[Fifteen - Right Through The Eye] [Dictated]

[the_effect_she_has]

[Katniss had swung out of bed this morning - bruised, but clean. The sun shone through the windows of her cabin, and she could hear birdsong. She knew that yesterday was gone - Event Horizon was done - and she was here. So there was only one thing to be said, honestly.]

The Mockingjay is eighteen years old. I lived through two games, a war, and everything this Castle has thrown at me.

So ...

BITE ME, CAPITAL, and BITE ME, CASTLE!

[She grinned, fiercely, as she pushed herself to her feet.]

I'm going to the woods. Catch me if you can.

Comments

[panicswitched]

[ ashley takes the hand and pops up easily, grinning. ]

My eighteenth birthday party was locating a den of werewolves. We had to make sure they weren't hurting anything or anyone and it was the most fun I'd had in a long time. [ or y'know... bad things would happen. ] And that's tame for my life.

[the_effect_she_has]

....You hunted werewolves. For fun. On your eighteenth birthday.

[She shook her head a little.] Ashley, has anyone told you that you might have an adrenline junkie problem?

[panicswitched]

There was protection work in there. It just ended up being a lot of fun.

[ she grins, ignoring the reminder of what druitt told her a few months ago. ] Not until now, but they probably thought it a lot. [ she shrugs. ] I like leading an interesting life.

[the_effect_she_has]

I'll bet ... still, to hunt something that big ... [She's wistful. How big were werewolves anyway? Probably as big as a bear.]

I am thinking it right now. [She tugged her friend along.] I'd like to eat a fat life, with lots of food.

[panicswitched]

[ ashley's lips twist in a smirk. she won't burst her friend's bubble and tell her that they're not much bigger than an actual person. ] Okay, next time I get to drag something back, you're totally coming to help.

That sounds good, too. [ makes her wonder if food was a thing katniss isn't used to having and that makes her a little sad, too. ] So what do you do for fun?

[the_effect_she_has]

[She shouldn't as Katniss is imagining them much bigger than Scott. Giant sized werewolves, hunting the wilds.] I could get behind that ...

[Katniss ate like a linebacker, whenever she could, so ... yes.] I hunt, mostly ... but I like wandering the woods. Exploring. Gale and I use our Wednesday hunting time to talk. I like to sing ... now. Improve my shooting. [She glances off.] And on special days, I like to go to town, and smell all the delicious smells from the bakery.

[panicswitched]

[ she might remember them dragging back an antelope from the expedition... ]

Sounds like awesome ways to pass the days. I haven't done any tracking in a really long time. I used to be pretty good at it. Didn't do it survive, but we've had to track things before.

[the_effect_she_has]

[...That is true, and Katniss was jealous. She hadn't been able to bag one of those.]

Well, if you want to come out with me ... I don't mind the company, and you can handle yourself.

[panicswitched]

[ clearly she needs to hang around james and ashley more often. ]

Maybe sometime when I've gotten used to having all my abilities back.

[ having them and then not having them and having them again was starting to wear on her. ]

[the_effect_she_has]

[Clearly, she does.]

So what are all of your abilities?

[She made through an easy pass for them both, considering how much they had been running.]

[panicswitched]

[ that makes her fall silent for a moment. she still has trouble dealing with some of them and what they mean. plus she doesn't really know how katniss feels about things like vampires and talons. ]

How much do you want to know?

[ buried in there is a question about whether or not she'll be judged for it. she doesn't think she will, but sometimes it's nice to know. ]

[the_effect_she_has]

[She looks over to Ashley, her grey eyes narrowed briefly, before she let her lips twisted.]

I prefer to know the truth.

[panicswitched]

All right.

[ she nods and stops walking, carefully disentangling her hand from her friend's. ]

It's not all good and I haven't had them long enough to really... you know... [ she swallows hard. ] Get used to them.

