She stands in the markets, her eyes looking over the stalls of the vendors who had been selling their items and trinkets just this morning. No longer is there chatter about the price of goods or the sounds of buyers haggling the prices. Tonight, the markets are eerily silent. The only sound they make is the crackle and pop of embers that still burn away at the food stores.
Katniss has salvaged what she could, tried to pull as much food from the fires as her limbs could carry. Poor Finnick, the bird laying near lifeless on her back, had done his part in bringing water from the rivers to help put out the blaze. The smoke has burned both their lungs and the eagle cannot even find the energy to stand.
Her eyes look out at the destruction and somewhere, there is something peaceful about this picture. The snow and ash cover the markets in a blanket of white. Other Denocte citizens stand about. Some are trying to clean up the mess, some are repackaging the food that was salvaged, and some are just standing there in tears, in awe of what all has happened.
Up ahead, Katniss sees the face of a stallion she has not met before. She is cautious of him, unsure if perhaps he was the one who started these fires. Her steps bring her closer to him, the only sound of her approach is the way the snow crunches beneath the press of her hoof.
She comes to stand alongside him, her red eyes peering into his own. She can see that he is just as angry as she is. Whoever he is, he did not start these fires. “Such destruction on such a peaceful night.” Her words are hoarse, the smoke having burned her lungs. The silver black mare appears black, the white of her mane turned dark grey with soot from her efforts to rescue what food she could.
She sighs, the weight of what has happened tonight weighing heavily upon her heart. While she has not been a Denocte citizen for too long, she has come to love this place and call it home. She has bonded with these people and vowed to protect them with every ounce of her being. Seeing these fires hurts her heart. Whoever is behind this will pay, Katniss will see that she leads the charge to punish whoever is behind this.
