Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? So here's that mini chapter I was talking about in which we get to see what Katniss, Clove, and Rue were up to during the three days Val was out like a light. There will be some Thresh sprinkled in here and there and the tone will be different from the rest of the story because I wanted to have some fluff and happy times with these characters before shit gets real in the next chapter.
Like always, I enjoy comments, in fact I thrive off of positive comments and love constructive critique ones cause it shows an author that their readers are actually paying attention and enjoying their work.
Thanks for continuing to read this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.
Disclaimer: I still do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by the books or the movies, and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books or movies.
Warning: No beta, we die like Rue.
Chapter 18.5: Three Girls and a Friendly (Not) Stalker
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Katniss' heart pounds in her chest, its thumping the only sound she can hear as she and Clove hide behind a bush only a few feet away from the clearing they spent the night in with the other Careers.
They wait, as patiently as they can given the circumstances. Katniss twitches restlessly while Clove mindlessly fidgets with the zipper of her jacket. Their heads snap up when the sound of a crash and ensuing screams and shouts echo from the clearing.
The two watch with bated breath as Marvel runs out like a bat out of hell. He's uninjured as he rushes past their hiding spot without a single glance back. Soon after, an enraged roar and an inhuman snarl sound from the clearing. Then Kai, with a large bruise on his jaw and a few stings trailing down his neck, comes rushing out. He has a white knuckled grip on his spear with blood dripping off its end. A bit after him comes Amber, a snarl mars her face and there's a wild, almost feral look in her eyes. The knuckles of her left hand are bruised and there's a thick cut on her face.
As soon as she leaves their line of sight, an angry swarm of gold tinted wasps buzzes after them. Katniss gasps at the sight of the swarm. Clove quickly slaps her hands over her mouth, muffling any further sounds that could draw the swarm's attention to them. The two refuse to even breath until the swarm disappears from their sight and the angry buzzing fades away into the distance.
Clove breathes a sigh of relief then quickly snatches her hand away from Katniss' mouth.
"Did you just lick me?" she cries out, shocked at Katniss' actions.
Katniss glares as she spits the taste of Clove's hand out of her mouth. "You were smothering me," she snaps back, "Also, wash your fucking hands. They're gross as fuck."
Clove rolls her eyes. "Oh yeah. I'll be sure to waste a favor by asking my mentor to send me a bar of soap because personal hygiene is totally something I need to worry about in the Hunger Games."
Katniss glares back at her. "You fucking suck."
"I also fucking swallow," Clove chirps back with a wink.
Katniss chokes at her response. Clove laughs at her reaction. "Don't dish it if you can't take it," she manages to say between laughs, then she stops mid-laugh. "Are we forgetting something? I feel like we're forgetting something."
The two girls look back at the entrance to the clearing and then look back at each other as a light bulb goes off in their heads.
"Val!" they both cry out before scrambling back to the clearing. Upon entry they see Val fumbling about as he pries the bow and arrows out of Glimmer's cold hands. He's clearly been stung a few times given his clumsy movements and dazed expression. Clove reaches out to grab Katniss by the shoulder but Katniss shoves her hand off and rushes over to him.
"Val! What the hell are you doing?" Katniss shouts as she tries to help him stand up, "Get the hell out of here!"
Val mutters incoherently and shoves at her. Katniss stumbles a bit back, hurt at his reaction, but she swallows it down as she watches him struggle to stand and walk properly. She moves to try and support him again but he shoves her even harder this time. His mutterings now clearly sound more like curses that metaphorically stab her as she falls heavily onto the ground.
Clove rushes over to her with a worried expression. "Katniss! Are you okay?"
But Katniss can't hear her, the words falling on deaf ears as her attention is solely on Val. She numbly watches as he stumbles out of the clearing and out of her sight. Clove continues to lightly shake her until she finally snaps out of it.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Are you okay?" Clove carefully asks again.
Katniss goes back to staring at the place where Val disappeared through. She slowly pushes herself off the ground. "I'm fine. My pride's a bit wounded," she sighs as she brushes herself off, "Or maybe it's my heart that's supposed to be untouchable cause I'm jaded by life? I don't know. Emotions suck."
"They sure do," Clove agrees with a hum. "So what do you wanna do now?"
Katniss takes only a moment to think before answering, "Go after Val, obviously. He's been stung so he's probably hallucinating right now. He's an easy target for any tribute who comes across him, especially if it's a Career.'
