Kindling the Spark

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, Catching Fire or Mockingjay. These wonderful books are property of Suzanne Collins.

1: Home

Katniss POV

A few months have passed since I came back to District 12 since the Hunger Games. At first it was a bit chaotic, but now I've settled down into a routine. Wake up, breakfast. Talk with family, visit Gale. Go and hunt, come back for lunch. Sell at the Hob. Teach a poor kid from the Seam, Melanie, how to hunt. Dinner time. Spend the evening with my family.

As I exit the house to go to train Melanie, I catch sight of Gale. He is leading Rory out of the house, probably to the woods. I wish Prim would learn to hunt, so she could feed herself if I die, but she won't. Prim is too caring to do that, even to animals. I don't really want to take that away from her, it's part of what makes Prim Prim.

I run down to my old house, an agreed meeting place for Melanie and I. I only have to wait a few minutes before she turns up. Her head bobs around the corner, dark hair flopping in her face. She has the typical seam look, just like Gale and I. Slim, muscular figure, dark hair, grey-blue eyes. She has a bow strapped over her back and is wearing suitable clothes for hunting.

"Katniss," she greets breathlessly. "Sorry I'm late, lunch went on for longer than expected."

I brush off her apology with a simple, "are you ready to go hunting?" Her eyes light up and she nods eagerly. I can tell that she likes hunting a lot, not just because of the food. She just seems more powerful and at peace in the woods. I remember the feeling, when I first started hunting.

The satisfaction when I made my first kill with the bow and arrow, the power I felt as my skills began to improve. It isolated me from others my age, but it was worth the sacrifice. Being in the woods just makes me feel more free, more aware. Like nothing really matters but the heat of the moment, where nobody is watching.

She bounds after me and ducks through the fence wires easily. I lead her a way into the woods and tell her to listen. That's one of the most important things to do whilst hunting. To be aware of the environment. I hear the crunch of leaves and immediately tense up. I nock an arrow instinctively.

That's not something that happened before. This is the lingering instincts from the Hunger Games, where being unprepared or hesitating could get you killed. I keep the arrow ready, but gesture with my head that Melanie should take the shot. Melanie nocks an arrow easily, a large contrast to her clumsy movements a few months ago.

She steadies the arrow and lets it fly towards the area of the rustling. I hear a bit more rustling. She missed. Without thinking, I release my arrow, hitting a squirrel directly through the eye. Melanie looks very disappointed with her failure. I head towards the kill and pick it up.

"That was a good try," I tell Melanie. "But for now, you need to aim more before shooting. Make sure you know exactly where the animal is. It takes a lot of practice to shoot instinctively like I did." Her face falls slightly. I know that she wanted to become as good as Gale and I with bows and arrows quickly.

We continue hunting for a while and Melanie catches a rabbit on her own. I manage to catch another two squirrels and a blackbird. The prey that doesn't go to Melanie's family at the end of the day is given to other hungry families in the Seam. This has made us some of the most popular people in Twelve.

The feeling is quite odd. I was always respected in the Hob, partly because of my game and partly because of my father. But being known all over the District, and being loved for defying the Capitol is different. It doesn't feel right and it makes it hard to know who likes you for you or for your money or reputation.