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(M/N) slowly opened his eyes, taking in the sunlight seeping through the foliage of the trees. It took him a moment to comprehend that he was awake. He didn't know how long he was out, but the whole time he'd been slipping in between nightmares and reality in a weird way.
It was as if he was sitting in a dark room in front of a giant screen, channel surfing. Except the channels were all manifestations of his fears. He'd watch Prim die, then suddenly his father was dying again, then he'd see a glimpse of the arena for a split second when his eyes opened, before the screen switched back to the nightmares.
(M/N) sighed in relief, thankful to be free from the horrors of his mind. That was the true nature of tracker-jacker venom, it would dig deep into a person's mind and target the part of their brain where fear lived.
(M/N) slowly pushed himself off of the ground, though it took a lot more effort than he anticipated. Even the slightest movement from his arms took immense effort, sending pain all across his body. Once he made it to a sitting position, he noticed he was in a small hole.
How did I get here? (M/N) didn't remember. Though he must've missed that detail due to his hallucinations.
For a while, he just sat there taking small sips from his water bottle while trying to figure out how long he'd been out. It was early in the morning when he passed out, and now it was afternoon. Though the stiffness in his joints suggested that it had been more than just a day.
If that was the case, he'd have no way of knowing which tributes survived the tracker-jacker attack. He knew for a fact that Nejire and the girl from District 4 hadn't, but there were still both tributes from District 1, the boy from 2, and Katsuki.
Did they die from the stings? If they lived, then they must have gone through horrid nightmares just as I did.
(M/N)'s mind wandered back to Wendy. Had she made it out? She was so small he was certain she wouldn't survive one sting. Though he had given her a decent head start before he dropped the nest, so he brushed away his concerns.
Despite the pain in his joints, (M/N) found himself at peace during that moment. He momentarily forgot about the rest of the arena as he basked in the warm sunlight and the cool breeze. For some reason, (M/N) was reminded of what Shoto had said to him the morning of the reaping.
"We could do it, you know. Run away together, live in the woods, it's what we do anyway."
He had been through so much in the past few days, that conversation felt like it took place years ago. It gave him a longing feeling, thinking about his days of hunting in the forest with Shoto.
Suddenly, he wasn't thinking about Shoto but of Katsuki.
Katsuki! He saved my life! (M/N) thought. By the time the two had met up, he couldn't tell what was real and what the tracker-jacker venom had made him imagine. But (M/N)'s instincts were telling him that Katsuki really did save him, which led him to wonder why.
He racked his brain for answers. Was he using his lover boy interview image? Or was he actually trying to protect (M/N), and if he was then why was he with the Careers in the first place? Nothing made any sense.
(M/N) pushed the thoughts aside. He had more important things to think about at that moment. Such as, the fact that he finally had a bow and arrows. A full dozen arrows counting the one from the tree.
Having the weapon gave (M/N) an entirely new perspective on the Games. He knew he still had tough opponents left to face, but he was no longer prey, running and hiding. If Mirio broke through the trees then and there, (M/N) wouldn't flee, he'd shoot. He even found himself anticipating the moment he'd get to experience that pleasure.
But first he had to regain his strength. He was dehydrated and his water supply was low. The weight he had gained gorging himself during his time in the Capitol was gone, plus a few kilos extra.
(M/N) could see all the wounds scattered across his body as well. The burns, the cuts and bruises from running into trees, and the tracker-jacker stings - which were still as swollen as ever.
His mother knew a treatment for them, a type of leaf that could draw out the poison. But she almost never had a cause to use it, so (M/N) didn't know its name or appearance.
He decided to focus on finding water before doing anything else. He couldn't move too quickly since his joints were still very sore, but he was used to moving slowly and quietly from his hunts outside District 12.
Within a few minutes, (M/N) found a rabbit, and made his first kill with the bow and arrow. After about an hour, he found a shallow stream and got to work purifying his water. While he waited, he stripped down to his underclothes and moved into the water. It was refreshing to wash off all the filth that covered his body, and there was a lot of it. It was the first wash off (M/N) had since arriving in the arena.
Afterwards, he wrung out his clothes, hung them up to dry, and sat by the river under the sun. He untangled his hair and ate a cracker and a strip of beef. Once his clothes were dry enough, he got dressed and followed the stream against the current. He deduced that it was his best chance at finding more game. He took out a turkey and decided to set up a fire to cook the meat, hoping that dusk would help conceal the smoke, which would give him enough time to cook and extinguish the fire by nightfall.
He cleaned and prepared the turkey for cooking, just having put it over the coals when suddenly he heard a twig snap.
In one swift motion, he picked up his bow and reared back an arrow, turning to the sound. There wasn't anyone there, no one he could see anyway. Until he spotted a child's boot just peeking out from behind the trunk of a tree.
(M/N) relaxed his shoulders and grinned. She really could move through the woods like a shadow, he had to give her that. Otherwise she wouldn't have been able to follow him. The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them.
"You know, they're not the only ones who can form alliances."
