The anchor of love||| Johanna Mason

District 7

As the train left the capital, I found myself watching in a state of peaceful amazement at the change in scenery, from the busy city to the peaceful meadows to the dense forest of District 7. I paid much closer attention to it than I ever had before, working out a plan of what to do once I arrived at the unfamiliar district.

I found myself waiting eagerly to arrive, sat in those plush seats way fancier than anything I had ever sat on. Apart from the chairs in the capital, that is. Even the eerie yellow furniture in my own home, chosen for me by the capital as a way of punishment, was not that lovely.

Yet, now that I am here, I stood at the train station of District 7. I find myself at a loss for what to do next.

I had only been to District 7 once in my life, and it was for my victory tour. It was beautiful. more peaceful there, serene. The whole area looked untouched by the capital, peaceful in its simplicity. Yet I didn't pay it much more attention than outside of appreciation, now I'm looking at it. I'm looking. Trying to see what meld her, Johanna, into the fiery girl she is now.

It seems like, at first glance, a giant forest sporadically placed villages, that never upset or disturbed that natural habitat.

The whole place feels like a maze, a giant maze as I wander around, trying to find the Victor Villiage. Even the train square is nestled in between trees, a striking difference from anything I have taken notice of before.

It's peaceful, like 4, like my own District, yet where mine is an expanse of fields for cattle and barns and butchers, and 4 is a beautiful seaside village/town. Here is like nothing I've ever seen. It's serene, and beautiful in its way. No matter Johanna fought so hard to come back.

It took me a while to find the village,  longer than I would have liked.

Walking around in countless circles through thick foliage and heavy woodland areas, spotting animals I had never seen before, yet had read about before.

I researched 7, and three out of 4 victors remain. Johanna, Blight, and Carlo. the other victor of the 14th game was long since dead.

it was a logical assumption that Johanna would be in her home, her new home, ready and waiting for her in Victor's Village. Hopefully, not having too much of a breakdown. Hopefully, I'm coping better than Haymitch, or I did. Haymitch went to drink, and I went to fight. train harder, always keeping myself in the mindset of the games to avoid processing what happened to me. It works well enough until it doesn't anymore.

Yet no matter how much I knocked, she never opened the door.

"Don't make me pick the bloody lock of this fucking door love" I shout "Open this door you bloody moronic fool"

I pound my fist against the front door with enough force to rattle it. "Johanna, open up, or I'll pick the lock."

"She's not here," a gruff voice called out from behind me, I was so focused on getting this door open that I forgot about being aware of everything. I didn't even hear them coming.

"then where is she, if she's not home?" I replied, having no intention to speak to him.

"Her family were hung yesterday for breaking the treaty of treason, the district rules, and attempted rebellion, she's at the town centre." He murmured shortly, clearly not wanting to speak to me either. Victor to Victor, is not the most unusual thing to happen. We're not the most social bunch, if we do decide to make friends it's almost exclusively within our species, that being other Victors. "I'll take you to her"

I wanted to ask why he wasn't with her, but I didn't dare see out of turn in his presence, his intimidating height amd muscles were enough of a deterrent to not do what my brain was so desperately wanting to ask. "Thank You," I said instead.

"Can you pick locks?" he asks sometime later as if trying to have a conversation with me about it.

"no" I can't in truth, I was more going to kick the door down, but again I don't say that. my short answer is enough that he doesn't dare try for a conversation again.

***

I heard Johanna before I saw her. I saw the bodies swaying gently in the wind before I saw her. they left them there to fuck with her head, so going back to my earlier question, why wasn't Blight with her? if he knew.

She was crouched down, screaming loud, crying even louder. I'd never seen her like this, her fake crying had nothing on the real thing.

The brutal sheer force of her tears flying from her eyes, the loudness of her screams filled with pure agony.

She must have heard my approach, as her face swings around quickly, and she's up on her feet, with a speed people only have when they're still in survival mode. When your brain is still in the games. Mine never left it.

I suppose, looking at your once beloved members of your family hanging for your actions would do that to you, make you go back to the games.

"you need to look away," I say lowly, in a voice as if I were speaking to a startled child or animal, I was abroad I would further startle her. "trust me, you need to look away"  I repeated, getting a response this time.

it was only her choked sob, a gut-wrenching sound, and repetition of "I can't"s again and again.

I didn't approach any further, maintaining the distance until she had gotten used to me being there, until the tense fight-ready posture had left her body. then I took a tentative step forward, "Hey- hey Johanna, trust me you need to look away"

At some point in our conversation, Blight had once again left. What a useless man.

"This is my fault" she was saying, over and over, gaining further attention as her sobbing started again.  I dared to take further steps forward, and when I saw no resistance o took another. Another. Another. until we were close and I was crouched down right next to her. not touching, never touching. you never touch a victor without their knowledge, especially not one this close out of the games. Finnick taught me that.

"We need to get you back, people are watching," yet her eyes remained focused on the hanging bodies, still swaying in the wind.

They don't hang people in 10, so I've never seen this horrifying sight before. I've seen beatings, whipping, never hangings.

This memory will be burnt into both of our brains.

"I can't even imagine what you are feeling right now, or what you are going through, but we need to move, I need to you look at me" When she finally did I fought off the smile. This wasn't a smiling occasion. "hi"

"hey" Her voice was broken from all the screaming she had been doing, yet it was progress.

"let's get you back yeah"

"I can't- I can't leave them like this"

"I'll get Blight to arrange them to be cut down, but right now my concern is you okay, can we focus on you"

"Okay," she replied, her voice still broken and resigned.

"Okay, I need to stand up love, and lead the way back to the village"

so she did, and we got back.