She's With Me

Chapter 12

A/n: Hello everybody! Today is February 1st, 2021. I am back from surgery recovery and feeling almost completely healed (I had my wisdom teeth removed)! It was a really traumatic experience so I'm very glad I never have to go through that again, but my surgeon and nurses were absolutely incredible.

A soft thunking on Y/n's head puts her on high alert, jerking her from her slight doze. Her fingers wrap around the hilt of her dagger and she looks around, ready to stab someone. Seeing no one awake around her, she looks up and sees Katniss with a handful of acorns.

"What?" Y/n mouths.

Katniss points to a section of the tree beside her. Y/n follows her finger with confusion but her eyes widen when she sees a Tracker Jacker nest hanging from a thick branch. Katniss shifts her finger to a spot high above it. Y/n sees a young girl, Rue, crouched on a branch against the trunk. She smiles warmly at her and nods.

Y/n looks back at Katniss, who makes a sawing motion, points at Y/n, then moves her thumb away from the clearing. Y/n nods in understanding and slowly packs up her stuff, careful not to wake anyone up. She looks back up at Katniss. "Be careful," she mouths. Katniss nods.

Strapping her weapons to her backpack, she takes off to a large tree with lots of cover in the branches. She scales it quickly, laughing to herself at the fact that Cato actually believed she couldn't climb trees.

Y/n strains her ears for sounds. Suddenly, a loud thwack echoes through the forest and loud, rampant screaming pierces the thick silence. The Tributes run out of the clearing, all of them having large swells on various parts of their bodies. Y/n notices that they are down 1 girl.

She climbs down the tree apprehensively and makes her way to the clearing. She sees the dead tribute, her body bloated and purple, puss filling the bubbles that almost swallow her whole. Y/n hears some branches move, and she grabs a sword, but moves towards the sound.

Y/n finds Katniss collapsed on the ground. She stifles a scream and runs over, checking her body. She has multiple stings that caused her to pass out. She places a finger under Katniss' petite nose. The finger gets hot with steam from her breath and Y/n exhales in relief.

She hears the trees above her move and she stands up quickly, drawing her sword. To her surprise, Rue hops down the branches. "I can help her," she says quietly.

"You can?"

Rue nods. "Help me carry her. My camp isn't too far from here." Y/n nods and sweeps Katniss up in her arms, carrying her bridal style and being careful to avoid the wounds. They march through the woods, all their senses (minus the unconscious girl) on high alert.

They make their way into a small clearing with a little lean-two. Y/n sets her down on a pile of leaves and gently lays her head down. She takes off Katniss' jacket to give Rue better access. Rue gathers some leaves from around the clearing and places them on the wounds.

Y/n looks at her, curious. "What is that?"

"A special leaf that has medicinal properties. These will help heal the stings."

Y/n nods and grabs a canteen of water, pouring a little bit into her mouth. Rue stares at her. They lock eyes and Y/n offers her the canteen. "Here. Drink some. There's a stream nearby; I can get more. I have a feeling you need some." She smiles at her kindly.

Rue smiles a little and drinks the water, swigging it down her dry throat. Y/n safely ventures down to the stream and gathers more water regularly, washing her, Rue, and Katniss of the dirt they've picked up. Rue points out various plants around them and teaches Y/n their healing properties. Y/n swaps Katniss' leaves and checks her wounds regularly.

Eventually, two days pass and Katniss hasn't stirred. Y/n shifts with worry as Rue gently tends to cleaning the shrinking bubbles again. Suddenly, Katniss' eyes flutter open. Y/n smiles widely and crawls over, pushing the hair back from her face and kissing her forehead tenderly. 

"Baby. Oh, my sweet Katniss. Oh, I love you, princess," she breathes.

"I love you too," Katniss says with a groggy and scratchy throat.

"Oh!" Y/n grabs the water and holds Katniss' head up while it trickles through her.

"How long was I asleep?" Katniss asks.

Rue shrugs. "Couple of days. Y/n and I changed your leaves."

"Thank you." Katniss shifts so she's sitting up. "So what happened while I was out?"

"The girl from 1 and the boy from 10," Y/n says.

"So where are Cato and the others?"

"They got all their supplies down by the lake, piled up in this great big pyramid," Y/n says with a smirk, knowing her girlfriend would be enticed.

And so she was right. "That sounds tempting."