"Treech!" Vera called out as soon as she and Arachne arrived, immediately leaving Arachne to meet Treech at the fence. Treech turned his head at her call, slowly getting up to meet her at the fence. Vera smiled happily as she pulled out their lunch from her bag, taking a seat on the ground.
"Come on, I'm hungry," Vera urged, waving for Treech to sit down. Slowly, the boy sat down, nodding his head as he took the food from her hands. The two nibbled on their boiled potatoes for a few moments in silence, just enjoying the food, before Vera spoke.
"We didn't get to talk much about anything earlier. Is it okay if I ask what it's like in District 7?" Vera wondered, forcing Treech to halt. Why would she be interested in his life?
"What do you want to know?" Treech asked, putting down his potato.
"Anything. What do you do for work? What do you do for fun?" Vera replied. Treech paused for a minute, thinking of what to say.
"Been working for most my life. At first, I was just sorting the logs into different sizes, but as I got older, I began to work in the forest and actually chop the wood. That's what I do now, mainly. With my father and brother. Other than that, I guess I don't really do much for fun, besides work. Sometimes, I guess I take my sister, Tilli, to this little pond that's hidden in the trees and we play in the water. I built her a little swing a few years ago and she loves it," Treech explained with a reminiscent smile. Vera listened intently, eyes widened in intrigue.
"That's sweet of you. To care for your sister that way. I'm sure she's thankful for you. I sure know I would be if someone took me to a pond all the time," Vera assured.
"I'm not so sure about that. She's always complaining about how I annoy her too much," Treech answered back, chuckling. Vera laughed too, shaking her head.
"What else is your family like?"
"My brother, Teak, is older and married, so he doesn't live with us anymore. But, I still see him at work every day. Tilli's only 8, so she mainly does work in the Mill. I already told you about our adventures, but usually, she's just attached to Mom's hip. My father loves to build, so he often teaches me how to make stuff. That's where I learned to make the swing. And Mom, well, she's just a pearl. She works as a field cook for us workers, so she makes all the food when we are out working. But, at home, most of the time, she's baking with Tilli. It's usually not much, especially compared to what you're used to, but it's home," Treech confessed, his smile never fading.
"It sounds lovely, Treech. I wish I could experience it, even if it's just once," Vera reassured him with a sincere look on her face.
"Really?" Treech asked, confused about how a girl from the Capitol could ever think his life was lovely.
"Of course. I mean it, Treech. Your family sounds lovely."
"Well then, maybe you'd work well in District 7," Treech joked with a head tilt, Vera raised her eyebrows.
"You think? I don't know if I'd be able to handle an axe. Might be too dangerous with it," Vera joked back, pretending to swing an imaginary axe. Treech rolled his eyes.
"Maybe not the field, but you'd do fine as a field cook with Mom. From what I've had of it, your cooking is well enough," Treech replied, nodding his head in approval. Vera blushed slightly at his compliment, glancing at her lap with a smile.
"Why, thank you, Treech. Maybe one day, I'll take you up on that offer. Though, I should probably cook you a proper meal before you let me join you. So you can see if I'm really that good," Vera proposed with a wink. The two went silent again for a few moments, Treech lost in thought as Vera finished her potato.
"What's it like in the Capitol?" Treech finally asked, moving the focus onto Vera. Vera thought for a moment, wondering what to say.
"Kind of plain, I guess. I go to the Academy every day for schooling, but soon, I'll be graduated. And, then I guess I'll have to go to the University as well. I don't really do much else besides that though. I mean, I bake, but you already knew that. And sometimes I go to the market with my friends, but that's not that fun either, I guess," Vera admitted, biting her lip from embarrassment. How had she managed to make the 'luxurious' Capitol sound boring?
