Willow and Rye

One

The cool water feels amazing on my swollen feet that I'm using to dig up katniss in the mud. My large expanded stomach makes it much harder to retrieve the tubers from the small lake, but I manage. Peeta steps out of the small stone cabin and offers me a mug of steaming pine needle tea. The game we caught today, or rather, Peeta caught as he's been setting all the traps because I can't exactly bend over at the moment, is roasting over the crackling fire inside the small cabin.

The woods are as peaceful and calming as ever and after all these years of games and war, they finally feel like home again. It feels like Gale and I could be out hunting on a warm Sunday afternoon, just the way we used to. Of course, I dont see Gale much these days as he keeps himself busy in District Two, but it's a nice thought. I've got a new hunting partner now, and we're just as successful in our endeavors as Gale and I ever were, maybe more so now that hardly anyone lives in two. The small animals aren't scared away from the fence from the sound of the bustling District anymore. It's much more quiet. The silence drives me mad, so Peeta and I fill the empty air with anything we can think to talk about.

"You know, we should really get you a net." Peeta sighs, looking down at my feet that are still digging for katniss in the mud.

"It might be easier to get them out of the water." I agree with a sigh. Pulling my feet from the water.

Peeta wades out into the small lake to collect the tubers that have floated to the top, placing them in a small bag that we keep my father's game bag for fruit and such.

"I think the meat's done." Peeta sighs, wringing out his clothes as he walks out of the water before helping me to my feet.

I slip my shoes back on and take the bag of katniss from him, placing it back in the game bag and slinging it over my shoulder. Peeta brings the meat from inside the cabin, placing it into the bag as well and we finish our tea before heading back to the Victor's village in the glow of the setting sun. By the time we make it back to the meadow, the sun has fully set leaving us with only the moon to guide us through the dark. I've made this trip hundreds of times though, and even pregnant I can make it home with my eyes closed, waddling the whole way.

When we reach the village we both step into Peeta's house as this is where we've both been living. There are just too many memories in my house. Even here they haunt me in the night. Peeta helps me settle onto the couch and he begins to make a stew with the rabbit and squirrel meat, katniss tubers, and broth we bought from Greasy Sae yesterday afternoon.

Buttercup meows as he enters the room, rubbing against my leg and looking for attention. I pull him into my lap and pet him behind his ears, causing him to purr. We've become much closer since Prim... anyway, I can see how easy it is to love him now that he's not constantly hissing at me and demanding the entrails from my game. Buttercup falls asleep in my lap and I fall asleep from the sound of his purring. It's been a long day. Peeta wakes me when the stew is ready and hands me a bowl filled to the brim with the stuff.

"What would I do without you?" I smile, partly teasing as Peeta leans over to press a kiss to my cheek and begins to read Annie's latest letter. Across the room, the phone rings just as Peeta's tucked away the letter. He gets to his feet and crosses the kitchen to answer it.

"It's for you." He whispers, returning to my side and holding the phone out to me.

"Who is it?" I whisper.

"President Paylor." He replies.

"Hello?" I ask, finally taking the phone and curiously holding it up to my ear.

"Hello. Katniss?" Paylor asks after returning my greeting.

"Yes?"

"Would you be willing to come to the Capitol for a few days? There's a situation involving Snow's granddaughter." She replies urgently.

"Sure." I agree. "What is it you need me to do?"

"Just talk to her, explain her options to her. We think it'll be best coming from you. She's supported you from the beginning." She says.

"When do you need me there?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. We have a car picking her up from her family house in the morning."

"Okay, I assume you'll explain the situation when I get there?"

"Correct." With that, the President hangs up.

"What did she want?" Peeta asks I as i hand the phone back over to him.

"She said she needs me to go to the Capitol tomorrow afternoon. There's a situation with Snow's granddaughter. Whatever that means." I sigh.

"And you agreed?" He asks. I nod. "Would you like me to come with you?"

"I would love the company." I smile.

~If you haven't noticed, this book is connected to my book about Snow's granddaughter called Freshly Fallen. So here's the deal. I dont want to write the same scenes in both books so some scenes will be in this book and some will be in the other. If you want the full story you'll have to read both.