The Angel of Death || Peeta Mellark x Reader

I'm Only Me When I'm With You

I made my way through the forest, leaving two bodies in my midst. I didn't know what I would do if the Careers came for me for killing Marvel, I was all by myself now. I certainly didn't trust anyone like I trusted Rue, not even Foxface. What was I going to do? I found a nearby tree to lean against, and I buried my head between my thighs. I was all alone.

No I wasn't, I have Peeta!

It was like electricity jolted through my body just at the thought of him. What did Rue say about him? Down by the far end of the lake? But it was already getting dark, and I couldn't afford to go searching in new territory when it was this late out. 

I decided to visit the blackberry bush that Rue had shown me earlier to collect a little bit of food before I went to bed. But it turns out, I wouldn't need the berries anyways. After I finished collecting a decent amount of berries and carefully storing them in my backpack, a heard the familiar sound of a gift. 

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I looked up at the sky, confused. I didn't know why Haymitch would bother sending me anything, I was fine right now, surprisingly.

I grabbed the small, metallic capsule and opened it up to find a loaf of bread. But I didn't recognize it from my district, it looked different in a way. Once I picked it up, I saw a tiny symbol carved onto it, the number '11'. And then I knew. It was from Rue's district.

I started down at the food in disbelief. These people barely had enough money to provide for themselves, why would they be sending me a luxury like bread? It's a tribute, for Rue's death, maybe a thank you of sort, just like my salute was. 

Tears swelled up in my eyes for the millionth time today, and I looked up at the sky. I knew there was a camera near me, recording my every moment, so I issued a thanks to District 11.

"Thank you, I know how much this means".

I took a small bite of the bread, along with a handful of blackberries I had picked, and smiled in utter bliss. Sure, the extravagant Capitol meals were delicious, but it was rarities like this that really made my day. 

——————

After the small meal I had for dinner, I looked around at the vast forest surrounding me. I was indecisively trying to find a tree to sleep in, but I didn't know where to even start. I needed Rue for things like this, showing me what to do. 

Eventually, I found a medium sized tree with evenly spaced out branches, and began to climb. I was terrified of falling, especially since the entirely of my left arm was practically useless. A couple times, my feet slipped from underneath me and I almost plummeted to the ground, but I held my grip. How did Rue make this look so easy?

I finally reached a suitable height, not too high that I struggled to reach it, and not too low to make me stand out to other tributes, but right in the middle. I took the blanket out of my bag, and it distantly smelled of Rue. I couldn't bring myself to put it over my freezing body yet. 

I tied a decent knot across my waist with the rope, securing me to the branch I was perched on, and looked up at the sky. It was time again where I saw the faces of the fallen tributes. My heart hurt knowing that I would see little Rue's face up there tonight.

The first face that appeared was Marvel, glaring down at me. Guilt flooded my mind as I stared back at his picture, imagining what his family thought right now. His mother and father probably expected him to come home, maybe he even had a girlfriend that was praying every night for him to return safely. And I killed him. 

Then, the little boy from District 3 appeared. He must have died right after Foxface blew up the Careers' supplies. I didn't even want to imagine how he died.