𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴- 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥.

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The ship landed in small clearing in the middle of a bunch of trees on the edge of District Four. The giant door opened up, revealing the clearing to Juniper and Cashmere. They walked off the ship and took in the fresh air and sunlight, stretching a bit. 

After them, Serenity Huerta walked off the ship. She wasn't wearing her normal flashy attire, she was wearing a normal outfit someone in District Four would wear, which wasn't her style at all. In fact, Juniper didn't even recognize it was her without all the makeup at first. She was going with them as their camera person. Turns out, she was actually interested in the rebellion... after some convincing.

Cashmere and Juniper had on their outfits, but they also had a black hooded cloak on. The two as victors would be more recognizable. Juniper held her guitar case in her hand, it wasn't hers, it was one District 13 had made for her. 

"Well, are we ready?" Cashmere asked, putting her hood up. 

"Are you sure we won't attract more people with these cloaks on?" Juniper asked, putting hers on. 

"You will." Serenity said, being brutally honest. "But the peacekeepers will be looking for your faces, not someone wearing that. They also won't expect you to be wandering the streets of your district."

Juniper recognized the clearing they were in once they escaped the tree line. She noticed a familiar terrain, a familiar tree. Juniper led the two of them to the tree and stopped for a minute. She looked at the two rocky headstones and a more official looking one.

Cashmere and Serenity kept their distance, letting Juniper do whatever she needed. Juniper walked towards the headstones and placed a kiss on her hand, laying her hand on the ground between her two parents. She stood up and took a few paces to the other one.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF
KAKALINA PLINTH

BELOVED GRANDMOTHER, MOTHER, AND FRIEND

The put her hand on top of the headstone and took a deep breath. Some part of Juniper still wanted to believe her abuela was gone. The very person who formed Juniper into who she was today. After she had passed, she didn't want to continue with anything. Snow's rules, her music, nothing. 

Her grandmother always told her that looking backwards might be the only way to move forward. Juniper stood up and took a last look at the three headstones. This was the last time she would be here for a while.

"You ready?" Cashmere said softly. Juniper hesitated, but nodded. Turning around and walking towards the two. 

The three made their way out of the clearing and Juniper led them to the market. Before stepping onto the main street, Juniper took a deep breath and began walking. The streets weren't as packed as they normally were.

"Where are we headed?" Serenity whispered to Juniper, who didn't answer. They eventually stumbled upon a pub. Juniper opened the door and stepped inside.

"Sorry, we won't have any performances tonight, or for a little while." A man said. Juniper saw him cleaning glasses. Martin. 

"What happened here?" Juniper asked. She looked to Martin, who seemed down. He was cleaning glasses. Something seemed to click in his head and Juniper removed her hood, smiling.

"Juniper!" Martin almost dropped the glass he was holding, he caught it and put it on the counter, walking around and capturing her inside of a hug. "How are- why are you here?" Juniper smiled, holding up her guitar case. She put it on top of the counter and opened it, revealing a black guitar.

"I'm here to perform." Martin's face lit up, but it sank again. "What's wrong?"

"Ever since the games, people haven't been stopping by as often." Martin said. "The usual customers are here for drinks, but... the music business has crashed without you Juniper. Nobody is interested in it anymore, they all thought the worst. We all saw Lilo get ripped right from your house and taken away."

Lilo. Juniper didn't even want to imagine what it was like for her. Being in the comfort of your own home and then being ripped out of it. She was completely alone. An uncomfortable feeling settled in her heart, but she pushed past it. Now wasn't the time to cry.

Juniper sighed, putting a hand on Martins shoulder. "Just trust me, call for the band but don't put my name on anything. Leave the door open, people will show up."

Martin looked at Juniper and nodded, leaving to go upstairs for a few minutes. 

"The door open? Peacekeepers will hear!" Serenity whisper yelled. "Are you crazy?" Juniper shrugged, but shook her head.

"There's a back door to get out of here. If peacekeepers come in, let's hope there will be enough people in the crowd to hold them off as we get out. Plus, you can barely even hear my singing from out there, only the band through the speakers. They won't think anything of it."

Cashmere looked unsure at first but agreed with Juniper, trusting her. They would eventually be found out in the District, no doubt. It was just a matter of when, they should get as much damage done as possible before it happens.

Martin came back down and Serenity took a seat at the bar, Cashmere took one as well.

"Martin." Juniper said. He seemed excited, he looked at her and nodded his head. "Great, but there's something you need to know."

"What is it?"

"The Capitol they're obviously after us since we are part of the rebellion. I'm here to try and sway District Four. But if peacekeepers find out you were helping me, I don't want the worst to happen." Juniper frowned. She can't imagine Martin not being in Four anymore, it wouldn't be a home without him.

"Don't worry about me." Martin smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder for reassurance. "You need to think of this entire district first. I'll be alright."

