Getting the broth into Peeta took an hour of coaxing, begging, threatening, and yes, kissing, but finally, sip by sip, he emptied the pot.
Livia let him drift off to sleep then and attended to her own needs, wolfing down a supper of groosling and roots while she watched the daily report in the sky.
No new casualties.
Still, Peeta and Livia had given the audience a fairly interesting day.
Hopefully, the Gamemakers would allow them a peaceful night.
Livia automatically looked around for a good tree to nest in before she realized that it was over.
At least for a while.
She couldn't very well leave Peeta unguarded on the ground.
Livia left the scene of his last hiding place on the bank of the stream untouched- how could she conceal it?
They were barely fifty yards downstream.
Livia put on her glasses, placed her weapons in readiness, and settled down to keep watch.
The temperature dropped rapidly and soon Livia was chilled to the bone.
Eventually, she gave in and slid into the sleeping bag with Peeta.
It was toasty warm and Livia snuggled down gratefully until she realized it was more than warm, it was overly hot because the bag was reflecting back his fever.
Livia checked his forehead and found it burning and dry.
Livid didn't know what to do.
Leave him in the bag and hope the excessive heat breaks the fever?
Take him out and hope the night air cooled him off?
Livia ended up just dampening a strip of bandage and placing it on his forehead.
It seemed weak, but Livia was afraid to do anything too drastic.
She spent the night half-sitting, half-lying next to Peeta, refreshing the bandage, and trying not to dwell on the fact that by teaming up with him, she had made myself far more vulnerable than when she was alone.
Tethered to the ground, on guard, with a very sick person to take care of.
But she knew he was injured and still she came after him.
She was just going to have to trust that whatever instinct sent her to find him was a good one.
When the sky turned rosy, Livia noticed the sheen of sweat on Peeta's lip and discovered the fever had broken.
He was not back to normal, but it had come down a few degrees.
Last night, when Livia was gathering vines, she came upon a bush of Rue's berries.
She stripped off the fruit and mashed it up in the broth pot with cold water.
Peeta was struggling to get up when Livia reached the cave.
"I woke up and you were gone", he said, "I was worried about you."
"You were worried about me? Have you looked at yourself lately?" Livia jeered causing Peeta to laugh.
"I thought Cato and Kirin might have found you. They like to hunt at night." Peeta muttered, still serious.
"Kirin? Which one is that?" Livia asked.
"The girl from District ten. She's still alive, right?" He quizzed.
"Yes, there's just them and us and Thresh and Foxface", Livia said. "That's what I nicknamed the girl from Five. How do you feel?"
"Better than yesterday. This is an enormous improvement over the mud", he mumbled, "Clean clothes and medicine and a sleeping bag. and you."
Livia reached out to touch his cheek and he caught her hand and pressed it against his lips.
Not even the darkness of the cave could hide the bright red on her cheeks.
"No more kisses for you until you've eaten." Livia jeered.
Livia got him propped up against the wall and he obediently swallowed the spoonfuls of the berry mush she fed him.
He refused the groosling again, though.
"You didn't sleep." Peeta stated.
"I'm all right." Livia assured, but the truth was, she was exhausted.
"Sleep now. I'll keep watch. I'll wake you if anything happens", He said, Livia hesitated, "Livia, you can't stay up forever."
He had got a point there.
She would have to sleep eventually.
And probably better to do it now when he seemed relatively alert and they had daylight on their side.
"All right", Livia agreed, "But just for a few hours. Then you wake me."
It was too warm for the sleeping bag now.
She smooth it out on the cave floor and lied down, one hand on her discs in case she had to shoot at a moment's notice.
Peeta sat beside her, leaning against the wall, his bad leg stretched out before him, his eyes trained on the world outside.
"Go to sleep." he hummed softly.
His hand brushed the loose strands of Livia's hair off her forehead.
The gesture seemed natural and comforting.
She didn't want him to stop and he didn't.
He was still stroking her hair when she fell asleep.
