Okay so its been a while since I uploaded but both me and my beta were busy, so this is it chapter four. Enjoy:)
It's Saturday morning and the sun is shining straight onto my face through a gap in my shutters.
"Urgghh" I moan, trying to shield my eye from the blinding sunlight.
I really can't be bothered to do anything today but I know I have to get up and go hunting, so I pull on my clothes and shoes, grab my game bag and leave.
Its about ten o'clock in the morning and the heat from the sun is already getting intense. I can tell that today is going to be scorching hot. I make my way to the gap in the fence behind Rooba's, and slip under.
On my snare trail I check the hollow log that Katniss usually stashes her bow and see that it's gone, this means she's already in the woods and as I stand up an arrow goes whizzing past and lodes itself in the tree next to me.
"Shit Katniss!" I shout as I try and regain my composure.
"You're late Hawthorne." She says, giving me a cheeky smile.
"Sorry Catnip, I slept in" I say, walking over to her. "Let's go check these snares then." And off we go, following the snare trail.
On the way Katniss shoots two large rabbits, and by the time we've finished the snare trail, we have a great hall between us; four rabbits and six squirrels.
I guess these squirrels are getting pretty careless.
"Shall we clean them here or somewhere else?" Katniss asks, retrieving an arrow from the eye of a squirrel.
"Here, I don't fancy walking far today" I say and sit down ready to clean my kills.
"Alright." Is her response and she sits opposite me and starts to skin her squirrels. "I hear there's a party on tonight." As she speaks, her eyes don't leave her kill.
"Yeah, are you going?" I ask her, although I know she won't go, she never does seeing as she has to stay and look after Prim.
"No, are you?" Now she looks at me.
"No." I know that's a lie but there are just some things I wouldn't tell Katniss. She's too young to understand a lot of the things I do, or even why I do them.
We finish cleaning our kills and head back to the fence, making idle chit chat as we walk. "So Catnip, what are we giving to Rooba, what are we trading and what are we keeping?" I ask her before we reach the fence.
"Well my mum needs some bandages because she's running low, so I need a squirrel to trade for them." I watch as she kicks a twig from beneath her leather boot.
I know she hates asking to keep game, I think she feels guilty but seeing as she shot it and we split everything, I don't have a problem with it.
"Okay, anything you particularly want to trade or do you just want to give the rest to Rooba and save the money" I ask her.
"Well we have to give Greasy Sae a rabbit, we did promise her one if we caught any."
That's true; Greasy Sae makes good rabbit and parsnip stew. She grows the parsnips in her little garden, so when they're in season there's usually always parsnip in her stews.
"Okay, so were selling Rooba three rabbits and five squirrels?" I ask in confirmation.
"If that's okay." She smiles. Katniss' smile is really quite pretty, it's a shame she only ever smiles in the woods. I'm probably one of the few people that sees it, besides Prim of course.
"That's fine." I say climbing under the fence. Katniss follows right behind me. We knock at the door and within a few minutes Rooba's smiling face is at the door.
"Good morning!" She says in a cheery voice. I notice the blood stain on her apron looks fresh.
"What's that from" I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.
"Old man sold one of his goats to me, said it doesn't make enough milk so might as well make her a meal. Just finished cleaning the thing." She wipes her hands on her dirty blood stained apron. "So, what have you got for me today" she asks.
"Three rabbits and four squirrels" Katniss replies unusually quickly.
I look at her and I can tell she's anxious.
"Oh great, let me just get my money," and off she goes back into the house. I know Rooba's prices are fair and we have had a good hall today, so I'm expecting more money than usual.
Sure enough, she comes out with a handful of coins. "There you go." she says as we trade the game for the coins "Have a nice day you two." And with that, she disappears into her shop and closes the door.
We split the money evenly and head to the Hob.
"Are you alright?" I ask Katniss as we walk.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She says without looking at me.
"No you're not, what's wrong?" I persist but she still doesn't look at me. This aggravates me.
"Nothing's wrong Gale, I just-" she pauses "-need to get these bandages." I don't feel like prying anymore as she clearly doesn't want to tell me.
"Okay." I say "Let's be quick then."
Some of the tension appears to have left Katniss, although quite obviously there is something bothering her. As we enter the Hob, I suggest we split up. "Why don't you go get the bandages, and I'll give the rabbit to Greasy Sae?"