For a moment there was no response. Then one of Wendy's eyes edged around the tree. "You want me as an ally?"
(M/N) shrugged. "Why not? You saved me back there, I wouldn't have seen the tracker jackers if you hadn't pointed them out. Plus, you're smart enough to have survived this long, and I can't seem to shake you anyway."
Wendy blinked at him, trying to decide whether or not she should accept.
"Are you hungry?" (M/N) knew he had her when her eyes flickered down to the meat and she swallowed hard. "Come on, I've already had two kills today."
Wendy slowly stepped out into the open. "I can treat your stings."
"Can you?" (M/N) asked, somewhat surprised. "How?
She didn't give him a verbal answer, instead she dug through the pack she was carrying, pulling out a handful of leaves. (M/N) was certain they were the ones his mother used. "Where'd you find those?"
"Just around. We all carry them when we work in the orchards," she said, "There are a lot of nests there as well.
Suddenly it clicked in his head, "That's right. You're District 11. Agriculture," (M/N) stated, "Orchards, huh? That must be how you can fly around the trees like you've got wings."
Wendy sheepishly smiled, he had landed on one of the few things she would happily take pride in.
"Alright, fix me up then." (M/N) sat himself down by the fire and rolled up his trouser leg to reveal the sting on his knee. Wendy put the handful of leaves in her mouth and began to chew. (M/N)'s mother would have used other methods, but he supposed they didn't have many options to choose from in the Games.
Afterwards, Wendy pressed the green glop of chewed up leaves on (M/N)'s knee, and he couldn't stop the sigh of relief that passed his lips the minute she did. It was as if the leaves were actually leaching the pain out of the sting.
She giggled and prepared to do his other stings. "Lucky you had the sense to pull the stingers out, or else you'd be a lot worse."
(M/N) found himself laughing as she fixed the other stings, the relief was just so sweet. It was then that he had noticed the long burn on Wendy's arm.
"I've got something for that." He set aside his bow and treated her arm with the burn medicine.
"You have good sponsors," she said longingly.
"Have you got anything yet?" (M/N) asked as he turned the meat on the fire, to which she shook her head. "Well don't worry, you will. Just watch. The closer we get to the end, the more people will realise how clever you are."
"You weren't joking, about wanting me for an ally?" she asked.
"No, I meant it." (M/N) could almost hear Shota groaning as he teamed up with a small child. But he didn't care. Wendy was a survivor and he trusted her, and though he wouldn't admit it, she reminded him of Eri.
"Ok," she said as she held out her hand for him to shake, which he gladly accepted. "It's a deal."
Of course, that kind of deal was only temporary, but neither of them mentioned it.
Wendy contributed a big handful of some sort of starchy root to the meal. Roasted over the fire, they had the sharp sweet taste of parsnip. For a while, all conversation stopped as they filled their stomachs. The turkey tasted very different to the ones (M/N) had back in District 12. The meat was delicious and fatty, the grease dripping down his face when he bit into it. He chalked it up to the gamemakers creating a slightly different version of the bird.
"I've never had a whole leg to myself before," Wendy said with a sigh.
(M/N) could tell meat hardly ever came her way. "Take the other," he said.
"Really?" she asked.
"Take whatever you want. Now that I've got a bow, I can get more. Plus I've got snares, I can show you how to set them." Wendy still looked uncertainly at the leg. "Oh, take it," (M/N) said, putting the drumstick in her hands. "It will only keep for a few days anyway, and we've got the whole bird plus the rabbit." Once she got a hold of it, her appetite won out and she took a huge mouthful.
"I'd have thought, in District 11, you'd have a bit more to eat than us. You know, since you grow the food," (M/N) said.
Wendy's eyes widened. "Oh, no, we're not allowed to eat the crops."
"They arrest you or something?" (M/N) asked.
"They whip you and make everyone else watch, the mayor's very strict about it."
He could tell by her expression that it wasn't an uncommon occurrence. A public whipping was a rare sight in District 12, although occasionally one would occur. Technically, (M/N) and Shoto could be whipped on a daily basis for poaching in the woods - well, they could get a lot worse than a whipping - but all the officials would buy their meat. Plus their mayor never seemed to have much taste for those events. Being the least prestigious, poorest, most ridiculed district in the country had its advantages. Such as being largely ignored by the Capitol as long as they produced their coal quotas.
"Do you get all the coal you want?" Wendy asked.
"No," (M/N) answered. "Just what we buy and whatever we track in on our boots."
"They feed us a little extra during harvest, so that people can keep going longer," Wendy said.
"Don't you have to be in school?" he asked.
"Not during harvest. Everyone works then, even after dark" she said.
This confused (M/N). "How do they expect you to work when it's pitch black?"
"They would give out a few pairs of special glasses to those of us highest in the trees, where the torchlight doesn't reach. They allow us to see clearly in the dark, I actually have a pair," she said matter of factly as she pulled out a pair of sunglasses. "One time, this boy Elijah, he tried to keep a pair, hid them in his trousers. They killed him on the spot."
