Its been days now that the games had begun, and Katniss was tired. Peeta had outdid himself in his efforts of reducing the Tribute population in the arena and out of the 19 fallen, he had claimed 15 lives already before the second day begun. The others seemed to have realized this already and are thus hiding themselves as well as they could to avoid confronting the lethal Prince of Darkness. For there hasn't been a kill for awhile.

Throughout this all some strange occurrences happened. Like last night she was terribly thirsty and was pretty low on food as well. But at the middle of the night she woke up to the smell of steaming smoked fish. There was also a large water canteen there for her. She had a doubt that Peeta left it there for her for she believed she hallucinated him kissing her moments before she awoke. But that wasn't the case as she was too high on a tree for Peeta to climb and the branches that supported her were too weak to even hold Peeta's weight, much less support him or allowing to climb. Then there was the fact that that to ensure she had distanced herself from the Careers, she had walked off to the opposite side of the way they were heading to.

So her best bet was that Haymitch listened to her plea a second time, after the rolls on the second day, and the parachute in which her meal came went missing. But why would he send smoked-fish was beyond her. Anyway the large fish did wonders to satisfy her hunger and if she were to guess she could now go without food, for awhile at least, after the large meal.

Suddenly there was a rustling sound and being wary she climbed a tree and started heading towards the direction of the sound.

The Careers were now having a heated discussion while travelling through the woods.

"We are lost. You got us lost you fool," shrieked Sandra the female Tribute of District 2.

"Apparently had you been actually listening to Peeta and not tried venturing on your own to track a potential Tribute, which turned out to be a squirrel by the way, we wouldn't have to go finding you and not get lost at the same time, so stop blaming someone else when you are at fault," said Glimmer dryly.

"Don't you dare take that tone with me 1. And what-" Sandra was cut off by Clove.

"Shut whining you daft and for the record, 1 said nothing wrong. Had we left the navigation and tracking part to Peeta we wouldn't have fallen in this mess at all," snapped Clove.

"But you are from my District-" again Sandra got cut off.

"Don't dare or I'll feel no remorse in slitting your throat open right now. And for the record again, once you enter the arena its every Tribute for himself/herself. As for supporting your argument, sue me but after 3 days of travelling around after getting lost, I lost all intentions for doing so," said Clove and Sandra wisely kept silent after that though she continued grumbling and fell back at pace with the remaining District 4 girl.

At the front of the pack the District 4 male asked Cato, "How do you keep up with fools like these in your District?"

"Believe me. I'm asking the same question to myself for the last 17 years," was the reply.

"Why are we keeping her alive again?" wondered Marvel.

"To keep up the numbers on our side. Really I never thought a District 2 Tribute could be more useless than District 3 Tribute but even Dylan helped Peeta make that snare which helped us get that District 8 male, and is also helping us to track our way out of this loop. All Sandra did for us is get us lost, loose us valuable time and resource and also some good opportunities at hunting a few Tributes. I'm seriously contemplating killing her before the 3s once we are done with the rest of the Tributes," said Cato with a sigh. "How much longer is it Peeta?" shouted Cato to Peeta who was leading the trail with Dylan at the front.

"An hour or 2 at most and then we will be out of the vicinity of the force field that's surrounding us and then its just an hour walk more to the Cornucopia. Its this field I'm the most fearful of and to avoid which I'm taking the long way," said Peeta.

"What's this field you are talking about?" snapped Sandra and Peeta and Dylan gave her a look from the front as if to say 'Are you crazy?'

Sighing Clove said, "Ignore her. I doubt she had ever learnt anything about the arena before." Turning to the confused girl she explained, "It's the protection the Gamekeepers erect around the arena to ensure that all Tributes are contained within the arena."

"So there is a field that contains us?" asked Sandra in shock.

"You truly didn't believe you could escape the arena or that it is endless did you?" asked Glimmer incredulously, and the silence was all the answer she needed.

After about a couple of more hours of walking Peeta declared that they were at the junction between the arena-interior and the place from where the Force-field began. "What was the wrong with the short way anyway and why are we putting more efforts in avoiding the force-field rather thanin tracking Tributes?" asked Marvel curiously and everyone nodded in assent wanting to know the reason.

