Hello everyone!

So I have already seen the hunger games about 4 times and am giving it all my love right now. Cato's character stood out to a lot in the movie and I loved what he said in the end. It really made me feel for him and thought I would write a story about him and try to flesh out his character a little more with one of my own. So hopefully you guys will enjoy reading it as much as I will enjoy writing it!

Disclaimer: If I were Suzanne Collins I am pretty sure I would be writing a real book and having published by now.

Life in District 9 is not an easy one. Being one of the poorer districts, we were all underfed, underpaid, and overworked. But beggars can't be choosers, and we all make do with we have and what we can get. We hunt all working hours of the day for money, and then overtime for food. We are trained form a young age to hunt and kill animals. We are sent into the field at age 12 to start hunting, and then we send all our game to the Capitol, while we are left with nothing but our weapons to hunt and kill what ever hasn't yet been scared off for ourselves. It's hard, but what choice do we have when our leaders turn a blind eye to our suffering, and instead show their supremacy over us by killing our children?

None.

"Tic... Tic... Tic... Tic..."

The constant "tics" are the only sounds I hear as I crouch in the middle of a tall grassy field, straining to hear the "snort" of the wild boar I have been hunting for the past three hours. I inhale, tying to focus and not let my impatience get the better of me. I reach into my bag and pull out some wild raspberries and grass before crushing them in my hand and wiping them across my face and neck, masking my human scent to other animals. Stray hairs tickle my nose and make me want to sneeze, so I tighten my long dark brown ponytail and brush some stubborn stray pieces of hair out of my face. I start to readjust my position and then, I hear it.

"Snort!"

I cock my head in the direction if the sound, trying to pinpoint where it came from. It's close by, probably no more than 100 yards to my right. I start to move swiftly and quietly, crouching only slightly because of my short height.

"Snort!"

Now its closer, but a little more to my left. I change directions and make it a few more yards. I feel excitement and relief at the thought of being able to go home after this endless shift, but the feelings are short lived. I am almost there when I misstep and make my first mistake of the day.

"Snap!"

I freeze. The sound of the twig breaking underfoot seemed to echo and, for a moment, everything was as still as death. Eyes closed and breath held, I don't move a muscle, not wanting to loose my game after hours of tracking and stealth.

I wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

I dearly hope it went un- noticed when the wind decides to screw me over further by sending a harsh breeze through the field, tousling my hair and sending my foreign scent into the air for all wildlife to smell. I let out a small breath and cross my fingers tightly, hoping that it went by undetected.

Then comes the eruption of noise.

Birds started chirping wildly, alerting all of the animals that a predator was nearby. I hear a small family of foxes barking at the other end of the field, running back into the safe confines of the woods. My boar starts to run and I am quick to follow, running as fast as I can. I look up and I can see the arrows of my fellow hunters in the air as they shot the birds that flew madly in a panicked frenzy, reminding me to pull out my own weapons. Still running, I simultaneously reach behind me for my spear with my right hand and pull out one of my many throwing knives with my left.

I catch up to my boar and can now clearly see it. I'm so close! I veer over to the right and run faster, only pausing long enough to quickly throw my spear. I hear it impale the poor animal and have little time to smile at my success before my momentum causes me to trip over my own feet and fall rather ungracefully to the ground.

Hard.

"Dammit!" I scream, landing on my bad arm. I try to stand up but cry out again. The shooting pains are so intense and paralyzing. I feel tears prick at my eyes and I'm frozen in shock for a minute, the pain getting the better of me.

Breathing hard from the pain and tightly gripping my right shoulder, it takes me a few moments to gather my bearings. Sharply inhaling as I unlock myself from my tight fetal position, I force my self to stand, grab my dropped knife and stagger over to the boar.

"Oh, no." I whisper upon finding it still alive and suffering, moaning for its pain to end. My aim was off by a few centimeters, missing its heart and causing my own to clench. It was suffering all because I wasn't careful enough. It wouldn't be the first someone had to suffer for my mistake. I quickly make my way over to it- her, its a girl, I notice- and swiftly but smoothly pull the spear out. She doesn't even respond with a noise, the pain already too much for her and making my eyes sting even more with tears. I pull out one of my daggers and reluctantly ready it for what I am about to do next.

"Shh, shhhhhhh," I coo, trying my best to sooth her while choking on the lump in my throat. Its times like these where I really hate my job. "It's going to be okay... Shhhhh... I'm sorry..." Blinking the tears away, I position my knife over her heart, "I'm so sorry..."