"Alright," Clove agrees, "Then let's go after him. He couldn't have gone far anyways."
The two girls head back to their hiding bush to grab their bags and weapons. Then they set off after Val, not even a second glance back at Glimmer's dead body. They followed the thankfully very obvious trail of destruction he'd left in his haste to just "get away".
It took some time for them to catch up to him. He managed to get surprisingly far given his current state of being. The two girls walk through another large gathering of brush and are greeted by the sight of Rue kneeling beside Val's unconscious body. Katniss and Clove gape at Rue who stares at them, straight faced, as she calmly mashes some sort of herbal paste in a metal bowl.
"If you're done staring," Rue says as she turns her attention back to Val, "Do you mind helping me by keeping an eye out for any tributes? Thanks."
The two girls can only continue to gape at Rue as she methodically slathers the herbal paste over the sting wounds on Val's exposed arms and neck. The clinical way in which she made the paste and applied it reminded Katniss heavily of Prim and it made her heart hurt even further. Because while she knows she has to make things right with Val, she still has time to do so no matter how limited it might be. But with Prim, all she got was a five minute goodbye that was mostly spent lecturing her mother to make sure Prim would be able to continue living without the hardship that had come from their father's death.
Rue turns to give the two girls a look while still continuing her application of the paste. The way in which Rue gazed at them reminded the two heavily of the bedside manner of nurses who had to deal with patients who didn't want to listen to the doctor's orders. It has them snapping out of their thoughts and scrambling a short distance out of the clearing they were in to start an impromptu patrol circuit around it. Silence hangs around them as they muse about how intimidating Rue can be and worry about Val's injured condition.
They only stop when they hear Rue call out to them. "Alright! I'm done! You two can come back!"
They make their way back to the clearing, keeping an eye out for any tributes regardless because they do not need any more surprises after the morning they've had. Rue smiles up at them, her cold demeanor from earlier nowhere to be seen and has Katniss and Clove's minds spinning from the whiplash. But Katniss quickly diverts her attention to Val who looks ridiculous covered in patches of herbal paste, but much more at ease and less pained from his injuries.
"Thank you," she breathes out in relief.
Rue beams at her. "It's no problem. You guys are my allies and Val's really nice so I just had to make sure he was going to be alright."
"And is he?," Clove asks anxiously, "Going to be alright I mean."
"Mhm," Rue nods, smile still bright, "This paste is made of a blend of herbs that absorb tracker jacker toxins. We had a lot of issues with their nests back in 11 so everyone learned to make this paste in case they ever get stung."
Katniss and Clove slumps in relief. Thankful that their reckless older brother/best friend will be alright after that stupid stunt he'd pulled. How the hell did he think it'd be a good idea to cut a branch with tracker jackers attached to it? While both girls were reckless in their own ways, even they weren't stupid enough to mess with anything the Capitol had a hand in creating.
"Heh," Clove chuckles, drawing attention to her, "Looks like he's still got the devil's luck. Being able to pull a stunt like that and walk away unscathed." She glances at the patches of paste again and winces. "Well, mostly unscathed."
"So how long will it take for the toxins to be absorbed?" Katniss asks.
Rue frowns as she looks back down at Val. "It'll actually take some time because of how many times he got stung. We'll need to move him to a less exposed place so he can recover as safely as possible."
The older girls nod though their brows are furrowed in worry. Rue gestures for them to come over and help her.
"Alright, you two should grab the limbs at either end of his body and then we can hopefully drag him to a more well hidden clearing without leaving any tracks along the way," she says as she packs her supplies up.
Katniss and Clove look down at Val's larger and most definitely heavier body then at their limbs which while lean with muscle were nowhere near strong enough to lift his body up even with the three of them.
Just as they're about to voice their doubts, a deep voice speaks from directly behind them. "I'll carry him."
The older girls scream in surprise as they whirl around to see the large, hulking form of Thresh towering over them. The two clutch at each other as their hearts race in their chests. Katniss' knees shake and it's only with Clove's near death grip around her that keeps her standing.
Rue doesn't even blink at his sudden appearance. She smiles widely at him and chirps out, "Thanks Thresh! Your help will definitely make things much easier."
Katniss and Clove can only watch, their bodies still trembling slightly from the jumpscare, as Thresh lumbers over to Val's unconscious body. He carefully lifts him up, mindful of the wounds, into a princess hold. If Katniss weren't still scared out of her mind, she would've laughed at the sight of tall, dark, and Thresh, carrying her brother around like he was a delicate and fragile doll.
