A/N: Prim is narrating the story, so it will sound childish at times, along with the way Katniss speaks to Prim.
Gathering
"Wait up!" I call out to Katniss, as she darts into the forest, two woven baskets swinging in her hands. "You know I can't run as fast as you!"
"You can if you try, little duck!" Katniss yells in reply. She still slows down enough so I can catch up to her.
"Where are we going?" I ask, in between puffs of breaths.
"The strawberry patch. Only this time, we'll be going to eat them for ourselves, not to sell. Gale and I happened to shoot down a deer, so we got more than enough money for the week, and it's only Saturday, so we can splurge a little," she replies, grinning one of her rare smiles. I noticed she only smiles around Gale or me and when she's talking about the family.
"What are we going to do with them?"
Katniss' smile grows even bigger. "A lot of things! I know one thing for sure, we'll be eating them right on the spot, little duck!"
"Right on the spot?"
"Right on the spot," Katniss repeats.
I flash back a smile to her as we continue to make our way down to the patch. I don't think I've seen Katniss so happy in a long time.
We make idle chitchat; the topic ranges from Lady to hunting with Gale and to Mama's new customers for the little apothecary she runs in the Seam.
Katniss is the best sister I could ever have. I know I won't ever be as strong or as smart as Katniss, but I still want to have the same virtues as Katniss.
"Here we are," Katniss announces as we approach a small clearing, filled with strawberry plants.
The surroundings are very peaceful. The birds sing together in harmony with the rhythm of the constant trickle from a stream nearby, and the leaves dance with the wind to nature's music. I could stay here all day, if Katniss would let me.
"Once, when I was nine and you were five, Dad took both of us out here. Not to hunt or fish or anything, just to relax and see the world beyond the fence," Katniss says, contentedly.
I sigh, "I wish I could've remembered that, spending the day with you and Dad."
"That's alright, Little Duck. We're here now, right? And I can tell you stories about when we went to the lake with Dad later today, if you would like."
Katniss is always so loving to me. The other kids, they gossip about what a monster she is, scowling the day away. They choose to ignore the fact that I'm her sister, and she's one half of the family I barely have.
"What are you thinking about, Prim?" Katniss asks, bending down to pick a strawberry. She pops it in her mouth.
"Nothing much," I brush off. "Let's go pick some strawberries."
We begin gathering the strawberries. The berries are small, about the size of a ripe acorn, but are plentiful.
"So, what are we going to do with all these strawberries?" I ask.
"Whatever you want, on one condition," Katniss replies, a smile forming on her lips.
"What is it?" I question eagerly.
"That we make strawberry jam," Katniss tells me.
"Jam?" I repeat. "To put on bread? Isn't that that the kind of stuff merchants eat?"
She nods. "Yes, it is. Only ours will be better, I tell you, since we have freshly picked strawberries and Mom's old recipe."
"Mom's recipe?" I restate cautiously.
"She and Dad would make it sometimes. We had to sell most of it though over time," Katniss explains. She pauses, opens her mouth again as if in mid-thought, and closes it again.
Katniss has always been very nervous about talking about our parents, especially Mom. Even around me. She can be very sensitive at times when the topic involves family, but she always hides it away, supposing weakness is for the cowardly.
I quickly change the topic. "So do you remember how to make the jam?"
I can sense Katniss perk up already. "Kind of, but I want to ask Mom for the official recipe. That way we'll make it just like I remember it, sweet but with the right zest of tartness."
"We'll need a lemon and sugar, as well. Of course, Mom and Dad used to cut out the sugar, as it's incredibly expensive, and would replace it with honey, which we can easily trade for," Katniss continues. "As for the lemon, I suppose we can trade some of our strawberries and a few other things I've hunted. I'll find a way."
Katniss is so persistent, willing to make our family stand together through all the hard times, even if it's only hanging by a thread. If she sets her mind to do something, she'll do it, despite everything around her.
"Anything you want to do with the strawberries?" Katniss asks, looking towards me.
"It would be nice if we could just save a few to eat by themselves, plain and simple. It's getting hotter and hotter outside, so they would be nice after a long, warm day," I answer.
Katniss nods.
We continue picking the strawberries, twisting the stems and pulling the fruits off the runners. We pop a few in our mouth from time to time, relishing the sweet, raw taste of the berries.
"About how many do you have so far?" Katniss calls to me.
"I filled up the entire basket," I reply.
"I believe I have the same amount as you. I think we've got enough."
I stand up, brushing the dirt off of my legs. Katniss does the same and walks towards me. She peers into my basket. "Nice job," she compliments me.
"Should we go get the honey, now?"
"I almost forget, and yes, we should."
She takes me hand and we begin making our way out of the forest.
The sky is beginning to darken, turning into several vibrant shades of orange. "The sunset looks nice," I comment.
Katniss dips her head back to look at the sky. She turns and smiles at me. "It does," she tells me.
We sneak under the fence and walk through the Seam. "I have to make a short trip back home to get some things to trade with," Katniss says.
I wait outside of our meager house, and she returns with a few squirrels she shot in the peak of the morning.
"Does the Hob ever close?" I ask Katniss.
She shakes her head. "When it gets darker, there are fewer people, of course, but there are always a couple of traders here and there."
The Hob is dark and musty, smelling strongly of coal. Several passersby tip their head towards Katniss, which she returns with a curt nod. We finally approach an old woman with several jars of honey laid out in front of her. "How much do you want for it?" the woman asks brusquely, pointing to the jars.
Katniss holds up her squirrels and the strawberries. "How much are you willing to trade for a jar?"
The woman replies, "I'll take a squirrel and a quart of strawberries."
Katniss hands her a squirrel, and the woman measures out a quart with a rather dirty plastic container.
"Thank you," the woman replies.
"A pleasure to trade."
"I don't think I could've gone here without you, Katniss," I murmur.
"I used to feel the same way Little Duck, I couldn't come here without Dad."
The sky still holds some light, so we quickly head over to the grocer's. The grocer always appreciated some freshly picked strawberries, I learned. Katniss quickly settles a deal of a lemon for yet another quart of strawberries.
We're still left with an entire basket of strawberries. Katniss holds up the lemon and the jar of honey. "I think we made some good barters today," she remarks.
The sky transforms into a nearly complete pitch black, and we trudge home, guided by the stars, clutching onto our trades and harvests.
A/N: Thank you for reading! This story will be a three-shot and will deal with talking about Katniss' family, especially her mother, later on. I hope this story was a pleasure to read, and I hope you have a great day!