Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING you recognize. ANYTHING you recognize belongs to Suzanne Collins.
I loved the feel of grass on my bare feet. I twisted and danced through the Meadow, trying to avoid stepping on my little brother, who was running around, chasing a grasshopper. I smiled over to my mother, who was sitting, watching us. She had tears in her eyes, and was mouthing something.
I watched her lips, and caught her mouthing our lullaby, the one she would sing to me. ...here it's warm
Here the daisies guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet–
– and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you.
I danced over to her, and wrapped my arms around her. "It's alright, Mama," I whispered. I turned and picked a small flower that was next to me, and gave it to her. This made tears spill over from her eyes.
"Mama?" my little brother, Rie, asked. He ran over, his stubby legs carrying him fast. I helped her up, and walked her over to the bakery, where Daddy worked. Mama still clutched the flower in her hand.
We walked in, and Daddy looked up from his work. "Oh, Katniss. What's wrong?" he asked, walking around the counter to her. Mama clutched him close, sobbing into his chest. "What's wrong, Katniss?" he asked again.
She held up the flower I had handed to her. The primrose sat in her hand, looking beautiful in its simple surroundings. "Prim," he whispered, causing her to sob harder.
"Daddy? Why is Mama crying?" Rie asked. Daddy didn't answer right away, still holding Mama close.
"Mama had a sister once. Her name was Prim, she died fifteen years ago. Exactly fifteen years ago. This is the anniversary of her death," he said, petting her head.
"We have an aunt?" I asked in a hushed whisper.
"Had. She dies when she was twelve," he said. "Come on Katniss. Let's get you upstairs," he whispered to Mama, picking her up, and carrying her to the small bed upstairs.
"Go play somewhere else. Your mom needs some silence for an hour or two, okay?" Daddy said when he came back down.
"Yes sir," I said, taking Rie's hand and leading him out of the circle, and to the Seam.
"Can we go see Aunt Posy?" Rie asked. Posy Rainwell isn't our real aunt, but we call her that.
"Sure," I replied, leading him toward the very edge of the Seam. "Aunt Posy!" I called as we walked up to her house, the last one in the Seam.
"Maggie! Rie! How are you?" Aunt Posy asked, running up to us.
"Okay. Mama had a little break down earlier. Daddy said we had to come to the Seam," I told her.
"Oh, poor Katniss. Well, when she's better, I think we'll go visit her. Oh! Come here you two, I have a visitor I want you to meet," she said, leading us to the house.
We walked in, and saw Uncle Ren, and another man who looked like he could be related to Aunt Posy. "Gale, we have visitors! Get over here!" she said, motioning to the stranger.
"Who are these two?" he asked, then he looked closer. "They must be the Mellark kids I've been hearing about."
"How do you know who we are?" I asked, frowning, and subtly stepping in front of Rie.
"Your mother and I were best friends before the rebellion. Afterwards, we kinda drifted apart. How is she?" he asked.
"Not too good right now. She had a break down a little bit ago. She's upstairs of Daddy's shop," I replied. We continued talking, and he asked many questions about Mama. I think he loved her. I looked at the shadows on the floor, and realized how late it was.
"Rie, come on. We have to get home for dinner," I said, standing up, and grabbing his hand.
Gale reached out to me. "Give your mother this please. Tell her it's from President Paylor," he said, handing me a small pin.
"What is it?" I asked, looking at the small bird holding an arrow.
"The bird is a mockingjay. The pin is a symbol of freedom," he said. "Can you make sure she gets it?" he asked.
"Sure," I replied. "Get up, Rie."
"But I'm tired. Will you carry me?" he asked, his eyes half closed. I picked him up, and bid the adults farewell. I carried Rie all of the way to the bakery, where Daddy had set the table, and Mama was sitting at her seat.
"Mama, I have something for you," I said, setting down. Rie, and walking over to her, the pin pressed to my palm.
"What is it, Maggie?" she asked. I held out my hand, the pin sitting in the middle of it. "Where did you get that?" she asked in a hushed voice.
"Aunt Posy's guest told me to give it, and tell you that it's from President Paylor," I said, shrugging.
"Aunt Posy's guest? Who was he?" she asked.
"Um, his name was... Gale. I think he was Aunt Posy's brother." Mama bolted upright, and scrambled out of her chair. She ran outside, and stumbled down the lane to the Seam. We all ran after her, making sure she didn't hurt herself in her rush. Gale was sitting outside of the little house, looking out at the forest.
Suddenly she stopped, and turned to face us, a devilish smile on her face. She motioned for us to stop running, and put a finger to her lips, telling us to be quite.
Katniss's POV
I tip toed forward, planning to sneak up on Gale. Hopefully the sounds of the city had taken the edge off of his hearing. I was right behind him, and wrapped my hands over his eyes. He jumped, but didn't make any noise.
"Posy, get your hands off of me," he said, prying at the hands on his eyes.
"I'm disappointed, Hawthorne. Letting me sneak up on you like that," I said, shaking my head, letting him go.
"Catnip! Long time, no see," he said, wrapping his arms round me. I hugged him back, hard.
Then I pulled back and slapped his arm. "What the heck? Yeah, let's leave your mentally unstable friend alone in a completely destroyed district, right after her sister died, and her mother left. You are such an idiot!" I yelled.
"I'm sorry, Katniss," he said, wincing at my words.
"Yes, 'cause sorry covers it," I replied, rolling my eyes, hugging him again. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and saw Peeta standing next to me.
"Good to see you again, Gale," he said with a warm smile. Good to see they were finally getting along. Gale let me go, and Peeta pulled me close.
"I thought you had gone insane again when you took off. then I saw who was sitting at the edge of the Seam," he whispered into my ear. I turned to face him, mock horror on my face.
"Me? Insane? Where ever did you get that idea?" I asked. He smiled at me, and I smiled back.
"Katniss, Paylor wants you in the Capitol. She said that it's urgent," Gale said. "That's why she sent the pin, kind of a excuse for me to come."
"Can I bring my family?" I asked, clutching my children close, Peeta's arm wrapped around my shoulder.
"Yes, in fact, she was riding on the fact you wanted to bring them. She wants Peeta to," he replied.
"Okay," I said, "When are we leaving?"
"Tomorrow morning, bright and early," he replied. "Pack up."
I straightened my posture, and my hand shout up to my forehead in mock salute. "Yes sir!"
"At ease, Solider Mellark," he said, laughing at our little inside joke.
"See you 'bright and early' tomorrow, Gale," I said, leading my little family away from the house at the edge of the Seam.
So? What do ya think? Will any opera singing dude with the deep voice squeak like a bunny? Please review!
Rie-A cross between Rue and Prim, or a boy version of Rue, I couldn't decide
Maggie- A cross between Mags and Wiress. Also, I want this to be the female morphling addict's name. Katniss figured this out, and decide that since it was already a cross between two allies, she would make this her first born's name.
Ren- No idea how I can up with this one. Guess I was thinking of Fruits Basket.
Rainwell- What can I say, he collected rain in a well.
*Kyle*