Safe and Sound

NOTE: I think you guys will like this one :)

PART TWO - THE BURN
Chapter Sixteen - Trust Mockingjays

I woke up suddenly when I heard the anthem of Panem. It was still raining, but it wasn't as heavy as before. Admittedly, it was still very cold and very wet, but it didn't hurt to look up to the sky to see the face of Ryker being shown. I gulped as looked away, squeezing my eyes shut. I didn't want to have to look into the eyes of the boy I killed. I stared at the ground until the anthem finished. Even though I felt bad about being the cause of someone's death, I couldn't help but think 'Eleven left, ten to go'.

When I was sure there was no one looking down at me from above, I opened my eyes and allowed my belt to pull me back down to the branch. I lay there and stared at the sky, which was now getting quite dark. The rain landed on my face, despite how I was guarded by the canopy of leaves above my head. I thought about Grayson, I couldn't help myself.

I knew that Grayson was more or less safe, but I was still worried for him. I didn't need him, though. But I also did. After all, he was the one who made me laugh during training, who had shown me support and who had been kind to me, even though he knew that we would have to fight to the death in the next few days. I imagined Grayson's smile; it was so bright, so innocent and so happy, even though he probably didn't have the best life. But he was optimistic and thought positive. I imagined the rabbit he cooked and gave to me when I was in need, the blue hair that he gained trying to do camouflage during training and the warm hug he gave me the night before the bloodbath. While picturing all of these things, I found myself smiling. The rain didn't feel so cold and the shivers in my spine felt much more like happiness instead of lack of warmth.

"Okay, you win." I whispered to the stars that seemed to be following me about throughout these Games, "I'll find him tomorrow."

_________

I woke up on day six of the Games with a mindset of determination, the rain no longer falling and the sun shining. Well. It wasn't exactly a 'pleasant shine', more like a dull glow, but it felt like it was waking me up gently. I was going to go and find Grayson Stengard, the boy who made me smile without even trying. I unbelted myself and packed away my sleeping bag. I put my belt back on and stretched. I then slipped my backpack and quiver onto my back and picked up my bow. I then jumped down from the tree and landed somewhat gracefully. I decided I would go hunting, as I was quite ravenous. I dreaded to think how much weight I had lost these past six days. I had done a lot of running and not much eating.

So I went out with my bow and I managed to shoot down another rodent, like the one I had shot down on the second day. I cooked it quickly and ate some of it and then had a little bit more of Peeta's cake to wash it down. There was only a small bit of that left after I had had my bit. I would definitely be saving that for later. I packed it all away then slung my backpack onto my back. I then put my quiver on over the top and picked up my bow.

I was going hunting again.

But this time, I was hunting for Grayson Stengard, a rare specimen who truly made me happy, even though we had actually only known each other for a few days. He was a one-of-a-kind, very rare and a very gentle creature. If anyone was to just be caught in the presence of the Grayson Stengard, they should be very honoured, for he is the rainbow in the heavy rain.

I walked. I knew it was going to take a long time to find him, but I didn't mind. It would probably even take days, but I knew that it would be worth it in the end. So I kept going, determined to keep on the move. The thing was, the forest was huge and it would be very hard to find Grayson, he could have been anywhere. He was awful at camouflage, I knew that for certain, but he was quite quick and stealthy. He would be able to run pretty fast and be hard to catch. I didn't know if he could climb trees very well or if he preferred to be on the forest floor, but I find out sooner or later. Well, I hoped I would.

Nothing happened as I walked through the forest, the birds sung and the small mammals ran about around me. Even though this arena was built for a bloody and gruesome war between children, it still was quite beautiful. There were many birds and creatures and wonderful plants. The birdsong seemed to cheer everything up a little bit, which I was slightly grateful for. The songs of the birds reminded me of my mother and father, of the fact they wanted me to be a mockingjay. But now I wasn't going to be any old mockingjay, I was the Flaming Mockingjay. And I was going to fly.

