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Peeta's POV:
Katniss had been having Peeta weight train more to strengthen his leg so he would be able to balance out the other if he did not have something to use as a cane. He had been working on that for the past couple years so Peeta didn't really see the point in doing further, he just thought Katniss was afraid that he would go barreling into the Games and get himself killed without her there to help him.
This thought kind of pissed him off because he felt like he was running out of time, wasting moments that he could be finding Athena and helping her. So as Peeta weight trained he began to jump into the argument with Katniss, again.
"I want to go in today, Katniss. I should have already left," he begins and seeing her look he feels a spark of anger form inside him. "Don't give me that look, I need to help her."
"For right now, she has been taking good care of herself and you have to trust the fact that she can take care of herself Peeta. She is not weak," Katniss replies, frowning at him.
"And I am? I know she can take care of herself; I did most of her training with her while you were off with Brutus being a pain in the ass. My leg is strong enough to go in, how about you trust what I am telling you." Peeta sighs in frustration and sets down the weights he had been lifting.
"I do trust you and am listening to you, okay? But I am telling that cannot handle this like a lover-sick man who thinks he is going to play hero," she said irritated. Then seeing his face softened her voice a bit, "I am sorry if that was harsh but I just do not want to watch you die, Peeta."
The anger begins to ease away when I look at her, look at how much she is struggling with letting me go with the possibility of watching me die. "It will be okay, Katniss. Hey," he says to her and then walk over to her, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug as she breathes into my chest slow, controlled breathes that were so familiar from our nights in bed together before she decided to be with Gale. "It will be alright, I promise I will come back so I can be as much of a pain in the ass as you are to me."
She laughs softly, causing movement in his chest that causes Peeta's heart to beat harder, more painfully because this is all too familiar and he almost forgot how much he missed holding her.
She looks up at me with those shining grey eyes and my lips part unconsciously while he breathes her in, Peeta's heart is pounding and before he knows it he can feel her breath on his lips. And then she jerks her head back, staring at him with wide eyes and blushing scarlet. Athena's face comes into Peeta's head and his heart begins to hurt, torn between new feelings and old.
"Katniss…" He begins reaching out to her as she pushes Peeta away.
"Don't Peeta," she glares and moves away from him. "I am with Gale, you know that, and what about Athena?"
"Katniss—I just…I, look, I am sorry."
"You're damn right you should be sorry," she says and Peeta begins to feel overwhelmingly guilty. "You just told me you needed to go help her but what happens if you bring her back and…" Katniss trails off and stares at him, unbelieving.
"What? What Katniss?" Peeta's stomach clenches because at this point he had no idea what to expect. But she does not say a word, just keeps staring at him with a haunting expression. "Damn it, Katniss I loved you. Okay? I am sorry if that was hard to get over after years of waiting and then finally having you, only to have you taken away again because you would rather be with another man."
She just keeps staring at him.
"What Katniss? Damn it, say something, just quite acting like I just killed someone."
At first Peeta did not think she would speak, that she would just continue to stare at him with that expression on her face until he finally stormed out of the room. But when she finally spoke, he almost wished she did not.
"I thought you had to be careful not to get your heart broken by her," she begins and frowns, those grey eyes sad and surprised. "But I am not so sure anymore, maybe it is Athena that should be careful not to get her heart broken."
"Katniss, I would never—"he begins to say but is cut off by her cutting glare.
"Wouldn't you? Peeta you almost just kissed me, have you kissed her?" Peeta's face reddens and Katniss shakes her head slowly. "I thought so but she was already hurt by what you said to her before she went into the Games."
"She was hurt that bad?"
"Of course she was hurt, you idiot, she likes you! And at one time that scared the heck out of me but now I am not sure who to be scared for anymore." She shakes her head again, "was she hurt? Why do you think she punched you? It surely wasn't to demonstrate her blinding affections for you at that moment."
"But I didn't mean what I said," Peeta bellowed frustrated. "I was trying to protect her, do you know what Coin and them would say if saw me talking with her intimately? Let alone if I held her or kissed her."
"Peeta," she says slowly. "What do you think the District and Coin is going to say when you leave to go help her? Before you do anything you need to make sure this is what you want because once you leave there will be consequences. Consequences so dire that are not going to be pretty or pleasant."
"I have to do what is right," he whispers, a tenseness entering his shoulders. Peeta stares at the ground for a few moments then looks up at Katniss from beneath his eyelashes. "You said you would help me, Katniss. Will you keep that promise and help me find a way into the Games?"
"Of course," she breathes. "I promised and I will keep my word, you know that."
