Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games Trilogy, or any of the characters contained therein, and no profit is being made from the publication of this fic.
Summary: They were Tributes, they hated The Capitol, and they loved Rue. Peeta wasn't the only one to fall in love with Katniss, nor the only one she never noticed until the Reaping.
PROLOGUE
The first time Thresh Okeniyi saw Katniss Everdeen, he was impressed, and wished that there were more people like her in the world.
The Tribute from District 12 had been Primrose Everdeen, her little sister, who bore a striking resemblance to little Rue, Thresh's fellow Tribute. The slender, scared twelve-year-old had started walking to the stage, and been waylaid by her brave older sister actually fighting the Peacekeepers to pull Primrose back and volunteer in her stead.
The only Volunteers that Thresh knew of before had been from the Career Districts, and they volunteered for glory, not to save an innocent life from the twisted Hunger Games, as Katniss did. For a moment, Thresh thought that Katniss deserved to win, just for that.
His second thought was that if Primrose reminded him so much of Rue, the little gatherer who worked with his sister and had wormed her way into Thresh's heart, then perhaps the same would hold true in reverse. If Rue reminded Katniss of her sister, then perhaps the two of them could work together to keep the innocent child safe.
For seventy-three years, one thousand, seven hundred and seventy six people had played by the Capitol's rules, dancing to their tune.
In the seventy-fourth annual Hunger Games, Thresh had no intention of playing on anyone's terms but his own.
Watching the other reapings, Katniss thought that the ones who stuck out the most were the Career Districts... and District 11.
The boy was a giant, and would be one of the biggest challanges, but she also saw the hint of protectiveness in his stance, faint but fierce, toward the little girl that reminded her so much of Prim. It tugged at Katniss's heart that there was no-one to volunteer for her, and for a moment, she wished that one of them would win.
Gale would look after her family, and they could survive on cheese from Lady and by Healing those who couldn't afford the Town doctor. Rue and Thresh deserved to go home as much as she or Peeta did.
Katniss had prayed that she would never be in the Hunger Games, hating them to the point that she had decided never to have children, children who would have to stand in the town square, year after year, wondering if they would be the ones sent to their senseless, needless death.
As District 12's first Volunteer, and Female Tribute for the seventy-fourth annual Hunger Games, Katniss refused to be the Capitol's puppet.
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A/N: Warning right now, this is going to be an AU. Katniss is described several times as respecting Thresh, and they both adored Rue and wanted her to survive. There are certainly worse foundations.
Anyway, the next chapter should be up soon, and any constructive criticism is appreciated.
Thanks,
Nat
