A/N: Here's the second chapter, way earlier than expected! Hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 2
The rain was becoming more of an annoyance than I thought was possible, however Cato wasn't letting it dampen his spirits. He took any opportunity to caress and cuddle me, he was behaving like a puppy, it kind of sickened me yet at the same time I found myself enjoying it. Surprisingly enough it was working; we had received three parachutes in the past six hours, each with bundles of food attached to them.
As I nibbled on a piece of exotic Capitol fruit, which was sticky in nature, I stared out at the rain. Parts of the grassland were partly flooded and now resembled a marshland, Cato followed my gaze and seemed to read my mind;
"I doubt anyone will be out in this. Even the girl from 5 will have the sense to stay away." He muttered.
"How do you suppose the game-makers will draw us back together?" I asked whilst swallowing the last of the weird fruit. Its sticky juice remaining on my lips.
"I don't know." He replied looking at me, he appeared lost for words before leaning in; his face inches from mine.
"Wha-what are you doing?" I whispered leaning away from him, half in fright and half in confusion.
"…you have juice on your lips…" he murmured, lightly running one of his fingers across my lips and scraping the excess fruit off. He then licked it off his finger with a smirk, I felt my cheeks redden before sighing heavily.
"You could've told me." I muttered, wiping the rest of my mouth with my sleeve. Cato simply laughed.
"Yes but that would've been boring."
We fell into silence again, only this time it was actually silent; the rain had stopped and the sun was shining once again. Both of us looked at the now brightly lit opening of the cornucopia, after a few moments I slowly edged my way out into the open air. The smell of the forest surrounded me, the wet grass and trees…there was something else I could smell but I couldn't quite place my finger on it.
Cato appeared next to me, a little too close got my liking but I dare not protest. "I think…" he said "We should move away from the cornucopia a little bit…maybe towards the lake."
"Why?"
"Just to liven things up a little, plus I want to wash a bit..." he replied. I shrugged my shoulders and went back into the cornucopia to pack up anything we'd need.
Soon enough we were at the lake, it wasn't exactly a massive journey away from the cornucopia but it was far enough away for us to need to take our stuff with us. As we reached the lake I noticed it was far bigger than I remember, probably because it had flooded due to the heavy rainfall. Cato placed his sword down on the bank before taking his shirt off, he had an impressive figure underneath it, it was no wonder with how strong he was.
"See something you like?" he asked, smirking as he waded into the cool water. I just sat on a rock and laughed lightly.
"Depends on the context." I replied.
He laughed in reply, I don't know how long we spend there but he seemed to spend a long time just wading in the water, occasionally going underwater and resurfacing a few seconds later completely drenched. I couldn't ignore his chest glistening in the sunlight as the water reflected off him. He waded over to the rock I was sat on and brushed his lips against my cheek, I nearly dropped the knife I was cleaning in to the water with surprise.
"You're gonna have to play along a bit better to make this work Clover…" he whispered
My breathing became quicker, he was doing all her could to make this as real as possible and also make me feel slightly uncomfortable. His lips remained barely centimetres from my cheek, I turned to say something to him when he leaned closer, our lips connected. All I could think about was how soft his lips were as he reached up his hand and stroked my face, his other hand was on my back, pulling me closer to him. I ran my hands through his wet hair as the kiss deepened, he growled quietly in protest before breaking away from me, smirking like a Cheshire cat, which gave me a wicked idea for a nickname for him…
"Enjoy yourself Kitty-cat?" I laughed.
"What did you just call me?" he asked
"Kitty-cat, because you were grinning like the Cheshire cat out of Alice in wonderland." I explained.
"Oh now you're in for it." He replied picking me up off the rock in his strong arms, he then waded out into the lake before roughly kissing my cheek and dropping me into the cold water. I splashed to the surface; spluttering and laughing, he was going to pay for that. "Aw does the Clover not like water?" he taunted from the bank of the lake.
"Not when I'm dropped into it." I replied, swimming to the edge of the lake and stumbling out.
Cato was about to reply when we heard the familiar beeping of a parachute coming towards us, we both stopped and watched it land on the rock next to my knives. Curiosity mounting inside of us we made our way to it and opened the metal box connected to it to reveal a dagger and a box of chocolates. There was also a note from our mentor; "Use them both to gain more sponsors – I leave the rest to you."
