f i g h t back ~~

[serenity-garcia]

carina-minuet‌:

Carina thought she recognised the tired look in Serenity’s eyes. One small mercy of all the rumours of rebellion was that few people wanted to be associated with her. She hadn’t been asked to sleep with a client since the night before the bombings.

“There’s no-one I’d rather be not here with,” she said with a small smile. “How do you feel about coconut flavoured syrup? Or strawberry and rose?”

Serenity smiled, relieved that Carina understood. “I think strawberry and rose is a little too reminiscent of...the activities I got up to last night. The coconut though, sounds delightful.” She liked Carina. There was a lot that they had in common even if their personas outside of the Village were not very similar at all. 

Moving up the steps, Serenity waited for Carina to make her way into her house. Being somewhere else with Carina was exactly what she needed. “How have you been Carina? I haven’t seen you around much, not that I’ve seen too many people after what happened a couple of weeks ago.”

[serenity-garcia]

fellvasile‌:

It had been a while since Fell had a nightmare.

He slept only a few hours at a time, usually stayed awake and would either just go on a walk around the Village or stay in his home. Maybe read that book Sierra had given him until drowsiness set in and he could try sleeping again. But that night, he dreamed about his Games. About the Arena collapsing around him and watching as Larka leaped across the gap between him and the crumbling bridge under her feet. 

But as soon as he would reach out to her, her eyes would fill with fear and she screamed, immediately dropping into the dark waters below. Her scream still echoed in his mind even when he woke with a start. Body tense and breathing rapid, Fell closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. His mind was on fire, playing that moment of his Games over and over, along with the faces and screams of all the other kids he had killed. Behind closed eyelids, though, all he could see was his sister. 

Eventually, Fell got up and threw on his jacket, slipping the hood up over his head. It was almost routine for him to go out after a nightmare, make his way out the door and down the street. With winter creeping into the Village the nights were much colder. But Fell grew up in the mountains of District Two, he was used to the cold.

His usual path had him walking up toward the Garcia household and he had spared a glance toward the front porch. He wasn’t surprised to see Serenity sitting outside, bundled up as well from the cold. Naturally, Fell had turned toward the sidewalk leading up to her house, only sparing her a glance in greeting before taking a seat next to her on the top step.

“Can’t sleep, either?” he finally asked, knowing better than to try and mask the slight tremor in his tone. Larka’s scream was still faint in the back of his mind, the look of fear so crisp and clear, as if she had been terrified of her own brother and what he had become. //@serenity-garcia​

It was hard to sleep that night. It was only an hour ago that she had returned from the Capitol, having been called in by one of her regular clients. Normally she could take herself out of the scenario, going with the motions and not being present at all. But earlier that night, it was difficult. Everything that had happened over the past few months made it harder and each day it was getting worse. 

So, when she left not only was she sore all over her body, but she was sore in her heart and fog descended on her head. She climbed the steps to her house, the one that she had won for her family and didn’t bother to approach the door. She pulled at the deep red coat she was encouraged to wear and sat there. Trying to think, but also trying not to. 

Serenity wasn’t surprised to see Fell. They often crossed paths in the middle of the night, so much so, her first stop when she couldn’t sleep was Fell’s house. The silence was both welcome and smothering. It was too much to think about and when Fell spoke she let out a little sigh. “Yeah. Everything decided to be come into blinding focus tonight. I guess you couldn’t either?”

[serenity-garcia]

margotnovak‌:

“I’m close enough to the house to get some heat, and my tea is still hot.” Margot responded flatly, as-a-matter-of-factly. “I think in a few days it’ll really be too cold to spend any time outside at all.” Which didn’t change much, as far as Margot was concerned, though she liked the outdoors. She didn’t wander far from her front porch ever, really. “Meanwhile, you’re out there in the wind.” Serenity was a good person, Margot thought. She was blunt and had a temper, but she always checked in on Margot, despite Margot’s lack of conversation skills, despite the fact that it had been five years and she still wasn’t very good at being a Victor yet. Serenity cared about people, she was pretty sure. Margot couldn’t say the same for herself anymore. 

“Just some Capitol station to block out the wind.” The synthesized, overproduced music that came out of the Capitol was different than the songs she had grown up to, mostly old folk songs, sung at weddings and funerals and things like that. She hadn’t heard those kinds of songs in a long, long, long time. She didn’t really listen to music other than as background anymore. 