I walked for another hour, possibly two, before I came across something. I stumbled over it slightly and quite literally. Once I had regained my balance, I went back a few paces to see what had tripped me up. I bent down to see a throwing knife, glinting slightly in the sunlight. I knelt down completely and picked it up, examining it. It looked rather unused, not so much as a scratch on the blade or handle. Somebody must have dropped it while passing through this part of the forest. I was about to put it back down again, when something went whizzing past the side of my face, slicing a couple of centimetres right under my eye and onto the side of my nose I instantly felt blood pouring down my face as the knife fell in front of me, the side of the blade covered in my own blood. As an instinct, I stood and turned while I nocked an arrow into my bow and fired it in the direction it came from, at the person that had nearly hit me. The person ducked, but not quick enough. They were sliced across the shoulder. As they stood up straight again, clutching their shoulder with one hand and holding a knife in their other, I gasped.

"Grayson!" I exclaimed. Grayson straightened up completely then squinted at me, just before his jaw dropped. His eyes widened in fear and he looked like he as about to run. He looked behind him at the arrow, which was lodged in the tree behind him. He then removed his free hand from his shoulder and looked at it. It was covered in blood. Now my jaw dropped. "Grayson, I am so, so sorry." I said, but it wasn't enough for him. He turned and ran. I had to admit, he was definitely very quick. Already, he had disappeared into the trees, faster than Caritta. I groaned and scooped up the knife he had thrown at me, just in case it was a way I could get him back. I then ran forward, pulling my arrow out of the tree as I passed.

I had to run faster than usual in order to just catch sight of Grayson, who was very far ahead. My legs were crying out in pain as I tried to catch up with the boy. I gritted my teeth and pushed myself, needing to reach him. The Games have changed him. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind, but it came back. He will just kill you when you get to him. I couldn't help it, tears started to well up in my eyes. Maybe it was because the pain under my right eye had started to kick in or I had just realised I had lost the boy that gave himself blue hair. I shouldn't have grown attached to him; attachment always results in pain. This time, it was also physical.

I ran through the forest after Grayson, the tears stinging my eyes and the blood smelling and tasting metallic as it ran down my cheek and side of my nose, into my mouth. I clutched onto my bow with my left hand and Grayson's knife with my right. My backpack and quiver felt heavier than they should have been. I didn't want to be crying like this, for the whole of Panem to see, but the physical and mental pain was just a bit too much for me to handle.

I cut through the undergrowth, the thin, whip-like branches clawing at any exposed skin. I had to catch up with Grayson, I had to say sorry and, most importantly, I had to team up with him.

We had run for about ten minutes and I was beginning to give up hope. He was just so far away. I couldn't see him. I was about to stop running, when I caught sight of a black and orange backpack and the familiar mop of messy, brown hair. He was quite a way ahead, but now I felt as if I could reach him if I tried.

"Grayson!" I called out as I dodged trees. He either ignored me or he didn't hear because he kept running, "Grayson! Stop, please! I'm sorry! I want to be your ally!" I shouted, desperation filling my voice. "Please, you don't have to do this alone!" He certainly heard that because he turned and caught sight of me. As I sped up and neared him, I saw that he was poised ready to run at any minute. But I wasn't going to let him go so easily.

I ran towards him and eventually caught up. I skidded to a halt in front of him, dropped my bow and threw my arms around his middle, causing him to stumble back slightly. His usual power of managing to stay on his feet when I fell into him didn't work this time, meaning that we both fell onto the floor. I ended up landing on top of the poor boy, who now seemed quite confused. I still clung onto him, apologising over and over, now sobbing more than ever.

Grayson wriggled around underneath me until he could sit up. I remained perched in his lap. I let go of him and crawled off, sitting in front of him crossed legged. Grayson held his bleeding shoulder with one hand, while looking at me. He looked shocked, confused and possibly...relieved? I wiped away my tears and some of the blood, but the cut just kept pouring.

"If you want to make an alliance with me, why did you nearly skewer my shoulder?" He asked, his voice sounding more or less like it usually did. I hadn't heard him speak in a while, so it sounded like a bird's song. I almost squealed with delight at having Grayson back with me. I smiled slightly, trying not to smirk.

"Why did you slice my face open?" I retorted, gesturing to my bleeding cheek and nose. Grayson looked down, ashamed.

