Chapter 17
Bonding
When I wake up, an hour before dawn, as usual, Katniss is still asleep. I wriggle out of the sleeping bag, taking extraordinary care to make sure I don't wake her. I know that I can't leave her here, she'll think I broke off the alliance, so I make it my job to collect breakfast.
I perch on a branch for a few moments, trying to decide what to gather. I scan the forest floor for what I know to be edible, but I don't see anything. I decide to look up, thinking I might be able to pilfer some more eggs from bird's nests.
I luck out, because I spot a nest about twenty feet away over a marsh area, and I climb to grab two eggs. I take them back down to the branch I was sharing with Katniss, but I reconsider and wait for her to wake up on a branch just above her. I could eat without her, but it wouldn't feel right, and I think she'd wait for me had our situations been reversed.
As the sunrises the birds begin to chirp, and communicate amongst one another. I take the time to whistle a few notes to the mockingjays, enjoying the sound of their sweet tones matching mine.
The sky is brightening when the cannon blasts. I wince, because the infection or blood loss, or even Cato-if he'd trekked through the woods at night-could have gotten to Peeta.
Katniss jerks awake, and I don't want to alarm her, but it seems our thoughts are close in proximity.
"Who do you think that was?" She says trepidation in her voice. The past tense 'was' gets to me, but she's right, whoever's cannon has just went off and they no longer 'are' they 'were'. The thought stings, it's hard to picture anyone saying, 'that was Rue Olgilby'. But it's inevitable.
"I don't know." It's a fight to keep my voice and expression controlled. "It could have been any of the others. I guess we'll know tonight."
"Who's left again?" She sounds tired, I hope I didn't cause her to lose sleep.
"The boy from district 1. Both tributes from 2. The boy from 3. Thresh and me. And you and Peeta. That's eight. Wait, and the boy from district 10, the one with the bad leg I think. He makes nine." I can't place the last tribute.
"I wonder how the last one died," It's a morbid thought, but I can't pretend I didn't have it.
"No telling. But it's good for us. A death should hold the crowd for a bit. Maybe we'll have time to do something before the Gamemakers decide things have been moving too slowly. What's in your hands?" She has seen the bird eggs.
"Breakfast." I say brightly holding them out for her to see.
"What kind are those?" She questions hesitantly.
"Not sure. There's a marshy area over that way. Some kind of waterbird." I shrug, they have to be edible; they are only eggs.
We suck out the insides of eggs, and she offers up a rabbit leg. I also add some berries. It's somewhat of a feast, and we'd never have this much food in 11.
After breakfast Katniss pulls on her pack and looks at me excitedly.
"Ready to do it?" She asks excitement coloring her voice.
It seeps into me, and I get excited as well. "Do what?" I say, thought I can guess what she's hinting at.
"Today we take out the Careers' food." It's a proud announcement.
"Really? How?" I hope she has a plan.
"No idea. Come on, we'll figure out a plan while we hunt." She seems to be relieved at my willingness to try a risky plan. Did she expect me to be difficult?
We climb down from the tree, and I decide to offer up my knowledge of the Careers camp to the fullest.
"What do you need to know about the Careers base?" I ask confident I can remember things. "I was only there for about fifteen minutes, but I can remember things better if you ask about them. It helps me visualize."
"Where exactly is the camp itself?" She asks, accepting my offer to share information.
"It's beside the lake, at least, that's where sleep."
"Ok. And the food stash?"
"That's where is stops making sense." I say nervously. "Their supplies sit a little ways away from where they sleep, and it's all piled up."
"Exactly how far is 'a little ways away'?" She asks with a smile.
"Um… about 30 yards I would guess."
"And they leave it alone while they're gone during the day?"
"Oh, no. The boy from disritct 3 has been keeping watch." That's another piece of information that doesn't make sense.
"The boy from district 3? He's working with them?" She sounds weary.
"Yes," Then I add what I think to be true. "He stays at camp full-time. He got stung, too, when they drew the tracker jackers in by the lake." This is a total guess on my part, but I assume that if he'd been fine Cato would have dragged him along to help him kill Peeta. It seems logical. "I guess they agreed to let him live if he acted as their guard. But he's not very big." I add to clarify.
"What weapons does he have?" I shut my eyes briefly, envisioning the camp. When the Career pack had returned the boy from 3 had jumped up quickly knocking his spear to the ground…
"Not much that I could see. A spear. He might be able to hold a few of us off with that, but Thresh could kill him easily." I think, if it came down to the two of them, Katniss could take him as well.
"And the food's just out in the open?" I nod. "Something's not quite right about that whole setup."
"I know," I concur. "But I couldn't tell what exactly." Then I consider what Katniss thinks she can do with this information. "Katniss, even if you could get to the food, how would you get rid of it?" It would need to be fast, quiet, and something that left them completely unsure of who the culprit was. She must know that.