Thresh walks out of the clearing with Rue bouncing along behind him. Rue stops at the edge of the clearing to look back at the two older girls still clutching at each other like a lifeline.
"Are you guys coming or are you going to keep hugging each other?" she asks, tilting her head innocently.
This breaks the two out of their shock and they quickly let go of each other almost to the point of bodily shoving the other onto the ground. Katniss and Clove quickly follow after Rue, looking everywhere but each other as Rue smiles mirthfully ahead of them. Katniss can only silently groan when she sees Rue's expression. She looks at her brother and can only think that this was going to be a long ass recovery period. And it won't be because of Val's shit healing rate.
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Katniss and Clove sit idly by the dying remains of the small fire they had going. Val lies unconscious nearby under some brush Katniss managed to put together into a form of natural cover to hide him whenever any of the girls had to leave. Rue sits up in a nearby tree softly humming a tune to herself as night slowly falls upon them. Once the sun completely sets, it's not long before the Panem National Anthem plays.
They all look up to see the image of Glimmer lighting up the sky like a digital moon. She smiles coyly with only her District number tagged underneath to identify her. Then the image disappears as the anthem fades out.
"Thank god that bitch is dead," Katniss says out of the blue, breaking the silence that had settled.
"I know right?" Clove agrees with a faint grin, "Always acting all high and mighty and using proper grammar like she's from the Capitol or something. All she's missing was a strange accent."
"Are all people from 1 like that?"
Clove shrugs. "I'm from 2. How am I supposed to know?"
"Fair enough." Katniss shrugs in kind.
"Poor Marvel though," Clove sighs, "He really liked her, though I'll never know why. Apparently they're childhood friends. But good ol' Glimmer only ever had eyes for Kai."
Katniss grimaces. "Ugh. Who the fuck would ever like Kai? He can go fuck himself."
"Yeah! Fuck Kai!" Clove barks out with a grin.
The two laugh cheerfully as Rue continues to hum above them, graciously allowing the older girls a moment for themselves instead of lecturing them on their language. Swearing is the last thing any of them need to be worrying about after all. And besides, Rue's heard it all. The fields always get rowdy at night after the adults have had one too many celebratory drinks after a successful harvest.
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Katniss methodically skins the animals that were attached to Val's bag. She silently thanks her brother because at least they don't have to go hunting or foraging for food for today. Though they might need to tomorrow if none of them manage to find anything.
Katniss looks up when Rue comes bouncing back into the clearing with what looks to be a small bag of berries. Rue halts at the sight of the disassembled animals laid out before Katniss. Katniss raises an eyebrow in question and is about to ask what's up when Rue suddenly bursts into tears.
"What's wrong?" Katniss asks in a panic, wanting to go over to her but can't since she's got blood and dead animal all over her hands.
"What are you doing to those poor animals?" Rue chokes out between sobs.
Katniss stares at her, flabbergasted. "Uh..." she gapes as she tries to form a response. "Cutting them up for food?"
Rue walks over, still crying, and gathers up the pile of bones Katniss had put aside to deal with later. Katniss then stares, wide-eyed, as Rue proceeds to make a small grave for the bones, even going so far as to place a stone marker and etch "RIP Squirrel and Rabbit" on the top of the dirt mound.
Then Katniss continues to stare in utter bewilderment when not even an hour later, Rue happily eats the cooked meat of the animals she'd just cried over like nothing ever happened.
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The girls were just minding their own business, sitting around doing idle work as they wait for Val to just wake up already. The mindlessness of the day is completely interrupted when Thresh appears in the clearing. No sound or movement to indicate his arrival, just a blink and he's there.
Katniss and Clove both scream and startle at his sudden appearance.
"What the fuck are you? A ghost?" Katniss asks, clutching her chest as she attempts to calm her racing heart.
Clove clutches at her head, rocking back and forth as she mutters, "What...what is this feeling I feel? It's gripping my chest so tightly. Is it...Is it fear? I hate it! Make it go away!"
Rue takes in Thresh's reaction to their reaction and frowns at them. "Hey! Don't say that. You hurt his feelings," she scolds.
The two older girls look at Thresh who is as stoic and neutral faced as ever. They can't see any sign of emotion at all, not even a hint of body language to go off of.
"He has feelings?" Katniss' traitorous mouth asks.
Rue props her hands on her hips as her frown deepens. "Yes, he does and you hurt them. Now apologize!"
