Chapter 25

Dinner was going to be a disaster, Katniss already knew it. The victors were still coming over of course and her mother was in a frenzy as she hastily prepared a dinner for thirteen. Katniss had been delegated to scrubbing potatoes and her mother had even overcome her fear of Cato for long enough to shove a knife in his hand and set him cutting carrots. Gloss had been sent into town to get bread from the bakery, Enobaria was forcing Haymitch into a vaguely presentable state.

As she stood elbow deep in warm water, Katniss couldn't help but watch the way Cato worked. The knife was sure in his hands but he frowned down at the tubers in front of him. He was trying to cut the carrots into whole disks, the vegetable rolling around on the chopping board as he did. Katniss dried her hands and walked over to Cato.

She dropped the towel on the work bench in his field of vision and wandered over to him. That was the trick with Cato; if he knew you were coming and you acted openly then there were no issues.

'Cut it in half first.' She suggested as she got closer. He cut it in half without looking at her and continued chopping.

'No, lengthways.' She wanted to take the knife off him and demonstrate but Cato wouldn't want her that close. He did as she instructed, slicing the rest of the vegetable into little half moons much faster. He gave her a quick smile before doing the same to the next one. She went back to her potatoes.

Over the afternoon they chopped cabbage, plucked a couple of chickens and shelled a basin of peas. Brutus eventually turned up and volunteered to sweep and mop the floor, Katniss suspected because he didn't want to be in the same room as her mother.

Then came blessed relief as her and Cato were sent to get herbs and fresh flowers. Usually they would never have had to buy herbs but with Katniss hadn't been out to the woods since they got home. Cato was almost always with her and as much as she trusted him, he was a career; one of the capitol lap dogs as Gale called him. She wasn't sure if she trusted him enough to show him the woods.

The bought the herbs from a stall in the hob and she nodded to Greasy Sae as they passed. Cato and Greasy Sae had hit it off surprisingly well, maybe because he never criticised her soup, maybe because he always paid with gold coins. "Paying for beef" he had said when she asked. She wondered if he knew that Greasy Sae didn't give clean bowls to just anyone.

Then they went to the meadow to pick flowers. It was pretty late in the season but between them they managed to scrape four bunches. Then she sent Cato off to get fresh rosemary from the hedge around the victor's village. She faltered at his blank look. Didn't he know what rosemary was? Of course he didn't, he was a career and careers didn't bother learning survival skills.

Frowning, she showed him the rosemary, then because they were ripe she showed him the blackberries as well. They gorged themselves of the tart berries and she avoided Cato's gaze; he was looking at her with that look again, the one that she couldn't quite decipher.

By the time they got back, flowers and herbs in tow and fingers stained with purple juice, it was almost dinner time. Cato went home train for a bit and Katniss went up to change.

When Gale had confronted them in the meadow she'd been too shocked to really respond; since she got back she'd been so wrapped up in herself, her nightmares and how much she missed… no, she couldn't think about him. Then Cato had come and swept her away, making her busy again. She'd almost completely forgotten about Gale. Asking him to dinner had really been a play for time to think about what to say. Maybe she could use the dinner to convince him that the careers weren't so bad really. Maybe if he could accept such bloodthirsty killers, she wouldn't feel like such a leper around him.

What he had said had hurt, but the worst bit was when he accused Cato of killing children. She'd killed children too – what made her any different? Of course she did it because she had to, Gloss said she had only done what she needed to survive. That didn't stop the dead tributes and… him… haunting her dreams.

She wasn't blind, she noticed the stares of people as she walked down the street. The first couple of days she'd just assumed they crossed the road to get away from Cato, then she snuck out on her own to pick up her hunting boots and jacket from the old house and people acted the same way to her alone. She was eternally grateful to Cato for letting her believe they were afraid of him, taking the glares and stares because he was even worse than her.

The door opening downstairs broke her out of her thoughts and she hurried to change out of her blackberry covered clothes and into something cleaner. Enobaria's voice drifted up from down below and she paused to listen.

'… you must not spoil this for her. Earning sponsors face Cato.' She heard Cato grumble something in agreement, then 'what is that on your shirt? I don't care, go change.' The door slammed and she heard his heavy footsteps as he stomped over to his house.

She came downstairs just as careers were dropping their armoury of knives into the basket by the door. Much to the annoyance of all of them, Katniss' mother had banned any weapon in the house after Cato had almost gutted Haymitch for pushing the salt down the table. Admittedly it did sound a lot like he was drawing a sword but it had been the final straw in a long line of furniture damaged by jumpy victors.

Haymitch stumbled in a couple of minutes later, dropping his own rusty knife on top of the pile of career's gleaming weapons. Surprisingly he only smelled slightly and he'd even shaved. Enobaria could work miracles on him when she had the patience to try.

