A/N: Sorry for the wait today, there was a lot going on. I didn't forget, I just had other priorities first.

Disclaimer: I didn't write the Hunger Games.

Chapter 6: A normal day

Katniss POV

As I slip out of my dreamless sleep, I shake off Gale's arm and go into the bedroom with my game bag. I find the dresser in the dimly lit room and shove the clothes into the drawer. There's no need to lug that around the woods every day. It won't close the first time, so I push the clothes into the furthest recesses of the drawer until it finally does.

I pull out an identical change of clothes, and throw yesterday's clothes into the right side of the drawer. After closing the drawer and lifting my empty game bag over my shoulder, I go to the kitchen on the other side of the living room and put in a handful of roots and berries as I hunt for game. Gale is just waking up as I head out the door. He stretches his arms and arches his back as he gets off the couch.

Before he turns around, I'm already taking my bow and arrows from the side of the house. They feel cold against my bare hands. I walk until I find the tree with my initials and my fathers etched into a tree. The exact spot where he taught me to hunt, and I held a bow and arrow for the first time. Had it really been eight years since I learned? His words echo through my mind as I think of him.

"Come with me Katniss, I want to teach you something." We walked to the exact spot, directly hit by golden rays of sunshine with animals hiding in the surrounding trees. Mockingjays perched themselves on the trees right above, waiting for the sound of my father's voice. Right before he opened his mouth, the forest quieted to listen.

Deep in the meadow, under the willow

A bed of grass, a soft green pillow

Lay down our head, and close your sleepy eyes

And when they open. The sun will rise.

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.

He repeats the time once more before the mockingjays tweet his song. "Now, are you ready?" I nod my head in anticipation and hang on to his every word. "The most important part of hunting is to keep your eyes on the target. If you lose sight of that, then you lose your focus. You want to hit the animal with one arrow if possible. All it takes, is focus."

I look for an animal within shooting range, then quietly reach for an arrow behind me. His words are my only thoughts. Keep your eyes on the target. If you lose sight of that, then you lose your focus. I narrow my eyes at the fox, looking for its weakest point. I know to shoot for the eye, I just size up the animal before I shoot as part of a routine.

"Don't stretch the bowstring too much or it will snap. If you bend your arm to a 90 degree angle, you'll always have the right aim. Make sure to steady the bow as you prepare to shoot. The last thing you want is to change your target at the last second. A firm grip on the bow will do the trick. Now, watch me." He pulls his arm back and sends the arrow straight into the eye of the rabbit. It lay motionless on the ground. "Now, I want you to try."

I pull my arm back, adjust the arrow so it will shoot straight ahead. The head of the arrow touches the wood of the bow and the tail lightly rubs the bowstring. As I release, the arrow flies just below the eye of the fox. However, I know its already dead as I approach it. I pull the arrow out of its eye and put the arrow back into my sheath of arrows. I make a mental note in my head to skin the animal later in the day. I lift the fox into my game bag and throw it onto my left shoulder.

I hear footsteps, and I instinctively pull out an arrow and string it on my bow. As I turn around, I realize my arrow points directly at Gale. "Relax Catnip, I'm not going to hurt you." I put the arrow away and hold my bow at the top to steady it.

He walks over to a maple tree and takes some rope out of his game bag. He instinctively ties knots, and begins setting up his snare. I watch the careful work of his hands. Every action must be precise, or it won't hold up. He ties the rope around a small sapling on the ground. While bending the sapling, he ties the other part of the rope to another sapling. Not his best work, I'll admit, but animals fall for it every time.

"What did you catch this morning?" Gale asks. "Only a fox. It wasn't very big, but I'm sure it would go great with other game." Gale nods, and sets up another snare in the center of the hunting circle. We stay silent for a few moments. Only the sound of neighboring animals and mockingjays fill the silence.

"Ready to hunt?"

"I'd rather have a bit to eat first" Gale replies.

I pull out the roots and berries from my game bag and give half the food to him. He has the berries in one mouthful, and the roots in ten. I finish my serving of roots and berries shortly after. Now we're ready to hunt.

We walk to an opening about fifty yards from my father's spot. "I bet I can shoot more game than you can." I challenge. "It's already one to zero." "Oh, you're on." He says with a playful grin on his face.

I shoot a bird overhead and call out "two." Gale picks up his pace, and his total reaches five before I can find my third animal. We shoot until neither of us have any arrows left, twelve shots each, with Gale as the final winner with ten kills. I'm not far behind at eight, but I have to admire his determination.

"Not bad Hawthorne. But, there's still room for improvement." I tease, lightly punching his arm. He smiles, remembering the first time we hunted and he said those exact words. We collect the carcasses of the animals as we toss them into our bags. There's enough meat to last us a few days, assuming the meat doesn't spoil from the heat.

As we begin to walk back to camp, we both listen to the crunch of leaves behind us. Instinctively, we both drop our game bags and pull an arrow into place. As I turn around, I see my arrow points directly to my mother, and Gale's arrow pointed to Hazelle.

A/N: Spoiler-this is not the end of the story. There's more to come. Read tomorrow to find out. But only I know ;) Please review for any comments or questions about the story.