The Flames of the Mockingjay

District 12

It was a short plane ride to district 12. Once they got there, the hatch opened, and both women walked out.

"Do you two want me to come with you?" Gale asked.

Esmeralda knew her answer was no but she let Katniss answer, "No it's fine" Katniss answered.

They walked out of the plane together, looking straight ahead, not wanting to look anywhere else's just yet.

Before the plane took off Gale yelled, "we'll be watching from above" and the plane went up into the air.

Katniss and Esmeralda looked around, they were in front of the Justice Building, it was barely standing on its foundation. They took a step and something made a noise under their feet. They both picked up one foot, under Katniss' foot was a human skull, and under Esmeralda was half a human skull. Katniss let out a sob and then silently started crying, tears coming down her cheeks. Esmeralda on the other hand let out a gut wrenching scream, tears coming out as she blinked.

Esmeralda's hands started to sweat, her knees growing weaker by the minute, and she could feel her body shake.

"I- I need to get out of here" Esmeralda said softly, hoping Katniss heard her.

"Me- me too" Katniss quickly answered.

—

Both women walked towards Victors Village, seeing houses gone or partially destroyed, and random animals from the forest on top of piles of people, rubble, and ash.

They finally reached Victors Village, and it was like a sigh of relief for both of them because it was seemingly untouched. Nothing was broken, it looked the same. But that's what scares them both.

"I'm going to go to my house" Esmeralda told Katniss.

"There's some stuff I want to get from mine, I'll meet back right here at the entrance." Esmeralda nodded and Katniss started walking to her house.

Esmeralda took a deep breath in and started walking to her house.

She walked in and saw everything in the same place, she thought that she was going to find the inside of her house completely destroyed. But quite the opposite, it's just like she left it.

She walked over to her room, and got the bag Cinna gave her. A tear fell down her face, knowing that it's one of the only things she had left of Cinna.

—

"My Flame" Cinna knocked on her office room door.

"Cinna, surprise visit. I've missed you" Esmeralda got up from her chair in excitement and put her book down.

"It's good to see you my dear, I've missed you too" grabbing her hands with his left hand as he knows she can't hug.

"Not that i don't love to see you, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I just came to drop something off to you," he pulled something out from behind his back.

"A bag?" Esmeralda let out a chuckle, "I don't do much shopping Cinna"

He let out a chuckle too, "I know and it's not for that, it's for gathering, gathering what? That's up to you. But I hope you find great use of it"

Esmeralda opened it, it reminded her of the old satchel her mother had.

"I know what you're thinking and yes I modeled it after your mother's and I found the leather the same color of the wood your father had on his knives." Cinna explained the vision.

"Cinna I don't know what to say, but thank you and I love it" this was one of the rare times she hugged someone.

Cinna just took every moment in.

—

She wiped her tears and put the bag on her shoulder. She started putting herbs and spices, that he remembered her mother and father told her would help cure anything. Not that she 100% believed them, but she let out a smile while putting them in the bag. She got the pictures of her family, the letter Finnick wrote to her, and walked into the office.

The last time she walked into the office was when Snow came to her house. She took a breathe in and pushed her anger down to walk into the room.

As she walked in, she put five books into her bag, and walked over to the desk. The closer she walked to it, the more the hologram tv became visible. The picture of her and Finnick on the roof kissing was on the screen.

"THAT MOTHERFUCKER," Esmeralda yelled and threw an old vase with nothing in there, directly at the tv. It's just went straight through it and shattered.

Snow intentionally left that up when he was here, something that should be of love and care, he turned into fear and anxiety. Esmeralda just wanted to know if Finnick was alive, but him being alive meant that they where doing who knows what to him. She just wishes she could hear something from him. Anything.

—

Esmeralda walked over to Haymitch's house. She was still mad at him, but that doesn't mean that she should leave his stuff to rot.

She picked up a sweater that used to belong to his mother, no one wore it but it was something that she knows she could let be destroyed.

She looked around his house and underneath a pile of glass bottles, Esmeralda finds the first knife holster that was made for her. It made her remember one of the days that solidified Haymitch as her father figure.

—

"Es, no please. I'm sorry but please be careful" Haymitch said. He didn't drink all day to be there for her, something that took a lot out of him, but it was worth it to help her. It was about half a year since her games and they were about to start her victor's tour.

"I can't do this, please don't make me do this" Esmeralda cried while sitting on the floor, her knees to her chest, and blood dripping down her hands. Esmeralda had just threw an empty glass at the all, she was frustrated and didn't know what to do. She did not want to go on the Victor's tour, to be paraded in front of people for killing people.

She realized what she did and went to clean it up, she wasn't careful and cut her hands. At the site of blood she lost it and broke down into tears. The blood was a reminder of all the other tributes that she took the life of. It came to her in a rush.

"Es," he pulled her up carefully and walked her over to his dining room table, "please remember that I'm not the one that is putting you on that train, I'm there to help you. And I'm not going to lie to you and say this is going to get better, but it's going to get easier. Knowing that I'm not alone anymore has helped me, hopefully it will do the same to you. Now let's clean you up and tomorrow on the train we'll get a medic to take a closer look at your hands."

"I'm sorry"

"You have nothing to be sorry for" he finished cleaning her hands up.

"Okay so I have something for you and I know it might be bad timing and you don't have to use it, but here you go" Haymitch handed her a black knife holster vest.

"Thank you I know this might not sound genuine but I appreciate. I just- I just can't right now"

"I know Es I know, but it's gonna be waiting for you whenever you can"

She nodded and hugged the vest.

—

Esmeralda walked out of Haymitch's house and saw Katniss walk out of Peeta's house.

"Katniss, you get everything?"

"Yeah, you?"

Esmeralda nodded.

"Before we go back, I think we need to make an individual decision of what we are going to do, and then we talk about it together, deal?" Esmeralda asked.

"Deal" Katniss agreed.