11
Katniss
When I wake up, I'm leaning against a tree and Clara is kneeling in front of me, dampening my forehead with a cloth. "Babe, speak to me," she says and I groan. Fuck, feels like I've hit my head, proper hard too. I reach round and realise that I'm bleeding but before I can panic, Clara takes my hand. "Honey, I know it looks like a lot but it's not that bad, you're fine, ok?" I nod and ask, "What happened?" She laughs, "We'd been at the camp for about 5, maybe 10 minutes, when Cato realised that you weren't there, so he went back to look for you, followed quickly by Thresh and Clove. About 2 minutes after they left, they were back, and they said that you'd collapsed, and hit your head on a rock. When I got to you, you were bleeding quite badly but Cato was in tears, he thought you were dead. It took about five of us half an hour to calm him down. All he kept saying was, 'The last thing I said was that I didn't know if I loved her,' and… something else too. When I've fixed you up, you need to speak to him. I don't know exactly what went on between you two but it seems he cares about you, huh babe?" I nod and sit in silence as Clara tends to my wounds. What would I even say to him?
I am finally let go and she takes me back to the camp where they are all sitting round the fire, eating some fresh fruit. Glimmer stands up to pass me an apple and gives me a hug. I look around the fire, searching for my bow, and Marvel waves at me. "Hey, 12! Looking for me?" he calls and I can't help but laugh, "Yes Marv, I'm so happy to see you." He winks and I stick my tongue out at him cheekily before saying, "No, I was looking for my bow. Who's got it?" Cato and Thresh jump their feet, shouting, "You're not going hunting!" I look to Peeta who hands me my bow before teasing the boys, "Hey sweetie! Good to see you up and about! Have fun." I nod to him before making my way back into the trees, but Thresh blocks my path. "No," he growls and I raise my eyebrows, before snarling, "Look Thresh, I need to hunt. Now you can either move or I can move you. Your choice." Rue giggles and Thresh is about to speak when Cato moves to my side, saying, "Right. Let's go then." I shake my head and am about to refuse his offer when he explains, "You need to hunt. We need to keep you safe. So you can either go with me, or not at all. Your choice." I crack a smile and he smirks, and together we make our way into the woods. I notice him wink at Thresh as we leave and wonder what's going on with them.
When we're about a mile away from the camp, Cato grabs my wrist and stops me. "Kat, baby, we need to talk. Please. I was wrong before. I know how I feel about you now. I love you." I shake my head, whispering, "No, please don't do this. I don't need you to lie to me like this. It just hurts more." He sinks to his knees and takes both my hands, saying, "Sweetheart, you're not listening. Please stop trying to fight me off, to close yourself off from everyone. I love you more than life itself; I knew that as soon as I saw you lying there. I told Clara that if she couldn't save you, I was going to kill myself and I meant it. I can't live without you. I will spend my whole life proving this to you, if you can just let me in. Please baby, please." He's sobbing now, and I am as well.
I love him, so much, and I sink down in front of him, breathing, "I believe you. You don't have to prove it any more. I love you too." He kisses me passionately and we fall back onto the grass. "No, babe, not that, not now," I say and he pulls back. "We may have a long wait then. We're staying put for a few days." I look at him questioningly and he explains, "Kat, you're obviously very ill. Clara won't let us move you while you're so sick. So we're staying here. Now, come on, let's hunt!"
Cato
About 2 deer, 4 groosling and 8 squirrels later, Katniss is finally done. She heaps the last groosling onto the pile and I applaud, jumping down from my perch on a rock and hugging her. "Everyone will be very impressed," I say and she laughs. Her eyes are alive like I have never seen them. "I don't know about that but at least we have enough for the next few days. Come on, let's get it back." I sigh and heave the two deer onto my shoulders before letting her tie four squirrels round my waist. She takes the rest and we begin the walk back. It doesn't take long to reach it but we can hear shouting and when we get back, we see the guys lined up, facing off against each other.
