Author's Note: Here's the next installment! My first classes will begin tomorrow (*chuckles nervously*), but like I said before, it will be my endeavor to keep posting even as my work load starts to pile up. I would really appreciate some reviews to keep me motivated and to let me know how you guys are liking the progression of the story. We are now half way through! Thanks so much for reading!

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I awake at dusk still very hungry, but feeling more rested. The air is becoming chilly, and I wonder about Katniss. It would probably be best for me to get her in her sleeping bag, despite the fact that such an endeavor might be difficult. But then again, it's not like I have anything else to attend to.

I drag Katniss out of the little shelter and get her sleeping bag from her pack. It seems to reflect body heat, and I bet it's really warm. Before getting her into it, I chew up more healing leaves and apply them to the stings and put more medicine on her burns. When she has been treated, I slowly wriggle her limp form into the soft material and settle her back into the camouflaged refuge.

I may have slept all afternoon, but I can definitely sleep more, so I plan to go back to my nest soon. But first I explore a bit around our boulder to make sure there are no traces of either our presence or that of anyone else. When I am sure that we are safe, I climb into my bed and eat some more berries. The supply needs some replenishing, as does the water bottle, but that can wait until I have some light by which to search.

I sleep late into the morning, and when I awake, I feel greatly refreshed. My rest deficit created in the Arena may have just been knocked out. I spend the entire afternoon gathering edible plants and berries. I am building up a stock of food that will be enough to help Katniss recover from being unconscious for so long, and to be honest, I see no reason to sit idle and hungry while surrounded by food.

By nightfall, I am tired again, but more full than I have yet been. I have also taken in a lot of water today, and I hope that my physical condition has improved from what it was just a day ago. I was beginning to feel very rundown and sluggish, so perhaps now I am fully functional.

As I doze off in my nest, I take note of the fact that I have heard no cannons since the tracker jacker incident. Surely this peace cannot last long, and something is bound to happen if the tributes don't begin fight amongst themselves—ourselves—again soon.

Again I sleep all through the night, stirring only after the sun is already up. I go about the now boring system that I have been about so long: change Katniss' medicine, which seems to have improved her condition greatly, gather food and water, consume food and water, and sit in the tree when at last I am tired of doing everything else. But fortunately, at about noon, Katniss begins to stir.

At first, I only hear her moaning, and I think she's experiencing nightmares. That would make sense; she's probably been enduring those this entire time and only now is alive enough to move. Hallucinations and the like are typical of tracker jacker stings. I leave my nest and come down to where Katniss lies and pull her out of the shelter, settling on the ground near her. I ease her head in my lap and begin stroking her hair and rubbing her hand slowly in a soothing manner. This was what my sister always did for me when I was little and awoke from a rough dream, and it's all I can think to do.

After about ten minutes, Katniss' eyes open and she becomes aware of herself. She blinks several times and then locks her eyes with mine, and I wonder what she could be thinking. Knowing she will want some space, I scoot back a few feet and let her sit up. She stares at her surroundings for a few seconds, taking in the shelter and her own wounds, and then finally faces me.

"How long was I out?"

"The entire day that dawned with the tracker jackers, all of yesterday, and half of today."

"How many are dead?"

"Glimmer and the girl from District Four," I reply, recalling my notes of them when their faces appeared in the sky two nights ago. "Besides us, there's still the boy from One, Cato, Clove, the boy from Three, the girl from Five, the boy from Ten, Thresh, and Peeta."

Katniss visibly blanches at the mention of her fellow tribute. Her brow creases in frustrated confusion, and she shakes her head to try to make sense. "Is he still with the Careers?"

I grin a bit. "I doubt it, especially since he saved us right after the tracker jacker incident. He told us to run and then fought with Cato. I wanted to go back, but I figured that he'd want me to stay with you. I have been curious about him, though. No cannon or photo during the anthem for either him or Cato. Who knows what happened?"

Katniss seems to remember some of what I relate, and she nods slowly. "I'm sorry I didn't follow the plan," she says after a moment.

"That's okay," I assure. "I told you to do what you felt was necessary."

"Did you light the fire?"

"No; I made the pile of wood, but never lit it. I did get a glimpse of their supplies, though, and I was pretty stumped. They've got it all in a big stack, but the boy from 3, which I assumed was a guard, was working in the dirt around it. Do you have any idea what they could be doing?"

