Peeta wandered through the forest he following no path for what seemed like hours, so when he ventured into a meadow Peeta lay on the soft grass with his head resting against a hollow log until the arms of sleep encircled him.
Peeta woke to the sweet call of the Mockingjays. He lay there against the log, the soft grass gently tickling his arms, the sweet smell of the primroses floating through the air. When the sun started to slowly dip into the horizon Peeta stood up and started to walk back. Now he understood why Katniss loved this place so much, the silence, only broken by the gentle birdsong, and the smell, not the stuffy smell that seemed to be emitted from the district but the sweet smell of flowers. Peeta liked this place, and if it could help Katniss come back to him he would love it.
When Peeta returned to his house it was nightfall and he found a bowl of stew waiting for him on the counter in his kitchen, Peeta took the bowl into the lounge and turned on the television. When Snow was president there would be propaganda films on a loop, showing what 'good' his corrupt government were supposedly doing. Now there were real life stories, stories of those in District 13, of those who initiated the rebellion and of course of The Star Crossed Lovers from District 12. After flicking through channels Peeta stopped on the channel with the documentary about him and Katniss.
There was a woman on the screen, long, dark hair falling to her shoulders, her tanned skin shimmering in the sunlight. Peeta could tell that she wasn't from the Capitol by her natural appearance but when she spoke in her Capitol accent Peeta recognised her straight away. Effie. She continued to talk about what sacrifices Peeta and Katniss had been forced to make, Prim, Peeta's family and their relationship. The screen then faded from the face of the more natural Effie, to District 12, the destruction, the re-building, a shot of the victor's village and the mass grave. As if on cue Peeta saw himself appear on the screen, he was standing next to the grave, where he had stood this morning, he saw himself look at the woods and go under the fence and then the television was turned off. Peeta turned around to see Haymitch with the remote in his hand.
"You can't watch things like that you'll just go back to how you were 6 months ago." Haymitch mumbled as he stepped out of Peeta's house.
That night Peeta's sleep was plagued by conflicting images inside his head; Katniss purposefully dropping the tracker jacker nest on top of him, her nursing his leg after Cato cut it, her pushing him into the monkey mutts in the Quarter Quell and the look of determination on her face after she kissed him during one of his flashbacks in the Capitol. What was real?
After a restless night Peeta ventured into town, the rebuilding had begun a week ago and he could already tell the difference. The paths were now clear of debris and the ruins were being demolished and new buildings were being planned. As Peeta walked to the outskirts of town he entered what was left of the Seam, those who had survived the bombings had travelled to other districts after the mines were declared unsafe. Peeta walked around for a while, he had never really been allowed into the Seam as his mother had banned him from venturing into it, but he knew one place, Katniss' old house. She never said it but Peeta thought that Katniss would have preferred to stay in this house after the first games.
Peeta took the same path that he did the day before towards the Meadow. Areas were being covered in soil, showing that the clear up of bodies had ended. For the second time Peeta ventured under the fence and towards the woods.
Sorry that this chapter is short and that I haven't posted in a long time! If I get more reviews then I'll upload faster.
Sorry again, EMee.