"Okay." Katniss says. I hand her the squirrel and she heads off to where the bandages are being sold. She could get them in town but she prefers to help out the people in the Hob.
"Hello Sae. Katniss and I have a rabbit for you." I say, handing her the rabbit.
"Oh, why thank you Gale!" The look of joy on her face, two rabbits in two days. "If you want to wait a wile I can cook some up for you now?" She asks, already placing the rabbit on a spit above a fire to cook.
"That sounds great, I'll be back in a minute though, there's something I need first." I say and Sae nods.
I head off in the direction of Ripper's stall.
"Hello Ripper." I say as I approach the stall.
"Hello Gale, what can I do for you today?" She asks, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
"My Mother asked me to pick up two bottles from you. She's trying to get a stain out of Posy's dress, and she heard that liquor can get the stain out."
Not all entirely a lie, it's true my mum wants the liquor to get a stain out of Posy's dress, but she only wanted one bottle. The other is for the party tonight, although I'm not even sure I want to go.
"Hmm, okay." She says, not fully convinced by my story. "Why does she need two and not just one?" She questions, staring at me with her deep grey eyes.
"One for this stain, the other in case it happens again and we can't afford it next time. She said buy it now just in case"
"Oh, okay." She names her price and I hand over the coins.
"Thanks." I say, before heading back to Greasy Sae's, shoving the bottles in my bag. Looks like she's finished cooking because she's handing a bowl of hot stew to a more relaxed looking Katniss. "Smells good." I say, and accept the steaming hot bowl Sae hands me.
By now, a small line has started to form of hungry people wanting to eat some fresh meat, as its not very often Sae actually puts meat in her stew. It's usually tree bark and parsnip or some other absurd concoction, but still people will eat it.
It's surprising what people will eat when they're hungry enough, but every now and then, Katniss and I give Sae some game in exchange for a bowl of whatever she's cooking.
Although we usually buy a bowl whenever we're in the Hob and can afford it, like when we have had a good hall and have money to spare, but if we have a bad hall then we just go without.
"You got your bandages then?" I ask Katniss.
"Yeah." She gives me a half hearted smile, and then continues eating the stew. I notice she's eating it pretty quickly as if she's in a rush. "I've got to go now Gale" she says, as soon as she's finished. "Thanks for the food Sae, bye." and with that she picks up her bag and walks out of the Hob.
"Where's she going in such a hurry?" Sae says with a look that's somewhere between concern and amusement, whilst she hands out a bowl of stew to someone.
"I have no idea" I say, taking a seat on an upside down crate next to the stall. "Must have been important though."
"Where's little Katniss today?" I look up and straight away and I can see messy red hair.
It's Drius. He's one of the Peacekeepers in District 12 probably, the youngest as well.
"She just left." I growl at him. I hate that he talks to Katniss, it really bothers me.
"Oh, alright" He's laughing at me as he walks away which makes me mad. He thinks he's so above everyone because he wears that stupid uniform! I can't stand Peacekeepers at all, and he's not even the worst one!
Old Cray, Urgh, the thought of him makes my blood boil. Paying starving women to sleep with him. The sick bastard.
What if Katniss had been older when her dad died? Would she have ended up at his doorstep?
"Hello? Gale?" I look up to see an impatient Greasy Sae looking at me. "I'm going to need that bowl back, I'm quite busy today."
I look down at my empty bowl and then to the ever growing line of people.
"Sorry Sae, here." And I hand her the bowl back. "Thanks for the food." I say, and she gives me a polite nod.
I sling my bag over my shoulder, brush my hair back and exit the Hob. Might as well go back home and hide the liquor now, otherwise I'll be carrying it round for hours.
I trudge home slowly, trying to stick to the shadows. The sun is unbearably hot, I didn't notice it in the woods due to the shade the trees provided, but it was hot and stuffy in the Hob.
I suppose it didn't help that I just had a hot bowl of food either, but oh well. The streets are practically empty; all the people that don't have to be out are inside, probably sheltering from the heat.
When I finally arrive home, I go straight to my room and hide the bottle under my bed. Then I find my Mum and hand her the other bottle.
"Thank you Gale." She says as she opens it, and pours a little over the stain in Posy's dress.
"Well, I'll be in my room." I say, and before she has chance to ask me to do anything else, I disappear into my room and close the door.
I would usually help her but it's just too hot today and she isn't even doing much, so I decide to take a nap. I'm going to need it if I go out tonight.
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