betaread by gkmoberg1

Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation

I'm taking it slow

Feeding my flame

Shuffling the cards of your game

And just in time

In the right place

Suddenly I will play my ace

Chapter 15

Once night had fallen in the arena, all of the Careers laid out their bedrolls inside of the Cornucopia among the piles of their supplies. Winnow had laid hers out near the opening – ready for a hasty exit if needed- plus, she needed space in order to use her trident effectively. Clove had parted with a few knives reluctantly – but only when Cato had barked at her.

Cato had left his bedroll besides hers – Winnow had given him a deadly look for even daring to think he might have her. He had merely rolled his eyes at her in response. "We'll catch a few hours of shut-eye, guys, and then go hunting." Cato informed the others.

"Let them get comfortable," Clove smirked.

"Before dawn would be best. Perhaps some of them will even be stupid enough to light a fire," Winnow interjected.

"Oh, so we're talking now, are we?" Cato mocked her.

"Oh shut up, Cato. Someone has to temper your idiocy with sense," Winnow retorted.

"Idiocy?!" Cato spat, stepping towards his supposed partner.

"Oh, I mean that in the best way possible, Two." She retorted, words dripping with sarcasm.

"Uh, guys? Incoming." Marvel interrupted, pointing out of the Cornucopia.

Winnow and Cato turned as a unit, snatching up their weapons and stalking outside to meet the intruder.

Peeta Mellark held his hands up to show he was unarmed, walking slowly towards them to show he was no threat. "What are you doing here, Twelve?" Cato barked.

Peeta's eyes flickered to Winnow, whose lips had lifted into a smirk. So he was following her advice, after all. "I can help you." He said.

"What could we possibly need your help with, Lover-boy?" Winnow questioned, resting the base of the trident against the ground. Marvel snickered behind her at the nickname.

"Getting Katniss." Peeta answered simply.

Cato tilted his head to the side curiously. "Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I could swear you announced your undying love for Fire Bitch just last night," he remarked.

Peeta's lips pursed. "Didn't you do the same? It looked like you two were fighting just before I walked up," he retorted.

Cato snorted. "Yeah, so? We might have been arguing, but we weren't trying to kill each other." He informed the other boy.

"Speak for yourself." Winnow muttered – drawing Cato's attention and another snort of amusement from her partner. "What do you get out of it?" She asked – directing the question at Peeta.

"What?" he replied, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"What are you going to get out of killing Fire Bitch?" Winnow repeated – drawing out every word slowly as if she thought him stupid.

Peeta didn't answer at first. He hadn't been expecting this question, she could tell. The wheels were turning in his mind, turning and turning to produce an answer. "She rejected me." He said suddenly – his eyes filling with anger. Winnow noted that Peeta played the scorned man very well – she wondered what else he played at.

"You can keep watch outside the Cornucopia. We'll be hunting at dawn." Winnow remarked. Peeta nodded and Cato turned to look at her in surprise.

"Winnow, we haven't decided!" he protested.

"I did." She retorted quickly – only to receive a glare in response. "Oh, fine, fine. Cato decided, for the sake of male ego." Winnow said mockingly – turning and heading back inside the Cornucopia.

"Winnow!" Cato exclaimed – following after her.

Peeta sat down against the metal of the Cornucopia – careful to keep the grin off his face as long as the other three Careers were watching him. "Marvel, you keep watch on him," Clove ordered quietly – as they moved into the Cornucopia.

"What the hell was that!?" Cato questioned Winnow as she laid her trident down beside her bedroll and then sat down upon the thick foam.

"What was what?" she replied obtusely, not bothering to look up at him.

"I don't trust him, Winnow." Cato said, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Neither do I." she agreed – making his hands fly up in exasperation.

"Then what the hell, Winnow!?" he demanded again. Winnow looked up at him with a smug expression and gestured for him to get closer. Sighing, Cato sat down on his own bedroll. "What?"

"He thinks he's helping her." She whispered to him lowly. She didn't want the cameras to hear her – she didn't want either tribute from Twelve to be warned – if it was possible. Cato drew away, reaching for his sword, but Winnow reached out and took hold of his arm. "No." she ordered him.

Cato grew angrier – thinking she was just ordering him around and letting someone into their group that she knew was going to betray them. "Look, Cato!" she exclaimed. "He thinks he's helping her. He'll try and lead us away from where he thinks she might be. But he's so fucking stupid," she paused, trying to find the right words.

"He might just lead us to her. And if he doesn't – eventually, she'll see him with us. And she will be following us, trying to figure out why he's joined us. It's only a matter of time,"

Cato nodded slowly – seeming satisfied with her explanation. Winnow turned away from him, looking out the mouth of the Cornucopia. The sun was setting – and it was setting fast. For the last hour, the sky had been full of oranges, yellows and reds – but now it was suddenly shifting.

The moment the sky went completely dark and then lit up with stars – the Capitol's anthem began to play. The Careers all emerged from the Cornucopia to see what was going on.

Projected on the sky was the Capitol insignia – below it appeared the words 'the fallen'. The first portrait to appear was the girl from District 3. I killed her, Winnow reminded herself – feeling a cold sensation wash over her body.

The next portrait was one Winnow was not ready to see. Kai's smiling face appeared in the sky – suddenly bringing it all back, complete with tears burning at the back of her eyes. She turned back suddenly – hurrying into the Cornucopia where she knew the darkness would hide the tears she could no longer hold back.

