Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Huntsman

Betrayed. That's how I feel when I see none other than my ex-best friend Gale, not only existing in Westeros but daring to stand here in front of me. And not one word of warning from Beetee, who was probably too busy directing Gale to Castle Black like the backstabber he is. I should've known, since they were just such good friends during the war, but I never thought…

"So you do know each other," says Bowen Marsh, who is part of the crowd.

More footsteps approach from behind, adding to our attentive audience. More onlookers preventing me from making a scene like I want to. It's all I can do not to slap the puppy-eyed look off his face or slam my hands into his chest and keep shoving until he's gone back through the gate. Instead, I clutch my fists at my sides, screaming at Gale with my eyes for putting me in this position.

"Yes," I get out through gritted teeth. "I know him. I just didn't expect to see him here."

"Who is he to you?" Thorne asks, his tone smug and snide as ever. Sneaking a side glance, I can tell from his sneer that he's thoroughly enjoying this. "Former lover, perhaps?"

I briefly make a face – why does Thorne sound so pleased by this? – but I can't quite deny it, and it's too painful to call Gale a friend. "Former hunting partner," I say. "Back in Twelve."

"Twelve?" Thorne repeats, pretending to be confused but only sounding more triumphant. "Said he's from District Two."

"Yes, I did say that," Gale says matter-of-factly, looking over at Thorne. "Because that's where I moved after the war was over. See, where we come from, people leave home all the time. Sometimes they end up moving worlds away." He glances back to me meaningfully. "Isn't that right, Katniss?"

That's it. If he has something to say, then damn it, so do I. "Excuse us for one moment," I say sweetly, then lunge forward and grab him by the arm, dragging him away from the crowd.

I keep yanking him along until we're a suitable distance from people and I find a good spot between buildings. He has the brains not to put up much resistance. Then I shove him half underneath a staircase and, still with my good arm, turn him to face me.

"What are you doing here?" I snarl, finally letting go as if touching him has scalded my palm through my glove.

Gale's eyes soften as he gazes down at me. "What are you doin' here, Catnip?" he murmurs.

I give him a dull, innocent look. "What do you mean?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't your good friend Beetee already fill you in?"

Gale frowns back just as matter-of-factly. "Yeah, he did," he says, taking a step forward to tower over me. "He told me how you got here, but that's not what I asked you. I asked what are you doing here? Why—"

"You know exactly why!" I snap, matching his step forward. He knows what I lost. He should know more than anyone why I stepped through that portal.

Guilt flickers behind his eyes for a second, but he bounces back. "Katniss, you don't belong here—"

"I like it here!" I shoot back.

"You literally do not belong in this world!" Gale hisses, lowering his volume only on the tail end of his sentence. He spares a cursory glance around the courtyard before focusing again on me. "Look, I think Beetee has a lot of smart ideas, and I know he was trying to make amends, but this… Katniss, this isn't right! You were never meant to be here. What if you've already interfered with something, something that was or wasn't meant to happen? What if you mess something up?"

"I've been lying low," I argue, albeit feebly and under my breath.

Gale scoffs. "Yeah, right. Katniss, I know you. I bet you've already acted out or shown them at least some kind of technology…"

I hate that he's right. "Only a handful of people I trust," I say. "And just night vision glasses and the microphone and earpiece. And a flashlight. We play Crazy Cat sometimes."

"Katniss, I saw some of the footage, they could burn you as a witch!" Gale says, distressed. Then he furrows his brow in disbelief. "Wait, you brought Buttercup with you?"

I scowl at him, feeling defensive. Not of bringing Buttercup, but oddly enough that he really thought I would leave him. "I'm all he has left of Prim," I say pointedly.

That, of course, humbles Gale a bit. He sighs, then looks at me knowingly. "Anything else?"

I cut my eyes to the side. "I may have sung The Hanging Tree once," I mutter. "Slightly angered a king."

Gale pauses for a moment to rub at his temples. He takes another deep breath through his teeth. "All right, Catnip. We need to get you home—"

"'Home' where, Gale? Where is home?" I ask, growing angrier by the second.

"Panem! Panem is home," Gale interrupts. "You're the Mockingjay, you fought for it, why would you leave it—"

"My mother's in Four. My sister is dead. And Peeta—" At this point, we're just talking over each other. I stop myself, suck in a watery breath, and furiously blink away even the hint of angry tears. "Besides, this was a one-way trip. I knew that going through." Another thought suddenly occurs to me, and I peer at him with elevated suspicion. "It's a one-way trip, Gale. What are you doing here?"

