He meant everything to her. Three years later and she'd still do anything to keep him safe, sacrifice everything to protect him- even if that meant keeping him at an arm's length.
She was the one person who truly knew him. The one person he'd choos...
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— — —
Peia walked with Finnick, the pair basically being an aberration in comparison to the larger group. Besides Sawyer, no one else was even speaking to Peeta. It was as if they were scared or couldn't see past the damage in his head.
And that wasn't fair.
Dammit, it wasn't fair. Peeta was a kid, thrust into the war, only to end up coming out damaged goods. He didn't deserve what had happened to him, and no one seemed to realize that he was stillhim. All the good and pure parts that made him Peeta were still there, just buried beneath all the bad that had been rewritten in his mind.
Sawyer realized that. Despite what anyone else thought, he saw through it. He saw through him. And maybe it was because of Kai. Maybe the reason he wanted to save him so badly was because his own son had endured similar trauma for years. Maybe he saw a little bit of Kai in Peeta. Whatever the reason was, that boy would not die— not if he had any sort of power in it.
He glanced back at his daughter, gaze falling onto her and the two boys. Finnick was holding a notecard with a prewritten statement on the paper. Peeta was scheduled to do the next propo as soon as they reached their destination, so to see Finnick and Peia helping him was everything.
Sawyer tore his gaze from the trio, eyes settling on what lay ahead. They were entering a courtyard, streets and buildings just as empty as they had been blocks previous. He shifted his attention to Boggs, gripping his rifle as the holo made various beeping sounds.
"Boggs." Cressida voiced, brushing past Sawyer to reach him. "This is a good spot. Through there, in the courtyard."
"Okay, let us clear it." He explained, starting forward.
Sawyer, Gale, and Katniss were right behind him, either man ready to protect their Mockingjay in mere seconds. Just because it was quiet, didn't mean there wasn't an echo.
The holo began to beep more rapidly, dozens of small noises sounding through the air. Boggs held his hand up, stopping all of them as he deciphered the response. "Got a pod." He announced, pointing in either direction. "Split. Take cover."
Peia's eyes found her dad as she quickly found safety behind the right pillar with Boggs, Finnick, and Peeta. Anyone else that hadn't followed was on the other side, her dad included. He was right next to Katniss, Gale just right of him with Cressida.
"Stay back." Boggs ordered, pausing only a moment longer before throwing a rock in between the pillars.
Rapid gunfire immediately fired through the air, loudly drowning out anything else. Peia didn't bother covering her ears like most of the soldiers did. It didn't really matter. A loud noise couldn't hurt her— not after everything she'd been through.
She turned to Finnick, irritation subsequently shooting through her veins. In the midst of the gunfire, he was grinning. He almost looked as if he was holding in a laugh. Peia didn't hesitate to swat him in the arm.
