Melody 2 : Action

[rutagraveolens]

[Morning]

[Ever since the fireworks the previous day, Rue was on edge. The fireworks were too much like cannon fire, each boom a notification of another tribute gone. That the fireworks were to announce the departure of people didn't help any.

Nor she get any sleep the previous night. Rue dreamed of whippings and executions, a reaping she couldn't escape from, a game she couldn't win. She saw the boy from District 1 - Marvel - raise the spear, throw-- and woke up tangled in blankets on the floor.

Silence surrounded her as she had breakfast in House 34. She left Melody sleeping in her room and made sure her knife was on her before she slipped out for the day.

She did her usual rounds - library to return some books, bakery to pick up a snack, convenience store for a drink - before wandering the south path parallel to the river. She'd never traveled down the road before and was curious where it went. Eventually Rue found herself by the Art Gallery. After some hesitation, she entered the building. It was nice and quiet, peaceful inside. She roamed the gallery, taking her time looking over the different pieces of artwork there.

When she came across Peeta's paintings and found herself staring at her own face, her face crumbled. She reached up to touch the paintings, drawing back she realized she shouldn't do that. The wings were the right color; the yellow of her own feathered wings, the blue of the dress she wore on stage in the Capitol. Her breath quickened and caught as Rue burst into ugly sobs.]

[Afternoon - behind Slash 'n Crash]

[After calming down, Rue went to Slash 'n Crash for target practice. Bow in hand and a quiver of arrows on her back, Rue methodically shot arrow after arrow into the targets. Her aim wasn't the best, but she was still hitting the target each time. She remembered Katniss' lessons as she drew, notched, and shot each arrow.

When she shot the last arrow in her quiver, Rue went to the targets, pulled out every arrow, put them back into her quiver, walked to her starting place, and began shooting again.]

((ooc; Now with links! The first painting is the one of her looking over a puddle and her reflection, the second is her holding a bouquet of flowers.))

Comments

[painfully]

[His heart drops at her words, as he edges closer and catches sight of the paintings. This is his fault, somehow. The paintings are of Rue, of course, but they aren't necessarily familiar. He doesn't remember-]

[The Gamemakers. The floor he'd painted, the picture of Rue. To hold them accountable for what they'd done to her.]

[He inhales sharply, blinking as the image of Rue covered in flowers superimposes itself upon the paintings, upon Rue herself. He doesn't recall painting these images but the strokes are the same, the style is the same. This is his work, isn't it? It's one more thing to add to the confusion of memories, this legacy left by his other self. The self that was here before, with Katniss.]

[Arms folded across his chest defensively, he keeps his distance from the girl--more afraid of hurting her somehow than anything--and gives her a small smile.]

Neither did I, until recently. Katniss told me.

[rutagraveolens]

['Neither did I... Katniss told me.'

Rue looked at Peeta with confusion. She knew people could come from different time periods according to what the guide said. She also knew Katniss came from much, much later, from a time where there were no more games. Yet where did that leave Peeta? Or even the Peeta that had been here before?

Rue took a deep breath, rubbing at her eyes and nose a little more. Her hiccups subsided and she peered at him.]

...Did something happen between you and Katniss? I mean... I know a lot happened after... ['I died' are the words that spring to mind, but Rue refused to voice them. She stopped and took a deep breath.] After the Games?

Are you two still... close?

[painfully]

[Katniss hasn't told her everything, which isn't surprising. From the sound of it she hasn't really explained much of anything, although Peeta's still fairly sure that she's at least warned the girl to keep an eye out for him. That it might not be the wisest idea to hang around him.]

[It's a long story, one he doesn't care to fully delve into--not here, and not after so recently explaining everything to McCoy--and like Katniss, Peeta doesn't see the value in scaring Rue with all of the gory details. But maybe a broad idea of the situation wouldn't hurt.]

[Too much.]

...you're right, a lot happened. We... Katniss and I, we were sent back to the Games again. Did she tell you that?

[rutagraveolens]

[Rue's eyes widened at Peeta's words. They were sent back to the games? She knew the 75th would have been a Quarter Quell and thus subsequent to a twist to keep things exciting for the Capitol, but sending people back into the games? That was too cruel.

She wondered if Johanna had gone back too. She also wondered what else Katniss wasn't telling her. That idea made her a little angry; they were allies, they were supposed to tell each other things.

