Take Two

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. All recognisable characters, content or locations belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Summary: Executed after the assassination of President Coin, Katniss is inexplicably thrown back in time, to the age of eleven, to District 12, and to the boy with the bread. OOC. AU. A snapshot.

Part One:

Katniss Everdeen woke to the familiar hovel she'd called home for most of her life. She was confused, of course, because District 12 had been blown to smithereens a year ago, and beyond that, she could also remember dying. It had been by firing squad, and she'd taken it with a smile on her face, but slowly, other discrepancies were brought to her attention.

She was small, and beside her, there was an even smaller person with blonde locks and cherubic features. It was Primrose, small and angelic, and without ado, Katniss held her close, certain she wouldn't ever let the girl go again. Across the familiar bedroom, her mother was in the bed she'd once shared with her father, gaze empty and lifeless, devoid of the vitality she'd required after Katniss' games.

Inordinately puzzled, Katniss sat up in bed, hands still on Primrose's tiny body, and she took further stock of their surroundings. She was stick thin, as was Primrose and their mother, and it didn't take the rebel long to determine that she was eleven again, her father recently deceased, her remaining family starving. She had no idea what the hell was going on, but whatever it was, Katniss wasn't about to let her family continue on this vein.

Not when she could do something about it.

With one more glance at her sister's slumbering form, Katniss stumbled out of bed, clumsily dressed, and stumbled out of the house. Her centre of balance was off kilter, but by the time she'd reached the fence, her game bag slung over her shoulder, Katniss had managed to reorient herself enough to crawl under the aged wire without incident.

With a contented hum, Katniss embraced the woods as she would an old friend, found her way to the familiar hidey hole, and withdrew her beloved hunting bow with reverent, careful hands. She would have to buy rope for snares, but in the meantime, she successfully shot down a pair of rabbits and a trio of squirrels, and returned to District 12 with a smile. She'd ache in the morning from the exertion of unused muscles, but since it would feed her family, Katniss would not complain.

Inside the fence, her feet led her towards the hob, and after a moment's hesitation, Katniss shuffled inside, and beelined straight towards Sae. She internally wept for the counter she'd strangely missed, and as the woman eyed her with sharp, wary eyes, Katniss managed a smile.

"I'd like to trade you some squirrel for coin," Katniss said decisively. She with drew one of the critters and held it up by the scruff of it's neck, "I have two moore. Are you interested?"

Sae nodded, smiled slightly, and made the transaction with little fanfare. With a squirrel and a few coins, Katniss was able to buy a loaf of bread from the Mellarks', , and Katniss raced home, eager to fill Primrose's belly for the first time in weeks.

When she did, the seven year old cried.