Cato's POV
I wake up with a start almost as soon as I drift off to sleep. A sudden pain from the Tracker Jacker stings shoots up my body. I see Clove going through Glimmer's death, convulsing on the ground in a pool of the green ooze that is gushing from my stings. A purple haze fills the air, and I try my hardest to scream for Clove with no sound escaping my lips. They say Tracker Jacker stings cause hallucinations. I pray that's what Clove's death is, a horrid dream that I won't wake to find a reality. Plague after plague attacks me, being ripped apart limb by limb by Glimmer and Peeta. Watching my trainers from the academy spear my sweet Clove over and over again, while I sat immobile in a puddle of vipers that repeatedly jab at my flesh. Swimming in a pool of blood that I know must belong to the people I've murdered. Just when I can't take it anymore, a comforting blackness fills my mind. It slowly gives way to a pink evening sky dotted with thin clouds. My eyes protest the faint light when I open them, slowly lifting my head to examine my surroundings.
I am lying on the ground, on my back with legs sprawled. My fingernails are digging into the dirt, trying to grasp reality. I feel a cool sensation on my forehead and sigh at the relief it brings to my pounding head. Clove's face enters my view, a new gash on her cheek that seems fairly fresh. Her eyes are filled with a mix of concern and joy as she dabs the wet cloth on my head. My jacket has been removed and I am covered in sweat. I turn myself over and sit up on my knees facing her. The fear that this is just another nightmare rages in my mind; I have to know that she is real. My hands find her tangible cheeks, her hair. She is really here.
"Cato, are you alright?" Clove questions in her quiet voice, a gently smile on her chapped lips.
"It's really you. Please tell me you're really here," I plead, desperation dripping from every word.
"It was just a nightmare, Cato. It's me, I'm okay. You had me scared to death. We woke up this morning and you were thrashing around in your sleep. The Tracker Jackers stung you the most; we figured you were hallucinating from them. I will say that you almost blew our cover though. I had to clamp my hand over your mouth every time you started to scream my name. Marvel and Lectro almost figured it out!" She leans down eagerly and kisses me on the lips, her smile tickling mine. Anxiety hits me and I pull away, looking wildly around for our allies who can't know of our romance. Even now that Glimmer is dead; I can't put Clove in that kind of potential harm. She giggles innocently. "Don't worry, they went hunting. I heard cannon not too long ago, they should be back soon." With that, she stands and begins to tidy up the campsite, stroking the fire and picking up discarded trash. My stings throb when I stand, but my focus is mainly on Clove.
"How long have I been out?" I inquire. She keeps her eyes on the knife she is sharping as she answers.
"Since last night. You didn't really miss anything exciting. They showed Glimmer in the sky, that was the only death yesterday. After breakfast, the boys decided to go hunting and I stayed with you all day."
"What happened to your face? Who did it?" The gash on her face reregisters in my head and anger fills me that someone hurt her. She looks up from her knife and shakes her head.
"After Lectro and Marvel left, the girl from 4 attacked the camp. You were in the tent. She put up a fight, but I got her in the chest pretty badly. She made it back into the woods. I bet she was the cannon I heard earlier. Maybe Marvel got her. I'm fine though; it's just a scratch." A smile raids her face in reassurance. My eyes burn at the fact that I wasn't there to protect her. Just as my Game face comes on, Lectro and Marvel burst into the clearing with shouts of triumph and blood dripping from Marvels raised spear.
"Looks like Sleeping Beauty is finally up!" Marvel teases. I give him a glare. Even if I've been out today, I'm still the head of the Career pack whether he likes it or not. "We got the girl from 4. Had a pretty bad chest wound. I'm assuming that was courtesy of you, Clove? Considering the gash on your cheek." Clove nods and hands us all plates of squirrel, apples, and crackers. Lectro's genius idea of protecting our supplies is still in operation, the mines surrounding our stockpile waiting to kill any trespasser. I eat silently, as does Lectro and Clove. We listen to Marvel's accounts of the day, not very impressing if you ask me. There is no sign of Katniss or Peeta anywhere in the woods. We'll find them eventually. The sun dips below the horizon and exhaustion overcomes me. The nightmares took a lot of energy from me. Marvel volunteers to watch all night, so he stays by the fire while Lectro, Clove, and I settle into our places in the tent. Clove is practically tackled by Lectro in a hug. I have to hold back my laughs at the face she makes as she attempts to squirm away. Finally when the "love birds" have lain down, Clove's hand once again finds mine under the sleeping bags. A dreamless sleep overcomes me, and I welcome it gratefully.