It was Dylan who answered the question, "The short way is filled to the pit with snares that we located and some are very nasty ones, capable enough to cost you even a limb, while others are designed to activate others if you trigger one. With Tributes like Sandra in our pack, the risk isn't worth it," Cato snorted at the truth of the statement while Sandra was moments away from blowing off but Clove's threat stopped her at the last moment. "As for the answer to your next 2 questions, well let's say that the Force-field has protections that are more than capable of taking care of a Tribute and leave it at that," said Dylan in a monotone.

"What kind of protections?" asked Cato curiously.

In answer Peeta pointed to flames rising at a distance and said, "That kind of protections."

Shouting in glee Sandra squealed, "A tribute foolish enough to light another fire. What are you all waiting for? Let's go and hunt the fool down."

Everyone groaned while Clove snapped at her, "Are you real crazy? The flames are too big for a fire made by hands. And moreover that's coming from the direction of the Force-field from which we just escaped no thanks to you."

Peeta finally said, "The fire is a sign that someone is there. So spread around the perimeter and find for the nearest source of water. If the Tribute survives, that's the first place he or she will head to. Cato take Clove and Sandra with you and Marvel along with District 4 you are a team on your own. I'm taking Glimmer and Dylan on the other side. And no matter what happens, do not charge. Instead signal for a regroup. Take no chances as we are still very near the Force-field and a single wrong step would make us flaming chickens or worse in matter of seconds." Everyone nodded and spread out as was instructed.

Peeta cursed his luck silently at the moment while standing with the Pack under a tree which was hosting Katniss at the top and which Cato was trying to climb. Why has it got to be her of all people who had to trigger the Force-field?

At that precise moment Cato fell and Sandra lost her temper when she failed to get a single arrow halfway through the distance between herself and Katniss. Afterall she was bragging about her sills to Glimmer for a while now since when both of them claimed the bow and she got it due to the other fallen District 2 male's threat to Glimmer.

Rounding on Peeta she shrieked, "What's it lover-boy? Why not climb it or kill her with some incredible talent of yours? What you won't kill her will you?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance Peeta answered her calmly, "In case you haven't noticed pea-brains, the branches on which she is sitting for now is too thin to even support Marvel's weight much less mine. And if you are asking why I am not throwing a blade or spear, then just imagine what would happen if I fail and she gets her hands on the weapons. With the height in her advantage she would be killing one of us for sure. So you ready to take the chance?" When she was still looking ready to argue, Peeta taunted, "And what happened of your oh so amazing skills at archery?" That stopped her for short and she started spluttering and the others, despite the situation, snorted or chuckled. "I say we out-wait her. We have enough resources to last us here for 3 days and even then a group can go and bring fresh supplies from the Cornucopia to replenish us anytime. But she has to come down sometime for sure. All we have to do is to wait patiently and keep a close watch on her until then."

Not seeing any other way out of it, everyone agreed and started building a fire and started getting ready for the night. Peeta elected to keep watch and as it had become the tradition for his group, he leaned down a tree opposite to that of the Katniss was boarding on. Dylan and Glimmer were flanked up on his either side taking all the warmth they can form his warm waterproof cape.

Katniss was waiting up on the tree cursing her luck and suppressing the urge to scream for the pain she sustained in the fire-blow assaults she sustained in the confrontation with the Force-field. Now she was scared of what was going to be the fate of her in Peeta's assassin hands. Would she be spared or would she become his 16th kill? Thoughts like these came revolving in her mind when at some point of time she fell asleep.

It was when all the Careers and Dylan were all out like logs that Glimmer, with her head resting on the younger boy's shoulder, asked something to Peeta she had been meaning to ask for awhile, "You truly do love her don't you?"

A silence followed after which Peeta replied, "More than life itself."

"And you can climb that up can't you?" asked Glimmer with a hint of amusement.

With a chuckle Peeta said, "I'll climb up there this very night to get her some necessary supplies."

Glimmer said, "So I don't think I need to guess either where you used to go every night jumping through trees at very late at night when everyone were as dead as logs." After a silence she said, "What are you going to do at the end? You know only 1 can walk out alive don't you?"

With a sigh Peeta replied, "I'll go down to let her walk out alive. It's what for I've volunteered in the first place. Don't get me wrong. I love my second brother. But I am not ashamed to say that I don't care for him as much as I do for Katniss."