“And you?” Margot said, pointing towards Serenity’s headphones. She wasn’t overly interested, but Serenity was on her porch and didn’t seem like she was soon to leave. This was a check-in. 

Serenity’s lips pulled at the corners, but not enough for a full smile. Margot was something and she really like the girl. Even if she was secluded, even if she wasn’t what the team needed and she was still the one that had to put on that District Two face, Serenity liked Margot. “I guess we will agree to disagree, Margot. I’d much prefer to keep moving.”

She could hear the pop music that flowed out of the radio and grimaced slightly. That kind of music was generally not what she listened to. She preferred the heavier rock sounds of drums and electric guitars, especially when she was working out. And when she needed peace or to block out the nightmares, she preferred her acoustics and gravely voice singers. “I can bring you over some better noise to block out the wind if you want. Even if it’s just background it still sucks.”

With a huff, Serenity brushed the snow off of her jacket and leaned against the porch railing. She looked up at her question, playing with the earbud in her fingers. “I was listening to some rock music. Actually, I was in the middle of a guitar solo when I saw you.”

[serenity-garcia]

margotnovak‌:

                                                 — “LITTLE COLD FOR A WALK, ISN’T IT?”

 Never mind the fact it was probably also too cold to be sitting outside on her porch, which was exactly what Margot Novak was doing. Settled into an overly-plush outdoor sofa with a rapidly-cooling cup of tea letting steam into the air and the low hum of the radio beside her as her only companion, Margot Novak was really in no position to be questioning the figure passing by her house about the cold.

It was cold, though. Victor’s Village wasn’t far from the mountains of Two, where winter came and stayed like an uninvited house guest, killing just-blooming plants throughout March, sometimes even sneaking into April. This was just the beginning of the cold. A warmer person would have invited the person out of the cold and into their home. Margot did not. 

Even in the winter it was hard to keep Serenity García inside. She wasn’t one of those people that would want to curl up by the fire everyday. She still needed to get out and move. The cold bit into her coat and she pulled the scarf tighter around her neck. There was plenty to think about in the cold, but she opted for putting in headphones and listening to a new album. 

She heard a voice cut through her music and she looked over to Margot’s house to see its owner lounging in a chair. Serenity pulled out an earbud  and let it dangle in front of her coat. “I’d much rather walk in the cold than sit in the cold,” she replied. 

There was nothing keeping her in front of Margot’s house other than Serenity feeling responsible for her. Margot was her first Victor and despite her unique performance–at least much more interesting than hers–she needed to make sure she was doing okay. Serenity pulled out the other earbud and stuffed her headphones into her pocket. She heard the music softly coming out of her radio and she stepped up the stairs. “What are you listening to?”

[serenity-garcia]

ares-carnahan‌:

Dinner in the Capitol was great. Not that it was his favorite place to be, but it was close enough when it was with Serenity. It was calm, quiet, serene and everything he wanted out of a date night with his girlfriend. The snow had begun to fall outside while they were enjoying their meal and time together, which prompted a good reason for Ares to put on his beanie to partially hide the scarring on his face. The bandages had come off about a week and a half ago, the stitches removed, so it was still a little raised and irritated. People stared, but Ares was hopeful that he could feel comfortable with it eventually.

They started walking back toward Victor’s Village, holding hands and chatting from their earlier conversation. Once that shifted gears, they were nearly at the gates of the Village when she changed subjects. Her family was out and he wasn’t going to bother Fell or his sisters. That meant it was those two for the rest of the night.

“I say we light a fire and get naked on the couch and get sweaty,” Ares joked, even though part of him found that he might be serious.

She rolled her eyes at him, but found herself smiling. Ares was getting used to his scar and seemed better than he had a little while ago. Serenity was pleased at the development and he was back to being more comfortable with himself–happier. 

“I like the light a fire part at least,” she teased back, pulling ahead of him and walking backwards while she stuck her tongue out at him. She hit the edge of the gate with her back and cursed quietly, misjudging the distance. Serenity looked up at the Peacekeeper who she recognized from her mother’s battalion. “Open sesame?” she said, laughing lightly. 

The door opened and she continued to walk backwards as the snow fell. “I’ll tell my mom you’ve done a great job today!” she called. Serenity was in quite a jovial mood and she was sure the Peacekeeper thought she was bullshitting him. 

