Heather's heart almost jumped from her heart. Her entire body froze and she couldn't move a finger. Knowing how bad she would react, Haymitch rushed to her side and pulled her in his hold. He wanted to reassure her and speak words of comfort, but he couldn't come up with anything to say.

They both stared helplessly at the screen as Katniss fled from the flames. She was fast and she seemed to follow the other animals around her, which was smart since they had better instincts than her. Katniss covered her nose, trying to prevent herself from inhaling the smoke that surrounded her more than natural air.

Haymitch heard a sharp deep intake of breath from Heather when Katniss bumped over a burning log. The tail end of Katniss's jacket caught on fire and she momentarily stopped to take off the jacket and stamped out the flames then shoved it in her sleeping bag.

Katniss began to cough and she took shelter under a rock. Soon, the vomiting sounds echoed through the speakers. Haymitch took this moment to turn his attention to Heather.

She was still in the same position, not moving an inch. Her face was still expressionless as she looked at the screen with no emotion whatsoever. He gently lifted his hands and tried to make her face him but Heather took his hands off her. Instead, she held onto one of his hands. It didn't look like she was going to release it anytime soon.

Haymitch didn't know what to do, which was weird because he always knew how to comfort her. Looking back to the screen, he saw Katniss was trembling and gasping for air. She rinsed her mouth with water and took a few sips afterwards.

Katniss stayed still in her place and reorganized her things. When she was done, she seemed to be thinking hard about something, probably where to go from there. However, it seemed that the Gamemakers didn't like how long she was taking to make a decision as a fireball blasted into the rock, not far away from her head.

Motivated by this new threat, Katniss started to run again.

She suddenly threw herself on the ground and the next second, a fireball hit a tree to her left, engulfing it in flames. Thankfully, Katniss had a good sense in which she knew that if she remained still, she'd die. She was barely on her feet before a third ball hit the spot she was laying on a few seconds ago.

Katniss coordinated the directions at which the fireballs were being thrown from the hissing sounds.

Fortunately, the fire attacks seemed to be almost over. Pausing her movements, her ear was ready to anticipate another attack. When nothing happened, she leaned her hands on her knees and it looked like she was going to vomit again. Tears came out of her eyes. It was then that Katniss noticed her singed hair. Her hand fumbled to her braid and discovered that a fireball seared off long inches of her hair. If anything, Katniss looked shocked at this realization than sad at the loss of her hair.

She was focused on this before she noted the return of the hissing. Sadly, her reaction was too late. A fireball crashed into the ground at her side and burned her right calf. She scrambled backward on her hands and feet, shrieking. She rolled the leg back and forth on the ground and then ripped away the remaining fabric.

Settling on the ground, her calf was looking horrible and her hands were covered in red welts. She was shaking terribly. The Gamemakers could finish her off now if they wanted to but they didn't. Katniss was too popular for them to do that, Haymitch concluded. However, them stopping wasn't good news either. It meant that there was another tribute in the area for her to interact with.

Haymitch pulled his attention from the screen and turned to Heather. She still appeared to be in shock. Haymitch gently grabbed her by the shoulder and hugged her. She was shivering and trembling as if she was freezing. Haymitch gave her some time to calm down before he lifted her up.

"Let's get you to bed," he told her. Heather didn't respond and leaned her head on his shoulder.

He entered one of the empty rooms and placed her on the bed. He covered her with the blanket. As he was about to leave, Heather grabbed the edge of his shirt.

"Kat," she began. "She's fine, right?"

Haymitch nodded. "She is."

"And, you'll send her medicine if she needs it?" Heather asked.

"Of course," Haymitch said.

"Promise you'll tell me what happened. Even if it's bad," Heather requested.

Haymitch gulped, wondering how he would handle that later but he agreed nonetheless. Anything to get her to sleep. She was exhausted, he could tell.

A few moments after he left her room, Heather came out. Her blanket was wrapped around her, dragging behind, and she had her pillow on her arm. Without any explanation, Heather placed the pillow on Haymitch's lap, then laid down with her head on it.

Watching Katniss run away from the fire undoubtedly made her feel useless. Guilt ate at her even though she knew that there was nothing she could've done. At this point, she was stuck between doing what was necessary and following her heart blindly. There was a huge urge to run and get out of the room where she was witnessing the horrific things that Katniss was made victim to. But she knew that if she were to go, something serious might happen to Katniss without her knowing of it.

