THE MAN IN THE HANGING TREE | Gale Hawthorne

SEVENTEEN - Ocean Eyes

YOUR POINT OF VIEW

After dressing in warm clothes, Gale and I leave my house for our date with our fingers intertwined.

I immediately shiver as we step out in the wintry air, it's colder than I thought it was.

"Here." Says Gale, wrapping his scarf around my neck. capable hands so deft and gentle with me.

"Won't you get cold?" I ask him with a smile, thankful for the extra warmth. Eyes peering up at his own.

He smiles back, grey eyes reflecting the snow clouds like twin mirrors. "You're all the warmth I need." He then wraps his arm around my waist, kissing the top of my head softly.

I blush with a stupid smile on my face. Gale is the sweetest person ever, but because of his brutish appearance, you'd never know unless you got to know him. Now after months, I know every side of him he's let me se, like the back of my hand, and I love every one of them.

We go to for a small walk, just around town, and end up wandering in the Seam. I've only ever been down the road Gale and Katniss lived on, so it's a new place for me. 

The tiny houses here look tired, sagging beneath the heavy snow. But somehow, it's all cozy, homier than even the home I grew up in. A peaceful little sleepy village, but underneath all that charm are terrible things lurking.

Poverty, starvation, hypothermia, fear. 

I wish I was capable of saving them all.  

Gale brings me to a place called the Hob, after a long while of wandering. It is the black market of District Twelve, I definitely have not been here.

People bustle around in the large building, buying rom a variety of vendors, trading what they can, taking their new much needed supplies home happily. Vendors about what they're selling, haggling with shoppers over prices, taking the new things they trade.

And the smell is amazing, like a hundred amazing meals being cooked at once. Warm and savory, with an under tone of the damp earth floor, and rotting wood of the surrounding walls.

I smile, looking around me in wonder. "I've never been here before." I watch as life here unfolds around me, bigger than I could have even imagined. I'm so sheltered at my home in town, it's nice to finally see the other side of things, and frankly this side is more, more.

My side of town, everyone just exists, knowing that they can easily buy their next meal, but here everyone has to trade or sell or haggle to get what they so need. So much more than I've ever had to do in my life.

"Thought I'd show you something new, town girl." Gale gives me a smirk. "Welcome to my side of the district." He spreads his arms wide, almost hitting a man walking by.

I giggle at his clumsy move, as the ma grumbles some profanities under his breath while walking away.

"I meant to do that." Gale blushes. Then he hooks his arm with mine, and leads me through the past all of the vendors-- like a proper gentleman.

We stop in front of one of the tables, an ancient table I'm sure has seen better days. It creaks under the weight of a giant pot filled with a simmering soup. It smells delicious, even though it looks like a sort of slop.

The woman behind the table and pot is even more ancient, but she wears the kindest smile I've ever seen. "Afternoon Gale, who's this lovely lady you have with you today?" She addresses him, already knowing who he is.

"This is (y/n) Undersee, she's from town." He says, stepping forward, me still linked to his arm.

The woman smiles. "The mayor's daughter, yes? It's nice to meet you dear, you can call me Greasy Sae, everyone else does." She takes my hand in hers, a gesture a grandmother would use.