Author's Note: Hi everyone! Here's chapter thirteen. Please please review, because I've only been getting 3 reviews a chapter lately!

Chapter Thirteen - Camp

Grey's POV

A sponsor parachute, really? I had just about fainted with fear when I heard the beeping noise, my mind immediately deciding that the mines around the tribute podiums were being reset and would explode in a matter of seconds. There was a possibility, you could even say it was likely, that the Gamemaker would eventually get sick of our happy little career alliance and decide to split us up permanently. It was only the evening of our second day in the arena but with only four of us left in our group now, there was an increasing tension that the longer we stayed together, the more danger we would be put in. But watching Cato and Clove laugh as Marvel playfully re-enacted their petrified expressions made me realise that I wanted them beside me for as long as possible. We'd go down together if we had to.

"Grey. The note's for you." Cato had moved away from the other two and was standing in front of me, holding a metal container and a small slip of paper. Handing the paper to me, his eyebrows furrowed together as he unlocked the canister. He didn't wait for my permission to open the parcel and I didn't bother giving it. The only thing I had wanted was medicine for his hand and I knew that Cato knew that. Though I whole-heartedly agreed on the 'sharing is caring' idea, Cato casually opening something addressed to me would no doubt annoy the Capitol.

Cato tried not to show it, but I saw him flinch as the lid came off in his hurt hand. The bandage I had applied last night had done its job in stopping the blood flow, but now it was just a blood-soaked piece of cloth. Looking away from the blonde tribute in front of me for a moment, I looked down and read the note. It was short and simple and was signed with an F at the bottom. F for Finnick. It read, 'You're doing okay so far but if you want the Gamemaker to leave you four alone then I suggest you try harder. Be imaginative.' I looked up to see Cato's icy blue eyes staring me down so I handed him the letter as he gave me the container. Playing with it in my hands, I found a smaller pot of a clear gel-like substance and a few bandages inside. I screwed the lid back on for the moment but didn't give it back to Cato, whose mouth turned up in an evil smirk as he tucked the note deep into his jacket pocket. We didn't say anything to each other, and I figured that Cato was probably irritated that he was being told what to do.

We returned together to the inside of the cornucopia, where Clove and Marvel had turned on the torches and were rummaging inside the packs for food.

"What was in the parachute?" Marvel asked with his back to us, sticking his hand deep into the bag he was searching through and pulling out a handful of small food parcels. When neither of us replied, he turned to look at us and Cato held up his blood soaked hand, smirking.

"Does it really need to be explained?" He laughed his 'Capitol laugh' before adding in a softer voice, "I don't even know if this stuff will work; what if I lose my hand?" Marvel didn't reply but I saw him rub the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. Clove was sitting frozen in the corner, her shoulders tense as she roughly pulled things out of her bag.

Cato's comment put a harsh damper on all our thoughts, and even Marvel's jokes felt a little flat as we ate. Once we had all finished, Cato growled that he was going to keep watch for the night and the rest of us should get some sleep. I opened my mouth to argue, but I felt a small hand on my shoulder and saw Clove standing at my side, shaking her head.

"Let him be."

Cato positioned himself close to the entrance and stretched his legs out with his back against the wall. I went to drag my sleeping bag over to him but the look he gave me was enough to know that I wasn't wanted. I tried not to show the hurt on my face as I shuffled over to where Clove and Marvel were already settled for the night, and I made sure I lay with my back facing Cato. My head was close to Marvel's and I could see him give me a sympathetic look.

"Clove told me he gets like this sometimes." He whispered to me so that Cato couldn't hear us, "But once he has time with his own thoughts, he'll be fine. If he needs a night to himself with us asleep, so be it. But don't worry that he's stopped caring about you, because it's easy to see that he does." I whisper "thanks" and reach out to grab Marvel's hand. He squeezes my fingertips with his hand and then pulls his sleeping back up to his chin.

I lie still for a long time, listening to the breathing of Marvel and Clove beside me. My back is facing Cato and there's no sound coming from his direction. I want to turn over and watch him think, wrap my arms around him and tell him that he'll be fine, but he certainly doesn't want my help. Before I had gotten into my sleeping bag I had placed the container of medicine half way to where Cato was sitting, and although I saw his eyes flick to it, he never moved to pick it up. Eventually I slip into a light sleep that's not touched by dreams.

When my eyes open again the light hasn't changed at all, it's still dark in the cornucopia. It's one of those times when you begin to wonder if you'd ever been asleep at all. I hear a sharp intake of breath followed by a muffled groan and I pull my sleeping bag away from my ear so I can hear better. It's definitely Cato; he must be doing something with his hand. I want to turn over and look at him but he'll instantly know I'm awake and possibly be as angry as last night.

