Katniss stopped to listen, ignoring the tickle as an errant breeze picked up a few strands of hair that had escaped from her braid. There it was again. A whimper, plaintive and a little desperate, just a short way off from where she stood. Slipping between the trees, she followed the sound to a bit of undergrowth near a small spring.
This time it was more of a whine, accompanied by a rapid thumping on the ground and a rustle of leaves. She was pretty sure it was nothing to worry about, by that point. Shifting her bow to her back, she laid the sack containing a pair of field-dressed rabbits carefully on the ground. She knelt soundlessly by the spring and reached out with caution to push aside a clump of sumac shoots. The thumping grew louder and the whimper-whine more excited.
All black and white spots and big brown eyes, the puppy tried to lunge for her hand as soon as it broke through the green barrier, but she pulled up short when the snare around her back left paw held fast. Instead of another whimper, the pup yelped and looked at Katniss with pleading eyes.
"Where did you come from?" It only took a handful of seconds – and a pair of opposable thumbs – to release the squirming creature from the simple rope snare. The rope was old and the snare itself had the look of those her father had made, back when first took her hunting with him. "This must have been here for years…"
As soon as the puppy was free, she made good on her lunge, and, small as she was, managed to knock Katniss onto her butt with the force of it. Sensing her advantage, the little black and white dynamo climbed Katniss' chest, pawing and nipping all the while. And just like that, Katniss was on her back, a long pink tongue washing her face. Laughing, she pushed the spotted ball of wriggling fur off her chest and sat up, rolling to her knees.
Dusting off her trousers, Katniss grabbed at the bag that held her day's catch before the puppy could run off with it. Another lunge, and the pup almost had it, but Katniss quickly lifted it out of reach, slinging it over her shoulder once more. Smiling, she set off though the woods, heading toward home.
It took her no time at all to realize the puppy followed her, crashing through the underbrush with abandon. Katniss stopped abruptly and the pup slammed into her left ankle and flipped herself head over paws. Bouncing back to her feet, she bounded back toward Katniss, pausing only to nip at a small white butterfly that crossed her path.
Rolling her eyes, Katniss told her, "Good catch," as the butterfly flittered away unharmed. The pup grabbed at Katniss' bootlaces in response. "Go away," she told her, shaking her off her boot. The spotted pup rolled with it and came right back again, this time tormenting the other set of bootlaces.
"Shoo!" Shaking her off again, Katniss walked a little more rapidly. "I already have enough mouths to feed." In addition to herself and Peeta, Katniss still hunted for Haymitch and for the Hawthornes, although, since Gale had left for District 2, Rory was starting to take up some of the slack. There were so many people moving back into the district, almost on a daily basis, and so many of them just couldn't provide for themselves yet…
Unfazed by Katniss' argument, the pup continued to follow her.
A few minutes later, Katniss stopped again. "I mean it. Go away!" The puppy sat, her floppy black ears perked forward, her pink tongue lolling from her mouth. "If I have to, I'll give you to Greasy Sae for a stew." She made a shooing gesture with one hand, but the pup just watched her and then jumped up, trying to catch her hand. With a huff of frustration, Katniss turned and headed toward home once more.
As she got closer to the edge of the woods surrounding what used to be the Victors' Village, the smell of fresh bread began to mingle with the smells of the summertime forest. The loamy smell of the soil mixed with the warm scent of green and growing things mixed with the yeasty sweet smell of bread; Katniss breathed it in deeply. Home.
She came out of the woods behind the house she shared with Peeta and she thought he must have been watching for her, because he came out the back door just a moment later, wiping paint on the tails of the shirt he always wore when he was serious about whatever he painted. He smiled as soon as he saw her and she couldn't help but return that smile with one of her own.
With a joyful yip, the black and white puppy charged full tilt at Peeta; as soon as she reached him, she started trying to climb up his legs. Peeta laughed and looked from the overenthusiastic pup to Katniss and as soon as she saw the look in those blue eyes, she knew she was doomed.
"Who is this?" he asked, bemused, and Katniss strode from the edge of the woods over to her husband. Leaning down, she dropped her game bag and scooped up the pup.
"Look what followed me home from the woods." The wriggling ball of fur somehow managed to lick them both in the face at once. "Can we keep her?"