An empire's fall in just one day

I've been having the same nigtmare...

I’m not sure that I trust any kind of medication that they’re giving out. As for therapy… I don’t even pay attention to the therapist I have now. [Katniss shrugged and shoved her hands in her pocket.]

I've been having the same nightmare...

Beetee sighed silently. While he wanted to keep pressing until Gale finally started talking, he knew that this was compliant as the boy would be right now. He just needed time. “You do that,” he answered. “Just…know that I don’t really have anything better to do than listen, all right?” His lips twitched in an ironic sort of smile. “It’s no trouble. And…you can trust me. Or, at least, I hope you can.”

"I understand that, Gale. Believe me, I do. And I respect it," Beetee said. "By no means am I suggesting you confide in me more than makes you comfortable. But you’re clearly troubled by something, something that keeps you from sleeping, which is also something I understand. All too well, actually. I can help you, or at least try. You need only let me.” Beetee folded his arms and looked up at the boy. His expression didn’t convey any trace of hope, but he really did wish Gale would swallow his pride and accept his help, even if only to appease him. Beetee had so few people he cared about; it was only natural for him to one none to suffer, even if their suffering was partly due to their own stubbornness, as was the case with Gale.

Carina mulled the older boy’s response over in her head for a moment. Was she being paranoid, or was there a hint of warning in his voice, a suggestion that she, a Capitol girl, couldn’t handle rough? No, no; she was being silly, merely expecting…well, what she’d come to expect from those of the districts. Not that she blamed them for being prejudiced against her, but still, it was nice to meet someone who wasn’t. “Even so, I’d like to see it,” she said. “If not for the scenery, then for the people. I’ve, uh…always wanted to meet Katniss. I admire her, she’s so brave.” Carina bit her lip, a slight blush heating her cheeks. “Um…how is she? Have you seen her lately?”

"Ah. I see," said Beetee. Part of him mused that he could easily relate to this. After all, he was by no means a talented conversationalist; on the contrary, his social skills mirrored those of perhaps a cardboard box, a fact that he had long since accepted. He could bring this up, perhaps even coax a smile out of the boy, but Beetee decided this wasn’t the time. He needed to find out what was troubling him so first, and — hopefully — help him. "Well, you’re doing a very poor job. You wouldn’t be so evasive if you did in fact want to have a conversation," he answered simply.

"That sounds nice," said Carina brightly, a little beyond noticing Gale’s reluctance to talk to her. "I’m kind of used to it by now, to be honest, but to someone like Twelve it must be  quite the spectacle…I mean, not that Twelve is bad," she was quick to add, "I’m sure it’s lovely, and I’ve always wanted to visit. Just…different." She smiled again.

"Why would I have moved?" Beetee asked. His tone hinted at the barest trace of humor, but he was mostly serious; why would he have left 3, when it contained the remnants of everything he held dear? Everyone he loved, all of his hopes and dreams, they were buried here in 3 — Beetee was subsequently as rooted to the place as if there was a shackle chaining him here. This wasn’t something he could communicate to Gale, though, so he answered straightforwardly: "No, I’m still in Three. Why do you ask?" He had discerned by now that Gale wanted the conversation directed away from him, but Beetee wouldn’t have it; he wanted to know what was troubling the boy and besides, he was just as private a person as Gale had become, if not more so.

"No reason, just trying to continue conversation," Never one of his strong points.  Rory, Vick and Posy were easy, he'd just ask them what they had been doing lately, and they would excitedly tell him, his mum was harder, but still it was easy.  That was before the rebellion, before he lost himself to the cause.  He hadn't talked to them since, he felt a pang in his chest at the thought.

He didn’t know how she was. Or, at least, if he did, he didn’t care enough to make a big deal out of it. That was good enough for Carina, and she smiled broadly. “So, um, what brings you here, Gale?” she asked.

Oh great he thought, she wanted to converse.  "Originally work," Gale began to explain, "But I decided to stay a little while longer just to see what it was like."  And he honestly didn't like most of what he saw, but he decided to not say anything about that.

Beetee’d worked with Gale too closely in the past to not see past his facade, but he realized that the boy was unlikely to tell of whatever was troubling him, so Beetee let it go. “All right, then, Gale, if you insist,” he said.

"Indeed." Maria smirked, watching the young man’s expressions. She found it rather amusing that he always seemed so brooding and sulky; always so serious. At least, that was the impression she always got from him. "How are things in District 2? I trust the military continues to run smoothly, Soldier Hawthorne?"

"Things in two are fine," At least he thought they were, he wasn't paying much attention to a lot of things.  "The military is fine, as are most of the soldiers, Ms Darcy," or should she be addressed as Vice-president or Ma'am?  All these fancy titles were too complicated for his liking, they made him feel slightly queasy anyway.  He didn't trust the people with them, nothing was stopping them from becoming like Snow or Coin.

"Having less won’t kill ‘em. They don’t know the meaning of the word ‘suffering’. They’ll be fine." He shrugged, indifferent about suffering in the Capitol. He tried to like some of them for Effie’s sake, and tried to at least be a little understanding, but at the end of the day, he despised a good majority of them.

Gale didn't know why he disliked them so much, maybe it was how innocent their view of the world was, maybe it was how much better off they were than him and so many others, the fact so many were blind to it didn't help, "Fine is an overstatement, aside from what they eat, nothing will be different."

Beetee wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure? You seem almost ill,” he said. “Perhaps you should sleep a little more Take more time off work.”

"I'm fine," he replied firmly, going to sleep was the thing he wanted to do the least.  Whilst he did appreciate Beetee's concern, Gale wasn't comfortable talking about his issues with sleeping. 

Haymitch scoffed. “I don’t know about you, kid, but I don’t give a damn whether the Capitol freaks like it or not. They’ve got it coming. Time for them to know what it’s like to go without. They can’t complain. At least they’ll actually have enough to survive, unlike most in the Seam.”

Gale found himself agreeing with Haymitch, not being able to eat because you're feeling bloated was nothing compared to not being able to eat because you had no food, "I guess we've agreed on that."