[Dictated][One - Right Through The Eye]

[the_effect_she_has]

[She's put up her bed as a makeshift shield in front the door, after she woke up and found herself not in her cell, but in the castle. She didn't think until later about the fact that her weapons were with her - her custom bow and her arrows - but not her pin. All she could think was that she was in a new place but she wasn't dead. Yet.]

[And there was the journal. She opened up and eyed it as words - voices! - scrawled across the page. She looked warily towards the door, before she began to speak and writing appeared - quick, almost jerky, letters flying across the pages in messy and sharp handwriting to show her agitation.]

Where am I? What is going on? Why is the writing appearing on the pages? Where is my pin? Why do I have my weapons? Am I in the Capital? Am I back in District 13? I don't understand this I don't understand -

[There is a blot of ink on the page, as she takes a deep, shaky breath. She speaks slowly, the letters start in a much more measured tone.]

My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old. I had a sister named Primrose. I was the Champion of the 74th Hunger Games. I am the Mockingjay. I killed President Coin.

[She says it again. And again. And again. Until she's interrupted.]


((ooc: I apologize for all the errors. I wanted a cleaner first post than this - but if wishes were quarters I'd have enough for laundry for a year. >.<))

Comments

It's okay! I had to work.

[the_effect_she_has]

[Now there was a name he hadn't heard in forever, and that crooked smile hooked up another half-inch.]

You know I hate that name.

[She really didn't.]

[fanstheflame]

Old habits die hard, sorry. [he shrugged, already trying to glance over her shoulder into the room, even though he already knew it'd have the same furniture, the same generic set-up as his own] ... Can I come in?

[the_effect_she_has]

[She steps back, letting him in. It is the same generic set-up ... except ... well ... she's turned it into something of a mini-fortress. With the bed being used as a shield, and anything that looked tall enough dragged in front of the windows.]

Good sturdy stuff, here. Took me awhile to move it. [Is all she replies.]

[fanstheflame]

Yeah, this place doesn't do anything halfway. ... [and here it is, the down to business part of things. he leans on the wall, just inside her door]

It's called Paradisa. And there's a lot about it that doesn't make sense, but ... believe me, everything I'm gonna tell you is true. I didn't believe any of it at first, but ... I've been here a few months, now, and ... there are ways that it's better than Panem, and ways that it's worse.

[the_effect_she_has]

[She folded her arms over her chest, grey eyes going serious as she listened to what he said. She pressed her lips together, before exhaling and saying.]

I would really like some bread and cheese, and some fresh water.

[... and a tray appeared. One corner of her mouth lifted up bitter humor.]

I think I'm willing to believe you. Magical castle that grants your every wish? On that.

[fanstheflame]

Yeah ... that's definitely one of the ways it's better. No one goes hungry, here. No one ever really has to need anything. ... But ... have you looked in the journal, or talked to anyone at all? It's ... there are other things. You won't be able to do something, or remember something or someone ... it's kind of how it pays for all the wishing. That's the best way to explain it.

[the_effect_she_has]

[She pressed his lips together, hard, her entire expression closing as she tried to process that.] ... So my pin. My pin is gone for good - and if I keep wishing - I will lose something else. And it could be different. It could be a memory, or a ...a person?

[She felt her jaw tighten, as she thought of all the people she could lose. All the memories that made her who she was. Losing her pin had been hard enough - but losing everything else?]

It's a good thing ... that I've learned not to ask for things, isn't it?

[fanstheflame]

[he shakes his head, quickly, holding up a hand] No, no -- I -- it's not that bad. You don't lose something every time. Just ... the one thing. I can't see colors right anymore.

[the_effect_she_has]

[Her eyes go wide with shock, and she lets out a quiet noise.]

Oh ... Gale. Gale, I am so sorry.

[fanstheflame]

It's ... [it's the same reaction she had the first time he told her. ... that's oddly comforting, somehow. he sighs]

It's okay. Don't worry about it ... I've been finding ways around it. I'm still able to gather some stuff, and I'm getting to know the woods. There are a lot of new plants here, anyway, so ... it's ... not as bad as it could be. The things everyone calls "world changes" are worse.