[serenity-garcia]

carina-minuet‌:

@uvstarters

Carina was so, so grateful that she could have groceries delivered to her in the Victor’s Village. The bombs going off in the marketplace had felt like a wake-up call, and she had no idea what to do next. The rebels had already targetted her house with their graffiti, and she knew she was under additional scrutiny from Snow as a result.

Truth be told, Carina was scared. So she did what she always did when she was scared; retreated in on herself, and refused to see or talk to anyone.

The delivery driver knew to leave her food on the front lawn, and that she’d go outside after night fell to take the boxes through to the kitchen. Unfortunately, last night something had fallen from one of the boxes without her noticing, and she needed it now.

Dressed and made-up for the quick dash down her garden path, just in case, Carina stood behind her front door building up her courage before throwing it open and running for the box of flavoured coffee syrups.

Clutching the box to her chest, she looked up and felt her heart sink as she locked eyes with a fellow human being. “I’m not here,” she said hurriedly.

The bombs in the marketplace had fallen and Serenity had been left alone for a little bit by the clients that requested her. By their own fear or a genuine concern for her, Serenity couldn’t be sure, but last night was the first night she had been called back. It was a little weird leaving her house like that after everything, not just with the bombs but with Ares too. But, she had a duty and compared to some of the other things that could be happening to her, Serenity took it in stride. 

Coming home though, she was tired and sore and there was a bit of a bruise on her neck that she wanted to hide. Surprisingly she spotted Carina in her front yard clutching what looked to be her flavoured coffee syrups. 

With a haggard smile, Serenity met Carina’s eyes. “Do you mind if I’m not here with you? I seem to remember you made really good coffee with that.” She pointed to the coffee syrups hopefully. Although she still looked like she was going out on the town, Serenity just wanted to relax, maybe lie on the floor a little bit. 

[serenity-garcia]

The snow fell gently as Serenity pulled Ares out of the restaurant they had dined at for the evening. The days had turned shorter, meaning that the two of them entered the chilly night air in full darkness. The street lamps were blazing warm yellow light, leading them down the street towards the entrance to the Village. 

It had been a good evening. There was not too many people in the restaurant and they were left to their own devices. The food was delicious and hearty and Serenity couldn’t help but slip her hand into Ares’ as they began their walk home. It wasn’t far and she was definitely the kind that would say any distance is walkable. 

She was happy for the soft snow fall. If it was cold and there was no snow, what was even the point? 

“What do you want to do tonight? The one mom is at work and the other mom and Aurora are out doing something charitable for the night. So I am as free as a bird.” // @ares-carnahan​

[serenity-garcia]

ares-carnahan‌:

Ares sighed. She could struggle as she wanted, but the way he had her, he was pinning her hard against him. He wasn’t willing to take the risk and put her down until he knew she was safely inside of his mansion and out of reach from her. He was a little too paranoid, especially when his mother was involved, to let her go at that point. Even as she complained and struggled, Ares kept a firm hold on her and didn’t let up. He would never do this to her unless he didn’t think it was for a good reason. 

“Remember that conversation about trust?” Ares told her. “Well, this is the one thing I don’t trust you or anybody else for that matter on. I’m not putting you down until we get home. That’s that. So just deal with it. We’re almost there.” 

He was walking as fast as he could. His headache was getting a little more intense from the stress of it all but he wasn’t going to complain about it. He took a deep breath through his nose and out through his mouth as she continued to bitch along the way. 

“And I don’t mean for this to sound like a dick thing to say,” Ares said. “but that’s all you, Fell, me, and Alex will ever be to her. Unless they kiss her shoes, we’re nothing but animals to her. So you attempting to say anything at all to her is futile. You don’t know what she’s capable of, Serenity.”

Serenity grumbled under her breath, but she begrudgingly understood what he meant. His mother was the sore spot for him, the part of him that was still hurting. She didn’t like being treated like a child, but Serenity could admit that she was incredibly bull-headed at times. 

She sighed deeply, angry noises escaping her mouth at his words. “But people like that can’t be allowed to keep doing that. She can’t be allowed to think this okay behaviour. I don’t care what she’s capable of, she doesn’t seem stupid. If she came after the Garcías, that woman wouldn’t know what was coming for her.”

As they neared their houses, she struggled a little against his hands. “Please just put me down. I don’t want my moms or my sister to see this.”