The word death nagged her at the back of her head but Heather deliberately ignored it. In the end, there was nothing to do but to not blink and stare at the screen in horror, in anticipation and in hope, knowing that even if something were to occur, Heather wouldn't be able to do anything. Since that is what she was now, helpless.

With these horrid thoughts going through her mind, Heather slowly fell into an unconscious state.

"Haymitch! Look who came here," Heather exclaimed excitedly. He had left her with Johanna when she woke up and went into his room to sleep. Watching the games mess with one's sleeping schedule, especially for the mentors. Currently, it was nighttime.

"Heya, Mitchie," a new voice spoke.

Haymitch groaned at the sight of Jomilee, the victor of the 33rd from District 9. Up to this day, he didn't know why Heather was friends with that woman. It wasn't that he hated her but Jomillee liked to tease him and unlike Heather, she was successful most of the time.

"Pleasant fella, isn't he?" Jomilee said. Heather giggled and even Johanna cracked up a smile.

Haymitch's demeanour softened at the sound of Heather's laughter. He couldn't recall the last time he heard the sound and he was glad to be able to listen to it once again. Feelings his eyes on her, Heather met his eyes on her and smiled then pointed to the dining room. "I made you a plate."

Of course, she did, Haymitch thought as he nodded. Even if she was worried sick with currently watching the games, Heather wouldn't fail to think of him and his well-being. If only she could apply the same for herself. By the time he re-entered the sitting room, Heather and Jomilee were standing in front of the door and they were hugging.

"Thank you for coming, Jomilee," Heather said.

"Of course, petal," Jomilee pulled a strand of hair behind Heather's ear affectionately. "I couldn't possibly leave you alone with these cranky heads."

Both Haymitch and Johanna shot daggers at the old woman.

Heather laughed and hugged her again. "Say hi to Laurel and the others for me," Heather said, referring to the other District 9 victors.

"No problem," Jomilee said. "And hey, feel free to stop by anytime."

"You got it," Heather promised.

Haymitch waited a few minutes following Jomilee's departure then asked, "So, what did I miss?"

Heather filled him in. She told him about how Katniss spent the rest of the morning to recover in the pool and then climbed high into a tree when she heard the Careers coming her way. Currently, they were camping under her tree.

Haymitch sensed that there was something that Heather wasn't telling him and narrowed his eyes at her. He knew that Heather must've done something as she was calm when she recounted the recent events.

Heather looked away, "I may or may not have sent her something."

"Things," Johanna corrected then looked at Haymitch, "I tried to stop her, but for someone small, she's strong."

She cradled her arm, recalling the way Heather twisted it. It wasn't painful but Heather held it in a way that made it impossible for her to move.

Haymitch sighed, "What did you send her?"

"A bottle of soup, water, and burn medication," Heather answered. She then told him how much it costed.

He nodded. This wasn't bad. Hopefully, though, Katniss would realize that this was Heather's doing and not his. That way she wouldn't get her hopes up for help when she was going to be in trouble next time.

"Heather," Johanna called out. "Come see this."

Heather looked at the screen and saw Rue, the little girl from District 11. Katniss also seemed to acknowledge her presence as well and was staring at her. Rue pointed to something above her head.

The camera zoomed in at where Rue was pointing at. It became blurry then the image of a wasp nest became clear. Heather gasped as she realized that it was a tracker jacker nest. The viciousness of these species was indescribable. Messing with them would be equal to immediate death.

Anxiousness greeted Heather again in its hold as she waited for Katniss to do something upon discovering this. A few minutes later, she made her way up the tree. This was really dangerous as the branches were becoming grievously thin, especially for someone with Katniss's weight. She reached the branch that supported the nest.

Just as the anthem blared out, Katniss began to saw the said branch with her knife. Instantly, Heather became aware of her plan. While she didn't care about the Careers, Heather wouldn't wish a tracker jacker sting like this upon anyone. Katniss was almost done when the music ended which forced her to stop.

Apparently, Katniss's blisters reappeared so she applied the ointment that Heather sent her again. She took a gulp of water then settled in to sleep.

Heather relaxed at the prospect of nothing else happening.

