Chapter Thirty-Two, Fine

After a frankly exhausting day, Artemis and Silyah were quite pleased to be seated by a small fire, cooking their respective pieces of bird meat. Fortunately for the District 3 team, the rest of their evening had gone by without any new life-threatening situations, cannons or poisonous snakes and both tributes agreed on the fact that they deserved a break.

"You have some nasty nail marks on your neck and a pretty bad cut on your jaw," noticed Silyah, eyeing her companion. "Do you want a bandage?"

"What?" Artemis looked at her. Nail marks? Of course, from Caskar. "Oh, no, it's all right."

Silyah shrugged and went back to her bird, tentatively bringing it to her mouth. "Not that bad for a strange wild animal," she confirmed after her first bite.

Artemis nodded, suddenly missing Bulter's Cordon Bleu cooking, but nevertheless appreciating the fact that he had recently learned a few things about food.

Silyah followed Artemis's gaze, landing her eyes on the second bird the boy had left not too far from their camp. "A shame we can't eat this one," she stated. "Although, its death was quite useful, as it confirmed that the truffles were indeed deadly."

"You doubted it?"

"I wouldn't use the word "doubt," after all what you've told me… But now we know that they can be used as a weapon…"

The boy nodded. "Maybe Caskar likes truffles."

"You should ask him next time you run straight into him," she said, still a bit shaken by Artemis's latest imprudence.

Artemis smiled faintly. "Yes, excellent idea," he replied before pausing. "He will be hunting me, you know. After I lodged an arrow in his knee, it is sure that he will seek revenge…"

"I think that even without the arrow, he would still want to hunt you down. In training, he made his killing list pretty obvious."

"Yet both Silver and I are still alive," said Artemis. Even though he had no confirmation of Silver being alive, he knew that she was clever enough to still be around.

Silyah sighed and stretched her aching legs. "Speaking of staying alive, I think that we should sleep in shifts tonight. This way we would make sure that one of us is awake if something was to happen."

"Good idea."

The girl from 3 gave Artemis a quick smile as she rolled up her the bottom of her pants pouring a small amount of water on her bruised and bitten legs to remove a layer of dried blood from them.

"What is that?" Artemis took the girl's arm in his hand, as she attempted to cover her wounds up. "When did this happen?"

Uh, oh… What can I say? thought Silyah. She did not want Artemis to bother with that; she knew that the bites could end her life… "I fell in a bush…" If there ever was such a thing as a competition for the lamest excuses, this one could have been in the top five. "Of thorns… When I was gathering roots," she added.

Artemis clearly knew that she was lying, but the boy did not have any further questions, so Silyah kept her mouth shut, bringing her attention to the sky as time of the Fallen arrived.

That night, Harbor Pearl's face lit up the arena sky for as long as the anthem of Panem filled the air.

"I wonder who took him down," said Artemis slowly. "Look at him, he was big and strong. Whoever did this might be a great danger to us…"

"Let's see who's left…" Silyah went through her mental list, raising one of her fingers as she enumerated the tributes. "Silver, Caskar, Zinque, us… Wait there is someone missing."

Artemis looked thoughtful. "That womanizer, Kalheb."

Silyah laughed, wondering how she could have forgotten him. "Not many girls left for the chap, right? Only Silver and I; the first ones he tried to put his big hands on."

"What a coincidence," smirked Artemis. "The only two who did not want him."

"What a pity," said the girl sarcastically.

The raven-haired teen leaned back, looking up to the dark night sky. "How long has it been?"

"Since the beginning of the Games? Tomorrow will be the eighth day."

Artemis nodded slowly. "So far, we're still here… Though, if it weren't for you, I would certainly not be… Which reminds me; I will need to repay you for that some day."

"Believe me, your debt is already paid back. Without you with me now, I would probably be dead too. Someone would have found me kicking tress and seeing blood stains everywhere; quite an easy target, really," she said in a soft and quiet voice.

"Well, you're welcome then."

"Do you want the first sleeping shift tonight?"

"No, you may take it."

