Dew of the Sea [Finnick Odair]

[16. Follow Through]

Day Eight

Rosemary

They waited until after breakfast to move. While Xavier and Kyler went to check the snares they had set the night before, Rosemary wandered around, brushing snow aside to look for edible plants. The snow in the arena continued to fascinate her; it didn't melt, it wasn't made out of water, and it didn't change, yet it was wet, ice cold, and packable. It also hid a lot of vegetation underneath its thick, white coat; she didn't know if other Tributes had figured that out yet but she begrudgingly thought it was clever of the Gamemakers to hide something so obvious in front of them.

Rosemary gathered dandelion greens, pokeweed, and she even found some blackberries. With enough to feed all four of them, she started on her way back to her brother. She only walked a hundred feet away, tops, so it didn't take her long to get back. Xavier and Kyler were already back as well, showing Rye the two squirrels their snares had caught.

Rye looked no better in sunlight. He was still sickly, still pale, and it looked like it took him all of his strength to even sit up and eat. Rosemary fussed over him like a mother hen, feeding him medicine and more healing herbs, before joining Xavier to make a fire. Kyler skinned the squirrels while they got it lit up, and soon they were balancing the meat over the fire.

"Do we need to cook this stuff?" Kyler asked about the dandelions and pokeweed.

"The dandelion greens you can eat raw," Rosemary pointed them out, separating the pokeweed from the greens. "The pokeweed, however, needs to be cooked or you could get sick."

Kyler made a face, one that told Rosemary that he was simultaneously impressed with her knowledge, while still being annoyed about the fact they'd have to cook the plants. Rosemary used one of the metal containers that had come down in a sponsor's gift as a makeshift pot to cook in when there was nothing else to use in the arena, filling it with water and the plants she had gathered, and put it on the fire. They all ate some berries as their food cooked and then it wasn't long before they were digging into their modest meal of roasted squirrel and boiled plants.

It's better than nothing, Rosemary reminded herself. It's better than a hungry stomach.

Rosemary got Rye to drink a whole extra canteen of water before they moved on so that he would stay hydrated. After refilling it, they started walking deeper into the mountains to find a place for Rye to hide during their plan. The four of them whispered amongst themselves–though Rye wasn't in his usual talking mood, rightfully–as Xavier and Kyler carried Rye between them until they found a little cave that looked suitable enough for a hideout.

Once they checked to see that nothing was living inside of the cave, they started to make Rye a comfortable place to rest. Rosemary laid her parka over him once he was settled and smoothed the damp hair away from his sweltering forehead. His fever just wasn't going away.