Chapter 78: Discussion
Katniss wakes up in the morning before Peeta. Pik is awake and needs to be fed, so she takes him downstairs and as she tends to him, ponders how she is going to tell Peeta the bad news. Haymitch has lost another tribute, too, so Katniss knows it is not going to be a good day. They have to confront the reality again of what the Games mean, in terms of losses, and Katniss has to prepare herself for how two people she loves are going to react to the news. She would prefer to have Haymitch with them at the moment but, with the Peacekeeping force at their door, it was better for Haymitch to be in his own house and a conduit to the outside world for her and Peeta. Haymitch could move and make contact with people they couldn't.
It doesn't take long for Peeta to wake up after her and he notices that Katniss is not in the bed beside him. Wondering when she got up, he decides to look in on Prim first before going downstairs to find Katniss. Prim is still sound asleep, so Peeta makes his way to the kitchen and sees Katniss sitting at the table with Pik. She is beginning to show him signs, teaching him the words for different things so that they can communicate. Pik's gaze is fixed on Katniss and she is mouthing the word while making the sign for "play". She is asking Pik if he wants to play. Katniss sees Peeta at the door and immediately stands up. She asks him if he wants some coffee and goes about preparing some for him while Peeta sits down and smiles at Pik, handing him a toy and kissing him on the forehead. Katniss decides to get straight to the point.
"I watched the tally last night" she says with some trepidation.
"And?" Peeta asks without hesitation.
"Ramsay is dead" she tells him.
Peeta is shocked that their strongest tribute has fallen victim to the Games already. He says as much to Katniss and she agrees.
"I think he was too confident in his own abilities, his strength, and the Games is about a lot more than that" Katniss says.
"Do you know what happened to him?" asks Peeta, accepting that the odds were not going to be in favour of all their tributes for long.
"Someone managed to tie a rope around him and leave him for dead. The wolves got him in the end" Katniss explains.
"Do you know who?" Peets says.
"It was Verity" Katniss tells him. "She surprised him when he jumped out of the tree he had slept in and she had already set the trap. All Verity needed to do was catch him off guard and then…well, she called the wolves after he was tied to the tree"
Peeta remembers Verity's ability to mimic animal and bird sounds. Katniss remembers the skills she developed at the knot tying station. It isn't hard to imagine how it was possible now.
"He had berries" Katniss tells Peeta. "Nightlock berries. He could have used them, but he wrote a note instead that the wolves carried off in his backpack"
"What kind of note?" Peeta asks.
"A note asking for help" Katniss says.
"What happened to it?" Peeta wants to know.
"Lorcan found it. He went looking for whoever wrote it and he was the one who found Ramsay" Katniss tells Peeta.
Peeta could imagine Lorcan doing this. He doesn't ask any more questions. Katniss goes on.
"He untied the rope and then covered Ramsay's body with branches…"
It was clear to Peeta now that Lorcan was the one who was meant to survive. Lorcan who cared about others and took risks that no one else would take. Lorcan reminded him of Katniss.
Peeta gets up and silently takes Katniss in his arms. He remembers her heartache after Rue's death in the Arena and how much it had affected her. Rue had reminded Katniss so much of Prim. She was right. He was not the only one being hurt by what was happening to their tributes in the arena. Tears begin to form in Katniss' eyes and she whispers to Peeta that she is sorry. Sorry about Ramsay, sorry about their loss, and sorry that more people are going to die because of her.
Peeta doesn't want Katniss blame herself and tells her she has nothing to be sorry for…that they all made this decision to reinstitute the Games and she is still the bravest person he has ever known. She feels the losses, too, and Peeta needs to remember that.
The tributes have spent another uncomfortable night and Lorcan had returned to his place on the banks of the stream. He hadn't felt like eating after finding Ramsay's body and just refilled the water bottle in order to keep himself hydrated. After that he had lain out under the stars and listened to the call of the wild in the woods. The wolves were still out there, and so were the other two tributes. Lorcan had to discover the elusive exit to the second arena, but wasn't sure which way to go. As the sun rises, Lorcan decides to keep travelling upstream and notices some small fish in the water. Perhaps he can spear a couple of these for his breakfast. He goes about fashioning a spear out of a fallen branch while Verity looks on.
Ebony wakes to another cold and bright morning, but in the distance the sky is beginning to darken. That means snow. She needs to try to make it to the top of the mountain as soon as possible. It's her only chance of escaping the impending snow storm and finding food before she becomes too weak . Ebony gears up and steps gingerly to the edge of the entry. She looks down and realizes she is about half way to the top of the mountain, but the next part of the climb will be the steepest. Stepping out onto the ledge she begins to manoeuvre herself into a position to begin the climb.
Ottilia ventures out of her hiding place in a desperate bid to search for food and water. Using her camouflage gear as a means of disguise, she creeps silently through the undergrowth looking for any signs of a river or stream. She listens for the sound of running water and eventually hears a bubbling sound in the distance where water is gushing over small rocks in the stream. Ottilia doesn't wait to see who else might be close by as she rushes towards her salvation.