Juniper nodded, taking her guitar and setting it down on the stage. 

About an hour later, the band had fully arrived and gotten set up. Martin and another bartender were already spreading the word around to keep quiet. Juniper just hoped the District would understand.

There was only a handful of people standing in the row, waiting for the band to start. Juniper had her cloak on still, and was sitting in the darkness of the corner of the bar, waiting. She stood up, grabbing her guitar and walked onto the stage. People started to talk.

Cashmere stood in the front with Serenity right next to her, holding a small video camera in her hand.  A few peoples faces lit up when they realized who was on stage. Juniper gave a thumbs up to the band behind her. She strummed her guitar.

"You can't take my past. You can't take my history. You could take my pa, but his names a mystery."

"Nothing you can take from me, was ever worth keeping. Oh nothing you can take, was ever worth keeping."

The people of district four started clapping to the song, immediately recognizing it as one of her most popular ones. 

"Can't take my charm! Can't take my humor!"

"Can't take my wealth, cause it's just a rumor!"

"Nothing you can take was ever worth keeping, no, nothing you can take was ever worth keeping."

"Thinking you're so fine, thinking you can have mine."

"Thinking you're in control! Think you'll change me, maybe rearrange me, think again if that's your goal!" 

Juniper had wondered if that was Snows goal all along as she sung the lyric, changing her into becoming somebody else, someone who would fight for him rather than fight for the people around her. She had almost become that person, she would've if the rebellion hadn't swooped in, probably. 

"Can't take my sass, can't take my talking. You can kiss my ass, or keep on walking!"

"Nothing you can take was ever worth keeping, nothing you can take from me is worth dirt."

"Take it, cause I'd give it free. It won't hurt!"

"Nothing you can take was ever worth keeping, no nothing you can take was ever worth keeping." 

Cashmere smiled up at Juniper. The district needed to know that some of the tributes, the victors, were coming together. As the band continuing to play, Juniper held her hand out to Cashmere. Cashmere shook her head and Juniper nodded. She eventually took it, coming up on stage and standing next to Juniper.

Cashmere Nicholo, a District One victor. Juniper Plinth, a District Four victor. Both were careers, but they still fought one another in the arena. However, the two had come together. The pub had got a bit more crowded, there was four rows of people, and more coming in as they heard the sound of the familiar tune playing in the street.

When the band stopped, the audience applauded them. Juniper looked at Martin, who gave her a thumbs up. They were still in the clear, that was good. Martin probably had someone out on watch outside.

"District Four!" Juniper yelled into the microphone. The audience cheered for them. Juniper held Cashmere's hand and raised it slightly. "I'm sure you recognize my friend, please treat her ever so kindly."

Juniper put her guitar aside and the two hugged for a short second before Cashmere jumped off stage back to the spot she was in before.

"I want to tell you guys, you don't need me to use your voice. You have one, use it." Juniper noticed the audience had gotten quiet, they were probably thinking. "The only way you can deal with an unfree world is to become so unbearably free, that your existence becomes an act of rebellion."

"District Four, I know you love your freedom and your home. If you want to keep it, let me hear you!" She pointed the microphone to the crowd.

The pub was erupted into cheers, Juniper smiled, putting the microphone back onto the stand. 

"That's what I like to hear! Don't let anybody drag you down, you stand by what you believe in! Right!?" More cheers. "I hope you all remember this even when I'm not here, cause I won't be forever. Don't lose your voices, literally and figuratively." 

"Now, I know you all want to hear some more songs. I won't keep talking your ears off." Some of the people laughed as Juniper held her guitar again and nodded to the band. 

"Now, this is a special song to me. I wrote this for my grandmother, when I learned the truth about the tyranny running this country. It was the first song I wrote after my victory, and I want you all to have it, again. I performed it once already for y'all, but I hope it has an affect on your heart like it did to mine."

A few people clapped and Juniper got ready to sing.

"There's blood on the side of the mountain, there's writing all over the walls." 

"Shadows of us are still dancin', in every room and every hall."

"There's snow falling over the city, you thought it would wash away. The bitter taste of my fury, and all of the messes you made."

"Yeah, you think that you got away."

Snow never got away, did he? As Juniper sang, she thought back to all the moments Kakalina, her grandmother, told her about Lucy Gray. Lucy Gray had been completely erased from history because of Snow, but she was getting her revenge. The time was now, she would get her vengeance, whether it was her, Juniper, or Katniss. 

Juniper didn't want to know what Snow did to Lucy Gray, she just hoped Lucy Gray Baird had gotten the freedom she deserved.

"You can't, you can't, catch me now. I'm comin' like a storm into your town." 

Juniper looked at the camera Serenity was holding, pointing to it and winking before looking back towards the rest of the audience. 

"You can't, you can't catch me now. I'm higher than the hopes that you brought down!"

"You can't, you can't catch me now. I'm comin' like a storm into your town."

