Hi everyone! I'm back! School is really draining me out. But, put that aside, here's the new chapter! Thank you for the reviews!

To reshiram123901: Dangerous stuff? Sure! I already have plans for that. In fact, maybe if you read this chapter, you might (hint hint), just might, get the dangerous stuff you wished for.

To Girlonfire: You have no idea how much you motivate me with just three lines of review. Thank you so much!

Pls enjoy :)

Katniss

Katniss lay in the canopy, watching the faces of the dead tributes light up the sky. Ten dead in the first day, and one of them was a career tribute from district four. That was normal. Usually, the bloodbath would cause many casualties. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but she was thirsty, and her throat was too dry, making it uncomfortable. What if the only source of water was from the lake near the cornucopia? Maybe that was how the gamemakers lure the tributes together. She fell into an uneasy sleep.

Katniss woke to the sound of Percy's voice. She sat up and looked down the tree. Percy was talking to her in a hushed voice.

"Stay up there! Don't come down. The career tributes are near. Peeta and I will hide in the nearby trees." Percy said hurriedly.

Katniss nodded to show she understood, and Percy tugged at Peeta's arm and dragged him, half asleep to a nearby bush.

The sun was already rising slowly in the horizon, casting an orange glow on the forest floor. Then, she managed to hear some footsteps, followed by the voices of the career tributes.

"Well, we still can't find any other tributes around." Cato was saying.

"They are all probably scared of us, and are hiding." Glimmer said.

"They can't hide for long." Clove said, her voice was mocking.

Katniss could see the career tributes now. All five of them were standing under the tree she was in. The boy from district one- Marvel, was holding a spear in his hand. Glimmer was armed with a bow and arrow. Katniss seethed at this. It was supposed to be for her, not Glimmer. Cato had a long metal sword, and Clove had an array of knifes, sticking out from her belt, and in the lining of her jacket. The boy from district four wasn't holding any weapons she could see. But Katniss knew that if they accepted him in their alliance, he probably had some useful skills.

Suddenly, there was a howl from an area behind the career tributes. The career's spun around in unison, their weapons at the ready.

Two huge dog-like creatures jumped out from behind a tree. They had a coat of thick black fur on their bodies. They advanced slowly, yellow eyes examining the career tributes in front of them. The career tributes turned around and ran away in the opposite direction, not looking back. One of the dog creatures pounced after them, baring its sharp white teeth, hungry for the taste of human meat.

The other one, however, seemed distracted. It sniffed the bush that Percy and Peeta were hiding behind. Saliva dripped from its mouth like it had found something tasty, something tastier than the group of five career tributes.

Suddenly, Percy jumped out from behind the bush, his sword drawn. He stood in a fighting stance, sea green eyes intense on the movement of the large dog. The dog turned, leaving Peeta crouching behind the bush alone. Percy led it away from Peeta, into a small clearing a few meters away.

The creature growled and Percy, baring its fangs. Then, it leapt at Percy, claws slashing at him. Katniss thought that would probably be the end of this District five boy, but Percy managed to swipe his sword in front of him, and parrying the blow. Percy didn't stop there; he rolled under the huge creature and swiped his sword in a huge arc at its underbelly. The dog creature howled in pain and fell onto its stomach, nearly squashing Percy, who barely managed to avoid it by diving to his side.

The dog attempted to kill Percy again. While Percy was still getting up from the ground, it raked its claws at the spot Percy was at. Percy, caught by surprise, felt the sharp claws rip open the front of his T-shirt and drew a long, red line from his shoulders to the navel. Percy gave a gasp of pain, and plunged his bronze sword all the way into the monster's limb. The monster dissolved into yellow dust and vanished.

"Stupid hellhound." Percy groaned, pushing himself up from the forest floor.

"You're hurt. You'd better rest for a while. What was that again?" Katniss asked, jumping down from the tree.

"Hellhound. It's a Greek monster. I learnt about those stuff when I was a kid." Percy said, standing up and leaning against a tree. Blood continued to flow non-stop out of the wound. Percy's T-shirt had turned a dark red colour.