"Shame she didn't get to drop the nest," Johanna exclaimed. If she didn't know Johanna, Heather would assume that she said that because she was bored. However, Heather knew that Johanna just wanted this to be over. Unlike Heather, who wanted this to continue to drag on for fear that something terrible would happen.

Johanna then bid her good night and retired into her bedroom for the night. Heather remained in her seat and kept her eyes trained on Katniss and Peeta's sleeping figures. They looked so peaceful and safe. It was an inhumane act to take happy children from their homes and put them in an isolated place to kill others. Heather hated this feeling of helplessness that the Capitol brought on her every day.

Haymitch came over and sat next to her. Heather moved closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. She turned to face him and attempted to smile, "Hey."

"You want to talk?" He asked.

"What's there to talk about?" Heather said distantly. Then, a yawn escaped her.

"Honeybee," Haymitch grabbed her by the shoulder and made her face him properly. "You saw how she had handled the fire earlier. Katniss is going to be okay."

"It's not just Katniss that I'm worried about."

Haymitch looked at her, his face giving no hint as to what he was feeling, "We can't save them both."

"I know, I know, you don't need to tell me," Heather stood up. "I'm going to bed."

He wanted to call out for her, not wanting her to go to bed frustrated with him but at the same time, he didn't want to bug her. It was annoying him. Normally, he knew how to deal with Heather but these days she was distant from him and he didn't like the feeling it brought on. He feared that if either Katniss or Peeta died then Heather would separate herself from him. Later, he shook that thought. Heather wouldn't abandon him but her sanity might.

She was a strong person. But even she had her limits.

That night, Heather couldn't get a blink of sleep. Nightmares plagued her. Each time she tried to close her eyes momentarily, scenes of her tributes dying would flash in her mind and she couldn't deal with it. It was mentally impossible for her to get some sleep even though her body demanded it.

In the end, when Johanna came to wake her up, she found Heather sitting in her bed with dark circles formed under her eyes.

Johanna and Haymitch were worried about her. They both felt like such failures for being unable to comfort her. Heather didn't pay attention to them nor to her food and kept staring at the screen.

Suddenly, they heard her take a sharp breath intake. They turned to the screen, Katniss had begun to cut off the tracker jacker's nest once again. It seemed that one had found her as she expressed a look of pain, but she still kept going. And just as the knife cut through, she shoved the end of the branch far away from her. It crashed down through the lower branches until it smashed with a thud on the ground. Immediately, the nest burst open like an egg, and a furious swarm of tracker jackers swarmed the air.

Three tracker jackers didn't leave Katniss and continued to sting her. Katniss clinged to the tree with one arm while ripping the stingers out of her skin. Fortunately, only these three tracker jackers identified her before the nest went down. The rest of the insects have targeted their enemies on the ground.

It was a mayhem. The Careers woke up to a full-scale tracker jacker attack, obviously, something that they hadn't anticipated. At least, Peeta and a few others had the sense to drop everything and bolt. One of them even cried out, "To the lake! To the lake!"

It must've been close if they thought they could outdistance the furious insects. Glimmer and the girl from District 4, on the other hand, were not so lucky. They received multiple stings to the point where Glimmer became completely mad, shrieking and trying to bat the wasps off with her bow. She called to the others for help but, of course, no one returned. The girl from District 4 staggered toward the others but it didn't look like she would be able to make it to the lake.

Finally, Glimmer fell, twitching hysterically around on the ground for a few minutes, and then went still. Heather didn't notice the tears streaming down her cheeks until Haymitch tried to wipe them away for her. She pushed his hands away and rubbed her cheeks furiously, ignoring the hurt look on Haymitch's face.

Katniss scrambled down the tree and hit the ground running in the opposite direction of the lake. The poison from the stingers made her wobble, but she was able to find the little pool from earlier and submerged herself in the water. After about five minutes, she got out. Green liquid oozes from the places where she pulled out the stingers.

Suddenly, Katniss got up on her feet and ran to the tree she was in earlier. Heather was confused as to what she was doing until she saw her approaching Glimmer, who still had the bow. The bow that Katniss was after.

