Room 205 [afternoon]

[thegirl_onfire]

Katniss was still dragging from the weekend. She felt empty -- like she'd been back through the arena in the space of a few days. And no matter how hard she tried, she wasn't able to feel full, it seemed

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[give_areason]

There were other people to look in on, without seeming to actually care, which was, of course, a lie but it was one that Rosalind took great pleasure in hiding behind.

It was simpler.

But there was a blonde Turk in the doorway, just to check up on her little sib. "Katniss."

That was both 'hello' and 'how are you' rolled into one. The food got a glance but nothing else.

[give_areason]

That got the faintest of smiles out of her, barely noticeable really, as she leaned over to ponder the choices offered.

"I grew up in the slums of my city," Rosalind said, deeming that small detail well enough to share. "I know hunger, though I was never the hungriest of those there."

[thegirl_onfire]

Katniss nodded thoughtfully. "My father died when I was eleven," she volunteered after a moment. It seemed right, to share as well. "My mother couldn't provide for us. We've never been well-off, but from that point onward, food became precious. I still can't believe how people take it for granted here."

[give_areason]

"A great many of them are spoilt without realizing it," Rosalind said, taking a small bit of... some sort of noodles. Almost Wutaian, from the look of them, but not quite. "I will not deny the hardships in their lives, but food seems to have been a constant for many."

[thegirl_onfire]

"We threw pies in my marksmanship class a few weeks ago. Food is a joke," Katniss said, still a bit angry about it. "Lucky them, but they don't understand, do they?"

[give_areason]

"They never will," Rosalind said, her voice bland. "You can explain it all you like, of course, but until they live through it--it will not sink in what being hungry means. Show them people who are starving and they'll be horrified but it is a different understanding than the one gained by going through it."

[thegirl_onfire]

"I hope they never do," Katniss said softly. "I'm sad you understand it, to be honest."

[give_areason]

"Don't waste that on me," she said, one eyebrow arching. "I do well enough these days."

More than well enough, to be honest.

[thegirl_onfire]

Katniss smiled a little bit. "Fine, but I don't give out sympathy to just anyone. Take it for what it is."

[and now I fleeeeeee to work!]

[give_areason]

"I'll consider it a compliment," Rosalind said, pleased in her own way. "And you, have you been managing--?"

[*waves!*]

[thegirl_onfire]

"Yes," Katniss said, chewing the inside of her cheek a little. "Learned to hunt to make ends meet, and recently I...um, won a game, and the prize was security for my family. So my mother and sister are being fed well in my absence."

[give_areason]

"A game?" Rosalind gave her a curious glance. "It must have been quite a game to assure all of that."

[thegirl_onfire]

"It's our national sport," Katniss said with another twisted, humorless little smile. "The Hunger Games. Everyone watches, and the victor gets a new house and untold sums of money, plus food for their district."

[give_areason]

"The Hunger Games," she repeated. "How cruelly apt if food is part of the winning."

[thegirl_onfire]

"They're called that because you starve in the arena," Katniss said softly, poking at some rice. "It's a fight to the death between twenty-four children between the ages of twelve to eighteen. Whoever's left standing gets the prize. It's the biggest event of the year, for Panem."

[give_areason]

Rosalind studied her for a long moment.

"I cannot imagine that as a voluntary thing. Even in the slums most people care for their children."

[I need sleep! SP is yay?]