"— No, that is not what I fought for," he snapped back, past frustrated. He'd just been looking out for their people, their interests, doing his job, and he'd been raked over the coals for it all afternoon, and now this, from someone who had the natural ability to get under his skin? Gale had barely any patience as it was, let alone after the day he'd had. "We took down a regime, we stopped the Games to give everybody freedom. That's it, full stop. Our contract ends there. We can't protect everyone, Peeta, that's insane. You're out there in the shit every other day and yet you still have your head in the damn clouds. We won the war, we gave them a chance. Now let the chips fall where they may. Not our fucking business," he threw his hands up, as if in surrender. They'd clearly never agree on their responsibilities, on their motivations, and yet Gale still couldn't understand why. Had they not grown up together in the same shit-heap district, completely abandoned by the nation they then went and saved anyway? Panem hadn't deserved their help, their blood and sweat, but they'd given it to them anyway. "What is it, exactly, that makes you feel so indebted to every single other person in Panem? We're right here, your family, your friends. We're not out there," he pointed to the walls, shaking his head in anger. "You don't owe anybody anything. Stop letting them take from you. Stop trying to get yourself killed."
Gale rolled his eyes, doing everything to quell the anger in his gut. He'd usually get it out of his system physically but he had no way of doing that right then. He suddenly longed to be out there, to be in the tranquility of the forest, bow in hand. Hunting was the only thing that quietened his mind. He took a deep breath before continuing, repeating almost the same speech he'd just delivered to the council. "Right. And if we don't show off our manpower, show outsiders we're serious, we'll be done for. If our gates are open to every man and their wolf, if we give everybody a cuddle on arrival, how long do you think it'll be before we're attacked? Before somebody else wants what we have and thinks they can take it? We can scrutinise the Capitol all we want, but you can't deny their tactics. They always showed their hand and it took a long time before anyone was willing to take them on again. Decades, actually." Of course Gale regretted that it had turned out to be Tommy's family, but he'd do the same again, even under the council's watchful eyes. They couldn't ever know who was turning up to their gates. They had to be cautious each and every time, or they'd come to regret it someday. "Okay, yeah, they turned out to be Tommy's, this time. And all the other times to come? Every time someone points a gun at me? 'Cause I know there'll be more, since you and Jesus seem to be handing out maps left, right and centre," he muttered in distaste.
"What it's like out there is none of our business, not anymore. We found our place, they can find theirs. We found a way to survive back in Twelve, you did in the arena, but not everyone did. That's life. You can't be responsible for every living soul that walks the Earth, they'll take and take until you're fucking dead, and then it'll all be for nothing!" Unsurprisingly, Gale had failed to bring himself back from the brink, voice raised, exasperated. They'd never agreed on much, but for some reason, he couldn't stop trying. It twisted him in up inside. He'd watched Peeta go through the Games twice and hadn't been able to do a single thing to help him, yet he'd still survived, he'd come back, but now he chose to put that on the line everyday. It was as if he spat at fate, dared them to take him. Gale hated it, not understanding it was fear.
The blonde suddenly seemed to change tact, and Gale's hardened stare turned to surprise, so caught off guard even his own tone lowered. "No," was his immediate response, feeling like he'd only be enabling Peeta's ridiculous saviour complex. "No, I don't like you going out there and you know that. I'm not going to encourage you." Gale crossed his arms, mind made up on the matter, but then worry made its way in, wedging itself in next to the stubbornness. He clenched his jaw, considering it. If Jesus wasn't going then who knew who they'd send in his place? If Gale didn't go, Peeta could end up with some complete amateur, someone who wouldn't care if he lived or died. Closing his eyes for a moment, the hunter sighed, feeling his resolve crumble. "Fine. I'll come. But only to protect you. And you have to listen to me out there, I can't have you arguing on every single order. When it comes down to it, your life comes first, damn all the rest."
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