[serenity-garcia]

ares-carnahan‌:

Every time he got around his mother, Ares felt sick to his stomach. Every childhood memory came pummeling him all at once and the longer Serenity stayed there yelling at her, the more afraid he became. She was part of his nightmares on as much of a frequent basis as his time in the arena was. He had gone in to prove to her that he was as strong as she was, only she didn’t care. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered to that woman because for some reason, she despised him. Ares didn’t quite know why and anymore, he wasn’t interested in finding out. All he cared about was protecting the people he loved from her, because he knew what she was capable of. 

Carrying Serenity away was a bit of a struggle, considering how much she was wiggling and he was trying to walk as fast as he could away from the house. There were too many memories of that house and what happened there – the small space under his bed, the screaming, the way his sisters walked by him without acknowledging him, Seraphina holding his hand discreetly to try and carry him through each day, the escapes he had to carefully plan out so he wouldn’t get hurt more, her kicking him out of the house… all of those things were slamming into him all at once and he needed to get Serenity to understand that. 

He grunted softly when she punched him in the back, but he didn’t put her down even as she demanded it of him. 

“No,” Ares said with a strong emphasis, squeezing the back of her knees even tighter against his stomach and holding her waist stiffer. “Not until we get home.”

Serenity could make it harder on Ares. She was positive she could make her way from his arms somehow. But, that required hurting him and he was already hurt today, in so many more ways than one. Even so, she still struggled a little bit. Serenity wanted Ares to know that she was not pleased with this situation. 

She didn’t bother looking at Eladora anymore. She had said mostly everything she wanted to. Serenity didn’t know if Eladora would hold a grudge against her, but who would hurt the family of a Peacekeeper Captain during all of this turmoil? That would be either stupid or incredibly evil. Maybe Eladora could use someone else to hurt her family and get them in trouble. Serenity wasn’t sure if she was that vindictive. But, coming after just her, Serenity was comfortable enough to be okay with that as a consequence. 

“Ares, put me down.” Serenity wasn’t about to be carried like this through the Village. It made her look like a child. “I can walk perfectly fine on my own now.” They were out of sight of the house. She didn’t want to think of who was peering out of their windows at the moment. “I just needed to tell your mother that she’s the worst person in the world. She never even spoke directly too me. I was nothing more than an animal to her.” 

[serenity-garcia]

district2knight‌:

“Hey, some people like to kick puppies. I mean, clearly you’re not one of those people but…. you know.”  Toughening up wouldn’t be anything terrible, especially if people kept planting bombs and attacking people around him. Not that he wasn’t relatively strong or skilled - training at the academy has seen to that at least. But he had been slacking since becoming a Victor, so perhaps it wasn’t a terrible idea.   “Alright, you’ve convinced me. It’s been long enough and I could keep people safe better if I got back into regular training.”

What she said made a lot of sense, and although it wasn’t super cheerful or optimistic, it helped him relax slightly. After all, his mom could have died days ago, but they had managed to keep her alive.  “Yeah. She’s a fighter, that one. Clearly I didn’t inherit that from her.” 

He sighed a bit in relief as the elevator dinged, stepping out with her in the direction of the cafeteria. “Food makes everything better, right?”

“Keeping yourself safe is a good first step. It helps make sure I don’t go beat up whoever hurt you,” she joked. There was still a need in her to find whoever did this. She didn’t know if she would have time in the near future to go snooping around for clues to who had set off the bombs, but once Ares was healed and the Knights were home and healthy, she could try and figure it out. 

Surprisingly her words had a good effect on Alex. There was a reason they got along well. “Just because you’re a different kind of fighter doesn’t mean you’re worse at it. There’s plenty of different techniques to being brave.”

Serenity smiled, extracting her arm from Alex’s. She didn’t want anyone seeing her “nice” side. “One of the best reasons to have moved into the Village,” she agreed, walking into the good smelling food stalls of the cafeteria. “Was the food they brought up to your rooms as good as this stuff looks? Maybe I should’ve sneaked some of Ares’ food since he was asleep.”

[serenity-garcia]

ares-carnahan‌:

Serenity was a force to be reckoned with. Ares knew that much for sure, but the problem lied in the fact that his mother had been around a long time, having won her Games at sixteen. She had been a Victor for well over forty years and that gave her plenty of connections. Even if her children had nothing to do with her, she was still in deep with the Capitol and had people who she could call upon to do her bidding. She was a snake and Ares knew that. If Fell hadn’t already been a threat to her own life if set off, she might have already made his life even more miserable for simply taking him in over fifteen years ago. 