"O-okay?" Katniss hastily responds. She and Clove turn to look at Thresh, still stoic and blank faced, and apologize for hurting his feelings. He gives a grunt in response, somehow managing to make a verbal sound without a single facial muscle twitching.
Rue's frown turns upside down. "Awww," she coos, "Now he's happy! Thanks guys."
Katniss and Clove look back at Thresh and simultaneously think 'How? What? Someone please explain!'
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"So what's 2 like?" Katniss asks as the three girls wander through the forest, foraging and hunting for food.
Clove tilts her head in thought. "Well, it's not as wealthy or extravagant as 1 but it's alright," she says with a shrug before frowning, "The only thing unique about 2 besides our masonry is this weird obsession everyone seems to have with the Games."
Katniss lifts an eyebrow in question prompting Clove to continue. "Everyone seems to see the Games as some sort of test that's meant to prove who's worthy of godhood or some weird shit like that. I don't know, I've never really paid much attention to the rhetoric," she explains, "My best friend's dad was the only reason why I even learned about the system in the first place. Otherwise, I wouldn't have cared because why should I give a shit about whether or not you can be chosen for a chance to stand above mere mortals."
The other two girls frown and nod along. "Wow, the upper districts really are different from the lower ones," Rue observes thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Katniss agrees, "12 could give less of a shit about the Games. Everyone's too focused on their lives or livelihoods to care."
"How so?" Clove asks.
"12 is split in half, literally and metaphorically," Katniss explains, "One half is the Seam. It's poor and dirty and hopeless, but it's still somehow full of life. Then you've got the other half, the Town. It's clean and as pretty as something from 12 can be, but all the Townies are so obsessed with appearing wealthy and perfect with posh attitudes and all. Most days, I'm actually glad to be from the Seam cause at least we know how to have a good time."
"Mmm," Rue hums, "The Seam sounds a lot like 11. It's hard living there and we often struggle to make sure we have enough food for the table, but it's a warm and loving place. 11 is all about community. We're each other's families. Everyone supports each other and no one gets left behind."
The three girls stand there silently, different degrees of homesickness bubbling inside them.
"Sometimes, I wish the Districts were never separated the way they were. Then maybe we could've found each other sooner," Rue quietly comments.
The girls then continue their trek but now they're no longer in any mood to complete the task they had originally set out for.
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The low mood from earlier persists as the four tributes sit around a dying campfire and alternate in sending worried glances at Val's still body. Even Thresh's sudden appearance didn't jar Katniss or Clove as much as it usually would.
"Ya know," Clove says, drawing the attention of the others, "Val reminds me of my best friend."
Katniss perks up in interest because she's always been curious about what Val was like before he joined her family. And this seems to be the only way they can talk about it without jeopardizing his identity. Rue and Thresh also lean in, though Thresh's movement was more like a miniscule head tilt forward, curious as well.
This prompts Clove to continue speaking. "Val seems to be the loyal and empathetic sort, just like Cato," she says with a fond smile, "He was such a mom friend who was always making sure I stayed out of trouble and if he couldn't, he'd jump right in with me and make sure I could get out of it. He was always there for me even when I did my best to push him away." Her words quieting near the end, her smile turning melancholic. "I don't know if I'd be alive right now if it weren't for him."
"Cato sounds like he was a really good person," Rue tentatively says, conscious of the fact that Clove's eyes were slowly growing wet.
"Yeah, he was," she agrees, turning away to subtly wipe the gathering tears away.
The others quietly give her space by looking at anywhere but her. When she turns back, Katniss continues the conversation as if that little moment never happened.
"He sounds just like Val," Katniss agrees with an empathetic nod, "Even though he was an only child, after we adopted him, Val took to being a big brother like a duck takes to water. Then when dad died, he stepped up and made sure we were all warm and fed. He made so many sacrifices just to make sure we all stayed afloat and still somehow found the time to make sure I found happiness in my life when I had always believed the only thing I'd find was the bottom of a ditch."
"I'm glad that you managed to meet someone like your best friend, Clove," Rue says softly. "It's never fun missing someone you know you'll never see again. So I'm glad Val can help you keep the memory of your friend alive."
Thresh grunts out in agreement and Katniss nods knowingly.
Clove smiles gratefully at them and the conversation ends there, the mood noticeably lighter this time.
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"So..." Clove starts, dragging the word out as Katniss and Rue turn their attention to her.
