Chapter 2

It had been two years since the accident. Though the Everdeen family had been able to resume their life, there seemed to be a hole in the family which just couldn't be repaired. Every day Timothy would have to go to work and the two Everdeen girls would go hunting with Gale, a 10 year old boy from the Seam. Gale and Katniss had met at the medal of honour ceremony. Gale's deceased father had got a medal for helping to save so many lives by evacuating the mines. Tragically, he died in the explosion while trying to save some of the injured. Katniss had also been there as both her parents received medals for their heroic actions which were the difference between life and death for many. The awards had been handed out by the new head peacekeeper, Darius - Cray had been caught in the blast.

Neither Katniss nor Gale realised back then how important both of them would be to each other in the rest of their tough childhoods. However Gale did pick up an annoying habit of calling her Catnip that day.

"You can take this wood, Katniss" said Haymitch while handing over several long thin branches and a few larger ones. She realised immediately that they were going to do some crafting today. Ever since her mother died two years ago, her father and an old friend of his had been teaching them several survival skills. Most days they would go into the woods and hunt so that they can have fresh food. They would also meet Gale in the woods.

Gale and Katniss were hunting partners. Ever since they had been taught how to hunt with a bow and arrow, they have gone into the woods alone to hunt and provide for both their families. Those days, Haymitch would stay with Prim as she would always cry when some game was shot and beg them to let it go again. None of the children realised that the reason that they were being taught all of this was so that they would be able to survive the Hunger Games like Uncle Haymitch did.

"What are we crafting today?" Piped Prim.

"Some spears and a bow and arrow. I'll also teach you how to throw spears. They are very handy and slightly easier to use than the bow and arrow" said Haymitch. They took the back passage to the woods. After all, everyone in Panem is under the impression that Haymitch is a drunk and spends all his time locked up in his house. It wouldn't be good right now if everyone learnt that he had been faking for 2 whole years. Every year he has to leave for a month to mentor the tributes for district 12. Gale and Katniss would struggle to feed their families in this part of the year. One year ago they had been close to starving. It was lucky that they had help from a nice young boy.

Flashback…

It was pouring as Katniss was walking back from the woods. She had tried to hunt by herself but she had hardly any luck. When she was with her dad, he was able to follow the footprints of animals and he knew exactly how far away the game was, but without her dad she didn't really know what she was looking for. She had managed to get a squirrel that had been curious as to what she was and came stupidly close to her. It didn't even hear the sound of the arrow being released before it hit it in the neck.

She was walking past the butcher. She peered in the bin like she had been doing to all the other shops. But like all the other bins in the street so far, it was completely empty. As she went up to the bin of the baker, she heard a woman's scream.

"Get away from that bin! I've already had some seam rats pawing through the trash! I don't need you dirtying it even more. Go back!" The baker's wife yelled.

The words stung Katniss more than she was willing to admit. They just didn't know what she was going through. She didn't notice a young boy stick his head out of the door curiously until his mother began to yell at him too. The rain continued pour as Katniss slumped to the ground. She didn't feel like getting up and going home. She didn't feel as if she could bare Prim sad face when she realised that, once again, they would be going to bed hungry.

Her father had hardly been around because ever since the mine explosion, the mine work had become more dangerous and he was getting payed less for it. They were still trying to restore the mines to how they were. They hadn't been getting any coal yet and they wouldn't until the mine was safe again… or as safe as it will get thought Katniss bitterly. There was a bang as the Bakery door was thrown open and the woman was yelling again. She drowned the words out but she couldn't help feel that she was coming out to chase her away with a wooden spoon in her hand. It wasn't though. It was the young boy she had seen earlier. He was holding two loaves of burnt bread.

"Give them to the pigs! No one will buy burnt bread you useless child!" The witch yelled. There was a thump noise. She had hit the boy on the head with a rolling pin. She turned back and stormed in the door. The boy was in her year at school. She recognised him from her classes. A Mellark. He had to be a Mellark as that was the name of the bakery. His name…. what was his name? Pita or something like that. No. Peeta. That was it. Peeta Mellark.