Clove's POV
In the pale moonlight I can barely make out the blonde glint of Cato's eyelashes. Tears stream down my cheeks in torrents that I've been holding back all day. I didn't want to seem distraught when Cato awoke, after his screaming and agony that I saw him go through. My few stings hurt, but my love's obviously plagued him endlessly in his sleep. I hear the anthem outside and know that Marvel will be celebrating over his kill. Cato's cheeks feel so soft under my fingertips, his hair silky. His huge hand covers my miniature one over his cheek, giving me the first real sense of comfort since the Reaping. I count his freckles; sleep eventually finding me after number 43.
The smell of burnt meat fills my nose and my ears pick up the sound of Lectro's muted obscenities. I sigh warily-yet another day in the wonderful Arena world. When I roll over to fetch my knife from beside my mat, I find Cato smiling contently at me. Even through his grin, I can still see the hint of guilt in his eyes that I know must be in mine as well. We both have killed. We both have guilt. We will both have to get over it.
"Morning," I whisper standing up. He follows with his sword in hand. Outside the tent we find columns of grey smoke pouring from the fire pit and Lectro angrily trying to salvage whatever was cooking. Marvel sits in a chair in front of the tent laughing his head off. "How's it going?" I ask with a giggle at Lectro's annoyed look.
"Well we're going to have to improvise on breakfast, Chef Lectro over here is having issues," Marvel snickers.
"I was trying to make something nice before you all went out hunting. I kinda fell asleep though after I put the bacon on. Sorry," Lectro shoots back while dumping a canteen of water over the coals.
"Yea I'm sorry too," Cato laughs. "I'm sorry your attempt to impress Clove failed so miserably!" We all crack up at the almost guilty expression that crosses my stalker's face. I hop around the safe spots surrounding our supplies and grab a few bags of dried fruit. My three allies greedily grab them and begin gathering supplies for the day's hunt. I look out into the horizon to try and spot any telltale signs of a dumb and reckless tribute. A small trail of smoke is rising about a half mile away in the woods. Bingo.
"Hey guys! Looks like someone got cold in the night. Maybe we should go see how they're doing? Help them out of their misery?" I suggest with a feign of innocence. Lectro barely has time to shout a goodbye before we three run off in the direction of the fire.
Cato's POV
We are half way to the fire when Marvel spots another line of smoke some ways off.
"Go check what's going on over there. This seems kind of suspicious, so be careful," I tell him. He nods and runs off with his spear in hand. Clove follows me into a clearing where a large stack of green leaves are furiously burning. I silently nod at her to check one side of the clearing for anyone while I check the other. Besides a rabbit that springs from a bush, there is no one here.
"Cato something's not right. Two people wouldn't make fires at the same time this time of day. It's hot and almost noon. Way too hot for a fire," Clove whispers, still searching the trees for any sign of a lingering tribute.
"I was thinking that too," I concur. My guess is it's around one hundred degrees. No one would be needing a fire right now unless to cook, but there aren't any signs of food here either. Just when I open my mouth to suggest we check on Marvel, a loud explosion and smoke fill the air. I wrap my arms protectively around Clove, shielding her from the debris falling from the sky. A few more smaller explosions follow, but eventually the forest returns to its normal sounds. My ears ring slightly from the loud booms, and Clove is looking wildly towards our camp. Only then do I notice the pillars of black smoke rising into the air. Clove doesn't bother to look back at me before she takes off to the Cornucopia with me at her heels. What we find when we reach what used to be our camp takes us aback. The charred remains of our food supply lay scattered about in ash. Someone must've set off the mines while trying to steal something from the pile. Rage fills me and I feel myself slipping into the mold the Games have fit me into. The mold of a ruthless killer, and I can't fight it. Lectro jogs into view, his spear in hand and shock written all over his face. We trusted him to guard the camp, and he let someone destroy everything? Blame clouds my head and I sprint to him. He must realize my intentions because he starts to escape, but I'm too fast and wrestle him into a headlock. In one quick and easy jerk, I feel the pop of Lectro's neck under my arm. A cannon goes off and my victim's body slumps into the rubbish of burning ash. Rage rips through my body with everything I see: burnt bags of food and canteens, metal weapons twisted and melted, our sleeping bags and tent fried. The thing that gets to me the most though is Clove. She is just standing there, rigid and motionless. Her eyes dart back and forth from me to Lectro's body, now being lifted away by a hovercraft. Guilt courses through me when I see the shock and terror in her eyes. Even after being trained to do this since we were little, neither of us can get over nor accept murder. I cover my face with my sooty hands, hands that have killed so many.
