Haymitch Abernathy (Hunger Games) (drunkstrategy) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-03-11 08:35:00 |
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Haymitch hadn’t seen Annie as often as he used to since Portia had moved to her new job in Europe. He was glad for his friend but he did miss her. So deciding that he should make more of an effort to check on the more fragile one of the group he’d made his way to the studio to offer coffee and cookies along with his company.
It seemed even without Portia he was still recognised enough to be allowed into the studio lot and he made his way towards her office. Knocking on the door he waited for an answer.
If there was one thing that at least made sense to Annie in the chaos following the Cornucopia, Caroline’s admission (which was still upsetting when it came to the compulsion thing and thus lack of free will) and then telling Finnick about her past, it was that work. And oh how she needed it right now thanks to the time of year. One year. They’d been out for one year and so while she was trying to relax and feel safe, she couldn’t.
The knock at her office door caused Annie to jump before she shook her head. She was at least safe here. Breathe. Getting up, she made her way to the door and blinked when she saw who it was.
“Hi, Haymitch.” And so she stepped aside to let him in.
“Annie hello, I hope I’m not bothering you” he said, feeling almost awkward now he was here. He’d always relied on the girls to do the emotional part of looking after each other. He’d show up when needed and offer a shoulder but he never tended to initiate things. Though he’d gotten better since Katniss had been living with him.
“I just wanted to see how you are after the recent crap we’ve had thrown at us”
“Not at all.” It was mostly just design ideas at the moment, nothing was really in the works for her to start construction or mock ups yet. Smiling slightly, she motioned to a chair before going to her own, pulling her legs up as she could never just sit like a normal person. Nor was she surprised by his reasoning for showing up. It came with the territory of being the broken one.
It was why she had left Massachusetts. And yet….
“Better than I was.” Which was about all she could be, and the same answer she gave everyone when they asked. She didn’t quite know what to say otherwise but it was also the truth. “You?”
Haymitch would honestly be mortified if he thought Annie thought of herself as the broken one, she was perhaps more delicate but he didn’t think she was broken. No more than any of them anyway. She had incredible strength in his opinion even if she didn’t always see it.
“I’m okay. Katniss has calmed down now which means life at home is a lot easier” he smiled wryly.
Capitol narrative certainly didn’t help. Of course they had to spin it some way since having someone show a real and honest reaction to the horror wasn’t what people wanted to see. But Annie had always been honest in her reactions. Everything that had happened to her in this life just seemed to compound some of those issues. Issues she’d had since before she had moved.
“That would make it easier. But I can understand why she was upset. We all were.” They all just had their own ways of dealing with it. Annie mostly hid but forced herself out. Even when it meant fighting off mutts and actually killing something. She’d gone through the training after all, even if she’d never killed in the games.
“Oh no, she was entitled to be. Hell even I freaked out.” not that he’d let Katniss see that of course. He had to be strong for her and the others. “I’m just glad things are getting back to normal now” He would have gone out but staying in and looking after his charge was more important and making sure she didn’t do anything stupid.
“I think we all did, in our own ways. She mentioned something about initially trying to convince you to have us all leave here.” Annie’s had been much more visible and physical in the initial reaction between screaming and the fact she could barely stay standing before Peeta had to literally pick her up and carry her back to the apartment building. Or how she’d tried to stay hidden and when she finally thought it might be safe… mutts. “So am I.”
“Yeah she did, practically begged me after standing out in the blood rain in shock” Poor kid, he’d have taken them all too if he’d thought there had been an actual threat but he knew this place too well.
“Work keeping you busy?” He asked her, “Jewellery pieces for the movies made here right?”
Shock. That about summed it up. So she nodded in understanding. She’d just been anxious initially, dragged Peeta out into it when he mentioned something in the distance and then… well, that had been it for Annie. They all had managed to get through it, though and that was the important thing.
“It is. Thankfully.” It gave her something to do, something to focus on. All of which she needed at the moment. It grounded her. “They are. Right now I’m just working on designs. Mock ups will happen later.”
Yes, they were all okay and in one piece which was definitely the most important thing.
“Good to hear it” he said, he kept busy too which definitely helped him, “Sounds like you’ve properly settled in then. A true creative force I believe Portia said, and I can see she was right”
Annie smiled faintly at the true creative force comment. She didn’t know how accurate that was, but she was doing what she loved and that was usually enough to get her through the harder days of which there had been many recently. “Well thank you for the compliment.”
“You’re welcome” he said, “Creativity is a good thing to have and you obviously have a love for what you do as well. That’s important I think”
Annie nodded some. “Very important.” And it was. Because if she didn’t love what she did? It would make the process of it grounding her more or less not happen. That and life was too short to spend it doing something you didn’t love in some shape or form. Yes. People needed jobs, they needed money to just survive. But when they got bogged down by that and couldn’t even enjoy their lives? What was the point?