Peeta smiles, slightly, because it was something that he use to know and used to understand until he discovered that Katniss was not what anyone could call predictable. His broken heart could prove that.
"Good, so then you will help me go into the Games. By tomorrow," I say and watch her reaction with began to crease once she realized he was completely serious.
"Peeta," she starts but he just moves closer to her, towering above her until she understands that with or without her help he would find a way to go. "Alright, tomorrow, but you are taking supplies and weapons with you."
Peeta nods. "Thank you."
"Better for me to help you then you go and get yourself killed," she mumbles unhappily. Peeta just smiles a small smile and reach out to cup her cheek, watching as she stares back at him with cold grey eyes.
"Thank you, really." He drops his hand and steps away from her with a sigh.
Athena's POV:
This place is so strange and beautiful, like a whole other world were the Games do not exist and all you want to do is sit and stare at the beauty that is around you.
A mutated bee flies by us, twice our size and furry with big vibrant wings. "Do you think it is a threat to us?" Julius asks staring at the bee, uneasily.
"Currently? No, but I think it can be if it wants to—like anything designed by the Capitol." I look around at the intricately designed trees with big, smooth leaves canopying us from the heat.
"That's comforting," Julius mumbles squinting above the trees where the giant insect disappeared through the vining's of huge flowers.
"I know," I reply smiling, snorting because it is far from comical but my laughter seems to lighten the mood a bit. "Isn't it?"
We both see the rushing waterfall and glance at each other because our canteens have been empty for a few hours, which hasn't led to dire need but noticeable discomfort due to this humid heat.
"I bet I can beat you there," Julius declares, smirking. I raise an eyebrow at him, laugh, and then push him before starting up my pace to the waterfall. "Hey! No fair, you got a head start."
"Sucks," I call back to him laughing as I increase my speed.
I splash into the cool, shallow water and bring out my canteen to fill and after I purify it I go to fill my other bottle, until I notice the silence around me. I glance back, searching for Julius but I just do not see him.
"Julius?" I whisper into the valley of beautiful trees and flowers. Listening, I hear not a sound except the hum of the enchanted paradise. "Julius, where are you?"
"Athena," a strangled voice manages to call out. Julius. I begin running back to search for him, my eyes flicking over everything in a desperate search.
"Julius," I call out, forgetting to be quiet.
"Ah—th—ah" Julius manages to respond and I rip through the leaves, vines and kicking aside the flowers closing in around me. And then I find him in the grasp of a big, bright-green and orange-checkered snake that coils tightly around Julius' body. Suffocating him.
It only takes a few seconds for me to unsheathe my knives and I stab its thick body until it releases Julius and comes after me.
I pull out more of my knives and jump on the huge, beautifully colored serpent, stabbing knives into its body and stepping on its head until strange neon purple blood drips down its body.
It finally stops moving and I get up slowly, ready to wash the blood from my suite that seems to be covered in neon purple.
"Athena," Julius suddenly gasps weakly. Coughing out the words, slowly. "Watch out!"
I hear a hiss behind me and I whip around in time to get the snakes fangs imbedded in my shoulder. I gasp and grit my teeth painfully, raising my other hand that holds knives and begin sawing off its head quickly.
Julius picks up a gleaming rock and smashes it down on the snake's body, hoping to direct its attention but it only causes it to sink its fangs into me further until I cry out and cut into it harder, more roughly.
And then the body slumps away from the head which impales my shoulder, hanging there like strange, brightly colored armor.
"Julius," I say weakly. "Go back into the woods and find the berries with purple speckled leaves, they will look poisonous but they will help draw the infection out."
"Athena, you don't think…you don't think that thing was poisonous, do you?" His voice sounds so afraid and helpless, like any young kids would.
I shake my head and gritting my teeth I begin to pull apart the locked jaws of the snake head from my shoulder. "No, the leaves and berries are just so the wound doesn't get infected."
He nods, slowly and uneasily, before taking off into the direction of the woods.
"Be careful, Julius." I warn but I am not so sure he heard me because when I look up he is already gone.
I finally get the jaws open enough to slide the fangs out of the meat of my shoulder and I bite down on a stick to keep from screaming, and toss the head away in disgust and anger.
After walking to the waterfall and washing out the wound and blood—mine and the snake's— out of my suite, I inspect my shoulder.
"Damn it," I hiss out because it is worse than I thought. The poison tingles in my shoulder and causes it to go numb as black ink-like substance slitters out where each fang once was.
I try to get up and the world begins to tilt as my head spins, until I lose my footing and fall into a pit of darkness that smells faintly of buttercups and freshly cut grass.
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