A/N: I know but I had to kill one of them. It is the hunger games after all.
%
Nate awoke to nothing but the feeling of soreness in his muscles. Every piece of him was complaining about the rocky surface he slept on. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. The truth was that he was numb. Maggie was gone and Nate found it very hard to find motivation to do anything. He tried to tell himself to get up and eat but nothing seemed to be listening. His eyes felt very heavy and he just couldn't get up anymore. He could probably get away with a few more moments of sleep.
"Nate, get up!" Sophie's voice was a sharp whip of sound. Her face appeared in his fuzzy vision and there was a tiny shake on his sleeping bag.
Nate tried to open his mouth to speak. Well, he thought about opening his mouth to speak. He just didn't feel like it was necessary to respond. He felt like he should have been worried about that, but he wasn't. All he wanted to do was go right back to sleep.
"Nate, get up!" Sophie's fierce voice ordered again. There was more urgency to her tone. She even shook him harder. Nate's teeth actually rattled from her force. "Please."
"I'm tired," Nate was amazed by the sound of his voice. It sounded so weak and fragile. It sounded like he was a million miles away. His voice was surprisingly distant despite the fact that it was coming from his chest. That was odd.
"Nate, you have to get up right now!" Sophie ordered briskly. The urgency was beginning to sound like panic. Nate couldn't help but wonder why. "You're going into a depression."
"Depression?" Nate heard himself ask. He was barely even interested in their conversation. He just wanted to go back to sleep. He didn't care about anything else but that. So, Sophie slapped him. "Ow!"
"Nathan Ford, you're not leaving me too!" Sophie ordered in a very high-pitched voice. This time she was practically picking him up by his shirt. Nate tried to ignore the wild look in her eyes. He really wanted to return to sleep, but he couldn't. Sophie needed him and that was all that mattered. He had to get up. She needed him to.
"I'm up," Nate announced. He flopped to his side and coaxed his feet into working. It took a lot of coaxing and stumbling, but he was soon on his knees crawling out of their cave. He blinked at the harsh light and immediately felt out of breath just from getting out of bed and leaving the cave.
"Don't go back," Sophie's hand was pushing him further out. Nate couldn't understand why he was so tired, so he focused on Sophie's instructions instead. He knew her orders were meant for his benefit. He wasn't going to ignore that after everything they've been through.
"We're going to learn which plants to eat and which to throw away today," Sophie spoke softly now. She was talking to him as if he were a child. He tried not to be okay with that.
"I thought we were going to start with your training?" Nate asked. He was starting to wake up. The events of yesterday and the day before were starting to catch up to him. He was even becoming more aware of his surroundings. Whatever Sophie was doing, it was working.
"I thought it best to start with yours under the circumstances," Sophie countered. There was a slight music to her voice now. Nate was surprised he had never heard it before. Sophie's voice sounded like a flute and piano having a duet. It was a nice, sweet sound. There was even a gentleness to it he had never noticed before. Sure her orders were in a soft staccato but the way the air moved around her lips still gave it that light and fluffy feel. It was very comforting.
"I think I should probably follow you then," Nate managed to stammer out through his odd thoughts. He knew she would worry about his suggestion but he also knew it was a good one. He didn't know his way around anything but moss and trees. She would be able to dictate where the edible food was growing.
"Are you sure?" She apparently reached the same conclusion because she didn't offer any argument. She was just concerned about leaving him behind. Nate tried not to smile at the news.
"I'll be fine, Soph," he said, "You'll be looking back to explain yourself anyway. I promise I won't wander off."
"No stopping for a rest either," Sophie quickened her pace to be in front of him. She turned around and walked backwards while she pointed a threatening finger his way. "You have to keep walking right now. Your body is going to do everything in its power to stop moving and you can't let it."
Nate stopped walking and stared at her in disbelief. There was an odd note to her voice all of a sudden. It was like a piccolo hitting its highest note with barely enough air to keep it sustained. It sounded like fear. She was really worried about him.
