*Katniss's POV*

I'm terrified for Willow's first day of school. There's so many possibilities of mishaps that could happen; so many things that could go wrong. I can't help but think about the negatives, completely ignoring the chance of anything positive because in all honesty nothing has ever worked out for me. I'm worried Willow has been cursed with the same luck that I have.

"Morning, Mama," Willow smiles as she skips down the stairs. I give a short smile, pulling her towards me and holding her to my chest tightly.
"You're so grown up." I say pulling away. She looks me in the eye and her dimples begin to show. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you," she starts and I can see her cheeks begin to blush. I laugh slightly while placing my hands on her shoulders and turning her body slightly.

"Your tail is sticking out, Little Duck," I begin while tucking the back of her shirt into her skirt. I hear her laugh but then it comes to a stop, and a frown appears on her face. "What's wrong, darling?"
"What happens if I'm unable to make a friend?" She asks as her eyes become bossy, almost looking as if she's about to burst into tears.
"Willow, you're just like your father. I promise that you'll have no problem making a friend." I reassure her while brushing a strand of hair off of her face. "Come along," I start while standing up. "You can't be late on your first day."

As we all walk towards the school building, I take in the feeling of being in peace. Due to the new laws, the reporters aren't allowed to start patrolling the streets until ten in the morning, for safety of the children as well as us living victors. I feel very grateful to be able to know that my children will be able to walk to and from school freely, being out of the public eye.
She moves towards the door of the schoolhouse but pauses before entering.

"I'm scared, Mama," she starts while looking at me then to Peeta. "I'm terrified."
"You'll be just fine," I start while kneeling down to her level. "Flynn will come and get you after school. You can walk home with him and we'll meet you at the victors gate."
"But what if—" she starts but I quickly cut her off, just like Peeta does when I become anxious.
"Willow, you'll be fine." I say while placing my hand on her cheek. "Now run along, you have friends to make."
She gives a quick nod while taking a deep breath before walking through the door. Peeta's hand finds it's place on my back and I stand up at the gesture.

I can't help but picture the look on her face. She was so scared, and maybe I was too harsh. What if she wasn't ready? What if I made her do something she feels so uncomfortable doing? I don't want to have the same relationship between us as me and my mother. Is this  the beginning of it? Am I the one pushing our relationship to that extent?

"Was I too callous?" I ask as we walk towards home. He shakes his head while turning to look at me.
"No, not at all. She needed a small push and that's what you gave her."

I nod at his response but I can't help but feel some small fraction of guilt. Maybe I was too harsh, maybe she wasn't ready. What if I forced her to do this? I wasn't trying to, more less simply help her get started—fly out of the bird's nest. But maybe I was too rough, too severe.

"I'll apologize when she gets home," I start and his face turns to me.
"Katniss—" he remarks but I cut him off with a hush, trying to plan out my apology. I look towards the ground in front of us and I see a dandelion, bright yellow. I look back towards Peeta and realize he's looking away. I smile softly at the sight of both of them.
He's always reminded me of a dandelion, and both of them symbolize the sign of hope and survival. He reminds me that I'm not alone, and that I'm not doomed. I am able to have goodness in my life. Maybe this is my sign that everything will work out.

_

Willow is to arrive home soon. I hope she feels comfortable on her walk home; walking with Flynn. We never got to visit them last night due to them arriving so late and it must feel like she's talking to a stranger. And by what Annie had described, I'm not sure he's overjoyed with life right now.

"Do you think Flynn told her anything?" I ask, biting my nails while walking out the front door to find Peeta siting on the porch. I sit beside him and he moves to grab my hand, keeping me from having the already-short nails in between my teeth.
"I'm sure everything was fine. If Flynn is anything like Finnick, there's nothing to worry about." I sigh and sit beside him on the porch swing. I look across the road and see Haymitch's geese flying all over. I roll my eyes as I set my head on Peeta's shoulder.

The house is oddly used, almost unnerving. Both Willow and Rye have been gone, her at school and him with Johanna. I sent him with her to go to the forest. I'm not sure what they were planning on doing but he seemed very enthusiastic on keeping it a secret. Rye and Johanna are very close, almost like Rue and I were.

