Life Lessons 16: Night

The darkness had settled in several hours ago, which at this time of year meant it was just cool enough outside that Dani felt snug in her light jacket. She had managed to pull it on before quickly following her father outside to where a very drunk Haymitch was squatting among a gaggle of geese.

"Haymitch," her father called to get the man's attention. "What are you doing out here? It's almost eleven o'clock at night."

Haymitch looked up at the moon that was gaining height in the sky before replying sarcastically, "Is it really?" He turned his attention back to the goose he'd been inspecting. Dani really had no idea what he was doing. Haymitch didn't usually bother the geese when he was drunk, and he never bothered to actually touch them drunk or sober. "How did you even know I was out here? Been spying on me?" Haymitch sent her father a glare, and Dani wasn't sure whether it was meant to be a joke or not.

She could just barely make out her father's eye roll in the dark. "We were watching a movie in the living room. Katniss spotted you through the window."

Haymitch muttered the word "movie" in distaste. "With the kids?" He motioned at Dani who had kept herself a few paces behind her dad. "As you pointed out, it's pretty late. Isn't it past their bedtime?"

Dani was surprised Haymitch thought she needed to be in bed. He usually didn't pay much attention to those sort of things.

"Nickel fell asleep on the couch, and Dani was about to fall asleep when Katniss spotted you." Peeta informed him. "Besides, it's the summer. Staying up late won't hurt them."

Haymitch grunted and turned back to the goose. "Haymitch," her dad caught the drunks' attention again. "What are you doing?"

It took Haymitch a second to respond. "I think this goose is sick. I'm giving him a check up."

This caused both Peeta and Dani to look slightly amused. "Since when do you know how to care for geese other than tossing them the occassional meal?" Peeta asked his old mentor.

"It doesn't take a doctor to tell when something's sick," Haymitch growled.

"Of course not," Peeta replied in a slightly mocking voice. "But it does take a certain type of person, namely a vet, to decide just what exactly is wrong with the animal."

"I'm more than capable of taking care of it," Haymitch snapped. "I've only raised this thing since it hatched. I've had plenty of sick geese over the years."

"And most of them were dead within several days," Peeta muttered under his breath. Dani tried to suppress a giggle. Haymitch let his geese breed freely, yet his flock had remained more-or-less the same size since he'd bought the first batch, all because so many ended up dying prematurely. It was definitely a case of survival of the fittest. Whichever goose was able to get the most of their meager nurishment got to survive the longest.

Haymitch didn't seem to know what to do with the goose now that it had been inspected. Regardless of his assertions otherwise, Haymitch had no idea how to heal the animal.

"Right," Haymitch stood, goose in hand. "I'll go take care of him in the house. See you later." With that, Haymitch marched back inside with the goose, sqwuaking loudly, under one arm.

Dani turned to her father and saw him attempting to suppress a grin. He looked down at her, and they shared a small laugh before heading back into their own home. Dani was already planning to run over to Haymitch's house the next morning to see just what his "diagnosis" of the goose had been.

Life Lesson 15: Flower

The whole family stood admiring the new painting adorning Dani's bedroom wall.  The large painting showed a wide open field full of dandelions, Dani's namesake and favorite flower.

"I love it!" the girl exclaimed.  The enthusiastic eleven-year-old threw herself in her father's arms as a thank you for the painting he'd done just for her birthday.

It reminded Dani of the meadow, one of her favorite places in the world.  During the springtime it was always full of the small, yellow flowers.  Dani remembered her parents reminding her that she'd been named after the very dandelions in that meadow since she was little.  She'd always been able to tell dandelions were special to her parents, especially her mom, but she had never really understood why.  Whatever the reason, they'd named her Dandelion after them, and Dani had grown up having great respect for the flower that most people considered just a common weed.

