The Sword's Other Half

Playing Nurse and Breaking Down

{AN: Hello my lovelies! I am so so sorry for the lack of update. It's been hard for me to find my motivation lately with everything that's been going on. Here is the new chapter though and I hope it was worth the wait. Stay lovely!}

As I'm shakily walking away from the horror behind me I remember the shot of pain I received from Cato's side of the connection. Panicked I tap into our link.

Cato?! Are you okay? Where are you?

I'm not gonna lie and say I'm fine. Cato's voice sounds through with a pained groan. I'm in a tree by the stream.

I immediately head for the stream. He's hurt and I can't afford to lose him too. I refuse to let someone else be taken away from me by the hands of the damned capitol. Rushing to the stream I ignore the branches scratching my cheek in favor of feeling the metaphorical string that tied our souls together getting tighter signifying I'm getting closer to finding him. I reach the stream and begin looking for Cato. Looking down at the ground I see a puddle of blood which causes my worry to increase. I follow the trail of blood until it leads to the base of a tree. I climb the tree and find Cato giving me a pained smirk. "You're one hell of a tracker, Babe."

Cato can see and feel the pain and sorrow storming within me and without a word opens his arms for me. I give him a sad smile and lean forward kissing him softly on the lips. "I'll let myself cry when I know you're out of harm's way. Thank you though. Now show me the damage." Cato moves his jacket off of his right leg, which I hadn't even realized he wasn't wearing it and shows me a large wound on his leg. "Who got you and with what?"

"It was Peeta with a sword. I was struggling to fully predict his movements because I don't even think he knew what he was doing. It looked like that was the first time the guy has even held a sword. Can't believe I lost to that guy," Cato grumbles and winces as I inspect the wound.

"Well, not all of us grew up wielding weapons, Mr. Career. And the fact that you got hurt doesn't make you any less of a victor, because we are winning this bullshit game. It makes you human. It only makes you a loser if you let it." I remind him.

Cato smirks at me, "Well aren't you the wise one in the relationship." Cato then looks at his leg, "So how bad is it, Nurse Fairy?"

I smirk back, "Oh, you'll live." My smirk drops, "It will hurt really bad though because I'm gonna have to clean it out to prevent infection. Cato groans but nods. I pull off my backpack and pilfer through it until I have my canteen. I pour the water on the wound and bite my lip to hold in any sound from escaping but hear Cato give a pained hiss. "Do you think you can climb down?"

"Yeah," Cato answers with confidence. I nod and climb down first so I can help him if need be. After Cato is safely down the tree I tell him to lean on it while I fill up our canteens in the stream. After getting us water I help Cato walk until we come to a cave where I lay Cato down.

After Cato is situated I check the wound to see that it is bleeding again. "The wound isn't shallow but it isn't too deep either. I guess that just shows his inexperience. The only thing I'm worried about is an infection, so hopefully, we can get you some medicine then you will make a full recovery," I observe.

Cato smiles at me, "Thank you, Nurse Fairy. What would I do without you?"

I mockingly look up thinking, "Hmm, I'd assume you'd still be stuck in that tree I found you in."

Cato laughs but then his face turns more somber as he opens his arms for me as he did earlier, "Like you said all I need is the medicine and that's out of your hands so you can let it out now, Lissa." Seeing the love and care in Cato's eyes helps me to break down the dam I had built up that was holding in my emotions previously. My throat tightens up and my eyes begin to water. A pathetic sounding sob escapes my mouth. Cato pulls me into his arms and I curl up into the comfort of my soulmate's embrace. "I know, Baby. You don't have to talk, just let it out. Earlier when I felt your fear I tapped into the connection and I could see through your eyes what happened. I know what happened and I know Rue would want you to mourn and think about her but she wouldn't want you to bottle it up inside until you can't hold it anymore. Rue would want you to be happy and it's okay to feel sad right now but it's also important to remember all the happy memories. She knows that you did everything you could to save her and help her survive this demented game. She really loved you, Lissa and she'd want you to remember that" Cato soothingly whispers in my ear as he holds my sobbing body tightly in his arms.

"I love her too! She was like another little sister to me and I couldn't protect her. They were both too young to die, Cato! They both hadn't even begun to live yet or even find their soulmate. Everyone in this bullshit game doesn't deserve to die. They don't deserve to be used as puppets for other's entertainment. They were just children and they also had soulmates who are now dead as well. With every death in this arena there is another outside of it. This whole game is just bullshit!" By this time my tears of sorrow have turned into tears of anger and frustration. As I begin to calm down I hear the sound of a sponsor's gift. Wiping my eyes I smile softly at Cato and kiss him on the cheek before getting up and grabbing my dagger to go see what the gift is. Slowly walking out of the cave I find the capsule and inside is a bowl of soup and a message from Haymitch reading: Take care of each other, Princess and keep fighting. -H I smile and softly say, "Thanks, Dad" before walking back into the cave.

Cato looks up at me questioningly, "Is that the medicine?"

I shake my head, "Sadly, not. It is soup though. I open the container and begin to feed Cato the soup and eat some myself at his insistence. After we eat I cuddle up into his side and we fall into a deep sleep knowing that there are gonna be more horrors waiting for us when we wake up.