"All right." The girl wrapped her arm around Artemis's as she lightly squeezed his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Good night… And wake me up when you'll be sleepy." Letting go of Artemis, she took a blanket from her coat's back pocket and stepped into the tent.

All in all, Silyah was utterly confused about the way she acted around Artemis. Had she just leaned on him? She had even hugged and kissed him earlier in the Games. That was certainly not her normal behavior around people… Not to mention that she felt so much lighter when she was at his side… Tucking herself into her blanket, Silyah brushed her complicated thoughts away and tried to find sleep.

On the other side of the tent, Artemis sighed and leaned against a small tree, looking over the dark sky. The boy was having thoughts quite similar to Silyah's. He could not bring himself to understand how or why, but at the back of his mind, he knew that somehow, something just matched between Silyah and him. Although he had one of the greatest minds in the whole world, understanding feelings was not exactly second nature to the genius…

"Artemis?" Silyah whispered as she stepped in the tent, just after having watched the sky turn from the darkest of shades to the pink hues of dawn and finally, to the colors of the early morning. The girl sat beside Artemis, once again finding herself watching him sleep.

The boy moved slightly before opening his eyes, already anticipating Silyah's presence.

"Morning, handsome," she said in her Capitol accent for old time's sake.

Artemis turned his head towards Silyah. "Good morning."

"Breakfast is almost ready," she smiled, pointing to the cooking bird above the fire she had built in the ashes of the previous one.

"Splendid," whispered Artemis as he stretched and poked his head out of the tent, following Silyah outside.

Trying to conceal her shaking hands, the girl handed him a flat rock with the piece of meat and a few roots on it. "Bon appétit," she told him.

Zinque Chart had been walking in the forest the whole night. Though it would shame him to admit it, he was completely lost. And on his own, at that…

I knew that Harbor should not have chased Silver. Now, he paid for it. Zinque had not been surprised to find his ally's face in the sky at nightfall.

The boy from 11 kicked a rock as he explored the forest. Since he had no idea as to where to go, he simply let the rock decide. Two kicks to the left, one kick to the right. Eventually, he would have to find someone, or at least something…

After hours of wandering, the young man stopped. He had found a nice place to rest. It was the first time he would sleep without having someone to wake him up if enemies were to approach… Therefore, he crossed his fingers and hid in the shadows of a few small trees to take a nap…

Fortunately for Caskar, he had been near the waterfalls when – no, he would not even think about what happened; the stupid squirrel following him ever since would start laughing at him again if he did. Instead, he dipped his injured leg deeper in the water of the stream at the foot of the waterfall. Needless to say, the wound Artemis had inflicted him was quite nasty and deep enough to require a thick bandage and perhaps a few stitches. It seemed that which each day, the tall District 1 boy earned himself a new scar.

Ever since his last encounter with Silver, he had not been able to find sleep and his head was truly spinning; he was not in the best of shapes, but that was not going to stop him from his goal. He was going to win the Hunger Games! He was going to kill the remaining tributes and he was going to come back to the Capitol to fire the stylist who had created his arena outfit and the one who had stuck glitter on his eyebrows!

In an attempt to wake his brain up, Caskar splashed some bloody water on his face. He then looked down on his bruised hands. They had twisted themselves into fists, ready to hold on to his weapon with a tight grip. The boy took a moment to promise himself that he would never let go of them anymore; not until his enemies' blood would be dripping from the tip of his silver blades. In one quick movement, which was still too slow for his taste, Caskar grabbed one of his daggers, plunging it in the ground where an imaginary squirrel was laughing and hopping around.

"Ha, ha. You're finally dead," he said in a dry and emotionless tone. He took back his knife and the animal's body disappeared. A hovercraft must have picked it up, figured the delusional District 1 boy, completely oblivious to the messy state of his mind.

Silyah held on to one her spears to support the weight her legs could not support anymore. She was trying her hardest to pretend that everything was fine, that it was only the aftermath of her stay in the arena starting to affect her and that she would feel better soon. Of course, that act was only meant to deflect Artemis's attention from her pitiful state. In fact, the girl was afraid. Her heart rate was strange, her breathing uneven and worst of all; her limbs were now beginning to shake.