When she was about five, Dani had noticed dandelions in their own yard as well.  She'd dug some up and placed them in with the primroses that were constantly growing in their garden.  Her mother had gently explained that dandelions were a bit more independent than primroses.  Their seeds rode through the wind and settled wherever they pleased.  They might not want to stay in the small little flower bed year after year.  It turned out her mother was right.  Every so often, a dandelion would grow in their garden, and there were also at least a few scattered across the yard.  Still, none of those small patches of dandelions compared to the dandelions that grew every spring in the meadow.  For some reason those had always been the "real" dandelions to Dani, and she could just tell that these were the dandelions her father had captured in the painting.  They just looked like meadow dandelions.  Something about the independence and their ability to grow where ever they pleased dispite their small delicate shape filled Dani with pride for her namesake.

Life Lessons 14: Happiness

A/N: As far as all of these one-shots go, this is the one most connected to another. This one-shot takes place just several days after the last one. While all of these go in chronological order, these are the only ones that are really connected in any way. That being said, reading the last one isn't really necessary to understanding this one either.

Nickel had always known his grandmother to be a morose sort of person. The only smiles she offered him were fleeting and quickly dissappeared. This trip, however, she seemed different. or she had for the past few days at least. After Nickel had let her in on the secret of Dani's birthday present, Mrs. Everdeen had suddenly begun smiling more. It was a strange but not unpleasant change.

Dani and Nickel had been rather surprised to find their grandmother in their father's company when he came to pick them up from school one day. Mrs. Everdeen had brushed it off. "Oh, I just thought some fresh air would be nice. I hadn't gotten out of the house much while I was here." None of the other three bothered pointing out to her that she almost never left their house when she was in District 12. On one of their few trips to visit Mrs. Everdeen and Annie in District 4, their grandmother had constantly accompanied them places, but not even Nickel, in his young age, had missed that Mrs. Everdeen seemed just a little scared of District 12. It had been something that had sparked Nickel's curiousity for a few years now, but he knew better than to question it. He didn't think it was something his grandmother would want to talk about.

Nickel began observing his grandmother as they walked back home at a very leisurely pace. Mrs. Everdeen still seemed slightly nervous as they walked through town. She threw sporadic glances over her shoulder as if waiting for something to jump at her, but she was outside of her own free will. Nickel was still marveling over that. Not only that, she was actively involved in the conversation and seemed more lively than Nickel had ever seen her in District 12. It was like she was suddenly the District 4 grandma that he didn't know as well but loved just as much.

"It is a nice day. Isn't it?" Mrs. Everdeen smiled at some newly planted trees as they walked. "I'm so glad I decided to come out and enjoy it."

Nickel looked at Dani who was shaking her head in fascination from behind their grandmother. She seemed just as confused about today's events as Nickel. Dani caught Nickel looking at her, and they both had to work to suppress giggles out of excitement.

"District 12 really is an entirely new place," Mrs. Everdeen continued. She'd been through town at least twice every trip as she came to and left the district, but she seemed to be seeing it for the first time. She actively inspected things now. It was the first time she'd realized just how new everything was. She'd been stuck in Victor's Village every trip here. The only part of District 12, she now realized, that had remained the same. She would have been better off leaving to visit the town every day. It was a much less haunting place.

The new District 12 was much more lively than the place she'd once called home. There were well-fed, happy children running around everywhere. Mrs. Everdeen supposed many of them were also on their way home from school. The houses looked well-maintained instead of the rundown shacks that had previously occupied the area. Many people had beautiful gardens that contained everything from vegetables to flowers. One thing that stood out in particular was the love for trees the new residents of District 12 must have had. They seemed to grow in every yard. The whole district seemed more connected to the forest than ever before. Mrs. Everdeen had never thought about the fact that trees must grow very well here. After all, most of this was probably part of the forest before it became a district. There were small animals everywhere as well. Mrs. Everdeen spotted several rabbits and quite a few squirrels. You didn't see those types of animals in District 4. This was a District 12 she could grow to enjoy.

Mrs. Everdeen turned her attention to her grandchildren and son-in-law only to see them all three watching her as if she'd grown a third head. "What?" she asked feigning ignorance. They all smiled at her and just continued walking. Mrs. Everdeen continued to join in the happy conversation as the headed home. The old District 12 had always been a place of sorrow in her mind, but she was finally starting to realize just how much happiness the new one held.