Phoenix : A Continuation of the Hunger Games

Chapter 5:

when i wake up Peeta's arm is wrapped around me protectively. my stirring wakes him up as well and he smiles. "Good morning beautiful." he says laughing and kissing my cheek.

"Ithink i'm going to go hunting later." i say, yawning and stretching.

"Fine. just watch out for Hawthorne." he says worriedly. i smile.

"i can take him. and i'll have a bow. plus hes wounded pretty badly, i dont think he'll be out hunting yet." i say reassuring him. he frowns and gets up. he pulls on a shirt and goes down to the kitchen to start baking like he does every morning. not bothering to change out of what i wore yesterday, i grab my father's hunting jacket and my game ag before heading out. "Bye, Peeta. i'll be back in a few hours." he nods and returns to kneading dough. i laugh at his concentration and walk outside.

i slide under the fence and go to the hollow log where i keep my old bow and arrows. i shoot down a squirrel right through the eye, seconds after picking up my weapon.

i make it to the lake where the little house is, and i take down a rabbit and another squirrel

i aim at the next rabbit and right before a hand touches my shoulder and i jump, landing the arrow in a tree. i turn around and wince as Gale smirks at me. he starts looking me up and down an the smile vanishes when he looks at my arm. oh no. he sees it. i suddenly cross my arms hoping he wont notice the ring on my right hand. he glares at me.

"no." he says demandingly. he grabs my hand and slides the ring off, securing it in his inside jacket pocket. "you're not going to need this. i think your best option is to come with me, Katniss." he says angrily. i lunge at him, trying to retrieve the ring from that bastard. he grabs my arm and pushes me back.

"give that back!" i sneer at him. he laughs and cross his arms. 

"i dont think you need it. i really think you should consider my offer, especially if you want this back." he says grinning. i turn and load by bow, aimed right at his skull.  "huh. i guess you want me to melt this and dump it in the river." he says, galring at me. i lower the weapon and walk away furious. im going to bit the shit out of you Hawthorne. and i hope it hurts.

i put my bow back in the the log and make my way angrily toward the fence.

soon they're going to be removing all of the fences down and leave the woods open, but hunting is still illegal. although pretty much everyone knows i hunt illegally, but i've avoided that penalty so far. i hope they kill Gale for something,so i dont have to.

Peeta is going to kill me. i lost his engagment ring after 1 day. i feel horrible. i know i'm rich and i can pay him back for it, but i still have guilt that i lost it. that means the whole way home i'lll be walking as a single woman.

i finally get back and stuff my hands in my pockets again. i open the door and walk inside calmly. i'm welcomed by Peeta's arms, followed by his lips. but he senses that i'm upset pretty quickly and looks at me with sad eyes. "Katniss?" he asks. i dont respond and he frowns. "Katniss." he says taking my hand and looking at me.

"he...he took it..." i say, softly,trying to hold back tears. he looks confused.

"what? your bow?" he asks. i shake my head slightly and frown. i gently hold out my other hand and he sees that it's bare."the ring! he took it!" i nod slowly and hug him tightly.

"i'm sorry. he took it right off my hand and put it in his pocket. i lunged at him but he caught me. i almost shot an arrow through him but he threatened to melt it. he said he'd only give it back if i went back with ho. but he knows i wont!" he looks sad but accepts it and gives me a sad smile.

"look. i can get another one. we're rich as heck. but i still wont let him get away with this! i'm going over there." he says pulling on his jacket and walking toward the door. i pull him back by the arm.

"Peeta, no! he'll kill you, trust me he will. he doesnt have a problem with killing anyone and its creepy! please dont go over there!" i plead.  he looks into my eyes with his crystal blue ones and i frown, letting go of his arm and running to the drawer."at least take my hunting knife!" i say softly, placing the knife in his palm,closing his finger around it with my own. he smiles and shoves it into his pocket. i frown as the door closes.

i walk into the kitchen and the smell of freshly baked bread fills my nose. i see a slice already taken and i take one for myself. i grab the butter out of the refridgerator and spread some over the breab before biting into it and fufilling my hunger pang. its only about 9:30am. i would have still been hunting if it weren't for Gale showing up. i'm worried about Peeta's saftey. i know he has my knife but still, i know Gale is probably looking forward to snaping his neck or shooting him. what did Peeta ever do to Gale? aside from proposing to me. Gale was my best friend. and if he can't respect my judgement and love for Peeta,than thats his fault and only more reason for me to hate him so much. i decide to call my mother real quick.

"hello? Katniss?"

"yeah, mom./ can i ask a very important favor of you?" i ask. "if you ever see Gale again, kill him for me. because i dont want to be the one to have to do that."

"What!"