Athena stayed in her room for the majority of the games. She had heard that Lucy Gray Baird had won, but she didn't bother to ask for the gruesome details. She felt more glad than anything to hear that the runt of the group pulled through and won, but her heart ached for the rest.
She got word the morning after the tragedy that her blow to Otto's head did indeed kill him. She thought she would have a hard time adjusting to the fact that a person's life ended because of her hands, but she felt nothing. Not even guilt. She was more shocked by the fact that she had no repercussions. Execution is the consequence of murder, and yet there she stood. She was dressed in her pajamas, well-fed and comfortable.
She had waited patiently to hear something from Sejanus, but not a single word could be heard. Not even a mere whisper of the heir of the Plinth fortune could be heard among the winds, just pure silence. It was as if her friend never went into the games. She found herself feeling infuriated, anger bubbling in her stomach every time she thought of him; he ghosted her. She's reached out every day, sometimes multiple times and nothing. Not even a reassuring word.
The sound of the front door slamming shut echoed, bouncing off the walls of the depressing house. Athena could hear her father laughing to himself. Typically, his drunken days are limited to the nights of the games, so hearing him stumble around surprised her.
"Have you gone mad?" Athena asked, opening her bedroom door. Her father was near the living room, sitting on the arm of their couch with a massive grin on his face and a black glassed bottle that Athena only assumed was alcohol. His hair was a mess, and his cheeks flushed as the alcohol bubbled in his blood.
"Haven't you heard?" her father giggled, smiling at his daughter.
"Have I heard what?" she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against her bedroom door.
"I caught him!" He cheered, taking another swing of his drink.
"Caught who, Dad?"
"Coriolanus, HAH, you should've seen his face when he realized he was caught." Athena felt her jaw drop.
"Coriolanus?" Athena found herself walking towards her father. She stopped a few feet away from him, anxiously awaiting his response.
"What did you do to him?" Not sensing how upset she was, Casca slid off the arm of the couch and slowly moved into a lying position. She watched as his head swayed and his eyes dropped, trying hard to concentrate on her.
"I sent him away to the districts. He leaves at dawn." He slurred; soon enough, his grip on the bottle went slack, and the bottle fell and smashed to the ground. Athena ran her hand through her hair and chewed at her lip. She grabbed one of the throw blankets and moved her father to the side in case he got sick and tucked him in. She debated on cleaning the glass but decided to leave that for him when he woke up.
Athena rushed to her room, slamming the door behind her. She paced her room, thinking before running to her closet and pulling on some clothes before bolting out the door. She had to see him off.
𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙𓆙
Athena waited at the train station for hours. She sat on the dirty concrete ground, legs pulled to her chest, silently throwing pebbles at the train before her to pass the time. She tried to talk to the peacekeepers, but they barely even glanced her way.
She kept imagining what her interaction with Coriolanus would be like. Will he be mad? Angry? She couldn't tell. She could see it going many different ways.
She eventually ran out of rocks to throw and started to pick at the dirt that had gathered under her nails. She was trying her best to clean them.
"Athena?" her head snapped to her right to see Coriolanus. His hair was shaven to a buzz cut, and he wore the Peacekeeper uniform. She had to say, even though she missed the long golden locks that Coryo typically sported, the buzz made him seem rougher, more intimidating and even a bit mysterious.
"I'm so sorry; if I had known, I would've warned you," was the first words that came out of her mouth. She quickly stood up to greet him halfway.
"You wouldn't have changed his mind. He made it obvious it's been his goal to ruin my life." There was no arguing with him there.
"What district?" Athena asked. A slight, surprising smirk appeared on his face.
"12." Athena smiled. Despite his awful hand, it was nice to see him happy.
"You going to find your songbird?" Athena asked, looking up at him through her lashes.
"I don't know," he said more to himself than her. He rocked on his feet and cleared his throat.
"These games have changed you," Athena stated, observing him. It was true. There was something different about how he carried himself; he seemed more calculated and sure of himself. But Athena couldn't tell if that was for the better or for worse.
"They have," he agreed, meeting her gaze.
"Goodbye Coriolanus,"
"I'll be back, mark my words," he smirked. The girl made him confused, the feelings he felt when around Athena was different then with Lucy Gray, but he couldn't quite distinguish what exactly he was feeling. In a way he was grateful he may never see Athena again, he hated how she made him feel.
He leaned closer, so close that their noses almost touched. His soft hands cupped her cheek and let a soft lingering kiss on it. Her cheeks turned red, and the touch of his lips remained on her skin even when he moved away. In a way it was his way of saying goodbye.
"Thank you," but she wasn't really sure what he was thanking her for. With those words, he boarded the train. He gave Athena one last look before leaving her sight.
Athena gave the train one last look before leaving. As she left, a very familiar face came into her view.
"Sejanus?" he too had a buzz cut and was wearing peacekeeping uniform. He seemed surprised to see her, almost like a deer caught by the hunter.
"Athena," he sounded guilty.
"You weren't going to tell me?" her voice cracked, and her nose tingled. She was trying hard to keep the tears at bay.
"No," that singular word hurt more than any wound she ever had.
"Okay," Athena's face went stone cold.
"Look, " Athena didn't give him any time of day.
"Don't even," Athena raised her finger to silence him. Athena turned her back on him and started to walk away.
"I have to do this," Sejanus yelled to her, but his words were silent. She knew friends came and went, but she never imagined it would happen with her and Sejanus. Sitting in her car on the car ride home, she realized how alone she was.
YOU ARE READING
When the Mockingjay Sings - Coriolanus Snow/Treech
Fanfiction"Mark my words, one day the Mockingjay will sing and Snow will do what Snow does best. Snow will fall" Athena was orphaned during the rebel war. Adopted by Casca Highbottom, she was able to go to school in the Capital of Panem. When Athena is assign...
