DISCLAIMER: HG characters don't belong to me
Words not spoken in English will be in italics
Chapter 6-Dreamcatcher
Katniss had been living with the Natives for six weeks. She was surprised how quickly she had acclimated herself into their way of life. Rain had been teaching her simple words here and there in their native language, Sioux. Even though Katniss could not have a conversation, she at least able to go out and start hunting with the male hunters of the tribe without Rain there. Rain was not a hunter, none of the females of the tribe were. It took some convincing from Rain to get some of the men to allow Katniss to go. But when they saw what Katniss could do with the bow they allowed her to go. As expected, Katniss found some of them were more welcoming to her than others during the hunting trips.
It was a surreal experience for her. She saw large mountains with peaks higher than she had ever seen in Panem. Lakes with teal water so clear it looked as if no man had touched it. She finally got to hunt the very large animal with the horns coming out of the sides of its head that she had seen when she arrived. The woods of District 12 had nothing on this place.
The trips were even better since she had been sleeping better. Ever since she returned from the Hunger Games, her sleep was never peaceful due to her nightmares, often waking her and making it hard to fall back asleep. It was even more difficult for her to fall back asleep after first arriving at Rain's house because Peeta was not there to help comfort her. Now though, she had been sleeping better than she ever had.
During her second week with the tribe, Rain said she was ready to begin her "non-traditional treatment" as she called it. It first began when the Natives gave Katniss a liquid to drink, it made her sleepy very quickly. Before she knew it, she was waking up in her tepee terrified. Not from a dream, but terrified because of what she was waking up to. She heard chanting and could smell smoke being blown around in her tepee. She heard the sound of drums as well. The Natives were all around her pinning her down to the ground, some of them in face paint, their entire faces painted white, black or red. She was screaming but it was of no use. She could understand one woman say the words "calm" and "fine" to her. She assumed she was saying to stay calm and that it would be fine. It didn't seem fine though. After a few minutes her eyes started to get heavy and closed falling back into sleep. It happened again two more times after that. The same thing, the chanting, the drums, the smoke, the Natives in face paint. Them not allowing her to sit up and continuing to pin her to the ground. Finally, after what seemed like days of being in there, she woke up to silence. She could tell it was morning by the sunlight that was coming through the tepee, she was alone. She looked up and saw a circular object hanging from above her head. She sat up and looked at the object in more detail. It was brown, circular, and had what appeared to be a web in the middle of it. A feather was placed at the bottom of the circle and there was also beads inside the web part as well.
Katniss went outside and saw Rain nearby, "how long was I out" she asked her without even saying hello.
"Only a day, I'm sure it seemed longer than that." Rain waited for Katniss to ask the next question she knew was coming.
"What did they give me to drink? And what is that thing hanging above from where I sleep?" Katniss said the words in an accusing tone.
"The drink had some herbs in it to make you sleep. They needed to see you sleep. It lasts about 24 hours, but sometimes a person will wake up briefly but then fall back asleep. That happened to you about three times." Rain didn't look at Katniss when she answered, she continued to work on the food she was helping to prepare for breakfast. "As for the object, I wouldn't touch that if I were you, just let it be."
"What was with all the chanting? There were a ton of people in there!"
"Only seven, including me, I was in the back, I doubt you saw me. It was a ritual of sorts. I needed our most experienced healer to see you sleep. The other people in there are just part of it."
"Part of what?" Katniss said in a raised voice.
"They needed to see what your fears were, what your nightmares were."
"And what did they see?" Katniss hissed in a sarcastic tone.
"She said you have a lot of bad spirits in you. We plan to flush them out."
"Spirits? I never thought the rumors I heard growing up were true, this place does practice magic doesn't it?" Katniss started to grow weary, maybe Peeta was right, maybe this wasn't a good place to be. He told her on the train ride to District 9 how he had originally objected to the thought of her being there.
Rain finally stopped looking preoccupied with the food she was preparing and got up and approached Katniss. "Magic is an arbitrary word isn't it? The people of Panem have for years have feared what it is we do here. They still fear it. All living things become spirits in the afterlife. Some spirits are good, some are bad. Bad spirits can manifest itself in different ways, be it influencing evil in others, or haunting a person's dreams. Good spirits can influence the good in others. You have a lot of bad spirits in you."
Katniss thought about what Rain said. It sounded ridiculous but it also made a lot of sense. She did start having nightmares right after the games. Could it be the nightmares are the spirits of the people she killed? Were they haunting her dreams out of revenge for winning the Hunger Games?
"Are you saying my nightmares are from the people I killed in the games?"
"Spirit does not always mean a person. I said all living things, which could be animals, plants, etc. Look at it more like a spirit as an, energy of sorts. What we saw when you were sleeping was someone not in control. The energy is controlling you. But yes, it is possible the energy could be driven by those you have killed, it could be driven by your own guilt."
"If dead people can channel energy to cause a person misery, how is it Snow was able to sleep at night?" Katniss started to feel tears form in her eyes. She immediately started to wipe them off of her face.
"I said spirits can influence, it doesn't mean it influences everybody. Sometimes the most evil beings cannot be influenced by good or bad spirits. Some inherently good people cannot be influenced also. It goes both ways." Rain said laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"So how do we get this—this energy to go away?"
"Keep the object you saw when you woke up where it is" Rain answered.
It took Katniss a long time to fall asleep that night. She stared at the object above her intently. Was it supposed to help her sleep? She'd grown to look at Rain as a friend these last two weeks, but it drove her crazy when she gave Katniss her cryptic answers.
She had a nightmare that night. This time of Rue. She relived again the moment Marvel's spear pierced her chest and Rue falling to the ground. Begging Katniss to sing to her and telling her she had to win the Hunger Games. The next night she had a nightmare about the people killed in the District 8 explosion at the hospital. She was beginning to wonder if this spirit talk was just that, talk, but then on the third night, she slept soundly. It continued night after night. She woke up not remembering any of her dreams, wondering if she had dreamed at all. After two weeks straight of no nightmares she decided to ask Rain about the object. "I'm no longer having nightmares, I'm sure you've noticed me not waking up yelling in our tepee. It has to do with that object doesn't it? "
"I was hoping it would work. Glad to see it has been."
"What is it?"
"A dreamcatcher. Morning Sun made it for you. Dreamcatchers are supposed to filter out all bad dreams and only allow good thoughts to enter the mind." Morning Sun was the woman in the tepee who had said to Katniss it would be alright and to remain calm. She was an older woman, in her 60's and apparently was born in the very early morning, hence her name. She was a very kind woman and Katniss took a liking to her early on. She approached Morning Sun later that morning and said "thank you" as best she could in Sioux. Morning Sun bowed her head slightly and smiled.
Katniss continued to sleep in peace as the days went on. She continued to become more and more a part of the tribe, learning more of the Sioux language and dressing more in their attire and less of her own.
"So it appears part one of your non-traditional treatment is complete. Time for us to start on part two" Rain said one morning as Katniss was getting ready for a morning hunt.
"What is part two?" Katniss asked with curiosity.
"Working on your ability to forgive and let go of the past".
Katniss snorted, she knew Rain and the tribe had their work cut out for them. She might be sleeping a lot better, but that didn't mean she forgot what her nightmares were about. Or who in her life caused her pain.