Clove, Glimmer and Ros are on one side, while Marvel, Thresh, Clara, Peeta and Rue are on the other, and they are howling at each other like wolves. They barely notice our arrival, not even when we chuck down all the food, so I whistle loudly, causing all of them to wince and turn to us. "What the hell is going on?" I ask and they all begin shouting at once. Katniss screams, "STOP!" and they all fall silent. She turns to Rue and asks kindly, "Sweetheart, can you tell me what's going on?" She nods and moves to stand in the middle of the two lines. "This lot," pointing to Clove's side, "want to move on, and leave you behind. We," gesturing to the others, "are very opposed to this." Cato steps towards Glimmer, shouting, "Oh hell no. We stick together, in case you hadn't noticed. We wouldn't leave any of you, so don't you even think about leaving her!"
Katniss
I grab him and pull him behind me. "Guys, don't you see what's happening? You're all finding the most ridiculous things to fight about. Surely it's up to me whether I'm fit enough to move, and I feel fine. I understand why you want to get going; I'm worried about the Capitol finding out about the forcefield too. However, I don't appreciate you wanting to break up the group because of it. Safety is in numbers guys, remember that! But I certainly don't want you fighting over me; that is just stupid. So if you want to move, let's move. But not before dinner." I gesture towards the food at this point and everyone gasps. Marvel sniggers and turns to Ros, saying, "And you wanted to leave this one behind." Cato slips his arms around my waist and whispers, "Well done babe. You handled that very well. And that is why I love you." I spin to face him and hug him quickly before going to help Peeta with the food. He gently squeezes my hand and whispers, "I'm glad you made it up." I nod to him, and I realise that this is the first time I've felt truly happy since my dad died.
About an hour later, we are all well-fed and ready to leave. Clove, Glim and Ros have all apologised to me; Clove's was my favourite, "It's nothing personal." This time, I am up front with Cato and Clara, who are constantly fussing about me, "Is everything ok, Katniss?" "Let me know if you want to stop Katniss." I can't help but roll my eyes, and he notices, swooping down and kissing my cheek, whispering, "Sorry for being such a worrier. It's just because I love you." I take his hand and say, "I know. I love you too." Clara sighs and I look at her, amused. She makes a heart with her hands and blows me a kiss before dropping back to walk beside Thresh. I turn to Cato and mutter, "Is there something going on between them?" He shrugs and replies, "I sure as hell hope so. They're adorable together." We walk in silence for the next few minutes before Cato stops suddenly. "Look," he breathes and I notice a massive line on the ground, where the forcefield once was. "Who knows what district we hit if we keep heading south?" I ask and Thresh coughs, before breaking into a wide smile, replying, "11."
Rue cheers and he scoops her up into a hug. Clove interrupts their happiness, saying, "Well, we can't go there." Rue turns to her, speaking in a harsh voice I've never heard before, "And why not?" Clove recoils but Glimmer steps in, answering, "Because they won't accept us there. And it's dirty. Our best chance is to head east from here and try and reach 1." I roll my eyes and Cato butts in, exclaiming, "Jeez, let's just vote on it." Clara sticks up her hand and asks, "Which is closest?" Cato points to Thresh and Rue, signalling that district 11 is much closer. "All of those in favour of heading to 1?" Clove, Glimmer and Ros stick up their hands, soon followed by Marvel, who says, "Sorry guys, but you're asking me whether I wanna go home." I nod to him and he winks at me, before moving to stand next to Glimmer. "All those in favour of going to 11?" Thresh, Rue, Clara, Peeta and I all throw our hands up, as does Cato, to which Clove exclaims, "Cato!"
He shakes his head and replies, "Sorry guys, but I'm sticking with Katniss." Marvel sniggers and turns to me, asking rudely, "Babe, where are you keeping his balls?" I smile sweetly and beckon him over, like I'm going to whisper in his ear. As soon as he is in range, I knee him hard in the balls and run round behind Cato, out of his line of fire. Thresh and Peeta wince before bursting into laughter and Cato swings me onto his back and laughs at Marvel, who is curled up on the ground, in pain. Clove and Glimmer can't help but laugh too, while Clara and Rue are in tears, cackling hysterically. When he has recovered enough to stand, he staggers over and shakes my hand, saying, "I guess I asked for that." Cato lifts me down and kisses me happily before announcing, "South it is, then. Thresh, Rue, lead the way please."