"They killed a boy for taking a pair of sunglasses?" (M/N) asked surprised as he studied them. He'd seen and heard a lot of bad things, but there were still times where he'd hear something that just completely blew his mind.
"Yeah, and everyone knew he was no danger. Elijah wasn't right in the head. I mean, he still acted like a three-year-old. He just wanted the glasses to play with," she said.
Hearing that made (M/N) feel like District 12 was some sort of safe haven. Of course, people died from starvation all the time - enough for it to be considered normal - but he just couldn't imagine Peacekeepers murdering a simple-minded child.
It reminded him of a little girl who would wander around the Hob. She wasn't completely right in the head, and people treated her like some sort of pet. They would toss her scraps and other things.
Despite that, (M/N) found it interesting to hear about Wendy's life. They had so little communication with anyone outside his district. In fact, he wondered if the Gamemakers were blocking out their conversation, because even though the information seemed harmless, they didn't want people in different districts to know about one another.
At Wendy's suggestion, they laid out their food to plan ahead. She had seen most of (M/N)'s, but he added the last couple of crackers and beef strips to the pile. She had gathered quite a collection of roots, nuts, greens, and even some berries.
(M/N) rolled an unfamiliar berry between his fingers. "You sure this is safe?"
"Oh, yes, we have them back home. I've been eating them for days," Wendy said as she popped a handful into her mouth. (M/N) cautiously bit into one, and it tasted as good as the blackberries he had back in 12.
Taking Wendy as an ally seemed to be a better choice the longer time went on. They divided up their food supplies, so in case they were separated, they'd both be set for a few days.
Apart from the food, Wendy had a small water skin, a home-made slingshot, a second pair of socks, and the sunglasses.
Those will definitely be useful, (M/N) thought. Being able to see in the dark was a very valuable asset in the Games.
Wendy also had a sharp shard of rock that she was using as a knife. "I know it's not much," she said embarrassingly. "I just had to get away from the Cornucopia as fast as I could."
"You've done just fine," (M/N) said with a smile. "We should probably get going."
Wendy gave him a small nod as they began to pack up. (M/N) gave her some matches and she made sure he had plenty of leaves in case his stings flared up again. They extinguished their fire and started moving upstream until it was almost nightfall.
"Where do you sleep?" (M/N) asked. "In the trees?" She gave him another nod. "In just your jacket?"
Wendy held up her extra pair of socks. "I have these for my hands."
(M/N) thought about how cold the nights had been. He frowned when he imagined how cold she would have been, holding herself in a feeble attempt to keep warm. "You can share my sleeping bag if you want, we'll both easily fit."
Wendy's face lit up and (M/N) could tell it was more than she could have hoped for.
They picked a fork high in a tree and settled down for the night just as the anthem began to play, revealing that there were no deaths that day.
This had (M/N) thinking about the time he had spent sleeping. He turned to the girl. "I only woke up today. How many nights did I miss?" The anthem was most likely blocking out their words, but he still whispered. He also opted to cover his lips with his hand. He didn't want the audience to know what he was planning to tell Wendy about Katsuki. She took the cue from him and did the same.
"Two," she said. "The girls from Districts 2 and 4 are dead. There's ten of us left."
"Something strange happened. At least, I think it happened. It might have been the tracker-jacker venom making me imagine things," (M/N) started. "You know the boy from my district? Katsuki? I think he saved my life. But he was with the Careers."
"He's not with them now," Wendy responded. "I've spied on their base by the lake. They made it back before they collapsed from the stingers. But he's not there. Maybe he did save you and had to run."
(M/N) didn't answer. If Katsuki did save him, then (M/N) was in his debt yet again, and this time he couldn't pay him back.
"If he did, it was probably just a part of his act. You know, to make people think he's in love with me."
"Oh," Wendy said thoughtfully. "I didn't think that was an act."
"Course it is," (M/N) replied. "He worked it out with our mentor."
The anthem ended and the sky went dark. "Let's try out these glasses." Wendy handed him the glasses and he slipped them on.
Wow she wasn't kidding, I can see everything.
(M/N) was able to clearly make out everything within a good fifteen metres. He could see a skunk strolling through the bushes a few trees away. He could kill it from his current position if he wanted to. He could kill anyone.
"I wonder who else has a pair of these," (M/N) said curiously.
"The Careers have two pairs. But they've got everything down by the lake," Wendy said. "And they're strong."
"We're strong too," he was quick to reassure her. "Just in a different way."
"You are, you can shoot," she responded. "What can I do?"
"You can feed yourself, can they?" (M/N) asked.
"They don't need to. They have all those supplies."
"Say they didn't. Say the supplies were gone. How long would they last?" (M/N) continued, obviously having some sort of idea in his mind. "I mean, it's the Hunger Games, right?"
"But (M/N), they're not hungry," Wendy said, not having caught on to what he was getting at.
"No, they're not. And that's the problem," (M/N) said. For the first time, in the Games, he had a plan. A plan that was motivated by the need for flight and evasion. An offensive plan.
(M/N) smiled. "I think we're going to have to fix that, Wendy."
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