"Sorry dude but I have a strict no you, policy" - Agent 13 (Quidam13)
***
What Katniss did, brought Snow's attention directly to her, making him forget about Aria for the time being and for that, the youngest Victor was grateful, taking it to enjoying the temporary peace with her friends, going on numerous rendezvous to Districts Four and Seven while the tyrant monarch was otherwise busy. It also did, however, bring his fury to District Twelve, Haymitch being the only safe one for the moment, not really having anything to lose.
Tensions were rising within all of the Districts, some choosing to rebel, some still on neutral grounds, while a few - the vast minority - was on the Capitol's side. They had to start picking now. Eventually, a revolution would come and you know the drill, 'if you can't beat them, join them'. Districts could not afford to stay neutral for long, for war was approaching and, in order to even have a slight chance at winning, the rebels would need to grow on numbers, and be ready to take the Capitol head-on. The Victors were the first ones to hop on board, it would just be a matter of whether their Districts would join them or not.
All Victors wisely used their time off the hook to plot. They hadn't done much of that yet, and would still need to grow a lot before anything real could even happen, but they weren't just sitting around anymore. Every Victor that was aware of the upcoming rebellion wanted in - or at least, most of them did.
The group decided to leave the newest Victors out of the planning for the time being, knowing that the real motive behind the girl's threat was actually pretty selfish, not wanting to risk exposure just yet. Besides, if they wanted it to look real, they needed their reactions to be sincere. And everyone knew that the girl wasn't great in the art of acting, at least from what they had seen.
The atmosphere in District Five's Victor Village was great, Josh even being less and less called in for his little 'visits' in the Capitol, giving all of them more time to bond and just be free, while they still could, because Hades knew that if, for some weird, unknown reason, the Capitol won, they'd all be screwed and the Games would be remodeled, in a way to impose more control over the Victors or something like that. All Aria knew was that in case the Capitol won the war, she sure didn't want to be around to see it. Rather dying in battle, fighting for something she truly believed in - a better future for all of Panem, save the Capitol, obviously - than coming up as a war survivor from the losing side, knowing that whatever would be awaiting her would definitely be something completely terrifying and Snow-like. She gulped at the thought, quickly repulsing it from her head, tuning back into her friends' conversation.
***
"And that's why my theory of Snow being a 'cu-cu' version of Dumbledore works." Josh wrapped up his argument, the youngest Victor never having been more lost at one of her friends' nonsense discussions. How did he even think about that theory?
Josh was full of conspiracy theories that made absolutely no sense, always basing them off of something that didn't really support them. But his ideas were so absurd that they'd just laugh with him about it, always up to hearing any new ones he'd cooked up in that weird brain of his.
And if you didn't catch the reference or explanation on the first try, it was best to give up, for his arguments went on and on, getting crazier with time. It was easier to simply let it go. Hence the reason the young girl never got to know why Snow was actually a crazy-pants version of Dumbledore.
"It actually does make sense." Pietro bid back, thoughtful, taking the young Victor's concept to heart, putting real thought into it.
The poor guy had just offered to be a target without even knowing it, as Josh would be going to go to him every time Aria zoned out or decided to just plainly ignore him. She did that a lot, thinking that there was no way he was older than her. He was the one who acted like a child most of the time.
Turning back to both of them, se re-inserted herself in their conversation and decided to give all that thinking a break, she was, after all, tired. The fourteen year old would simply enjoy the time she had to be with her friends and family, logging in some quality time together.
***
Haymitch liked not being alone in his District's Victor Village anymore, having not one, but two new neighbors. And he didn't get passed-out drunk everyday like he used to, Aria having helped him out of the nasty habit. He was, in fact, truly happy to have someone as the young girl in his life. She was the first one to actually, really care ever since Maysilee, back in his Games. The older man did still have a couple of drinks here and there, but not like he used to, being very conscious about it.
Katniss and Peeta were good kids, they truly were, but he couldn't stop thinking about how stupid the girl was to openly defy the Capitol like that, although it was needed, and now, even though Snow would probably get his revenge, hopefully it'd be worth it as he yearned to see the life leaving his sorry excuse of a self. The president had killed his mother, little brother and girlfriend, and Haymitch definitely wasn't one to, as you would say 'forgive and forget'. He wanted revenge. And the Victor would get it, eventually.
So life just went on for all of them, well, until the next edition of the Games that is, but relax, that isn't for another whole year. They still had a bunch of time to enjoy themselves and capture those moments of happiness for later. They were truly happy, or at least most of them were. As happy as a Victor could be, obviously.
___
Hey you guyss, this chapter is really, really short and mostly a filler, and I'm sorry about that, but it was all I could muster up for today. It's just a little break in between the 74th and 75th Games, a much needed one. The gif's also pretty random, just a cute Katniss and Peeta moment.
Today's song recommendation is 'The Weight', by Shawn Mendes because it was just playing through my head right now. So, today I had so much to do, in between a meeting at nine am, ballet and jazz from eleven to one and a five-hour test. I'm completely dead, so I'll just go eat and sleep now. Anyways... see you tomorrow. I love you all ;)
And may the odds be ever in your favor. Bye!
Editing note: Heyy. Yes, I am aware that the said 'gif' in this chapter is actually a picture. But when I first published this, I was too tired to notice, and I find it pretty funny and like the memory of this, so that's the reason I won't change it. Hope you can laugh with me about it.
- N