Rose on Fire

Chapter 47

Katniss POV)
I grab the object off the ground, it's the bow Beetee designed for me during the rebellion. Greasy Sae's bloody handprint shows that when she died she was most likely trying to bring me my bow so I could help save the people of 12. I quickly try to forget what I could have done, and how many lives I could have saved. I run back to Peeta with the bow, his face still pale white from seeing Greasy Sae. I direct my eyes to Peeta's deep blue ones, and he does to same. We go back inside, I grab whatever arrows I can find from the house, I see one of my old bows and decide to give it to Gale, I grab the biggest sharpest kitchen knives I can find, and then go to where Peeta and I keep the gardening tools which we barely use. I find an ax, and a shovel with an edge sharp enough to put a hurtin on somebody. I turn around to see Prim, and my mothers gardening gloves, I smile at the memory of them planting herbs for medicines, and special occasion meals. I here a noise, and turn to the small window to find Buttercup at probably his worst state, chunks of hair missing flea ridden, covered in mad and blood that does not belong to him, a few cuts all around him, a bullet hole in his ear that looks to be infected. He has some glass in his front right paw, and a limp in his back left that must be the cause of more glass. I put on my mother's gardening gloves, and an old apron that Peeta never uses anymore. I carry Buttercup to the downstairs bathroom, and find the tweezers and disinfectant rub my mother and Prim made a while ago. I start first by carefully picking the glass and thorns out of his paws, then kill whatever fleas and ticks I can, then I start a bath and search around for anything that would kill the rest of the bugs, I know Prim always washed him with it, and it was mandatory we clean him with it in 13. I finally come up with a flea and tick killing shampoo, and a pill he can take to get rid of them. I question myself why I'm doing this, I've always hated it, and I remember almost killing him for food a few years ago, but now I realize I only love him because he's one of the last things I have left of Prim. I finally finish bathing him, and patching up his wounds. I cut out all the knots, and brush all the tangles out of his hair. He purrs happily and rubs against me lovingly. I leave him in a towel bundled up while I go to grab a blanket. I look outside one of the windows as I pass to see Peeta, and Gale digging a grave for Greasy Sae, I see Johanna using the ax I found to make a headstone out of a huge chunk of firewood I bought at the market a while ago. Peeta must have seen the stash of weapons I was creating and split them up for everyone. I grab the blanket and then grab the now almost back to normal Buttercup. I go to the feeling the last puff of cold it has in it. I find some raw ground beef I know with the power out I can't cook it, but I know Buttercup will be just fine without it being cooked. So then I go to join Greasy Sae's funeral.