Hey y'all! How's everyone doing so far? I just saw the english dub trailer for Digimon: Last Evolution Kizuna and my heart was not forking ready! Like, I was fine in the beginning but once "Butterfly" started to play, I was gone. I'm shaking in my chair with more anticipation than when I watched the Kimetsu no Yaiba: Demon Train trailer. I don't think I'll have enough tissues ready when I finally watch this film cause Digimon was my childhood, man. Don't get me wrong, I love Pokemon but the vibes between the two were always different for me. Like, if I had to explain how I feel about the two shows, I'd probably go with something like "I grew up WATCHING Pokemon but I grew up WITH Digimon." Does that make any sense?

Anyways, I enjoy any comments, except for those that are just full of negativity and not constructive at all. Just give me something to work with instead of just "It's bad." I also appreciate positive constructive criticism since I'm always looking to improve my writing and storytelling capabilities.

Thanks for continuing to read this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, that still belongs to Suzanne Collins, except for any of OC's, worldbuilding, and plot points not in the books or movies. Thank you and please do not sue.

Warning: No beta, we die like Rue.

Chapter 2: A New Family

Because "the incident" occurred on his previous birthday, Cato would never forget that date for as long as he lived.

And if he was counting correctly, it was exactly six months before his birthday and for his life to change once again.

For the better this time though, much to his absolute relief.

~ 6 Months after the Incident ~

It was November 8th.

Exactly six months and the exact date after the day that changed his life forever.

Cato was honestly not looking forward to the coming winter months at all. Though he was still surprised by the fact that he's managed to live for a whole six months by himself in an environment completely different from his old home. Honestly though, he definitely preferred the forest and greenery of District 12 to the stone and polished metal of District 2. But he digresses…Again, the fact that he's managed to survive, alone, at age 10, for six months, was a testament of...something.

He was quite unsure of what that something was considering he had only just managed to get a hold on his trauma before suddenly, the six month anniversary of what caused it was upon him.

It might not have been a whole year, but the impact was still heavily felt. So pardon him if he wasn't feeling too much like doing anything but maybe staring at the rocky cave wall for the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing.

Still, he needed to do something. Cause if he stopped and did nothing for much longer, he might not want to do anything ever again. And then where would he be? So Cato guesses he'll go out on the excuse that he should probably start gathering more food and furs before it really started to get colder than he was used to and god forbid, SNOW.

He shuddered at the thought of ice falling down through an already freezing cold sky. How could anyone ever live here, willing or not, he'll never understand. Though maybe the trees and flowers have something to do with it. The air does feel clearer here and less weighted, but that might just be because there aren't a hundred plus Peacekeepers roaming around to "keep the peace."

Maybe he'll seek Gale out and ask if he has any tips on how one survives the winter months on a nonexistent budget. He could also use the company which would definitely make the day more bearable. Then again, it might also bring back those indescribable feelings that weighed heavily in his stomach whenever Gale was around.

Cato's stomach growled and he shook his head free of those thoughts.

'Focus,' he thought.

'If you're going to do any surviving for the winter months, you need to get up off your sorry butt and go hunting and gathering. You should also take stock of how much you need to survive.'

Cato walked over to a small hollowed out area in the cave that he had taken to storing his food in and frowned at what was left - just a single loaf of bread, a small handful of berries, a few roots, and some leftover smoked rabbit's meat from the last time Gale shared his game with him.

Heaviness started to settle in his stomach again before he lightly slapped his face.

'No! Focus!'

Doing some mental calculations, Cato estimated that the food he had would last him about a day or two, maybe four or five if he rationed it really, really well.

Unfortunately, it was not enough for seven days and certainly not enough if he wanted to actually survive the coming winter.

With his mind made up, Cato grabbed the bow and arrows he had taken so long ago and set out to hopefully hunt a few small animals, help him slowly stock up his stash. If he managed to spot a larger animal like a deer, even better!

