What if Katniss' father never died? How would that have changed things? Would Prim and Peeta still have been reaped? Would Katniss ever think of Peeta as the boy with the bread? Would she become friends with Gale? We shall see.
Chapter One
"Katniss, wake up dear." My father's voice cut through my dreams. I rolled over on my stomach. "I don't wanna go to school." I grumbled. "It's Saturday, I'm taking you hunting." Dad rubbed my back, still trying to wake me. "Daddy it's too early." Prim had woken up now. I sat up as she started whining.
"Go back to sleep Primrose, Katniss is the only one who needs to get up." He tugged me out of bed now that I had sat up. I scowled at my father and Prim, who was giggling. "Get dressed." He pointed at the dresser before leaning down and kissing Prim. He pulled the blanket up over her and began to sing her back to sleep.
I stomped my way over to the dresser and pulled on my clothes in a huff. By the time Dad has finished his lullaby I was ready to go. We waited until we were out of the room before speaking, not wanting Prim to wake again. "You'll need to do something about that hair." Dad chuckled as we walked into the kitchen. It was empty, Mom hadn't risen yet either. I said nothing and grabbed our family's only comb. Dad chuckled again, finding my bad mood amusing.
He put on his boots and gathered his things while I got my hair in order, braiding it like normal. "Are you ready?" Dad asked as I tied a scrap of fabric around the end of my braid. "Yes." I crossed my arms and followed him out the door. It was still dark outside. I grabbed my dad's hand. I wasn't the bravest 11 year old.
We arrived at the fence slipped through without any issue. After we'd walked a ways Dad relaxed. "Alright, you know the drill Katniss." He pointed over to a thicket not far away. "Pick berries for breakfast while you get the bows." I took the small bucket he had been carrying and trudged over and began my task. Soon enough we were munching on berries while Dad was repairing one of the bows.
"Dad, why do we have to live like this?" I popped a berry into my mouth. "Because that's the way things are. District 12 got the short end of the stick. Along with the other poor districts." Dad sighed as he adjusted the string of the bow. "But the Captial has more than enough food to share, why woul-" Dad clapped his hand over my mouth. I surpressed my shout of surprise.
"Run and find a tree to climb. Make sure you are hidden. Don't come down until I come and get you." My father hissed into my ears and then propelled me forward. I took off running. I heard my dad moving quickly the other direction. I saw tree I knew I could climb and scampered up it.
I climbed higher than I ever had before. I hoped and prayed the peacekeepers wouldn't find me or my father. We'd be killed. I heard a deep throaty laugh to my right and I froze. Whoever it was, was passing under the tree I was in. I held my breath. "Tell me another joke son." The deep voice was farther away this time. "You are gonna love this one Pop, here goes: Why did the miner take a balloon ride in a thunderstorm?" 13 year old Gale Hawthorne's voice rang out clear and loud through the forest. My mouth dropped open. What were the Hawthornes doing out here?
"Why son?" Mr. Hawthorne responded to his eager son. "Because he heard that every cloud has a silver lining!" Gale and Mr. Hawthorne both started laughing. I rolled my eyes. The joke wasn't even that funny. I guess boys laughed at everything. The Hawthorne's voices were getting out of range now. I pulled some berries out of my pocket and began munching on them. I wondered how long it would be until my father came and got me. I leaned back and closed my eyes.
"KATNISS!" I jolted awake. I looked around blurry eyed. The sun was blazing bright now. "KATNISS EVERDEEN!" I heard my father shout again. "COMING DAD! I'M UP HERE!" I started climbing down as quickly as it was safe. "Good grief child, you had us worried." My father's voice had lost it's frantic note and was now tinged with relief. "Us?" I looked down and saw the Hawthornes standing with my father.
Gale smirked up at me. I scowled and kept climbing. "I was calling for you for an hour, why didn't you respond?" My father glared down at me. "I...I fell asleep." I replied. Gale snickered. My father sighed. "We'll talk about this later." Dad rubbed his forehead with his hands.
"Sure is taking you a long time to get down, not scared of height are you?" Gale called up to me. His father jostled him roughly, but that didn't disminish the boy's smug grin. Oh so going slowly and being careful was a bad thing now. I hated boys sometimes. "How far up were you Katniss?" My father helped me down from the last branch. "I could see over most of the other trees." I replied quietly. Mr. Hawthorne whistled. "Just like bird. She reminds me of you when you were young Roan." Mr. Hawthorne clapped my father on the shoulder before offering his hand to me.
"I'm Salem Hawthorne." He shook my hand heartily. "I'm sure you know my boy Gale with all the trouble he makes." He shoved his son towards me. "Catnip, always a pleasure." He grinned widely at me. "Oh so this is the boy you were talking about." My father smiled and that was when I knew that this was going to be my punishment for falling asleep in the tree.
"I can assure you son that you've made quite the impression on my daughter with that little nickname of yours." I sighed and bent down to retie my shoes. "Oh I have?" Gale's smug voice made my clench my teeth. Mr. Hawthorne guffawed. "She won't stop talking about the 'pretty but mean boy' from her school who calls her Catnip." I shot up straight and hit my dad on the arm. "DAD THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID!" I hollered, even though that was exactly what I said. The three only laughed harder at my protests.
A/N: Hi guys! I hope you like this story! Pairings aren't decided yet so let me know your opinions and I'll take them into consideration. Romance isn't going to show up in this story for awhile though, so no rush on anything. I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes. I am editing this myself and no matter how many times I go over my stories, I always miss something.
i cri evry tiem.
-Beaky