I know this is kind of short, and I'm going to work on writing longer chapters in the future. I've only gotten 3 reviews so far on the first chapter, but all 3 were nice, so thank you! :) Enjoy~
Finch and I walk in search of food in silence. Rue is perched up in a tree somewhere, and I can't help but worry about her. I don't like leaving her alone.
I enjoy hunting with Finch. While I hunt, she looks for berries and plants. It reminds me of being with Gale, when we walked in the woods together. He would set up traps and snares, and I would do the shooting. We worked together in harmony, very much like me and Finch are right now.
She's very catlike and light on her feet, so she isn't scaring away any game. She's kind, and she's pleasant to be around. I'm sure if things were different, Finch and I could be friends.
No. You can't get too attached. You're going to have to break the alliance soon.
"How did you learn so much about plants?" I ask.
"I started working in my dad's plant shop when I was nine," Finch replies. "He thought working there and teaching me about phytology would help me later on in life. I guess it did," she smiles.
"It sure did."
We continue walking for a while. Finch finds some more berries, and I shoot a groosling.
"Do you ever wonder what you would be doing right now if you weren't stuck in this arena?" she asks.
It's a strange question, one that came out of the blue. I don't know what triggered her to ask me this, but it's a good question anyways.
"I'd probably be hunting with Gale." I only remember after I say this that she doesn't know who Gale is. Whenever I think of Gale, it feels like I've been punched in the stomach. But it in some odd way, it helps. It motivates me to just get out of here.
To my pleasure, she doesn't ask who Gale is. I'm happy about the fact that I don't have to explain who he is to her – thinking about him more will make me want to scream.
"Why do you hunt?"
"To survive. To feed my family."
When I think of Mom and Prim, it's more than a punch – it's a knife in the stomach.
"You ask a lot of questions," I tell her.
"I'm trying to find a way to start some sort of conversation," she says. "I think bringing up something other than the fact that we're in an arena with murderous children is a better way to start, don't you think?"
I smile a little. She has a point.
I want to ask her something. I'm hesitant at first about it, but I go ahead and ask anyways.
"Have you seen Peeta?"
She doesn't answer, only looks at me with a slightly confused expression.
"He's my district partner," I explain.
"Oh! Your star-crossed lover?" she laughs. I have a sudden urge to shoot her.
"We are not star-crossed lovers," I growl. Finch seems intimidated. I feel a little bad now. I like her, and I don't want to scare her. Not only do I like her, she's proven to be quite useful.
Finch comes across at first as "sly and elusive", but she really isn't. Well, she can be, but she's so sweet and timid that I feel if she wasn't as smart as she is, she wouldn't last a chance here. She's a bright and agile person, and that's her advantage. I have decent survival skills, but I envy hers. She could hold her own in the arena.
"Finch," I begin, "why did you want me and Rue for allies?"
"Well, to be honest, I didn't know you were allied with Rue," she admits. "So I didn't really think about her. It's not a problem, though. I like her. I wanted you because I didn't just feel you were a good person, I felt you were a survivor."
I was looking at the ground and the trees the whole time, but when she says this, I decide to pay more attention to her.
"If you were brave enough to volunteer for this and risk your life, you're brave enough to be a victor. You're smart. You're a great archer. And out of everyone in this arena that volunteered, you're the most human. Some of the other tributes would have just killed Rue, and they probably would have killed me. But you didn't. You'll only hurt someone in self-defense. And I could tell you were a good person from the second you walked on to the hovercraft to the arena. You're strong, Katniss." The shakiness in her voice lets me know how scared she really is.
I think about it, and I realize how similar Finch and I really are. We're just two kids in a terrible situation, trying to get home.
You're strong, Katniss.
The words ring in my ears.
It's a shame there can only be one victor.