Gale shakes his head. "It's not a one-way trip anymore," he tells me. "Beetee and I, we've been going over it for almost a week." I fume silently, almost burning through my coat with resentment. Gale amends, "Well, he's been going over it. I just gave him the push, and he needed someone else to help him talk through it. Something about a programmer and a rubber duck—"

"Get to the point, Gale. You wouldn't be here if you knew you couldn't come back," I say, though immediately a part of me suspects that isn't true. This is Gale, who was ready to follow me right into the President's Mansion on my mission to kill Snow. Frankly I'm surprised he had the patience to wait this long, instead of charging through the portal the minute he found out where I was. "Will I be able to come back? Here, to Westeros?"

His hesitation answers my question before he does. "No," he admits. "He hasn't figured that part out yet."

"Then I'm not going," I say with finality. "You wasted your time, and I told him not to waste his." I fix him with a damning glare before starting to turn away. "I don't know why you of all people thought you could convince me."

"Because I know you, Catnip," Gale says, raising his voice. The outrage that flares up in me freezes me in place. "I know what you were running from when you left Twelve. Death and ash and ghosts. But what did you find here, huh? More war? A man getting burnt alive? Dead people, rotting corpses, walking this earth! Even the first person you met – that ghost rider friend of yours—"

I swing back around to hush him, back him up closer to the wall. "Don't call him that," I warn. "Not here." After a moment, I huff out a sigh. "Look, I can take care of myself, all right?"

He looks unfazed for a second, then glances down at the arm I've been favoring. "Yeah? What about this?" He snatches it up to inspect the wrapped wound. "Is this what that cat did to you?"

Oh, Beetee's even told him about the shadowcat. Nice of him to keep him up to date. Freshly irritated, I try to rip myself out of his grip. "I'm fine—"

A familiar snarl catches us both off-guard, and we both whip our heads around to find the source. I know what I'm looking at, but as Gale quickly drops my arm, I see through his eyes. A terrifyingly large white wolf, bloodred-eyed and approaching him with bared teeth as another warning growl rumbles through its entire body.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa—" Gale says in alarm, already going for his crossbow.

"No – no, Gale, it's fine – it's just Ghost!" I'm blocking him, grabbing at his arm, doing whatever I can to stop him. He makes more sounds of protest as he struggles to protect me and aim for the head at the same time. "Gale – stop, that's just Ghost! Don't shoot him – that's the Lord Commander's direwolf!"

Gale finally lowers his crossbow, wide-eyed and cursing. "That is the biggest wolf I've ever seen…" he says, and turns to me with a disbelieving squint. "See, this is what I'm talking about! Wolves and cats and – white walkers, and you still want to stay here?" He turns a shrug into emphatic gesturing. "Why, Katniss. Tell me why. What exactly is the appeal of this place—"

"Ghost!" Jon's voice rings out from nearby. "To me!"

The wolf obeys, but is slow about it, so Jon makes his way over to us just as Ghost wanders back to him. He calms some, more behaved at Jon's side, but he's keeping a sharp eye on Gale. In all fairness, Jon happens to be doing the same. Though remarkably composed for someone who likely just saw a newcomer aim a crossbow at his direwolf, he frowns warily as he shifts his gaze between the two of us.

"Don't mind Ghost. He can get a bit protective," Jon says to Gale, then gives me a prompting look. "I hope he hasn't caused you any trouble."

A clever subtlety. To Gale, he means Ghost. To me, he means Gale. I linger over this while Gale studies Jon, because I don't know how to answer. Certainly, Gale is no physical threat to me, but that doesn't change the fact that his presence here is, in fact, trouble. I shake my head slightly, but make no attempt to hide the fact that I am fuming just standing here next to him.

"You must be the Lord Commander," Gale says, and puts away his weapon. "Sorry about the crossbow. As a general rule, I try not to let large animals get that close to me with their teeth bared."

Jon manages a conceding chuckle, but for the most part remains rather stone-faced save for a furrowed brow. "Yes, I imagine there aren't many direwolves in the woods or the Meadow back in Twelve." He casts a fleeting glance at me, then back at Gale expectantly.

I get the hint. "Jon, meet Gale," I say flatly, trying to convey to him that this is no one of great importance. "Gale, meet Jon. He's the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch."

Gale starts to extend a hand. "Gale Hawthorne."

"Jon Snow," says Jon, doing the same.

As expected, Gale's hand flinches and hesitates in mid-air. "Snow," he echoes in an odd voice, and I can't tell if he's saying it haltingly or with a sort of smug fascination. He raises his eyebrows and sends me a side-glance, as if accusing me of something.

This grates against my nerves even harder, sparking a flame of defensiveness. "No relation, obviously!" I say shortly.

Gale blinks and composes himself with an easy smile. "Of course," he says smoothly. Reaching out, he gives Jon's hand a firm shake.

