𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 ☘︎ 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞

𝐌𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐉𝐀𝐘 ☘︎ 6

I sat in my compartment alone, playing with my fingers and the pearl, when Gale entered. "Still playing with that, huh?" He asked me.

I raised my eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"Willow..." He begins.

"What?" I cross my arms.

"It's fine," he shakes his head. "I just... I don't know why you-"

"Why I keep playing with it?" I ask, holding up the pearl. "It's alright for you! You have Katniss! And Rory has Prim! Whereas I'm here with a little pearl, clinging to it because it's the only thing I have left of him-"

"Okay, okay," Gale holds his hands up. "I just came to tell you the good news, that's all."

"Well, you've sort of ruined it," I say bluntly.

"Coin's agreed to let us hunt above ground."

I looked at him in glee.

☘︎☘︎☘︎

After a quick detour to fetch Katniss, they got bows, I got axes and we got taken outside.

"Be back in an hour," Boggs instructed us. He muttered something to Gale and gave him a watch. Well, I thought it was a watch, but apparently it'll beep whenever Gale needs to be somewhere.

We trek through the woods that are on the outskirts of Thirteen, trying to find some game. Whatever we catch has to go back to the kitchens, but it's still worth it.

We gasp as we come across a deer. A stag. The antlers are tall and majestic and its coat is glossy and beautiful. I raise my axe at it and go to shoot-

It turns its head towards me and doesn't run. I slowly put my axe down. "It's not even afraid of us."

"They've never been hunted before," Gale says by way of explanation. "It's almost cruel."

It is.

We leave the stag alone and gather. By the time fifty minutes is up, we have a selection of greens, some strawberries, a few fish and some game.

We sit by the river, me cleaning my axes and them their arrows. Katniss leans her head on Gale's shoulder and makes my heart ache like anything for Austin.

Katniss offers to take the game and greens up to the kitchens so Gale and I walk back to Thirteen in silence. We enter the empty dining hall and see the TV on.

And Austin on it with Ceasar Flickerman.

"She was arguably our favourite tribute," Ceasar rants on. "You know, what I find most astonishing is that this girl was adored in the Capitol. And I think for you, Austin, it must be particularly painful."

The camera goes to Austin. He's looking down, with a pained look on his face. There's a white rose in his hand, and he mutters under his breath just then. "I wish I could give this rose to you, Willow."

"He's changed so much already, what are they doing to him?" I ask my brother. He stays silent behind me.

"A sweet gesture for a girl who inspired so much violence," Ceasar rips me apart in a few sentences. "You must love her very much to be able to forgive her. I don't think that I could."

He pauses as I put my hand over my face at the sight of Austin. Ceasar goes on as if he's revealing a huge secret. "Unless of course, Austin, that you think she's being forced to say things that's she doesn't even understand."

Austin looks up at the camera. "Yeah. Yeah, that's exactly what I think."

"Even his voice sounds different," tears appear in my eyes. Gale stands behind me, his expression impassive.