Too long.
She slept too long.
Livia knew from the moment she opened her eyes that they were into the afternoon.
Peeta was right beside her, his position unchanged.
Livia sat up, feeling somehow defensive but better rested than she had been in days.
"Peeta, you were supposed to wake me after a couple of hours." Livia huffed.
"For what? Nothing's going on here", Peeta said, "Besides I like watching you sleep. You don't scowl. Improves your looks a lot."
This, of course, brings on a scowl that made him grin.
That's when Livia noticed how dry his lips were.
Livia tester his cheek.
Hot as a coal stove.
He claimed he had been drinking, but the containers still felt full to her.
She gave him more fever pills and stood over him while he drank the first one, then a second quart of water.
Then Livia tended to his minor wounds, the burns, the stings, which were showing improvement.
Livia stole herself and unwrapped the leg.
Her heart drops into her stomach.
It was worse, much worse.
There was no more pus in evidence, but the swelling had increased and the tight shiny skin was inflamed.
Then Livia saw the red streaks starting to crawl up his leg.
Blood poisoning.
Unchecked, it would kill him for sure.
Livia's chewed-up leaves and ointment wouldn't make a dent in it.
They would need strong anti-infection drugs from the Capitol.
Livia couldn't imagine the cost of such potent medicine.
If Haymitch pooled every donation from every sponsor, would he have enough?
Livia doubted it.
Gifts went up in price the longer the Games continued.
What bought a full meal on day one bought a cracker on day twelve.
And the kind of medicine Peeta needed would have been at a premium from the beginning.
"Well, there's more swelling, but the pus is gone." Livia said in an unsteady voice.
"I know what blood poisoning is, Livia", Peeta retorted, "Even if my mother isn't a healer."
"You're just going to have to outlast the others, Peeta. They'll cure it back at the Capitol." Livia assured.
"You have to eat. Keep your strength up. I'm going to make you soup." Livia said.
"Don't light a fire", he said, "It's not worth it."
"We'll see." Livia muttered.
As she took the pot down to the stream, she was struck by how brutally hot it was.
She swore the Gamemakers were progressively ratcheting up the temperature in the daytime and sending it plummeting at night.
The heat of the sun-baked stones by the stream gave Livia an idea though- maybe she wouldn't need to light a fire.
She settled down on a big flat rock halfway between the stream and the cave.
After purifying half a pot of water, Livia placed it in direct sunlight and added several egg-size hot stones to the water.
She was the first to admit she was not much of a cook, but since soup mainly involved tossing everything in a pot and waiting, it was one of her better dishes.
Livia minced groosling until it was practically mush and mashed some of Rue's roots.
Fortunately, they have both been roasted already so they mostly needed to be heated up.
Already, between the sunlight and the rocks, the water was warm.
Livia put in the meat and roots, swapped in fresh rocks, and went to find something green to spice it up a little.
Before long, Livia discovered a tuft of chives growing at the base of some rocks.
Perfect.
She chopped them very fine and added them to the pot, switched out the rocks again, put on the lid, and let the whole thing stew.
She had seen very few signs of game around, but she didn't feel comfortable leaving Peeta alone while she hunted- so she rigged half a dozen snares, much like Katniss had, with wire she'd obtained.
Livia wondered about the other tributes, how they were managing now that their main source of food had been blown up.
At least three of them, Cato, Kirin, and Foxface, had been relying on it.
Probably not Thresh though.
Livia had a feeling he must share some of Rue's knowledge on how to feed yourself from the earth.
Were they fighting each other?
Looking for them?
Maybe one of them had located Livia and Peeta and was just waiting for the right moment to attack.
The idea sent her back to the cave.
Peeta was stretched out on top of the sleeping bag in the shade of the rocks.
Although he brightened a bit when Livia came in, it was clear he felt miserable.
Livia put cool cloths on his head, but they warmed up almost as soon as they touched his skin.
"Do you want anything?" Livia asked.