And man, the good karma must be kicking in cause sometime into his trek through the forest, he spotted a deer that was gently grazing in a clearing nearby some blackberry bushes. Small white flowers with light pink highlights on its petals, Valerian his mind provides, still dot the lightly frosted area making the entire scene almost picture worthy if Cato had a camera or owned even an ounce of artistic talent.

Cato nocks his arrow and his vision tunnels until only the deer was in focus. Draw the bowstring back, breath in. Breath out, let the arrow go.

The arrow flies through the air and strikes the deer straight through the neck. Cato rushes to nock another arrow when surprise, surprise, an arrow that was certainly not from him, strikes the deer through the eye.

It falls down, dead.

Cato turns surprise towards the direction of the other arrow and sees the grey-eyed man from the lake. The man lowers his bow and looks around before settling his gaze on Cato.

The man sighs, as if in relief, before making his way towards Cato who is frozen stiff despite his brain's valiant attempts to get his feet to move! Just move!

"I was hoping I'd run into you again," the man said.

Cato couldn't move or even make a sound to acknowledge the man.

There were too many thoughts running through his head, namely 'Oh my god. Is this how I die? Is this guy going to report me to the Peacekeepers? But he wouldn't right? He's got a little girl and I'm just a kid so he wouldn't do that to me right? Right?'

The man must realize the fear that grips Cato as he places his bow on the ground and raises his hands up in surrender.

"Hey, it's okay," the man says reassuringly, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Finally, Cato manages to choke out, "How do I know you're not going to report me to the Peacekeepers."

The man's face seems to go through multiple emotions - confusion, realization, anger, pity, and then sadness.

"You were the one who took my book and bow back then, weren't you?" The man asks.

Cato just clutches the bow tightly to his chest and hunches in on himself as if it would help him disappear.

"No, no. I'm not angry at you," the man attempts to reassure him, "You must've had your reasons. Are you here by yourself?"

Cato nods. The man frowns.

"How long have you been living here?" the man asks.

Cato thinks quickly before answering, "About six months."

The man frowns harder making Cato flinch. The man immediately smooths his expression and smiles reassuringly.

"Well you must be very brave and resourceful to have lived out here by yourself so long," the man said, making Cato smile a little at the praise.

"But the forest is no place for a young boy such as yourself to continue to live in."

Cato's smile drops.

"I'm doing fine though," Cato defends, displaying his young age as his foot stomps the ground, "And I'll continue to do fine even after you leave."

The man has his hands up again, "I'm not saying you aren't capable of living here by yourself. It's just that you shouldn't have to continue to live out here by yourself."

"What do you mean?" Cato asked, suspicious.

"How would you like to live with me and my family?" the man asked with a gentle smile, "At least until you're of age and can come back to the forest to live however you wish."

Cato steps back in surprise at the request. He immediately glares at the man in suspicion.

"Why would you ask me that?" Cato asked.

"Because I believe that no child should have to live alone no matter the age or the circumstances," the man responded.

"But what about the Games? The whole point of me running here and living by myself was to keep my promise with my dad to not compete in the games."

The man is now taken aback and pauses to formulate his response.

"Well, I can't do anything about the Games but I can do something to make sure the Peacekeepers never find out about the fact that you broke the laws of District 12 and have been living here alone for the past year."

Cato moves to respond to the perceived threat.

"Wait," the man quickly said to calm Cato, "It's not a threat. It's a warning. Despite the lackluster attitudes of the District 12 Peacekeepers, the Capitol makes a habit of spending one day each year combing through the entire forest and searching for any citizens that may have tried to make their escape from the Games. If they find anyone, they take them back to the Capitol where they're never heard from again. I would very much like to prevent this sort of fate for you even with the threat of the Games."

Cato takes a moment to process what the man said.

"But again, why would you try and help me mister?"

"Everdeen, Edelweiss Everdeen. But you can call me Ed."

Cato nods, "Okay Mr. Ed."

Ed smiles at that, "And what's your name?"