"Do you like the Academy?" Treech asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"God no. I hate it actually, but there's really nothing else to do besides go to school. I probably won't start working until I'm done with university and then, I'll most likely have to marry and figure something out. Maybe they'll have me to be a mentor for the rest of my life," Vera answered, unsure of what else to say. She felt silly admitting how she had no idea of what to do in the future when Treech had known about his future since he was six. But, Treech was not given much of a choice.
"Do you not want to own a bakery?" Treech asked. And the question shocked Vera. Because in all honesty, she'd never really given it much thought.
"I would love to own a bakery. But, I'm not sure my family would allow it. I'm from one of the elite families. My father got rich for designing the Peacekeeper uniforms, so I technically wouldn't have to work. But, then that means just being someone's wife and I don't really want that. It's complicated I guess," Vera replied, though once again she felt silly complaining when Treech had suffered much worse.
"Your family wouldn't allow it?" asked Treech, causing Vera to laugh.
"Of course not. They'd say it's not a suitable job for someone of my status. They'd soon rather see me dead than lose my status," Vera explained as Treech grimaced.
"Wow. I'm guessing you don't get along then," Treech answered with a dry chuckle.
"Guess not. Though I do love my cat," Vera replied.
"You have a cat? Where did you get a cat?" Treech asked with his eyes widened in shock.
"During the war," Vera explained, "I found him on the streets and kept him hidden in my room. I used to skip meals and bring the food to him, so no one could accuse me of sneaking more than I needed. And then, after the war, I pretended I like I just found him and I've had him since."
"Of course, you'd find and keep a cat during a war," Treech teased with a playful eye roll. Vera lightly scoffed.
"He was dying. I needed to save him."
"Okay, fine. We can move on. What about your friends," said Treech after he finished coughing from his laughing fit. Immediately, Vera's eyes lit up.
"Well, there's Sejanus. He moved here from District 2 ten years ago. He's really sweet, but no one else really knows that because they don't want to talk to him. Then there's Coryo, I've known him my entire life. Both our families are part of the elites, so we've always been to the same events. Actually, the other day when we ate the sandwiches, both Sejanus and Coryo were here with me," Vera began, beaming as she described her two friends.
"Of course, there are others, like Festus, Lysistrata, and Clemmie, but no one like those two. They're my family."
"Coryo. Like Coriolanus? Lucy Gray's mentor, from the truck?"
Vera let out a chuckle as she nodded.
"So, Sejanus was the one with the sandwiches," Treech said, thinking out loud, "I didn't know he was from the Districts."
"Yep. He talks about it all of the time. I can tell he misses it, a lot. The Capitol may bring more wealth and luxury, but to him, it'll never be home," Vera explained with a sad smile.
"Could he ever go back?"
"I'm sure he'd love to, but I'm not sure if District 2 would accept him again. Of course, he was just a kid when it happened, but from the way Marcus reacts, I can imagine that he'd probably just be viewed as a traitor. But, maybe he could try another district," explained Vera.
"And what about you? Would you ever consider moving to the districts? I mean, what would happen if you did?" Treech then asked, moving the attention back to her. Vera looked around, making sure a cameraman wasn't filming them again before speaking.
"Maybe. I'd definitely have to run away and not let anyone know or else my parents would try to stop me, but once I was gone, they wouldn't bother looking. They'd just act like I never existed to save themselves from being associated with a traitor," Vera admitted, pulling in closer to make sure Treech was the only one to hear her.
"So why don't you?" he whispered back.
"I wouldn't know where to go. Everyone I know is in the Capitol. I'd have no one in the districts," Vera answered honestly, with a frown.
"Well, what about District-" Treech began to say, but was interrupted by a shriek. Vera jumped at the sound, embarrassingly clinging to the boy in front of her through the bars, before turning her head.
"Arachne?!"
A/N:
Happy Monday all!! I swear we will get more of Arachne's death next chapter !! I got a little caught up writing Vera and Treech lol,,, Anyways, as always, thank you so much for reading. I really appreciate all the engagement on this fic !! It means so much to me !! Anyway, have a good few days !!
Love you guys, Hannah <3