"I'll keep up," Nate promised in the softest voice he could muster. He stretched to his full height and breathed in deeply. That calmed her a bit. "I promise I won't stop for a rest until you do."
Sophie stared at him for a few moments. She tilted her head to the right and debated the pros and cons of his statement. She flopped her head upright and nodded once. She smiled a bit and immediately turned around, her hair dancing behind her from the swift movement. She carefully marched forward without a pause, trusting him to keep his word. Nate smiled at that. She trusted him enough to believe him. Now all he had to do was make certain her trust was warranted. Nate sighed and placed one foot in front of the other. He was soon walking right on behind her and his chest did feel a little lighter. At least, the heaviness from before was gone.
They had been walking around through the woods for quite a while when Nate slammed into the girl he was partnered with. Nate immediately backed away with wide eyes. He was in for a mouthful if their past experiences were anything to go by. Apparently Sophie didn't seem to be aware of this little piece of information though. She just turned towards him with a sad smile and pointed towards some greenery. Nate followed where she was pointing and rolled his eyes. They were just very big leaves.
"These are great for using as a binding for wounds and to help heal them," she explained. She seemed to be ignoring his rude behavior today. That was odd. She just shrugged at his eye roll and stepped closer to the leaves. "You add water when you want to use them to extract poisons and soften pain from burns and other maladies."
"You used these to help Maggie," Nate gasped. He realized why she was being so delicate with him. She was respecting his right to mourn Maggie. The poor girl probably didn't even think she had the right to mourn their fallen ally. It was odd having her be so nice in such a situation.
"Right," Sophie nodded. She quickly plucked a few of the leaves off of their bush tree thingy. She turned towards him with a soft smile and extended one of the leaves.
"Feel it," she commanded. Nate obeyed without complaint.
"It feels leathery," he said.
"That's how you know it's the right one," she nodded at his observation. She even smiled happily at it. She was pleased with him. Nate couldn't help but feel proud at that. He actually made her proud for once. He didn't pull scorn from her; he brought pleasure. That was a new experience.
"Cool," Nate grinned at the fact that he understood the lesson. He moved his hand further along the leaf just to make certain his senses had the feel of it perfectly memorized. Then his fingers hit something shockingly soft.
"What was that?" He gasped as he pulled away his hand and literally jumped back in such surprise.
Sophie actually rolled her eyes this time. She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head.
"That was my hand, you idiot," she hissed. There was no heat to her statement though. No, she seemed thoroughly amused by his reaction instead. She was even fighting a smile.
"Why is it so soft?" Nate demanded bitterly. He didn't know if he should be embarrassed or amused. The smile flittering on her lips was just too contagious to stare at. It made him smile in return. Honestly, she spent just as much time in the woods as he did. Her hands should not feel so soft and inviting and warm, oh so warm.
Sophie's eyebrows narrowed in confusion. She stared down at her hands and then moved her chocolate charcoal eyes upward in question of his statement. She seemed to be unaware of the fact that her hands felt like silk velvet.
"Let's go," she said instead. Nate tried not to think about the fact that he was disappointed she didn't voice her question aloud. "I'm going to show you some other medicinal plants today. Tomorrow we'll work on edibles."
Sophie immediately twirled around on the spot and started heading towards some more plants. Nate stared after her in confusion. There was something different about her. She was glowing now. Literally every time they moved throughout the woods she was always in sunlight. It was like the game makers' sun was following her everywhere. It was odd.
The boy from District Twelve sighed at his odd train of thought. He shook his head to help clear it of the apparent fogginess within it. He took in a deep breath and started following his skillful teacher. He wasn't going to let her down after everything they've been through so far. Besides, she would probably kill him if he wasn't paying one hundred percent attention to everything she was telling him. He kind of had a feeling that she was going to test him at the end of the day.
%
"Time to rest," Sophie announced after she had showed him about half of the plants in the forest. She immediately found a boulder and perched gently on top of it. How did she do that anyway? Everything she did looked absolutely graceful and silent. Hell, every movement seemed to be calculated to be as invisible as possible. There was a story there. He was going to get to the bottom of it eventually.