Cato pauses for a moment before mumbling, "Cato Evans, sir."

Ed laughs at that, "Ha! No need to call me sir, Cato. It's nice to meet y-"

"Why are you helping me? Your answer will determine if I say yes or no," Cato interrupts Ed with a serious look on his face.

Ed in turn neutralizes his expression.

"Like I said, I don't believe any child should have to live by themselves in this situation especially if circumstances forced them to adapt to doing so. We already have too much of that happening in District 12," Ed said.

"But?" Cato said.

"But I also don't like seeing a young boy, who most assuredly lost his family at too young an age, should have to live alone with only ghosts to keep him company," Ed responded sincerely, "You deserve another chance at life. So let me extend my hand and offer that chance to you."

Ed holds his hand out for him to take.

Cato can only stare at the hand as Ed's words slowly register in his mind. Even though he has gotten a hold on the emotions that swell inside him every time he thinks about the events that forced him to live like this, the emotions were still there. And they really wanted him to take Ed's hand.

So take it he did.

Ed smiled and brought Cato in for a hug. Cato clutched tightly onto Ed, tears slowly falling from his eyes as the hug - the warmth of the body, the strength of the arms, even the herb-like smell of Ed - reminded him sorely of the last hug his dad gave before he was killed.

"Now let's get you home."

And home he went.

His new home.

When Cato agreed to go with Ed, he didn't know what he expected of their destination.

They had only walked for about an hour, Cato counted since it was currently the only way to calm him down if the white-knuckle grip he had on the survival book was any indication of how tense he was about the whole situation still.

After that hour, the two reached a long chain link fence with barbed wire threaded through, indicating that it was an electric fence.

Cato turns to Ed with a question that Ed can already read off his expression.

"Don't worry about the fence. It's never really on because of how poor the district is."

Cato nods but he's still worried.

Ed chuckles, "If you're still worried, you just need to get close enough to check if you can hear the sound of electricity. Otherwise, you use this gap in the fence that no one's bothered to repair."

He points to a large hole that was indeed in the fence. Cato stares wide-eyed at the blatant security threat that would've been repaired and the perpetrator punished if they were back in District 2.

Ed pats him on the back, "I think you'll find that the peacekeepers are much more willing to bend the rules here than at whichever district you came from."

Cato nods at the answer and follows Ed through the hole and along a dirt path leading into what was probably the poorest part of the district.

Ramshackle huts made with whatever could be found lying around, tattered shacks that were held together through sheer hope and willpower, and what could only be described as cloth on sticks. People milled about looking both dirty and hopeless like any fight they might have had or motivation to live was either drained or never there to begin with. They all have the same coloring with olive skin, dark hair, and grey eyes.

Cato stuck closer to Ed as they walked. He grew unnerved as the people turned to stare at him as if they knew he didn't belong with his blonde hair and blue eyes, despite the obvious effects living in the forest had on him with his lean physicality and somewhat dirty appearance.

Luckily, their destination was just a short walk away. A small wood house that was better put together than the rest of the "buildings" in this part of town. It probably had to do with the fact that it was more than a house as Cato watched a woman about Ed's age, with blonde hair and blue eyes a shade or two lighter than his own, hand a dangerously thin man a bundle of herbs that Cato recognized from the book as remedies for the common cold.

The woman smiles encouragingly at the man who silently cries as she speaks to him. The man bows his head in thanks before shuffling away. The woman watches sadly as she wipes her hands on a stained apron tied around her pale blue dress.

"Clara! I'm back!" Ed calls out.

The woman, Clara, turns to them and smiles widely at Ed. As she walks over, Cato slowly inches to hide behind Ed.

"You're back earlier than we expected," Clara said with an amused smile.

"Well I ran into something rather unexpected while I was out," Ed laughed sheepishly.

"Oh?"

Clara narrowed her eyes as her husband sheepishly rubs the back of his head before sliding her gaze towards Cato who was now almost completely hidden behind him.