[ one at a time. ] The one I like least, though... is this. [ she takes a deep breath. better to get this one over with. it's only for a moment, but as she lifts a hand, her fingernails extend into very long, very tough talons and her teeth enlarge into predator teeth. she doesn't keep it for long, though, as she still has trouble with it, but she's going to pause for a moment to see how katniss takes that. ]

[the_effect_she_has]

[Ashley's face slowly converted into that of a monster, and Katniss's eyebrows raised together. Fear should have been the first thing she felt - but Ashley didn't create fear - just the need to fight. That flickered across Katniss's gaze briefly, but then it faded into curiosity.]

...Now that's an interesting sort of muttation.

[panicswitched]

[ she's just glad katniss isn't running from her. ]

It's weird to get used to. But it came with two other things that are a lot cooler.

[ she pulls out her talons again and before her friend can stop her, draws one nail cleanly across the skin on her other arm. it draws blood, but almost instantly begins to heal. in a matter of seconds, it's as though she hadn't even scratched herself. the talons disappear a moment later. ]

Not being able to get hurt anymore is a plus at least.

[the_effect_she_has]

[Well, Katniss was more of a flight person than fight, but she had her moments. She just preferred to attack from the distance. A lot safer that way.]

[... of course she would jerk forward if those with her were hurt - or hurt themselves - her hand was up and she moved to grab Ashley from cutting herself open again, just as her arm started to heal...]

...How ... how is that possible? Did they do something to you?

[panicswitched]

[ she wasn't going to try a second time and she nods in response. ]

Yeah. Some really nasty people gave me that. It's... part of me now. I don't really have a say in it.

[ she's hoping she doesn't have to say how glad she is that she didn't have those powers while she was crazy on the event horizon or everyone would have died at her hands and she couldn't live with herself after that. ]

I've got one more, but it's a lot cooler and it's something I was born with. Wanna see?

[the_effect_she_has]

[Something in Katniss's expression softened - she knew all about having people having control over your body as if it didn't belong to you first. So she put on a more curious than wary expression for her friend.]

Sure. Natural abilities are always something to cherish.

[panicswitched]

[ she's just going to bypass the fact that it wasn't activated until the same time as she was given the others. that detail isn't important. ]

Okay. Watch closely.

[ she takes a deep breath and concentrates. one minute she's standing there. the next, she disappears, disintegrating in a flash of red light and reappearing in the same flash of light. now she's sitting up on a branch of a tree nearby. she waves. ]

I can teleport anywhere if I know exactly where I'm going. Except, y'know... if I want to get back home, that's apparently a no-go. [ not that she's been brave or stupid enough to try yet. ] I can take people with me, up to two. [ except the only time she's actually tried that... well it was a special situation.

she hangs out on the branch for only a moment longer before teleporting back to the ground. ] That one I'm pretty okay with. It's useful.

[the_effect_she_has]

[Katniss gaped for a moment, grey eyes wide with shock. All right, facial and physical abilities she could understand but that? That was amazing.] ... you know, that's the first time you've had something I wanted.

[panicswitched]

[ ashley grins in response. ] It's pretty cool. None of it works in the Dead Zone, though. I felt that change the second we got in there.

[the_effect_she_has]

You know, the Dead Zone is the one place we are all equal. [Katniss snorted softly.] And it's the one place no one feels safe. That's ironic.

[She tilted her head at her friend.] ... how do you feel? I know you don't like being helpless.

[panicswitched]

[ she pauses for a moment, turning her head to gaze up at they sky. ]

Normal. It makes me feel normal again. Don't worry. I'm far from helpless when I'm powered down.

[ she flashes katniss a grin at that. ]

I was completely normal until a couple months ago, so it's like being... myself again. Sans powers. Normal. I kinda like it out there. Guess that makes me weird, huh?

[the_effect_she_has]

We're all weird here, Ashley. [She tilted her mouth up into a wry smile.] You're not alone.

[She brushed the dirt off of her clothes, looking pensive.] You know, every time I try to fade into the background - this place makes me step forward again. Maybe August is right. Maybe this is the place where we're meant to do things.

[panicswitched]

[ that makes her smile a bit. that's nice to hear. ]

Maybe it's something about this place. It's like... we're needed sometimes. Something about it plays to our strengths. And we definitely need each other.