The Seed is Strong (Hunger Games Fanfic)

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Ela was right about the people of the Capital liking them as a team, because the next morning they found two large empty bottles waiting for them outside their cave.
These bottles made carrying water up from the river so much easier.
And that night as they were shivering from the cold, a blanket was sent to them via another parachute, making their sleep a lot warmer.
Although grateful for their gifts, Ela and Tomas were really starting to suffer from their hunger.
They had tried eating some lizards raw, but they hadn't been very appetizing, nor had they provided much nutritious value. So they were surviving off berries and plants.

On the third afternoon, the game makers decided to change things up.
A huge rockfall started at the top of the mountains where Ela and Tomas were hiding.
Luckily they managed to escape with only a few cuts and bruises.
But they were unable to return to their cave.
Instead they had to make a new home much lower down, closer to the rest of the tributes.
The positive thing was that they were now a lot nearer to the games only water source, and they now had the ability to hunt for food in the forest.

Although Ela was unused to her surroundings, she managed to track down some things for her and Tomas to eat.
The arena had been filled with various strange species of birds, some of which turned out to be carnivorous.
Ela was struggling with only one knife, but since she had nothing else to do all day, she managed to kill several harmless birds for them to eat. She had chosen to avoid getting too close to the ones that she had seen peck another trubute to death earlier in the day.
Since 12 tributes had been killed, Tomas decided it was worth the risk to start a fire. Because if they didn't eat something substantial soon, they were going to starve to death.

"Well, I can safely say that's the best meal I've ever eaten, not including the things that we ate in the Capital" admitted Tomas, once he'd polished off his last leg bone.
After cooking their food as quickly as possible, they had carried it back to their new cave as quickly as possible.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it" beamed Ela.
"Birds and berries, what more do you need" teased Tomas.
"A nice bed. My back is killing from sleeping on the cold hard floor every night"
"Maybe you should try sleeping on top of the blanket"
"No, we need that for warmth"
"True".

Ela took a sip of water, replenishing her thirst.
She was much less thirsty now that they were nearer the river. But she was also much more afraid of being attacked, as their new cave was not quite as hidden as their first.
"Do you think we're going to be alright tonight?" Asked Ela.
"Why?" Questioned Tomas.
"This is our first night in this cave. The game makers obviously drove us down here for a reason"
"Well, we are closer to the Careers now. But we've got no idea where the rest of the tributes are. So worrying unnecessarily, is no good for either of us. The Careers don't know where we are, and we were careful not to leave any muddy footprints that could help them find us".

"You don't think there are any nasty creatures that come out at night in the forest, do you?" Questioned Ela.
"I hope not. And if there were, I think more people would've been hiding up in the mountains with us, and we didn't see anyone up there during the last few days. Besides, I never saw anything strange when I collected water at night" admitted Tomas.
"Well that might be because you never went very far in"
"We're not in the woods now either. We may be a lot closer to them than before, but we are still in a cave, so we are safe. And we always leave one person on guard while the other sleeps, ensuring that we're safe. So you don't need to worry".

"How can I not worry? All I've done since my name was pulled out at the Reaping, is worry" revealed Ela.
"Really? And here I was thinking you were the brave one out of the two of us" mocked Tomas.
Ela elbowed Tomas in the side.
"Ow" he exaggerated.
"Baby" teased Ela.
"Well, I'm not as brave as you. You used to hunt in the woods and undermine lockdown rules, to see Glen every night"
"Not every night. But yes, I did. There is no risk that I wouldn't take for him. I love him"
"I wish someone loved me the way that you love him".

Ela was about to reply and say that Tomas would experience that kind of love one day, but she stopped herself.
She couldn't afford to think about the future.
Only one of them was getting out of the games alive, and if she wanted to see Glen again, and raise her child with him, then the victor would have to be her.
Although Ela had no intention of killing Tomas, she knew that they couldn't win together, because that wasn't how the games worked.

"Surely you had some sweetheart back home. I'm pretty sure a lot of the girls in our year liked you" admitted Ela.
"Maybe they did, but I never liked them back" replied Tomas.
"Please don't say this is the bit where you confess your undenying love for me, and reveal that you've always loved me" groaned Ela, even though she hoped the answer was yes, as that would please the Capital viewers.
Tomas chuckled, "I always thought you were pretty, but I never let myself think any further than that. You and Glen have always been childhood sweethearts, even though he's in the year above us. And no one wanted to mess with that. I know a lot of the girls in both our years, liked him, but no one ever dared to get in your way".

"No one wants to make me angry, trust me, I can have a mean streak when it comes to protecting those I care about" declared Ela.
"Remind me never to get on your wrong side" smiled Tomas.
"You'd better not upset me then. And since I'm pregnant and therefore more emotional than normal, keeping me happy is even harder than ever"
"I guess I'd better be on my best behaviour from now on then"
"Yes, I suppose you had".