"Burn it. Dump it in the lake. Soak it in fuel." Her tone is rising in her giddiness, and she pokes me in the stomach, much like I would with Prine. "Eat it! Don't worry, I'll think of something. Destroying things is much easier than making them." She's got a point with that, so I let myself fall silent, letting her consider my words.
I think about Katniss's playful dynamic with me, and I know this is how an older sister treats a younger sister. In just two days we've already formed a strong bond. I love her as I love Prine, Marope, or even Pleione. She is already a big sister to me, in the same way I'm sure she is to Primrose.
A few minutes later she sparks up a conversation. She wants to talk strategy.
"What we really need to do is get them away from camp." She murmurs, almost to herself.
"How could we do that? I don't think there's much they would come after." I say, supplying my opinion.
"All I can think is if they thought they were coming for me they wouldn't even stop to consider the logic behind what was happening. Besides, if Peeta really did save me I bet Cato's pretty bitter about the whole situation."
"But you aren't bait." I say, making it clear that I don't want Katniss to be leaving me to destroying supplies, or giving herself up to the Careers!
"No. We just have to make them think I am." I smile at her puzzle. Then I have an idea.
"What if I lit a fire? One that we use in 11 during the harvest-they're huge, and they smoke like crazy."
"Yeah? Why?"
"They light up the orchards at night while we work and the smoke puts the tracker jackers into a trance-like state, because it's harder to see the nests in the dark. They're simple to light, and I could have it set up while you head to position by the camp, I could light it and bolt." It's a long shot at best, but it's all I've got.
"That's actually not bad." Katniss says approvingly. "A few things though, what if we lit more than one fire? Would that lead them even farther off track?"
"It's worth at shot, but they might find out what's going on quicker."
"There's that." She shrugs, "but I don't think the one fire will buy us enough time."
"I guess it wouldn't." I say, agreeing with her.
"What if you lit three fires?" She asks, a rebellious glint in her grey eyes.
"Three?" That's an odd choice.
"Three. One to lead them into the forest. One to distract them, get them a little farther from the camp. And one to confuse them before they figure out they've been played.
"It should be about a mile from their camp, I'd guess." She looks at me pointedly. "Do you know how fast they move?"
I think it over for a moment. I consider the night I trailed them from Katniss's tree to their camp at the Cornucopia. It had taken forever.
"Not very fast, probably about twenty minutes to cover a mile. They don't walk that slowly, but they get distracted easily. They stop to look at this or that. They aren't like you or I, they have very distracted minds, whereas you and I see a goal and we meet it, without faltering, or pausing." I smile at her.
"I figured as much." She nods in assent. "So if the fires were at least a mile-maybe even a little under a mile-away, it would give me anywhere from a guaranteed thirty-forty minutes at the camp to 'take care of' their food." She smirks at me evilly.
I laugh lightly. "Where in 12 did you learn to be so devious?" I question her lightly.
"Just around. 12 is that sort of place, you know?" But she's eyeing the woods enough to tell me that her daringness is in whatever way tied to the woods-probably her hunting, and snares. "How about you? Is there much adventure in 11?"
"Not unless you consider collecting food at the crack of dawn to be an adventure." I smile at her, showing her I actually like my job.
"I don't, not unless there's a risk factor. Is it illegal?" She's teasing, and I know it. She'd never ask if she thought it was-or if she thought I'd get out of here alive.
I drop my mouth open in mock outrage at her implication. "Absolutely not! I am a law abiding citizen of Panem!" I begin to laugh, though it's true. It sounds as though I think my country is worthy of something like respect. Ha!
"Sure you are…" She trails off suggestively.
"Really, it's perfectly legal to get food from the empty fields beside our fences. It helps put food on the table for my siblings. Peacekeepers actually encourage it-though they don't teach anyone where the food is-because it keeps mortality rates lower. Less kids starving means a stronger workforce." I shrug, but I know she's reading my message, '11 is no place to relax and risk breaking the law', as I'm sure she does to hunt.
"Yeah? You said something about siblings…?" I smile at the thought of my family.
"Yes, I'm the oldest of six." Her eyes widen in shock. "My parents love children, and I was the perfect model. They wanted five more." I add flippantly, trying to get her to laugh. It works.
"Brothers? Sisters?" She looks distressed when she says 'sisters'.
"Yes. Two brothers, three sisters."
"Wow. How old?" She can tell I'm enjoying sharing about my family.
"Prine and Flux are nine, Marope is seven, Magnus is five, and Pleione is only three. She's still a tiny thing." I add with a sad smile. I have a deflating thought-Pleione probably won't remember me when I'm gone. She's so young that it will be to hard for her to understand where I've gone. Poor thing.
"Two nine year olds?" Katniss is taken aback.
"They were twins." I admit. "It was a risky pregnancy, but my mom pulled through. Then she had three more." I giggle, remembering what my mother once told me.
"Rue, children bring joy into this world-a world with too few smiles. So if this is my small way of contribute to the happiness of the remaining good in humanity, then how can I resist?"