Glimmer was unrecognizable. Her features eradicated, her limbs three times their normal size. The stinger lumps began to explode, spewing putrid green liquid around her. It was such a horrifying sight that it was a wonder that Heather could hold down her bile. Unfortunately, the same thing can't be said for Johanna, who ran to the bathroom to down her breakfast in the toilet.

Katniss broke several of what used to be her fingers with a stone to free the bow. Another horrifying sight. The sheath of arrows was pinned under her back. Katniss tried to roll over her body by pulling on one arm, but she fell back on the ground.

It took Heather a few seconds to realize that the hallucinations started. Katniss closed her eyes tight and breathed through her mouth. A cannon fired for the girl from District 4.

The birds fell silent and then one gave the warning call, for the hovercraft that was about to appear. Katniss lurched back onto her knees and she looked to be dizzy. When she saw the hovercraft, Katniss threw herself over Glimmer's body as if to protect it.

However, the hovercraft lifted the dead body of the girl from District 4 and vanished. It seemed that the Gamemakers wanted to give her a chance to retrieve the bow and arrows.

"Do this," Katniss said out loud as if ordering herself to do this deed. Clearly, she was fighting the side effects of the tracker jacker's stings. She dug her hands under Glimmer's body and forced her on her stomach.

Katniss was panting now. Whether it was exhaustion or rioting against the symptoms of the stings, Heather didn't know but she was worried nonetheless. It took some time but Katniss got the bow and sheath of arrows.

Just as Heather's heart was about to calm down, it nearly shot out of her throat when she saw that the Careers came back to reclaim their stuff. It was too late for Katniss to run.

Thankfully, Peeta was the first to arrive. He was wet and his clothes clung to his body, no doubt a result of his swim in the lake. Peeta was shocked at the sight of Katniss, not expecting her. But then he recovered and rushed over to Katniss's side.

"What are you still doing here?" He hissed at her. Katniss didn't respond and stared at him. "Are you mad?" he prodded her with the shaft of the spear. "Get up! Get up!" Katniss got up and Peeta continued to push her away before anyone else arrived.

In the highlights screen, the camera switched to show a shot of Cato slashing his way through the brush. Peeta realized that too and shoved Katniss away from him. "Run!" he screamed at her. "Run!"

After Katniss ran away, the camera refocused on Peeta and how he was fighting with Cato. Obviously, Cato was winning as he had more experience but Peeta was able to handle his own for the time being. On a positive note, the fight wasn't really intense as they were both affected by the tracker jackers's stings.

Heather gasped when Cato managed to slash Peeta's leg. Suddenly, Cato turned his attention from Peeta and his eyes widened in horror. It seemed that the hacullentaion stings' venom had started. Peeta had the great sense to take advantage of that and run away. However, he wasn't able to get far away because of his leg injury.

In a sloppy manner, Heather reached for the laptop. Haymitch, knowing what she was going to do, sat next to her and looked over her shoulder, just to make sure she wasn't doing anything reckless.

Heather paused for a moment, thinking about what she wanted to send him before she began to type. In the end, she selected a cane, a mini kit filled with bandage and medicine for his leg, and dried fruits so he'd survive. It didn't affect his sponsors' money but it did take a chunk out of it.

Haymitch wanted to tell Heather to wait so they could see how Peeta would handle his situation. But he didn't dare to open his mouth for fear that Heather might direct her rage towards him.

Luckily, it took some time before the items reached Peeta. By the time they did, Peeta was halfway through camouflaging himself into the ground by a stream of water. Heather didn't seem to be happy about that as she furrowed her eyebrow and pressed her lips tightly.

"What's wrong?" Johanna asked.

"His legs are going to get infected," Heather replied.

"I'm sure he can manage," Haymitch told her.

Heather nodded her head somberly, not taking her eyes off the screen.

When Peeta received the parachute, he turned to where he thought the camera was and smiled softly, "Thank you, Heather."

Heather smiled back, forgetting about his potential infected leg. Haymitch mentally felt relieved as a smile formed on her face.

"Aren't you guys wondering why he immediately assumed that it was Heather and not Haymitch?" Johanna asked playfully.

A teasing glint appeared on Heather's eyes, "Perhaps because Haymitch wouldn't send him anything urgently so he could keep up with his macho man act."

Haymitch rolled his eyes, not even surprised at Heather's correct prediction. He had gotten used to the way she was able to accurately read people. When Johanna wasn't looking, Heather turned and gave a wink to Haymitch.

