Home. There really was no place like home. For so long, Katniss thought that home was Ausus, the land where she was born and trained. And then came Rift, another home where she grew into a great leader. And then Novus. And yet, none of these places were really home. Home was in the embrace of Metaphor, staring into the eyes of her son. Home was where she was needed and where she would thrive. Home was a concept that Katniss had not quite mastered, never really feeling like any one place was home.
In the end, it was Kibou that was her home. Her son had grown, taking on life in all of his mysteries. No longer did he need the comfort and support of his mother. For a mother, to watch one’s son grow up and branch out was hard. No longer was she needed. And now she was alone again. No lover. No son. Just herself and her eagle.
Finnick cries out as he soars just above her, his call comforting and welcomed. The eagle still needed her and she needed him. But what was more important was the fact that Denocte still needed her. And so, the mare changes her course, heading into the city in hopes that she might be welcomed home.
So many things had changed in her absence, and yet so many things were the same. The moon still shone brightly in the sky. Torches and lanterns still light the cobblestone pathways of the city. She stands beside the sport where she sent Metaphor into the heavens and she can feel her heart begin to ache.
But with a deep breath, she steps past that point, stepping forward into the future and the unknown. Now was not a time for mourning. Now was the time for redemption. Katniss was back and all of Novus better be ready for the warrior that has returned. No longer was her heart leading her. Some might say that her heart had hardened, making her more cool than warm. But Katniss had seen the damage her heart could do and she would not return to that point. The new Katniss had arrived, her face stoic, her posture tall and rigid. Some may not like the new lease on life she now held onto, but those same individuals could not possibly known the horrors that Katniss had seen in her absence. New scars added to her collection, new wounds that seemed to fester. This was not the same Katniss that left Denocte so many moons ago. This was something far darker. This was the soldier that never was.