Still, Gale's reaction to his surname is hard to miss, and Jon's mouth twitches with understanding. "So you are from Panem, then," he says, after releasing his hand.

"District Twelve, born and raised," Gale confirms. "Didn't move to Two until after the war. Snow never really allowed travel or communication between the districts, unless you count sending kids off to the Capitol to die. But I'm sure Katniss already told you about all that."

What the hell is he doing? I don't like the way he's looking at Jon, sizing him up with barely concealed, albeit lighthearted defiance and hovering over him like he's literally trying to hold the name Snow over his head. The obvious grab for dominance makes my blood boil.

"Yeah, and now that that's over, obviously we can come and go as we please," I say pointedly. "But Gale can't stay long, because he really must be going." For good measure, I fix him with a death glare. "As in, back exactly where he came from."

Gale is undeterred. "Not without you," he says.

I whirl on him as the urge to start shoving him towards the gate awakens again in full force. "Yes, without me! I am not—" Remembering we have an audience, I let the words die in my throat with an angry breath. "I am not doing this in front of Jon," I finish, and storm off.

I'm halfway to the library and maester's quarters when Gale catches up to me. "Katniss!"

"Why are you following me?" I snap, swinging back around.

Gale looks puzzled. "You said you didn't want to do this in front of Jon—"

"No, why did you follow me here? I don't want to do this at all!" I almost shout at him, but find it in me to lower my voice to a furious snarl. "You had no right coming to Westeros, and you have no right trying to drag me back! Did I come to Two and demand that you come back to Twelve? No! I left well enough alone. Why couldn't you?"

"Because you drifted too far away from me, Katniss!" Gale shouts back. "If we lived in different districts, that's one thing. But when we're legitimately living in different worlds…?!" His voice quiets, softens along with his features. Seam grey eyes hold me in place, glistening with guilt and pain. "I couldn't handle that. So come back with me or don't. But I'm not leaving Westeros without you."

In the past, seeing him hurt like this would be enough to thaw me, to melt away my anger enough that I predictably comfort him with a kiss. The way he's looking at my lips now, I suspect he anticipates it. Or at least dares to hope. But maybe I've spent too long in the North, because everything he managed to stir in my chest – the loneliness I've felt being in this arena without a district partner, the part of me that mourns for our friendship, the fact that I haven't kissed anyone in months – frosts over in an instant.

"How do you even know if you can?" I ask, folding my arms across my chest. "Beetee's return option. Have you guys even tested it yet?"

Gale blinks in realization, shifting his pack off his shoulders. "Yeah. Of course." He unzips the main pocket and starts pulling something out. "He sent me out the first time… to fetch something for you."

My eyes widen at the first glimpse of black and white markings. It's the shadowcat pelt, cleaned and compressed to fit inside the pack. In a panicky, possessive haste, I yank it out of Gale's grip. "Give me that!" I grouch, bundling it up and clutching it to my chest as I try to hide it with my arms. "What were you thinking? This is a prized pelt. Some of the men here would kill to get their hands on it."

Of course, that's not the real reason his having the pelt bothers me. Or at least, not the only one. It's the fact that he had to go into the cave to get it. Which makes me feel like I not only walked in on someone else's memories, but I left the door unlocked for Gale to track muddy footsteps through them. Plus the fact that Gale has seen this world's cave and not Peeta upsets me further. I hide more of the shadowcat pelt under my arm and glare at him accusingly. If he still knows me as well as he thinks he does, he should at least know this.

Gale shrugs. "Beetee figured you probably wouldn't be going back there anytime soon, after the cat ordeal," he says, motioning to my arm. "And on the off chance that you decided to come back with me, he thought it'd be a shame to leave it behind."

Okay, I think begrudgingly, stroking the soft fur. Well, he did save me the trip. But then I think of Gale diving into the pool and get angry again.

"I already told you, I like it here," I say. "Besides, all I've seen of Westeros is Castle Black and the lands north of the Wall. I don't know if Beetee's shown you the maps, but there's way more to it than that. I'm not leaving until I've been at least a little farther south than this."

"Then let's do it," Gale says immediately. "That's what we'll do. You and me. We'll go through that gate, we'll see all there is to see of Westeros." He must catch my doubtful look, since he adds, "We always said we'd run off together…"

The suggestion curdles in my chest and in my stomach. How can he say it like that? Like it'll be just like old times? Like we're still the boy and the girl from the woods in District 12, finally free to go off on our merry adventures together? He's only fooling himself.

"What makes you think I'd want to go anywhere with you?" I bite out. "What makes you think we can just go back to the way things were between us after what you did to her? I would sooner swallow my nightlock pill—"

I stop myself then, getting the sense I've said too much. But it's too late, and my hand has instinctively gone to my pocket.

