Surprisingly, we made it quite far before we had another incident. Peeta still had issues walking, and leaned heavily on either Katniss or me for most of the time we were walking, and we had to take frequent rests. Katniss led the way, occasionally tossing nuts against the force field, to determine exactly where it was. Mags followed behind her on foot, nibbling on the now roasted nuts.

When Peeta first recovered, I had asked Katniss how she knew where the force field was. The three of us stared at her, curious for an answer. She simply looked at me, and I saw the brief panic flash across her face as she hurried to come up with an answer. I immediately understood. If there was a flaw in the game makers' system that she could clearly see, I didn't want her making it known so that they could fix it.

"You know what? It's alright. I don't think we need to know," I said finally. Katniss smiled. "As long as you can lead the way with minimal casualties."

Some time later, we heard another cannon. I let out a dry laugh, covering up my internal panic as I checked for Mags behind me. "I guess we aren't holding hands anymore," I said finally, pushing away my internal image of Johanna or Gloss or Cashmere lying on the ground, their heads detached from their bodies.

"Hilarious, Finnick," Katniss grumbled.

I turned to her, an eyebrow raised. "Thank you?" I sensed her sarcasm, but I felt that it wasn't due.

"Someone just died. Probably one of our friends."

I shook my head. "Every time that cannon goes off, it's music to my ears," I told her, not caring how I sounded. "Every time I hear it, it means you are one step closer to getting home, and saving our child."

She glared at me, but said nothing. She walked faster, pushing past me. I knew I was being harsh, but I also knew she was being dramatic.

So we continued walking for as long as we could, eventually collapsing in a small clearing with minimal rocks.

Mags set about weaving, her small, wrinkled hands flying through the long grass she had been collecting.

"If we don't find water, these are going to be some very short games," Katniss muttered, settling down next to me. We weren't touching. We were both too hot and sweaty for that.

Mags dropped a handful of grass in my lap. I glanced up at her. "What are we making?"

She mumbled something that sounded like 'meth'.

"Mats," I repeated. I wasn't nearly as fast as she was, but I could still weave a lot better than most people I knew. Katniss watched me with interest. Mags finished her first, and gave it to Peeta, who sat down on it, but didn't go to sleep.

Katniss finally stood up, gathering her bow and arrows. "I'm going to go hunting. I've seen a few animals climbing in the trees. If there's animals, there has to be water. It'll kill two birds with one stone."

"Do you need someone to go with you?" I asked her to be more polite than anything. As much as I would have liked to stay by her side for the whole time we spent in the arena, I knew she would never allow it.

Katniss gave me a pained look.

I grinned. "Alright, that's fine."

"Don't take offense or anything," She whispered to me. "Your feet are lighter than Peeta's." She read my expression. "I don't mind hunting with you, but I told Peeta that the reason I never let him come is because I prefer to go alone or with Gale."

I fought the smile on my face. We both knew the real reason was because he scared all the game away.

She returned sometime later with two animals in her hands, holding them by the arrows that pierced their eyes.

"Did you find water?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Not quite. But they did." She dropped the furry creatures. "Their muzzles were wet."

She set about cleaning and skinning the animals, prepping it to eat. I handed her the fifth mat that I had been working on as a prep area.

"I'm going to second Katniss's earlier statement." Peeta finally said. "We need water soon, or we won't last another day."

It was almost as if Haymitch and Britt were waiting for that, because as soon as Peeta's words left his mouth, a silver parachute fluttered to the ground.

I laughed, more out of desperation than humor. "I don't know about you guys," I said, "But if this isn't favoritism, I don't know what is."

Katniss smiled. "Who gets to open it?"

"Let's let Peeta. Since he's clearly the favorite."

"And he died today," Katniss added.

Peeta smiled and picked up the packedge. He glanced inside and frowned.

"What is it?" Katniss asked eagerly. Peeta reached inside and held up a strange silver object, a point on one end that got thicker and thicker and then taper off to create a wide hole on the other end.