The next days weren't good nor were they bad. Katniss was still unconscious and, surprisingly, was looked after by little Rue. Peeta wasn't doing well either as he was still in hiding and the ratios that Heather sent him were running low.

Heather was anxious, but she was mentally better than she was before. She still picked at her food rather than eating it but she took better care of herself than before. She mostly spent her time with Johanna, quietly speaking with her about Katniss and Peeta. Haymitch didn't try to let this get to him but he couldn't help but miss Heather's company. It was hard to adjust from spending all time with her to spending little to no time with her.

Another thing was that Finnick joined them. After the death of both his tributes and the fact that he wasn't allowed to leave the Capitol until the victor is pronounced (it was a compulsory rule for the victors that Snow employed), he had nothing else to do.

Nonetheless to say, Heather was ecstatic at having him over. Finnick was her number one confidant and she was glad to have him by her side. The day before Katniss woke up, Heather leaned in on his shoulder during the evening while both Johanna and Haymitch were sleeping.

"I don't know what to do, Finn," Heather said. " I mean, I care about them both and if one of them wins and the other dies… I don't think I could handle it. Let alone both of them."

Finnick stayed silent then spoke, "Have you ever tried drinking?"

Heather hit him in the arm. "Finn!"

"No, really, have you?" Finnick continued asked, holding his hurt arm.

"Yes, and you were there. Remember Annie's victor banquet?" she said.

"Oh, yes," he had a big smile as he recalled the memory, "You looked so disgusted."

"And why are you happy about that?" Heather asked.

"Cause you make this face, you know. The one that a baby makes after eating something sour. It's so adorable and funny at the same time," Finnick laughed a bit in the end.

Heather couldn't help but laugh alongside him. She tried to picture her face as the way Finnick described it. "I make that face?"

"Yea, " he said. "And hey, I can't say that everything is going to work out. Honestly, I think Katniss has a better chance of winning but who knows what the Gamemakers are going to do. Just… continue doing what you're doing. Be there for them."

Heather nodded and looked at the ground. It wasn't the type of advice that she was looking for but she knew that this was the best Finnick could offer her.

"Heather?" Finnick said.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to tell you something and I don't want you to be mad."

"Why would I get mad?" Heather asked him with a puzzled look.

"I don't know how to do this, but," Finnick took a moment to breath deeply. "You stink."

"What?" Heather exclaimed.

"You smell," Finnick confirmed. "From what I've heard you've been wearing the same thing for three days and you have not showered since then."

Heather glanced down and realized that he was right as she was still dressed in her yellow dress.

"Either Johanna and Haymitch don't have the guts to tell you this or they were afraid to tell you. I'm guessing both," Finnick placed a hand on her shoulder. "But Heather Mildbreeze, you need to take a shower, badly."

Heather winced in embarrassment, but didn't say anything.

Shortly after Finnick went to sleep, Heather got up and decided to follow his advice. Turns out, having a shower wasn't something that she needed physically but mentally too. The water falling down her body relaxed her mind and it felt great to wash herself. She messaged her oily hair with lavender-scented shampoo that smelled great. Although she didn't admit it, Heather was still self-conscious about what Finnick said to her, pertaining to the fact that she was smelly.

Heather didn't realize that she was in Haymitch's room and not hers until she exited the bathroom. Her face flushed at her mistake and she tried to get out of the room quietly without disturbing Haymitch's sleep but it was too late. He was already awake.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her sleepily.

"I thought this was my room," she explained. "Sorry for waking you up."

"It's okay," he assured her then looked at her closely. "You took a shower?"

"Yes. Apparently, I stink," Heather said. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Haymitch didn't answer and gestured for her to come closer. Heather didn't hesitate to sit in the bed and lean into his embrace. "I didn't think it was that important to you. It doesn't matter whether you smell bad or not."

Heather sulked, "Now you're making me feel bad for nagging you to clean up."

He chuckled and kissed her in the forehead, "You were only looking after me."

"I could've been nice," Heather said.

"You could, but I probably wouldn't have listened if you did," he said.

Heather wanted to get in a comfortable position but her hair was wet and she didn't want to get Haymitch's shirt wet. She longed to spend some time with Haymitch as she didn't get to do that for the past few days.