Cato watched her longer than necessary – his eyes flickering up to the sky. He sighed and trudged after her. Inside the Cornucopia, Winnow lay on her side on her bedroll – shoulders silently shaking. He kicked his bedroll closer to hers and sat down heavily before spreading out next to her. "You can stop pretending that you don't care now." He said quietly.

Winnow didn't respond – didn't even look at him. Her shoulders merely began to shake harder, the sound of her sobs turning audible. Cato sighed – reaching out and pulling her back into his chest.

For the first time since they had entered the arena, Winnow did not rebuke his touch. She only began to sob harder – making Cato's arms tighten around her shoulders, pressing his face against her clothed shoulder.

Cato contemplated his situation. First there was killing Kai – who knew medicine, and then the shifty way Glimmer had said she thought he was someone else. Now he had to deal with Winnow's grief and her distrust. He had to root out who had told Glimmer to kill the other boy.

Whoever it was – he was furious. Not only had he lost an asset, it had shaken Winnow's trust in him. He intended to take her to the final two, and to get that far – he would need her to trust him.

Outside the Cornucopia – Clove, Glimmer and Marvel sat in the grass – a total of 11 were dead from the bloodbath alone, according to the portraits the Gamemakers had projected in the sky. The three Careers were reluctant to reenter the Cornucopia after Cato – not sure if they would be welcomed or if they would want to enter anyway.

"What's going on?" Peeta asked curiously. He had expected to see Kai among them – but to see his portrait among the fallen – and then Winnow's grief-stricken reaction…Things had not gone according to plan.

"None of your business, Twelve!" Clove bit out harshly – not bothering to even look at their newest addition. She wasn't happy with him being there – but she did not question Cato. He had agreed, and then so would she.

Marvel glanced back to the other boy. "Glimmer killed Kai." He informed him.

Peeta gaped at Marvel. "Why?!" he questioned – turning a look of suspicion towards the blonde girl.

"It was an accident," Glimmer hissed from her place sitting next to Clove – not bothering to look back at either boy on purpose.

"So she says," Marvel muttered – earning a glare from both girls.

Cato emerged from the Cornucopia after a fair amount of time, looking worn out but quite angry. "Clove, how about scrounging up some dinner?" he suggested. His district partner nodded quickly, moving into the Cornucopia to grab some supplies. "Glimmer… a word?" Cato requested.

Glimmer's features paled, and she flashed a look of distress towards Clove as she emerged from the Cornucopia. Clove pointedly avoided Glimmer's gaze. This was not lost on Cato. The District 1 girl slowly stood and made her way towards Cato, who gestured for them to walk further away from the group.

As soon as the two blond tributes were a fair distance away, the group near the mouth of the Cornucopia had to strain their eyes to see the others in the dark. Cato's form was bulky and outlined in the darkness, his arms waving wildly as he spoke. They could only see Glimmer's face – pale with fear and talking softly in hopes of soothing the other tribute.

"I wonder what he's saying," Marvel remarked curiously, leaning his chin onto his fist.

Clove huffed in annoyance. "Cato's off fighting Four's battles, just like I said he would." She muttered.

Peeta glanced from the two Careers near him, to the other pair in the distance. "He's not going to kill her, is he?" he asked in concern.

Clove snorted. "No." she answered simply.

Marvel seemed to think her answer needed more detail – he was turning out to be quite the gossip. "Winnow nearly killed Glimmer earlier, right after Kai died. Cato stopped her and told her we needed Glimmer for now. But once Cato decides that we don't need Glimmer… I'm sure Winnow will have the honors," he suggested, pantomiming a trident throw.

It astonished Peeta how easily these two Careers spoke about killing – their own teammate, no less. They spoke about it as if it was nothing - that it meant nothing. It was surprising especially for Marvel – since Glimmer was his district partner.

But Peeta had seen Marvel and Winnow talking in training – he supposed that the boy had made the decision that Winnow was worth more as an ally than Glimmer. If Peeta had been faced with the same decision of Winnow and Glimmer, he would have chosen the same. If he had entered this arena with anyone but Katniss, Peeta would have sided with Winnow.

But that had not been the case. Peeta sided with Katniss, even if she didn't know it. He would always try to help her. Even if it meant he didn't get to go home - as slim as a hope as that was.

Alright, people. 10 chapters left before the finale. It's gonna get hot, and it's gonna get hot fast.

In response to a review that stated Winnow was acting out of character last chapter - we must all understand that though many of the tributes are considered adults in our society, they are still really children. Their minds and bodies are not fully grown yet, and neither are their morals or personalities. So Winnow and Cato are still growing as people - and their morals/personalities are still fluid - subject to change. I personally believe that if all the tributes survived the Hunger Games, they would live to become very different people than they were in the arena - and that what happened there would haunt them forever.

What I think we don't realize (as we didn't really see it in the books) was how many people are whispering in these children's ears. District 12 didn't have many sponsors, so we must understand that Katniss and Peeta didn't have this experience. But the Career districts - Winnow's district - does have more sponsors, so there are more people telling them what to do, how to do it, and what is acceptable.

Winnow is acting on a combined high of adrenaline, desperation, and fear. Especially during the bloodbath, she will do things that are really not typical for her. But soon we will also see how much she wants to survive and how much she will do to get there.

Thanks for making it through the monster of the author's note. Please leave me a review.