Kindred

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Katniss watched the children playing on the streets of the Village through her bedroom window. The rain had stopped a couple of hours previous and almost immediately the kids came out to play games outside. Some of them must have been the medic's children, for they had small idiosyncrasies that showed that they were Capitol born. Whether it be a lilt to their vowels or a pattern tattooed to their arms (yes, some of these kids were below the age of ten and had tattoos), there was always something that made them stand out.

But the other kids didn't care.

There's that saying that no one is born a racist. It's true. If a baby was born white but wasn't raised by anyone black, until they are taught that being black is something to judge a person on-which it obviously isn't-then they will believe that they are just like them. Which ultimately, they are. It's how they're raised; what their parents tell them that ultimately define how they treat people.

The kids on the streets were all below the age of twelve. Below reaping age. They were still developing. They didn't know enough about the rebellion or the Capitol to treat the medics' children any differently to those from their own District. All they knew was that they were children and they wanted to play with them. And the more the merrier.

Katniss watched the children for a while. She didn't know what to make of it. The innocence that came hand in hand with these youngsters' ability to play without cause of worry made her feel like maybe there was faith in humanity after all. But to admit something like that to herself would mean having to also admit that if faith could be restored, so could life. Katniss wasn't sure if she was ready to restore her life completely just yet. One step forward, two steps back.

Willow had taken more baby steps than Katniss had.

Leevy appeared from around the corner. Katniss suddenly remembered what she had told Haymitch. That if Leevy came looking for her then he could come and look after Willow while Peeta continued to rest. Katniss moved away from the window and crossed her room to the phone that rested on her bedside table. She picked up the receiver and held it to her ear, dialling the number to Haymitch's house.

"Hello?" her mentor gruffly replied.

"Leevy is heading my way if you want to come to look after Willow," Katniss told him.

"I'll be over in a jiffy, sweetheart," Haymitch answered.

As Katniss put the phone down, she was struck-not for the first time-by how odd it was that Haymitch was so willing to look after Willow. Katniss would have thought he hated children, after the countless amount he had sent to their deaths when he was supposed to be 'mentoring' them.

It was very odd.

Katniss pulled on a jacket and pulled on a pair of trainers. She glanced out the window and saw Leevy looking at the picture of the boys-he had pink hair with gold tips-had drawn. She was talking to him like she had known the kid all his life. Katniss wished that being sociable came as easily to her as it did to others like Leevy. She wished she could say that she would be capable of showing interest in what the children were doing, but ultimately she couldn't. She just . . . couldn't.

Katniss went into Peeta's room to tell him that she was going out. "Haymitch is coming over to look after Willow," she told him.

Peeta nodded. The forty eight hours without sleep were beginning to take their toll on him. For the whole day he had pretty much just laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. Willow was sleeping in her basket by his bed. If she had started crying, Katniss would have heard it in her room and would have come to help.

"Do you need anything before I go?" Katniss asked. "An ice pack or some water?"

"I'm fine," Peeta replied, so exhausted that every word dragged out slowly.