell them, and that makes my mother burst into tears, and soon she is hugging me tightly, shoulders shaking as she sobs. i embrace her back just as tightly. it strikes me that i don't remember the last time i did this– we aren't a very touchy family, but it does feel nice to be in my mother's arms again.

"i never told you how much you mean to me," she rasps, her voice muffled by my dress. it's beginning to soak through with her tears. "i've taken you and roy for granted; i never thought either of you would be taken from me!"

"we love you so much, thalia," my father says, his eyes misty. "and we are sorry for not showing it as much as we should have."

we are all in the middle of a hug when the peacekeepers barge in, taking my parents away. i receive kisses on my cheeks from both of them and we exchange "i love you's" for what could be the last time before the doors slam shut.

i am stunned and feel terribly alone when the room is empty again, but i don't have to wait long for roy to come in. he is calm around the peacekeepers, but as soon as the door is closed and we are alone, his facade diminishes and he pulls me into a hug, one i do not hesitate to return. though i am not short by any means – i'm taller than most of the girls my age at school – i feel dwarfed in his arms. my brother. my big brother. what am i going to do without my rock that has kept me tethered all these years? 

"i love you, lia. i'll be cheering for you all the way from home," he whispers and just by his voice i can tell he is crying now. my eyes sting at the nickname he hasn't used for me since we were kids. there is a lump in my throat that makes it hard to breathe. i can't force it to go away, even when i attempt to swallow it down to no avail.