"Lie still." Katniss said, trying to push Percy down. "You need to rest if you want that to heal."

"Yeah. You should listen to Katniss. She's the best healer back in District twelve." Peeta added.

"Look guys. I really appreciate your concern, but I know that resting won't heal a wound inflicted by a Greek monster." Percy said, his voice was faint. "Besides we need to find water quickly, before we die of dehydration." He added.

"But you can't even walk." Katniss protested. Suddenly, she didn't hate Percy's guts anymore. She didn't feel like going on with the plan to get Percy killed. He had gone through all the trouble to save them, and now he was badly wounded. This act of defending them was genuine. But Katniss couldn't understand why he would put his life in danger to save them.

"Nah. I'll be fine." Percy waved his hand dismissively. "I can manage. But we'd better go quickly. I don't think there's any water nearby."

With Percy in his weakened state, Katniss didn't feel like arguing with him. How would he even know if there is water nearby? No one could tell that.

Peeta insisted on supporting Percy on one side. But Percy shrugged off his help. "Don't let me hold you back. Really, I'm fine. We just need to get some water quick."

So all three of them walked on downhill. With every hour that slipped by, Katniss got more and more thirsty. There was this dry spot on her tongue that wouldn't moisten.

The day wore on, and they still could not find any water. Katniss felt slightly giddy due to the lack of water. Peeta's lips were cracked and dry. Percy seemed to be coping well without water, except for the nasty wound which kept pouring out blood. Every now and then, he stumbled slightly, but kept up at the pace.

It was already in the afternoon, and the sun beat mercilessly down on them. They kept walking, until Katniss felt her legs getting heavier. Each step was taking all her energy. Her eyelids fluttered, her body was heating up, like the effects of a heatstroke. She felt feverish. Katniss tripped over a rock protruding out from the ground, and she rolled down the slope. She made no effort to pull herself back up as she knew she did not have the strength. Katniss could hear Peeta hastening towards her, but she closed her eyes. She rolled into some squishy ground, until a huge boulder stopped her momentum. It was a cool and shaded area and she felt good to lie there.

"Water! We made it!" She heard Peeta shout with joy.

Water? Of course! The cool stuff was mud! And mud could only be made if there was water! She summoned the remainder of her strength to pull herself back up, gripping the boulder for support. There, lying two meters to her left, was a small pond. She dug in her backpack for the empty bottle and quickly filled it with water. Then she dripped two drops of iodine to purify the drink and waited for as long as she could bear. Peeta was doing the same with his large container. Percy's pained face suddenly lit up, and he dove straight into the pond, fully clothed.

Katniss had been afraid Percy's wound would get infected if he submerged it into pond water. But she couldn't call out to him. Her throat was so dry she didn't think she could even talk properly.

So she propped herself on the boulder by the pond and started gulping down the whole bottle of water. She finished it in less than five seconds, and refilled it again. Peeta looked refreshed after the drink. He looked around for Percy.

"Where's- ?" Peeta started.

"Pond." Katniss said simply.

"What? Oh." Peeta said hoarsely. "We better get him out then."

Percy's head bobbled out of the water some distance away from them. He looked so energised like he was up for anything. His sea green eyes looked so much brighter and alive, as though he hadn't been hurt by a hellhound.

"Percy, you should get out of the water. Your wound might get infected." Katniss called.

Percy looked puzzled for a moment, like he didn't understand what she said. Then he replied. "I think my wound feels a lot better now."

"But it's too risky. Just get out now." Katniss shouted. Why was Percy so stubborn?

Percy looked reluctant to leave the water. But he said, "Okay, I'm getting out now."

Katniss watched as he stood up, walking out of the pond. His clothes were soaked, and the torn T-shirt was dripping wet. But as he turned around, Katniss realised that his wound was no longer red and bleeding. It wasn't infected or irritated by the pond water. In fact, as Katniss continued to stare at Percy, she realised with surprise, that there wasn't even a wound. That long scratch from the hellhound had disappeared completely.

Okay! So Percy displayed some of his powers! Things are sure going to get complicated...or not. Heres some cookies... (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)...now is that enough to bribe you all to review? Thanks!