A Baird and the Snow

Generals and Presidents

Coriolanus walked blindly for what felt like hours when he was sure it had only been a few minutes. He kept tripping and cursing with each time that he did, only to get the point of a gun at his back.

Besides, he couldn't stop thinking about the way Lucy Gray had yelled that she wouldn't leave without the scarf. Her devotion to it brought him a happiness he'd never felt before. It meant she truly cared about its significance to him and to her.

Not even their evident capture could take that feeling away from him. He loved Lucy Gray. He loved her so much that he'd given up all that he'd ever known for her, and it was a love so big that it rivaled all of Panem.

"Everyone's born as clean as a whistle," Lucy Gray started singing softly. "As fresh as a daisy and not a bit crazy."

No one tells her to quiet down, in fact people quiet down to listen. No one could resist Lucy Gray's singing once she starts, not even the Capitol.

Coryo sure as hell couldn't. Neither could the men surrounding them.

She continued the song and Coriolanus listened intently, letting himself be brought back to the first time he'd heard it.

He and Lucy Gray had kept their eyes locked on each other the entire time, losing themselves in the other's gaze and oh how easy that was.

And how easy it was to smile then. Now all they had time to do was run and hope they didn't get caught.

He had missed the times he could just let himself let go while Lucy Gray was singing with The Covey.

By the time Lucy Gray had finished her song, she had begun to start a new one but then we started to hear the noise of people. A lot of them.

Suddenly they stopped moving and Coryo flinched when bright lights suddenly blinded him. The bag had been pulled off of his head.

When his eyes finally adjusted, he went straight for Lucy Gray, taking her into his arms and burying his face in her neck. "Thank you," he said.

Lucy Gray laughed and pulled back. "What for?"

Coriolanus just took the scarf from her hands, shaking out the dirt. Then he wrapped it around Lucy Gray's shoulders tightly, using it to pull her into a kiss.

It would have been less brief if it weren't for the realization of everything happening around them.

Coryo took it in and gasped. There wasn't supposed to be anyone out here at all, let alone an entire community.

There were hundreds of people in uniforms that he didn't recognize and each of them were busy with clipboards are moving crates taller than Coriolanus.

They looked like weapon crates. 13 was an arms manufacturing district. The question was, why wasn't any of this destroyed in the war and who was the one in charge of all of this?

Coriolanus had only questions, and from what he could tell, they were going to be answered soon enough.

"We're taking you to the person in charge," the man who brought us here said, urging us forward.

Lucy Gray and I held each other's hands tightly as we walked where the men led. He was glad to see exactly where she was and touch her again. It was an upgrade compared to only being able to hear her.

Although Coryo admitted that he could live on only the sound of her voice for a long time. Such was the power of love.

Wait... love?

Coryo's thoughts ran wild with the possible revelation but he forced himself to forget about it and to focus on his surroundings. He had so many questions and no answers.

This place was so alive with activity and it reminded him of the academy. People always doing things and having places to be.

He missed having that purpose— knowing what was ahead of him. But at the same time he was glad it was gone because now it meant having a life with Lucy Gray. That is if nothing here goes wrong.

Here's to hoping.

"So you guys aren't Capitol?" Lucy Gray asked again and Coriolanus hoped she knew what she was doing because ever since she mentioned that they were on the run from the Capitol to these strangers earlier, his worry had tripled.

But she had said to trust her so he did, because what else was there to do when it came to his Lucy Gray?

•••

"No, we're not Capitol," the man said with a sigh.

Lucy Gray nodded, though she already knew this from simple deduction. "Any name I can put to your face?"

The man met her eyes with his own narrowed. "General Lennox Odair," he said gruffly.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, General Odair," Lucy Gray said and she felt Coriolanus pull her a little closer as they walked.

She could tell that he was nervous. He still couldn't tell what she was doing, and to be honest, neither did she.

She was going with her gut, and her gut was telling her to play nice.

As the continued to move through the warehouse-like building, Lucy Gray watched in awe at the activity around them. Every movement made by the people around them seemed so purposeful. So important.

What were these people doing here anyway? She couldn't help being curious. It didn't take long for  them to get to where they were going.

Before she knew it, General Odair stopped them and told them to wait and not move.

She had laughed a little, wondering how they would move even if they wanted to. They were still surrounded by a, smaller than before, group of soldiers.

At least that's what she assumed they were. She didn't really know what to call them.

"Lucy Gray..." Coriolanus whispered and she looked at him.

"Coryo?"

"I think— I think that I love you," he said so quietly she almost didn't hear.

Lucy Gray's heart started thumping. "Coriolanus, what are you—"

"I don't know what's going to happen today, Lucy Gray. And I don't know where we'll be tomorrow, so I'm letting you know now." He squeezed her hand, refusing to look at her and staring straight ahead.

"Coriolanus Snow," Lucy Gray said harshly, "don't you talk like that." She tugged on his arm and forced him to look at her. "We'll be fine." She took his face in his hands. "Lord knows there's nothing worse than what we've been through that can happen, so whatever happens, we'll be fine."

He swallowed and nodded. Then, she stood on her tippy toes to kiss him. "And for the record, I love you too." She grinned at him and his lips twitched into a smile.

Lucy Gray believed every word she just said to him. They were going to be just fine.

Suddenly the door opened and she pulled away from Coriolanus. Someone tapped them forward with the tip of their guns and they moved into the room on the other side of the door.

It looked like a conference room. There was a long table down the middle of the room, at least ten chairs around the whole thing.

On the wall to the side, there was a large screen that was currently blank, although there was still a faint glow emanating from it. Not on but not quite off.

What caught Lucy Gray's attention, however, was on the woman standing behind a chair at the end of table across the room.

"Welcome to District 13," the woman said. "My name is President Amelia Coin."

***

Author's note:

Any names look familiar in this chapter? ;)

Tell me what you guys think!! :D

Just a quick clarification: President Amelia Coin is the grandmother of President Alma Coin and General Lennox Odair is the grandfather of our one and only Finnick Odair :) in this fanfic, the Odair family ran away to 13 a couple years before the 10th annual hunger games.