And then I end it, with a few stray tears streaming down my face.

After all these years, I still can't handle it. No matter what the others say, I will never get used to the killing. Even if they are just animals, they have families, children that they need to feed and care for.

But so do I.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Clear!" I hear the other hunters in my group call out.

"Clear!" I call out my own. My voice is slightly raspy from the tears and running. "I've got a boar! I need help carrying it!" I cover my face and wipe away my tears before the others see them, further smearing the red berries on my face. We always look like bloody massacres at the end of our shifts.

When I look up I see the tall grass shifting, signaling my help coming near.

"I'm here." I say, leading them closer to me.

Not long after I see Lee and Sparrow break into the small clearing with impressed looks on their faces at the sight of my kill.

"Nice work, Hun." Sparrow praises after seeing my kill, making me smile at his praise. Being the oldest in his late 40's and most experienced in our team, he is our leader and had many scars to prove it. But despite his rough appearance, everyone knows that on the inside, he is a big softy. He's like a second father to everyone.

"Looks like you missed though." Lee then teased while surveying my work and brushing some of his wavy blonde hair out of his face.

With a fake frown I scoffed and gave him a slight shove with my good arm, mocking insult. He is my best friends husband and has no problem making fun of me when he gets the chance. And despite him being 3 years my senior, he tends to act much younger. It's sometimes impossible to believe that he's a married man expecting a baby.

Sparrow snorted at Lee's comment. "Like you have ever caught a boar before, kid." He defended me with a smirk. "She's already got 2 this season!" Slightly put out, Lee then huffed and dramatically rolled his eyes while I smiled triumphantly then stuck my tongue out at him with a stuck up "Ha!", gladly rubbing it in.

"Come on, lets get out of here." He just mutters in return, choosing to ignore my jabs at his ego. I know he's trying to think of a response though.

We quickly bagged the boar and started making our way back home for the day, joking and teasing each other on the way. After trekking for several miles, we reach the gate by sunset and let the peacekeepers do a headcount before letting us in.

On the other side of the gate we enter a small brick building full of tables covered in scales and peacekeepers. Making our way over to one of the many tables, we groan in relief and place the really heavy boar on it.

"Thanks guys." I say gratefully to Lee and Sparrow. They both nod in return and make their ways over to their own tables.

"Name." The peacekeeper behind mine said.

"Arien Lockett." I say.

"This yours?" He continues to ask in a dull voice, gesturing to the boar.

"Yes. This too." I reply, pulling a smaller but full bag over my shoulder. There were some blood stains on it and he grimaced at the sight. Looks like we both really hate our jobs.

He took his time weighing and appraising all of my game before moving onto the boar. I start to get impatient, rocking back and fourth and twiddling my fingers behind my back. After punching in some numbers and signing a small slip of paper he finally hands it to me and I snatch it quickly, eager to get out of here.

"Next!" he calls out, clearly dismissing me.

Looking down at the slip saying how much made, I feel a burst of disappointment and any excitement leave my gut after seeing the numbers.

"Wait a second," I say with a frown on my face, "You cut my check by a fourth!"

"So?" He sighs, seemingly frustrated that I am still there.

"So?" I reply incredulously with a rising voice, my growing frustration starting to show. "I am being underpaid! I met my quota! You have more than enough meat to send to the capitol!" By now I am near yelling and some other peacekeepers are making their way towards me.

He just rolls his eyes at me like I'm an idiot, and I feel my temper rise some more. "Look sweetheart, there are two wounds in this pig. One more than there should be, and for that I am cutting your check."

"By a fourth? An extra wound calls for one eighth of a cut, not a fucking fourth!" People are starting to stare now and the peacekeeper is starting to look really pissed off, but I really don't care

"Well you should work on your aim then, Girl. Or maybe I just don't like you." He voice is getting nasty now and is causing my anger to inflate. He is starts to lean towards me and continues, "So, you better get a move on and take what you can get before I decide to cut some more." He gestures for the other peacekeepers to come and force me out. They grab my arms tightly and pull me towards the other side of the room. I'm still furious, but I don't bother fighting them. I'm already burned out enough from working a full 12 hours and besides, I better not make the situation worse. I'm already hopelessly screwed enough as it is.

"And remember, Girl, there is always Tesserae!" The peacekeeper's mocking voice is the last thing I hear before I am harshly thrown into another, smaller room. This one is full of teller stands where we collect our money after each shift. I hand in my slip and quickly grab my pitiful amount of money with shaking hands before storming out of the building and into the twilight. I furiously pace back and fourth while fuming at nothing in particular and crying out in anger every few seconds.

