A/N: This was written for a fiction challenge on an LJ community. I doubt I'll write any more of it, but the mood might strike me.
Buttercup seemed determined to follow her. Although her mother thought nothing amiss about her claim that she wanted to walk to the baker's and look at the new cake in the window, the cat obviously knew better.
She walked slowly, allowing him to limp along beside her at a pace that wouldn't hurt him. Prim let him follow until they reached the end of their street. The cat looked up, uneasy about the pause. He pressed up against her as she crouched in the middle of the street to scratch behind his ears.
"You can't come with me," she told him. Prim ran her hand down his back and tail, circling his tail with her fingers as she did.
In response, Buttercup flopped down in the street to writhe.
"If you come, they'll know I wasn't telling the truth."
He opened his good eye and stared up at her.
"I promise I will be home before shift's end. I just need to talk to the goat man. You've seen the way Lady looks..."
Her mother was at a loss for what to do. The pox that whelped up on Lady looked like those of the hundreds of sick children who had passed through their kitchen, but didn't respond to the treatments that had worked on so many children. Prim could hardly concentrate
It wasn't as if she didn't know where the Hob was, she had just never been inside. If she mentioned going, Katniss would threaten to skin Buttercup. Prim had always doubted that her sister would carry through with her promise, but the thought had been enough to keep her away in the past. Kat wasn't here to keep her away now. She was off a world away, fighting.
Buttercup regarded her wearily, looking from their home to her, and slowly rose to his feel again. He blinked up at Prim once more before turning for home.
The goat man was much more amenable than Katniss had led her to believe. She described Lady's sickness to him and he was quick with an answer and remedy. He didn't even charge.
A stall full of used clothing had caught her eye on the way in. Prim had resisted the urge to browse on the way in, but her mother wasn't expecting her home for quite some time, and it would never hurt just to look. The clothes looked as if they had come from the closet of the Mayor's wife. It was hard to believe that anyone in District 12 dressed so extravagantly. Prim sifted through the clothing, careful not to touch anything with more than just the tips of her fingers. She luxuriated in the softness and the
"Go home, Primrose Everdeen," said a man behind from behind her.
The closeness of the man made something curl in her gut, and she knew she shouldn't look, just walk straight home, but she had to. Behind her was a Peacekeeper who towered over her, but it wasn't his height or authority that caught her attention. His hair was a fantastic color of red, one she suspected was natural. She had only ever seen that color in the body of a flame.
Prim immediately took her hands off of the wares. She clutched them close to her chest, staring up at the man, but not moving.
"How do you know my name?" she asked, which earned her a kind smile from the Peacekeeper.
"You look just like your mother."
"Why do I have to go home?"
He put a gentle hand on her shoulder and guided her out of the stall, towards the exit from the Hob. It was strong and warm. Even though he was trying to be gentle, she could still feel his strength through the touch.
"You've seen the goat man, and now you should go on home. This is no place for school girls."
Prim's concentration was so focused on him that she did not notice that he had walked her outside until he took his hand off of her shoulder.
"Good evening, Primrose Everdeen," the Peacekeeper said before he ducked back into the Hob.
Flushed, Prim walked home. Her mind filled with the timber of his voice and the warmth of his hand. She hadn't even asked his name.