2nd Game [action + voice]

[stillplaying]

[The rain has finally stopped. It comes as such a relief to Katniss, that she slips out of the treehouse village with her bow and arrows and hunting bag so very early in the morning - earlier than she's been awake in days.

It's been a whole day of exploring the woods. Gathering edible plants and resetting snares that were damaged by the storm. And just wandering. Wandering amongst the trees, sometimes climbing up one to get a better look of the area. Here, by the edge of the lake, she feels far enough from the town that she might actually be safe.

Safer, at least, than in those past few days. Maybe she spent too much time in the treehouse after that gathering. Too much time alone with memories and thoughts that made her heartsick. Nightmares that here, something will happen to Rue, something she won't be able to stop - just like she couldn't stop that District 1 boy from spearing her in arena. Lost days that she tried to hide so she wouldn't worry Rue.

But today? Today she almost feels like herself. Especially after a whole morning's and afternoon's worth of hunting and gathering. If you've been in the forest near the western lake today, there's a chance you might have run into her.

Maybe she hasn't been as successful as she's been in the past, but her bag still speaks of some results. A wild turkey she shot early afternoon, herbs and roots gathered not too far from the lake, and a couple of small squirrels from her snares. They weigh her down and she considers returning to the treehouses, but she doesn't want to leave the sanctuary of the forest. Not yet.

A flash of yellow catches her eye and she turns, arrow notched in it's string. And then it meows, indignant, and her arrow flies to land in the dirt right next to the beast.

She stares. And scowls.




A while later, she's back in her treehouse room and glaring at the stupid creature that followed her home. Of everyone to find here from District 12, of course it has to be Buttercup.

She reaches for the journal to ask a question.]

Has anyone else here found a pet from home?

Comments

[ voice ]

[herotypical]

It's...been known to happen.

[voice]

[stillplaying]

[They had just been learning how to live with each other before she wound up here. And in some ways, it had been easier these past couple of weeks not to have him around. Because he'll always be a reminder of her.]

Can you send them back?

[voice]

[herotypical]

W-wait. What? You have one and you wanna send it back?

Really?

[Voice]

[shadedsunlight]

I have a dog from home.

[Voice]

[stillplaying]

[There's a glance in Buttercup's direction. Oh, he's a good mouser. But it's not like there are many rodents in a treehouse. A dog: now that's a useful animal.]

So it's common?

voice

[thestormishere]

[ Offhandedly, as if the speaker is only half-turned toward her journal: ]

Yeah. There's quite a few here.

[voice]

[stillplaying]

How do they get here?

[Although she's suspecting the better question should be 'why?']

[geniustheveil]

My fish are here, and Rei-chan's pet ravens.

[stillplaying]

[That's the most ridiculous thing she's heard in her life.]

Fish aren't pets.

[emp3thy]

It's normal.

I have the dog we looked after.

[stillplaying]

[She's starting to get that sense. But what she doesn't understand is why? Why Buttercup? Why any pet? How's that going to help someone survive this place?]

Do you know why?

[voice]

[all7seas]

Ugh. Aye, little huntress -- a monkey. Bloody horrible squeaking filthy monkey.

He's gone, now, praise the stars.

[voice]

[stillplaying]

[Little huntress? Well, it's better than Catnip. And sweetheart.

But once again, the strange (and somewhat infuriating) man is giving her helpful information whether he realizes it or not. Even as she tries not to let the memory of monkeys bother her too much.]

Where'd he go?

[arturius]

One of my horses followed me here soon after I arrived.

[stillplaying]

[Horses. As in plural. That one word has Katniss looking at this boy in a whole new way. He had seemed normal enough when they last talked. But if he even had one horse, back home in District 12, he'd be someone of value.

Well off. And she can't help but heckle him a little about it.]

Just the one?

[ action ]

[fuckthemission]

[She may find that some of the more simplistic traps set near the river are corrected; this is because this guy here hasn't much to do while he's taking a trip out to the western lake... though he didn't exactly expect anyone to wander back to fix them, actually.

He has fond memories of oceans and lakes, and despite his city life he was fond of fishing, hunting--spent a lot of good times lounging around them before he moved to Sacramento when he was a boy. Even then, the trips to the dingy lakes nearby proved surprisingly relaxing. It's why he's sitting at the edge of one, lost in thought with a line thrown out and a few fish already caught.

He's yet to notice any footsteps or sound of foliage, not at the moment, with his head so in the clouds.]

[ action ]

[stillplaying]

[When she first sees the corrected traps, she thinks of Gale. She thinks of that time, a few months after their first encounter in the woods, as their friendship grew. It's something he would do. Fix her snares when she wasn't looking to have her figure out what she did wrong after it successfully caught them game.

She kneels by the third one, in the weeds by the river, eying the work with caution. It's not Gale's work. No, she'd know that like she'd know her own. Which means she doesn't have to worry, doesn't have to scare herself with thoughts of seeing him again. Because it's easier to keep him in District 2, far away and in a place where she doesn't have to feel anything at all.

She draws an arrow as she stands, looking around cautiously. Whoever fixed the traps might still be here. And she doesn't want him or her getting any closer to the tree houses.]

[Action]

[blessedbyfarore]

[...Okay, so it's definitely still too cold to go swimming.]

[After drying off in the sun (okay, cloud, but it's still a welcome change after five straight days of rain), Link wrings his hat out (blue, this time) and readjusts the sword on his back before starting back to the village - not in any particular hurry, and he doesn't spot Katniss until he's a bit closer.]

Oh - hi!

[Action]

[stillplaying]

[Her arrow was drawn back in the bow the second she had heard the footsteps. By the time she comes into the boy's view, she's facing him and ready to shoot.

But as a form of intimidation more than anything else. She doesn't know him. Doesn't trust him. And until she knows he's not a threat, the arrow stays drawn.]

Hello.

[ voice ]

[markofthebrave]

Yes. Although it was more like he found someone else who gave out a call to get him out of her hair.

[ voice ]

[stillplaying]

You got rid of him?

[Action]

[rutagraveolens]

[Rue sleeps in a little later, or at least as late as her nightmares will allow her too. They're little things, flashes of memories. The fire, the cannons, mostly the Boy from District One, the net. She wakes up once, tangled up in her blanket, and tries not to cry.

She notices Katniss is gone and does her part to help around; she tidies up, explores the region and picks from plants and berries she recognizes, raids a bird's nest for some eggs.

But later on, if Katniss is still worried about Rue, then she doesn't have to worry much longer as she picks up a shadow. Rue sits up in a tree, almost playing a game as she waits to see how long it takes for Katniss to notice her.]

[Action]

[stillplaying]

[For a while now, she's known she's being followed. And this time, she doesn't need Peeta to point out her shadow. There's only one girl she knows who can climb trees like that, flying from branch to branch even without the aid of her little yellow wings.

She's let her follow for a while now, not wanting to disappoint Rue by catching her too soon. And besides, it's almost like a game. A little game that's far more pleasant than the bigger ones they both played.

After a while though, she does whistle. Their four-note mockingjay call. So Rue knows she hasn't been ignored.]

[voice]

[fabrecation]

Yeah... A couple of them, actually.

[voice]

[stillplaying]

I've gotten the sense of that.