Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
Gale was hesitant to take her into the woods. Not only was she the mayor's daughter, but she was also the most annoying person in the District and her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. She would poke and prod him day after day to bring her with him. Just once. I want to see it, she had said. I want to see something other than the Games.
And eventually, he gave in, if only just to get her to leave him alone.
With Katniss in the Hunger Games he spends most of his time in the woods. He doesn't want to see anything go down. He doesn't want to watch, because if he doesn't watch then they won't have their show. He believes that, honestly. That if Gale refuses to watch the Hunger Games then they aren't going on. Because of this, his time is spent setting more traps then necessary and shooting down way too many birds. He has enough to feed both of their families for what feels like a month.
So here he is, stumbling through the woods with Madge Undersee trailing noisily behind him.
Every so often it will get quiet behind him, and Gale will have to pause and spin around, only to find Madge tracing her fingers over the bark on the tree or stooping down low to view a rabbit.
"Let's go, Undersee," Gale grunts. She picks her head up and her hair spirals around her. "We're too close to the fence."
"Why do we have to hurry?" she asks innocently. Madge sticks out her bottom lip and Gale represses the urge to groan. He shouldn't have agreed to this. "We've got all day, haven't we?" Gale spins on his heel and picks up his pace, knowing that she'll follow in fear of getting lost in the woods. Just as predicted, she quickly scurries to catch up to him. "There's just so much to see," she tells him quietly. "I don't want to miss any of it."
Gale clamps his mouth shut and gestures for her to follow him. They resume their hike in silence again, Madge occasionally gasping at something.
"Where are we going?" she finally asks him.
"You remember the pin you gave to Katniss?" Gale wonders. He hadn't wanted to bring up their friend out here in the woods, but it was only necessary at this point. "The golden—"
"Mockingjay," Madge nods, cutting him off. "Of course I remember. It's a family heirloom." Gale ducks under a branch and turns around, waiting for Madge to follow him. "Why?"
"Do you know what mockingjays are?" They make their way into a small clearing, and Gale keeps his eyes upwards. "Anything at all?"
"Songbirds," Madge blurts. Of course she knows more. Gale cocks an eyebrow at her when her cheeks run pink and urges for her to continue. "They were never meant to be created," she finally answers. Her mother told her the stories quietly when she was little. Was told to never repeat them. But out here she feels free. "They're a disgrace to the Capitol. When the jabberjays were meant to die out they bred with mockingbirds instead, creating the mockingjay. They're not supposed to exist."
And despite himself, Gale smiles. "Anything else?"
"They can repeat melodies," Madge tells him. "Bird calls or… or human songs."
"Have you ever heard one?" he asks. "Not on TV but in real life." Bashfully, Madge shakes her head no. Gale chuckles slightly and makes his way to a tree easy enough for her. "Have you ever climbed a tree?" Again, the mayor's daughter shakes her head no.
It takes them awhile but Madge finally gets to the top of the tree. She's nervous and shaking and tells Gale again and again that she doesn't like heights, but he keeps on pushing her. When she reaches the top she clings to the branches with all she's got. Madge sucks in air frantically and keeps her eyes shut as tightly as she can.
"I need to get down," she whimpers. Gale's hand finds the small of her back protectively and she eases into his grip. "I can't do this."
"You wanted to come in the woods, Undersee," he whispers. "Here we are."
"I wanted to come in the woods," she repeats, "not climb to the top of the highest tree."
"I want to show you something," Gale says. "But you'll need to open your eyes. I'm right here." She might be the only other person that will really appreciate what he's about to show her. Eventually, her eyes ease open. He nods encouragingly and she lets out a shaky breath. "Ready?" he asks her.
"Ready," she nods nervously.
Gale's mouth forms the perfect o and he lets out the most melodious tune, filling the air with a song so beautifully pure it shocks Madge into stillness.
It's silent for a moment when he's finished, but moments later the air is buzzing with electricity, the sound of the mockingjays ringing out from every direction and repeating his song in the most harmonious way. They fly through the air all around them, and then one of them stops to perch on a branch near Madge. She doesn't see it at first, so Gale whistles quickly again. The bird responds immediately, and Madge jumps at the lovely tune it emits.
"Oh," she breathes. The bird continues to sing. "It's beautiful," she says. Gale's scowl from earlier is replaced with the strangest smile, a grin that's so genuine Madge hardly recognizes him. "Can I try?"
"Go for it," he nods.
Madge takes a deep breath and turns to the bird, opening her mouth to sing.
The stars will forever be shining
The moon will glow bright and true
The clouds will have silver linings
And it's all, it's all for you
When the bird sings back the verse in tunes only Madge smiles brightly, leaning toward the black feathered bird on the tree branch. Gale's hand instinctively grips her hip and refuses to let her get too far, in fear of her falling from the tree.
"It's so beautiful," Madge says again, sighing as she leans toward it. Even from this angle Gale can see her eyes lighting up and feel her smile glowing "Wow."
"I know that song," Gale murmurs. Hesitantly she turns her head away from the mockingjay and glances at him. "That's part of a lullaby. Isn't it?"
"Yes," she nods. "My mother used to sing it for me all the time." She studies his eyes and lets out a deep breath. "This is amazing. Thank you."
"You wanted to see something other than the Games," he shrugs.
"This was more than I—"
"Save it," he cuts her off.
They spend the afternoon in the treetops, singing out songs and humming out melodies for the mockingjays to send back. Gale decides that Madge may be the mayor's daughter, but she's definitely not the most annoying person in the District. In fact, she has a very lovely voice.