Mira sat up with a jolt. Someone was walking near her. Under her, almost directly under her. She fought the urge to panic. Panic equals death, she told herself.

Instead, she glanced carefully down through the branches of her tree, hoping that all the tidbits and rumors about fear having a smell were wrong, because she was terrified. Her breath caught in her throat, then she relaxed, then bit her lip painfully as tensity returned to her.

The figure below her was one of the little ones. District Eleven, probably. He couldn't have been older than ten, and looked much smaller. His olive skin tone seemed chalky, as if he were sick, or very afraid. Probably the latter. He scampered away quickly though, and was soon out of her sight.

She sighed again, realizing that she was far too close to the Cornucopia to be safe. Any one of the Careers could be watching her at that moment...

She wearily gathered her gear, trying to be as quiet as possible. The night before had been the worst of her life. She had been well settled in the tree, but still nerve-racked, and it had taken her a few hours before her brain began to function normally again and she realized she should probably look through her pack, see what supplies she had.

Opening the sturdy leather pack, she'd almost smiled. On top were a pair of the night-vision glasses that everyone wanted. Next, a sturdy looking sleeping bag, another invaluable. A large pack of dried beef jerky. A loaf of bread. A bottle of iodine. Two cruel looking knives, which had scared her before she realized how badly she really did need a weapon.

At the bottom, a large water skin, about half full. She knew it was pure luck that she had any water in it at all. She remembered Katniss's own awful first week, almost dying of dehydration.

Then the cannons had gone off. Eight shots, eight people dead the first day. The fighting had lasted a long while. It was just about time for the images to broadcast to the sky. She wondered who had made it. She knew Gale had, but no one else was for sure.

Exhausted, she'd fallen asleep before the giant screen was above her head, and still didn't know who was alive. But now, it was time to move on. She swung her pack over her shoulder, and contemplated the most silent and pain free way to clamber out of the tree. She ended up swinging upside down like she'd gotten up, and dropping her legs and letting go. Katniss was no doubt laughing at her gracefulness, but it was the best she could manage.

She wondered whether she should try her luck and climb back up the original cliff, or trek deeper into the woods. Her fear of the other tributes forced her deeper into the woods, and she began a long journey walking as silently as possible through brown and green darkness.

Gale had been marching for an hour, silent as a snake, through the tall trees. He chewed on a rabbit he'd caught the night before, and cooked over a fire just at dusk, so the smoke would be concealed. His shoulder was wrapped with some medical tape he'd found in a first aid kit in his pack, and it didn't bother him now. He glanced occasionally around him, keeping his senses alert for a pursuer. His one consolation was that he was at least as big as any of the Careers, a fact that could prove vital as the field shrunk and they were forced to confront each other.

He checked and rechecked his supplies in his mind, trying to decide if there was anything essential that he was missing. His pack had included the first aid kit, a pack of dried fruit, a bottle of iodine, a pack of matches, a water skin with barely two mouthfuls, and another knife. He'd been fairly pleased. The pack was also a ruddy brown color, and well camouflaged.

Suddenly, he froze. Just to his right, he heard a faint rushing, a stream perhaps. Knowing the urgency of water, he quickly turned and walked toward the sound, keeping his eyes wide open, because any number of other tributes could be waiting for him there. He pulled his bow off his shoulder, just to be safe.

It was well he was prepared, because waiting behind a cluster of trees was the boy tribute from District Six. Katniss's breath caught in her throat, and she willed Gale to be alert. The boy was about fourteen, but big. He held a knife in his hand, but he seemed afraid to use it. Katniss's heart thumped wildly, and her fingers squeezed around the controls unthinkingly, causing the camera to zoom in to an absurdly close view. She hurriedly zoomed it back to a normal span, and instead clutched at Peeta's outstretched hand.

"Help me, Peeta. How do the other mentors handle this? I'm going insane, and nothing bad has even happened to them yet," she whispered, keeping her eyes locked on the screen.

Peeta looked up from where Mira was hiking through empty woods. "They usually aren't as close with the tributes, I suppose. Besides, they've all had a lot more practice." He squeezed her hand, and turned his attention toward Gale. Katniss had two cameras trained on him from different angles, and one on the boy waiting for him. Gale was twenty feet from the stream, and getting closer with each second.