The audience was singing along, they remembered when she performed it, it had always stuck with them. They were cheering the lyrics.

"You can't you can't catch me now. I'm higher than the hopes that you brought down!" 

"You can't, you can't catch me now. I'm comin' like a storm into your town!"

"You can't, you can't, catch me now. You can't, you can't, you can't!"

"There's blood on the side of the mountain, it's turning a new shade of red."

"Sometimes the fire you founded, don't burn the way you'd expect."

"Yeah, you thought that this was the end."

The audience whistled and applauded Juniper, who took a few bows. She thanked the audience multiple times.  She took a deep breath, ready for the next one.

"I got one more song for you folks today, and I hope someday I can perform more for you where I'm not on such a tight time restraint."

The people groaned in annoyance, wanting to hear more. "I know, I know! The sooner this war ends, the more songs you will get out of me, I promise."

"What about the games!" Someone yelled into the audience before Juniper played a chord. "What are your thoughts on the games?"

"We want to know what you think, Juniper." Someone in the front row voiced.

"The games." Juniper said. "My grandmother was there when the war had ended, she was young, but her mother told her exactly what the Capitol should be, but living now, it's the opposite of what it should be."

"They don't view us as human beings, especially the tributes." Juniper yelled. "We are put up there as entertainment, forced to lose our humanity and everything we are in that arena."

"The games are not right." Juniper put it simply, taking a pause to herself. "The Capitol was supposed to be everybody's government. They were supposed to protect all of us, but they never did. Instead of protecting us, they make us and our children fight to the death."

Juniper wondered if she had maybe said a bit too much or had been too honest. But the entire pub erupted into an applause, whistling, cheers, people yelling that they were done with the games. 

Juniper put the microphone back where it belongs, a few people whistled, she sent a wink in their direction. The applause had died down slightly.

"Let's end on a high note, shall we?" She cleared her throat.

"Well there's a dark and a troubled side of life."

"There's a bright and sunny side, too!" 

"Though we meet with the darkness and strife oh, sunny side we also may view."

"Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side. Keep on the sunny side of life!" 

"It will help us everyday, it will brighten all the way if we keep on the sunny side of life!" 

The people in the pub spread out a bit and began dancing together, the entire pub floor was completely covered with people. Juniper looked down and smiled at Cashmere, her eyes moved onto the camera. She lowered her body slightly, still playing her guitar.

"Remember who the real enemies are." She said into the camera, standing back up and yelling "Come on!" into the microphone. 

"Oh the storm and it's fury broke today, crushing hopes that we cherish so dear."

"Clouds and storms will in time pass away, hey! Oh, the sun again will shine bright and clear." 

"Keep on the sunny side of life! It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way."

"If we keep on the sunny side of life!" 

She hoped this song will stick throughout the people of District Four as much as possible. She wanted the absolute best for them, and she never wanted the Capitol to take away who they are.

"Let us greet with a song of hope each day. Through the moments  be cloudy or fair."

"Let us trust in tomorrow always to keep us, one and all, in it's care. Come on!"

"Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side. Keep on the sunny side of life!"

"It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way. If we keep on the sunny side of life!" 

"Keep on the sunny side!" 

Juniper smiled, strumming the last few chords and listening to the cheers of the people. Applause filled the entire building.  She took the microphone off the stand and walked a few steps to the left.

"What should you guys do, I don't think I heard it quite correctly." Juniper asked, pointing the microphone to them. 

"Keep on the sunny side!" A bunch of people yelled, she took the microphone back to her and laughed into it.

"You guys got it!" Juniper said, walking back to the center of the stage. She looked over at Martin, who shook his head.  They were probably on their way.

"Alright, District Four. I'm sorry to leave you again, my heart aches doing this. But I need you all to remember what I said. And remember who the real enemy is." 

"I'm planning to see you all some more after this is all over. I'm planning to come back here and build a whole new life here, something that'll be beautiful, after we all make the world a better place."

They clapped a few times and Juniper quickly packed up her things, slipping the cloak back on over her shoulders.

"They're coming." Juniper said to Cashmere and Serenity. Juniper put the guitar in the case and zipped it up quickly. "Not the nice ones."

"Hey!" Someone screamed in the audience nearby, they probably overheard her talking. "Help her! Block the door!" 

As soon as that person yelled, the entire pub had started making their way outside, not letting anybody else in. "Don't let them keepers take 'em!" Another person yelled. Serenity pointed the camera to the door to tape what was going on, but once Juniper was ready, they went over to the back door.

"Thank you, Martin. I owe you a lot."

"No, I owe you." Martin smiled. "Come back to us when this is all over."

"You can count on it." 

●・○・●・○・●

Nothing You Can Take From Me - Hunger Games BOSAS, Rachel Zegler, Covey Band

Can't Catch Me Now - Olivia Rodrigo

Keep On The Sunny Side - Josie Hope Hall, Covey Band