Winter had begun to withdraw by the time her foot was deemed usable.
The healer gave her exercises to do and let her walk on her own a bit.
Livia went to sleep one night, determined to go into town the next morning, but she awoke to find Venia, Octavia, and Flavius grinning down at her- Peeta no where to be found.
"Surprise!", they squealed, "We're here early!"
After Livia had taken that lash in the face, Haymitch had gotten their visit pushed back several months so she could heal up.
But Livia wasn't expecting them for another three weeks- still she tried to act delighted that her bridal photo shoot was there at last.
Prim had hung all the dresses up when she was over- just to see and gawk at them, even though Livia couldn't exactly try them on.
After the usual histrionics about the deteriorated state of her beauty, they got right down to business.
Their biggest concern was her face, although Livia thought had healed pretty remarkably compared to other wounds that- she herself- had to heal.
There was only a pale pink strip across her cheekbone.
The whipping wasn't common knowledge, so Livia told them she'd slipped on the ice and cut it.
And then she realized that's was her same excuse for hurting her foot- making walking in high heels a problem.
But Flavius, Octavia, and Venia weren't the suspicious types, so Livia wasn't too worried.
Since she only had to look hairless for a few hours instead of several weeks, she got to be shaved instead of waxed.
Still she had to soak in a tub of something, but it wasn't terribly vile, and they were on to her hair and makeup before she knew it.
The team, as usual, is full of news, which Livia usually did her best to tune out, but then Octavia made a comment that caught her attention.
It was a passing remark, really, about how she couldn't get shrimp for a party, but it tugged at Livia.
"Why couldn't you get shrimp? Is it out of season?" Livia asked.
"Oh, Livia, we haven't been able to get any seafood for weeks!", Octavia explained, "You know, because the weather's been so bad in District Four."
Livia's mind buzzed.
No seafood. For weeks. From District 4. The barely concealed rage in the crowd during the Victory Tour.
And suddenly Livia was absolutely sure that District 4 had revolted.
Livia began to question them casually about what other hardships the winter had brought them.
They were not used to want, so any little disruption in supply made an impact on them.
By the time she was ready to be dressed, their complaints about the difficulty of getting different products- from crabmeat to music chips to ribbons- has given Livia a sense of which districts might actually have been rebelling.
Seafood from District 4.
Electronic gadgets from District 3.
And, of course, fabrics from District 8.
The thought of such widespread rebellion had Livia quivering with fear and excitement.
She wanted to ask them more, but Cinna appeared to give her a hug and check her makeup.
