north kaledon

I was glad to get away from this freak show. I didn’t want to know what else this man had up his sleeve. A fish daughter? What was next? His wife was part crab? It made no sense and honestly I didn’t want to stick around to find out. North and I picked our way back to the camp site, gathering our meagre belongings before returning to the river bank to find it blissfully abandoned.

The man scurried away with his fish girl in his hand. "This is easily the absolute strangest day of my life," I commented as he joyously left us. "What the fuck even was that? Was it a fish or a person? Never mind, I think the answer would just disturb me even more." We headed back to camp and grabbed the rest of our things. 

I followed North’s line of sight, spotting the red flash in the water. I frowned, if she was in there wouldn’t she be dead by now. I ran down along the bank, kneeling on the pebbles when I reached the tiny red clump and reached out to grab it. I thought it was just part of her dress caught on a branch but as I dipped my hand under the water this tiny face stuck on a fish body snapped up out of the water. “Ponyo!” 

I followed Sloane down the bank, the red-haired man hot at my heels. When she pulled the piece of fabric from the dress, I was shocked to see it attached to a fish... with a human head. I heard Sloane's whispers and barely stifled a giggle. 

I didn’t want to waste time looking for his child but if we refused? Would the Gamemakers have programmed him to attack? I didn’t want to risk it especially if we were going to go frolicking in the castle once the deed was done. I could tell North was pissed about this whole situation but what other choice did we have? 

I pouted all the way through the trees, all the way across the clearing, and while we stood at the banks. The man followed us, at least he was relatively compliant with us. He wasn't staying behind to look for any items we might've left. 

I’d been dozing off and on since North woke me up. Spending my time scouting out a tree we could fell to use as a bridge across the river before returning to my sleeping ally. When North awoke, the first rays of he sun were just starting to streak across the sky and I indulged in eating breakfast as North made an observation about the River. It made it easier to cross, especially if we had to tackle crossing it again once we reached the castle. I stood, my axe at the ready when a tall gangly redhead stepped out from behind a tree. 

Sloane laid her hand gently on my arm, essentially shutting me up. I pouted, but put my knife away. I didn't want to waste time helping this dumb guy find his kid, we had far more pressing issues, but it didn't look like I had much of a choice. 

I pulled my jacket tighter around my body, slipping down beside the fallen log as I stretched my legs out. I wanted to sleep, I needed it if I was going to manage putting some sort of thought into our river crossing and the inevitable hunting that would come once we made our way into the castle. “Will you be alright with the torch?” I asked as I tried to get comfortable on the forest floor.

I nodded, clicking on my trusty flashlight and shining it down at the ground for a moment before shutting it off again. Luckily tonight we had the stars and the moon to brighten up the space and keep me just a little calmer as I stared up at it. "I'll be okay," I assured her. 

The rocks would be easy enough to grab, I could fill my pockets with stones tomorrow. The slingshot wouldn’t do very much damage but in the end I could use it as a small distraction in a fight. “I can make you one if you want to part with one of your hair ties but with those shiny knives of yours you probably don’t need one.” We were luckier than most. I knew some of our fallen foes hadn’t had as much as we did to protect them from the hazards of the arena. But we had a pretty heavy bounty between us and with North’s sponsor backing her every step of the way we would be okay for a little while longer.

I smiled. "I'll hold onto my knives for now. Besides, I've never used one. I'm sure I'd end up my own eye out instead of my opponent's anyways. I'll be deadly enough with these," I added, running a finger down one of the smooth blades. It made me feel like I had a little piece of Cam along with me, besides his pin, of course. The little wolf was still on my collar and it'd given me peace since we'd come in yesterday. 

North tiptoed over to me just as I was applying the finishing touches to the slingshot. I had no sponsor for fancy gifts but I really didn’t need any. I was capable of making my own weapons and looking after myself. It was how I’d got here in the first place. I accepted the bowl of stew, thanking North for her charity as I broke off pieces of the bread into the stew. It was nice to have a hot meal, something to keep the chill that swept off the river from clinging to our backs.

I was impressed with the quality of the weapon as I weighed the slingshot in my hand, running my fingers over it. "Damn, you weren't kidding that you were good at this," I remarked. "There's a ton of rocks by the riverbed, we'll have to grab some before tomorrow." We had a nice warm meal together as we took in the quiet of the forest by night. 

Another gift arrived, it seemed like North’s sponsor knew just when to show her tribute of choice how much she believed in her. Last night it had been a torch, tonight it was a weapon and food that didn’t come pre-packaged. I had to admit I was a little jealous, but it was just how things worked out. I moved further into the tree line, sitting down on a log as I dropped my pack at my feet. Shrugging out of my jacket, I set it on the ground lifting my axe to cleave off part of the fur collar. I had an idea and while North busied herself with her gift I wanted to see if this would work.

Sloane crept into the treeline as I got my gift. I tried not to gloat, really, I did, but it was hard not to. I focused on organizing my stuff, strapping the belt of knives around my waist before I got the food out. The lid of the thermos was round and served as a bowl, so I poured half of it out into the little dish for Sloane and kept the rest for myself. I put one of the rolls into the bowl with a spoon and walked the short distance over to her. 

Between the spiders and the forest we really had been having a sick sense of deja vu. We’d barely seen any of the arena past this forest and even though I was thankful to be in one piece, my hands itched with the desire to get dirty. To demonstrate some of the skill I’d shown in Private Training. To show the Capitol what we were capable of back in Three. “I have to admit, I’m kind of sick of all the trees.” 

I nodded earnestly in agreement. "Agreed. Everything just looks the same, it's enough to drive anyone absolutely insane." I nodded in agreement. Crossing right now would be incredibly stupid, but taking it before dawn ensured we could camp out here tonight and hit it tomorrow with full energy and ability. "Sounds good," I added. "I trust you not to drown us," I added teasingly.