"Hold on," Heather told him. She ran out and went into her room. Quickly, she mositured herself with lotion and put on a pair of underwear. She dried her hair and put it in a bun on the top of her head then hurried back.

Back in Haymitch's room, Heather went through his drawers and chose a crew neck shirt. She would've worn some of her clothes but all of her nightclothes weren't appropriate and while their fabrics were soft, she wasn't feeling up to wear one of them.

After she got dressed, Heather slipped into the bed and immediately latched onto Haymitch's waist. She buried her head into his chest. He rubbed her back soothingly and Heather immediately relaxed. Sometimes, it seemed scary the power Haymitch held over Heather. With just one touch, he could make her forget all about her worries but it didn't bother her. In fact, she was grateful that she had him by her side.

"Haymitch?"

"Yes, Heather?"

"Can you lie to me and say that everything is going to be okay?" Heather requested and spoke in a vulnerable voice.

He smiled at her but she couldn't see it because of the darkness. Haymitch pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. "Everything is going to be okay."

Although she knew it was a lie, hearing this phrase coming out of Haymitch's mouth made it seem like reality. Heather felt a huge burden taken off her shoulders and her body loosened up. No doubt, her worry and anxiety will make a comeback tomorrow but for now, Heather allowed herself to feel at ease.

"Good morning!" Heather greeted chirply the following day.

Finnick and Johanna smiled at her, both happy to see her in a better mood. "Morning, flower," Johanna said, using Eero's nickname for Heather.

Heather didn't cringe at her nickname in spite of her hatred for nicknames and let it pass by. She had many nicknames such as 'flower girl' which was what the career tributes in her games used to call her. She didn't mind being called 'petal' or 'flower' by older victors, mostly because she respected them and they called her that in affection. Finnick was still on the quest to find a good nickname for her despite his many failures. For as long as she could remember, Haymitch always called her 'honeybee' and she didn't mind it. Come to think of it, why did he call her that?

If they were alone, she would've asked him but Finnick and Johanna were there. As much as she loved and cared for them, Heather wasn't sure she was ready to enclose her secret relationship to them.

Nothing important happened in the morning nor in the noon. It was only during the afternoon that something did when Katniss woke up. She looked around her surroundings, confused but she very slowly sat up. She was in a shallow hole. For a few moments, Katniss was still before she went through her bag and drank some water from her bottle.

It was obvious that her muscles were stiffened from the way she walked towards the honeysuckle bush. Katniss plucked a flower and carefully pulled the stamen through the blossoming, letting little droplit of nectar fall onto her tongue.

After that, Katniss sat back down on the ground and looked at her stuff. She smiled in satisfaction as she glanced at her bow and arrows. With them, her odds of surviving increased as she no longer was a prey for the Careers to hunt without self-defence. She treated her bruns with the ointment and tried to dab it on her stings as well but they had no effect on them.

Heather recalled seeing the leaves that drew out the poison of the stings. As her mother was a healer, Katniss should know about them. However, because she wasn't interested in medicine combined with the fact that Amaryllis didn't have many causes to use it, there was a good chance that Katniss didn't know the name of the leaf, let alone its appearance.

Katniss couldn't move quickly since her muscles were still rigid from her recent lack of movement. Later, Katniss began to tread slowly

Johanna looked at the screen in confusion, "What is she doing?"

"Her muscles must still be stiffened," Finnick guessed.

Heather shook her head, "No, she's hunting."

Her friends looked at her with doubt but they were proven wrong when Katniss found a rabbit and killed it with the bow and arrow a few minutes later. Heather frowned as it wasn't Katniss's usual clean shot but she knew that this was expected since Katniss's muscle movement was restricted.

The rest of the hour went uneventful until Katniss found a shallow wide stream. While waiting for her water to purify, Katniss stripped down to her underclothes. Upon seeing this, Heather immediately sent Haymitch and Finnick out of the room. It didn't matter that both men didn't care about Katniss's physique, Heather wasn't going to protect what's left of Katniss's chastity.

She allowed them back in later, but only after Katniss got dressed again. Both men were still grumbling about Heather's irrational decision but didn't dare say anything to her face. On her way uphill, Katniss spotted a groosling and easily took it out. Finnick whistled lowly and Johanna looked impressed at Katniss's clean shot. Haymitch didn't appear surprised as he already knew about Katniss's skills from Heather.