The two figures in the distance distract myself from the eerie stillness of the house.
"Look, they're walking together. I'm sure they had a good day." He says rubbing my hand. I nod and watch as Willow walks towards the house. She waves to Flynn and hops up the steps of the porch.
"How was your first day of school?" Peeta asks.
"It was good. I made lots of friends like you said, but it was weird." I raise my eyebrow and look at her but she shrugs and comes to sit by us. "When the teacher called my name everyone looked at me and was shocked. Then everyone wanted to be my friend." She smiles at the end. Peeta gives me a look and I turn back to Willow.
"Did anyone say anything?"
"No, but I asked Flynn about it and he told me everything." She sighs, relaxed. I sit up quickly, slightly in alarm, and question her.
"What'd he say?" I burst out loudly.
"He said that they must've  really liked my name and thought I was cool." She smiles. My face relaxes a bit and I begin to lie back down.
"That's all he mentioned?" I ask quietly, feeling relieved. It almost feels as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

After Willow raves on and on about her day at school, probably not realizing she has to go every day. I'm glad she had a fine first day because I felt so much guilt. Peeta talked me out of my apology to her, but I also decided that the dandelion had something to do with the newfound peaceful feeling in everyone.

_

"Is she going to get treated differently?" I ask Peeta while we're in the kitchen. "I want her to have a normal childhood, you said she would."
"Katniss," he says mocking my whiny tone. "So what if she is? Everyone wants to be her friend, that's not a bad thing." I roll my eyes and he hugs me from behind. "What I'm trying to say is that Willow will be fine." I nod my head but I'm startled by the doorbell. Peeta plants a kiss on the cheek and heads to the door.

He's been really nice to me lately, he knows I'm struggling—he always does. I wish I was able to hide it more, it would give him a sense of calmness. Yet every time I seem to be thriving and finally reaching a state of peace, something crashes down and burns. I walk towards the door and find Annie and Flynn. Flynn looks exactly like Finnick. Although his hair is a mix of both Annie and Finnick's hair color, his eyes match Finnick's identically.

"Flynn, this is Peeta and Katniss. They are me and your father's friends." He smiles and extends his arm out.
"I'm Flynn," he says smirking. He reminds me so much of Finnick, just by looking at him.
"Katniss." I smile while Peeta shakes his hand. We go and sit down at the table and Willow, Rye, and Flynn sit by each other.
"So Annie, how's 12 treating you?" Peeta asks.
"It's quite lovely." She says quietly, she's a woman of few words; something we share in common.
"How's school?" Annie asks Willow.
"It's great, I have so many friends." She smiles. Flynn looks at her then back down. Nobody else notices him though, I feel bad. But I'm sure he'll find a way to get attention, after all, he is Finnick's child.

_

We all go to sit in the living room after dinner, I'll do the dishes later.
"Why don't we go take a walk?" Peeta asks. Everyone except Flynn agrees, there's something off with him.
"Come on Flynn, it'll be fun." Annie says.
"It's alright," I cut in. "He can stay in here with me." Annie looks skeptical but goes outside.
"Is something wrong?" I ask him.
"I'm just so confused." He says with his head in his palm.
"About what?" I ask.
"The hunger games, you, my father, my mother. Everything." He sighs. I look at him and I can tell he's hurting.
"Let's play a game. You ask me a question, and I'll tell you if it's real or not real. But we'll only play on one condition." He nods.
"You don't tell any of this to Willow or Rye. They are too young—too gentle." He agrees and thinks about his question.
"You won the hunger games with Peeta. Real or not real?" He asks.
"Real. My sister was reaped when I was 16 and I volunteered for her." I say, thinking about the day that changed my whole life.
"You started a revolution and saved people."
"Real. I was the Mockingjay but it wasn't just me that saved people. Your father saved a lot of people as well." He looks at me and nods.
"You killed my father by shooting him." He says with a tear running down his face. I think about this one, because I did kill him.
"Not real. President Snow sent mutts after me and they attacked my whole squad. Your father defended everyone so they'd be able to escape onto the ladder but he didn't make it. He sacrificed himself for me. I put him out of his misery by dropping this thing called a holo into the pit." He wipes his tear and looks at the floor.
"So you didn't kill him on purpose?" He mumbles.
"No, I would never. When I met your father, he was just like you. Charming, witty, all of it. But when we both got saved from the arena, he became one of my best friends, my family. I wish I could've saved him, I wish I could swap places with him everyday. I'm sorry I couldn't save him." I wipe the stray tear off of my face.
"Katniss?" He asks. "Thank you, for telling me. Nobody has ever taken the time to explain stuff to me."
"If you ever need someone to ask, I'm here. But I'm not a very good speaker like Peeta, so he might be of better use for homework." He laughs and we sit there.
"Your a lot like your father, you know." I say.
"I hope so, he sounded super hot." I burst out laughing, I wasn't expecting that. He smirks but laughs too.
"I think I'm going to like it here." He smiles.
"I think so too."
"But if you tell anyone I cried, the deals off." He stops.
"Okay, okay. Deal." I laugh.