𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐀 | 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬

𝟎𝟑. 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝

— 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐱 —

━━━━━━ ☽【❖】☾ ━━━━━━

Aside from the bloodbath at the cornucopia, surviving the games hadn't proven much of a challenge. Almost an entire week had passed and I can't remember the last time I heard the cannon's echo.

Rex, Honey, Harlan, and myself had remained holed up inside our hidden cavern, hoping the others might just take themselves out if we were patient enough. I can imagine how much of a disappointment I've been to the Capitol, but if lying low keeps me alive, I'll stick to what was slowly becoming my daily routine.

Rex would finish the nightwatch—I originally protested this decision, but if I wasn't nearby then Harlan couldn't sleep and we didn't need more than one member of our small entourage exhausted at a time. So Rex would keep watch through the night, then Harlan would take the next watch while Rex rested and hunted down our first meal: usually from some nearby berry bushes that I'd confirmed were safe to ingest.

Harlan had been delighted when he found out that I'd brought him a bo staff, so he'd spend a fair amount of time learning new techniques from Rex while I tried to figure out how to wield a spearhead like a scythe. Rex managed to craft a few crude daggers, but even then I couldn't get a feel for them. I only carried them as a last resort for protection.

The wind rustled the nearby branches, forcing my ears to twitch at the sound. I snapped off a few more branches then quickly turned to head back to the place I unfortunately considered home at this point. The weather hadn't been nearly as bad as that first day, but it still continued to snow and the temperature remained brisk. Even being outside the cave ten minutes and my fingers began to turn blue. I can only imagine how the other tributes must be faring as even the layers we were provided with did little against the cold.

"Juneaux!" Harlan wrapped his arms around me, providing warmth from his body heat the second I closed the makeshift hatch to the cavern. I chuckled as he continued to bounce on his toes, stepping back to show me the bo. "Look what Rex just taught me!"

He quickly twirled the bo, switching from two hands to one; however, on the hand-off to his now vacant hand, his fingers fumbled and the bo clattered to the ground. Not without giving himself a bump on the head though.

"Ow," he winced and muttered under his breath, immediately applying pressure to his head to relieve the pain.

"Hey," I lowered to the ground so that I'd be eye-level as I took his hands in mine. "Let me see... oh no..."

His eyes widened. "What? What is it? Am I bleeding?"

"I think we might need to shave your head, it looks pretty serious," I playfully replied, gently massaging the bump.

"Really?" His worry only grew; however, he relaxed once I laughed. He gently pushed me away, crossing his arms. "That's not funny."

"It's a little funny," I contradicted as I teased him. "You're gonna be alright. It doesn't even hurt anymore I bet."

He slowly nodded his head as he realized the distraction had helped the pain fade. I gently tussled his hair as I rose back to my feet; however, a stern look replaced the playful as we made our way to the back of the cavern.

"But you're supposed to be asleep," I reprimanded Rex, tapping him on the arm with the Harlan's staff as he pretended to snore.