A Baird and the Snow

Promise

It had been a few days since they'd last seen Lennox, so Coriolanus was surprised when he came knocking on their door. He opened the door. "Where have you been?" Coryo asked him.

"Preparing," Lennox replied simply. "We're heading out tonight."

Lucy Gray stood from where she sat on the bed. "Tonight?" She asked in surprise. "Why such late notice?"

Lennox's brow furrowed. "Someone was supposed to tell you we were leaving today three days ago. No one came?"

Coriolanus shook his head. The past three days had been almost as quiet as his month of recovery. Excluding the pain. "Who was supposed to come?"

"I told my Lieutenant to find a way to pass on the information. Knowing him, he probably asked someone else to..." Lennox's eyes widened with realization and he let out a string of curses.

"What? What is it?" Lucy Gray pressed, coming to stand beside Coriolanus.

"He's friends with Heavensbee," Lennox muttered. "The idiot probably asked him to tell you without realizing your history."

Coriolanus felt his insides stewing at the mention of Hilarius.

"There's nothing to be done about it now," Lennox admitted, raking a hand through his hair. "This isn't something we can postpone. You have until a few hours to do what you need to prepare. Coin had some clothes made for you guys, it's armored and it has a mockingjay on it. You guys are a part of this now, there isn't any going back once you put on that symbol."

Coriolnaus glanced at Lucy Gray. She looked determined and ready for anything.

"I'll be back with the attire in ten minutes. It should have been delivered along with the information about today," he let out heavy breath and then walked away. Coriolanus could see through his cool demeanor. He was under a lot of pressure for this mission, and the miscommunication was only making it worse for him.

Slowly, Coriolanus closed the door before turning to Lucy Gray. "This is it," he said, letting out a breath.

"We're going back to 12," She breathed out. Her eyes were wide with realization. Knowing that they were leaving in only a few hours made everything ten times more real.

Coriolanus could see in her expression that she was thinking of The Covey. She was always good at distracting herself from things that she didn't want to think about. But when she finally let herself wonder, you could see it plainly and clearly on her face.

"We'll bring them back here," Coriolanus promised her, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"And then we'll get your family," Lucy Gray replied.

—

Coriolanus watched intently as the bustling environment prepared for the team leaving for the mission. Huge trucks were driving by, full of cases that he could only assume were weapons.

People were running, shouting instructions and trying to get everything in order on time.

"We should be gone in ten minutes," Lennox said coming to stand beside him.

Lucy Gray was helping someone lift crates into the hoverplanes they were taking to 12. She was wearing the new Mockingjay uniform. It was black and armored around the torso and arms. The pants she wore had multiple pockets lining the seam from her thigh all the way down to her shin before they disappeared underneath her black, combat boots. There was a white mockingjay painted on the shoulder and she looked like a force to be reckoned with.

Coriolanus was dressed the same and being back in a uniform made him remember his time as a peacekeeper. It was unsettling.

Suddenly Coin was on the other side of him. "It's time, Snow. Let's rain down on them."