Forgot All of Our Memories // [Finley/Wander]

Watching Peacekeepers drag out the O'Haras, wreathed by the echoes of determined screaming, Wander wonders which one yelled fuck the Capitol. At least, ve assumes it had to be one of them, not that actually wants to know—ve wants the furious Peacekeepers who skimmed the crowd to stay confounded, wants the culprit to stay safe, would have spent vis last minutes with vis siblings laying into them if one of them had pulled a stunt like that on Ripred-forsaken television.

It's not fair to be reminded of the way they'd had to pry Cadenza off of ver at the end, not with odds stacked against the O'Haras ever reuniting and Wander's own family waiting outside. ("We're walking home together," Cadenza all but snarled before Wander went in. Ve tried very hard not to take it personally; she still does a lot of things these days that ve tries, and often fails, not to take personally.) But there's not much else to think about.

Seconds stretch out while the Peacekeepers... hell if Wander knows, do paperwork or listen to Finley scream for fun or whatever. Wander fidgets aimlessly with vis ring and the ends of vis dress jacket sleeves—a Reaping first; ve'd laid out the same blouse ve wore last year, only to switch it out at the last minute in a small fit of pique at whoever went to all the effort of changing vis records without fixing them—until someone in a white helmet reaches for vis elbow and ve nearly trips over verself getting up quickly enough to avoid that hand.

Finley's voice croaks and peters out as they enter the hallway, and somehow that's harder to hear than her fruitless railing. Then the Peacekeepers all but shove ver in, and there's Finley O'Hara in person, looking taller somehow than she did on stage and every bit as far from giving up as she did when she smirked on the way up.

"Finley, right? Wander." Ripred, this is the most awkward moment of Wander's entire life, up to and including the conversation with Fiona after ve speared her brain. This was a mistake. (This was not optional.) "I'd say it's nice to meet you, but, uh." Ve gives the nondescript room a small wave, palm up. "This place sucks."