He couldn’t let Eladora’s connections hurt Serenity or her family. 

Ares tried to stop her by attempting to re-grab her before she stalked up to the porch to confront her. He bolted in behind her as she started to unload on her, to which Eladora barely looked phased by it at all. The insults were playground in her mind and even then, she didn’t take well to them. Ares grabbed Serenity by the waist, trying to get her to come with him without a fuss one more time, until he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise with the sound of his mother’s chillingly calm voice.

“Ares,” she said, making his hazel eyes flick up at her with a harsh nervousness to them. “Get the bitch off of my porch if you know what’s good for you.”

“Don’t worry, Mother,” Ares said with a tight lips. “I do.” 

With that, Ares prepared himself to be yelled at and hit as he grabbed a hold of Serenity and picked her up off of the ground, tossing her a little over his shoulder as he pinned her there, locking her legs against his stomach and started to carry her away.

Serenity felt Ares’ arms around her again and she ignored them, planting her feet in place. She wasn’t going to sock the woman in the face, even though a large part of her wanted to. But, Serenity wanted Eladora to know that she wasn’t going to back down. She would have to acknowledge her and the shit she had done. Serenity didn’t think it would do anything, but maybe the woman would just leave them alone if Serenity yelled harshly enough.

The words that spilled from Ares’ lips were more chilling than what Eladora said. She knew Ares did not like her mother. She knew she had done some terrible things, but she didn’t think that Ares would listen to her like that anymore. 

Serenity didn’t expect to be picked up and a shocked gasp escaped her lips. She was slung over Ares’ shoulders and she was furious. 

She struggled a little bit against Ares’ arms, but glared up at Eladora. “You’re such a coward,” she yelled at the woman. She glared for a moment longer, before dropping her gaze to Ares’ back. “Put me down,” she demanded quietly into his ear, softly punching his back. 

[serenity-garcia]

ares-carnahan‌:

Ares could feel the tension in Serenity’s body just by the way he was holding onto her. He was not looking forward to this and he was even less enthused by the fact this could ruin Serenity’s mood for a long period of time. If this escalated any further, he knew Eladora would come after her and not just directly. She’d make her life hell in ways that not even Ares could predict. That was the way her conniving personality migrated through life. She had enough connections and friends in the Capitol tow here Serenity’s reputation would get a little bit more tarnished overtime. The only reason Fell didn’t was because everyone knew who he was and what he was capable of and he had nothing else to lose except for him. 

“Serenity.” Ares said her name through his teeth as she started to bite back her words toward his mother. “Serenity, let’s go.” 

Eladora only huffed out a dull, amused laugh at Serenity’s quips before taking a sip of her coffee, her long, plum colored nails tapping on the mug as she sat there with it between her palms, looking Serenity up and down as if to size her up. Eladora was in her late fifties now, having had Persephone in her early twenties. Ares was well aware that while she wasn’t the Career she used to be, she could still make people hurt if she wanted to. There was a reason she was still friends with Platinum Rosseau – the two of them were the Careers’ worst of the worst while simultaneously being everything the Districts ever wanted them to be.

“Tame your bitch, Ares,” she said with disinterest. “She’s probably in heat.”

The dog references were uncalled for and it made Ares’s blood boil, but he knew that if this continued, she’d make Serenity snap so he grabbed a hold of his girlfriend by the middle, trying to pull her to his chest to get her keep walking.

“Let’s go,” he hissed at her.

It bothered Serenity beyond belief that this woman didn’t dare speak with her. She was apparently so many levels beneath Eladora that she’d rather make awful comments about her than to speak directly to her. The words ‘coward’ and ‘monster’ swirled around Serenity’s head and it was all she could associate with the woman in front of her. 

Ares’s hand were around her wanting to drag her away and it made her even more angry. She understood why he wanted her away from his mother but that part of her brain was shh’ed in the back. Him pulled her made her feel like Ares was listening to his mother. She needed to be controlled and tamed and pulled away like a dog on a leash. 

She took each of her hands and pried Ares’ hand away from her midsection and stomped up the path, stopping just before the porch. “I am not some dog to be tamed, Eladora,” she spat. “I think you think any person can be tamed, but look where that got you. Old and alone and pathetic. Waiting at the end of your little street for someone to come and insult. That sounds like the dream doesn’t it?”