Of course, Nate's stomach decided to grumble at that moment in time. It interrupted his train of thought and forced him to admit to something he hadn't even thought about all day.
"We haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday," Nate realized with a jolt.
Sophie just blinked at him in confusion. Then her eyebrows scrunched down on her beautiful face. Her head automatically tilted to the left in thought. Then it snapped right back up and her face went shockingly white.
"You're right," she gasped. Then she immediately started rummaging around in her bag for something for them to eat. Apparently she turned up empty because her lips curled down a bit in disappointment.
"I'll try to find some mushrooms to eat," she said. Then her face suddenly twisted into her patented scowl. The whole of Panem were probably now well aware that he was in trouble. That was usually what that face meant. He was kind of afraid of that face. Something in his gut told him there was more behind it then just anger.
"Don't you dare move from that spot," she ordered briskly. She even pointed her index finger in his face and wiggled it as if he was a child.
Nate nodded his head at her order. He then immediately bit his bottom lip to keep the laugh from escaping his lips. He couldn't help it. Her scowling face reminded him of Parker during one of her tantrums. In fact, Sophie kind of looked like most of the Seam girls when she did that. Her hands were even curled outwards in the exact same way. She would totally fit in at District Twelve. She had the right mindset and everything. Nate blinked at that odd thought.
"You better keep your promise," Sophie warned with narrowed eyes before she immediately hopped away. She looked backwards a couple of times and then she was gone. She was probably hurrying just to make certain he kept his promise. It was odd really. For somebody so willing to kill him off on their first night together, she sure was afraid of him dying on her.
The boy from District Twelve just shrugged at her belief that he was a child and started taking in his surroundings. His tree stump and Sophie's boulder were both covered in thick green moss. In fact, most of the trees were covered in thick green moss. The stream wasn't anywhere near enough to see it but you could most definitely hear it. Nate could even tell the direction it was in from where he was sitting. It was over towards the right. Sophie had disappeared to his left, so he decided to see what was behind him.
It was a bush filled to the brim with electric blue berries. Each one looked luscious and absolutely ripe for picking. They looked like something Sophie would pick. So, Nate whistled out the four notes form before. He figured he would let Sophie tell him if they were edible or not, but she seemed to be ignoring him. She didn't come when he whistled so he whistled again, the same four notes. He gave up on her after the third whistle. Nate stared at the berries for a few minutes and then shrugged. He immediately picked one up off the bush and started raising it towards his lips.
Then Sophie smacked it out of his hand.
"Nate, don't eat that!" She screamed towards him, "That's poisonous. Don't you have any idea what that plant is? It's called…"
Nate stared at her in complete surprise. He had never noticed it before but the girl was downright beautiful when she was yelling at him. Her hair waved out of her face at odd intervals much like a swan's feathers move when they are about to take flight. Her cheeks puffed out a bit and her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. Her charcoal eyes looked like a soft yellowish brown when they did that and her cheeks made her look healthy. Her skin shimmered in the sunlight with its olive perfection. It looked like it would feel very soft under his fingertips. But it was her mouth that had the boy from District Twelve completely enamored. Her lips were a dark crimson red and looked downright tasty. Nate licked his lips at the thought.
"Are you even listening to me?" Sophie demanded with a scowl on her face.
Nate had to bite his bottom lip to keep from laughing at how cute she looked. Then he heard a twig snap. The boy immediately grabbed the girl's hand to catch her attention. Sophie stopped mid-rant and stared at him. Her cheeks grew pink and Nate suddenly felt his neck get warm. She really was as soft as he thought. The calluses on her hands were miniscule and barely even registered to his senses. She even smelled like spring and rain. Her eyes were gorgeously chocolate now. Then another twig snapped.
"Did you hear that?" He asked. His throat was very dry and scratchy for some reason.
Sophie just nodded. She was still staring at their hands in confusion. Nate distantly wondered if she was feeling the tingling sensation in her fingertips too. It was definitely a new feeling for him. He rubbed his thumb on her hand and smiled. The tingling sensation increased and it felt good.
Then they attacked.
