Cato's POV:
Clove left last night and she still hasn't returned. I'm getting worried about her, but I know she's strong. I sat near the extinguished fire that I'd made last night and ran my hand through my hair. I was torn between waiting for her to return or going to look for her.
Last night, I had also realised that Clove had all of the meat, leaving me with nothing. I had searched through my backpack and had found some beef jerky and dried fruit. I had saved some, but there wasn't enough.
I decided to get off my ass and start doing something. There was no point in sitting here and starving to death. I grabbed my sword and backpack before heading into the forest. I searched for any sign of movement or anything, but like Clove said, I was too loud.
I had decided on a different strategy instead. I hid behind some bushes near a small pond. As I sat there, I tried to think about how to catch the animal when I saw it, but came up with nothing besides throwing my sword or running up to it.
Running wasn't an option, my footsteps would easily scare them away and throwing my sword would not do much if I can't aim. I sighed as I thought about what to do. I could learn to be stealthier, but what good would that do me. I would just be wasting my day. I decided to try it anyways and see where it gets me.
A small rabbit was soon in sight. I quietly got up and tiptoed around it as it took a sip of water. As I moved, a branch snapped and it was scared off. I sighed and went back to my original position. I needed to be patient if I wanted to do this right.
A few of the animals passed, but I was unsuccessful in catching them. Soon, a small animal that I couldn't identify approached. I tried to remember everything I had scolded myself about, and tried again. I watched my steps and was careful around branches. I slowly made my way behind the defenceless animal and pounced.
I whipped my sword forward and stabbed the animal in the head. I smirked at my prize and refrained from celebrating. It was then that I heard a few chimes and Claudius Templesmith's voice.
"Attention remaining tributes. There has been a rule change, which now allows two tributes from the same district to win together." I stared up at the sky in shock. I celebrated in my head, but my exterior was cool.
I knew that Clove would probably go back to camp to find me, so I grabbed all my stuff and raced back. I arrived and looked around, dropping my belongings. Clove came running out of the forest, a small smile playing on her lips.
She rushed towards me and jumped into my waiting arms. I spun her around as I embraced her.
"We're going home together, Clover." I whispered happily. She smiled at me, something that I had missed deeply. It was a sense of comfort that I'd always loved. I returned her to the ground and stared into her eyes.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and continued staring at me. I rose my right hand and stroked her cheek softly. She leaned into my touch and leaned up slightly. Her soft lips met mine in a tender kiss.
The short kiss ended quickly and we just stood around and smiled at each other. She quickly walked past me and dumped her bag down before taking her hair out of her ponytail.
"Where were you?" I asked curiously.
"I found a small place to stay." She said vaguely. "How was it here without me?"
"Lonely." I said, smiling at her. At this point, I don't care if the whole of Panem sees me and Clove being happy together, because all I care about is her right now. She turned and smiled at me before heading to the lake.
She took her jacket and shoes off before hopping into the water.
"What are you doing?" I laughed.
"I'm washing my hair, it feels disgusting." She explained. I watched as she leaned back into the water and rinsed her hair. "Are you just doin to stare at me like a creep or...?"
I slipped my shirt off and hopped into the water. I've got to say, I does feel good to clean myself. I went under the water to wash my hair and when I came up, I saw Clove running her fingers through her hair. She slowly got out and I couldn't help, but admire her figure.
The wet clothes stuck to her body as she walked and showed all of her curves. I hopped out a few minutes after her and started drying my hair. I ran a hand through my golden hair and slipped my shirt back on. I snuck behind Clover, who was still drying her hair, and placed my arms around her waist.
"I'm so glad you're back," I whispered. "And I'm sorry for yelling at you the other day. I was just frustrated."
"Cato, it's fine." She laughed. "I get that you were mad and that you have trouble controlling your anger."
"Come on, let's dance." I suggested.
"It's not really the time for dancing." I dragged her to the centre of our camp anyways and started swaying with her like music was playing. I spun her around as she smiled at me. This was the Clove I knew and loved.
I stopped dancing for a second as she leaned up and kissed me. I leaned down and met her lips in a soft kiss. Her soft lips moved in sync with mine and made me reminisce about all the memories we made in District 2. Now, we got to go back there together and I couldn't be happier.
