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Chapter Two
Peeta's POV
I can see Katniss cringe every time I step on a branch. I try to be quieter, but it's hard with a mechanical leg. She keeps muttering under her breath. I can't hear her, but I can guess she's not complaining about the trees.
I can't help it; I don't like the forest. It reminds me of the first arena. Katniss seems completely at home here, but I keep waiting for someone to jump out waving a sword or a spear. The woods just bring back too many dark memories.
Katniss seems to notice my jumpy nerves because she drops back next to me. "It does that to me too. I keep waiting for the next attack." I know exactly what she is talking about. "The difference is I know these woods like the back of my hand."
We walk for another mile in silence before we come to the deer. She wasn't kidding when she said it was a large buck. The poor beast was huge.
"I can get it, but we'll make slow progress. This isn't exactly a sack of flour."
Every so often, we stop. I'm starting to learn how to read Katniss's emotions again. She won't admit it, but she still hasn't recovered completely and tires quickly. I can see her growing weary, so I insist that we stop. At her suspicious glance, I groan. "This deer is heavy! I mean, if you couldn't carry it Katniss…"
She glares at me but sits down. I think we stop like that about three or four times along the way back.
On one of these occasions, I decide to break the silence. "So, have you been doing alright, Katniss?" Stupid question, I realize. I hardly sleep at night and can barely eat anything; how could she be any better? How could anyone who had come through what we had be 'alright?'
She sighed and answered without looking up from the squirrel she was skinning. "I don't know. I don't wake up screaming anymore. Just tossing and turning… I'm learning to cope. You?"
"I guess the same. I've got lots of questions that no one in 13 or the Capitol can answer for me. Stuff about my life, my memories, the games…" I lean back against a tree and close my eyes, lost in thought.
Katniss's POV
I study Peeta as he rests against the tree. He says that he needs to rest… But I think he knows. Much as I hate to admit it, I just can't go as fast or as far as I'd like. I guess it'll take a long time for the after effects of the morphling to wear off.
Looking at Peeta, I'm starting to see little bits of the old him. The old Peeta that I think I might've been in love with. But right now, neither of us are ready for that.
We get up and trek on for another ten minutes or so when I slow down and let Peeta catch up to me. I look at him, walking along like having the 300 pound deer thrown over his shoulders is a breeze. After much contemplating (or as much as my brain can take) I decide to speak up. "Maybe I have some answers for you. I don't know why you haven't asked me yet. Or Haymitch. We know you better than anybody else alive." I choke on the last word but swallow my tears quickly.
"I thought about it, but I can't ask either of you to relive those times. It's not fair to you both."
I snort. "It's not like we don't relive them every night. Peeta, let us help. Don't tell me that you don't have nightmares."
I hope you liked that! I worked really hard on this chapter. It's hard to write about them being so distant. Please review! I won't post chapter three until I get at least 5 reviews (we'll start small).
-Skittles