Gale looks shaken. "You have a nightlock pill?" he asks softly. My silence is a damning enough answer. "Katniss, why do you have a nightlock pill…"

"I asked Beetee to get me one," I tell him, hugging the shadowcat pelt defensively.

This only deepens his frown. "He shouldn't have done that," he says, then gets heated and starts to raise his voice. "I can't believe he just gave you a nightlock—"

"I didn't know what I was getting into when I went through. I had to make sure I had a way out," I say firmly. This is another thing he should understand, but he just looks even more upset, which frustrates me. "Obviously, I haven't used it yet. Here, I have something worth living for."

Instantly, the concern on his face crumbles, giving way to something dour. "Oh, yeah?" he asks sullenly. "Who's that?"

I wrinkle my brow, not only at the question but the way he sounds like he already knows the answer. Right as I open my mouth to lash out at him, we both hear a voice call out, "Katniss?"

Gale turns just before I do, and I see his expression change again, multiple emotions flashing through his eyes at once, before I see her. He's stunned. Apparently this is a part of the footage he hasn't seen. I, on the other hand, manage to compose myself with a half-smile I hope is welcoming. "Hey, princess."

Shireen approaches, holding Buttercup, her own expression a mix of tentative and inquisitive as she considers Gale for a moment before glancing to me. "I was about to meet Sam and Gilly in the library. Would you like to join us?" she asks. Then she amends, noticing Gale's game bag, "Unless you're planning on hunting today. I hope I'm not interrupting the two of you."

"No, you're not interrupting," I say. I look at Gale briefly, then back to Shireen. "I'm all yours, princess. I'm not going anywhere today."

Looking up, Buttercup recognizes Gale and hisses. "Yeah, nice to see you too, Buttercup," Gale says wryly.

Shireen is a lot more surprised. "Buttercup! That's not very nice…"

"Oh, that's just his way of saying hello," Gale assures her.

"Actually, it's him being a good judge of character," I reply, and to Gale's shock, I reward Buttercup with a scratch under the chin. Maybe the little brute is smarter than I realized.

"You two know each other?" Shireen asks, going from doubtful to curious.

"Of course," says Gale. "Me, Buttercup, and Catnip go way back."

I hear a scoff from not too far away. A covert glance in the direction of its source shows Stannis, muttering something under his breath. Probably correcting Gale's grammar – I've heard him do that before.

Shireen is more fixated on a different part, her face lighting up in recognition as she turns to me. "He's the one who calls you Catnip!" she says brightly.

Gale's discreet look of hope and triumph causes me to grimace, and no amount of effort can disguise it as anything more than a sarcastic smile. "Shireen, Gale here is from Panem," I tell her. "In fact, he should be getting back soon…"

Shireen awards him one of her most heartwarming smiles. "I'm Princess Shireen, of House Baratheon," she says. "What brings you here to Westeros?"

It's all I can do not to echo her question with more sarcasm as I stare directly at Gale, prompting him to tell the nice princess of his true intentions. He meets Shireen's eyes for a few seconds, then looks away. "I'm here to bring Katniss home."

Predictably, Shireen's face falls at his answer. "Oh," she says, the cheer vanishing from her voice. She looks to me for confirmation.

At her silent question, I give a small shake of my head. "Like I said, I'm not going anywhere today," I remind her. Then I touch her cheek affectionately. "I'll meet you in the library in a bit, okay? I just need to stop by my room first."

Shireen nods with a smile, adjusting Buttercup more comfortably in her arms. "It was nice meeting you, Gale," she adds politely.

"Nice meeting you too, Primcess," Gale says.

I turn a small flinch into a sharp heel-turn to walk away. It's so smooth and subtle that Shireen doesn't seem to catch it like I do, and I don't know if it's meant at a jab towards me or he just managed to correct himself that fast. Shireen scampers off to the library and I start heading towards my room, hugging the shadowcat skin tighter as memories resurface of a different blue-eyed girl running through District 13 holding tightly to Buttercup.

"Katniss, wait!" Gale calls after me.

A fresh wave of anger surges through me. I turn slowly so that he can see it on my face.

"Go home, Gale," I say coldly.

He shifts his game bag awkwardly on his shoulder, just stands there and looks at me with sorrowful eyes. Just beyond him, I see Edd in the background saying something to Jon, who pensively meets my gaze.

Breaking eye contact, I turn on my heel again and flee to the safety of my room.

A/N: Yes, I know it's well past Wednesday! I just wanted to get this out so I could say that technically it didn't take me a full three weeks. ^^; Thanks to all new faves, follows, and (re)views! (P.S. to Zain, no review rush! I know it's Sunday so it might put this at a bit of a time crunch. You can get to it when you get to it :D)