Though now she lived in the districts, she was capitol born. She knew all of his hardships and never looked at him any differently. She handled him with such gentleness, and kindness. She was a rare bird, His Nightingale. Just like he had been for h...
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Juniper's words stung a bit but, on reflection, were well deserved. He wanted her so desperately to live, but admittedly Coriolanus had never really considered her a victor in the Games. It had never been part of his plan to make her one. Only a moment ago, her healed hands were good news because she could use them to play the piano on interview night, not to defend herself from the attacks in the arena. The fact that she mattered so much to him, as he'd claimed back in the zoo, only made things worse. He should've been trying to save her life, to help her become the victor, to survive, no matter the odds.
"I meant what I said about you being the cake with the cream," Juniper said. "You're the only one who even bothered to show up. You and Tigris, Even your friend Sejanus. You three act like we're human beings. But the only way you can truly repay me now is if you help me survive this thing."
"I agree." Stepping up made him feel a bit better. "From now on, we're in it to win."
Juniper reached out. "Shake on that?"
Coriolanus gave her hand a careful and gentle shake. "You have my word." The challenge energized him. "Step one: I think of a strategy."
"No. We think of a strategy," she corrected. But she smiled and bit into the sandwich.
"We think of a strategy." He did the math again. "You've only got fourteen competitors left, unless they find Marcus."
"If you can help me stay alive a few more days, I might just win by default," she said.
Coriolanus looked around the hall at her broken, sickly competitors, draped in chains, which encouraged him until he admitted that Juniper's condition wasn't much better. Still, with Districts 1 and 2 out of play, Jessup watching over her, and the new sponsorship program, her odds were vastly improved from what they'd been when she first arrived in the Capitol. Perhaps, if he could keep her fed, she could run and hide somewhere in the arena while the others fought it out or starved to death.
"I have to ask one thing," he said. "If it came down to it, would you kill someone?"
Juniper chewed, weighing the question. "Yes."
Her plain and blunt response took him aback for a moment. Then he remembered. This is the Hunger Games. The moment that countdown reaches One. She's fighting for her life. She won't have a choice.
"Maybe it's best if you run away from the other tributes, and we get you sponsors for food. Wait it out a bit." He said.
"Yeah, that's probably a better strategy for me." she agreed. "Just because I will doesn't mean I want to. Enduring horrible things is one of my talents."
A dry bit of bread set her to coughing. Coriolanus passed her a water bottle from his book bag. "They're still doing the interviews, but on a voluntary basis. Are you still up for it?"