Nate wasn't exactly sure who attacked him really. The only thing he knew was that one minute Sophie was right there with him, holding his hand. The next minute he was rolling down a hill of thorns and landing in a patch. He waited for the world to stop spinning and then he got up. He was a lot quicker to his feet than he had been that very morning. It was like cold water had been splashed all over him. The boy raced back up the hill through the thorny bushes and the raging weeds. He clawed his way up the angry hill, ignoring the slashes and scratches the bushes made in his skin. He pulled up rocks and worms, mushrooms and grass. He pulled up everything to help him climb up the hillside sooner. He groped his way towards the top and immediately went into action. Sophie was gone and so were his bow and arrows.
No! Nate thought in horror of the ordeal. They had taken Sophie and his weapon of choice. How was he supposed to save Sophie if he didn't have the bow and arrows?
The boy from District Twelve immediately searched around for his pack. He knew he had a knife in there. That was his only hope. Unfortunately that too seemed to have been taken along in the scuffle. There was only one thing left to do. He had to go after the group first. Then he would have to get Sophie. It was the worst plan possible and his only hope. Hopefully they were going to keep Sophie as bait to make certain they got him as well. That was the only comforting thought in this situation.
Nate braced himself for the horrors he was about to perform and took off, following the tracks the group had left behind carefully and quietly. There were only two of them and Sophie had been struggling the whole while. The idiots were blessedly keeping her alive. That would be their downfall.
The boy tracked their steps all the way to a huge boulder. He carefully moved around it and nearly vomited. The tracks were different now. Sophie's feet had disappeared and in their place was drag marks of horror. There was blood glinting on the rocks below and signs of a struggle were thankfully firm. Whatever happened, the girl from District One didn't seem to be conscious anymore. At the very least she just wasn't walking. At the very worst…
Nate squeezed his eyes shut and nearly gasped at the horrible image that popped into his head. His picture of Sophie dead somewhere was the thing that pushed him most. The young man flew towards his ally as swiftly as his feet could carry him. He raced through bushes and trees like the expert huntsman he was. He jumped over logs and rocks as if they were nothing. He only had one goal in mind. He was going to save Sophie.
Nate stumbled into a clearing, breathless from his efforts. He carefully observed the tracks and smiled at what they were telling him. He was close. The drag marks on the ground were heavier and they were easily being weighed down. Sophie had to be alive. They were struggling too much to carry her for anything else to make sense. He was going to save her.
The young man swiftly followed the tracks through the clearing and nearly gasped at the knife pointing towards his throat. Nate turned his eyes to the left and finally took notice of his enemy. The boy looked to be about fifteen and his hand was shaking. He had the typical brown eyes of most of the districts but his hair was sandy blonde. He was skinny for his age and he looked like he could easily be carried off by the wind. Nate smiled. The boy from District Eight would be nothing for him. He just needed to know where his partner was and he would be set. The boy from District Two was going to be the big problem.
"Where's your friend?" Nate asked. He felt like being sociable with this one. There was just something in his stomach telling him to take his time with this one. His instincts hadn't exactly faulted him so far.
"He's busy," the boy explained. He bravely urged his knife forward and Nate stepped back in response. The boy was leading him somewhere. That was good.
"Where's Sophie?" Nate asked after that.
The boy paused with wide eyes. He just stopped in the middle of the clearing with fearful eyes and his hand shook harder. He was afraid to answer. He did something he wasn't supposed to.
"What did you do with my friend?" Nate tilted his head to the side and tried not to look as menacing he was.
The boy swallowed and stepped back. Nate followed him and the boy squeaked. Nate stepped back and the boy visibly relaxed. This was going to be interesting.
"What did you do to her?" Nate demanded coolly.
"His name is Cato," the boy said. He sounded like he was afraid of his own shadow. He probably knew what was coming next. "He's going to teach her a lesson about her score."
"What kind of lesson?" Nate asked this as he was subtly inching closer and closer to the boy. The tribute from District Eight didn't seem to notice this though. He was too busy trying to figure out how much he could tell.
