Forbearance • A Cato Hadley Story

1.17

The next day was a bit more cheerful for the trio. Not to say that any of them were happy but they weren't as down in the dumps as they had been the night prior. But the two males were certainly in a better mood than Livia had been. She was still quite distraught over her friend's death and hadn't spoken a word all morning. Every once and a while Cato would pull her into a tight, comforting hug to let her know that he was there and that she wasn't alone but it had little to no effect on her.

It was around noon in the arena and the three were scavenging for other tributes, hoping one would cross paths with them and bring them one step closer to returning to their families. Marvel and Cato walked ahead of the blonde girl, each with their weapons readied in hand. Behind them, Livia trudged along the forest ground, pulling groups of leaves with her feet as she walked. After ten minutes of walking the trio heard a rustling not too far to their right.

"Hello?" the muscular boy called out, although to his avail there was no response to his call. The teens stopped abruptly, looking around frantically for a sign of whatever had made the rustle above them. In the silence the girl heard a second rustle in the trees. Her eyes instantly shot up into the trees and caught sight of something black climbing through the branches, somewhat out of sight.

If she hadn't specifically been looking for whatever made the noise she probably wouldn't have caught it. Someone was in the trees. Someone was hiding in the branches, keeping them hidden from people on the ground below. But they weren't hidden well enough. "Hey! Get your ass down here or I'll shoot!" the small girl yelled at whatever tribute was in the plethora of trees. There was a long rustle of leaves after the girl spoke and the trio stood their ground, waiting for the tribute to reveal themselves.

Moments later a loud thump came from behind the trunk of a tree the three stood in front of. Slowly the girl walked around the tree with her bow and arrow lifted to her face, ready to shoot. It was the boy from District Three. He was slightly taller than Livia and had dark brown hair that was shaped into a slight bowl-cut type hairstyle. The boy was quite thin and was clearly scared of the three careers. The girl didn't know much about him but she was well aware that he was very smart coming from District Three.

From her peripheral vision, she could see Cato readying his sword opposite of her. "Cato, wait!" the girl called, putting her free hand out, signaling for him to stop. The boy looked at her furiously, not understanding her idea. "Marvel, watch him for a second." she said pointing to the boy. Marvel stayed quiet but didn't question the blonde and stepped over to the boy from Three, not taking his eyes off of him. Livia nodded to her left- Cato's right- and gestured for him to follow her.

The pair walked a few yards away from Marvel and the boy. Once they were a good distance away from the other two the muscular boy wrapped an arm around the girl's waist lightly so he could pull her close enough to whisper without the boy from Three hearing. "Liv, what are you doing?" he asked, showing his anger towards the girl. Livia, although she could almost feel his anger, felt her stomach twist slightly at his touch but pushed the feeling away as it wasn't the time for her to let her feelings take over.

"He's smart, Cato. His only ally is dead and he's clearly scared so he wouldn't try to pull anything. Not to mention there's a good supply by the lake that he could help us protect so no one can get to it. So we use him now and kill him when we don't need him anymore." she explained to him in a whisper, praying she wouldn't be heard. The boy looked at her, mentally thinking over her plan. He agreed with the idea. And if the boy messed up, they'd kill him.

At the same time, they had made the same mistake with Peeta. But whether the plan worked or not, they still ended up with a dead tribute and one step closer to going back home. With a sigh the boy nodded and led her over to where the other two were. Cato was the first to speak to the boy. "Okay, listen. You're gonna help us. If you fuck us over like Baker Boy did, you're dead. Got it?" he asked. Well, it was less of a question and more of a demand but either way, the boy nodded his head violently.

Marvel then grabbed the short boy by the upper arm and the group started heading for the open field by the lake. Livia had already taken the spear from the boy so he would have no way of harming any of the careers. By the time they had reached the field by the lake, the sun was starting to find its way out of the sky and the moon started to find its way in.

Since they didn't exactly trust the boy to keep any sort of weapon just yet the group agreed that Cato would keep watch that night. The four gathered next to a tree where Cato could sit comfortably and keep watch. When it was Peeta no one bothered to think about whether or not he was comfortable, but Cato was a friend. So they would make an exception.

The four tributes settled by the trunk of a tree which Cato sat against. Marvel laid over to the right of Cato, Livia to the left, and the boy from Three who, the careers later learned was named Jackson, laid a few feet in front of the three. As they settled down, Livia slid on her jacket as the wind picked up, causing her to shiver. With no hesitation Cato wrapped his left arm around the girl's waist and pulled her legs over his so he could warm her up a bit.

The girl didn't have to think twice as she rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled up to him. She wasn't one to be all sappy like she was at the moment but she was cold. That was all. Or at least that wass what she told herself. The boy's right arm then wrapped around the other side of her and held her closer as he laid his head on top of hers, in hopes of comforting the girl who was slowly falling asleep already.

She was drained. Not only physically but emotionally too. She wanted to end it right there and just get it over with. But she had to push for her sister. Tiredly, the blonde wrapped her arms around the tall boy's arms and pulled him a little closer. "Goodnight, Cato." she whispered just as she let sleep envelope her.