Cato, for the first time in his life, was eating meat that didn't come from the market. He watched her kill the rabbit, skin it, and cook it. It wasn't as bad as he thought. Maybe a little greasier but this didn't really matter to him after not having a warm meal since the games had begun.
The morning had been quiet of any cannons or Tributes around them.
It was all relatively peaceful, something Cato despised. He was bored out of his mind sitting there and now playing with the bones of the rabbit. If he was in charge of the Careers he would be hunting down every last Tribute in the arena until he was the only one left standing. The idea was appealing to him but he doubted his new ally would be partial to his kind of hunting.
She returns to the cave, tossing him a new piece of meat while nibbling on her own. "Don't save it for too long or it will rot."
He grumbles but rips into it.
They both jump when there is a loud boom followed by an almost instantaneous downpour. They both make a quick job of dragging their backpacks and sleeping bags further into the cave as to save them from the water. Once they're settled back inside, Katniss can't help but pull her jacket closer to her and shiver against the freezing wind.
She brings her legs in and wraps her arms around them, then attempts to pull the sleeves of her jacket over her fingers to shelter them. The wind begins to pick up violently and she almost pities any Tribute not in shelter right now.
Her mind flashes to Peeta and she hopes he's all right. Then she thinks of little Rue until she's sick to her stomach at the idea of that little girl being out there.
She pulls her jacket over her head and can only hope that the storm dies down soon.
Glimmer, Marvel, Clove, and Jason quickly take shelter in the Cornucopia. The rain pelting down has left soft red marks on their exposed skin that radiate with warmth and a small sting.
They look at each other curiously before realizing there's one missing from their group.
"That girl from District 4…" Glimmer trails off, having not learned her name.
Clove shrugs. "I thought she was behind you."
Marvel snorts and takes a seat behind some of the supplies. "She's gone now. Idiot must have gotten lost."
They almost miss him but he chooses the wrong moment to try and make a run for it. The District 3 boy shoots out from behind one of the crates of supplies. His face is the image of terrified as he bolts into the downpour of rain with no sense of direction. He's running wildly, trying to get as far away from them as possible.
Clove is almost amused by this before taking one small knife and throwing is so precisely that he collapses to the ground, uninjured but not in the least bit fine.
He reaches down and pulls the small knife from his loose pants. It only left a small cut, the main purpose was to pin him to the ground. He knows, even while holding that small blade, he stands no chance of getting away from them.
Despite the almost hurricane like weather, the Careers venture out with a new target in mind.
The boy attempts to get up but is shoved down by Clove's boot.
They're debating who gets the honor of killing him but his shrill voice cuts through all of them. "I can protect your supplies! You'll never have to guard them again if you use the mines."
The only one intrigued by this is Jason and it's him who stops Marvel from dropping a pointed spear through the boys back. He squats down where the kid quickly unveils his plan to him.
He smirks, realizing this year was definitely his year.
The others complain as they scurry back to the Cornucopia, trying to shelter themselves from the storm.
Only the cameras and the District 3 boy catch Jason mumbling, "Fucking savages."
"What's that bird?"
The wind is dying down but the rain continues to pour. This is the only reason Katniss can hear him ask her a question from across the cave.
She glances over to him and realizes he's staring at the pin in her jacket. She touches it lightly and briefly remembers Madge Undersee and the Justice Building.
"It's a Mockingjay," she answers dully, unsure why he's asking her about such small a thing. In all honesty she hadn't given much thought to the golden pin.
She believes he'll leave it at that but is surprised when he continues to talk. She realizes he probably grew up surrounded by people and friends and wasn't used to somebody like her, somebody who preferred the silence.
"I didn't really picture you as the type to have jewelry."
"I'm not." He raises an eyebrow and she realizes she has to continue. "My friend gave me this as a token in the Justice Building."
He's quiet for a moment, regarding her from across the cave. He mumbles quietly to himself, "Also didn't expect you to be the type with many friends."
She lets out a sigh, mostly from frustration but also from the storm that traps her here with him. "I have plenty of friends."
"I'm sure you do."
"I do."
"No need to get so flustered."
What she feels for the most part is a need to hurl rocks at him just as she had the night before. Instead, she does something even she finds odd for herself. The cave is medium sized but she finds that she can throw herself across it pretty quickly. That's exactly what she does as she tackles Cato from his sitting position and finds herself straddling him. She reaches beside her and picks up a small palm full of dirt and holds it above his head before slowly releasing it. It's his initial shock that stops him from making a move until most of the dirt has escaped her small hand.
He wraps his arms around her midsection before she can even find a way out of it and rolls them over. She struggles for a moment but is quickly pinned down. That doesn't mean she gives up however. Despite how exhausting it is she continues to struggle beneath him.
Despite her sudden position she can't help but feel a burst of something close to enthusiasm. To simply roll around in a cave as though her life wasn't in an impossible balance right now. She felt light. Zealous, even. So despite her struggling beneath him, she couldn't help but grasp onto the childlike amusement found somewhere deep inside of her.
Still, he manages to hold her down as he leans over to his backpack and removes his water bottle. He makes a show of slowly unscrewing the cap before tilting it over her face.
The water is tilting just at the edge as he playfully says, "Say you're sorry."
She stops struggling for a moment. "Me? Sorry? This is entirely your fault."
He gives her no more time as the water comes splashing onto her face and rolling down her neck. She sputters for a second and is only half aware of him getting off of her. She quickly sits up and begins to wipe her face clean with the back of her jacket.
"Girl on Fire doesn't like water too much, does she?" Cato asks as he exits the cave. He places his water bottle somewhere where it can fill up again before returning.
She returns to her side of the cave and wraps her arms around her knees as she contemplates what just happened. She's not entirely sure what happened, only that all of Panem saw it. It was childlike on both of their parts. Not something you would expect to see in the Hunger Games. She wonders vaguely if that's a dangerous thing or something that warrants more sponsors. Probably both. She promises herself to get her head back in the game. She couldn't think of Cato as approachable (or in her case tackle-able) and she had to remember that he had the potential to be her killer in this place.
"You're really shaking," he says almost softly from across the cave.
She had felt the iciness of her fingers and toes but had been too caught up in her overall thoughts. Glancing down, she could see her hands shaking so violently that she wasn't sure she could even reach into her bag and pull out her blanket.
She attempts to, anyway. Unclipping her bag and digging through its contents. She finds her blanket and triumphantly wraps it around her shivering form.
She's not really sure where to go from there, nor is he. They don't really have to, though.
The rain is slowly losing its power and they manage to hear the sound of something falling to the ground. Both their eyes gravitate to the object at the mouth of the cave. A gift from a sponsor.
As Cato retrieves it Katniss contemplates every possible meaning it could possess, whether it was from Haymitch or Brutus. One of their mentors was trying to send a message to them. The gift was sent at too precise of a time to be a coincidence. Was it a warning to cool it down, to not act so friendly with each other? Or worse, was it encouragement to continue what they were doing? Because God forbid the Capitol actually liked it.
When Cato opens the box and there's a large steaming bowl of lamb stew and two spoons inside, despite both of them eating just before the storm started, Katniss knows it was the later.
I'm sorry for the wait, damn writer's block! Suggestions/ comments welcome.
I realize, for those of you who've read my other Catoniss stories, this took on a weird twist with Katniss tackling Cato (8th deadly sin) and in a chilly cave (Lux). I'm a bit disappointed with how it turned out and I'm attempting to get something new going.