Clove's lavender eyes lost their ferocity for a moment, the hardness of her stare melting into something defenseless and foreign. His words, spoken so softly but with what sounded like the most strenuous desperation took her off guard. What did he mean? What was he trying to say?
"You saved me because…because we're team mates. That's why!" spat Clove before stalking off in the opposite direction. She felt angry with blood pounding in her head and her thoughts not forming clearly. But Clove also felt like her stomach had dropped through the ground, her hands shaking.
Angry. That's what he always is. Never complacent, never satisfied, thought Clove as she tried taking deep, rattling breaths to calm herself. He's never happy unless everything is perfect. Unless the odds are completely in his favor.
She picked up her backpack from the ground and continued to walk away from the rest of them, moving towards the forest.
"I'll be back when it's the afternoon," called out Clove irritably as she disappeared into the greenery.
Once she was deep into the forest, she found herself a tree that was decently high, and began climbing it. Clove stopped after she chose a branch that seemed sturdy enough for her, and hoisted her body onto it. Sitting with her back against the trunk of the tree, Clove rustled through the array of knives inside her jacket, choosing a small, almost needle like knife.
Leaning against the tree with one leg dangling off the branch, she waited.
Back in District Two, whenever she was angry, stressed, or just tired of everything around her, Clove would escape to a tiny watchtower near the training facility. It was abandoned for lack of use and usually empty. Sometimes she would just sit there and think. Other times she threw knives from the window at the dummies set up outside for the others.
Today, with no watchtower, she climbed a tree. With no dummies, she had living animals. For the most part, Clove rested, closing her eyes and listening to nothing in particular. But with the smallest scurry of feet or clawing of paws, her eyes would flicker open and her throwing arm slash down.
Soon the ground was unceremoniously littered with dead animals, knives protruding somewhere on their bodies. Clove's mind was as littered as the ground, thoughts clumping together and making her wonder things she hadn't wondered before.
Why did she care about anything Cato said…or felt? They were teammates in The Hunger Games. The only thing that mattered was that they could fight and kill people together whenever the opportunity was present. Marvel and Glimmer never said anything to him when they ordered him around. They didn't show any evidence of caring or the need to argue. So why did she? Why did Clove have to contradict him and at times, comfort him?
Why couldn't she just leave him alone?
Clove remembered being back at the Capitol. Only having to dance around for the citizens in a nice dress and tell them how much she loved the city. How could it have only been a few days ago? It felt like years. And being back in District Two? That felt like eons ago. Eons ago when she had food and friends and a bed to sleep in.
Meeting Cato for the first time was a distant memory. It wasn't even that long ago. Maybe it was one year before? Clove was fifteen. She had just received her first dinner invitation to the Mayor's home, after her mother finally allowed her to show off her throwing skills at the training facility. Her mother was insistent on keeping her skill a secret beforehand.
Her mother was absolutely ecstatic, giving Clove was seemed like a compliment ("Finally, you've done something useful for once in your life,") before whisking her off to buy a new dress for the occasion. Once they actually arrived at the large mansion where the Mayor lived, Clove was in a strapless dress the color of blood, with her curled onyx hair piled elegantly upon her head.
In other words, she looked nothing like herself.
Once they were inside, it was all cheery introductions. Clove's eyes flicked about the spacious room. She eyed the large golden chandelier, the tall and winding stairs, and the polished white floors that gleamed in the light. Clove and her mother were lead into the dining room, where they sat at the long table and the Mayor beckoned over a servant.
"Please bring out the dishes, we'd like to begin the first course," he said in a merry voice that covered up his pompous manner of speech. "Oh, where's Cato? He should be down here by now…his mother must still be fussing over him."
Before they began to eat, Clove excused herself to the restroom. She took tentative steps up the stairs that led to the second floor, careful not to trip on her gown. The only reason she really wanted to go to the restroom was to look around the mansion. It was so extravagant. Gold framed mirrors hung at every corner, rugs that had intricate patterns sewn on them, and vases filled with large bouquets which contributed to the perfume like scent in the home.
"Looking for something?" said an impish voice from behind her. "The bathroom's that way if you're looking for it."
Jumping, Clove spun around to face a large blonde boy, but large in the manner of muscular. Short cropped hair and chiseled features. He leered at her.
"I was only looking around," replied Clove defiantly, hands clasped behind her back.
"You're the girl with the knives. I saw you demonstrating today."
"And you're the boy with the sword. I've seen you cut up lots of dummies."
Sizing each other up for the moment, Cato finally said, "Shall I escort you down to dinner, then? We wouldn't want them to think you've snuck off."
Giving a small, reluctant smile, she took his offered arm and they went downstairs. When they arrived in the dining room, Clove's mother had an expression torn between confusion and delight, while the Mayor only laughed loudly.
"Clove!"
She jerked up from her daze, almost falling out of the tree. Down below was Cato, calling out her name. He spotted the debris of dead animals on the ground and looked around before finally looking upwards.
"What do you want?" Clove said, her stomach tightening as she spotted his face up from her branch.
"First off, you need to clean up down here," he replied with a touch of mockery. "Secondly, we're going hunting, because if you haven't noticed it's past noon! When you said you'd be back."
Scowling, Clove made her way down from the tree and plucked her knives off the animal corpses scattered on the ground.
"Did you really have to make such a mess?" asked Cato in an annoyed voice before kicking a dead squirrel out of the way.
"I figured attacking small forest animals was a better idea than cutting off your tongue," retorted Clove. "Believe me; I've been itching to do it since after the fire."
They glared at each other before meeting up with Marvel, Glimmer, and Peeta a ways back.
"Well, let's head out," said Cato after glancing over everyone. "Maybe we'll even find Katniss Everdeen today, if we're lucky. Not so lucky for lover boy, I guess."
Everyone else snickered as Peeta's face fell, his expression scared and insolent.
They would indeed be lucky later, though. Through the still present smoke and damaged forest, the Careers would find Katniss Everdeen, and lose of their own.