I picked up the dagger and examined it; the blade was long and quite sharp, it would probably be able to do a lot of damage if needed be. Cato had picked up the box containing Capitol chocolates, they were all coated in milk chocolate, each having their own little intricate icing patterns on them in different colours. I wasn't sure what their use was until Cato looked at me with a certain look in his eye that would make any normal girl beg for him to father their children, however I am not normal so I just stared at him.
"Clover, do you want some chocolate?" he asked, his eyes not losing sight of mine.
"Um…okay." I replied. He picked out a square piece which had been drizzled in pale green icing. He brought it to my lips and raise his eyebrows suggestively. I parted my lips and he slid the sugar-laden treat inside my mouth. The taste was heavenly, I couldn't stop a smile from breaking out on my face. I picked out another one from the box and held it up to Cato, he smirked as he took the chocolate from my fingers in between his perfect lips.
"I could get used to this…" he said as he sat down on the rock next to my knives.
"I'm sure you could." I replied sitting next to him, still holding the box.
"When we win this and get a house in Victor's village, I'll make sure they fly in boxes of these chocolates for you." He whispered in my ear as he put his arm around my shoulders. "and that's a promise."
I looked into his ice blue eyes, something about them told me he wasn't just putting on an act anymore, however asking him was out of the question. I simply smiled and nodded before feeding him another chocolate.
It didn't take us long to finish them off, it was getting close to nightfall and neither of us could be bothered to walk back to the cornucopia. We decided to just sleep by the lake tonight, after all as long as someone kept watch then we'd be safe. Cato demanded that I take the first sleep again, as I fell asleep in his arms I became aware of a weird feeling inside of me; I seemed to be feeling happy, truly happy…this was certainly an odd experience.
The growls from my stomach woke me up, it was morning, Cato had stayed awake all night – or at least attempted to – he was fast asleep next to me; arms locked around my small torso. I was slightly annoyed that he hadn't woken me up to keep watch yet one look at his soft sleeping face made any anger disappear. He looked so innocent; if I hadn't known he was a killing machine I would've sworn he wouldn't be able to hurt a fly. I twisted around in his hold to face him, my fingers traced his pale lips and his jawline, he stirred slightly mumbling something about home. My heart ached to be home right now, home…with him and our families. Just the two of us; victors of the 74th annual Hunger Games.
My hand was caressing his face when he woke up, at first he was surprised but he leaned his forehead against mine. "Mornin'." He said.
"I believe the phrase you are looking for is; I'm sorry I fell asleep whilst on watch." I smirked.
"I did what?" he asked, pulling me closer to him.
"I woke up and you were asleep." I replied.
"I'm so sorry, how can I make it up to you?"
I was about to reply when the Capitol anthem blared through the forest followed by the voice of Claudius Templesmith; "Attention tributes! There will be a feast at the cornucopia! Some of you may be declining already but this is no ordinary feast; each of you needs something desperately." I looked at Cato in confusion at what we could possibly need from the game-makers, he just shrugged. "Each of you will find that something in a backpack, marked with your district number at the cornucopia at dawn tomorrow. Think hard about your refusal to show up – for some of you this will be your last chance." His voice rang out across the arena
"I have no idea what we 'desperately' need from them." Cato said after a few moments of silence. "Everything I need is right here." He whispered as he looked deep into my eyes.
I took his face in my hands and brought his face close to mine so our lips were touching. We stayed led on the bank of the lake for what seemed like hours before deciding we had to move. I gathered up all my knives, including the dagger, and he put his shirt back on and acquired his sword.
"Where to then Kitty-cat?" I asked.
"I don't know Clover, I don't think hanging out too close to the cornucopia is a good idea. I think the woods just beyond it would be ideal." He replied, ignoring the nickname.
"Okay then."
We set off side by side heading towards the woodland beyond the cornucopia, the air was dense and hot like there had been no wind or rain for weeks. It made travelling through foliage difficult, so did carrying seven knives. Thankfully Cato was carrying any equipment we'd need like sleeping bags and firewood, as we walked he started spinning me the description of our house in Victor's village we'd share. It was beginning to concern me that he was taking this far too seriously. After what seemed like hours had passed we reached a small clearing not too far away from the grasslands where to the 'feast' would take place, we wasted no time in setting up a make-shift camp and then we had to sort out tactics.
