Sickness
Katniss looked outside the window, slightly biting her lips at the flurry of white. It wasn't going to be pretty, but they should do it to make the ends meet. Last fall's drought resulted in skinny animals, and no matter how hard they tried to endure on smallest pieces of meat, it was dwindling before the winter even started.
Prim was still asleep, curled up to a ball beside her. She crept out of the bed carefully, spending as little time as possible in the bathroom (the water's icy) and donned her father's old hunting jacket. Slightly warmer, at least.
But as soon as she stepped out from her house, she shivered. What would they do? It was not conducive for hunting. In the blizzard she couldn't see more than a few meters, and the wind would blow her arrow away before she could finish aiming.
Any sane animal would not be outside.
That included sane human.
Guided by her instinct and stubbornness, she reached their meeting place. It took ten minutes for her to make out his outlines walking amidst the whitish scene. "Gale! I'm here!"
Her partner quickened his pace, snow slapping against his body. "C-Catnip..."
Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
She ran towards Gale. His move was not smooth and his eyes were droopy. She held his hands only to find that he had a fever. Before she could say anything, his flushed face crashed down to her shoulders. She was swept in panic, readjusting Gale's position against her body so she wouldn't fall to the ground. He was unconscious, and very hot.
She dragged his body. It wasn't easy, since he was a good one and half head taller than she, and pretty heavy. They headed to the Everdeen's, since it was closer and her mother would know what to do.
Thankfully Mrs. Everdeen was awake by the time she arrived to her house, breath ragged from the efforts. She was shocked at the sight of Gale, but quickly regained her composure and instructed Katniss to help moving him to the bed so she could tend him properly. Prim could be better in helping, but worrying wouldn't accomplish anything so she followed every word uttered by her mother.
It didn't help that the house was crackling everytime it was hit by the wind. The kitchen table was shaky. The whole scene was nerve wracking.
A couple of minutes later his breathings evened, and she sighed in relief. However, her mother didn't look so relieved. She rummaged the cupboard, shuffling around pain reliever and herbs. It didn't take so long until she stopped, stealing a glance at the snow-covered roads.
"Katniss, we ran out of this herb. I don't like to send you out in this weather, but he needs it badly. Go to Mrs. Williams. I gave her some last summer. Hopefully she still has it."
Katniss nodded, proceeding promptly. The lady welcomed her in surprise, but upon hearing her story, quickly fetched a tiny jar filled with yellowing leaves. It was enough for a dose, she told her. She stopped at the Hawthornes, telling Hazelle about her son's condition.
That evening they had little more than meager helping of tesserae grain, so she opted not to eat to give her share to Gale, who was still sweating and muttering random words in his sleep. She was still worried but her mother said that he'd be okay by morning.
He did. She was met with apologetic expression next morning, and he let out a weak 'sorry' when she checked on his conditions. She dismissed them, arguing that he'd do the same for her. He smiled, more like a little child than a sixteen year old at the time.
"Get well soon,"she whispered, staying by the bedside for hours. He rolled in the bed, falling asleep peacefully. They would deal with lack of food tomorrow, but at the time she was willing to starve if that meant her best friend would be alive.
Glad that you enjoy the oneshots as much as I enjoy writing them:) I originally intended that it was Katniss who fell sick, but there were too much Gale-to-Katniss in previous chapters that I want this one to convey Katniss' affection to Gale.