Then someone knocked at the door. All conversation stopped; everyone immediately knew it was the Hawthorns - nobody else bothered to knock anymore. Gloss was the closest to the door and he went to get up to let them in before Haymitch's hand on his arm stopped him. Katniss stood instead and forced herself to take deep breaths as she approached the door.

She'd been broadcast to every citizen of Panem, she could speak to a friend.

Maybe.

She reached the door and opened it quickly before she could chicken out.

It was little Rory who had knocked. He held a bunch of primroses tucked behind his back which she knew were a gift to her sister. He'd had an obvious crush on her for as long as he'd been aware girls existed. Behind him stood Hazelle with her two youngest and behind her stood Gale. She plastered a smile on her face, welcoming them into the entry and waited whilst they took off shoes and jackets. She smiled genuinely at the three youngest children's awestruck faces as they took in the marble floors and the chandelier that cast the room in steady, bright electric light. Luckily neither Hazelle nor Gale noticed the basket of gleaming weapons, too amazed by the house. If she hadn't just come from the capitol, Katniss imagined she would have had a similar expression when she arrived for the first time.

Then came the difficult part. She led the family into the dining room where everyone else waited around the table. It had been laid with the best cutlery and real candles burned in matching silver holders down the spread. Even from behind she could see the exact moment the guests' eyes moved from the table and noticed Brutus, Enobaria and Gloss.

In moments Hazelle had swept all but her eldest behind her back and Gale had turned furiously on her. Quick, but Katniss knew if the careers had been wanting to hurt anybody they'd all be dead by now.

'What the hell is this Katniss?' He hissed at her. Enobaria stepped smoothly around the table, holding both her hand up where they could see them.

'We're her supervisors.' The woman started quickly.

'Babysitters.' Haymitch coughed from behind her. Enobaria's gentle expression disappeared as she whipped around to glare at him. It was back in place again before she once again faced the Hawthorns.

'Please sit down so we can explain?' She pleaded, gesturing to the empty seats. The places had been arranged so Brutus and Cato, the most intimidating pair were furthest away, with Prim and Katniss' mother next to the family of five. Katniss would be opposite Gale so they could talk things over. At that moment the door swung open again and Cato rushed through. Now trapped between him and the others, the Hawthorns reluctantly took their seats. Cato went to follow them but Katniss' mother stopped him with a glare.

'In the basket by the door please.' She ordered quietly and Cato obediently froze, backtracked and they heard the clatter as his gold knife joined the others in the collection. He reappeared a moment later, strolled to his chair and pulled it out with a loud scrape that had everyone wincing. Every eye followed him as he sprawled out and the chair.

'C…Cato Stone…?' Hazelle stuttered. She looked like a cornered animal, checking every potential escape route. She was on the wrong side of the table to be running for the door. 'Is… is he safe?' She asked, looking helplessly around the other victors.

'Of course, we would never put you or your children in harm's way.' Gloss reassured as he took a seat, leaving only Enobaria and Mrs. Everdeen standing. Hazelle looked less than reassured as Katniss' mother hurried into the kitchen to get the first course. Brutus glared meaningfully at Cato who glared back stubbornly.

'Job of the youth to help their elders.' The massive man finally muttered as he heaved himself to his feet. Cato smirked from where he lounged in his chair as his mentor stomped into the kitchen to help carry in the massive pot of soup.

'I hope you're hungry, we have carrot soup to start with.' Katniss' mother announced, ladling a generous portion into everyone's bowls as Brutus carried it around the table as if it weighed no more than a feather. Once everyone was served, Brutus left the pot in the kitchen and reemerged with two baskets of fresh bakery rolls.

The eyes of the children were like saucers at the sight of all the food and Gale even seemed a little reverent as he broke into the crisp white bread. Katniss had forgotten how much of a delicacy this bread was in her district.

'Every victor needs 24 hour supervision after the games from another victor.' Enobaria started into the silence as everyone tucked into their soup. 'Of course, Haymitch could hardly do that for Katniss alone, so Gloss and myself came to help.' She paused as she dipped a chunk of roll into her soup and stuck it in her mouth, teeth glinting in the candlelight.

'I'm still supervising Cato as well though, so he had to come along with Brutus, his other supervisor.' She gestured to each victor as she mentioned them. 'You must be Gale of course, and Mrs. Hawthorne, Katniss has spoken about you.' She hadn't but nobody needed to know that. 'And who are these little soldiers?' Enobaria practically cooed as she looked at the youngest children.

'I'm Vick and this is Posy, my little sister. That's Rory-bum; he wants to be Prim's girlfriend.' Answered the middle child, too young to have sensed the tension in the air. Both Prim and Rory turned scarlet.