I shook my head, frustrated. "Thanks, guys. What we need in an arena full of weapons is another weapon."

"It's not a weapon," Katniss muttered, taking it from Peeta. "It's..." She trailed off, staring at it. "It's a tool. I can't remember what it does, but my dad used one."

"So is it a hunting tool?" I asked, holding it close to my face.

Suddenly, Katniss snatched it out of my hands. "It's a spile!" She declared.
"A what?"

Katniss glanced around at the weapons we had, and picked up Mags' awl and a sharp rock. "Spiles are used to get maple syrup out of trees," She explained. "In District 12, we have a lot of maple trees. But these aren't maple, so they might have something else in them."

Even though she didn't say it, we all knew what she was hoping for. She drilled the awl into the tree using the rock, then twisted the spile deep into the hole. She sat underneath it, waiting. I had never known her to pray, but it definitely seemed as though she were close. Finally, the water trickled out in a slow but steady stream. Katniss gasped and stuck her head under the stream, guzzling down as much water as she could, then moving aside for the rest of us. I picked up a small bowl that Mags had woven and filled it with water to carry back to her.

When we had all had our share, the water was still flowing, so we each took the chance to wash our face and hands, and then Mags and I got to work weaving more water-tight vessels so that we could carry water with us.

Katniss removed the spile from the tree and tucked it securely into her belt. We all settled down and ate a meal of nuts that Mags had collected and not yet eaten as well as cubes of meat from the tree rat that we tossed against the force field to cook. It was tough and bland, but it was good to get food into our systems.

"Alright," I said finally. "I'll take first watch."

"I'll stay up with you," Katniss said quickly.

I looked at her, confused. "What, do you... not trust me or something?"

"No it's not that I just..." She swallowed. "I wanted to talk to you. I haven't seen much of you recently, we haven't really had the chance to talk to each other."

I cocked my head to the side and studied her face, she kept her jaw set, her eyebrows up, waiting for an answer, the image of calm. But I noticed the way her eyes kept flicking from me to Mags to the ground. The way her fingers were twisting in her braid. Something had set her on edge. Something other than being trapped in an arena full of people who wanted to kill her.

"Alright," I said. "But only for a bit." I poked her belly. "You need sleep. Today couldn't have been easy on you."

I had only known she was pregnant for twenty-four hours, but her hormones had become all too apparent for me.

I settled against a rock and Katniss sat next to me. My arm went around her automatically. "What's going on?" I whisper, her hair covering my mouth.

She bit her lip, and I could see the tears in her eyes, even in the dark. "Cinna's dead," She said finally.

"What?" I leaned away from her to study her face. "What happened?"

"I was in my launch room and I went into the tube, and just after the glass closed me in, four peacemakers came in and they..."

She didn't finish. She didn't need to. I pulled her against me. She pressed her face into the crook of my neck. A dry laugh escaped her. "What are they thinking about me now?" She whispered. "Poor little girl in an arena full of killers. She starts crying every time someone dies."

I didn't answer, because we were interrupted by the national anthem being played. I let go and turned so I could see the report in the sky.

District 5 lost both their tributes. I sighed in relief. Cash and Gloss were still alive, as was Beetee. Good. District 6 lost their male tribute, but District 7 was still fully intact. Woof from District 8 was dead. I glanced at Mags, who was fast asleep. That was for the best. She had been close with Woof. District 9 and 10 were both down, and Seeder from District 11 was also dead.

I turned to Katniss. "That could have been a lot worse," I said, remembering our earlier conversation.

"I don't understand how you can be so casual about all of this."

I sighed, kissing her hair. "I'm not, I promise. But it's better this way." I leaned back against the rock, thinking about all the things I wished I could say to her, but would never be able to under the cameras. I imagined what would happen if it was Katniss or Mags whose face was in the sky. I wouldn't be able to act casual then.

Short chapter for short people