AN: Submission #1 for the Everthorne prompts on Tumblr. The theme was "hunting partners." Check them out at #promptingeverthorne.
Summary: Katniss and Gale don't take to each other right away in the woods. Reserved and reluctant in everything, they're about as stubbornly independent as can be. But when independence gives way to unity, can they figure out what they are to each other? And can one mistake alter everything?
Foraging Each Other
Katniss waits by Gale's snare the next day to make good on their agreement. It's 7 and he's not there. His words drift through her head. Stealing is punishable by death. Surely he wouldn't turn her in would he? He seemed to agree pretty quickly to help each other. Maybe that wasn't a good thing after all.
The sun is rising and so is her impatience. She finds herself wishing she knew more about him, even if just to know if she can trust him or rely on him. Just as Katniss turns to the forest and starts walking away she hears a whistle. She whips around and sees Gale walking towards her.
"Didn't think I was coming?" he asks.
"We said 7," she replies.
"We said about 7," Gale says nonchalantly.
She purses her lips. He's still late and it irritates her. "Ready?"
"Are you mad at me?" he asks. He doesn't want to start things off in anger.
"No," she says coolly.
He examines her expression, knowing she's lying to him. "You're mad because I'm a little late."
Katniss wonders how he can read her emotions so easily and quickly. She registers that she's staring at him, so she shakes herself out of her thoughts and holds out the oversized bow for him to practice with today.
He takes hold of it but she doesn't release it. Gale holds himself back from laughing at the tiny 12 year old in front of him, so puny looking yet so unmistakably fierce. He could snatch it from her in an instant. Sensing her internal battle, he examines the bow and notices carvings along the limbs. It's in fine condition even though he can tell it's been used often. There are too many random scratches in the wood. It's special to her, or valuable at least, he gets that.
Katniss lets out the breath she's been holding in and releases her grip on the handle. Gale doesn't say anything, just looks her in the eyes and tries to convey that she can trust him to give it back later.
They start walking into the forest and he's about to ask if she's hungry, but that's a stupid question. Of course she is. She's borderline starving, as he is. "Come here," he says and leads her to one of his lifelines. It's a small grouping of blackberry bushes where the sunlight cuts between the tall trees. Maybe one day he will show her the area where the blackberries stretch out like a field, twining vines twinkling with fruit.
"Blackberries," she says in wonder. She must have not found any blackberry bushes in here yet.
"I like these," she admits.
"Me too," he says.
They glance at each other as they pick the ripe ones, and know that something has occurred between them. It's small, nearly imperceptible, but still there. They've given each other something. This could work. This could be their system.
As the months go by they meet everyday. Their meeting places change from peculiar looking trees, to the blueberry bush they almost trampled one day, to large rocks with interesting colors or shapes. Their favorite meeting place is the newest rock they found. Both of them can fit on it and admire the hills and valleys rising and falling beyond the district. It's the best vantage point they've encountered.
"Sometimes I don't want to go back," he admits to her one day, when she's sitting beside him on the rock. It would be considered treason if a Peacekeeper heard him say that, but here it's safe, as long as she doesn't report him.
"Sometimes I wish there were no districts," she says quietly. He looks at her for a long time. She's treasonous too. He nods that he understands.
They learn each other's skills intentionally, and learn about each other unintentionally. More months pass and he's getting pretty good at shooting. She hasn't quite picked up snares yet, but she tries so hard that he doesn't tell her.
"Who carved these markings?" Gale asks.
"My father," she answers after a few seconds.
"Did he teach you how to fire these off?" he points to her pack of arrows.
"Yeah, he was a great shot."
"So when I'm a great shot, will you trade me for a bow?" he asks. It's not the first time he's asked this. It's almost become a running joke between the two of them. He forgets all about his question when he sees her smile. It's the first time she's done that. He's making progress with her, but he's too stunned to return the smile. She looks away.
Katniss changes the topic. "Do you have brothers or sisters?" It seems to her that he needs more food than she needs for her family, but they haven't talked about it. She remembers the family he was with on stage after their fathers died, but doesn't want to ask if they're all still alive. It wouldn't be uncommon if one of them had starved to death, especially considering their circumstances.
"My mom and three younger siblings," he replies.
Katniss quietly lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I'm the oldest too," she tells him.
"How many siblings?"
"Just one, my sister."
