Katniss nods numbly, and for a strange moment the pressure of his hands over hers actually helps to calm her for a brief moment, because it feels like something Gale would do back in 13, before everything was ruined. Of course, Katniss has to remind herself once again that she's the one who has changed here, not him. "Not at first. And then the island showed him," she still remembers Halloween vividly, can still taste the ash in her mouth.

"We're not speaking anymore. He wants to have a normal life, and he should because he still can."