[serenity-garcia]

ares-carnahan‌:

Ares wasn’t comfortable standing around here for too long. It brought back too many memories of her violence against him, with her throwing him out into thunderstorms and snow and letting some of his sisters have turns on bullying him. Seraphina had been the only one with a clean track record and as far as he knew, she had escaped that house a long time ago. He heard from her once in a while, but she had a busy life elsewhere and he was glad for that. 

Eladora, on the other hand, never thought she did anything wrong. She had always been much harder on him than she ever was to the girls. Even as Persephone disowned her, Seraphina left, and Mikala and Leta had grown more distant, she still think she did right by them and it was grotesque. Still, as she spoke, Ares couldn’t help feel a stiff chill go down his spine and he reached out to snatch a hold of his girlfriend’s arm to hold her still, to keep her from going any further toward Eladora.

Eladora looked down at Serenity as she scolded her, brow lightly raised as her eyes flicked from her to her son. 

“I didn’t know you let your sex toy speak for you like that,” Eladora taunted.

“Serenity, let’s go,” Ares said tightly through tense lips as he held tight to Serenity to make sure she didn’t lunge. 

Serenity bristled at the woman’s response, not even deigning a response to her. She wondered if it was because she saw Serenity so low on the totem pole or if it was a way to taunt her son. Either way it was a good way to get Serenity riled up. She felt Ares’ hand on her arm and she didn’t really blame him. This was one of those instances where her trying would only be two seconds of thought before she burst out in anger. 

She didn’t fight his grip at this moment, but still glared at the woman. “You look a lot worse in person than I imagined. I only have these vague memories of you, you know? I don’t remember you giving a damn about me before. Maybe you should just mind your own business, not like you have much at all now.” 

[serenity-garcia]

vistadelaroux‌:

Vista bit her tongue knowing she shouldn’t point out it was a simple question, no reason to be so rude and belligerent. After all, wasn’t she supposed to be the nice Delaroux sibling? She supposed some people weren’t into conquering fears or talking about it, or whatever idea the therapist was always pushing. It wasn’t like she would know, she hadn’t seen one in a long time. It wasn’t as if she had been in the arena, just witnessed Pixel’s time in there.

“We upgrade every year,” Vista agreed. She and Pixel spent half their time trying to come up with new ways to hack systems or create new things with their coding skills. “More of a creepy-crawly Wonderland type of thing this year. Zombies are so out and boring. Things that move and crawl in unpredictable ways are way worse, don’t you think?”

It wasn’t like Serenity was trying to be biting. Her tone was more a matter-of-fact than angry. She never saw the point in mincing her words to someone younger than her. When she was Vista’s age she was perfectly capable of understanding what adults were talking about. 

“Zombies are out? Thank goodness I didn’t choose to be one of those this year,” Serenity replied, sarcasm coating her words lightly. “Unpredictable can be more fun, that’s for sure. Depends on what you’re afraid of. Complacency can be spooky.”

She took a peek down the entrance to the haunted walkway. But stopped as she saw a couple of Capitol kids walked into the vicinity. She hopped onto a nearby table and crossed her legs, watching the kids. It would be fun to see if they were truly spooked and if it was worth Serenity entering. “You think these kids will make it?” she whispered to Vista. 

[serenity-garcia]

ares-carnahan‌:

Serenity’s tone of voice was suggesting she was far from happy with his response, but that was something he wasn’t willing to wiggle on. He wasn’t feeling horrible and his headaches weren’t as bad as they once were. To make him take that pill was basically telling him to get brain surgery for a headache. Ares wasn’t the type to take a lot of medicine unless he absolutely needed to. He was vehemently against it. 

“Okay,” Ares sighed as he walked with her, his fingers lacing with hers. “If that’ll help you, then sure. I just don’t like taking medicine that I don’t believe that I need.”

He continued down the sidewalk, paying little mind to the houses and nearly forgetting what part of the Village they were in. Serenity distracted him with another question and he looked to her and gave a haphazard shrug. “I’m okay with lounging, but if you want to get out and do something, I need to make sure to clean the stitches first,” he said as he made a flippant gesture toward his face. 

“Or you can suck it up, boy.”

