@galedreyer

Elaine had been staring at the files on her desk for so long, her vision was starting to blur. The fact that the murders seemed to have stopped for now eased her mind a little, but she was still afraid. If whoever was doing this had targeted the first three victims based solely on their possible affiliation to the demons, she’d be stupid not to know that she might be a target. If they’d found out that Letha was a demon and that those three men associated with demons, it wasn’t too much of a stretch to think that they could find out she’d sold her soul, too.

Hearing someone approach her desk, she glanced up. The station wasn’t exactly crowded these days -- plenty of officers weren’t interested in solving crimes against demons, and weren’t bothering to come to work -- so the possibilities of who it might be were pretty slim. She wasn’t surprised to see Gale there, and she offered him a little smile.

She was sore when she woke up in the morning next to Gale. Uncomfortable, but manageable. Her senses cleared, and she realized where they were. What had happened. Remembered it all, clear as day, and she turned her head on the pillow to find him still asleep beside her, his arms around her waist and their bodies stark naked. He was warm against her, his sleepy muscles still strong and protecting her from the Capitol buzzing just outside. But a panic stirred inside Katniss, a worry to her eye and the concern crossing her expression as she turned back away from him, weaving their fingers together. She had slept with Gale. They were going into the Arena to die. She said she loved him... Feeling everything ram into her all at once, she gently, tenderly lifted his arm from her body, shifting away from him and pulling back the covers. With all her skin exposed to the cool morning air, she shivered, sitting up and swinging her feet over the side of the bed. She cast a look over her shoulder at her best friend. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep, the crease in his brow disappeared and the tenseness gone from his shoulders. Her gaze softened, then turned solemn. She had to save him. He deserved to get out of here alive. Whatever promises she had made last night, she knew the truth: Gale was the one who had to make it out.

Wincing as she stood, feeling the aftershock still twinge between her legs, she began to dress, wondering how she was going to let this all happen. Let him think she was going to wait for him, how she was going to eventually have to die so he could live. He had a family. He had people who needed him. People who would miss him. And he was golden--with a big heart, compassionate, a gentle giant. They were a team, but the Games wouldn't allow a team to win. It had to be him. It just had to be.

Today, training would begin. Effie would come to wake them up soon, and she knew she couldn't get caught out of bed, much less in Gale's. She lowered herself by the side of the bed, crouching to his level and brushing a hand through his hair, over his cheek. She took a moment to gaze at him, a loving twinkle sweeping over her eyes. Katniss leaned in and pressed a ginger kiss to his lips.

He began to stir. "Hey," she whispered, rubbing his shoulder, his back. "I have to go back to my room. Go back to sleep. I'll see you at breakfast."

Katniss' heart was in her throat. Her nerves were on edge and her mind was a thousand places at once. But she never let it show on her face. She never let her hands shake as she tied the sash of her dress around her waist. She never let a tear fall as she waited for her mother to finish pinning up her hair. She never got her mind off of Prim as the other children in the district bathed and readied themselves, as the guards patrolled the streets and made sure people were in preparation. For as long as Katniss could remember, she had protected Prim. She had guarded her and provided for her, even when their father was alive. Prim was the shining beacon in their desolate lives, the glimmer of hope against everything else. She was the light Katniss swore to defend and love and keep safe. It didn't matter what happened to the elder daughter. The world could come crashing down on her shoulders and she would always--always--be there to make sure Prim didn't so much as have a scratch.

Which was why it was so difficult relinquishing power to the Reaping. There was nothing, a whole world of nothings, Katniss could do to protect Prim against that. Her name was in once, but once was all it took. As slim as the possibility was, it still existed, and that alone was enough to bother the huntress. She wanted to eliminate any and all threats on Prim's life. This time, she was left empty-handed, belittled by the Capitol for one day only. But nothing would happen to her sister. She would make sure of it. After having to calm her down several times that morning, Katniss finally quieted her enough to walk with her hand in hand to the Justice Building. Sweat gathered in the creases of Katniss' palms, clamming between their grip. She knew Prim could sense she was afraid. But, like always, she never let it reach her face.

Her eyes were already scanning the crowds for Gale when they arrived and were being sorted into age groups. They were being hurried, so she stopped when she heard the sounds of Prim's hyperventilation resume. She pulled her aside, thumbs drawing over her cheeks. "Prim," she said, voice soft but stern, urgent, "Prim, listen to me. Listen to me, look at me. It's going to be okay. It's just a little bit of blood, it doesn't hurt much. Just a drop of blood, that's all. Prim, look at me." She smoothed her hand over her hair. "When this is over you're going to find me and we'll meet up with Gale and then we'll go home. Okay? Do not go home by yourself, do you hear me? I will come for you. Just breathe, be brave, it's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay, we have to check in now. We have to go. Come on."

With a heavy heart, she sent her sister off to the Reaping.

The Reaping fast approaching and Katniss' heart was in her throat more than usual these days. Prim's first time at the ceremony had her gut wrenched into a knot, her brain sprawling for ideas of how to keep her name from getting picked. But she knew she was powerless. She protected her sister at all costs, from everything--she fed her, she clothed her, she sheltered her, she made sure no harm came to her baby sister. But this. The Reaping. Katniss was powerless against the Reaping. It was the immovable object against her unstoppable force, only she had an Achilles and....and they didn't. Her stomach roiled at the thought of hearing Primrose Everdeen echo over the crowds from the speakers, and she wrapped her arms around her torso and clenched her eyes as the sound banged around in her head where she sat with Gale in the fields beyond District 12. She was breaking. She was scared. She couldn't carry the weight of speculation, it wasn't doing her any good, but how could she not think of it? It was coming... The Reaping was out to eat her sister alive.

