A/N: Hey guys, this is just a one shot that I wrote for something else but really liked! Hope you all enjoy and leave me a review to tell me what you think! I never really do one shots so any advice would be awesome :D

The rustle of leaves nearby sends my senses into overdrive, rousing me from an empty, dreamless sleep. The sounds around me mute until I can only hear the soft crunch of a single pair of boots treading through the freshly fallen leaves. Everything comes into focus around me and my eyes begin to pick up on the individual leaves on the trees and the sharp points of broken sticks that litter the ground.

"S-Scout?" a whispered voice alerts me once again to the small presence beside me. The youngest member of the rather large alliance that I had become a part of in the early days of training. She was only thirteen and from the district of transportation, with curly hair and pale eyes. This was the first time she had spoken since we'd entered the arena four days earlier. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah I'm awake."

"I heard something," her voice sounds much younger than her age would suggest and her light eyes stare hauntingly at me.

"Okay, you stay here. I'll go see what it was."

I stand up and my legs wobble under my weight. As silently as possible I begin to walk towards the place where I last heard the footsteps. As I get closer to the thick tree line that surrounds the small clearing that houses my allies, I draw a short dagger out of my belt. My hearts pounds in my ears and my breaths come in short bursts as I move forward.

I stop and move my hand to my ear, listening for anything that could tell me that I am going in the right direction. My eyes graze the darkened figures of the trees that protrude like dozens of long, bony fingers.

I turn just in time to see a slender figure as I am tackled to the ground. My own body struggles beneath the weight of the tribute and for several seconds we twist and turn amongst the crunching leaves, fighting for an advantage over the other. My arms are pinned to the soft earth by my wrists and I see the shoulders of the tribute rise and fall to the beat of their forced breaths.

For a few moments I struggle and try to regain possession of my limbs but that only strengthens their hold on me. I force my body to relax and count silently to three before pushing upwards with both arms, startling them and allowing me the precious seconds it takes for my dagger to meet flesh.

For a while the world seems still. Their weight continues to push down on my small body, threatening to further constrict my already short breaths.

Then it happens. The tribute falls heavily to my left and I steer my body away so that they land with a crunch on the fragile, dead leaves. I scramble to my feet and dart in the direction I believe I'd come from. I don't see the girl until I nearly run her into the ground.

"What was it Scout?" Her voice is small and vulnerable, as if at even the slightest hint of trouble she might turn tail and scamper off.

"It was nothing Maie," I reply and between my words I hear the accusing cannon blast. "It was only the wind."