I fake a moan that I hope sounds like me stirring and I turn to face the other side with my eyes closed. Cato goes silent and I know he's looking straight at me, but I don't dare open my eyes.

"That was the most horribly fake moan I've heard in my life, Grey, seriously. Come here." I open my eyes and hesitantly sit up.

"I thought it was good!" I defend myself, speaking quietly so as not to wake up Clove and Marvel. I slowly crawl out of my sleeping bag on my hands and knees and head towards him. He holds out his arm and envelops me so that my shoulder is tucked up under his arm.

"Do you need some help fixing your hand?" I whisper to Cato when I see the opened container of medicine resting on his leg. He sighs in agitation and holds his left hand near my face.

"Healing was never really my thing."

With Cato's hand so close to my nose I can smell the acidic smell of his blood.

"I was trying to clean it out so I could put the medicine on it." He growls, tracing the fingers of his right hand over a bloody cloth that he must have been using to clean his wound. I notice that not once does he mention the pain that he must be in, and then I remember that Careers aren't meant to feel pain.

"I don't think Capitol medicine works like that. I think you just put the gel straight on it." I reply. Cato makes no move to get the medicine and instead clenches his jaw and pulls his hand away in defiance. He's probably unimpressed that for once I know more than he does, but after a couple of seconds Cato shoves his wound at me, and I can almost hear his thoughts saying 'do it' gruffly.

Ignoring the blood that's dripping off his hand, Cato had reopened the wound by attempting to clean it; I cup his hand in mine and I use my fingers to scoop out the gel. It is cold on my fingers, and when I coat the center of Cato's palm with it he lets out a sigh and sinks down the wall a bit.

"Does it feel better?" I ask him as I finish the application of the gel and start wrapping his hand with a clean bandage. He laughs softly and the tension is out of his voice.

"So much better, it's like a cold shower after training."

"I guess you could say that." I laugh too, and with his hand safely protected in crisp bandages Cato is able to pull me closer to him until I'm leaning against his chest and he has both his arms wrapped around me.

We are silent for a few minutes until he asks, "So was that because of the note or because you care about me?"

"Not telling." I whisper.

"You've always been stubborn." He growls in my ear but chuckles softly.

Cato kisses the top of my head and begins to stroke my hair almost absentmindedly. I sit leaning against his chest as he traces along my jaw and neck for a while, his finger getting slower and slower as if he's dosing off. I don't mind if he does, I'll happy take up guard duty if I get to stay in his arms. I know he falls asleep when his hand gently drops away to land softly on my waist, and I stay like this in his arms until morning.

The sound of a bird cawing far in the distance wakes Clove and Marvel at dawn. They can't help staring at the sight of Cato's sleeping form with his arms around me, and apart from giving them a smirk I don't bother explaining. Understandably tired from everything he's been through, Cato doesn't stir until Clove, Marvel and I begin talking about our plan for the day.
"We need to get started moving our stuff closer to a water source so that we will have something to come back to after we go hunting tributes." Cato's voice is commanding as he stands up, and even though his hand is covered with white cloth he's as fierce looking as ever. I'm beginning to accept that his personality can change so easily, he can be nice one second and then wake up more arrogant than ever. No one argues with him as he shoulders a few bags, we knew that staying in the cornucopia forever wasn't a good idea; it was too easy to be cornered.

Over the next hour we move all our supplies from the cornucopia to the nearby lake. It's partly surrounded by forest but on one side there is a clearing which is suitable for a camp. Marvel begins to set up a covered area using some trees and a tarpaulin while Clove and I move the final bags and sleeping bags to our new camp. Cato had retrieved a sword from the pile and was hacking at one of the trees like I had seen him do in training. Clove didn't even bat an eyelash at him so I figured it must be pretty normal. As long as he wasn't cutting down the tree that held up the canvas Marvel had just put up, I was happy.

As soon as the camp is completed, Marvel walks the short distance to the edge of the lake and starts to splash his face and arms with water. Clove joins Cato with her knives and she uses the tree beside him as her target. I decide that Marvel's idea suits me more, but I start to follow the stream that weaves its way through the trees and out of sight instead. Ever weary of the dangers of being alone in the games, I make sure to stay within screaming distance, and as I leave I catch Cato's gaze and he faintly nods at me. It's still early so the other tributes probably wouldn't be hunting yet, but it was nice to have a safety net.

I follow along the stream for a few minutes until I find a smaller lake which is just perfect for swimming! I strip down to my underclothes and dive into the water and even though it's only been a day I can feel the caked on dirt washing off my body. I soak my hair and swim alongside the bank for a while, until I hear something.

"Interested in company?" A voice purrs from behind me.