"I have a sister too. She's a terror," he laughs. "The other two are brothers. You can meet them sometime…if you want," he offers.
"You can meet Prim too," she says.
"Prim." He says it like he's memorizing it.
Time passes swiftly in the woods where they are together everyday. They hunt down animals, gather berries and roots, and learn tidbits about each other, always careful to give and take, take and give. This is their bond, their covenant with each other. Neither owes the other in hunting or information.
After a year of this routine Katniss is waiting on their rock after school. She couldn't find him after the bell rang, so she thought maybe he was already here. He wasn't and after an hour he still isn't. She's tired of waiting so she hunts and checks and resets his snares, thinking maybe he is sick. She didn't see him at school so it's a logical thought. She only gets a rabbit from his snares and a squirrel from hunting.
Katniss knocks on the Hawthorne's door afterwards. Hazelle opens it and seems surprised that she's not with Gale. Now they're both confused. "I thought he might be sick," Katniss says in an asking tone. She hands Hazelle the rabbit from Gale's snare.
"No, I thought he was with you," Hazelle says with a smile. "Well, I'm sure he's around here somewhere. Thank you for bringing this by though."
The next morning Katniss barely enters the school building before overhearing whispers about Gale. She doesn't want to slyly follow the two catty girls who are talking about him, but they have information she wants.
"-Did you hear about Gale and Batris?
-No, who's Batris?
-The pretty blonde one from a couple grades up.
-Oh. Her.
-Thom saw them together.
-Like together together? .
-Yeah. He said they were making out.
-When?!
-Yesterday.
-Wow.
-I know…she's so lucky."
Katniss pulls her hands into fists. That's why he ditched her? The gossip mill churns all day with rumors about Gale's make out session. Each whisper brings a fresh sting to the aching, open wound inside her. She doesn't need to know that he made out with her between the lockers, or that it lasted "forever," or he's probably dating Batris now, or even worse that people are wondering if Katniss might be jealous of Batris. She's involved now. Great. She prefers being unseen and ignored.
Madge notices that Katniss is upset and wonders if she's jealous. Katniss is, but because Gale missed a day of hunting. Now she's not sure if he'll keep skipping hunting for other activities, and now he owes her: she hunted for them and brought his family food. She doesn't like them not being in balance. It throws off their system. Funny how one day can tip the scales on their arrangement.
If Gale comes to the woods that afternoon she would never know, because she completely avoids their meeting place and hunts further into the valley than they've ever been. It's dangerous being alone. Gale doesn't have her back and this is new territory, she knows it's not a great idea, but she's too frustrated to care.
It's the worst day hunting all year. She only hits one squirrel all afternoon, again, and forgetting how far she is from fence, she leaves too late to make it back before dark. She jogs back to the best of her ability in the dark.
The howls of wild dogs in the area propel her legs forward. Faster, ignore the burn. Faster, there are a lot of howls. Faster, she's utterly alone. They smell her. Katniss senses this, and that they're drawing near. In a panic she takes her lone squirrel out and tosses it behind her, hoping they will stop for the squirrel instead of pursuing her. She's sprinting now. Brushes scratch up her face, and roots catch her feet. She stumbles and hurts her ankle, but she picks herself up and keeps going. The howls dissipate but her fright drives her forward regardless.
The stars are shining in their full glory by the time she reaches the fence. Gale's there, inside the fence. She huffs, irritated that he's there and they're going to have to see each other and speak after the worst day she's had in a long time. She doesn't want to see him. That's why she avoided him at school and in the woods. She wishes he wasn't there to witness her distress. Part of her holds him entirely accountable for all the agitation she felt today, while the other part reminds her that she made her own choices.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Gale warns. "Stop!" The look of pure fear on her face is alarming. He's never seen her like that. What happened to her in there?
Katniss stops for a second but then starts for the hole in the fence again.
"No!" Gale cries out. "The fence is on! The fence is on! Can't you hear it?"
She's stunned, but backs up and sits on the grass. No, she can't hear it. Her ears are ringing. She's breathing heavily, but otherwise they're both silent. He sits opposite her. She doesn't want to talk to him, and he doesn't know how to pacify her when fear mixes with her anger.
A howl cuts through the silence and Katniss jumps. Gale notices her tense. "It was far away, Catnip. It's okay."
She looks at him with contempt. Does she look okay to him? She was just chased by those howling creatures. All she wants is to be on the other side of the fence where it's safe.
