She's oddly quiet today, he notes. They've known each other for awhile now, he thinks, so it's that same hard, cold silence that trailed after them when they first met. She's miserable, he thinks.

They get in the woods, and she's gnawing her lip nervously and agitatedly. "I'm gonna go...to the creek." She says, her voice cracking a bit, "And...and find a herb." She brushes by him, hitting his arm as she goes because she's only shoulder-high, anyway. But he grasps her arm and says, "What, Catnip?"

Her voice is watery, and her eyes are still focused on the ground. When he realizes what is going on, he nearly lets her go in surprise. "Catnip?" He says softly.

It's too much. The warrior breaks down, and she lets out a sob that she attempts to quell. "I'm messing everything up." She says, sounding angry over her tears, "I'm sorry, Gale."

He's still too surprised to say much, and says, "Hey, look at me."

She doesn't look and manages to quiet herself, but he's a little annoyed. Stubborn, but she's not helping herself. He slowly sits down, leaning on a tree, and grips her hand. "I won't let go until you tell me." He informs her, and in tears, she collapses beside him. She scoots away and puts her head in her lap and tries to quell her tears.

He's at a loss as to what to do. Tentatively, he reaches out and begins to rub circles on her back. It makes her tense at first, but ultimately makes her tears come faster. "Stop!" She chokes, withdrawing. "Stop it now!" Finally, she looks at him with a brazen expression before swinging drunkenly to her feet, "Just leave me alone! I don't need help!" She turns and flies off in the other direction, leaving him in in shock. "I - I told you to leave me alone! Why don't you listen?" She murmurs shakily as grabs her bow. Leaves.

Her feet crunch on the ground, and he grabs the tree and stands.

Part of him wants to leave. Like, now. He did not enlist himself to deal with a crying teenage girl. He once dated (sort of) a merchant girl and it had lasted a week. Athena. He had had no interest in her emotional outbreaks, but Catnip? He could just leave her here in the woods. Except there's this solid friendship standing in the way, and he's not sure what it means or what it really entails. He's not sure what to do.

But he's pretty sure this friendship is different than the girls he's been with.

Should he just leave? Instead, he tries, "Catnip?"

No answer.

So he hunts, alone, checking his snares and fixing hers until he is by the creek and she's sitting there, shakily tying a snare in a haphazard fashion. He hears her curse in frustration and watches her slam the rope to the ground in irritation. "Catnip? Everything okay?"

She peeks at him, and he catches sight of her tear-stained cheeks, and sighs. "What's up?" He tries again. She wipes her cheek with the back of her hand and mumbles something.

"I didn't hear you."

"Good." She snarls.

He throws his hands up in the air, and says, "Fine. If you're going to be like that, fine. I'll leave you here, Katniss."

A tear trickles down her cheek and she sniffles, attempting to hide it, and she says something else that sounds like, "Why is this so.." she trails off. "You can go." She says, her voice attempting solidity, "I mean, you don't n-need to see this."

"It's okay." He drops his hunting bag and walks over, "What's got you all riled up, Catnip?"

She lets out a shaky sigh as he drapes an arm carefully around her shoulders; she's as tense as a coiled spring and won't lean into the embrace, but he doesn't care too much. He guides her to the ground and sits across from her.

"I-it's nothing much." She says, fumbling with a locket he had never seen before. "I'll be okay tomorrow."

He's unsure of whether or not he should pursue this, but he says, "Yeah?"

Her face crumples and she murmurs, "I found this - under my mother's bed - with a note from my dad. Gale, I haven't cried over it, and I - I guess I thought I just -"

"Hey, you miss him." Gale says softly, "That's okay, Catnip. It's okay."

"I - I know." She lets out a shuddering breath, "I'll be okay, Gale, I promise." And they sit and he waits.

Awkwardly and red-faced, she murrmurs her thanks, but he just says, "That's what friends are for, right? Anyway, if I ever need anything -"

She laughs shakily, a short laugh, but she still wonn't meet his eyes. "I'll be there." She promises.

He doesn't ever see her cry again.

Yay! Thanks for the reviews! I tried to keep this as in character as possible, while editting it on a tablet. It was horrible. Anyway, reviews make me smile.

HS1