"Who do we go for?" I asked "This is the game-makers drawing all of us in, we need a plan."
"Okay, you seem set on killing firegirl so if you get a chance go after her. I'll keep my eyes open for the 11." Cato replied. "Loverboy will still be too injured and I bet you that's what is in the 12's bag – medicine. The only one left after that is 5."
"She'll either wait for it to all end or get in quickly and leave again." I speculated. "I don't think we should worry about her, she doesn't seem the type to kill. We can save her until last."
"Okay, so now we just need to figure out how we're going to get them."
"Ambush." He uttered. "Lure firegirl into a false sense of security and then strike. Hard and fast."
"And what are you going to do about the 11?" I asked.
"Wound him to start with, then break his neck whilst he's down."
"Sounds like a plan." I smirked. My stomach growled in protest, I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday's chocolates. "We don't have any food left do we?"
"Nope. That's probably what's in our bag, however we both need to eat between now and tomorrow morning." Cato acknowledged.
"…we could always ask the sponsors.." I mumbled. Cato's eyes met mine as soon as I said that. He abandoned his sword which he had been polishing with leaves and came over to me, he lifted me up before sitting down with me sat on his lap. His fingers untied the ribbon holding my hair together and gently ran them through my tangled hair, his warm breath tickled the back of my neck as he combed my hair through with his fingers and started braiding it.
I wondered where he had learnt to braid hair, as if he read my mind he answered; "My younger sister is always asking me to do her hair, she says I have softer fingers than our older brother."
"What about your mother?" I asked. I hadn't known Cato until reaping day when he volunteered as tribute in the place of a scrawny boy who would've been killed in the first ten minutes.
"She died when I was twelve." He said.
"Oh…I'm sorry…." I mumbled feeling guilty.
"Don't worry about it, I miss her occasionally, but not as much as I miss my siblings right now." He replied. "If anything I want to win this for them – give them both a better life." He finished braiding my hair and tied it into a neat bun with the ribbon. "And of course to be with you."
"Cato…" I whispered turning around to face him. This was a completely different side to him I never knew existed, I doubt our mentors even knew about it. Everyone just assumed he was the killing machine from district two, that he had no emotions, that he didn't have a proper reason to win other than for glory. Yet I was sat here with a boy who was putting his life on the line for his siblings, it was just so odd.
"Clove, promise me you'll kill the firegirl." He said.
I nodded, "I promise Cato."
"Also, tell me one thing; why do you want to win the hunger games?"
I was lost for words, I wasn't sure why I wanted to win, I had no family who cared about me, I had no-one to fight for, the only thing I was fighting for was my life. I didn't care about the glory and then fame, I just wanted to live. I couldn't tell him that though; not after he told me so much about him in just a single sentence.
"I want to win, so I can be with you." The words tumbled out of my mouth before I knew what was happening. His face relaxed into a smile, not a smirk, a genuine smile.
"Well, I guess that means we're in this together until the end then. He smiled back.
"When we win, you can come and live with me in my villa in Victor's village and give yours to your siblings." I said.
"I'd like that." He murmured. We were about to lock into another embrace when a snapping twig alerted us to someone or something watching us. I rolled off of Cato's lap and grabbed one of my knives out of my belt, he reached across the clearing and grabbed his sword, we stood back to back surveying the area – listening for further sounds. I heard something running so I threw my knife out in the direction of the noise, we heard a small wail before whatever it was hit the floor.
Cato went crashing through the trees ahead of me, we came across the bloodied knife lying on the forest floor. "Well I didn't miss…I just didn't injure them fatally enough." I sulked.
"Good shot though." Cato said patting my shoulder. "Who was it though…"
"5. The 11 would've come at us rather than running away." I replied. "She's running now, running to find a place to asses her injury safely."
"Let's get back to the clearing, maybe there's a parachute for us." He suggested. Sure enough when we got back there was a parachute clinging to a small metal container, I untied it and opened the lock; an abundance of food awaited us; fruit, chocolate, meat, even a canister of water.
"Imagine what they'd give us if we did it.." I heard Cato whisper.
"WHAT?" I snapped, taking an apple from the box and shoving it at him. "I'm not doing anything like that in the arena!" I continued.