Yet Rue could also understand why Katniss would hide things. She was being protective, she was being kind. And maybe some things were too painful to talk about.]

No, she didn't. It was a Quarter Quell, right?

[painfully]

[He nods.]

That's right. Every tribute was a past victor. [There's a pause as he debates just how much to tell her, and how much to gloss over. The part about the Capitol is going to require a whole lot of gloss.]

The Game never finished. There were uprisings in the districts even before the Game started, and by the end of it... the rebellion rescued some of us. Not all of us. It got... ugly.

[rutagraveolens]

[Every tribute a past victor. And with only one female tribute in District 12... oh, Katniss. So was Johanna back in the games as well? It seemed like an easy to assumption to make, especially if she knew Katniss.

But uprisings in the districts, a rebellion freeing people from the arena...]

Was Johanna involved? And... does Katniss being called the Mockingjay have something to do with it?

[painfully]

[He gives her a look at the mention of Johanna, wondering if the other victor has said something to prompt the question, or if Rue is just that astute. Slowly he nods.]

Johanna was in the Quell, yes. And after...

[He lets the thought trail off.]

Katniss was the face of the rebellion. They groomed her for it, figured her star power would help them out, sway people to the cause. They called her the Mockingjay.

[rutagraveolens]

[Not just a nickname. Not just the pin. The face of the rebellion, the mockingjay. The offspring of the Capitol and nature, a creature that learned to adapt and survive in a world it was never meant to be in.

Katniss was the Mockingjay. Katniss was the face of the rebellion. Katniss lied.

It wasn't a bad lie, but Katniss withheld information. And Rue's not sure what she thinks about that.]

Is why there are no more games? Because Katniss stopped them?

[painfully]

[This one takes him a little longer to answer. He knows the answer, more or less, but he wasn't there for it firsthand--or rather he was, but it hasn't happened yet for him. He's been told what happens. He has to believe that it's true.]

We were in the middle of fighting when I arrived here, but I think so, yes. President Snow isn't in charge anymore.

[And now to continue to answer her original question, since she has a little bit more knowledge to place this all in context.]

You know how sometimes after the Games, or after something really terrible, some people aren't the same anymore? Like their mind doesn't work the same way it used to?

[rutagraveolens]

[Rue nods. There weren't many victors from District 11 and the ones they had were all much older. But she heard the stories, the whispers at how they used to be. Lively, with fire in their eyes, not driven to drink or other things to get through the day.

She knows herself. The nightmares, the tense reactions and memories when she hears or see something.]

Do you have nightmares too?

[painfully]

[Of course Rue would have the nightmares too. She hasn't lived through some of the things he has, or Katniss has, or some of the others, but she's experienced the one thing he hasn't yet--death. Are her nightmares worse than his? She usually wears such a friendly, open expression, it's hard to tell.]

Every night, but... [He shakes his head] It's more than that. I don't remember a lot of things I should. I don't feel things the way I used to.

[A pause]

Katniss warned you about being around me, didn't she? Did she tell you why?

[rutagraveolens]

[Rue shook her head, painfully aware of how much she didn't know.]

[painfully]

[He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt, averting his eyes from the girl, though when he speaks again his voice is oddly matter-of-fact. Detached.]

I get violent, sometimes. Usually during stressful situations, or when I'm around Katniss. I've attacked Katniss before. Tried to kill her.

[After a brief pause he looks back at Rue, to gauge her reaction.]

So that's what happened between us. I tried to kill her.

[rutagraveolens]

[Tried to kill her. Rue gasps and her hand flies up to cover her mouth. She looks fearfully at Peeta, trying to comprehend everything. What happened that things could have gotten so bad between them?]

But you didn't. And you won't, right?

[Rue asks, trying to be hopeful.]

[painfully]

[He doesn't answer right away. That's probably not a good sign, Rue.]

I can't always control it. I've hurt people before without meaning to. It could happen again.

[He drops his gaze to the floor.]

But at least now you know.

[rutagraveolens]

[Oh. Rue shuffles on her feet and looks between the paintings and the young man in front of him. The Games change people, tears them apart and molds them back into something a little less fitting, a little more damaged.]

...Thank you for telling me.

[A pause.]

But I still want to be allies.