"Oh."

Clara's gaze softened, "It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the young gentleman behind you would it?"

Ed raises his hands up as if to say 'You got me.'

"Ed..." Clara starts to say but Ed cuts her off by placing his arm around her shoulder and leading her back towards the house.

"Let me explain please," Ed said.

He turned to Cato, "Why don't you wait outside by the door Cato? It'll only take a few minutes."

Cato nods silently before moving to plop down on the ground beside the front door as Ed and Clara enter. They close the door behind them and start a muffled conversation that Cato can't even hope to hear clearly despite how thin the wooden walls of the house look.

He sits for what feels longer than a few minutes before the young girl from the forest, Ed's daughter, walks over to him with a small blonde toddler sleeping in her grasp. The two of them look just as out of place as he does despite how the daughter had the same coloring as everyone else.

"Who are you?" the girl asked.

"Ummm..." Cato scrambles for an answer, "I think I'm your new brother?"

The girl narrows her eyes in suspicion in a manner similar to the way her mother did earlier at Ed.

"What do you mean you think? You either are or you aren't. Where did you even come from anyway?"

"Your dad found me living by myself in the forest and then he asked if I wanted to come live with him," Cato responded.

The girl sighs, "Yeah, that definitely sounds like dad. Mom says he's such a bleeding heart. Whatever that means."

Cato shrugs. The girl walks over and sits down next to him.

"My name's Katniss by the way."

"Like the Katniss plant?"

Katniss nods.

"Are flower names just a thing in this family?" Cato asks, genuinely curious.

"Yup. Besides mom, everyone in the family's named after a flower with some kind of special meaning. Katniss means adaptable survivor because of how edible the entire plant is. My baby sister's name, Primrose, means purity, honesty, and good luck. It's also really pretty like her and can also be used as medicine," Katniss explained.

"Huh," Cato nodded along, "Then I wonder what your dad's name means."

"I don't know," she said, shrugging, "But we could probably ask him."

At that moment, Ed and Clara exit the building.

"Oh good! You three have met," Ed said, "This'll make everything easier."

Ed crouches down in front of them as Clara smiles off to the side.

"Cato. Even though I already asked this in the forest, I'd like to ask you again."

Cato sits up straight at Ed's serious tone despite the smile on his face.

"Would you like to be a part of my family?"

Cato looks at Ed for a moment. He turns to Clara who smiles encouragingly and then to Katniss who bounces a little in excitement. He turns back to Ed.

"Okay."

Ed moves to hug Cato again who surprises each other by meeting him halfway. Katniss smiles giddily as Clara moves to take Primrose before Katniss accidentally wakes her up. Katniss then launches herself at Ed and Cato, knocking them all onto the ground.

They sit up laughing before pausing when Katniss looks at the two with a serious expression.

"Wait! If Cato's going to be our brother, he needs a flower name, like us!"

Ed laughs, "I'm sure we'll be able to come up with something. That is, if Cato agrees?"

Everyone turns to look at Cato again who nods in response. Katniss cheers and goes back to hugging the two tightly.

And for the first time in almost six months, Cato felt light. Unburdened.

Happy.

And that's all she wrote. For this chapter. I hope you don't mind the way I'm writing Cato. In the books and films, he's portrayed as the typical cocky Career from 2 only to end up becoming just another scared kid who only just realized the weight of the Games. And that's it. And I still to this day, do not know why I like him so much?! In this story, I'm just trying to expand on his character and also direct him towards another direction where he realizes the weight of the Games earlier and also has something to fight for besides glory. He will still have that confident swagger later on but that's when he's all grown up and actually involved with the Games, yeah?

Anyways, I suck at writing at a consistent pace in a consistent tone. So if you're still here, hugs and kisses and whatever form of platonic physical affection you desire to you! Thanks for still sticking it out with me. Please review and don't send flames. If you do, I'll either delete them or use them for roasting smores. Until next time!