Oh god, why does it have to be like this? I hardly make enough money for me and my brother to have two small meals every day and now at this rate I will be working even more overtime, leaving me with only three and a half hours of sleep every night and and only one hour with my brother everyday. I am going to age prematurely, I just know it.

Fuck.

I tiredly make my way over to the building and lean against it while slowly rubbing my pained right arm. Tears once again make their way down my cheeks and I bring my hands to my chest, pulling a heart shaped locket out of my shirt and trace the intricate designs on the outside before opening it. Inside are pictures of me on the right side and my brother on the left. Joseph smiles at me with his happy blue eyes and I can't help but smile back through my tears. I love this picture of him. His slightly curled hair is a little messy (as always) and a small birthmark barely made its self known through his dark hairline. I look at his picture for a few more moments, then I shift my eyes slightly to the right where I see myself. I looked somewhat happy in this picture, but that was only because Joey was there with me. My lips are curved into a small smile, my eyes are less tired and my features are fuller, probably because I was working a little less back then, one year ago. But as hard as things are now, I would never go back then, when he was alive, my father...

"Hey." Lee's voice pulled me out of my dreary reverie and I quickly snap the locket shut while wiping the tears off my face. "I saw what happened. You okay?" He asks with concerned green eyes.

"Yeah." I answer quietly with a forced smile. "Lets go."

The walk to his house was silent, but not awkward and we made it there in under 5 minutes. We let ourselves into the small house and I smile a genuine smile as the first thing I see upon entering is my Joey.

"Arie!" he yells in excitement launches himself towards me.

"Hey bud." I say into his hair and hold his small ten year old frame close to me. His embrace makes me feel warm and I never want to let go.

"Hi Arien." I look up to see my very pregnant best friend waddle her way into the room and smile at me.

"June," I reply, putting Joseph down mad make my over to embrace her too, careful not to poke her protruding belly with one of my several knives. That would be bad. "Thanks again for watching him. I owe you."

She simply rolled her eyes in response and shushes me before handing me a wet rag to wipe my berry covered face on. I make a quick job of cleaning my face and open my eyes to Lee and June sharing a warm embrace and a kiss. Joey is making gagging sounds, but I know better. He would never let anyone else know, thinking it would make him look sissy, but he is actually a very affectionate boy.

"Nice to see you too, Joey." Lee joked once they finished and ruffled his hair. He quickly pecked his wife's large belly before taking the rag from me and wiping his own face.

"You used raspberries today?" June asked after licking her lips.

"Yeah." I reply with a smirk. She licks them again as I expected her to, but this time she grimaces.

"And Grass?"

"Sorry Hun." Lee says through the rag on his face with a chuckle.

"Ewww..." She whispers, vigorously wiping her lips and I snort in amusement.

Joseph starts to gather his backpack and I start to subconsciously rub my right shoulder while watching. The pain is still there and unfortunately, the gesture doesn't get past June.

"Is it bothering you again?" She asked in a hushed tone, coming closer to me with concern in her eyes.

"Just a little." I lied. She doesn't look convinced.

"Maybe you should take a day off and-"

"I can't, June." I cut her off, my voice taking a harder edge and my annoyance starting to rise. I'm getting tired of having this conversation all the time, but I look her in the eyes and start to feel a little bad at seeing her slightly hurt expression. She's not trying to annoy me. She's just worried. "You know why I can't." I continue with a softer tone, trying to make up fir snapping.

"I know." She says in a defeated tone. "Just be more careful, okay?" I guess she is just as tired of this conversation as I am. She skipped the lecture.

"Okay." I relent. I then turn to Jo. "Come on Joey, we gotta go. I gotta be at the square in the morning." I sigh at the statement, remembering what day it is tomorrow. Just the thought makes me want to puke.

I walk over to Lee and give him a quick hug, then move onto June. They both give my their good lucks and love and I try to smile reassuringly to them, but I know it looks forced. Despite them both being safe from the reaping, I know they still worried for me. But I don't have much faith this year. I have taken so much tesserea I wouldn't be surprised if more half of the names in the bowl were mine. The odds are definitely not in my favor. The thought makes me grip Joey's hand tighter as we make out way out of the house, waving and saying our bye's and I love you's.

