I can't believe a year has gone by already! Happy birthday, Katniss Everdeen!
"Katniss," the tall man with dark hair gently calls out, lightly shaking her arm. The little girl stirs, then lets out a little groan as she awakens.
"It's time to go. Are you ready, Katniss?"
This gets her attention. She sits straight up in bed, though she is careful not to disturb her sleeping sister, curled up tight next to her. Mr. Everdeen knows that if Katniss were to accidentally awaken the younger girl, she would not forgive herself for a long time. Katniss takes her duty as an older sister very seriously.
She pulls on a pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of shoes. It's late Spring, so the mornings are warm enough that she probably won't need a jacket, though she ties one around her waist just to be on the safe side. Before long, they're at the fence at the edge of the Seam. Mr. Everdeen keeps watch, while she wriggles her way under the fence, and over to the other side. Once she's safely through, he follows.
"Where are we going now, Daddy?" she asks as she slips her hand into his, so tiny in his much larger palm.
"It's a surprise," he says, grinning down at her.
"We're going to the lake, aren't we?" she says, sounding so sure of herself.
Mr. Everdeen just lets out a laugh. "Well, Katniss, I can't tell you if that's true or not, because that would ruin the surprise!"
"It's the lake," she says again, confident.
They walk through the woods for some time, stopping first to retrieve his bows and a quiver of arrows. He's surprised her legs are able to carry her the entire trip to the lake, because he knows it's a distance and it takes some time to get there. But Katniss has always had a toughness to her that he's had to admire. The closer they get, the more he can sense Katniss's excitement. With every familiar landmark they pass by, she lets out a little huff, each one proving that she was right about her theory.
As soon as the first silvery glimpse of the water comes into view, she bursts out with a, "I knew it was the lake!" Letting go of his hand, she runs as fast as she can towards the clearing. "Daddy, can I go swimming? Can I?" she asks over and over.
Mr. Everdeen holds his chin with one hand, as though he's thinking things over. "Well, now… " he says. "I suppose six is old enough to learn how to swim."
She lets out a cheer of triumph.
"Not yet, though, Katniss," he tells her before she has a chance to escape down to the water's edge. "It'll be too cold to go in right now. Let's find food while we wait for it to warm up."
"Can I shoot?" she asks eagerly.
Mr. Everdeen lets out a laugh. "If you're good," he tells her.
"I will be!" she promises.
He does let her practice a little, on the smaller bow that's more appropriate for her size. She practices shooting at trees and rocks, but not animals. Her aim isn't quite good enough for that just yet, though it won't be long before it is. She already shows remarkable talent for a beginner. Mr. Everdeen is confident that one day, she'll be a skilled archer. For now, though, she's already losing interest in the task. She abandons the bow and heads for the only remaining cabin he's pretty sure is a remnant from another lifetime. This is just what he needs. She'll play house with that rickety old broom made of branches, and he can shoot something for their special dinner that night.
The sun is just about straight overhead by the time he's satisfied with his haul, and heads over to the little cabin. He knocks on the door, knowing his daughter would chastise him for letting his manners slip if he forgot to do so.
"Who is it?" she calls, though she knows darn well who it is.
"Just a stranger come by to say hello. I heard a little girl is celebrating a special day here!" he calls in. He hears her giggle, and she comes forward to the door.
"Daddy, you know it's my birthday," she tells him with a grin.
"Is it?" he asks, feigning astonishment. "Well, that seems to call for something special, don't you think?"
"Yes!" she yells, almost jumping up and down with excitement.
"First, we have one more important task we need to accomplish. Do you think you can help me with it?"
"Yes!" she says promptly. "What is it?"
"Your mother needs us to bring her the biggest, juiciest, tastiest berries we can find, so she can make dessert."
She cheers, and the two take off for the trees where they scrounge around for berries. "Are these okay, Daddy?" she calls out every so often, showing a plump red strawberry, or a ripe blueberry, or any other of the number of different berries that can be found in these wooods. He approves them, and she adds them to the growing pile sitting in an old rag he'll use to carry them back.
"What about this?" she asks, holding a dark, round one out to it. He frowns at the sight, and leans forward to get a closer look. Yes, they're exactly what he thought they were.
"Not these, Katniss. Never these. You'll be dead before they reach your stomach."
Katniss immediately drops them, looking horrified. "Will it kill me to touch them?" she asks.
"No," he smiles. "Just as long as none of the juice got on your hand, and then you put your hand in your mouth."
"What if it got on my hand?" she asks, holding them out as far from her as she possibly can. "Can we go to the lake and wash them off?"
He has to laugh at this. He glances at their pile of berries-yes, it should be enough to take home with them.
"Sure," he promises her. "It's time for that swimming lesson I promised you, anyway."
With a happy yelp, she races down to the lake. They spend the next hour playing in the water. He shows her a paddle to keep herself afloat in the water, and the basic stroke. Mostly, though, they play around, laughing and splashing in the sun.
By the time they've finished, and made the trip back to the fence at the edge of District 12, it's already midafternoon. It doesn't take long for them to reach their home, since it's not far from the fence in the Seam.
Katniss bursts through the front door first, and races towards her mother, who beams and holds her arms out to scoop her up in a big hug. "Happy birthday, Katniss!" she gushes, while 1-year-old Prim totters around happily next to them.
"Daddy taught me how to swim!" she announces proudly.
Mrs. Everdeen looks impressed. "Is that why I barely recognized you when you came in?" she asks. "Because you're so clean!"
"No," Katniss giggles.
"Or maybe it's just because you're so grown up now," she says. Katniss giggles again.
"She'll be running things around here before you know it," Mr. Everdeen says, giving his wife a kiss. He hands her the rag full of the berries they gathered, and sorts out some of the rest of his spoils.
"Not these," he says, separating out a couple of squirrels. "I'm saving these for something special." She gives him a knowing look, then takes the goods and begins to work on dinner.
"Katniss," Mr. Everdeen says, "there's one more place I need to go. Would you like to come with me?"
She nods eagerly, and races after her father out the door. This time, they head in the opposite direction from the fence.
When they reach the bakery, the two youngest Mellark boys are wrestling each other underneath the scraggly old apple tree in their backyard. They stop at the sight of them; the youngest's blue eyes immediately land on Katniss and don't move away. They do this every time she comes around, and Mr. Everdeen knows a crush when he sees it. But Katniss is too young, and he's glad that she doesn't seem to notice it.
The older boy has more practical matters on his mind. He doesn't say a word to either of them, but immediately his mouth opens and calls out for his father. He runs inside the bakery, with the younger one following behind. After a minute, the door opens again, and out steps the baker, Mr. Mellark.
Mr. Everdeen holds out his bag. "I have a couple of squirrels here," he says.
All Mr. Mellark does is nod his head. He disappears inside his bakery. When he reappears, he has two loaves of bread under his arms. They trade the squirrels for the bread, their short transaction finished, and then Mr. Everdeen and Katniss are on their way home again.
At home, his wife happily adds the bread to the meal she's cooking. Later that night, they gorge themselves on the meal. Each of them take turns hugging their daughter, their first born, the product of their love for each other. Prim joins in, too, hugging her sister periodically as she follows their lead.
They fall asleep quickly that night. As he tucks her in, Mr. Everdeen plants a kiss on Katniss's forehead. "Happy birthday, Katniss," he murmurs.