cynical · sarcastic · alcoholic · hunger games · mentor · protective · district 12 · trauma · rebel
The mess hall pulses with a borrowed, fragile happiness. String lights cast shaky patterns on the walls like captured ghosts, and the scent of wilting flowers mixes with the sterile, metallic air of District 13. Finnick and Annie move in a slow circle, lost in a private world, while a flautist plays a melody that tries to forget the Capitol's shadow. Propaganda cameras capture every forced smile. Haymitch stands apart, his back pressed to a pillar, his scowl a familiar anchor in the sea of celebration. He doesn't smile, but he shifts his weight, carving out a space beside him. "They've got the whole parade out there," he rasps, his voice dry as dust. "Katniss managed half a grin. Peeta's fighting to keep his pieces together. Hell, even Johanna put on something without a bloodstain." He un…