When Drucilla woke up, the first thing she was aware of was the pressure on her chest. What the hell. Actually, Drucilla wasn't entirely sure where she was. Oh, right. She was forced to volunteer, but that still doesn't explain the weird feeling on her chest. Soft olive hands found Drucilla's shirt and grabbed onto it tightly, and a part of her finally registered who it was and what happened.

"Come on," Drucilla whispered. The girl looked up. Her somewhat dazed eyes probably matched Drucilla's own. "We need to get out of this grotto, and maybe eat." She pulled the other girl out of the grotto.

Drucilla hadn't really noticed before, but there was a considerable difference in how the two girls were raised. Drucilla was from District 2, the second-richest district after District One, and a district that taught about military tactics in classes on top of their classes about stone, math, writing, and reading. She lived with one of the richest men of the District, and her older sister was just as so.

Amber, from what she could tell, and from what the girl had said during training, was from the poorer part of the poorest district. She was underfed and actually slept on the floor with her twin brother because they couldn't afford a second bed.

The only thing that the two had in common—the only thing that Drucilla could relate to—was the absence of a mother, and Drucilla's had left for another "better" victor, not because of death as Amber had said.

After half-dragging Amber from the cave, it was evident that the girl from District Twelve was still incredibly disorientated, and she even managed to trip over her own feet and if it wasn't for Drucilla catching her, she would have gone down.

Drucilla sighed. She figured her sister, father, and mentor were all groaning watching her and she held the girl to her chest and started to walk. It wouldn't be fair to Amber if she had forced her on her feet, given the circumstances.

Drucilla didn't exactly need to carry her, but Amber didn't look like she was in any shape to take care of herself at the moment. Even so, she held her carefully in her arms, not wanting to drop her. She seemed so vulnerable. Amber snuggled into Drucilla's warmth, causing her to blush. She wondered briefly if there was a chance that Amber might have had a crush on her. She decided, out of respect for her friend and ally, not to bring it up.

For hours she walked like that, trying to find a good spot to hide that was easily concealed but better than the cramped cave. Her arms were numb by the time they'd reached a small canopy of vines that hung straight across a small cluster of the leaveless trees.

She stopped. She wondered exactly how strong those branches were. They looked okay. The only thing she was worried about was how sturdy the vines were.

She let go of Amber, carefully putting her back on her two feet. She heard an undignified whine come from Amber, and Drucilla couldn't help but giggle. Amber flushed lightly and glared at her. This action made Drucilla laugh harder. Amber looked sort of adorable when she laughed.

Drucilla placed one hand on the bark and swung a leg over the lowest branch. So far, so good. She pulled herself up the next one, and then a little higher, and swung her lithe body swiftly around the trunk and slashed down a vine.

It wasn't entirely foolproof. The branch under her foot was about to break, and she questioned whether she should have sent Amber up the tree instead. Amber was about 80 pounds lighter and a head shorter. It probably would have been easier.

Drucilla jumped out of the tree, landing on one knee. She grabbed her new custom rope and hoisted herself up easily. She reached the top in five minutes.

Amber followed her—or at least attempted to. Even with Drucilla's instruction during training she still failed terribly at this. Drucilla didn't care. Amber was from District Twelve. She doubted that she had a very good advantage when it came to things.

Amber struggled her way up the vine, and eventually Drucilla couldn't even watch anymore. She reached over and chopped down a smaller vine for Amber to grab onto. With this, Amber swung over and climbed up that one. It still took her another twenty minutes to successfully complete. Drucilla wasn't going to judge.

"How long was that?" She sounded out of breath.

"About forty minutes. I took about five." Drucilla couldn't help but smile.

"Stop laughing at me."

"Not laughing at you." Drucilla told her. "Actually, it's kind of cute how much you messed up."

"You are laughing at me!"

Drucilla winked, but it seemed that Amber missed it, apparently more preoccupied in their surroundings.

"Smart." Amber said, her eyes showing her surprise.

Drucilla smiled cheekily. "I've always preferred brains over brawn anyway."

For about thirty minutes, they sat quietly. Drucilla was trying to ignore the emptiness in her stomach, but she realized that it was much too hard. She figured Amber probably was used to not eating as much, but Drucilla wasn't.

And then the parachute fell. In it—with no offense to Amber, Drucilla figured she could be safe to say that it was for her—was two filled water bottles that might last them a day, possibly two. Next to them were a dozen rolls and under them was some dried fruit that could last a while. She moved that stuff out, to find a nice surprise.

"What is that?" Amber asked. Drucilla was stunned. Did she really not know? How poor was she?

"Chocolate bars. Here, try one." She reached in and unwrapped one. She broke off one of the squares and handed it over. The look on Amber's face was almost of shock, but she took it.

She tried to ignore the message that Enobaria was giving her by sending her things mostly non-perishable things. Find some food. I can't feed you forever. You might be a legacy but money does run out. It will just get worse and more expensive from here as the games progress.