We pulled apart slowly and she leaned her head on my chest, breathing in my scent. I leant down and kissed the top of her head.
"Come on, we have stuff to plan." Clover said softly. We pulled apart and walked to the fire that I'd built.
"Okay, so we know that Fire girl and Lover boy is still left. Who else it there?" I asked.
"The boy from 11, Thresh, and the girl from... I think she's from 7." She relied as she tried to recall what district she's from.
"5," I corrected. "So that means that we're in the final six."
"Yeah. So we know that 11 is a powerhouse and will probably be hard to fight, but I've seen 5 in training. She's not much, and she didn't really do any of the weapons." She explained.
"So, how's she surviving?"
"She's sneaky and fast. If we trap her, it'll be easy to kill her, but if we can't catch her we have no other way to kill her." Clove finished.
"Lover boy will be an easy kill since he's injured, but I'm not too sure about Fire girl. She got that 11 somehow." I tried to think of what her skill was, but nothing came to mind.
"Well, finding them might be more difficult than killing them. Right now, we have no clue where they are. They could be anywhere by now." Clove ran a hand through her damp hair and sighed.
The both of us tried to think of some way to gather all the tributes, but we came up with nothing in the end.
"What'd you eat while I was gone?" She asked as we started eating the leftover meat.
"Some dried fruit and beef jerky I found in my bag. You?"
"Well the meat obviously, and I also ate some plants I found."
"I caught something today." I commented as I finished off the wing I was eating.
"Really?" She said sounding shocked.
"Yeah." I laughed. "I'm mildly offended."
"Well, you're just so loud. I thought you would scare all the animals away." She explained.
"Well, I can be quiet when I want you know." I said with a smirk. She nodded slightly and continued eating.
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Clove's POV:
I yawned as I stretched my arms out and looked around. Cato sat by the dead fire and ate something that I presumed to be a rabbit. I walked over to him and sat down. He turned to me and smiled and handed me a piece of the meat.
"How was your sleep?" He asked.
"Good, you?"
"Pretty good." He answered sporting the same smile that he always wore in two.
"So what's the plan today?" I said letting a small smile appear on my face.
"I'm not sure. We could stay here for a while." He suggested with a playful smirk. I rolled my eyes, but I secretly wondered what he wanted to do.
"That wouldn't be very productive, would it?"
"It would if you wanted kids." Cato said suggestively. My jaw dropped as he said this. "I'm kidding. I don't want kids yet." He laughed. As he laughed, I slapped his arm and glared at him.
The day passed extremely slowly and it consisted of sitting around and hunting for food. The audience was probably getting bored, since no one was dying. As we got back to camp with our new meat, Templesmith's voice started booming throughout the arena.
"Attention tributes. There will be a feast which will be hosted tomorrow. This is no ordinary feast, it will hold the things you most desire." Cato and I looked at each other and thought about what could possibly be there for us.
"We should go early so we can catch all of the tributes that go." I said to Cato after the announcement finished.
"Yeah, we can camp out near the cornucopia tonight. We don't want to miss our chance to catch any of them." Cato added.
It was starting to get dark, so we ate some of the meat we had caught today and started packing some essentials. The only things we really packed were our sleeping bags since the food and water were already in our bags.
We started walking through the forest to reach the cornucopia. When we arrived, nothing had been set up yet, meaning that they were setting it up tonight or in the morning. We found a nice spot and laid down our sleeping bags. I was going to have the first watch and Cato would have the second.
I sat down on my sleeping bag and leaned against the tree next to it. I watched as Cato fell asleep and started looking around. There were no signs of movement between the trees, which was a good thing, but I couldn't help but feel like someone was there.
I stood up and looked around the dark forest. No one seemed to be there, but a the sound of quiet footsteps were audible. I turned around to find the source of the sound, but only saw a small shadow running through the trees.
I considered chasing it, but decided against it. The figure disappeared from the surrounding trees, but I was sure that the person was still around. I convinced myself that I was being paranoid and sat back down. Whoever it was, was going to die one way or another, so I wouldn't need to worry about it now.
A/N Hey everyone, this is a little bit late and a bit short, but I swear the next one will be better.
I was wondering what you would all like Clove and Cato's deaths to be like. Do you want them to both die when they are supposed to, one to die or both to live? I've already decided what I wanted to do, but I would like to know what you would all prefer.