The Hunger Games 2.0

Training

" Jace, do you have your 15 arrows?" Katniss asked. Jace nodded.

" And Primrose, do you have your 15 arrows?" Peeta asked. Primrose nodded.

" Good." Katniss said.

" So the first kind of animal you're going to shoot depends on what you see first. So if I saw a really close rabbit, I would shoot it. But not if if was very very far away. There's plenty other animals." Peeta explained.

" Except for when you've been hunting for a while, and you couldn't find anything. Then you could shoot that far away rabbit. But only use one or so arrows on it. You don't wanna waste all your arrows on one animal. There's still all this land to explore." Katniss added on.

" Right. So are you two ready to shoot your first animal? It's okay if you miss." Peeta asked.

" COOL! Oh, and yeah, I'm totally ready." Jace said.

Primrose cringed at almost every word.
" Do we have to?" Asked Primrose.

Katniss kneeled down. "Primrose, I know you're afraid of hurting the animals. But you have to understand, that is how we live. Of course here, we can grow vegetables and fruits. But in The Hunger Games, you can't. They don't give you seeds. Or pretty much anything. You're all on your own. And besides, you wouldn't kill the animal just to kill the animal. You would be using all, if not most, of the animal. So it's not like it's going to waste."

Primrose looked down. Her eyebrows were scrunched together. Then they returned to normal. She took a small pause, then exhaled.

" Okay. Let's go find an animal. But I'm not killing any of the babies!" Primrose said. Peeta and Katniss chuckled.

Primrose and Jace were in the front of Peeta and Katniss. They both were smiling. Being able to hunt, but by choice. Not by force. They felt free. They were free for the past couple of years, for the most part. It felt so relieving.

" Oooh! There's one!" Jace pointed to a baby pig.

"Jace, that's a baby!" Primrose yelled at him.

" So? They're a little younger. Doesn't taste any different."

" Ugh." Primrose scowled and rolled her eyes. Then she spotted a deer. It wasn't a baby, thank God.

Primrose ran closer to the deer, and Katniss followed her. Although they were still a good distance apart.

Primrose aimed, and everyone was watching. Even the pig. She shot the arrow.

And missed.

She sighed. Then she walked over to Jace and his pig.

Katniss rubbed Primrose's back for a minute.

" It's okay, Primrose. You still have about 5 months left. You'll get it." Katniss said.

Jace shot the pig.

" Awesome, Jace!" Peeta said. " We should probably show you how to cut it and cook it, too." Peeta looked over to Katniss, almost like he was asking if he could while Katniss and Primrose worked things out. Katniss nodded.

" Go ahead. We'll catch up with you in a little bit." Katniss smiled. Then she looked back over at Primrose.

" Primrose, we have about 5 months left together. I want them to be a good, happy 5 months before the reaping. Please cooperate. We don't want to lose you."

" Yes, I know. It's just, I feel bad for killing things on purpose."

Katniss sighed. " Well, killing animals isn't even nearly as bad as killing people. Especially when they're innocent people. But you don't want to lose your life to a complete stranger. You have to do what you have to do."

Primrose nodded." Yeah... I guess."

Katniss pulled a necklace out of her jean's back pocket.

" Hold out your hands," Katniss told Primrose. Katniss placed the necklace in Primrose's hands.

Primrose took a good look at it. "I-It's a... Primrose,"

" Yes. It's a Primrose. And as long as you have it, it'll always keep you safe. No matter what."

Primrose smiled.

" Thanks so much, mom." Primrose hugged Katniss. Then she put it around her neck.

" Now, let's go find some baby deer!" Primrose shot up. Katniss patted her back and got up too. They followed up with Peeta and Jace.