"A lesson she won't forget," the boy admitted softly. Then he did exactly what Nate wanted him to do. He looked towards the left near the ravine. He looked nervous when he looked in that direction and his hand shook even harder. Bingo.
"You should have just left us alone," Nate sighed. Then he immediately raced towards the boy in two sharp strides.
He punched the kid in the face and quickly wrestled the knife out of his hands. The boy tried to fight him but it was no use. Nate overpowered the kid in seconds flat. Then he took the nice sharp knife and moved the blade across the other tribute's throat.
"Please don't kill me," the boy whimpered. He swallowed at the knife pressing into his throat and nearly screamed in horror.
"Where are the arrows?" Nate demanded cruelly. He had no intentions of leaving the boy alive, not after everything that happened.
"I don't know," the boy sighed. He knew what was coming next. He wasn't completely stupid then.
"Tell me and I might let you live," Nate proposed with a quick tightening of the knife on the boy's throat. It was a lie. They both knew it but who knows?
"I'm going to need more than your word for that," he said.
Nate smiled. The boy was going to play. He was going to make his job harder, not much harder but harder all the same. Then he asked, "How about a head start?"
The boy gulped at the question and was kind enough to take his time to think about the offer. Nate kindly pushed the knife closer to his throat as reminder not to waste his time. Sophie was still in trouble.
"Sounds reasonable," the boy stuttered out. He didn't sound too sure of himself. That was good.
"Good," Nate said, "Where are the arrows?"
"Let me go first," the boy bargained.
"Arrows then head start," Nate shook his head at the boy's thoughts, "You have less to lose right now."
"It's only my life," the boy grimaced at the statement.
"And it's not just mine," Nate agreed. The boy smirked at that. It was like he was in on some private joke. It also seemed to confirm something with him.
"Cato has them," the boy whispered. Good, he didn't care about his whole dying anymore. That meant Nate didn't have to waste any more time. Cato was going to die next.
Nate lifted the knife off of the boy's throat and stood up. He stepped out of kicking distance and pointed towards the woods.
"Start running," he said, "You have until I count to five."
The boy's eyes grew wide and he immediately hopped to his feet. He ran at top speed towards the woods as Nate started counting.
"One…"
The boy tripped over a log.
"Two…"
The boy was up again and racing towards his ally frantically.
"Three…"
"He's coming!" The boy shouted, waving his arms high up in the air to give his ally a warning.
"Four…"
"Cato, he's…"
"Five!" Nate shouted at the top of his lungs with his weapon already zooming out of his hand. The knife hit the boy right in the back. He collapsed instantly and his cannon fired.
Nate smiled and immediately raced to retrieve his weapon. He kicked the boy to make certain he was dead and took out the bloody knife. He wiped it off and immediately went towards the ravine. He was going to save Sophie one way or another.
Cato was standing near the top of the ravine with blood on his hands.
Nate saw nothing but red after that. He screamed and threw his knife at the same time. Cato fell instantly with the knife lodged in the back of his head. Cato's cannon went off but the boy from District Twelve didn't care. He just pounced on top of his dead compatriot and started punching for all he was worth. He ignored the tears stinging his eyes. He just kept punching and punching. Then he remembered his arrows and removed them from the dead body and proceeded to continue hitting it. He was still punching it when he heard the birds go silent and a masculine scream from down below.
Nate jumped off his victim and looked down, his bow and arrow ready to destroy the world if he had to. There was a puddle of dirt and sand floating on the bottom, a body was floating in it. The long brown curls and the outfit on the girl was all he needed to know. Sophie was down there and he was going to save her.
Nate scrambled down the hill as fast as his tired legs would let him. He nearly fell down the hill in his haste to get to the bottom and save his ally. Then he took notice of the fact that somebody else was down there with Sophie.
"Get away from her!" Nate screamed at the top of his lungs.
The young man rushed forwards with all of his might. He had to get to Sophie. He had to protect her. That was his job and he had to do it. She was his only ally and she needed him. So he raced towards the quick sand as quickly as possible. His feet flew as he hammered to save the female tribute from District One. She needed him and he was going to be there.
