Smoke still lingers in the city. Despite the fires having been put out hours before, the smoke is thick and settles between the buildings. It burns her lungs. She is covered in ash and soot, a testament to her attempt at trying to save what she could from the burning food stores. Finnick lays exhausted on her back, his wings clinging to her charred fur. She can hear the wheeze in his voice and she knows that it will take healing to get his lungs ready for flight again. She hates that she has put Finnick in danger, but deep down, she knows the eagle would not have done anything differently. He was just as much of a fighter as she was. He knew his place and he knew that Denocte needed him. He was a hero in her eyes.

The exhausted pair meander through the city, their pace slow and without any sort of direction. Her body was screaming for her to return to the little home she shared with Metaphor, to take comfort in his company. And yet, her heart could not bear to take her away from the citizens which she was growing to love with all her being. She could not leave her fellow Night Court citizens in their time of need. How could she cuddle with her lover when others had lost so much? It didn’t seem right.

Snow was still falling and her eyes looked up at it fell. For a moment, she couldn’t figure out if it was snow that was falling, or ash. It was probably a mixture of both. The ash collected on her back, the snow melted away without thought. Her heart ached for Denocte. The food that was supposed to last them through the winter was mostly destroyed. Some of it was saved, but it would not be enough to feed them. Denocte would be at a disadvantage. Whoever was behind this attack knew that would be the case. The warrior in her told her that this was only the beginning, that a secondary attack might happen now that they were tired and weak.

Up ahead, she sees Isra surveying the damage as she had done. Despite the disaster, she could not help but smile. Her queen was home. She steps forward, careful not to jostle the weakened eagle who lay lifeless on her back. “Welcome home, Isra…” Her voice was soft in volume, but rough in tone. The effects of the smoke were ever present. “…it is a shame you had to come home to this.” Her voice is solemn. She hates knowing that her queen returned amongst devastation. Only home a very short time and now had to be ready for what would happen next - organizing the clean up and preparing for a secondary attack. That was not the sort of welcoming party one wanted.

@Isra

She understands what Isra is saying, that this would have happened whether or not she had been home. And yet, Katniss cannot help but wish that she had not returned to devastation. It had been her job to protect Denocte and she had failed her people so miserably. She felt unworthy to be standing here in Isra’s presence, ashamed that she had not been able to prevent the attack or to bring justice to those that started them. Isra had come home to a broken kingdom, a kingdom where the citizens here were scared and worried about what the future would hold. She had hoped Isra’s homecoming would be filled with parades and chear and happiness. But there was no parade, no shouts of welcoming from her people, no happiness. It was solemn and the air filled with the tears of those who had lost so much.

Katniss looks to the bird who lays still upon her back, his lungs struggling to breathe. Finnick had been so brave. The eagle had done so much for Katniss in the short time they had been together. She can only hope that as time wore on, their bond would grow even stronger, that it would grow into something unbreakable.

Her eyes turn back to the queen, however, she is unable to meet her gaze. The confidence she normally exudes is not there, replaced by a feeling of unworthiness. “Your homecoming should have been a grand welcoming…instead you are greeted with the tears and cries of those that lost everything.” Lives had been lost, food at been lost, but perhaps what was most unsettling was the loss of hope. When she looked at those who were picking through the wreckage, she saw nothing but fear of the unknown. She did not see hope or confidence. Denocte had been demoted into a hopeless nation. Raum would pay for this. Who else would have done such a thing?

But it was in this quiet moment that something is happening. At first, she does not see the way Isra turns the charred apples into healthy rounds of fruit. She doesn’t see the repair of the burlap sacks. But when the oak tree turns into an apple tree, bearing fruit, this is what catches Katniss’ attention. She turns her attention away from Isra as she surveys the changes that Isra is making. Her eyes are wide, her mouth gaping just a moment. But then, her jaw sets and she is angry for only a moment. So many had risked their lives to save what had been stored away and Isra has the ability to create it anew? So many lives unnecessarily risked in the fires. And yet, she says nothing. She does not tell Isra that she is jealous of her powers or that she is angry that she chooses now to show them off. Instead, she tries to exude confidence and happiness for what Isra has delivered.

Isra speaks, saying that she has learned a few things while she was gone. It was not these words that had Katniss’ attention, but the look of war and determination that does. She knows this look and she feels it well. No matter how angry or jealous she might be, she knows that someone will have to pay for the price of this devastation. “Someone will pay for this.” She looks out over the smoke and char, her intention clear. Someone would pay for this and it would be a heavy price to pay.

