LEGENDS ▹ the hunger games au

𝐱𝐢𝐢

𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

DAYS IN THE ARENA :
I

DARKNESS AND DEATH MADE FINE COMPANIONS.

The anthem rang out amongst the red forest as it did everywhere else in the arena, the telltale sign that the death recap was about to proceed. Through the sparse branches, Willow could easily make out the seal of the Capitol floating in the night. The anthem faded out and the sky went dark for a moment.

The shivering girl sucked in a deep breath and readied her cold shaking fingers as the faces of the dead tributes began.

The first to appear was the boy from District 3. This meant that the Careers from One and Two had all survived. Will couldn't help but be disappointed. The woman from District 5... which meant that Calder was still alive. Will felt the tension in her shoulders increase just a bit.

Oh, well. She tried to think positively, even if it almost made her retch again, There were still enough tributes that the odds were someone else would kill him before she had to.

Of course, the odds hadn't been very dependable of late.

Both from Nine and Ten were also dead, as was the girl from Eleven — Peara, the one who was Chaff's daughter, Haymitch's friend, the one who made her laugh during training.

Will didn't have any time to be sad, though, because her heart stopped for just a moment, dreading the sight of Rye's face in the sky. But there was nothing. That was it. With a final musical flourish, the Capitol seal shone once more and then there was only darkness once more.

Still six dead.

Only six dead.

As disgusting as it was, the low kill count unsettled Willow. Things had been too quiet after the bloodbath. No deaths, perhaps no fights at all. The audience in the Capitol might have been getting bored, claiming that these Games were verging on dullness. This was the one thing the Games must never do. The only way to mix these sorts of things up would be to cause what Gamemakers referred to as a 'wrinkle', usually in the form of converging two tributes or mutts.

With that comforting thought in mind, Will burrowed back down behind the fallen tree trunk, knowing she needed to try and rest. She hadn't truly slept in at least two days, not to mention her long day's journey into the neverending forest. Her stomach grumbled in complaint and she tried to ignore the dry patches on her tongue. She'd set up some snares, which she would check in the morning. It was the water that was going to be a problem, she just knew it. 

The anxiety of it all was almost too much to swallow, but she squeezed her eyes tighter shut and tried to dream of somewhere else. Suddenly she began to ache for home, for her district, for her father's smile, her mother's passing touch, for the woods. A decent woods with sturdy hardwood trees, plentiful food, game that wasn't scarce. Rushing streams. Warm breezes. No, warm winds to blow this stifling stillness away.

She tried to picture herself there, in the woods back home, a place where she could sleep, where she felt safe. Slowly, her muscles allowed her to relax. Her breathing slowed. The last thing she hoped was that she didn't snore...

A twig snapped. 

Will's eyes shot open.

The sound of movement was quiet, hardly there. But still present and not far away.