"Sophie!" Nate shouted the moment she came in sight. Her shoulders and head were all that was left above the pit. Her companion from district one was trying to dig her out and failing.
"Don't move!" James requested with a shaky hand frantically reaching for his knife or spear.
"You're doing it wrong," Nate declared hoarsely. He immediately placed down his bow and pulled the girl out of the quick sand by linking his arms around her shoulders and pulling with all his might. There was a popping sound and Sophie was officially lying unconscious in Nate's arms.
"You did it," James cheered with a sigh of relief. Clearly, he had been worried about the girl from his district more than he should have been. He raised his shaky spear and pointed it at Nate's throat. "Now, give her to me."
"You don't know what happened," Nate argued angrily. He was getting sick of spears. "You don't even know how to treat her. How do you expect to save her under these conditions?"
"She's my ally," James pointed out roughly with a quick shove of his spear. "How can I trust you to keep her alive?"
"I've done it so far," Nate sneered back smug. He was right and they both knew it. He was the only option for Sophie's survival.
"Go," James suggested as he lowered his weapon with a simple look at the brunette's condition. He was definitely in love with his fellow tribute.
Nate didn't feel like commenting on that. His stomach boiled at the way James and the other tributes stared at her. It didn't make any sense but now was not the time to address it. He had to get Sophie to safety and save her. Nothing else mattered until then.
The boy from District Twelve carefully placed the girl from District One on the ground and began to check her body for injuries. He found a tiny knot on the back of her head. He felt tiny drips of blood and knew Sophie had hit a rock when she fell into the sand pit. It was a simple fix if he could remember the correct plant to use.
Nate scrambled around their little cave in search of the herbs Sophie had told him were helpful. He pulled out their canteens and their sleeping bags in futility. He pulled out left over pheasant legs and a bit of the rabbit they had earlier. No leaves. He reached into Sophie's bag again and found bright electric blue berries in her pack and frowned as he tried to remember what they were.
"These are nightlock, Nate," Adrianne explained to her little brother slowly. She held out her palm and showed him the electric blue berries with an intense stare. "Don't eat them and don't give them to other people. They're poisonous. Use these on enemies only and only if your life is in danger. Never eat these or give them to anybody to eat. You see them in a bag you throw them out."
Nate blinked at the sudden memory. He quickly threw the berries away and scrambled around the packs to make certain none of them were in there anymore. He knew Sophie knew what those berries were. Those must have been the berries she told him were poisonous that very morning. He should have been paying better attention.
"Ha-ha!" Nate cheered in victory. He had felt a familiar leathery binding at the bottom of Sophie's pack. He pulled it out and was proud to see it was the star-shaped plant he had been looking for. It was the one that helped head injuries.
He quickly poured water over the wound and began binding it with the leaf. He then tore a piece of the jacket he stole from the District Ten tribute and used that to keep the leaf pressed against the injury. Sophie's breathing immediately eased and Nate felt his own breath release in relief. They were going to be fine.
%
The capitol crest went up. Then the anthem began to play. Sophie's eyes flew open at the familiar noise. She sat up straight and then bolted to the opening of the cave to watch the sky. The images boy from district two and the boy from District Eight, the small group that had attacked them earlier appeared and disappeared. It was down to the final eight.
"He's not dead," Sophie sighed in relief.
"He let me go so I could save you," Nate shrugged in reply. "He knew I was your only chance."
Sophie absorbed the information with an unreadable expression. She stared at the trees outside and finally replied, "Go get some sleep. I'll keep watch."
"I can feel your pulse," Nate pointed out slowly. He didn't know when he reached for it, but her wrist was in his hands now. He enjoyed the feeling but he knew the feather light pulse was bad. "You need to rest more."
"Okay," Sophie agreed immediately. She was staring at her wrist in confusion. She wasn't quite able to figure out what was going on. There was something unusually fantastic about the fact that the young man from district twelve was holding her hand. She shrugged it off and immediately went back to sleep. It was probably the quickest she fell to sleep in her life.