@Isra

The idea of rebuilding is not lost on her. The moment she saw the fires, she knew they would rebuild. They would put out the fires, seek vengeance for the one who orchestrated this, and rebuild what was destroyed. She had seen the way kingdoms crumbled and she had always been there to pick up the pieces and to aid the rulers in their plight for justice.

This was not a new thing for Katniss, however, she wished she didn’t have to experience it here. She had thought she had found the perfect home in Novus, but she had been mistaken. First the gods destroyed it, then individuals. Why couldn’t others just respect what was given to them and cultivate it. Let the earth each them. And yet, no one where was willing to listen, it seemed. They were too focused on gaining power and prestige that no one cared about what was happening everywhere else. It was a sad fate, a lonely fate. It pained Katniss to know that so many people had so little faith in the few trying to do right in this world. No good deed goes unpunished, it seemed.

Isra’s words bring a heavy sigh to her lips. She cannot help but look out at the smoking rubble, the crumbled buildings and ruined rations. She had to keep positive, at least no lives were lost. “Aye…and we will again.” She knows she has to help Night Court, to be the one to carry the boulders. So few had the strength she had, the brute force required to physically rebuild. “…but we shouldn’t have to. This like this shouldn’t happen.” Perhaps if she had kept better boarders, patrolled better, got to know all those traveling through Nigh Court. If she had just done her job maybe this wouldn’t have happened. She shouldn’t blame herself, but she does. She blames herself for letting her guard down, for not being the soldier she was bred to be. Even though Raum might have orchestrated this attack, she felt responsible.

The promise of justice that falls from Isra’s lips bring upon a nod. She knows that he will die for this and she knows that Isra will lead the hunt for him. She cannot help but think, no know, that she will be close behind. “And I will be alongside you when we does. Together we will avenge him.” She could not let her queen do this task alone. She couldn’t watch Isra march off to war and be comfortable with knowing that she might not come back. If anyone was going to come home in a body bag, it would be her over her queen.

She feels the tender brush against her shoulder and she leans into Isra, a silent thanks for the comfort. She knows what her task is ahead of her, no matter how much she might not like it. “We gather the soldiers, train, wait for the right time to strike.” She looks to her queen and her eyes grow solemn. “Until then we should advise people to move into the city, where they can be closely protected. It’s far easier to protect them in the citadel than it is to protect them scattered across the land.” As much as she hated that she might have to leave the small home she shared with Finnick and Metaphor, she would do anything to protect the two men in her life that meant more to her than life itself. She would do anything for them. As if he knew the unspoken words she thought, Finnick brushed his wing alongside her ribs, giving her comfort to know that he would do his part to protect Night Court as well.

@Isra

Eyes watch as  Isra begins to turn their home into something straight out of a fairytale book. She can see the ash and still burning wood into columns of marble and stone. Her eyes watch with awe as the area around her turns into something far grander than it was before. Raum could not steal away their happiness. He could not take away the thing that all Night Court citizens had. Their devotion to their court and to their queen was something that could never be taken from them and Katniss knows this all too well. She has the same feeling of hope and faith. Despite all that has happened, there is something that will never snuff the light of hope that she feels deep within her chest. That feeling is here to stay and she will now unleash that feeling and allow it to consume everything around her.

When Isra demands her to be their champion, Katniss knows she already is. She is already a beacon of hope for a future far better than this one. She nods her head with only the slightest of nods. Katniss understands her duty and she knows that in the immediate moments following this great tragedy, she has to step up for her people.

She says nothing to Isra as she turns her back on her queen. And as she begins to step away, she pauses. Neck arches around to lay her eyes on Isra, Finnick still laying quietly on her back. The moment their gaze meets, there’s nothing that needs to be said. She knows Isra will understand this moment, even if there are no words said. What needed to be said? They were both great warriors and they both knew what needed to be done. Isra needed to be their queen and she needed to be their protector. She wouldn’t waste a moment longer talking about the what ifs. She would use this precious time to do as she said she would do - to prepare the army and usher people into the city.

Back turns towards Isra and she begins to walk away, the smoke and ash consuming her as she slips into the thick of it. No more words are spoken but her actions speak far louder than any words that she could ever form from her own lips. Her heart swells to know that Isra is home, but at the same beat, it hurts for all that has been lost. There is a fire burning deep within her soul and it was time to set itself ablaze.

@Isra - A closer since we’ve moved onto happier things.