the girl who played with knives || clato ✔️

25

Cato

After we got back to the cornucopia, we pulled out tents and sleeping bags and slept until morning, then set out again.

Today was extremely uneventful. We'd been wandering around in the woods looking for Katniss and maybe Thresh, but we'd found nothing but a few wild animals. This time Clove and Marina had stayed with Lover Boy at the cornucopia, and I'd gone with One for hunting.

"Let's take a break here," Glimmer says as we reach a small stream.

"'Kay," I mutter and go to the water to freshen up a bit. Marvel wanders off to go to the bathroom and Glimmer eyes me wearily from her spot leaning against a nearby tree. I kneel by the water and rinse my face and neck, all the while aware of Glimmer's eyes on my back.

"I know your plan, and we will find you and kill you if you run off with your little harem," she finally says.

I ignore the harem part and say, "Why'd you let us all go yesterday?"

She pauses. "A test. Why didn't you leave?"

I think about my answer for a minute. I could tell the truth, or I could act like we'd given up on our plan. Then the moment's passed and I've waited too long for anything I say to be completely believable. Instead, I finish rinsing my face, stand, and dry it on my shirt. I wonder what the people back in the Capitol are thinking about this conversation, as we are surely getting a lot of screentime if there's not some other fight going on somewhere.

"Hey, guys, what do you think about just going back and having an off day? I mean, there's really no need to hurry," Marvel says as he walks up to us, unaware of Glimmer's threats. I wonder for a moment if she's even told him about our plan.

"Marvel, the reason to hurry is because we can get out of here faster," Glimmer says snottily.

"We?"

"Me."

"You?" I break in with a snort.

"Don't underestimate me, Cato. I am far more powerful than you think," Glimmer snaps icily. Sure.

"Let's just go. Marvel's right," I say evenly.

So we start to make our way back to the cornucopia; back to my 'little harem'.

Clove

"So... how... are you?" I ask Marina. We've been sitting by the lake with Peeta for a few minutes. Cato and the others left a few hours ago and since then we'd been sorting through the supplies more thoroughly, and had decided to take a break.

"Honestly?... I don't even know," Marina starts and takes a sip from her canteen of water from the cornucopia. "It's strange... if almost doesn't feel real yet. I suppose it'll hit me soon enough... that I'm probably..." She stops and stares off into the distance. I move my eyes from her to a bird flying low over the water.

"Did it hit you?" I ask, as we turn back to each other. Her eyes are moist, but if she's about to cry she's hiding it pretty well.

"Yeah," she says and gives me a sad smile. "I wish it... I wish we could all make it out."

"Me, too."

"Me, too," Marina and I both look over at Peeta, surprised he'd spoken. "I... I just want to make sure the Games don't change me. But I want to make it out, too. I wish I could do both, but... like Glimmer said, it's the Hunger Games," he says slowly. I think about his words for a while before speaking.

"Could I ask you a question, Peeta?" I ask.

"I guess," he says, picking at a piece of grass.

"Why are you helping us find Katniss? I thought you were in love with her."

He doesn't answer. I study his face, looking for some sign of... something. He's completely unreadable. A cool breeze brushes through the trees and lifts my hair, and I notice a beautiful blue butterfly making its way slowly towards us. The insect flutters over and lands on Peeta's outstretched fingers. It rests for a few seconds before flying off again. Peeta looks as if he might say something, but instead looks behind us towards the cornucopia. Marina and I follow his gaze to see Cato, Glimmer, and Marvel approaching.

"Clove! Marina! Get over here!" Glimmer shouts at us. "You, too, Lover Boy!" I frown at her use of Cato's nickname for Peeta and rise, alongside Marina and Peeta.
When we reach the others, Marina asks why they've come back so early. We'd agreed on meeting at dusk like before.

"We decided to come back because nothing was happening. And we found this on the way back!" Glimmer says. She sounds exited about something. I look down at her hands, which are clutching a small silver container attached to a silver parachute: a sponsor gift.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Cato said we should wait until we were all together," Glimmer says.

"Yeah," Cato says, taking the container from Glimmer. He twists it and it pops open, revealing...

"What is that?" Marina asks and reaches over to take the container. Inside, there is a small bag of white powder.

"I... don't know," Marvel says, taking the bag from Marina. He holds it up and we all study it. A tiny thought tugs at the back of my mind. I recognize this powder, but from where? Marina gasps.

"Rat poison!" She exclaims.

"Of course!" A memory surfaces. "We used it a lot back in Two."

"But... why would they send us..." Cato trails off, because he realizes why we've been sent poison. And I do, too. And Marina, and Marvel, and Glimmer especially. Because they know we're planning to split up.