See How Snow Falls (The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Reimagined)

Chapter 2B: A Welcome Interruption

"Now I know y'all probably thought you'd seen the last of me at the reaping, but you should've known better! Nobody can shut me up or keep me down!"
Lucy Gray stood in front of the crowd at The Hob, the Covey behind her and Crow beside her. The crowd cheered her on as she strummed a chord on her guitar.
"You may recognize this song from the last time you saw me, and I promise you, it still rings true."
Lucy Gray finished, before continuing the intro to the song on her guitar. Crow took a few steps back, swaying on their toes as the music began. Their sister's voice was quite possibly their favorite thing to dance to. The music over took them as they twirled around, leaping and jumping, becoming a blur of colors for the enjoyment of the crowd.

"Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keepin'"

Crow stopped still, balanced up on one leg, and joined Lucy on the refrain, harmonizing in a lower, richer tone.

"Oh, nothin' you can take was ever worth keepin"

Lucy was joined by the entire Covey as she continued to sing. Crow once again threw themselves into the air, becoming one with the music, hair flying wildly, arms raised up as if to touch the sky. The only thing in the room that was even nearly as mesmerizing as Lucy Gray's voice, was the way Crow Calamine danced. As the song drew to a close Lucy stepped back from the microphone for a moment, reveling in the applause. Crow stepped sideways, moving themself next to her, and the two bowed together. Throughout the night the two performed several more numbers, some where Crow danced, some where Crow sang, but all of which had Lucy as the star. After their second to last number Crow heard Lucy inhale sharply, almost as if she'd seen a ghost.
"Crow."
She hissed.
"Crow. Take my guitar. Entertain the crowd. Someone's here to see me!"
Lucy's excitement was barely contained as she handed Crow her guitar and left the stage.
"Wait!"
Crow quietly called after Lucy.
"Goddamnit."
They sighed realizing they couldn't stop her. After a brief moment of stunned silence, they stepped up to the microphone, smiling widely.
"I'm sure y'all remember me!"
Crow smiled as the crowd cheered. It may have been a bit less loudly, but they were still excited and that was enough to make Crow happy.
"But just in case, I'm Crow Calamine, and this song was written about a very special, and annoying boy."
Crow chuckled before strumming a chord on the guitar and beginning to sing.

"My mama warned my sister, not to mess with boys who love winter."

A hush fell over the crowd as Crow's husky, yet soft voice drifted across the room.

"Icicle boys are just bad news, they'll give you the wintery blues."

Crow scanned the crowd, eyes settling down on their sister who was speaking to a man they had never seen before.

"Oh mama warned you. But you don't listen to the truth."

"He froze your heart and left it on an empty hearth, but he couldn't take your spark away from you!"

Crow took a deep breath, stomping their feet to the beat as the guitar crescendoed.

"Sweet pea remember, every boy is just your toy"

"Remember who you are when hope seems so far"

"Remember who you were born to be. A songbird, a lover, an original symphony"

"You're the beauty of spring, he's a rotten, old, tree"

"You're a goddess and he is nothing~"

"You're a goddess, a fairy, a beauty unnerving, and he is nothing more than he will ever be~"

Crow giggled as they hit the final note of the short, yet sweet song they had written about their sister's breakup.
"Thank you so much for listening folks! That's our last song of the night!"
Crow called out, taking one final bow. They left the stage, handing off Lucy's guitar to a member of the Covey for safekeeping and went to find Lucy. When they found her she was still engaged in conversation with the man who had shown up before. His clothes told Crow that he was a Peacekeeper who had the night off. But Lucy told Crow something else. Something shocking.
"Crow Calamine, this is Coriolanus Snow, he was my mentor in the Hunger Games. Coriolanus this is my little sibling Crow Calamine Baird, they mean a whole awful lot to me, so be nice will ya?" Lucy Gray smiled a wide toothy grin as she introduced two of the most important people in her life to each other.
"It's nice to meet you Crow Calamine." Coriolanus held out his hand for Crow to shake.
"Same to you, I suppose." Crow looked Coriolanus up and down, having to tilt their head back slightly to see his face. There was a moment of silence as the two took each other in. Coriolanus was struck by how similar, yet different Crow's appearance was to Lucy's. They shared the same rich brown hair, although Crow's was shorter, chopped into uneven layers, and pulled back in a messy ponytail, with little bits falling out of it, creating a halo around their round face. Coriolanus was annoyed with himself for thinking that his lover's younger sibling was attractive, but they were. In a 'rough and tumble', confusing, sort of way. Coriolanus wondered if it would be rude to ask them if they were a boy or a girl. He found it difficult to tell. They were small, with not many curves, which gave Coriolanus no hints as to what might be hiding under their green vest and off-white, ruffled long sleeve shirt. He returned his gaze to their eyes noting the piercing blue color. Crow's eyes were cold and unreadable, and he wished he knew what they were thinking about him.

In the meantime, Crow was also taking in Coriolanus. They had heard much about him. After all, Lucy was damn near in love with the man after all he had done for her. And although they were grateful to have their sister home safe, Crow was unsure how to feel about the tall, lithe man in front of them. His white-blonde hair was buzzed, and his eyes were a shade of blue so piercing that it almost hurt Crow to look at them. Crow stared into his blindingly baby blue eyes for a moment, choosing their next words carefully. He was, they decided, nice to look at, but that was all. A pretty face wasn't particularly important in the districts, and Crow was more curious about what he acted like, than how he looked. Coriolanus, they decided, was far too long of a name for a simple enough looking man. With a crooked grin they opened their mouth and asked a question.
"So, Coriolanus,"
They drew out his name, feeling each syllable on their tongue.
"how do you feel about nicknames?"
"His friends back in the Capitol used to call him Coryo!" An unfamiliar voice cut in from behind Coriolanus.
"Oh?"
Crow asked, swallowing hard as they took in what they assumed was a friend of Coriolanus's.
"This, is my friend Sejanus Plinth."
Coriolanus smiled tightly as he introduced his enthusiastic friend.
"Sejanus, this is Lucy Gray Baird, and this"
Coriolanus gestured towards Crow.
"is Crow Calamine Baird."
"It's lovely to meet you both."
Sejanus's smile was infectious and Crow damn near giggled when he took their hand and shook it gently.
"Nice to meet you too."
Lucy Gray replied, her smile equally as wide.
"Nice to meet you too."
Crow echoed, admiring Sejanus's muscular frame and dark eyes. He was, they thought, quite beautiful. And his name suited him.
"Anyway, I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but many of Coriolanus's friends call him Coryo."
Sejanus informed Crow.
"Hmm, Coryo is still so many syllables though. It's such a mouthful."
Crow complained, their tone light but genuine. Crow tore their gaze away from Sejanus, once again looking Coriolanus up and down.
"How about I call you... Corri. It's only two syllables, and it's easy to remember. How about that?"
Crow smirked as they watched Coriolanus roll his eyes and sigh.
"I'm not big on nicknames-"
He cut himself off and glanced at Lucy Gray who was stifling a giggle at Crow's idea of a nickname for him and with a sigh resigned himself to it.
"But that would be fine if it's easier for you to remember."
Crow giggled and a self-satisfied smile spread across their face. This Capitol boy may have had Lucy head over heels for him, but Crow didn't quite trust him, and even if they couldn't do anything about it, they sure could annoy the piss out of him. And that was exactly what they intended to do.