Peeta felt a nod at his shoulder, followed by Glimmer's voice, "You are a good man Peeta, let no one tell you otherwise. And the girl is lucky to have someone like you love her."

Peeta changed the subject, "What about you though? Don't you have someone special out there to return to as well?"

With a snort Glimmer replied, "Not very likely. The fools back in my district are only interested in my 'assets' rather than in me, and being of the opposite sex it was far worse for me than you could imagine. Back in our district the rich like my dad, contracts their daughter to the best bidder and then we are contracted with no respect to our wishes. That was supposed to be my fate after this year's reaping. Reasons like this made me distant to my total family."

Peeta stored that information in his mind for later reference – happy that in a way, should his plan go alright, then in less than 24 hours he would be saving Glimmer from a sad future.

Glimmer's voice broke his musings again, "You should now go to her. Don't worry, I'll help cover for you."

With a nod and a grateful smile, Peeta came out of his cape, retrieved his backpack and wriggled himself out of his cape. Glimmer slid near Dylan to keep up for Peeta's lost warmth and to keep the boy from waking up.

Katniss woke up to the soothing sensation that was emanating from certain parts of her hand and leg, that co-incidentally also had her wounds from the burn. But the first thing or rather, person she saw on opening her eyes was also the last person she expected at the moment. Raw fear, dread, horror, desperation and many other such negative feelings coursed through her very being.

She was about to scream when Peeta's hand clamped shut on her mouth but it was the pleading expression he was wearing and the occasional glances he was shooting at the bottom that did the trick for her. She studied him carefully and he didn't look anywhere prepared for a kill. Rather her hunched up pants, exposed wounds, open first-aid kit and presence and fragrance of leaves in his hands was telling a different story altogetherly. The rational part of her brain also reasoned that after climbing this high, he wouldn't have so long time to kill her had he wanted.

Satisfied that the Careers were still out like a log Peeta looked at her and motioned her to keep silent with a pleading expression. She had so many questions and so many confessions but she knew now wasn't the time. Thus she nodded her assent that she would keep silent. Peeta was one of the few who had yet to break her trust, and even when the consequence of her boldness may be death, Katniss would trust Peeta rather than anyone else in this situation.

Convinced that she wouldn't shout anymore Peeta returned to his tending. Katniss watched in simple awe as in the next half an hour Peeta cleaned, tended and wrapped her up with sterile bandages and his tending job seemed as good as that of her mother's or Prim's. It was then that she realized that the branches she was sitting on shouldn't have allowed Peeta's frames much less support it. That's when she saw and was pressed at the way Peeta had evened out his pressure thoroughly around the place he was cooped on. It was like he was experienced. This and the fact that he managed to climb this high without waking her proved to her that he and Rye trained themselves in the forest.

In the end he retrieved a strange needle with tonic that made her tense. Sensing it Peeta clutched her hand gently in reassurance and Katniss relaxed. She trusted Peeta and if he believed that she required this than so be it. She still wanted to know what tonic was it filled with, but knew better than to ask under the watchful gaze of the Capitol. She never realized when the boost was administered though while in her ponderings - the comfort of Peeta's arms had that great of an effect on her.

The next thing Peeta did shocked her. He started repleneshing her orange backpack with his supplies. That certainly did throw any of her remaining doubts on him out of the window. Generous amounts of biscuit packets, fruits, a fishing rod, medicines, knives and blades started exchanging places. The next thing shocked her, but somehow didn't surprise her all this while. 4 large fishes and 2 squirrels shot at the eye, all visibly preserved with capital preservatives, he must have found in the Cornucopia. So that finally deduced that it was Peeta who took care of her all along and she thought in her mind a single question. Would she ever stop owing to Peeta? A cloak was then wrapped around her that was a lot warmer than the sleeping bags.

The last thing that Peeta gave her brought out the first genuine smile from Katniss all this while. Who was she kidding? She was either smiling like a Cheshire cat or grinning like an idiot probably. 2 quivers of regular arrows, one of designer head arrows and another of explosive arrows was given to her. She quickly wore a quiver of regulars around her back - if for nothing that to give her a sense of protection. But when it came to bow and Peeta showed her a metal clamped rod, Katniss was puzzled. It wasn't until that he pressed a button on the rod and a readied fine bow sprung to life, that she was speechless and was admiring the craft. Returning it to its dormant phase Peeta handed it to her and she took it with shaky hands.