We walk for about 20 minutes before we reach our tiny log cabin. Joey runs in and immediately starts getting ready for bed. He's tired, I notice. June probably had him help with chores after picking him up from school. Not that he really minds though. Like me he has a hard time staying still for long stretches of time, and now we we're both pooped.

I take my time removing my many weapons. Reaching behind me, I pull out my spear and put it on the rack that leans against the wall next to several others. I pull off the shoulder strap that holds a large club and put that on the hook next to it. I move down to my waist and unfasten the belt that carries multiple throwing knives and unbuckle the thigh holsters that carries my two daggers. I almost forget about the two hunting knives I carried in my boots. Damn, I have a lot of weapons.

I then make my way to our small bedroom and remove my pants and shirt, replacing them with only an over sized t shirt. I would've bathed sooner, but I don't have the energy. I'll do that in the morning. I plop onto my bed and am almost out before I hear Joey enter the room and sit himself on the foot of my bed.

"Whats up?" I ask in a tired voice with closed eyes. They feel like a million pounds.

"Are you going to be picked tomorrow?"

"..."

What did he say?

The question causes my eyes to snap open and I can feel the shock I feel make its way across my face. How could he know? The somber look on his face has me sitting up and embracing him in a second. He rests his head on my shoulder and I press my face into his hair.

"Why would you say that?" I ask in a shocked whisper.

I hear him scoff before he pulls away from me, looking insulted.

"I'm not stupid Arie. I know where you get all of the extra grain and food from." His tone is harder now and I'm having a hard time hiding the guilt from on face. Dammit, I should have known better that to try and hide it from him. I know he's smarter than that. I sigh and rest my head in my hands, unable to look back without him seeing my shame.

"I'm sorry Jo, but I didn't really have a choice." I plead to defend myself. I finally look up at him, trying to convey through my dark brown eyes how much I am willing to give up for him. "I can't let you starve! I promised Mom I would take care of you!" I raise my voice a little, trying to keep my voice from sounding so desperate.

"How will you take care of me if you are in the games Arien?" He yells back. He looks so angry, but there are tears in his broken eyes now and I can feel my own heart breaking. I put my head back in my hands to hide my own tears. I am crying way too much today.

"I don't know, Joseph... I just... I don't know..." My voice sounds choked and defeated. I hate him seeing me like this. He shouldn't have to see me crying and weak. I am supposed to be strong for him, to protect him from heartache. As it turns out, I'm doing the opposite.

I feel him grab my chin and force me to look into his clear blue eyes. Mom's eyes. Looking into them, I realized how long it's been since I've really seen him. Since I spent time with him. Since I understood him. They aren't as innocent anymore, his eyes. Not after all of the years of work we had to do. All of the years meager meals and hardships that no 10 year old boy should have to face. All of the years of me working all hours of the day hunting and tracking until I nearly pass out. All of the years of witnessing the beatings our alcoholic father inflicted upon me while I had him hide in a corner to protect him. I see the guilt he feels for not being able to do anything. I see how he regrets not helping me and I am so angry with him for feeling that way. But the tears are too strong by now.

"Don't you dare think like that Joseph Lockett." I nearly sob, reading him like an open book. I pull him to me and we both lay down on my bed and cry in each others arms. How could he think like that? "I don't regret any of it, you hear me?" I feel him nod against my shoulder. That's not enough.

"Say it." I demand in a slightly harder voice.

"I h-hear you." He says in between shaky breaths. I cradle him and kiss the top of his head.

"No matter where I go, I will always come back to you. You know that."

"You promise?" He asks, looking back up at me.

I don't know.

Can I?

Should I?

He is noticing my hesitation and is starting to cry even harder. Wanting nothing more than the tears to stop, I just blurt it out without thinking.

"I promise."

I already regret those words.

He lays his head on my shoulder again and I silently start to cry harder, seizing by body so he won't feel the shakes of my silent sobs. I don't know if I will be able to keep this promise, but I don't know what else to say to put his mind at rest. Would I be able to kill in the arena? I can hardly kill animals, and if I kill a person, I think like I would loose the one thing that keeps me human and sane after all the years of doing my job. I don't know if that makes me weak, but I do know it could be then end of me and quite possibly, the end of him.

But I don't know what else to say.

So I leave it at that, and we fall asleep in each others arms.

So, what do you think! Love it? Hate it? Please let me know what you thing. There is nothing I appreciate that constructive criticism and encouraging words! And please let me know if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes. Editing is a bitch.

P.S. I didn't know what District 9 contributed to the Capitol, so I made it Hunting. I hope you guys don't mind! :)

-IAmTheStars