Katniss only decided to cook the meat by late afternoon. This was a smart move as the dusk will probably help conceal the smoke. Johanna nudged Heather's side, bringing her attention to the little girl who was following her. Not being able to help it, Heather smiled. Little Rue had always reminded her of Prim.

As she placed the first lot over the coals, Katniss heard a twig snapped.

Wasting no time, Katniss turned to the sound, bringing the bow and arrow to her shoulder. However, Rue was as fast as her and by the time she turned, Katniss couldn't see her. At least, not until she spotted Rue's boot peeking out from behind the trunk of a tree.

Surprisingly, Katniss's shoulders relaxed and she grinned. No doubt, she had a soft spot for the little girl as well.

"You know, they're not the only ones who can form alliances," Katniss said.

For a moment, there was no response. Then Rue moved a bit away from the tree. "You want me for an ally?"

"Why not? You saved me with those tracker jackers. You're smart enough to still be alive. And I can't seem to shake you anyway," Katniss said. Rue blinked in confusion, trying to decipher this offer. "You hungry?" Rue swallowed, looking longingly at the meat. "Come on then, I've had two kills today."

Rue tentatively stepped out into the open. "I can fix your stings."

"Can you?" Katniss asked in wonder. "How?"

She dug in the pack she carried and pulled out a handful of leaves. The ones that treat tracker jackers's stings' poison. "Where'd you find those?"

"Just around. We all carry them when we work in the orchards. They left a lot of nests there," Rue explained. "There are a lot here, too."

"That's right. You're District Eleven. Agriculture," Katniss mentioned. "Orchards, huh? That must be how you can fly around the trees like you've got wings." Rue smiled. "Well, come on, then. Fix me up."

Katniss went down and rolled up one of her legs to reveal the sting on her knee. Everyone was surprised, beside Heather, when Rue placed a handful of leaves in her mouth and began to chew on the. There were other methods to draw out the leaf's healing property but as they were in the arena, their options were limitless. After a minute or so, Rue pressed a gloppy green wad of chewed leaves and spat it on Katniss's knee.

"Ohhh." Katniss let out a sound of relief that made Heather giggled in amusement. Heather hadn't personally been stinged by a tracker jacker but her brother, Aeson, had. She remembered how pleased he was when her father treated him.

Rue gave a giggle as well. "Lucky you had the sense to pull the stingers out or you'd be a lot worse."

"Do my neck! Do my cheek!" Katniss pleaded.

Rue stuffed another handful of leaves in her mouth, and soon Katniss was laughing because of the relief that came with the treatment. "I've got something for that," Katniss said, puzzling Heather a bit before she noticed a long burn on Rue's forearm. Katniss anointed her wound with the burn medicine

"You have good sponsors," Rue expressed longingly.

"Have you gotten anything yet?" Katniss asked. She shook her head. "You will, though. Watch. The closer we get to the end, the more people will realize how clever you are."

"You weren't joking about wanting me for an ally?" Rue asked, still not believing Katniss's offer.

"No, I meant it," Katniss confirmed. Haymitch groaned from Heather's side. Heather rolled her eyes. Unlike her, Katniss chose a good partner. Heather's demeanor fell as she recalled Todd, the boy tribute from District 8 and the youngest tribute from her games. She had formed an alliance with him. Partnering up with Todd didn't benefit her survival in any way beside the fact that he was a good company. In the end, it only caused her heartbreak as Todd died when they were attacked by enscorpecilusus, a species of deadly scorpions made by the Capitol.

"Okay," Rue accepted and held out her hand. They shook in agreement. "It's a deal."

"Oh," Rue exclaimed with a sigh as they ate the meat. "I've never had a whole leg to myself before.

Katniss looked at her softy with empathy"Take the other," she offered.

"Really?" Rue asked, unable to believe this.

"Take whatever you want. Now that I've got a bow and arrows, I can get more. Plus I've got snares. I can show you how to set them," Katniss said. Rue still looked uncertain at the leg. "Oh, take it," Katniss pushed, putting the drumstick in her hands. "It will only keep a few days anyway, and we've got the whole bird plus the rabbit." Finally, Rue gave in and her appetite won as she took a huge mouthful.