"Oh? So on the train back home?" he smirked.
"Cato, focus on killing the tributes before trying to get into bed with me please." I bluntly instructed, biting into my apple. He laughed, how easily the mood changed between us….
When the sun rose the next morning I woke Cato up, unlike him I actually managed to stay awake during my watch. He grumbled at first before realising that we had the opportunity to kill a few tributes today, he then perked up considerably.
"You clear on the plan?" he asked as he sharpened his sword.
"Let firegirl think she's safe, then strike fast and hard." I replied. "You'll keep an eye out for the 11. Also 5 is not a target but if I get the chance; kill her."
"Good, let's go. We'll hide in the bushes near the mouth of the cornucopia." He nodded triumphantly. As quietly as we could, we made our way through the forest and found a dense bush that could hide us both with a perfect view of the cornucopia. Now it was just a waiting game.
I saw the girl from 5 sprinting for her bag, she was going too fast for me to throw a knife at her. Plus it would alert the real target to our position, we let her sprint back into the forest beyond the tail of the cornucopia.
"Come on firegirl.." I hissed "show yourself…"
Cato slinked off into the bushes to see if he could flush her out, leaving me watching the three remaining bags, collecting ours was not a priority but it probably would be useful to have. I then saw her, running steadily towards the table, I readied a knife as she picked up the bag and continued running.
I threw it, it surprised her as was the intention, she had the nerve to aim an arrow at me as I dashed from the bushes. My years of training taught me well as I dodged it, I threw another knife – this one hit her in the head but sadly only caused a minor cut. She once again aimed an arrow at me, missed by miles though. I slammed into her side and pinned her down on the ground, she struggled for a while but I managed to get her immobile.
"Where's loverboy then? Is he still alive?" I taunted, her eyes wide with fright and determination.
"He's hunting Cato." She snarled. "PEETA!" I jammed my fist into her throat. As if he'd be able to help her, but just to humour her I looked around, no sign of either boy.
"Liar." I smirked. "Cato wounded him pretty badly. I bet you have him strapped up in a tree somewhere waiting for you to return with the precious medicine." I took the dagger from our sponsors out of my belt. "I've been waiting to do this for a long time twelve. Cato knows it, he said I could kill you."
She struggled still, I had to resort to kicking her several times to get her to lie still. "Forget it twelve, I'm going to kill you like Marvel killed your ally, what was her name? Rue?" I started moving her face form side to side, debating where to cut her. "I don't think you'll have much use for these anymore." I said lining the knife up with her lips. "Want to blow loverboy one last kiss?"
The bitch had the nerve to spit in my face. That did it. I applied pressure to the knife at her mouth and was about to start slicing her jaw to pieces when I suddenly felt light, too light. I was being lifted off my prey and into the air.
"What did you do to that little girl? You kill her?" a booming voice asked. It was the 11. Now I can see why Cato didn't want me alone. Where was he?
"No! No it wasn't me!" I replied
"I heard you say her name! What did you do to her?" he continued.
"I didn't do-" I saw the rock in his hands. I was done for. "CATO!" I screamed "CATO"
"CLOVE!" I hear his response, I couldn't see him. I was now being lifted and pushed against the cornucopia by the giant from 11. He repeatedly threw me against it, my head felt like it was on fire.
Firegirl just watched, the nerve of her. I continued screaming for Cato until my voice was horse. The 11 was lifting the rock, seemingly to finish me off when I was suddenly on the ground. I heard grunting and snarling, I looked up to see Cato had the giant in a head lock, his face sealed in concentration.
"Don't just sit there! Kill him!" Cato snarled at me.
I grabbed the dagger from the ground and drove it into the 11's chest, without any resistance Cato then snapped his neck. We turned to where the firegirl had been, she was gone. Long gone. I collapsed to the floor, my head hurt and I was exhausted, so was Cato. He came over and pulled me close to his rapidly beating heart.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner." He muttered. "I should've killed him when I first saw him."
"It's okay, only three more to go now." I replied.
"I'll protect you from now until the end of the games," He whispered. "and for the rest of your life." He pulled away and looked me straight in the eyes. "I promise."
I nodded and pulled his face down to level with mine. I kissed him, long and hard. "We'll do this together."
