(Now you'll know why I mentioned 'Stone and Lumber' because I am doing the same to her as I am too Athena... Tho in a different way.)
Bera stumbled in her movement so hard at the sight that she had thrown herself on the ground, barely catching herself.
She gazes up, the creaking of the wooden beam so loud.
Her mouth fell open, the improvised weapon tumbling out of it and clinking on the wooden boards harder then it should have but her senses had gone into overdrive, hearing the stress snaps
She took a shaky breath, blinking, blinking so much, trying to wash the sight out of her eyes.
"Valerius." She tried to call but she could barely get enough strength in her voice, looking at the knocked over chair that had made the noise a few minutes before.
She struggled against her own body, sitting on her knees, trying to will it to move.
"Valerius!" She called louder, in the dead silence of the night steering was heard despite it not being fast enough.
"MOVE ALREADY!!" Her brain screamed at her for once, force once pushing her to action before her heart had... She knew of one way to make that old man run to her and she be damned if she didn't speak before she had decided against it.
Swaying, swaying, swaying.
"GRANDPA!!!" She kicking on her cast, stumbling to the girl and heaving her on her shoulder, lifting her and trying to keep her upright so she didn't fall over in either way and snap the rope taught once again.
It didn't take long for the older man to burst into the room when the scream of Bera accompanied by a name she hasn't called him by in a decade sounded out, just in some boxers and nothing else.
He didn't even gasp, lunging for the chair and standing it back up to stand on it and reach for the knot on the noose, almost tearing it apart.
"Save her." Bera's leg couldn't take much more, the pain was too much even for her, falling to her knee as Valerius help the unresponsive child in his arms. "Save her!! Save her!!"
He left his granddaughter alone in the room, starting off in a headless sprint out the door, out the home, through the district, with the fleeting hope of him and her to save this child.
Bera looked at her hands, chocking on her own breath, feeling like she was drowning which which was sending her brain in a frenzy. The gasps and spats depriving it from precious air in the panic that took over.
Having a complete lose of control over her body, fear filling every pores, limbs twitching outside of her control, the world going black.
Bera felt like she was dying and all she could do was stay there, screaming trapped in her mind with no escape.
All while thoughts of agony swayed, swayed, swayed, through her mind.
They didn't have a rope at home.
She didn't teach her to tie knots.
There were no peacekeepers.
No peacekeepers opened the doors.
No peacekeepers threatened her.
The door was opened by her.
The chair was dragged in by her.
The rope was tied to sway, sway, sway by her.
She learnt to tie a noose at the training center.
The noose was tied by her.
Bera could barely see through her total and utter collapse but there was one thing she did see.
The noose.
And it swayed, swayed, swayed.
------------------------------------------------------
By the time her body was able to function again, she felt exhausted in addition to all her feeling.
"Slowly." She heard the distant voice of Valerius even if her was near, too near for his voice to sound like that.
And he was not alone, seeing Cecelia and Woof too, the woman helping her sit as Valerius told the older victor to stay there with them while he got water.
She put her hand over her eye patch, still shaking but more out of the remaining fear still strongly anchored into her heart.
She looked up and there was nothing left to see, nothing left to sway, sway, sway.
She hiccuped, chocking up with her throat closing up.
"Ssh, calm." Cecelia hugged her, Bera's head against her chest. "Ssh."
"Where--" She coughed on her own saliva, she was unable to tell how long she was just out of commotion, terrified and tormented by her own brain in this damned room.
Valerius had just come back, handing her the bottle but it slipped through her hands so he grabbed it, helping her drink even if she got some on her.
"Val... Va..." She couldn't get anything out over the turmoil in her mind.
He looked at her with pity.
And he knew what she wanted to know.
And he knew he needed to tell her.
Both hands on her shoulders and he swayed, swayed, swayed his head.
Bera breathed in shakily before slamming her hands on her face and screaming into them, to the point he worried about her tearing her vocal cords.
--------------------------------------------
Bera sat on the couch.
Bera stared off at nothing.
Bera had failed.
A whole family's blood on her hands.
She didn't bring James home.
She didn't save the parents.
She wasn't fast enough for Jessica.
The reason for her fight, gone.
They are all gone.
She watched dumbly, even staring through it, as the mandatory propaganda of the Capitol switch on the TV by itself and played in front of her.
And their flags swayed, swayed, swayed.
Swayed, swayed, swayed.
Swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, swayed, SWAYED, SWAYED, SWAYED...
Swayed...
"Heh..."
Bera stared at the Capitol banner.
Bera stared at the Capitol.
Bera stared at Snow.
Panem's most desired woman?
No...
Oh no no no...
They desire her?
Well...
Soon enough...
They'll beg for her mercy...
"Eye for an eye... Always eye for an eye and the world might go blind... I gave mine up, now's your turn."
And it will never come...
(I hinted at it because I hurt Athena where it hurts the most and I hurt Bera where it hurts the most too... Hurts me too not gonna lie.)