The words fly out of her mouth before she can stop them. "Did you enjoy your dinner last night?" Katniss asks.
Gale notices the edge in her voice. He can tell she's mad he missed hunting yesterday. Surely she heard the rumors at school. He heard that everyone heard them, and he's irritated that she knows why he wasn't there. He's curious what is fueling her anger the most. Is she jealous that he was with Batris or frustrated that he wasn't here to hunt with her?
"I didn't eat actually." He can tell this surprises her. "Thank you for bringing the rabbit."
Katniss stares at him. Part of her, a large part, is glad he went to bed hungry. "Why didn't you eat?" she asks.
"Wasn't fair," he responds coolly, making mounds in the dirt.
She has nothing to say to that. It's a truth they both know. "You don't have to wait here," she says finally, twirling the grass in her fingers.
"I'm not leaving you here alone," Gale says.
Katniss glares at him. The build up consumes her and she blows. "You already did that," she snaps.
"Look, I'm sorry about yesterday," he says. "I didn't mean to not come. I just didn't make it."
"Yeah, because you were making out with Batris," Katniss says unkindly.
Curiosity gets the best of him. "I didn't think you would care."
"Of course I care."
He's taken back. Katniss is only thirteen. He figures she's not even thinking about boys yet, not even himself. She's never looked at him like he's anything more than a hunting partner. He assumes that's what they are to each other. He's not entirely sure she considers him a friend, not yet.
Gale can't help himself. "Why?"
"I don't like being out there by myself," she mutters.
It's a safe answer. Of course Katniss doesn't like it. She was by herself today and look at what state she's in now. She's terrified and it's dark out, and she's stuck behind the fence. She probably hasn't eaten anything and her game bag looks pitifully empty.
"If it's any consolation, I don't like it either. I only caught one squirrel."
"Me too." She doesn't add that she threw it away to save herself.
They talk in the moonlight until the fence turns off a couple hours later. The tension is still there, but at least they have some semblance of normalcy back.
The next day at school Gale catches a glimpse of Katniss walking into the cafeteria. Her face is bandaged up in spots. He couldn't see her very well last night so he didn't realize she was hurt. He curses under his breath and yells her name, but she doesn't hear him so he leaves Batris, who is now yelling after him, and dashes into the cafeteria.
Gale catches up to her after noticing that she's favoring her right ankle. What did happen to her in there? She's about to set her lunch bag down at a table. He lightly grabs her shoulder, hoping not to scare her, but she jumps anyway.
She whips around. "Gale," she breathes out.
"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" he asks.
Katniss blushes. Gale has his hands cupped around her face, examining her scrapes, and consequently all eyes in the cafeteria are fixed on them. She puts her hands around his and drops them from her face.
It's the first time any girl has been embarrassed at his touch. He bristles but doesn't know why. He guesses it's because he feels she should trust him. But of course she doesn't. He betrayed her trust by ditching her for Batris.
They sit at the table and Katniss pulls out an apple and a small bit of goat cheese for her lunch. That's all she brought? This is usually what she brings when they come back with nothing from the forest.
"I thought you caught a squirrel yesterday?" he asks.
"I did," she replies hastily.
She's hiding something. Well, considering her wounds too, she has been hiding more than one thing. It stings to not have her trust, to not be her confidant. They were growing close, and he doesn't know how he backtracked so much with her in just one afternoon.
"What happened with the squirrel?" he asks.
She glances over at him and quickly looks away. "I lost it."
He furrows his brows. "You lost it?" She nods casually. "How?"
Her face drains. "I dropped it in the forest."
"You never do that."
Katniss words pour out in an angry rant. "Well I'm not usually chased by a pack of wild dogs in the dark by myself either, am I?"
They stare at each other. Katniss is upset still, and Gale feels guilty and angry with himself. Her words come to life in his mind like a nightmare, and the sight in his head terrifies him. No wonder she acted like that last night. She could have been hurt way worse yesterday than scratches and a hurt ankle, or worse, he could have lost his hunting partner, never to return from those woods.
Madge comes up to the table with her lunch bag and is about to sit, but registers the tension and scurries away to a different table.
"I'm sorry," Gale says. "I won't leave you alone out there again."
She hadn't realized how much she hoped he would say that until he did. The corner of her mouth twitches upward. "Okay."