Peeta turned to face the pigs and broke off the burnt parts of the bread. He then tossed the rest of the bread towards her. Without even looking at her, he walked back inside. She quickly rushed out and grabbed the bread. It was still hot and it burnt her fingers but she didn't care. Why had this boy given her bread? Did it mean something or did he just see that she was starving?

End flashback…

They could see the break in the electrical fence. Prim and Katniss were able to slide under the fence without touching it but the power had to be off for Haymitch to slide though. Luckily the tell-tale buzz was not there and the fence was as silent as a stone. They slid under and began their trek towards the rock that Katniss and Gale meet at. Along the way, Katniss picked up her bow and arrow that her father had made her.

"Hey Catnip" came Gale's voice. She jumped and cursed how he could walk so quietly.

"Damn you, Gale" she whisper-shouted. "Don't creep up on me. I nearly shot you."

"Sure, sure. You wouldn't shoot me" said Gale. Katniss raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, we would all be very, very sad if Spitfire shot you." Haymitch said in a faux sad voice.

"Hey, don't be nasty" reprimed Katniss.

"You're telling me not to be 'nasty'? You were the one that nearly shot him"

"Yeah, sorry Gale. I didn't mean to be nasty" said Katniss.

Haymitch mumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like 'what sort of word is 'nasty'?'

"Come on, we need to do some crafting" said Haymitch. He took one in the long this sticks and a sharp looking rock from the round. He then explained the basics of crafting spears. What to do and what not to do. He also showed then how to attach sharp rocks heads on the spears. He told them that it was not necessary to attach the spear head in the shaft was sharp enough. When they had all crafted several spears each, he showed them how to throw them. All the kids were always in awe of how well Haymitch could use weapons. He wasn't perfect, but he was very talented at all of the weapons he had ever shown them how to use.

Each of them carved a target in a tree to use and then started to throw the spears at targets. Haymitch spent an hour correcting their technique and helping them with their accuracy. Like usual, Gale and Katniss were better than Prim. Prim lacked the strength to get the spears to sink into the target and had trouble getting her small body to throw a long stick like a spear. Haymitch always liked them to get experience at using the weapons so they all began to stalk through the woods, deathly quiet. Their shooting with the spears was clumsy but with practice they would improve. Each time some game was shot, Prim would go into a small panic attack. You could see her breathing rate rapidly increase and her complexion go pale.

After a while Haymitch took Prim away and they went to collect some plants. They all hoped that Prim would go out of the stage where she cries for every animal that is killed but they all knew that that probably wouldn't happen. Prim was like her mother - it was unlikely that she would grow out of it. They would just need to slowly allow her to get used to the sight of dying animals.

The sun was right above them and beaming down on them making the air of the woods very thick. On Saturdays they would usually hunt until midday. Although they had no precise way of telling the time, they have become quite accustomed and adept at telling the time by its position in the sky. It was currently a little past midday – about the time that they would usually be seen at the hob.

"Catnip," Gale whispered "we should go to the hob now." The sudden noise sent birds flying in all directions.

"Yeah, I also need to get some eggs and Prim would like some more straw for Lady." Katniss agreed. Some of the Seam villagers must be very jealous of the things that Katniss and Gale bring back home. Most of them struggle to get even the most basic food yet we come home with luxuries like cookies sometimes. Today though, they have minimum food as they were crafting and practicing new weapons. All of the weapons they own must stay in the woods at all times. The only reason that they don't get whipped on a daily basis is because all the peacekeepers are just as hungry for fresh meat as they are.

They walk towards the hob, chatting aimlessly about the spears that they crafted. They always have to be careful with what they talk about in public, especially because their conversations generally lead to food shortages and the Hunger Games. We arrive at our houses and just as Katniss turn to leave Gale embraces her. He realises a split second later what he did, and lets go embarrassedly. As he turns down the next street Katniss looks at his retreating figure sadly. They were both deprived of a parent when they were younger but Gale seemed to take longer to let himself care about others. Hopefully Katniss will be able to help him to learn to love again.

Ohhhh. Sorry, I realise every now and then that they do not act their age at all. I mean they would act older than they are supposed to because they lost a parent so they have to mature faster than they should but seriously… they are much more mature than they should be. I hope that my reasons for their actions were accurate enough. I do spend a lot of time thinking about how they should react.