"I guess that makes us square." He whispered, before looking up at me and pulling the sleeve of his jacket down slightly, revealing the under-fleece part of the sleeve. He pulled that part over his palm, then reached out and dabbed at my cheek, getting rid of some more of the blood. He dabbed at it and held his hand there for a second, then pulled away. He seemed to have stopped some of the blood flow. Once he had finished, he pulled the jacket part of his sleeve down over the fleece again and looked at me. "Why do you want to make an alliance with me of all people? I mean, I think I've still got a small trace of Tracker Jacker venom in my bloodstream. That's why I missed when I threw my knife at you." I scoffed at his response.

"Missed? You call that a miss? I tell you what a m-" I was about to go on, but Grayson now looked quite guilty, so I softened my expression and sighed. "I'm sorry. I'll just be glad you didn't hit me in the back of my head. And plus, I need you as my ally. I need you more than you would think. I guess you were just there for me, without me even realising it. Plus, you're probably one of the more kinder tributes. I mean, look. You just wiped the blood from my face when you could have just backstabbed me with the knife I am holding." Grayson smiled a little bit. "So, do you want to fight through this together? I can understand completely if you don't and you just want to stab me on the spot."

I looked up at Grayson's beautiful eyes. They still contained that trace of pain that had always been in there, but besides that, I couldn't read the expression in them.

"You can't need me. No one needs me. I'm just worthless according to my parents. I'm not sure if you're just hopped up on venom too. Do you really think we can work better together?" He looked directly into my eyes. I reached out and held onto his right forearm, squeezing it in what I hoped to be a comforting way.

"Honestly," I said to the boy who was evidently so self conscious and so alone, "I don't think you're worthless. I haven't even been stung by something, so I know what I'm saying and it is the truth. You, Grayson Stengard, are one of the best people I know." Grayson then smiled at me. It wasn't quite his handsome beam, but it was a smile nonetheless. His smile had to be one of the most beautiful things I had seen in my life...despite maybe, the blood. Grayson twisted his forearm in my hand so he was also holding mine as I held his.

"Allies?" He asked. I smiled and nodded.

"Allies." We let go of each other's forearms and just sat there in silence. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, it was quite the opposite. I wiped and dabbed a bit more at my cheek, which had resumed bleeding. Grayson spotted this quite quickly and took his backpack off.

"Here, I've got something for that." He unzipped it and reached in, before pulling out the familiar silver tub that had belonged to a parachute. At least he had also received sponsors. He opened the lid, revealing that the inside had a jelly-like cream. He dipped his first two fingers in and reached out for my cheek. I stayed still as he dabbed it on. It instantly soothed it and the flow of blood seemed to stop almost instantaneously.

"I think you need some for your shoulder." I pointed out, gesturing to it. I had torn his jacket slightly from where my arrow had grazed it, but it was nothing major. He nodded in agreement and slipped his jacket off. He pulled at the collar of his t-shirt slightly so he could dab some cream on. Once he had done, the wound stopped bleeding. He let go of his collar and put his jacket back on. because we were from the same District, his jacket matched mine, with the black and grey. I smiled, "Look, we've even got ally jackets." Grayson smiled at me.

"Yeah, they even hide the blood." He said, but with a touch of humour. I liked having Grayson back, he was good. We just sat there, when something fluttered down from above. It landed in Grayson's lap. He picked it up and I immediately identified it as a flight feather from a mockingjay. "Is this some sort of sign or something, to signify that you were meant to be my ally or something?" He joked, smiling slightly as he handed it to me. I put it on my middle finger and stretched out my hand.

"I guess it is." I answered, removing my feather and handing it back to Grayson. "You should be thankful, they're clever songbirds." Grayson laughed quietly, before twisting the feather between his fingers, thoughtfully. He stroked it slightly, almost longingly, as he fiddled with it. He then reached out and managed to lace it into my plait delicately. He sat back down again and smiled.

"I love mockingjays." He said as I lifted my plait to have a look at the feather, which was now weaved into it rather beautifully. I liked it. I looked back at Grayson, who was looking at me, wearing a funny little smile, "I can trust them. They never lead you astray."