Gale's fingers grasped the bow tightly, and his knuckled turned white. His heart pounded against his chest, and he felt something was wrong. He strung an arrow, walking slower. He was ten feet from the gushing stream now, and he swore he could hear a nervous breathing over the rush of the water.

Keeping his bow trained straight ahead, he advanced a few feet more, until he could see a boot sticking behind a tree. He faced a decision. Shoot the foot, shoot the owner, or do nothing.

Mira came upon a cliff face. She was sure it was a new one, though. There were fewer ridges than the one she had propelled down from the Cornucopia, and it was smaller. After a brief hesitation, she unpacked her climbing gear, and began the ascent.

Peeta tore his eyes from Gale's stale-mate to see Mira scaling a rough cliff face. He frantically pointed a camera to the top of the cliff, scanning for potential dangers. There was one other tribute near the summit, the tiny girl from District One. He hoped there wouldn't be any surprises from her, as his eyes flew back to Gale.

Gale knew he had to decide. He also knew that, unless the boy behind the tree could somehow see him, he had no knowledge of how close he was. Gale had been eerily silent as he approached, a bed of pine needles muffling his already unnaturally muted footsteps. The decision was entirely up to him.

He chose to pretend to be oblivious. He walked briskly to the stream, exposing himself, but keeping one eye on the boy and his bow at the ready. He waited as the tell-tale tread approached him...

Katniss held her breath as Gale moved past the boy in the tree. She glared at the screen, waiting for the boy to make his move. She knew Gale was smarter than to be truly exposed, but he looked incredibly vulnerable with his back to the enemy. She bit down on her lip as the boy stepped from the tree, knife in hand...

Mira was almost to the peak of the cliff. Just a few more steps. She hauled herself up, stuffing her gear into her pack. She pulled out one knife, if only to humor her instincts. There was someone up here with her, someone she couldn't see yet. She felt it in her bones.

She looked around warily, adrenaline pumping through her veins. There was another sparse forest just ahead of her, but she turned right and walked along the side of the cliff, suspicious of the woods.

Gale heard the footfalls come to within five feet of him. He took a deep breath, then spun on his heel to face his adversary, bow strung and ready.

The boy held his knife awkwardly, like he had no idea how to use it. He tried to look fierce, but he just look scared, especially when Gale glared at him, bow pointed straight at his chest. The boy swung the knife, trying to hack at Gale's arm, and missed by a large margin. Gale leveled his bow at the boy, a warning in his deep grey eyes. The boy leveled his knife in return, fear in his own light brown eyes.

Then the boy made a terrible mistake. He threw the knife, his aim, while not perfect, was close enough to force Gale to the ground to avoid it. The knife lodged itself in a tree just behind him, and the boy turned and ran, knowing he was in deep danger if he stayed. Gale could still have killed him, but chose to let him run, in hopes that a career would take him out instead.

He filled his water skin, and drank deeply, allowing his clenched muscles to relax. He thought a camera might be trained on him, so he smiled grimly once before walking on, his bow still strung.

Katniss breathed a sigh of relief as Gale walked away, unhurt. She noticed the irony of all the stress wasted on such an anticlimactic event. She also noticed that Peeta was still tense beside her, and her eyes flew to follow his gaze. She was immediately thankful that Haymitch had volunteered to stay and take calls from sponsors, at least for the first few days. There was no way she and Peeta could possibly concentrate on them.

The screen Peeta's eyes were glued to was actually a double screen, enlarged to show both Mira and, though Mira was oblivious to it, the small girl from District One. The girl clutched a small dart in her hand, waiting for Mira to come into range...

Mira walked along the cliff, nerves clenching in her stomach. She wished, not for the first time, that she had taken more self-defense classes during the training week. She felt horribly exposed, and scared for her life, rightfully so.

She could see about fifty yards away, the cliff veered sharply to the left, cutting her off. She could also see that the woods continued straight to the edge, so she had no choice but to turn into the arms of the trees.

