A beautiful sight

While walking towards the elevators, Jacob didn't let go of Katniss, but at that moment, someone quickly passed by his side.

The woman takes off a headpiece made of branches with leaves and throws it behind her without caring where it falls. Johanna Mason. From District 7. Wood and paper, hence the tree. She won by convincingly presenting herself as weak and defenseless to be ignored. Then she demonstrated a twisted ability for murder.

She messes up her spiky hair and widens her big brown eyes. "Isn't my disguise awful? My stylist is the biggest idiot in the entire Capitol. Our tributes have been trees for forty years under her. I wish I had caught Cinna. You look fantastic."

A girl talked, Jacob thought without saying a word.

"Yes, she has been helping me design my own clothing line. You should see what she can do with velvet," Katniss replied. Velvet was the only fabric that came to mind.

"I've seen it. During your tour. That strapless number you wore in District Two? The dark blue one with diamonds? So beautiful, I wanted to reach through the screen and tear it off your back," Johanna says.

Jacob lightly nudged Haymitch, both interested in the conversation and eager to see what happened.

While waiting for the elevators, Johanna unzips the rest of her tree costume, letting it fall to the ground, and then kicks it away in disgust. Except for her forest-green sneakers, she is not wearing a single scrap of clothing.

"Much better."

Jacob and Haymitch, of course, had no complaints. But for obvious reasons, no one said anything.

They ended up in the same elevator as her, and Johanna spends the whole way to the seventh floor chatting with Jacob about their weapons while the still brightly shining costume light reflects on Johanna's bare breasts.

When she leaves, Katniss ignores her, but she simply knows that he is smiling from ear to ear. She waves her hand to the side as the doors close behind Chaff and Seeder, leaving them alone, and bursts into laughter.

"What?" Katniss responds, turning to Jacob as they enter their floor.

"Naked Finnick, I think Johanna is something similar. Don't take it too seriously; jealousy doesn't look good on you." Jacob indifferently pointed out.

Katniss, on her part, didn't respond, leading Jacob to ask, "By the way, between Finnick and me, who has a better body?"

Upon hearing this question, Katniss stops, remembering when she saw Jacob's naked body from behind, so she thinks for a moment and responds, "Yours..."

However, as she gives this answer, Katniss blushes a bit and says, "Well, Finnick has probably gone years without serious training..."

"Yeah, that must be it," Jacob murmurs with a smile from ear to ear. "By the way, do you want to know?"

"Know what?" Katniss asks.

"Between Johanna and you, who has a better body? You know, a critic's voice must be well-informed, so I just need to see a little..." Jacob falls silent again as he sees Katniss's expression.

"Do you want to see?" Katniss asks, obviously angry.

"Well, it was just a comment... Sure, if you want, no man would refuse something like that."

"Go to hell!"

Auge!

Katniss throws the crown, and it hits the door behind Jacob. He, of course, is not upset. On the contrary, he looks at Katniss expectantly.

"I won't do anything, get out of here!"

At that moment, another elevator opens.

Effie joins them, looking pleased about something. Then Haymitch's expression turns hard.

"What have they done now?"

But then Jacob sees him looking behind them at the entrance to the dining room.

Effie blinks in the same direction, then cheerfully says, "It seems they got you a matching set this year."

Both turn around and see the red-haired Avox girl who attended to them last year until the games began.

They realize that the young man beside her, another Avox, also has red hair. That must be what Effie meant by the matching set.

After that, a shiver runs through Katniss. Because she knows him too. Not from the Capitol but from years of comfortable conversations in the Hob, joking about Greasy Sae's soup, and then that last day seeing him lying unconscious in the square as Gale's life slipped away in blood.

Her new Avox is Darius.

Haymitch firmly grasps Katniss's wrist as if anticipating her next move, but she is speechless about how the Capitol's torturers have left Darius. Haymitch once told them that something was done to the Avoxes' tongues so they could never speak again.

Jacob, further away from this person, feels nothing, just a slight sadness for Katniss's feelings.

But he knows one thing, that any move Katniss makes towards Darius now, any act of recognition, would only result in punishment for him. So they both just stood there, looking into each other's eyes. Darius, now a mute slave; Katniss, now on her way to her death. What were they going to say, anyway? That they feel each other's luck? That they feel each other's pain? That they are glad to have been lucky enough to know each other?

No, Darius shouldn't be glad to know them. It's more than obvious that President Snow has placed him here for Katniss's enjoyment.

"He does have a twisted mind." Jacob muttered, referring to President Snow.