And Gale. She knew he was more on edge than he let on. It was him and his brother this year, Gale's last and Rory's first. Just adding to the rounds of Hawthorne's to be put through the system, one's chances more likely than the one before. Gale wouldn't allow any of his siblings to take more tesserae for the sake of food, because half the time the food never arrived. They lied, swindled, and stole, but it was worth the risk, it was worth the price they paid--wasn't it? She sucked in a breath and composed herself, feeling the warm summer wind carry her hair. They'd gone for another swim that afternoon, and were watching the sun start to dip below the horizon. They would make it back before dark. Every once in a while, it was nice to watch the sun disappear--watch it leave without them, watch it escape the confines of the districts. Katniss wished she was the sun more days than not.

Sweat dripped down her forehead and between her breasts. The heat in July was brutal, made worse by having to wear pants and boots into the woods to hunt. With the bird wrapped in cloth and stuffed into her bag being the only promise of food that hung anywhere near the front of her nose. Or Gale's. Casting her eyes toward him, up and over at his gangly, tall figure, she couldn't help but feel sorry that they hadn't had a more bountiful kill to bring home. At least with a few more birds they could split them equally and share. Give some to their families. But all they were left with was one bird to sell and copious amounts of sweat blotting out their eyes. Katniss wiped her cheeks with her sleeve, at one point the heat getting so far into her head that she faltered, gripping to Gale's arm for a moment before regaining her balance. Just another mile or so.

The Hob was crowded and hot. Fumes clouded the air and smoke hung overhead, the smell of each person more rancid than the next. Her stomach knotted with hunger, and she pulled the bird from her bag and handed it to Greasy Mae, who bought it for 5. It was barely enough for a roll of bread--a squirrel would have been better, or a rabbit. But it was just a bird. Katniss handed the money to Gale. "Medicine for Vick," she said. "He needs it more than we do." She would find some way to feed Prim before sundown. There was still half the day left.

There was little chatter in District 12 as she and Gale walked to his house, her head down and eyes blinking away the sweat. She should have been more diligent about hunting. She should have picked some berries, taken some water, snagged a better kill--anything to help. But she hadn't. She had been sucked into the fun of swimming, how relaxing it had been and how cool the water was on her sun-kissed feverish skin. It wasn't enough anymore. She couldn't afford to slip up like that. And with the weather getting hotter and the Reaping getting closer, they would need all the extra sustenance they could manage.

Maybe tomorrow she could stop by the baker, work out a trade system. Might be worth a shot.

Katniss probably needed morphling, and there was no doubt that it would have made things a lot better for her. But she didn't like being out of her right mind. The morphling's effect on her was too reminescent of the tracker jackers from her first Arena. It made her feel vulnerable, weak. As burning and sharp as the pain was, as much as it made her want to scream, she refused the morphling. This time, the soldiers weren't around to force it on her, and the doctor's simply moved on to the next patient who didn't refuse help.

They'd given some to Haymitch hours ago, and he was still under from the medication, so Katniss had been left alone to her thoughts. Unfortunately, she wasn't thinking about much other than what a relief it would be to have whatever Haymitch had sent her in the silver parachute at her disposal once more. It had cleared the pain so quickly and so cleanly. She was sure it would have saved the doctors a lot of trouble.

But enduring this pain had been her choice, and she knew it.

Today was Sunday and, since their move to District 13, Sunday had become Katniss’s favorite day. Without training or an odd job to make more earnings for her small family, she was free to do what she wanted - and what she wanted was to be free. While their small town was an upgrade from their previous residence in District 12 and, despite the number of rules enforced within the town and compound, freedom had become much more plausible, the walls of District 13 only made the female feel as though she was only now within a larger cage. But, on Sundays, her wings were unclipped and, for at least a few hours, she was able to feel free; today, she would be hunting in the forest.

While the rules of District 13 stated that one was never to be in the forest without a companion, Katniss often stretched the rules just enough to keep herself within the confined lines of Coin’s watchful eye but allow herself alone time in her own personal sanctuary. Every Sunday, the brunette met with Gale Hawthorne - her close friend, hunting companion, and, most recently, fellow soldier - just after sunrise at the edge of the forest boundaries to collect their weekly rations of meat, berries, and herbs. But, on most Sundays, she could never wait until sunrise to enter the foliage that felt more home than anywhere else and today was no different.

With her father’s bow strung, a dozen or so arrows within her quiver, and her old hunting attire from District 12, Katniss quickly laced up her worn boots then silently stepped into the morning twilight. With precise steps and gentle footing, the archer gracefully made her way to the town’s border and, without detection, made her way into the trees.

As the crutch of leaves and twigs amplified beneath her leather boots, a  gentle sigh escaped over her slightly chapped lips as the tensions of the past week slowly left her mind. Closing her vibrant yet worn eyes in relaxation, the brunette’s senses took in everything they could from the seemingly untouched earth; from the familiar scents of dew-covered leaves and mossy soil to the sounds of ever present birds and wildlife. After a few minutes of travelling into the depths of the foliage, Katniss allowed her shoulders to lower as her body slowly came to a complete stop, reveling in white noise and natural scents of nature.

For what only felt like an instance, Katniss remained in this moment and stood completely still as she continued to take in all that she could around her. Only opening her eyes once the sun began to dance above the trees overhead, she gently regripped her bow then promptly turned back towards the town and made her way towards the place she and Gale always met. Excitement stirred within her stomach at the thought of her hunting companion, but her mind brushed off the feeling as redirected excitement for the hunting that was about to take place. He was her close friend, her only close friend, and she wanted nothing to change that. Even her own stomach could never change that… But, when the words, “I see you’ve been out early again, Catnip,” floated through the air, even the hardened female couldn’t help but allow the corners of her mouth to turn up ever so slightly.