[the_effect_she_has]

[She bit her lips - it seemed hard that Gale was crippled in some way - but this place seemed to take. Take for the simplest pleasures in life. It was more and more like the Games every damned minute.]

[She stepped forward, dropping her hands and then ... gently squeezed one arm.] I'm still sorry.

[Sadness in her eyes, before she sets her shoulders, and moves back again.] What are world changes?

[fanstheflame]

Thanks, Catnip. [he glanced down at his feet, as she touched his arm. it figured, he thought. it really figured that she'd be close and understanding and actually willing to talk to him, now... but she didn't remember anything that'd happened here, so he wouldn't hold it against her.]

They're ... kind of like when you go into the arena? That's the best way I could describe it. Everything's completely different - there are whole cities, or places. Only, it all changes overnight. You go to sleep and wake up, and ... it isn't the castle anymore, it's some other place. But everyone else is still here with you. And there's usually some kind of thing we all have to do, or find. The first time everything changed after I got here, it was a whole other world, with towns and roads between them, and ruins, and ... these weird, mutt-type creatures that everyone kept for pets.

[the_effect_she_has]

[She pursed her lips, briefly, feeling her focus narrow as she listened to what he was saying.]

Way too much like the arena for my tastes - wait.

[She stiffens, as she looks up at him.] Mutts? What kind of mutts? [Mutts with the eyes of the fallen, lizard mutts that are ripping her friends apart, creatures and nightmares all blended into one.]

[fanstheflame]

It ... that's the problem. It depends, you never know. [he breathes in, slowly.] Some of them are actually .... they've got personalities, and they can talk, like people. They were pulled here just like you and I. But some of them aren't - some are more like the mutts from the Capitol. It's ... hard finding a balance between not freaking out, and still being careful, sometimes.

[the_effect_she_has]

Can we trust ... any of it? Any of it at all? [She sighed as she looked over to the window, then back to him.] Or is it just one giant trap, leading us to ... well. Like mutts to slaughter.

[fanstheflame]

You can trust a lot of the other people here... just like home. Once you get to know people, you'll be able to tell whether they're just out to survive, like us, or if they're out to survive at other people's expense. I'm not sure if we're being led so much as just ...being held. Someone found something a few months ago that said that this place ... "feeds off our emotions". Like we're some kind of battery.

[the_effect_she_has]

[She frowned at that, folding her arms over her chest almost defensively.] Like a giant parasite.

[fanstheflame]

That's ... pretty much exactly what it is, yeah. ... People change, sometimes, too, just like the places, but ... it doesn't last. A friend of mine - for a week or so, she was the exact opposite of how she normally acts. But then one morning she woke up and she was back to herself.

[the_effect_she_has]

[She lifted her hands and rubbed her face, memories flooding her. Peeta's hands around her throat... ] That's ... that's absolutely horrible.

[fanstheflame]

Yeah. [he frowns] It ... happened to Peeta for a little while, too. [from the tone of his voice, he hates to have to tell her, but he knows how important it is to be honest about this stuff]

[the_effect_she_has]

[She stilled for a moment, her entire body going tense, before she spoke quietly.] ... did he think I was trying to kill him?

[fanstheflame]

[she might just barely hear the slow, deep breath he takes to steel himself... Not for the news itself, but her reaction]

....he did.

[the_effect_she_has]

[Her shoulders straighten a little at that, her jaw tightens, and she nods.] ...Jacked, again. Here. [Her lips curve into a snarl, eyes fierce and angry.] Damn this place for making him go through that again. Damn them.

[She turned towards him.] Did I protect him, this time? [God, please let her at least gotten this right.]

[fanstheflame]

[he sighs, knowing it couldn't be easy for her to hear about this - the fact that she says "again" gives him pause, though. but that's not the important thing, right now]

You did. You, and a few other people he's friends with, here.

[he's light on words, here, because ... well, he was still a little bitter about the two of them, then. it had still stung]

[the_effect_she_has]

[Something uncoils in her body at that, and she feels a quiet ... release. Of worry, anxiety, and guilt.]

Good ... good.

[She looks up at him, grey eyes flickering over him thoughtfully. There's no ... edge there, like there used to be. He just sounds - at peace. It's odd. Relieving, but odd.]