snowbaird | what happens when lucy gray, doesn't run away... |

chapter 5 - katniss

coriolanus and lucy gray are walking through the woods together. they made it. they ran away together. they can live their lives together. lucy gray begins a conversation.

"are you thinkin' about sejanus?"
"i just wish there was more i could've done...... i'm sorry you have to leave this place."
"yeah, i'll miss the covey.. hope they'll follow me someday, though."
"you know what i wont miss?..."

lucy gray looks up at him, curiously. she's genuinely curious on what he has to say. she always is. that's just how she is, always listening to others and being kind.

"...people."
"people aren't so bad. not really... it's what the world does to them. like all of us in the arena. i think there's a natural goodness born into us all"

coriolanus scoffs at her answer.

"no really, you can either cross that line into evil... or not. and it's our life's work to stay on the right side of that line."
"it's not always that simple."
"mm i know. i'm a victor."

coriolanus stops walking to pick up a stick, while lucy gray continues to walk.

"sure will be nice not to have to kill anyone else up north though, huh?"
"three's enough for me."

lucy gray pauses. she thinks about what he just said. three? he only killed two...? what is he talking about? who else did he kill?!

"i'm gonna make a walking stick, you want one?"

lucy gray is still paused. she is still trying to comprehend what coriolanus just said. who else
did he kill?!?!

"you killed three..? who's the third?"

lucy gray turns around to look at coriolanus for an answer. instead he ignores her and accidentally gets a splinter from the stick he picked up.

"what?"
"person you killed.. coriolanus. you said you killed three people. i only know about two. do not lie to me."

she's doing it again. lucy gray has this thing where when she talks serious she combines her sentences. like she says them all really fast, not reading the periods in between the sentences. that's how you know she's being serious.
coriolanus says, still trying to ignore the question,

"can you help me get this out?"
"there was bobbin in the arena, and mayfair, and who's the third?"

they stare into each others eyes. lucy gray waiting for an answer, coriolanus waiting to give an answer. coriolanus stutters.

"i.. i just... i feel..."

he's thinking about sejanus. he can't tell lucy gray he IS responsible for it. but..... he could say something else. he loved her. more than anything. he wants to be with her and love her and never let her get hurt. this way, he can make sure of that.

"i feel, responsible for sejanus' death..."

his eyes slowly fill with tears. he isn't sobbing. just the tears are forming, while he's talking with a slight break in his voice.

"i feel like it's my fault. i should've never shot mayfair. i should've handled the guns myself. i should've convinced sejanus more to not associate with billy taupe and spruce. i just feel guilty. i had to be there to witness his death. he called for my name but i couldn't do anything about it."

lucy gray stands there in shock. he just poured his heart out on how he feels responsible for his own friends death. coriolanus didn't have many friends. sejanus was his only one. and losing him definitely hurts. lucy gray goes in to hug him. coriolanus hugs her back, tightly.

"i didn't know you felt this way. i'm sorry for getting onto you like that."
"it's okay, you didn't know. and i should've told you sooner. we should be honest with each other, i know."

but coriolanus wasn't exactly honest. but it was to protect their relationship. he really does love her. and he will try his best to do anything to save them.

they keep walking until they pass by the cabin and the lake.

coriolanus says, "why don't we stop here at the cabin? wait out the storm?"
"we should really keep going."
"we're gonna need food, lucy gray. let's catch some fish while we're here."

they walk into the cabin. coriolanus walks in first, holding the door open for her, then touching her shoulder as she walks in.

"if you want to fish, there's rods under the floorboards."
"these one's?"
"uh huh."

coriolanus reaches to open the floorboards. there's stuff wrapped in a white cloth. he opens it, and there they were. the guns that were used to shoot mayfair and billy taupe. coriolanus goes to pick one up. he holds to shotgun, as if he is going to fire it. he scoffs, at the fact that it was kind of a good spot to hide them. but they could've atleast put them in the lake. to where no one would ever find them.

"what is it?"

coriolanus stands up and shows her the shotgun.

"it's the gun."

he remembers how it felt in his arms.

"the one you fired at mayfair. spruce must have known about this place. if we destroy that gun, you're free. you can go back home. will you?"
"no more loose ends."
"besides me."

lucy gray smiles at him, very bubbly.

"besides you..?..."

coriolanus gives her an odd look.

"...you wouldn't tell anyone?"
"course not. come with me. let's put the guns into the lake. we can use the boat."

lucy gray grabs the guns and holds coriolanus' wrist and walks out the door. as they're walking out the door, she says,

"and after that, i'll dig up some katniss. there's a good patch down by the lake."
"i thought it was too early for that.?"
"well we need all the food we can get darling, if we want to make it up north."

together they get into the boat and row to the middle of the lake. they hold the guns together in both of their hands and drop them in the lake, together. lucy gray then goes to pick her katniss. coriolanus admires her picking the katniss. he smiles a little bit.

"katniss does have a nice ring but, how'd you come up with the name?"
"katniss has been a good name for a long while. it symbolizes survival. if i ever have kids, or if my cousins have kids, i want them to be named katniss."

AUTHORS NOTE:
the last line🌚 i was excited to write this chapter because i got creative with how coriolanus was gonna say who the third was😭 but idkk what's gonna happen next. also happy new years!🤩🥂my mind is still in 2022 tbh😭 but anyways
YEAH I LOVE YOU😝😝💙💙