So hey guys! This is really late but it's a descent chapter and Gale is here! YAYY! Just a warning… I gave him some swag so BEWARE! 14-YEAR-OLD GALE HAS SWAG! OMG right!? Anyway, I want to again thank my friend for editing this pile of steaming crap… Also, there is a little bit of a flash back, the words in italic are the flash back, just want to clear that up for any readers like me that when every anything is different I stare at the screen confused. Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to the genius that goes by Suzanne Collins… None of it belongs to me… ON TO THE CHAPTER!

Katniss POV

I wake with start, sweating and breathing hard. Another nightmare. I really wish daddy were here to hold me like he used to. I walk down stairs to check on my mother, ever since father died two months ago, she hasn't been the same. The Capitol gave us enough money to last until now, long enough for her to get a job, but how can she get a job when she won't leave the chair?

That's all she does, sits in the rocking chair, barely eating and staring blankly at the wall in front of her. I can feel the familiar rumble of my hungry stomach; I've had to ration all of the remaining goods we have to last until my first reaping when I can take out tesserae. Peeta has demanded that he help us out, leaving bread on our porch every week because he knows I wont take it if he tries to hand deliver it. He has done more to help our family then I could ever, he's brought me out of the darkness that almost consumed me, like my mother.

One month back…

"Katniss! Katniss!"

I slowly open my eyes, but the sun shining through the curtains burns my eyes and I shut them quickly.

"Katniss, you have to get up. You can't lay here forever. Are you listening? You cant be like your mother, you're stronger then this, I know you can beat this! Katniss! Are you just going to lay here and let Prim starve?"

My eyes snap open. Prim. I have to do this for Prim, my baby sister.

"Prim." I say in a shaky voice.

I look up to see a relieved looking Peeta. He leans over and gives me the tightest hug I've ever received.

"I thought I lost you." He whispers so quietly I almost don't hear it. I hug him back just as fiercely and for the first time in over a month, I cry. Cry for my father that's not coming home. For a future that seems grim and for my mother. My mother who I already know will never be the same.

One and a half years later…

"Where are we going?"

"Just keep walking. Follow the sound of my beautiful voice."

"Fine. But if we get eaten by bears I'm blaming you." I say as I point a finger at him.

"Fine, fine. But I don't plan on it. And I've got my knives on me." He says.

After a few more miles and a lot of whining, he tells me to stop and lets me open my eyes.

"Oh my god, Peeta!" I exclaim.

Trees taller then I have ever seen stretch out for miles; the various greens are breathtakingly beautiful. In the distance you can just make out the beautiful peaks of the mountaintops. This cliff gives us a view of it all and the setting sun is just the icing on the cake. I spot a nearby flat rock and make my way towards it with Peeta at my tail.

"It's beautiful Peeta, when did you find it?" I ask.

"You know that deer we shot down last week? While you were skinning it I wondered off to find some greens to go with it and stumbled upon this place. I wanted to show you when you weren't covered in deer blood, I had a small feeling it wouldn't have been as special if I showed you then."

"We better get back, it's going to be dark soon and I want to get these squirrels to Greasy Sae before dark." I say. I really don't want to go. Spending time with Peeta is already amazing as it is, but with a new area as beautiful and vast as this, it pains me to just walk away from it.

"Don't forget to get Prim some new clothes. With your squirrels and my rabbits and that turkey, you can get a descent amount." He says.

"Okay, and you need to get back home to that witch."

Peeta and I walk back towards the fence in a comfortable silence when I suddenly hear the sound of growling behind me. I turn around to become face to face with bright yellow eyes. Before I have a chance speak I'm being pushed to the ground. I land face first and can only guess what happened by the sounds I'm hearing. I quickly get to my feet to find the grey wolf that attacked my hanging upside down by its leg with the handle of a knife sticking out of its forehead.

"Peeta!" I run towards the boy on the floor.

"Are you alright?" I ask, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No, I'm fine." I say as I help him to his feet.

"So, are you going to blame for this? Even though this guy doesn't really count as a bear."

I hear a rustling behind me and pull an arrow from my quiver, string it and aim in a matter of seconds.

"Whoa! Whoa! We don't need to get violent do we? I don't want any trouble, I heard a dog and came to see the damage."

"Who are you?" I say still aiming my bow.

"Sorry, we haven't formally been acquainted, I'm Gale, nice to meet you." He says while taking off an imaginary hat and bowing. He busts out laughing when he catches a look at our faces.

"Whoa, tough crowd. So yeah, I'm Gale. You know my name, now can I have the pleasure of knowing yours?" He asks.

I lower my bow ad whisper my name.

"Well nice to meet you Catnip. Who's this guy?" He points to Peeta.

"Its Katniss!" I say a little louder.

"Hey, I'm Peeta." He says while shaking his hand.

"Shit dude, was that the dog? Well I'm glad these crappy traps are good for something. Hey, did you throw that knife?" He asks me.

"No, Peeta did." I say and point at Peeta.

"The baker? Nice! Can I see the bow and arrows? My pa didn't leave anything as nice as that." He says.

"Fine, but remember, stealing is punishable by death." I warn him and get a smile in return. By the time he stops looking at my bow and arrows and we skin the dog; its already dark and I know Peeta's going to get hit for coming home so late. He insists on walking with me to the Hob and talking with Sae as if he has all the time in the world. His excuse is that he can't get in any more trouble. After I repeatedly tell him to go home, his compromise is walking me home after trading, but my mother can check his slightly swollen ankle. We find out he'll walk away from the attack with a small sprain, but he'll live.