After their breakfast, she and Artemis had packed up and left in order to hunt, as well as get away from where Caskar had last been seen. Artemis had also looked at the hunting trip as an opportunity to get used to working his simple bow; practice was the only way to victory, after all.

The pair was currently hunting small game, never having seen anything more consistent than a rabbit in the arena. The two teenagers had actually spotted a few wild hares during the day, but these little creatures were fast and easy to lose in the thick vegetation.

At some point, Silyah's gaze locked on a small berry-filled bush. Something was in there; she was absolutely sure of it. Two little red circles were indeed cautiously following her stare… The girl turned around slowly, pretending that she was not interested in the small animal, before raising her spear, sending it straight in the bush. She did not reach her target, but the scared rabbit that had been hiding in the shrub hopped right towards her. Without giving too much though about her next move, she took a blade from her boot and finished off the animal.

"I found our dinner," she called out.

"Good," replied Artemis, looking around. The area was not too thick with vegetation, yet was oddly well shielded. "We might as well camp here," he added, finding their location quite suitable.

"Sure," nodded Silyah, placing the rabbit on a flat rock. "I think that we could use your cooking machine for this one," she pointed out.

The girl retrieved her spear and sat on a large rock, wiping the thin film of sweat on her forehead. She then took off her coat, fanning herself with her hand.

Artemis observed her. "You don't look too well, Silyah."

She was about to deny Artemis's statement, but was interrupted by a light cough. "And your jaw was slashed by a tree, you were pushed, unconscious in frozen river, you fell off a rocky cliff, sprained your ankle, got a knife in the shoulder… I think that compared to you, what I've got is not much."

"Touché…" The boy frowned slightly.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"You know, whenever someone says that they are fine, it is usually to comfort someone they care about, mostly because they are not fine at all."

"Okay, I may not be in the best of shapes, but believe me, I'm still alive and hanging on." For now, she thought.

Artemis frowned once again.

"I just need to rest a little bit." She had always been so positive through this whole experience, why would knowing that her end was near change that?

The boy nodded, not pressing the subject.

Silyah laid down on the rock, resting her head on her coat. "I wonder what is going on back in Panem."

"Well…" began Artemis. "Effie is probably watching us and so is Beetee, who is probably wondering how we've managed to stay alive for so long… It's hard to believe that we are in the final six."

"Not that bad for two brains and four left feet," smiled Silyah.

"Brains over brawn, wasn't it the plan?"

"We did, however, get our fair share of brawn, don't you think?" She raised her head, a new question in mind. "Did you kill anybody yet?" she asked reluctantly.

Artemis looked pale – more than he already was, remembering the District 4 girl.

Silyah took his sudden change of color for a yes.

"Not by intention," he said slowly.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did it happen?" she wondered, not exactly sure if she wanted to know.

"I was living in the mines back then… I had created a weapon prototype, an electro-net, with the help of Scpenser Ross. You remember him? The boy from 12?"

Silyah nodded, ages ago, Scpenser had been on Beetee's "possible allies" list.

"When we were done with the net, we left the caves to go hunting, well Scpenser did the hunting… Then we heard a cannon and hurried back to our shelter, unaware that it was where the last death had occurred. There was such a horrible smell of fried flesh there to greet us… I'd rather not even think about it…" Artemis did not look too comfortable.

Silyah's nose twitched, betraying her disgust. "Sorry," she whispered.

"It's fine…"

"I really wish I could be home right now, safe." She coughed.

"If we hold on a little longer, you could soon be…" said Artemis.

Silyah raised an eyebrow. Had he meant what she had thought he had meant? "If only we could find a way to be out of harm's reach…"

"Maybe we can…"

During this particular moment, so many questions were raised and unspoken while so many things were left unanswered… However, there was one thing that was one hundred percent certain: the Panem audience went completely crazy after that last line.

Silyah looked at Artemis. She was aware that at this point, the entertainment factor of these Games, as well as the expectations of their viewers would not exactly be centered on kills. "What if we give this audience a show?" she asked Artemis in Gnommish.

Artemis thought about it, a smile forming on his lips. "Well, it has been proven to be beneficial for us before, so I don't see why not," he replied, also in Gnommish.