"I'd have thought, in District Eleven, you'd have a bit more to eat than us. You know, since you grow the food."

Heather frowned as she knew that it was the opposite, having already heard the stories of District 11's treatment from its victors.

Rue's eyes widened. "Oh, no, we're not allowed to eat the crops."

"They arrest you or something?" Katniss asked.

"They whip you and make everyone else watch," Rue said to no one's shock but Katniss. "The mayor's very strict about it."

"Do you get all the coal you want?" Rue asked after a while.

"No," Katniss answered. "Just what we buy and whatever we track in on our boots"

"They feed us a bit extra during harvest so that people can keep going longer," Rue added.

"Don't you have to be in school?" Katniss asked.

"Not during harvest. Everyone works then," Rue said.

Katniss seemed to be interested about this, mainly because she didn't know much about the other districts due to the lack of communication between the districts. The Gamemakers were probably blocking out this conversation in the districts since they didn't want people in different districts to know about one another.

"You know, I just realized how sad it is that we didn't know much about each other's districts until now," Finnick said melodically.

"Yea, it's crazy how ignorant we used to be," Johanna said. Heather and Haymitch chose not to comment on this topic.

At Rue's suggestion, they laid out all their food to plan ahead.

Katniss rolled a berry in her fingers. "You sure this is safe?"

"Oh, yes, we have them back home. I've been eating them for days," she said, popping a handful in her mouth. Seeing that, Katniss hesitantly bit into one. They divided up their food supplies, so in case they were separated, they would be set for a few days apart.

"I know it's not much," Rue said, embarrassed at her few items, "but I had to get away from the Cornucopia fast."

"You did just right," Katniss complimented her. When she spread out her gear, Rue gasped a little when she saw the sunglasses.

"How did you get those?" she asked.

"In my pack. They've been useless so far. They don't block the sun and they make it harder to see," Katniss said with a shrug, not realizing the sunglasses's purpose.

"These aren't for sun, they're for darkness," Rue told her. "Sometimes, when we harvest through the night, they'll pass out a few pairs to those of us highest in the trees. Where the torchlight doesn't reach. One time, this boy Martin, he tried to keep his pair. Hid it in his pants. They killed him on the spot."

"They killed a boy for taking these?" Katniss asked with her mouth opened. Heather remembered hearing a similar story from Parry.

"Yes, and everyone knew he was no danger. Martin wasn't right in the head. I mean, he still acted like a three-year-old. He just wanted the glasses to play with," Rue said.

"So what do these do?" Katniss asked Rue, taking the glasses.

"They let you see in complete darkness," Rue said. "Try them tonight when the sun goes down.

Katniss gave Rue some matches and Rue made sure Katniss had plenty of leaves in case her stings flare up again. They extinguished the fire and headed upstream until it was almost nightfall.

"Where do you sleep?" Katniss asked her. "In the trees?" Rue nodded. "In just your jacket?"

Rue held up an extra pair of socks. "I have these for my hands."

"You can share my sleeping bag if you want. We'll both easily fit." Katniss said and Rue's face lightened up.

They settled in a high fork in a tree for the night just as the anthem began to play. There were no deaths today.

During the anthem, Rue and Katniss talked in whispers with their hands covering up their mouth. They obviously didn't want the audience to know what they were talking about and Heather can already tell how the Capitol's citizens must be going crazy over not knowing what they were conversing about.

"Let's try out these glasses," Katniss said after the anthem was over. She pulled out the glasses and slipped them on. "I wonder who else got a pair of these."

"The Careers have two pairs. But they've got everything down by the lake," Rue answered. "And they're so strong."

"We're strong, too," Katniss assured. "Just in a different way."

"You are. You can shoot," Rue said. "What can I do?"

"You can feed yourself. Can they?" Katniss asked.

"They don't need to. They have all those supplies," Rue told her.

"Say they didn't. Say the supplies were gone. How long would they last?" Katniss wondered and Heather could see the gears working in Katniss's head. "I mean, it's the Hunger Games, right?"

"But, Katniss, they're not hungry," Rue exclaimed.

"No, they're not. That's the problem," Katniss agreed, looking determined with a plan in her mind. "I think we're going to have to fix that, Rue."