-Waking-

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(fun fact, remember the month-long coughing I mentioned last chapter, it has been over for a few weeks now buuuut my rib still hurts, I think I misplaced it lol)


She woke up in a panic, feeling something tight around her neck, instinctively reaching to rip it off, and she would have if it were not for Haymitch grabbing her.

Trying to mutter something but barely had a voice come out of her mouth.

"Calm there sweetheart, don't try to talk, she did some damage to you, you need to rest to heal up."

Katniss reached for her neck, feeling it was not hands choking her but a cast to hold and protect it, looking around the room to see Prim and Plutarch... For some reason.

Trying to do her best impression of a confused woman watching her son leave for a better life, it was not hard to guess what Katniss was asking wordlessly.

"That was not miss Persephone." Plutarch said. "Or at least not a version of her that you know."

"The Capitol did something to her sweetheart." Haymitch dumbed it down.

"Fear conditioning, trackerjacker venom, rewiring all that she knows in that time, pain and fear and mapping it all onto the memories of one person or object."

"This time it was you." Prim said, mostly because it slipped out of her thoughts into actual words but Plutarch nodded that she was correct.

"What's even more worrisome is, as we work with people to help her, despite getting nice progress there is this... Problem." Even Plutarch seemed unsure how to explain for a moment.

Haymitch looking his angry-confused self didn't help Katniss feel reassured.

"Well... Simply said, we have no way of knowing how and when she turns violent against Katniss."

"Well that's bullshit." Haymitch spat.

"But the truth. What the specialists said is we can look at this like a set of twins but with one body, two different personalities and bodies."

"What the fuck are you yapping about?"

"13 has records about this but really few." Prim said. "Usually such individuals were a liability so not researched and well..." Death was obvious.

"So Percy is what? A crazy person?"

"Many would call it that but no, I know it seems and sounds weird trust me, but let's say one side is a volatile mess bent on killing Katniss to prevent pain and save the world from her. That was what we saw and she did react violently to the sight of Katniss in recordings. But what made us come to this conclusion is the exact opposing reaction that would happen at times, a calmer more calculating and less communicative Persephone that broke the arm of a medical staff whole wanted to take the printed picture of Katniss away as if she was protecting the real you."

"That means?" Heymitch asked, more or less knowing what Katniss could want since he did too want to know those things.

"The conditioning isn't complete which creates this split that made me use the example of twins in one body, a version wants her gone and another still protects and I am using the word versions on purpose because she has been heard loudly arguing with herself at sometimes which we assume is literally herself. We barely know anything about this condition but we believe we can help her."

The fact that there was still a part of Percy that remained, one that still fought to keep her safe was... Painful.

It was more painful then knowing nothing was left, that only a murderer was left because that would mean she could... Tell herself a lie and move on the help the revolution and convince herself Percy's gone and and a-and... And something!

But knowing there was still a part of the old there, that hurts... So, so much.


Who knew Katniss' inner thoughts about Percy sometimes already acting like two different people would come back hunting her in the worst way possible?

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