Finally Peeta directed a finger in a particular direction and started gesturing. Puzzled she looked at its direction and found to her surprise a large Tracker Jacket nest. Peeta mouthed to her 'dawn'. Then he motioned to the nest again but gestured aiming an arrow at it. He then pointed a finger below to the Careers and gestures them asleep. The final gesture was a finger sliding across the throat meaning death. She understood the general gist of his message. 'At the wake of dawn, drop the deadly nest on the sleeping Careers with every intentions of killing them.'

Then Peeta soon recollected all his belongings and was about to go but stopped for a while. Turning to her, he raised a shaky hand and cupped her face. A myriad of emotions flashed through the sapphire blue eyes that had lately had the effect of entracing Katniss. Katniss stayed still, enjoying all the human contact she can master while in the arena, which wasn't deadly... yet. Slowly Peeta's face inched closer to her and soon she could feel his warm breath on her face.

A bit more loser and finally he had her lips captured in his. He nibbled on her lower lip a little and then crushed his mouth on her. Surprisingly Katniss found herself enjoying the kiss and returning it with an intense passion at the same time. Peeta was known throughout the District to be a virgin even at lips and this was Katniss's first kiss as well. And she could say without an ounce of discomfort that she was enjoying it a lot. It was like she is in heavens. She felt Peeta's tongue against her teeth asking for admittance which she readily agreed. The way he explored her mouth she felt pleasure to such a height that had she not known better she would have declared Peeta a skilled kisser. Soon with a breath she tried returning the courtesy though she knew she was nowhere good like him. But to Peeta, having the presence of her tongue in his mouth was like his wildest fantasies and dreams come true.

Both knew that while the act would do wonders in getting them sponsors, they were enjoying it at the same time as well. Finally after half an hour of make-out session the 2 finally broke apart for the final time with flushed faces, ragged breath and puffy and bruised lips. Linking their foreheads they smiled at one another and with a final Peck at her lips Peeta mouthed, 'Bye.'

Before Katniss could object or say otherwise, Peeta, much to her horror, flung himself at a nearby tree. She was stunned when he landed near the trunk of the tree and with some claw like things that she noticed for the first time coming from between his fingers, attached himself to the bark of the tree. He kept hanging there silently and then jumped again thrice in quick succession against that tree, and now he had both his feet on the ground - all done as silently as a cat. Saying that Katniss was shocked would be an understatement. Even with these many years of experience at hunting, she couldn't fathom doing such a thing while a merchant boy with such a stocky build, was ruling the arena as if he was born in it.

Prepare Tracker Jacker treatment with boost, health stabilizer and the standard healing prescription. Have it all ready before dawn for 2 incomers. (Peeta)

Who are you sending? Blondie from 1 and the District 3 kid? (Rye)

Yeah. (Peeta)

Sybill here wishes you luck and extends her heartfelt gratitude - after she calmed down enough from the excitement that she isn't dying in the arena that is, and also mentions that she doesn't hold it against you for not helping her in front of the Careers. She is still a bit hoarse and is having difficulty at eating, but other than that its alright with her. (Rye)

Well its good news then. (Peeta)

Yeah it is. Well apart from District 11 female you have none near you at the moment so have no worries for now. (Rye)

I'm not continuing with them after tomorrow Rye. I'll go undercover for a while and keep close watch on Katniss from hiding. There is a possibility I may get a few injuries if I'm not careful too, so have the nutrient meal ready for deliver in case you feel the need. (Peeta)

I'll send it the moment you are in good shape, state and place to have it, so don't worry about it. (Rye)

Bye then. (Peeta)

Bye. And take care. Of her as well. (Rye)

(A/N) : Thanx to all my reviewers, followers and readers for all the appreciative words and support you all provided. Enjoy the chapter and tell me about it. Any constructive criticism is welcomed. I would also like to inform it to you all that due to my upcoming exams this might be my last chapter for a week or a more but I promise I'll be back again for sure. Thank you all for your support.

~ Aeigns