The Hunger Games - Peeta Mellark (1)

}24{ - Bone Dry

It took a while to explain the situation to Peeta.

How Foxface stole the food from the supply pile before Livia blew it up, how she tried to take enough to stay alive but not enough that anyone would notice it, how she wouldn't question the safety of berries they were preparing to eat themselves.

"I wonder how she found us", Peeta muttered, "My fault, I guess, if I'm as loud as you say."

They were about as hard to follow as a herd of cattle, but Livia tried to be kind, "And she's very clever, Peeta. Well, she was. Until you outfoxed her."

"Not on purpose. Doesn't seem fair somehow. I mean, we would have both been dead, too, if she hadn't eaten the berries first", He checked himself, "No, of course, we wouldn't. You recognized them, didn't you?"

Livia gave a nod, "We call them nightlock."

"Even the name sounds deadly", he huffed, "I'm sorry, Livia. I really thought they were the same ones you'd gathered."

"Don't apologize. It just means we're one step closer to home, right?" Livia asked.

"I'll get rid of the rest." Peeta started.

He gathered up the sheet of blue plastic, careful to trap the berries inside, and went to toss them into the woods.

"Wait!" Livia cried fing the leather pouch that belonged to Marvel and filled it with a few handfuls of berries from the plastic, "If they fooled Foxface, maybe they can fool Cato as well. If he's chasing us or something, we can act like we accidentally drop the pouch and if he eats them-"

"Then hello, home." Peeta finished.

"That's it." Livia said, securing the pouch to her belt.

"He'll know where we are now", Peeta explained, "If he was anywhere nearby and saw that hovercraft, he'll know we killed her and come after us."

Peeta was right.

It could be just the opportunity Cato had been waiting for.

But even if they ran now, there was the meat to cook and their fire would be another sign of their whereabouts.

"Let's make a fire. Right now." Livia began to gather branches and brush.

"Are you ready to face him?" Peeta asked.

"I'm ready to eat. Better to cook our food while we have the chance. If he knows we're here, he knows. But he also knows there's two of us and probably assumes we were hunting Foxface. That means you're recovered. And the fire means we're not hiding, we're inviting him here. Would you show up?" Livia asked.

"Maybe not." He admitted.

Peeta was a whiz with fires, coaxing a blaze out of the damp wood.

In no time, Livia had the rabbits and squirrel roasting- the roots, wrapped in leaves, baking in the coals.

They took turns gathering greens and keeping a careful watch for Cato, but as Livia anticipated, he didn't make an appearance.

When the food was cooked, Livia packer most of it up, leaving them each a rabbit's leg to eat as they walked.

Livia wanted to move higher into the woods, climb a good tree, and make camp for the night, but Peeta resisted, "I can't climb like you, Livia, especially with my leg, and I don't think I could ever fall asleep fifty feet above the ground."