I think I'm going to just post 4 chapters this week (and next week). Fridays are busy and I want to sleep in. Lame excuse I know.

Horse Madge bit me yesterday :(

Primrose

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?!" Hiron's voice is dreamy, almost breathy. That makes me wary. I know Hiron; I know the kind of things he gets excited about. Chances are he's referring to a bomb or some other method of destruction that will put all of us in danger.

Except, he's not. He's pointing off into the distance, and it's faint, but I can see what he's getting at. The slightest glimmer, a reflection. Water.

Rye shades his eyes with one hand, squinting. "Is that a pond?"

"Of course it's a pond!" Hiron practically cheers. "Race ya!"

I think he's talking mainly to Maris- he loves to aggravate her competitive spirit- but all of us spring into action when he says the word. Forget stealth, forget everything I've learned about surviving in the wild. For a moment we're all just kids again, and the last one there is a rotten egg.

Not surprisingly, Hiron makes it to the shore of the pond first, but the beautiful sight takes some of the sting away from losing. It's small, not quite as big as the lake that held the Cornucopia, but the water is a deep, satisfying blue with reeds and fronds around the edges. More importantly, it is full of life. Dragonflies buzz around and frogs splash in, a much more welcoming sight than the hard ring of ice we used to source our food from.

"This is beautiful," Rye declares.

We all agree, but some of us are still too awestruck to speak. Not Hiron, though. "I'm going fishing," he declares. "Prim, wanna help?"

I'm not sure how much help I can really be, but I agree anyway. This stroke of luck has all of us feeling more agreeable, I think- Maris sits near us and chats with us almost pleasantly while she works on her spear. Rye gets a fire going- I'm beginning to think he just likes starting fires- and Jewel finds a patch of juniper berries that she starts picking.

Once he's cobbled a fishing rod together, Hiron kicks off his boots and socks and wades into the lake. I'm unsure if I should follow. "Hiron, are you sure you should be going in there barefoot? What if there's leeches, or piranhas, or a sinkhole?"

"I'll be fine; don't worry!" he promises. "We're not in the arena anymore, Prim. In real life, nature isn't out to get you as much as you might think."

"Yeah, don't be a weenie, Prim," Maris puts in.

"I don't see you getting in," I retort.

"Well, I'm busy." She gestures to her spear-in-progress.

Admittedly, it is looking much more like a spear these days. She found a slightly sharper carving rock and whittled on it the whole time we walked- which was a long time, by the way. Hours and hours with barely any rest breaks- thanks, Jewel.

Eventually, I decide to live a little, so I toss my boots and socks to the side and roll up my leggings before I wade in. It might be hot outside, but the water is shockingly cold. It feels nice once I get used to it, and I stand next to Hiron, who is concentrating fiercely on the fish situation. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Huh?"

"You asked me to help."

"Oh, right. Just, uh, keep an eye out for any fish."

That doesn't sound like a real job. But I soon find out that it is fun. The water is so clear I can see every creature in the pond, silvery minnows and tadpoles floating around. Every once in a while, a more sizable fish does jump, and I direct Hiron's attention to it. More often than not, he's able to catch whatever I have spotted. Now that is talent. Soon we have more than enough to eat our fill.

In a rare act of kindness- or perhaps just hunger- Maris offers her spear to use as a roasting stick. We accept gratefully. Rye slides the fish onto the pointed end and turns them slowly over the fire- he's the only one with patience for such things. Jewel brings back a couple handfuls of juniper berries, which we all devour.

"Mmm." Maris makes a big show of enjoying it. "Anything but salad."

I groan. "Seriously? How long are you going to hold that against me?"

"If you can believe it, I'm just getting started."

I think she's joking, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if she was being serious, either.

"Fish is done!" Rye exclaims cheerfully, pulling the skewer off the fire. The next part is not super fun. Have you ever tried to clean a fish without any sharp implements? Yeah. It's exactly as great as it sounds. Hiron does it without complaint, though- he's good about that- and we're left with something messy but edible. And it tastes so good that I don't feel like complaining either.

"I just can't believe there were fish in that pond at all," Rye marvels. His mouth is full of fish. "It's so small. And up in a mountain like this? It doesn't make any sense."

"You know what that means?" asks Hiron.

"Our meal has done severe, irreparable harm to a fragile ecosystem?" Jewel tries sarcastically.

"No, it means, for the first time, we got lucky," Hiron corrects.

I scoff. "That is absolutely not true. We've been lucky so many times. If we hadn't, we'd be long dead by now."

"Largely thanks to you," Maris puts in, glaring pointedly at Hiron. She's an odd duck. No matter how closely I watch the two of them interact, I can't figure out if she thinks the world of him or wants him dead. Regardless, Hiron laughs it off easily.

It's quiet at first, the disconnected voices echoing around in the hills. Then, for a moment, I think I'm imagining it, even though everyone else is pausing and looking around as well. Then I hear it for real, a disconnected voice that forms my name. And it's not just any voice. It's my sister.

I spring to my feet immediately. "Katniss? Katniss!"

A thin hand latches onto my wrist and yanks. "Sit down!" Maris hisses. She's stronger than she looks. "It could be jabberjays!"

I try to tug my hand away, but she has a grip of iron. "Why would it be jabberjays?! Let go of me! Katniss! I'm right here!"

"Priiiiiiiiim, Ryyyyyyyye!"

"I think it might really be them," Rye says in amazement. He stands up too, and Maris's grip on my wrist slacks. I try to call for Katniss again but I find my throat has gone dry. Instead, I run towards the voices, praying I'm not wrong and Maris isn't right.

I reach the crest of the hill, sending a spray of gravel down below me. My heart climbs into my throat and I think I might cry because there they are, real and alive and calling for me. "KATNISS!" I shout one more time before all but flinging myself down the hill. If this is a trap, I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, we're saved.

It seems to take forever for us to meet. I crash into my sister's arms, nearly bawling already. Katniss is crying too; she never cries. I guess today is an exception to every rule. "I can't believe you found us!"

"Well, you didn't exactly make it easy for us." It's so good to hear her voice. I wasn't sure I'd ever get to hear it again. "I thought we lost you. So many times."

"Wow, so adorable and heartfelt." I hadn't even realized Maris was behind us. She is annoyingly stealthy when she wants to be. "Hi, sis."

"Oh, you idiot." I've never met the girl who is currently sweeping Maris into a hug, but I recognize her from Katniss's Games. Storm. "You never would have made it without me."

Suddenly, everyone's hugging. Katniss wraps her arms around me again and Rye moves in to hug his little brother, Peeta. I gesture for Hiron and Jewel to join in, feeling bad they don't have siblings to greet them. Hiron joins the hug enthusiastically; Jewel hangs back a little. "Where's my brother?"

"He's fine," Katniss promises. "He's fighting the war. He says he loves you and he's proud of you."

"Your sister says the same, Hiron," Peeta puts in.

The hug begins again, this time with everyone, even Maris and her sister. It's crazy, I think, that I met most of these people less than a week ago, and now they're like my family. And now I have my real family back, too- I can't imagine anything stopping us now.

I should probably post 2 chaps because this one is TINY but I'll admit I am dragging DS out a little bit. I don't want it to be over! I'm having so much fun! And I don't have anything ready to post after this. Not even close.