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SLEEP DOESN'T COME EASY to Cora in the Capitol. Even before she had been Reaped (both times), whenever she wound up staying here overnight, Cora has always found it hard to give into her exhaustion, feeling too on guard to completely relax. Something about the Capitol just made her feel - uneasy.
The Capitol reminded her of one particular Arena from the Hunger Games; she couldn't remember which year it exactly was though. All Cora recalled was that the Arena had been breathtakingly beautiful, filled with seemingly endless hills of green grass and luscious flowers. Bushes filled with juicy berries were planted all over, even serene blue lakes breaking through the fields. But, as the tributes quickly realised, it's perfection was a mere illusion. The grass was filled with an acidic soil, the flowers induced a deadly gas, and consumption of the berries caused an excruciating death - one by one, each Tribute fell prey to the deceiving beauty of the Arena.
And that's exactly how Cora was beginning to feel with the Capitol. She feared if she gave in too much, if she let herself become too enraptured with its perfection, it would poison her.
It's why Cora likes to sit on the roof of the Training Centre.
So high up and close to the clouds, it's almost easy to believe that the roofs below her were home to something other than Panem. Cora likes to imagine that it would be a place filled with peace; parents coming home to their children without fear they could be snatched away, kids running carefree in the streets, a town square unassociated with fear of imminent death.
But, unfortunately, it was all just that: an imagination meant to entertain and fill her sleepless mind.
Cora crosses her legs, wishing she could dangle her feet on the edge of the building and see the city lights closer. A glass railing lining the perimeter of the roof to prevent this though, meaning Cora can only admire the view through a thin sheen of glass. She slightly tilts her head up so that her eyes are fixed above instead, gazing at the black sky pinpricked with white stars. The only other light is from the moon, stoic and still as it casts it's silvery light below.
Cora isn't quite sure how long she's been sitting here, mindlessly looking out and letting her mind carry her away from reality, before she suddenly hears a noise behind her.
She instantly turns around, her breath hitching as she squints at a shadow suddenly emerging from the elevator.
"It's just me," says Peeta Mellark, holding his hands up in defence as he takes in Cora's stance, ready to pounce. He lets out a wry laugh. "I come in peace. Sorry if I startled you."
