The Girl With The Shimmering Smile

The Tracker Jackers

The others were gathered around the fire as we got back. It felt tense and no one talked. Marina sat next to Peeta, Marvel across from them and no sight of Clove. Maybe she'd show up soon? I sat down beside Marvel and rested my head on his shoulder. I hadn't talked to him much since we had entered the arena. I didn't want to get closer with him, simply because one of us would have to die. But I needed his comfort and I had a feeling he needed mine just as much. He tried to keep this strong manly facade but I knew he was scared deep down. I noticed how quiet he'd gotten after I killed that girl. I squeezed his hand and he looked at me with a pale smile. Clove joined us at the fire a couple minutes later and she didn't even care to look at me. I didn't know what I had done but it felt like we had taken three steps back.

The fire started to die and two of us would have to get more firewood. Clove was the first to get up. Maybe this was a good time to bond. I needed her on my side so she wouldn't kill me the first chance she got. So I quickly got up before anyone else could volunteer to go with her. She rolled her eyes and took one of the two night vision glasses we got from the cornucopia. I quickly picked up mine and ran after her. She was very fast despite her short legs. We walked in complete silence. I tried to jokingly complain about how the glasses looked on me but she didn't seem to appreciate it at all so I stopped. It was all very uncomfortable and tense, I needed to lighten the mood somehow, or at least break the silence.

I picked up a stone from the ground and held it in front of me. "You know, my dad could turn this stone into a real crystal. He makes flowers out of them. It's actually really cool. That's how he came up with my name. The crystals always glimmer so pretty in the morning lights" I said and smiled to myself. No reaction from Clove. She only looked straight forward and kept walking. "I miss them. I know we're not supposed to talk about it but I really do." Still no reaction. But I couldn't stop talking at this point. It all just came out without me being able to control it. "I'm a really good singer believe it or not. I used to perform at the cafes sometimes. My favourite memory is when the whole cafe joined me, you could hear it miles away" I laughed at the memory. "Do you ever stop talking?" Clove said. She said it coldly but I could see how one side of her mouth slightly pointed upwards. My babble was working on her? "Nope" I said and gave her a slightly goofy smile. She rolled her eyes and turned away from me. I did however notice how both sides were now forming a tiny smile before she turned away. Maybe she wasn't as horrible as I thought. She just kept a hard facade, not letting anyone in. The only person I've seen her really talk to is Cato.

I almost jumped as she started talking again. "Maybe you should try to sing them to death". Did she just joke with me? "You know what, that's not such a terrible idea actually. I could sing them a lullaby and kill them in their sleep". She actually snorted at it. This was a huge win. "Yeah sure whatever Glim Glam". We started picking up some firewood and I didn't want to end our conversation. "So do you miss your family?" I asked her as I gave a shy smile. Her almost smiling face turned stone cold in a second. Did I mess it all up? I thought she would go back to ignoring me but she did something worse. "Mind your own fucking business for once, yeah?" She almost screamed at me. I took a step back and watched as she started walking back to camp. I really did mess it up big times. No family talk, noted.

The mood was even worse when I got back than when we had left. Cato barely talked to me, Clove was sitting far away from everyone, Peeta looked like he was about to cry, Marina looked like she would rather get a spear in her heart than spend another second here and Marvel... Marvel almost looked sick. His head was hanging and he wasn't as bubbly as he usually was. I sat down next to him and gave him a bottle of water. It was my last bottle so we had to go back to the river to refill them tomorrow. I hoped Marvel would feel better tomorrow or this might be his downfall. I opened my bag and debated on whether to give him my last dried meat or not. But I needed him so I decided to give it anyway, I can just try to hunt something once the sun starts to rise. I touched his forehead, it was burning hot. He needed medecin or he wouldn't make it through the night. I didn't want him to die, and I knew what to do to save him.