5th Game [action/written]

[stillplaying]

[It's been five days since asking Peeta to spend the nights in her room again. In her bed. With arms wrapped around her tight at night. Words to comfort her when she wakes screaming in the night. It hasn't kept the nightmares away. Not completely. But they've been tamer. Not nearly as gruesome. Survivable. It's like the time spent on the Victory Tour all over again. Managing the darkness together. But this time, there's no Effie to disapprove.

And if it's not enough for Peeta, he doesn't say anything. Doesn't bring up loving her again. The star-crossed lovers of District Twelve. There's no mention of the facade they lived to appease Snow or the Capitol. And no mention of their recent hijacking. But still, sometimes, late at night, she can hear Haymitch's words. Telling her that she could do a whole lot worse. She shoves them away. Ignoring the advice. Whether anyone agrees or disagrees, this is a game. They're trapped in a game. And that's no time to dwell on feelings.

Morning comes. Six days after the end of the hijacking, the most recent shift - game. Whatever you want to call it. And like most mornings, it's spent in the woods. From the crack of dawn till noon, she's out in the woods despite the rainfall. Hunting and harvesting. She comes back, showers. And notices, with a slight grin, how she's gained some weight back. Small steps. But maybe Doctor Aurelius was right. Go through the motions, keep busy.



Today, when she enters the town proper, she doesn't bother covering up with a jacket. Doesn't care if the scars on her arms and hands show. Let them stare. She makes her way to the library without an umbrella. Wanders the aisles until finding the books she's looking for. Then she sets up camp at a table. The stack of books on one end, a pile of carefully obtained leaves and berries, flowers and roots on another. And in the middle sits her family's plant book.

If something is to happen to her, she doesn't want Peeta and Rue to have to depend on the food in the stores. Someone has to record these strange plants, mark whether they're edible or poisonous. Whether they have any medicinal uses. And what better place to record the information than within her plant book?

After a while, a thought occurs to her and she pauses. Takes out the journal. And in careful, neat handwriting, poses a question:]

Does anyone have a camera I could borrow?

Comments

[action]

[herd_effect]

[Strolling out from the stacks with a thick book on genetic engineering under one arm (that would probably look incredibly boring to anyone else, but hey, he's from a time where the mere structure of DNA isn't yet known), Willock regards Katniss' table of plants and books in interest. He spends a good portion of his free time in the library, but hasn't seen her around before, much less with this whole setup. Curious, he approaches her.]

What's all this for?

[written]

[emp3thy]

I have one.

[action]

[victorbychance]

[At home, whenever she gets there, Peeta has baked her freshly hunted game into a savory pie. Depending on how late she arrives, he and Rue might have already eaten. Either way, the boy himself is sitting on the couch, intently focusing on a sketch he's drawing from memory. It's of Effie, with an oddly serious expression on her face that not even her heavy make-up can hide.]

[action]

[vor]

[That morning, in the woods, Gregor is out riding. Katniss can almost certainly hear him long before she sees him ride in with practiced grace on a dark bay mare.]

[theoniongirl]

[for once, Jilly has an umbrella. It's not for herself, though. It's for the books she's carrying under her arm.

She's careful not to let the rain water drip on them as she steps inside the library, shifting her grip so that she can sidle in through the doors and close the umbrella without soaking the binding or pages. It leaves spots of water along her left sleeve, but she doesn't seem to mind. They're long sleeves, despite the increasing warmth of the weather.

Once her finished books have been dropped off, the umbrella swings from one wrist as she makes her way up and down the shelves. She's not looking for anything in particular today. Sometimes she pulls a book at random, regardless of the cover, and flips it open to read the book jacket...just to see what she comes across.

She's already collected a stack of interesting books when she catches sight of Katniss hard at work at one of the tables. She doesn't want to interrupt her, but if the girl looks up, she'll wave]

[Action]

[toujoursfluer]

[Robin looks up as the young woman searches nearby. These are books about plants and gardens, some more dangerous than others. Curious.]

You're dripping.

[action]

[moehealer]

[Yellow's on her way down to the lake (where she has been going quite a lot lately, thanks to the warming weather), mounted on a Dodrio, or what would appear to be some sort of three-headed ostrich... thing. She has her fishing rod in hand, along with a small umbrella. The latter is hardly even being put to use though.

So a few hours before noon, Katniss may hear some galloping noises out and about the forest as the girl in a straw hat makes her way through.]

written;

[alloys]

The question is, what do you need a camera for?

[He has one. For parts. Give him a good reason not to demolish it.]

[Written]

[lostinmyway]

I have a camera! [Have a cheerful aqua-haired woman beaming at you.] Would you like me to bring it to you?

[rutagraveolens]

[Rue also happens to be in the library that afternoon. Have no fear, Katniss, she brought an umbrella and wore a jacket, both items drip-drying at the front of the library. The girl from District Eleven has taken a liking to the library, full of all the topics she would never be able to read about back home. She's passing through with a small stack of picture books and young adult novels alike when she sees Katniss studying at the desk.

Quiet girl that she is, she walks over and peers over at the books and the pile of plants.]

That's a redcurrant. [Rue says, pointing at a small bunch of red berries.]

[Action]

[biteoffherhead]

[All who hunt in the forest will someday encounter Moro. Signs of her were around, in the strands of fur caught in the branches, the various territory markings, and most telling of her size... the enormous paw prints in the mud and softer soil.

She, too, is hunting today. But Moro intends to see this new hunter, and Katniss will see her standing and waiting for her. Time for introductions!]

You are amongst the humans that hunt.

[Written]

[perplexme]

Depends on what you're going to use it for and if you're going to give it back. It was kind of a present.