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》︎✳︎✳︎✳︎《︎︎
DEVYN JOLTED AWAKE with a gasp once the first cannon went off, soon being followed by eight more. It had been not even an hour of rest, but she was still much more energized than she was before. That meant that all the fighting by the Cornucopia had finally stopped. That's when Cato crossed her mind for the first time since the gong went off.
He was certainly still alive, no doubt, but she hadn't seen much of him since last night. She couldn't believe that less than 24 hours ago, she and Cato were kissing under the moonlight of The Capitol. She had only seen him boarding his hovercraft and caught a glimpse of him slitting the boy from District six's throat. He had lived up to his threat. But other than that, she had no sign of him or any other tribute for that matter.
Not one soul had walked past her tree or at least been loud enough to wake her up. It was quickly turning into late afternoon as Devyn recapped everything she now had memory of since passing out over an hour before. She hadn't seen Leighton or where he had gone, but she assumed he went to the comforting woods as well. She remembered seeing Peeta sprint towards the forests the minute the gong went off, closely followed by Rue, who had a backpack over her shoulders.
Rue.
She knew the little girl must be somewhere in the trees because everywhere on the ground wasn't safe, especially for her. She also knew how slick Rue could be, and she had to be careful if she wanted to find the girl and not frighten her. But right now, Devyn couldn't focus on making alliances until she had water.
She untied herself from the tree and reassembled her backpack before crawling down a few branches and shuffling until she went to the end of one. She knew what she was doing was dangerous, and if she were to fall, she would die in an instant as a few workers would occasionally do back in seven, but she trusted herself and her abilities. She jumped to the next tree, her hands digging into the sides as she climbed up the trunk and secured herself on a branch.
She moved to the opposite side and jumped to the next one. She did it again and again and again for the next three and a half hours, only taking a few breaks in between. Of course, with all the physical activity, she was both sweating from the heat and in exhaustion, but she knew once she found water that it'd be worth it. She considered walking a few times, but she knew that once the careers had a base set up down by the lake and were back to their regular nourishment, they would go hunting for tributes.
After another hour, she layed down to rest, opening her first pack of fruit and taking a few dried apples and pears before sealing it back up. Her throat had begun to grow dry, and she was covered in so much sweat her hands started to become slippery. A particular jump had her gasping for air as she leaned against the bark. It was now turning dark, and she couldn't handle going any further, so she pushed her thirst aside and found a sturdy tree where she tied herself up and began falling back asleep.