"District Three specializes in technology," she muses, shrugging her shoulders. "That doesn't have much to do with dirt."

"I am sure that whatever it is, they're keeping it a secret." I pause, but then a thought hits me and I slam my palm into my face, laughing slightly. "Here I am chatting and you're probably starving! Do you feel well enough to eat?"

Katniss smiles at the mention of eating. "I've never felt better."

As I am getting out the stash of berries and herbs, I am struck by how much more friendly Katniss has become towards me. Perhaps it's the joy of companionship, or maybe she just feels like she owes me since I have basically babysat her unconscious and vulnerable body for two days. Either way, I'm just glad to have an amiable ally. This is working out well for my strategy.

Katniss and I eat much of the food I have gathered, and I put forth a few nuts, too. She goes through her bag and shows me some crackers and dried meat, but I suggest we save it, just in case. When the meal is finished, Katniss asks the question that has probably been nagging on her mind for a while.

"So what are we? An alliance?"

I shrug. "Only if you want it to be that way."

Katniss raises her eye brow. "That was a pretty neutral answer for someone who's played guard dog over me for two days. You would really leave if I asked you to?"

"Yeah. I guess wouldn't want to, but there's no point in me hanging around to annoy someone if we're in an Arena where we have to fight to the death." Katniss considers what I've said, but I decide to keep talking. "It would at least be beneficial if we were to put our discovery to practice as a team."

"You mean the Careers' supplies?"

"Yes. If we could somehow damage or destroy the pile, then at the very least the Careers would be forced to trade killing tributes for hunting, cooking, and gathering during a good part of the day."

Katniss thinks about my proposal for a few minutes, and finally she consents. "Deal. But Amaranth...what happens after the supplies are gone?"

I know what she's talking about. There can only be one victor, and I am fairly sure that Katniss doesn't want to be stuck killing me. This is the aspect I have always hated about the Games most, both watching it at home and coming to them myself: distrust. The rules of the Games make it almost impossible to truly trust anyone or to develop any friendships. I wish desperately that I could triumph over this unspoken law.

"We'll see when the time comes. There might be another two-person job that we'll find when we see the food or something, and it would be unwise to call something off if it can still be useful, right?"

Katniss nods, and since it appears that the conversation is over, she gives a sidelong glance towards her bow and arrows. At first I think this could be a threat, but then I know it's not. Can she hunt with that weapon, I wonder?

"Why don't I get us some game for dinner?" Katniss suggests. "Maybe I can contribute to this alliance for once."

I smile and nod. "I'll get some more plants and berries while you're gone."

And so we split up. I gather more edible plants for about an hour or so and then return to our camp. Katniss is already back with a couple strange looking birds. She looks up at me from her work of preparing them for cooking and actually grins a bit.

"What are those?" I ask, not recognizing the birds.

"Groosling," she says. "They've got good meat on them; it should make for a great supper."

And she's right. We travel away from our boulder and light a fire to roast the birds. We move off from the source of the smoke when the dinner is finished cooking, and when we arrive back at our camp, we eat some of the meat. Nothing has ever tasted so good to me in my whole life. I have eaten herbs and berries so long that I have almost forgotten the juicy tenderness of good meat. I try to slow down, but it seems far too soon that the portion I took is gone.

"Have a leg," offs Katniss, gesturing to the remains of the bird.

I stare at it with longing, but I cannot imagine eating so much. Finally I give in, though I am still shocked by how much food I am eating. I have never consumed this much meat at home; we were always lucky to get any at all.

"I guess you in District Eleven are more used to agricultural types of food," comments Katniss when she notices my enjoyment of the groosling. I immediately shake my head.

"We aren't allowed to eat what we grow," I reply. "The Capitol organizes what is available, and most families need the tesserae on top of that." Katniss looks pretty surprised, and I wonder briefly if the other districts think that 11 has a ton of food. "Do you get coal from what you mine in Twelve?"

"No, I guess I see your point. We don't get any free coal unless you count the mounds of black dust everywhere."

I grin and wipe away the grease from my mouth. Then I realize it's getting late, and we need to discuss our plans for destroying the Careers' supplies. Standing up and looking towards the stream, I show Katniss my dirty hands.

"Let's wash up at the creek. Then we ought to start making our strategy."

"Sounds like a good idea," Katniss agrees. "Let's go."

. . .

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