The Demigod Games (PJO/THG)

13 - The Encounter

-Katniss

I can't believe it happened again.

My bow! It went missing. It happened often, even though I'd initially thought that hollow tree trunk was a good hiding place. Well, turned out I was wrong. My guess was that these rotten little squirrels took it for some kind of nest. The weird thing was that every time they returned it - as if they had some sort of conscience. 

Scowling, I searched the place around the hollow tree trunk, and eventually, after half an hour of kicking leave, sticking my hand in rabbit holes and getting bit by forest spiders, I found it, lying on a small pile of sticks besides a huge tree root. Half a dozen little brown squirrels scuttled hastily away as I bent to pick it up, making me feel almost guilty taking it. Oh, these little scavengers. They were incredibly annoying but cute at the same time, making me want to smack and cuddle them at the same time. Ugh. Complicated creatures.

Anyways, after finding my precious bow, I started my hunting day, cursing the tiny rodents for making me lose half an hour. For some time, I remained in the dense forest, shooting the occasional rabbit, my aim precise and unfaltering. Snapping their necks, I threw them in my backpack for tonight's dinner - we desperately needed this meat, our family being almost on the starve in this period. I blessed the summer sun for heating the atmosphere long enough for me to continue hunting in the night. Around 9 PM, I spotted a fox, it's silver skin gleaming in the moonlight. I couldn't believe that, in the past, foxes were brown. They must have been so ugly!

After a long day of hunting, I returned home, exhausted but relieved to have found enough food for the week. Looking through the dense tree branches, I could barely make out the outline of each small shack that composed District 12. Tiny houses, revoltingly dirty, made of wood and cement. But they were the houses I'd grown up with and learned to love.

I quickly scaled the large metal fence separating the village from the forest - another stupid Capitol rule to prevent us from escaping... as if we had anywhere to go - and strolled through the narrow streets, into the main plaza, where a dozen merchants were packing up after a long day of selling fruits and vegetables for the weekly market. I crossed Ted, an old, kind-hearted man I'd always lived next to, on my way across the place.

"Hey, Ted," I grinned, feeling my heart warm like every time I saw him. He looked up, and his eyes lit up when he recognized me. "Katniss!" he exclaimed, then lowered his voice, a cunning glint in his eyes. "Been out hunting again, haven't you?" he whispered with a wink.

"Damn right," I responded, gleaming. "Gathered half a dozen rabbits, a few squirrels - the usual. And you? Sold much?" I asked.

"Oh, well, times are hard, Katniss," he said, his expression darkening. "People's pockets are getting emptier every day, and if I want to continue selling, my prices have to fall. My pears have gone from a dollar the unit to fifty cents. I'm not sure I can continue selling on the market - but if I don't provide fruits and vegetables to the District, who will?"

We continued our conversation for a few minutes, then I left him - I had to get home in time for dinner.

Halfway across the plaza, I noticed a young man, not very tall, talking to Susan - an old, sour lady selling equally sour apples. I approached them, curious.

"...find my friends." I heard the young man say as I went for the stand. Susan looked quite surprised - I sensed this conversation wasn't one you would have every day.

"Can't you see the desolation, the hunger, the ruined houses, the miserable people around you? Dear, you're in District 12." Susan said, her expression worried. Could this boy be lost? Was it even possible, in a world where you weren't allowed to leave your hometown?

"Is everything all right?" I said as I reached the stand.

"Oh, Katniss, this poor boy is lost," Susan answered, a hint of compassion in her voice - something I'd never think Susan could feel.

"Lost? How's that even possible?" I questioned. "I don't know," the boy replied. "I was with my friends, and suddenly we appeared here. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth - I have no idea where I am." 

My eyes widened, as I calculated all the possible reasons for that to happen - there weren't many. Either he had some sort of mental problem, maybe amnesia, or he was actually telling the truth - that he really didn't belong to this place and somehow ended up here.

But it didn't matter how he got in District 12. All I knew was that this boy needed help, and I wasn't the kind of person that left people in need.

"Well, looks like you need some help," I announced. "Come with me, and we'll figure this out together. Oh, and, by the way, I'm Katniss Everdeen." I added, sticking my hand out.

He stared at my hand for a few moments, seemingly considering what he could do, then probably decided he didn't have any other options.

"Thanks," he said, shaking my hand. "I'm Leo. Leo Valdez."

As we shook hands, I couldn't help but notice a gleam in his eyes - almost unnatural, a hint of orange blaze that reminded me of... fire?

Author's Note:

Hey there! I know you've been waiting for this for some time, so here she is, the one and only Katniss Everdeen! Hope you've enjoyed this part and, if you have, ya know what to do.

See you around!