Then she had kissed my forehead and sent me to bed. I still remember that like it was yesterday, though it was years ago, after Marope was born, but before Magnus.
"You mom sounds very nice. I bet your father is too, to have raised such a brilliant daughter." Katniss says, as much a compliment to my parents as it is too me.
I ignore the comment about me. "They are wonderful. I love my family more than my life. I know they're with me." I smile at Katniss.
"I know how you feel." I know she does, she displayed her love for all of Panem.
"Primrose." I say quietly.
"My little sister. She's only twelve. She didn't even have tesserae in that glass ball." Her voice wavers at the end. I know she's picturing Primrose being forced to take tesserae if Katniss dies, and being reaped again, with no one to save her.
"You did the right thing." I say, hoping she knows I mean, 'you'll go home. You'll see her again'.
She shakes her head slowly. "No, I did the only thing. I have no doubt you would do the same for any of your siblings. I bet you do so much for them already."
She doesn't know how strongly her words have affected me. I wish I knew for sure that I could have-would have- done the same, had I been in Katniss's position. I can only hope I would have been that brave, that courageous.
"Not really," I say quietly, staring at the ground as we collect various roots, leaves, and food types. "I just do my job."
"You do the same things I do. I can tell. You give them your food, so they don't go hungry. You make their birthdays special, even if only in the limited way you can manage. And, for whatever reason there are times when you have to act like their parent."
She's hit the nail on the head. I make their birthdays special, and I do act as a parent when my parents work for extra money during the non-harvest season. Tears pool in my eyes, but I blink them back, and I nod.
"We're a lot alike you know?" She offers me a small smile. I just nod again.
Katniss is quickly becoming one of my role models, and she thinks I'm like her. That's more than I could ask for. I want to learn more about her.
"What is she like, Primrose?"
"Oh. Prim is very… kind. She's more compassionate, and caring then I'll ever be. She is loving and sweet and fragile. She wouldn't last here." She gestures to the arena as a whole. Then she looks me right in the eyes and says, "I probably would have died watching her in the arena."
I know what she means, but I'm surprised that Katniss has let me into her circle of trust. It's clear that few people are included in it. I'm honored that she trusts me this much.
Katniss turns to me, "Time for a topic change," She smiles and I know she's not irritated by me, yet. "What do you love most in the world? Other than your family?" She clarifies her question, but I knew what she meant.
That's easy, "Music." I expect her response.
"Music?" Her tone is incredulous. She probably thinks it's a waste of time. "You have a lot of time for that?"
"We sing at home. At work too. That's why I love your pin." I point at the golden bird, and she looks down, seeming to remember that it's there.
"You have mockingjays?"
"Oh, yes. I have a few that are my special friends. We can sing back and forth for hours. They carry messages for me." Hopefully Prine has taken over my job, in the highest trees, talking to the birds, and signaling that the quitting flag is flying. I know she won't let me down.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm usually up highest, so I'm the first to see the flag that signals quitting time. There's a special little song I do," I sing the four note melody to the adjacent mockingjays. "And the mockingjays spread it around the orchard. That's how everyone knows to know off. They can be dangerous though," I add as a warning to Katniss. "If you get too near their nests. But you can't blame them for that."
She seems to marvel at me for a moment. As if she's shocked that in a world such as mine, I've found something so innocent, so trivial that is my favorite thing.
She begins to remove the pin. Then she holds it out to me. Now I understand, and while it's a kind gesture, I can't accept. The mockingjay is part of who she is-I can feel it.
"Here, you take it. It has more meaning for you than me."
"Oh, no." I gently close the pin in her palm. "I like to see it on you. That's how I decided I could trust you," That's only a small lie. The mockingjay pin had been a signal, just not the main one. "Besides, I have this." I assure her with my token.
I show it to her, and she looks confused. I explain, "It's a good luck charm."
"Well, it's worked so far." She refastens the pin to her shirt. "Maybe you should just stick with that." I give her a tentative smile.
Her generosity and humility continue to shock me. She values her sister's life more than her own, and it's clear. She was willing to give me the only thing she has in this arena to remind her of home.
Somehow, in our world, a perfectly independent Katniss Everdeen seems to have been raised, seemingly unaffected by the Capitol, and it's controlling rule. It's as if she knows how to operate just under, every radar. Knowing her, that's exactly what she does.
Hey guys! I wanted to post another chapter, even though we are so close to the end and it appears as though there will only be two more chapters *gasp*. I am going to miss writing this story, but I do have some other ideas. We will just have to see.
Now, on to this chapter. What do you think? Please be honest. This chapter was full of my words, and dialogue because Suzanne Collins never actually wrote out Rue's and Katniss's conversation. She took the easy way out, "And I come to know Rue..." etc. I saw this as an opportunity for character development and I jumped at the chance to write it all out. Let me know if you think somone was OOC. I think I might have been a little off with Katniss.
Please, please, please, review. It makes me a better writer (no joke), and it helps motivate me to write faster.
Thanks for your view and amazing response and support so far,
R&R