"How many are left?" I ask as I prepare to kill a rabbit.
"Nine." Quaid answers as he starts a fire.
"My goodness. These Games are going by quickly." The knife lodges itself in the rabbit's eye.
"We are on day four and thirteen tributes are dead. How much quicker can they go?" I pick up the rabbit and give it to Quaid. "Nice. We'll eat some lovely rabbit."
It was midday and we were cooking up some meat. We were tired of the dried fruit the Capitol supplied us and we turned our attention to the wild life. I've shot two rabbits and a bird. Quaid was in charge of skinning the animal and cooking its meat. And we were both in charge of guarding our camp.
After my nightmare last night, I trusted Quaid to go somewhere without me. We set up our system when I woke up to Quaid skinning his own rabbit. I didn't hear any cannons today. Flitter didn't give out yet and no one else slaughtered each other. I hoped this day would go by without any bloodshed. It looks like I'll get my wish.
He grabbed the meat and handed me a leg. I wanted to kill a groosling, but the bird ran away from me. I only saw a groosling once in my life. He was hanging around by our farm, picking up some scraps we left out for birds. My father said that grooslings have really juicy meat and they are good eating. But, he failed to tell me that they run faster than my knives.
I bit into the leg and grease ran down my chin. "This thing is delicious. I don't think this is a rabbit, though."
"It's a groosling." Of course. He bags a groosling while my grossling runs away from me.
"How did you kill it?" I ask, taking another bite.
"I stole your knives." I dropped the meat and wiped my chin. His mouth curled into a smirk
"Getting greedy in the arena?" I ask as I tackle him to the ground. I pin his shoulders to the ground and sit on his stomach. He turns to the left abruptly and he is on top of me.
I haven't wrestled with anyone but Jace. Jace learned how to wrestle when he was eleven and he wanted to use me as a test subject. I learned how to pin someone down and escape their grip. I didn't mind that Quaid was on top of me at this point. I didn't even mind that I was in the arena. I was doing something I thought I'd never do; have fun in the Hunger Games arena.
He pinned my wrists to the ground. He gave a cocky smile, and stared into my eyes. "I was getting greedy for food, Cowgirl." His grip lessened on my wrists. He leaned down and placed his lips on mine.
The only thing I could do was return the kiss. For being the farmer's daughter and the richest family in District 10, I never had my first kiss…up until now. I never thought I'd kiss a boy from District 1, let alone in the Hunger Games. Quaid was the only boy from 1 who wasn't arrogant and selfish. How was he raised? Did his parents teach him something that parents normally don't teach?
Our kiss was interrupted with a beeping noise. That was a sponsor beep. I looked up and saw a silver case with a parachute attached, falling in our direction. Quaid let me go and I grabbed it. I have a sponsor already? When I opened the casing, my jaw hit the floor.
Inside were a dozen golden throwing knives, each with a different tinted handle bar. I know this gift was meant for me. Quaid prefers spears rather than knives. I think this is the most expensive gift in the Games since Finnick Odair's trident gift. When the array of knives went out of the case, a note slipped out. When I picked it up, I glanced over it. It read,
You're doing a great job of staying alive, Jada! Thank everyone in the Capitol and fight until the end! ~ Annabelle.
Oh, Annabelle. Thank you so much!
"Wow, you must have good sponsors." Quaid says, his head hung low.
"Hey, you want to use one?" I ask, holding up the knife with a green tinted handle.
His hand reaches for the weapon, but pulls back. "No. They're yours. I'll wait until my sponsor sends a gift." He puts my knives in my jacket, ordered by the color of the handle bar. Starting with red and ending with violet. He's from District 1. Of course he has an eye for color.
When the night sky appears, no faces are in the sky. Finally, the momentum has died down. I lie on my back and stare at the stars. Even in the countryside back home, I never saw this many stars. Were these even real stars?
"Cowgirl, look." Quaid points to a small bird in the trees. By the looks of its size, it was a child-ages bird. "I've never seen a mockingjay before. I've only seen them in my textbooks back home."
"Wanna hear something amazing?" I ask. His head nods in response. I sit up and face the mockingjay. I sing a simple five note tune and wait. I repeat my sequence and he repeats it to me. He flies off of his branch and flies in front of me. Just like back home, more mockingjays pick up my sequence. The mockingjay perches himself on my knee, singing my tune.
"I think he wants you to sing more." Quaid suggests, moving closer to me. I try not to move my knee as I sing a lullaby I learned years ago.
Deep in the meadow, under the willow. A bed of grass, a soft green pillow.
Lay down your head, and close your eyes. And when they open, the sun will rise.
The bird falls silent, along with the forest. I know I am not supposed to sing this certain lullaby, but something makes me want to sing it. This was the Mockingjay's song, as proved by Katniss. Hence the reason I am not allowed to sing it. The Gamemakers can't do anything about it. I am just singing to a bird, nothing more.
Here it's safe, here it's warm. Here the daises guard you from every harm.
Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you.
The bird sits and waits for me to continue. I inch my finger closer to his head. He isn't fazed; he lets me place my finger on his head. I rub it back and forth and he wants me to continue my lullaby.
Deep in the meadow, hidden far away. A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray.
Forget your woes, and let your troubles lay. And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.
Here it's safe, here it's warm. Here the daises guard you from every harm.
Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you.
As soon as my song ends, the mockingjay picks it up. He sings every note and his friends pick it up. It bounces around until it spreads to every tree. I continue to pet the bird in front of me. I have never placed a finger on a mockingjay. His feathers were smooth and silky.
"You can really sing." Quaid says, trying not to make the bird move as he moves towards me. "I can tell these birds love your voice. They stopped to listen to you." His finger rests under my chin.
"And if you sing, they'll just fly away?" I ask, joking. His lips kiss mine gently. The last line of the song is true. This is the place where I…love Quaid.
A/N: Thank you for reading my story. I love all the feedback I have been getting. I, personally, don't like this chapter. But, it gives insight to Quaid and Jada's relationship. The next chapter will be slow also. Just a warning. But thank you for spending your time reading. I can't thank you enough. :)