She patted the space on the rock beside her. "Come here," she said with a smile as she sat up.

The boy did so. He could only imagine what kind of reactions this would cause in the Capitol.

The girl slid her arm around his, much like she had done during the parade, as she wondered what she should do or not do… Delicately, she traced Artemis's jaw with her index until their eyes met.

"What should the audience see?" whispered Silyah under her breath.

"What would they want to see?"

A smiled played on her lips, which were getting closer to his. Artemis scanned the girl's face, unsure of what to expect from the brunette.

Just as their lips were about to brush, Silyah changed her course, landing a kiss on the wound-free side of Artemis's jaw. "And now they all squeal," she said in his ear.

Artemis smirked. "I certainly hope so," he whispered to her in Gnommish as she rested her head in the hollow of his neck. The girl did not really know why, but she enjoyed this proximity.

In the back of her mind, Silyah hoped that Artemis would think that he was the cause of her fast heartbeat and odd breathing sequences, but she knew all too well that he could see through her act. In fact, if he had believed her story about falling into a bush, she really would have questioned his intellect, or his mental sanity.

Artemis looked down at her. This show was starting to get curiously convincing.

Silyah closed her eyes and realized that once since she had been lifted into the arena, she felt comfortable. She let herself sink into Artemis's arms, unaware that she was not exactly responsible for it. In fact, Silyah felt as though her limbs were turning into jelly, as if they could not even support the weight of the air around her. She wanted to open her eyes, but only managed to flutter her eyelids weakly.

At first, Artemis had not bothered much – they had agreed on making a show after all – but when he noticed the sudden changes in the girl's pulse, he instantly became alert. This was not an act.

Shallow breaths escaped Silyah's mouth; she was fighting for oxygen. Artemis rested his hand on the girl's forehead. Compared to Artemis's usually chilly skin, she was burning. Her heart rate alternated between a heavy throbbing and a faint pulsation in between every short breath she managed to take. "D'arvit!" swore Artemis. There was no way he was going to let her die after all she had done for him.

Still holding Silyah up, Artemis reached for the first water bottle he could find and poured it on the girl's forehead. It was not the gentlest of solutions, but it would cool her down. The raven-haired boy then pressed his palm against her neck as he closed his eyes, concentrating on the point at the base of his skull. Please, let me have enough magic, he hoped. Artemis cleared his mind, searching for the few magic sparks which had remained in him even after his trip down the frosty river. "Heal," he murmured softly.

Pale blue sparks danced along his fingertips, transferring into Silyah's limp body. That would not be sufficient to rid her of whatever poison was in her system, but it might be just enough to get her back and alert. "Come on, now… Wake up…" he murmured, mostly for himself. He lightly shook the girl's shoulder and held up her head, yearning for her eyes to open.

Silyah slowly felt herself regaining control over her body. Her short breathing sequences began to sound more normal. She even took some deep breaths every now and then. As soon as she gathered the strength to do so, she brought a shaky hand to her forehead, wiping away the water drops falling towards her eyes before opening them.

A pair of highly concerned and stunning mismatching eyes was the first thing she caught sight of.

The girl was just about to ask what had just happened, but was taken by surprise instead.

The raven-haired teen holding her had leaned closer, so close that his lips had met hers.

Artemis was not too sure as to why he did it, but their seemed to be a voice at the back of his brain, screaming that he should and for once, he did listen to that voice. It was probably not the smartest thing to kiss her right now, considering that she had almost died choking, but she did not care at all. If Silyah had previously been unsure as to whether or not her heart had started beating again, now she was.

Artemis moved away, his cheeks slightly red. "Sorry… I don't…" Artemis ran a hand through is hair. "I don't know what came over me…"

"It's fine," she said quickly as she filled up her lungs. "Did I just?"

"I am afraid so…"

"I'm sorry," she said, taking in the fact that Artemis had just saved her. "I'm sorry you had to bring me back."

"I am not."

Silyah gave Artemis a bittersweet smile. She had the sudden feeling that her plan would be slightly harder to carry on than she had thought.