"No", he said, "Thank you. Wait, yes. Tell me a story."
"A story? What about?" Livia questioned.
She wasn't much for storytelling.
It was kind of like singing.
But Dom tended to wheedle one out of her.
She racked her brain for good memories worth sharing.
Livia began, but carefully.
Because her words were going out all over Panem.
"My uncle, Tobias, was a couple years older than me, but we were raised like siblings", Livia started, "He was a total beanstalk and vibrant- kind."
Livia recalled him like her oldest favorite song, still beautiful after all that time.
Tobias had been teaching her to throw stars for a silly little school talent show.
He'd taught her all kinds of tricks- the placement of her fingers, the momentum of her body.
Peeta stared intrigued as Livia twirled the disc in her hand, speaking of the boy.
"And then his name came out of that glass bowl", Livia explained, and Peeta's eyes widened in realization, "And I couldn't bring myself to touch a throwing star."
She had visited him in the same room she'd been in town hall.
He had wished her luck with her talent show, although it was her least bit concern.
And before he'd left he hugged her for the last time.
He'd made it pretty far- far enough for Livia to get her own interview- just as the competition approached.
She was gleaming at the thought that not only could she win the talent show, but her best friend would be home soon enough.
Although during lunch, right before the competition, the capitol showed his death.
Livia remembered her mouth falling open, but never any sound escaping.
"Sometimes I see his reflection hovering over my shoulder in the shiny metal and his voice tutting, 'you can only hit something, if you shoot for it'" Livia muttered.
She watched as the light gleamed off of the metal.
Peeta's hand was on her cheek- his thumb brushing against it.
"He was my best friend, my only friend. And for awhile I held everyone at such a high standard- the standard he'd created- but the truth was nobody would be good enough. They would never be Toby", Livia explained, her eyes flickered up to meet Peeta's, "And then I met you."
"You remind me of him", Livia said with a smile, "You both were very annoying."
Livia chuckled and Peeta only pouted dramatically.
"You were both... real." Livia explained in the best way she knew how.
Maybe Peeta understood, because he didn't question it, he just pressed a kiss to the top of her nose.
"I remember your interview", Peeta muttered, "Even then I thought you were the prettiest girl I'd ever seen."
Livia snickered as she straddled him- careful not to hurt him, "You're so full of yourself, you know that right?"
"So I've been told." Peeta mumbled.
Livia tested his forehead.
The fever was going nowhere but up.
"You're a little cooler." Livia lied.
The sound of the trumpets startled her.
She was on her feet and at the mouth of the cave in a flash, not wanting to miss a syllable.
It was her new best friend, Claudius Templesmith, and as Livia expected, he was inviting them to a feast.
Well, they were not that hungry and Livia actually waved his offer away in indifference when he said, "Now hold on. Some of you may already be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately."
Livia did need something desperately.
Something to heal Peeta's leg.
"Each of you will find that something in a backpack, marked with your district number, at the Cornucopia at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance." Claudius said.
There's nothing else, just his words hanging in the air.
Livia jumped as Peeta gripped her shoulder from behind.
"No", He said, "You're not risking your life for me."
"Who said I was?" Livia quizzed.
"So, you're not going?" he asked.
"Of course, I'm not going. Give me some credit. Do you think I'm running straight into some free-for-all against Cato and Kirin and Thresh? Don't be stupid", Livia huffed, helping him back to bed, "I'll let them fight it out, we'll see who's in the sky tomorrow night and work out a plan from there."
"You're such a bad liar, Livia. I don't know how you've survived this long" He begins to mimic her. "'You're a little cooler though. Of course, I'm not going.'"
He shook his head, "Never gamble at cards. You'll lose your last coin."
Anger flushed her face, "All right, I am going, and you can't stop me!"
"I can follow you. At least partway. I may not make it to the Cornucopia, but if I'm yelling your name, I bet someone can find me. And then I'll be dead for sure." He stated.
