Tidal ~ Hunger Games [2]

nine

+ sandwich +

I walked along the wide trail, a folded up blanket held tightly between my arms as my shoes crunched over the gravel and my eyes fixated on the ground. My mother walked silently by my side, Kai, Haf and my father walking ahead of us with the baskets of food which we had prepared. Zale ran around us, making noises with his mouth as he hopped around, weaving between all of us as he laughed and smiled at nothing but himself.

How my mother had convinced us to have a picnic I have no idea. I had agreed at first, but once she told me that she wanted to eat by the lake I had been hesitant. My father had been the one to see through my lie of needing to wait for a phone call from the Capitol, saying that it would be nice for us all to leave the house and spend some time together, so I had reluctantly agreed. Now here I was, slowly walking down the path that led to one of my favourite places, yet I would rather be anywhere else than here.

"Race you to the lake" Kai shouted at Haf and Zale as he took of running quickly, his shoes kicking out stones from under them as Haf ran to try and catch up, Zale tagging along behind them. "You want me to carry that, love?" dad asked as he turned around, pointing to the basket in moms hand as she shook her head, smiling at him kindle even though I could tell it was probably really heavy. She had been up since the crack of dawn preparing food to bring with us, you'd think that she was about to go and feed a small village with it all.

No tridents. That was the one condition of the picnic. Kai had started to kick up a fuss, saying that the small fish at the lake were at their best at this time of the year, but one stern look from mom told him to shut up, and he stopped complaining. I hadn't even seen a trident in the past few weeks since I got home, where they were I had no idea but I had a small feeling they were locked in a closet somewhere out of my reach.

"This will be fun, wipe that moody look off of your face" mom said to me as she nudged me with her shoulder, my attention being drawn from the ground over to her. She smiled at me, and I attempted to give my best one back, but I knew that it looked fake, I was too conditioned to fake smile now that I could barely even tell when they were genuine. We steered round the bend, breaking off of the path through the line of trees to reveal the field of grass that surrounded the lake.

It was vast, the shimmer water bouncing the sunlight off of it as Kai, Haf and Zale all stood at the bank, pulling their shoes off of their feet and removing their shirts as they ran into the water. Kai dived in, disappearing as Zale and Haf both set out, splashing each other as my mother laughed at them. "Let's sit at the bank" dad said as he led us down to the water, the trees surrounding the large lake keeping it protected in a little alcove of privacy. My father took the blanket from me, laying it flat on the grass as we all took a seat, Kai arising in the depths of the water with a wide smile on his face. "Haf come further out" he shouted, Zale struggling to keep up with Haf as plunged into the water, following further out in the lake to meet with Kai.

"Can I go?" Zale asked as he turned around, treading water as he held his chin above the water, looking for permission from mom and dad. "Back crawl" dad shouted in reply as Zale nodded his head, floating on his back as he kicked his way out, keeping his whole face above the surface. This was the lake we had grown up swimming and fishing in. I had learnt how to swim on this very bank, my father holding onto my back as I floated, getting more comfortable in the water. I remember the first time I had struck a fish, the small sturgeon I caught being our dinner that night. I had never seem dad more proud of me, he carried me all the way home in one arm, his hand holding the sturgeon in the other as he showed everyone we passed on the street the very first fish his daughter had caught.

My mother began pulling food from the basket, laying it out in front of me as I kicked off my shoes, folding my legs as I stared at my brothers out in the water. Zale cling onto Kai's neck, Haf splashing the pair of them as they tried to retaliate as best as they could, Zale's small splashes barely reaching over to Haf. The sound of their distance laughter echoed back to us, Zale turning to look at us as he offered a big wave, which I responded with a smile and a small wave back. "Chicken sandwich" mom said as she offered me a sandwich wrapped in a cloth, making me take it from her with a small nod of my head.

There was cut veggies that I had chopped sitting in a glass container in the middle of the blanket, surrounded by different snacks and sandwiches mom had packed for us. "Wave" Kai shouted over at me, my head lifting up to look at him, his hand waving outwards as Zale floated on his back next to him, Haf disappearing under the water. "You coming?" he asked me, a wide smile on his face as I stared back at him, my mouth hanging open slightly. "I" I started, not knowing what to reply as dad cleared his throat beside me, cupping his hands round his mouth. "Let her get something to eat first" he replied for me, which I was thankful for, considering I still didn't know what I was going to say in reply to my brother.

Kai nodded his head, turning back to Haf and Zale as dad looked over at me, my fingers slowly unwrapping the chicken sandwich from the cloth. "You don't have to go in" dad told me as I looked over at him, my whole body freezing as we stared at each other for a moment. His brow was knitted together, his mouth pressed into a straight line as I nodded my head slowly, my mouth feeling abnormally dry. I hadn't thought about whether or not I wanted to go into the water today or not. I knew that the possibility of me freaking out before I even got anywhere near it was high, the only thing keeping me grounded being my parents on either side of me.

"Thanks" I said quietly, not knowing what else to say to him for covering for me, my hands shaking my lifting the sandwich up to my mouth. I could barely hold my hands still enough for me to take a bite, my mother and father locking eyes as they exchanged a worried glance. I lowered my mouth to the bread instead, taking the corner off as I chewed it slowly, making my jaw work to ensure that I squished out all the possible flavour in the mouthful, something I had started subconsciously doing since I got home.

Mom and dad started a conversation, talking to one another as I ignored what they were saying back and forth, my jaw still working on that bite of chicken and bread. My eyes were fixated ahead of me on the sunlight glimmering over the surface of the water, looking like a jewel sitting under a light the way it reflected off of it. It was odd how some place so familiar to me had become so foreign all of the sudden. I wasn't scared to be here, but my heart was beating abnormally fast in my chest for being somewhere that I considered to be one of my favourite places.

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A/N: hello hello hello
this chapter is kinda mediocre but I wanted a little family moment between them all because I haven't written much of that since she got home
We don't really know much about her family so I promise I will write some more chapters with them so I can elaborate their characters a bit more because I think they will actually be super fun and interesting characters
please do not forget to vote and comment and i will see you soon