"Cato," Clove says harshly and coldly. Her face has turned hard and emotionless. "Let's see if we can find anything worth saving." She begins to bend over and search for anything not touched by the mine explosions. I join her. Together we salvage a canteen, one sword, three knives, and an apple. "I wonder where Marvel is," Clove asks. "He may have gotten into trouble with whoever set that other fire."
"He's probably fine, he might just-"I am cut off by a cannon signaling yet another person's death. Clove and I look at each other with confused looks. "He probably found whoever started the fires," I assure her. I silently hope though that it was Marvel's death. I don't want to have to kill him later. Another cannon rings out loudly. Clove and I have no time to discuss it though because the boy from 10 sprints into the clearing. He's heading straight for the pile of things we salvaged in the wreckage. Just as he reaches the small pile, Clove sends a knife straight into his heart and another cannon sounds before his body hits the ground. In the setting sun the boy's blood looks almost black as it seethes onto the knife protruding from his chest. A hovercraft appears and carries him away forever. I turn and find tears streaming soundlessly down my Clove's face as she stares at me with pain in her brown eyes. I open my arms to her and she rushes in. We fall to our knees in each other's embrace and I stroke her hair trying to calm her. The moon rises and the anthem blares. Clove buries her face deeper into my chest, gripping my shirt that's now soaked with tears. I look into the sky and find Marvel's cocky face staring down at me before his image disappears forever. The boy from Ten follows and then the girl from 11. I think her name was Rue, but I can't really recall. The faces vanish and darkness fills their presence.
"Marvel?" Clove whispers.
"Yes, Marvel's gone," I answer her. She grips my shirt harder. A sudden thought hits me with a guilty pleasure. "Clove, we're alone now." She slowly lifts her face to mine. The Capitol must already know about us after we had watch together a few nights ago. I lean down and Clove kisses me on the cheek gently. I return it and feel her salty tears against my lips. She giggles as I swoop her into my arms and carry her into the golden horn of the Cornucopia. I gladly find that a few supplies are still in here and unharmed. We roll out a sleeping bag and Clove snuggles inside. She pats the ground next to her; there is still room in the bag for me to fit.
"I have to keep watch," I tell her softly.
"Wake me when you're tired okay? I'll take over," she says with a yawn. Joy fills me at the thought of finally being alone with her, having the ability to be openly in love with her. I walk over and crouch down next to her. My hand bring the extra blanket I found under her chin and I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Good night, Clove," I whisper with a kiss on her forehead.
"Good night, Cato," she returns with her eyes closed. I stand and take a seat outside the horn, leaning on the cool metal surface. The stars smile down at me and I smile back, listening to the sound of Clove's breathing and knowing I am one step closer to getting her home alive and safe.
Hello! I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I just got back from a week long vacation! We are leaving again the day after tomorrow so it will be a while before the next chapter is up:( Here are a few notes about this chapter:
I'm sorry if this chapter moved a little too fast, I just couldn't wait to get Clove and Cato alone. They FINALLY can be open abou their relationship, and I can FINALLY add some more emotion and romance;)
A quick thank you to my little brother for having so many freckles. He is the inspiration for when Clove counts Cato's freckles when she is going to sleep. I used to count his when I held him and I usually fell asleep lol!
Oh and I will give an imaginary cookie to anyone who reviews! :D Thank you to all who have reviewed alreay, you are welcome to to it again! If you have any corrections or suggestions, please PM me and I will do my best to fix anything or work with you on fitting in any ideas! Thank you all for reading! :D