AN. Thanks for the amazing reviews guys they were much appreciated.

Suzanne Collins owns the Hunger Games.

Over the next month I have a variety of firsts both good and bad. Fortunately I didn't get my first infection, but unfortunately that meant I didn't see Katniss until the Sunday after the harvest festival. Which, I didn't actually get to go to, on duty or off duty, because after injuring my hand I was put on a different rotation that had me doing paperwork for most of the week. Luckily I write with the hand that I didn't injure, otherwise I doubt I would have got much done.

You would have thought that with a head peacekeeper like cray, who lets many illegal acts like poaching go unpunished, he would be more laid back with things like paperwork. You would be wrong. It seems appearances can be deceiving and behind the scenes he likes to run a tight ship. Which makes sense when you hear his reasoning that if it appears that district 12 is running perfectly and efficiently on its own, then no one will want to interfere or look to closely and the district will be left alone and forgotten. I can't really fault him on that because it seems to work. In other districts there are always visitors to check that the peacekeepers are doing their jobs and that the law is being upheld. There haven't been any for years here in twelve.

There's always next year for the festival I suppose, that's if I'm still here. I might have been reallocated by then. I hope not though because I like it here, besides where would I get stew as good as Sae's?

After the festival things quickly went back to normal, all the festivities forgotten as the harshness of winter began to set in. I was witness to the first snow in twelve, which I was surprised at with how hot it was in winter. I liked the snow, it reminded me of home in two when you could see the snow on the Nut and the mountains separating us from the capitol. The first flurries of light snow though quickly turned in to snow storms which was another first.

Back in two despite the fact the mountains would get snow with it being so cold so high up, most of two didn't get all that much. A couple of centimetres was about the limit, so snow storms that brought 6ft snow drifts were a slight shock. I'd had to dig myself out of my home more than a few mornings which was unpleasant as the snow had started to melt in the morning sun and soaked into my boots making my socks soggy and my feet wet.

The snow was nice at first, but now it was just annoying. The snow had blanketed the grey district in a covering of pristine white but had then to grey muddy slush that ended up being ten times worse than ice as it was slippy, something that Katniss and Sae had come to tease me endlessly about.

"You know you're like a newborn fawn with how unsteady you are on your feet."

"Did you see him fall outside of the hob yesterday just as he leaving? Landed right on his arse!" Sae cackled.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up" I grumbled focusing on my stew.

"Don't worry we are," Katniss replied wryly. "We know it's only because you think the floor looks lonely that you're deciding to give it hugs." She cracks up.

I grit my teeth. "well if you two ladies will excuse me some of us have actual work to do."

Katniss snorts. "Whatever you say Darius. Don't slip on your way out, oh wait you already have done!" They burst out laughing again. I sigh. It's not my fault the snow has a not-so-secret vendetta against me and takes every opportunity to trip me up.

As you can guess I happen to have a habit of slipping on slushy snow and falling flat on my face. This meant I consequently experienced the first of many public humiliations, something that endlessly amuses the whole district and my fellow peacekeepers.

I have my first snowball fight with Purina on my way home after work. She surprises me by throwing a ball of the recently fallen snow that hadn't turned to slush at the back of my head. It then it turned into a competition to see who could throw the most snow balls at the other. Being more experienced she won of course but I got payback the next day by shoving a load of snow down the back of her uniform and making her squeal.

One of the bad firsts I have is seeing how the snow affects the people that I know from the hob, particularly Katniss. I notice when her shirt rides up as she reaches over the counter to grab something from sae that she's notably skinnier. I wonder how I didn't notice that she was slowly starving but she's always mostly covered up with that huge leather jacket of hers and a few thin baggy jumpers.

"you know it's not fair that Cray, Sae and the baker get all of your rabbits and squirrels."

"What?" she turns to me confused.

"Well I wouldn't mind fresh rabbit or squirrel every week you know, at first I thought I was favouritism but then I remembered that was silly because of course I'm you're favourite person." I sniff pretending to be hurt at the idea.

She rolls her eyes at my theatrics. "So what about it Katniss, got a few rabbits for little old me?"

"Pay you double" I add "you'd have to skin then for me though, wouldn't want to get my hands dirty," and I mock shudder at the thought.

She snorts "for the ladies right?" She mocks, although her eyes bore in to me, trying to judge whether I'm serious or not. I'm almost worried that she'll decline seeing it as charity or even ask me what's wrong with the butcher but she doesn't.

Eventually she nods slightly and I walk out of the hob the next day with a couple of skinned rabbits. I should of really asked what to do with them afterwards because I don't know whats edible and what's not. To me they just look like skinless rabbits. That is essentially what they are, but I don't know what parts of a rabbit you eat.

I return to the hob later when I'm sure most people are home and give the rabbits to Sae. She raises her eyebrows and I shuffle embarrassedly. She knows what I'm doing, paying almost double what she pays means that Katniss came to me with the rabbits instead of her, but she knows I have a soft spot for Katniss as most people do.

Sae allows me to give Katniss more money for the rabbits so she doesn't starve as much and I come back later and sell her the rabbits cheaply to keep her silence on the matter. Not that I think that she would tell Katniss, because she knows that this is the only way to give Katniss the help she needs without insulting her pride, but because I hate to think what she would put in the stew without the meat Katniss gives her.

I feel bad lying to Katniss although I'm not really lying because she doesn't ask what I'm doing with the rabbits she shoots and skins but as the days go by I see that the lines on her face soften as she puts more weight on and her cheeks fill out. She seems happier recently and I can only put it down to the fact she doesn't have to worry about money so much anymore and a small smile makes its way on to my face knowing that I helped with that.

While I'm thinking about the changes in Katniss a siren rings out. The high pitched sound makes me jump in surprise and splash milk all over the table and my uniform. Annoyed I turn to the TV expecting it to have come on with an emergency broardcast or a mandatory one that I'd just forgotten about, but the TV stays off, the blank black screen staring back at me.

Suddenly there's a pounding at my door that I can barely hear over the shrill wailing of the alarm. Making my way to the door I'm shocked when I open it to see one of the older peacekeepers looking frantic and out of breath.

"What's that noise?" I ask covering my ears with my hands.

"The mines!"he shouts "the mines!"

I'm about to experience my first mine collapse.