An Extra Tribute

-break my heart, why don't you?-

"Where are we going?" I ask as we jog quietly through back alleyways and deserted squares. We pass hologram signs calling for our arrests and the images change from me to Finnick, his picture from the Quarter Quell lighting up the square we're in currently. I look away quickly, my eyes hitting the dirty snow by our feet.

"A friend's," Cressida replies. She gestures for us to turn and we do, but I almost run straight into Pollux as we all stop at a door. She knocks a few times on the glass.

"Tigris?" She calls. "Tigris, it's Cressida." A woman comes to the door slowly, opening it just a bit. From here I can see the tattooed lines resembling that of a tiger's covering her face, neck, and arms. She has a pointed nose and whiskers, and behind her, I see a tiger tail curling around her back. Wow. She really went all the way.

"Plutarch said you could be trusted," Cressida adds. The woman pauses a moment before allowing us in, bowing her head slightly. We all shuffle in, my hand gripping Peeta's wrist tightly. She waves us behind a clothing rack, which, upon further examination, I find holds fur-lined underwear. Awesome. I look at the woman more intently and come to realize who she is. She was a designer years ago. Her last Games were a few years before Finnick's, before she got dismissed.

"You were a designer in the Games, weren't you?" I say. Tigris nods and lets out a soft, cat-like growl.

"Yes. Before Snow decided I wasn't pretty enough," she replies. So that's why she's helping us? To get back at Snow for firing her and calling her ugly? It doesn't matter, we'll take what we can get. Tigris opens a small door that leads to thick and old metal stairs that go far down. She gestures for us to go down and we begin to stomp down the steps, finding ourselves in a dim, yellow basement. The lighting is similar to that of the piping room in the sewers and I shudder to escape the memories of what happened only minutes ago. The door shuts when Pollux hits the ground and I nearly run into him again. We all spread apart naturally, though I expect not much sleep is to be had tonight.

Now that we're somewhat safe, Pollux has begun to cry. It's a tragic, mutilated sound that comes from him being an avox, and Cressida pats his back in an attempt to comfort him. Gale takes to a corner of his own, his head in his hands. Cressida moves to him, looking at his shoulder and commenting that he's going to need stitches. Katniss is left standing in the middle in utter confusion and shock. Peeta and I are on the opposite side of the room, my arm threaded through his. I lean my head on his arm and he pauses for a moment before pressing a chaste kiss to my temple. I try to smile, but I can't. My thoughts go back to Finnick and tears start falling freely, pulling in odd directions around my cheeks as they catch on dried blood. I choke out a painful sob and soon, I'm wrapped up in Peeta's arms weeping.

"I made it up," Katniss says suddenly. I glance back at her and see her looking between Pollux and I, two broken people who have just lost their best friends, their brothers. "There is no plan from Coin. Just my plan. Everyone that's dead is dead because of me... I lied." Pollux and I look up at her silently.

"We know. We all knew," Cressida says after a moment. Katniss' face distorts into confusion.

"The soldiers from 13-"

"They knew too," Cressida confirms. "Do you really believe that Jackson thought you had orders from Coin? She trusted Boggs and he clearly wanted you to go on." Boggs. Another wave of tears accompanies the ones already flowing down. Katniss takes in a shaky, tragic breath.

"I never meant for this to happen," she says. "I failed. I... I killed- I killed them. I killed Finnick. I'm sorry Noah, I'm so sorry. And Castor... Pollux, I'm so so sorry." Pollux and I exchange looks, heartbroken, but we don't hold it against her. It's not her fault. They chose this. They chose her, just like we did.