'Oh really… do you like anyone Vick?' Enobaria's conversation with the children continued and aside from the scraping of spoons it was the only sound at the table. She really was good with children, Katniss noted and she was pleased to see Hazelle relax as the children warmed to the fearsome woman.

'This is incredible food Evelyn.' Hazelle said to Katniss' mother. It really was; her mother had outdone herself. The richly flavoured soup was thick and creamy and Brutus had managed to mash it completely smooth. Pepper specks gave it a spicy flavour, something they'd never been able to afford in the seam.

'Thank you, it's got a herb in it called "coriander". It's from district 2, Brutus gave me some.' Katniss and Cato shared a look. They hadn't been aware that the two had been even on speaking terms. In fact, Katniss had thought her mother hated the massive career victor.

'It's fascinating really; they have so many things in district 2. It's much bigger than here of course and it's like a series of towns. Then there's a fortress underground where they train the peacekeepers.' Katniss had heard none of this before, Cato's district was one of their bad topics, mainly because all his time there had been centred around the games. Clearly Brutus and her mother had been talking a lot.

The conversation finally settled into a comfortable rhythm. Once the soup was finished, Cato and Enobaria brought out the roast chickens and vegetables, prompting wide eyes from the Hawthorns. Katniss remembered how she'd felt when she'd first seen a meal this big on the tribute train. It was strange, thinking of her life then and now.

Gale didn't say a word over the entire dinner, just glared across the table at Cato who was also silent. Once, Katniss caught him spinning his butter knife between his fingers. It was a habit of his that she'd noticed from when he was feeling nervous or unsettled. It was a dangerous sign. He needed to calm down.

'… Things are a little tighter than they used to be of course, what with Gale working in the mines 6 days of the week.' Hazelle was saying. 'It's a shame Katniss can't help us out like she used to but we'll get by, like always.' Guilt flooded through her. Katniss had completely forgotten about their family and covering their snares trail to help Gale had never even occurred to her. She'd have to find some way to work it into their schedule. I would be difficult to shake Cato, he was almost always with her when she left the house. Could she trust him to come with her? Maybe, it was a difficult question to answer.

Dinner ended without Katniss and Gale exchanging a word. Katniss' mother managed to persuade the Hawthorns to take home all the leftovers, claiming that they would be better appreciated by their family. That was of course true, Katniss probably had almost as much money as the rest of the district combined and the three careers probably had even more.

They were invited over by Enobaria next week to sample a district 2 meal, which Hazelle graciously accepted. Then Katniss offered to walk them to the gates, which of course meant Cato would be going too.

Katniss slipped on her hunting boots and her leather jacket as Cato picked up his knife from the basket. Hazelle's eyes widened as she noticed the gleaming gold blade but Cato didn't seem to notice her watching him as he tucked it into his belt.

They reached the gate to the village where Cato fell back to allow Katniss to say goodbye. She managed to give the children and Hazelle a quick hug before Gale pulled her aside.

'Do you realise who these people even are Katniss?' He hissed at her.

'Of course, Gale. They're helping me.' She hissed back in reply, she had been expecting this so she was more prepared this time.

'How many dead kids were there around that table or doesn't that bother you.' This rubbed her up the wrong way.

'I've killed kids too Gale, we all did what we had to to survive.

'Survive? They spent their lives training for it. They volunteered to become murderers. Doesn't that say anything to you?' Katniss drew in breath to argue but Gale continued on without a pause. 'I know, you volunteered to save your sister though. Not because you wanted to.'

'Who says we're not volunteering to save people too, Hawthorn.' Cato demanded from right behind her. Katniss jumped and instinctively spun, sending a fist flying to strike him. He knocked it aside with contemptuous ease, his furious gaze never leaving Gale.

'Tell me, how many little kids from 2 have fought in the games. How many twelve year old have we let die?' He paused to let what he said sink in. 'We volunteer to save kids we've never even met. Does that make us monsters in your eyes, Hawthorn?'

It was an incredible, eye opening realisation. Katniss had never heard of volunteering put like that and it did make it seem very noble. Why shouldn't they try to give themselves the greatest chance of coming home that they could?

Gale narrowed his eyes and turned away from them without a word, stalking away after his disappearing family.

Please enjoy. If you spot any errors or even anything that I could phrase better, feel free to point it out. Read, review and share the love.

Did I mention cows are really dumb; you have to show them water when you put them in a new pasture or they'll die of thirst before they try to find it. They're also immortal. We had to cut a neighbour's cow out of one of our herds and it fell over in front of the car. I actually felt the wheels bump over it's neck and legs and I thought I'd killed it. Then it just got up and kept running!