Ares froze, his head immediately arching up to find that a once empty porch was now replaced with his mother’s image, her cup of coffee in hand with steam rising off of the top, a shawl over her shoulders and looking as regal as she always was. She took very good care of herself to make sure she presented a fine image. Her nails were always manicured, she always had a face of makeup on and her hair was done subtly as if she were planning on a relaxing day instead of a night out in the Capitol. 

“Good morning, mother,” Ares said tightly. 

Eladora said nothing as she rocked gently on the chair she was in and took a quick sip of her coffee.

Serenity was about to make a comment about how she could help him if he wanted when an unfamiliar voice reached her ears. She looked over at the house they were passing to see a remarkably well-put together woman lounging in a rocking chair as if she owned the entire world. 

Realizing that this was Ares’ mother, Serenity’s anger came back full force, but with another fuel–what this woman had done to her son. Even the way she called him ‘boy’ pissed her off. It wasn’t really the kind of thing one would want their mother to call them. She had seen Eladora Carnahan before, in old interviews and the Games tapes they watched in the Academy, but she steered clear of the woman not really uttering more than two words at a time to her over the past seven years. 

“Or he can make sure that it heals properly,” Serenity rebutted, taking a step towards the porch where the woman sat. “You know be responsible for yourself and your actions.”

[serenity-garcia]

ares-carnahan‌:

Ares raised an eyebrow at her, a smile appearing on his lips when she gave him that quip. So much for the sweet moment, he thought. Still, even after she gave him shit for it, she took his hand and started walking with him. They made the trip around the end of the cul-de-sac and down the other way to finish their walk. He hadn’t realized they had been talking for so long and walked so far, but he was glad for her company and to be able to talk these things out. Hopefully, she would understand that he hadn’t meant to hurt her, that it was for his own paranoia and it was his way of trying to work through his trauma. 

Then, she spoke again about his medication and he huffed a sigh, lifting his head toward the sky in frustration. “I’d rather not,” Ares told her as he cast her a warning glance. He didn’t want her to harp on him about it. The last thing he wanted was to pump himself full of medication again. He had slept enough. “I’m not in a lot of pain right now. Just headaches off and on. I don’t need the strong stuff.”

She didn’t realize it was such a big fucking deal, but there was a part of her that knew that her harping wasn’t going to get anything done. Even so, she rolled her eyes. “Alright. I believe that you don’t think you need it. But, I’m going to call the doctor to ask if its a mandatory medication or one that you can take whenever. It’ll give me peace of mind.” As much as she wasn’t a fan of pain medication, Censa instilled her a healthy respect for medical professionals and to take their word seriously. 

At that point, Serenity was able to drop it. She wanted to stay in those sweet moments, but the real world demanded some things sometimes. She squeezed his hand, hoping he knew she wasn’t mad at him. “What do you want to do for the rest of the day? Since you’re feeling better we could do something more than just lounging around...?”

[serenity-garcia]

ares-carnahan‌:

Ares didn’t expect Serenity to stop him at the end of the street, her hands meeting his between them and looking up at him with genuine concern and confidence. She was far from the type to do that, so he stood and listened when she opened up like that. Ares seemed to visibly relax as she spoke to him, unwavering and fearless in her words. He nodded his head at her, understanding her completely as she finished. 

Before long, her back straightened and her chin tilted up and he knew what that meant. Ares smiled a little at her before bending down to meet her and kissing her back. Habitually, Ares put one hand on her lower back, the other partially on her rear. As they kissed in front of the occupants of the end of the street, they eventually broke their kiss and he was left feeling a little better.

“Only change a little bit,” Ares teased. “I love the way you have always been.” He stood up, removing his hands mostly from behind his woman before offering his hand to her, seeing if she would take it. “Time for the walk back?”

She relaxed in his arms while they kissed. Serenity could feel it in the way he moved his muscles that the reassurance was what he needed. He might not have needed the third degree from her, but it certainly helped her understand a little better. There was only a small lingering of what else he could possibly be hiding, but she was sure he would tell her if there was anything. 

“Yeah, but I can tell that you like the PDA a little too much,” she returned. “Don’t expect it to happen too often.” With that she put her hand in his. She smiled up at him and nodded. Serenity walked in step with Ares as best as she could. It had been quite the rollercoaster of emotion but it seemed like they would be okay. “Do you think this means you’ll take your medication?” she asked, not knowing when to stop.