"So?" Katniss asks, confused as to where the monosyllabic word could be leading. Then she grows weary when Clove smiles like a cat about to catch the canary.
"Peeta," Clove said matter of fact, "Tell me about him."
Katniss crosses her arms defensively. "Why?"
Clove rolls her eyes. "Cause we've been stuck together for almost three days and we haven't once had a chance to have any girl talk."
"Oh god, you're one of those girls," Katniss says with disgust, "The ones who have nothing better to do than to gossip and curl their hair with their manicured nails and giggle like idiots at the stupidest shit possible."
Clove wrinkles her nose in disgust, "Excuse you. Don't compare me to those basic bitches. I just missed talking with girls about girl stuff. You really think Val or even Thresh could contribute anything to the boy talk conversation?"
"Fair enough," Katniss sighs because Clove does have a point and she has missed talking to girls who weren't her mom or little sister. "Alright then, I guess the only things I really wanna say about Peeta is that he's really sweet and down to earth. If you knew his mother, you'd never understand how someone as pure as him ever came from that bitch who can rot in hell for all I care."
Clove nods understandingly as if abusive parents were just a staple of life in 2 though her empathetic expression has Katniss to believe that there was more to the story. However, everyone's entitled to their secrets, especially girls and especially since everything they say is potentially being broadcasted to millions of people.
"What about you?" Katniss asks, genuinely curious and also secretly desperate to change the focus of the topic to someone other than her beloved Peeta.
Clove grins salaciously. "Oh, I was quite the Casanova back at the Academy."
"Really? You?" Katniss asks, disbelieving at the mental image of Clove prowling the halls of a Career Academy, snatching up boys and girls left and right, but she could also totally see it too.
"Yup," Clove nods proudly. "Guys and girls alike were in awe at my beauty and my talents. But I would only ever pursue anything with those who could best at knives. After all, those who work well with their hands and wrists are also the best when it comes to doing the devil's tango," she says, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Katniss snorts out with laughter which has Clove clutching her sides soon after. Their laughter dies immediately though, when Rue asks, "What's the devil's tango?"
The two older girls pale as they gape at Rue, then at each other, before back at Rue with expressions that just scream 'Must protect this precious child.'
"Oh, you sweet summer child, you," Clove coos as she pats Rue on the head. "Never change."
Rue accepts the head pats with a graceful pout. "No seriously. What's the devil's tango?" she whines out and stomps like a petulant child, "Is it some kind of dance or something? I need to know! Someone tell me!"
Katniss and Clove laugh uncomfortably the more pushy Rue gets. Sweat starts to gather from their increasing nervousness as neither know how to divert her attention to some other subject. Thankfully, though not for their sanity, Thresh pops up in another 'blink and he's there' moment. The two girls struggle to hold back their screams, biting their lips and clutching the other as Thresh pats Rue gently on the head.
"You're too young to know so don't ask," he grunts out softly.
Rue looks at him thoughtfully before nodding along brightly. "Ok!"
She then returns her attention to her herbal paste concoction, unknowing of the glare Thresh sent over her head towards Katniss and Clove. If looks could kill, the two girls would've been hanged, stabbed, bled out, drawn and quartered, with their body parts burnt to a crisp and the ashes spread out into the wind. They can only nod fearfully and frantically at Thresh's unspoken message. He grunts in satisfaction at their unspoken answer before turning his attention back to fondly watching over Rue. The two older girls can only continue to clutch each other as they attempt to regain the years of their life they had just lost from that single glare.
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Katniss and Clove leisurely make their way back to the clearing. Their hunting and gathering trip was unsuccessful due to having spotted Kai and Marvel on a warpath through the patch of forest they had designated as their hunting grounds. Their leisurely pace is broken when Rue rushes at them with an excitable air about her.
"Val's awake!" she quickly shouts without so much as a greeting before turning and running back to the clearing.
The older girls turn to each other with wide-eyed expressions, turning to look back to where Rue ran off, then running after the little girl. Relief courses through their veins when they break through the brush and enter the clearing to see Val, sitting up, awake, well, and confused as hell.
And that's the end of the fluff and happy times now, unfortunately. Because we are still in the Hunger Games and happiness is not allowed. It's in the rules. So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and that it'll tide you over until I manage to get the next chapter out. Again, it's going to take much longer to get it out because I want to make the emotional climax as perfect as I can make it. Please make sure to emotionally prepare yourself for a chapter that I hope will be super emotional. Until next time!