Peeta's heart thumped as the girl drew closer and closer to Mira as she turned into the trees. He'd only spoken to the mentors from One once, and they hadn't been too keen on becoming allies. But he knew that the girl hadn't joined the career alliance, and he clutched desperately to a tendril of hope that the small girl wanted Mira for an ally, or that Mira would at least suggest it before the girl attacked.

He held his breath as the girl moved forward stealthily, not ten feet from Mira's back.

Mira stopped, hearing the unconcealed footsteps almost directly behind her. Her heart beat escalated, and she fought to keep in a scream. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, tensing all her muscles to a painful extent. She turned slowly.

The girl in front of her was far from what she'd expected. She was extremely petite, with huge aqua colored eyes and red-brown hair. She was pretty, but very young. Mira somehow recalled that she was from District One, but the girl didn't have the cold, murderous glint that most Careers had, and she wasn't in their pack. Even so, though, the girl held a long blade in her hand, and she no doubt knew how to use it. Mira scrambled for something to do

But the girl spoke first. "You're Twelve, right?" she said in a soft, clear voice.

"Yes." Mira fought unsuccessfully to steady her trembling voice.

The girl said nothing, just stared thoughtfully at Mira. She could no doubt kill her that moment if she wanted to, but seemed to decide against it. "It's a little bit early for an alliance, but if I see you again, maybe I'll rethink it," she said in her subdued, melodic voice. "I'm Spark, by the way."

Before Mira could respond, Spark had flitted off through the trees, all but disappearing.

For the remainder of the daylight, Mira hiked in a 90 degree angel from the direction Spark had taken, hoping, despite herself, that they would meet again. She'd liked her.

At the end of the day, after Haymitch had left, Katniss sighed, emotionally spent from the fear and adrenaline that had rushed through her, as if she were in the arena herself. Gale and Mira had both found water, and Mira had managed to find a few edible plants. She wouldn't last long without the protein of meat though, and Katniss knew she would have to hunt, or else find someone to ally with her who knew how, like Spark. Katniss's initial reservations about an alliance with District One had been put aside, partially, after Peeta had spoken to their mentor, who had told Spark that Twelve might be the one district that would accept her, being small and rather uneducated in career ways.

Lost in thought, and still high strung from the stress of the day, she nearly jumped off her seat when Peeta placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're exhausted, Katniss," he said gently.

She began to deny it, but realized that what he said was true. She'd barely slept since the start of the Games the day before. "I know," she said.

"Why don't you go to sleep? If you want, we can pull a couch in here, and I promise I'll wake you if anything at all happens," Peeta offered.

The concern in his eyes was so apparent, she returned it with a hint of a ghost of a smile. "You'd do that? Drag a whole couch in here?" she said, her tone lighter than before. She was touched by his selflessness and consideration.

"Of course. So, is that a yes?"

She nodded wearily, all too aware of her fatigue now. Peeta hauled the two seat couch through the wide door easily, placing it near the screens, just behind their rolling chairs.

She sank onto it gratefully, but couldn't bring her eyes to shut, tired as she was. She looked at him carefully, while his attention was focused on the screens. "You know, I hardly noticed your aesthetic leg anymore," she remarked.

He looked at her in surprise. "Really? Well, that's good I suppose. That means I'm not a clumsy fool anymore," he said with a hint of his self-deprecating humor.

She smiled to herself. "You were never a klutz, Peeta. Certainly not a fool." Her eyelids chose that moment to grow unbearably heavy, and she didn't fight against them. So she missed his awed, appreciative, adoring gaze leveled directly at her, which he held for what seemed like eternity, simply reveling in watching her sleep.

A/N: So, I'm so proud of myself :D for the first time in like forever, I've updated in less than a week :D You better enjoy it, because next week I have FINALS D: and probably won't write AT ALL. :) Anyways, let me know what you think. I hope I didn't switch point of views too much, I just wanted to add a little bit of suspense :) hehe. So, of course, constructive criticise me! And, I'm thinking about writing my own novel, but am suffering major writer's block :O so if you have any original suggestions, please msg me! Read and Review, because without people telling me to keep writing, I won't :)

--MyMockingjay

P.S. Check out love-tarabaybee's story, Mockingjay

It's good ;)