"You won't get a hundred yards from here on that leg." Livia scoffed.
"Then I'll drag myself", Peeta explained, "You go and I'm going, too."
He was just stubborn enough and maybe just strong enough to do it.
Come howling after her in the woods.
Even if a tribute didn't find him, something else might.
He couldn't defend himself.
Livia would probably have to wall him up in the cave just to go herself.
And who knows what the exertion would do to him?
"What am I supposed to do? Sit here and watch you die?" Livia exclaimed.
He must know that was not an option.
That the audience would hate her.
And frankly, she would hate herself, too, if she didn't even try.
"I won't die. I promise. If you promise not to go." He offered.
They were at something of a stalemate.
Livia knew she couldn't argue him out of this one, so she didn't try.
She pretended, reluctantly, to go along.
"Then you have to do what I say. Drink your water, wake me when I tell you, and eat every bite of the soup no matter how disgusting it is!" Livia snapped at him.
"Agreed. Is it ready?" he asked.
"Wait here." Livia said.
The air had gone cold even though the sun was still up.
Livia was right about the Gamemakers messing with the temperature.
Livia wondered if the thing someone needed desperately was a good blanket.
The soup was still nice and warm in its iron pot.
And actually didn't taste too bad.
Peeta ate without complaint, even scraping out the pot to show his enthusiasm.
He rambled on about how delicious it was, which should be encouraging if you didn't know what fever did to people.
Livia gave him another dose of fever medicine before he went off his head completely.
As Livia went down to the stream to wash up, all she could think was that he was going to die if she didn't get to that feast.
Livia would keep him going for a day or two, and then the infection would reach his heart or his brain or his lungs and he would be gone.
And Livia would be here all alone.
Again.
Waiting for the others.
Livia was so lost in thought that she almost missed the parachute, even though it floated right by her.
Then she sprang after it, yanking it from the water, tearing off the silver fabric to retrieve the vial.
Maybe Haymitch had done it, he had gotten the medicine- Livia wasn't sure how, persuaded some gaggle of romantic fools to sell their jewels- and Livia could save Peeta.
It was such a tiny vial though.
It must be very strong to cure someone as ill as Peeta.
A ripple of doubt ran through Livia.
She uncorked the vial and took a deep sniff.
Her spirits fell at the sickly sweet scent.
Just to be sure, she placed a drop on the tip of her tongue.
There was no question, it was sleep syrup.
It was a common medicine. Cheap, as medicine goes, but very addictive.
It only took a little to go a long way.
A vial that size could knock Peeta out for a full day, but what good was that?
Livia was so furious she was about to throw Haymitch's last offering into the stream when it hit her.
A full day?
That's more than Livia needed.
She mashed up a handful of berries so the taste wouldn't be as noticeable and added some mint leaves for good measure.
Then she headed back up to the cave, "I've brought you a treat. I found a new patch of berries a little farther downstream."
Peeta opened his mouth for the first bite without hesitation.
He swallowed then frowns slightly, "They're very sweet."
"Yes, they're sugar berries. My mother makes jam from them. Haven't you ever had them before?" Livia quizzed, poking the next spoonful in his mouth.
"No", he said, almost puzzled, "But they taste familiar. Sugar berries?"
"Well, you can't get them in the market much, they only grow wild." Livia explained.
Another mouthful goes down. Just one more to go.
"They're sweet as syrup", He muttered, taking the last spoonful, "Syrup?"
His eyes widened as he realized the truth.
Livia clamped her hand over his mouth and nose hard, forcing him to swallow instead of spit.
He tried to make himself vomit the stuff up, but it was too late, he was already losing consciousness.
Even as he faded away, Livia could see in his eyes what she had done was unforgivable.
She sat back on her heels and looked at him with a mixture of sadness and satisfaction.
A stray berry stained his chin and Livia wiped it away.
"Who can't lie, Peeta?" Livia whispered, even though he couldn't hear her.
It didn't matter.
The rest of Panem could.