Please Save Me

Kathryn Huntington|District Ten|Twelve|Please Don't Let Me Die

[mydarlingfiona]

Her legs worked without any thought. The tears in her eyes were spilling out onto the forest floor as she ran. Maybe, if this wasn’t a man-made arena, the plants and wildlife would be thriving off the delicious nutrients. Fiona felt a few twigs and branches scratch against her skirt and sweater. A few pieces of cotton were snatched from the sweater and were left hanging on the greenery. If she were thinking more rationally, she would have went back to pick up the small pieces of creamy fluff. Now, however, all she could think about was that she had to run away.

“Run, Fiona! Run”

A sob escaped her lips and the tears began to flow more intensely. Somehow, whether by the grace of God or simply genetics, she began to run faster. It was as if running through the thicket would make all of those horrible images go away. She could still hear the voices, the sounds, the screams…

Fiona was so lost in thought that she didn’t see the other girl until it was too late. With a loud smacking sound and an intense ache in her head and her joints, the girl from Two slammed into the ground and rolled backwards into the trunk of a nearby tree. Her head slammed into the back and she emitted a gagging sound. What had happened? With the speed of a wild animal, Fiona opened her eyes again and looked up. There, on the ground and covered in leaves, was that other girl: Kathryn.

“Wh-What?! Stay back. Stay back!” she screamed wildly as she slowly got to her feet with her back still pressed against the wooden trunk. She was, in a word, a wreck. 

@please-save-kathryn

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

Kathryn had found what she could only hope was a good hiding spot in the forest. A feeling of loneliness she wasn’t used to was tugging at her heart. If she had been back home in Ten she wouldn’t have minded being off in the wilderness alone, in fact she would have enjoyed it, but being in the arena and after having just been in an alliance she couldn’t fight the aching in her chest.

Kathryn was trying to rest her mind and body when she began to hear a crashing sound coming towards her. She stood, machete in hand, and tried to prepare herself for whatever or whoever was quickly headed her way.

Suddenly something was on her, she didn’t have time to process what had just slammed into her before she was knocked to the ground and the wind knocked out her and her weapon falling beside her.

Kathryn looked up wide eyed with terror. Fiona. Kathryn put her hands up defensively to show she meant no harm but her mind still very aware of her machete beside her in case the other twelve year old attacked.

[taintedones]

—dreamsbornofgrain‌  &  @please-save-kathryn​

Arista looked at Vida a moment. “I haven’t heard any cannons…” Which she thought was kind of odd considering most of the day had slipped away. The Gamemakers surely weren’t going to allow that. It made her wonder if there was something going on in some other part of the arena they didn’t know about. Not that she was jealous, she wanted to stay away from all the action for as long as possible.

“Kathryn?” Arista heard the sobbing before she had seen the girl. It was hard not to be heartbroken seeing a twelve year old curled up in a ball crying. Arista’s heart broke for her even before she knew what was wrong. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt are you…?” She looked okay but there was no way of knowing what shape she was in under the rain coat.

      truthfully,     vida would’ve been content with kathryn staying away for good.  she had given little help to their alliance thus far   &  her constant disappearing act made vida feel uneasy.     though most children gave her that feeling.    when she heard the sobs,  a few moments after arista had,  her first reaction was  to call out to her,  ‘ arista,   it could be a tra—.’

her words are lost in the madness of spotting the twelve year old girl on the floor.   vida moved closer to the scene,    standing above kathryn.    arista’s questions about the girls physical state were of no interest to vida.     she deadpanned,    ‘ did anyone follow you here? ’

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

Kathryn’s head whipped up wide eyed when she heard her name. She audibly sighed a breath of relief when she saw it was Arista. “I-I-I want to go home.” She stuttered before gasping for air and then a sob escaping her lips. She could feel herself shaking as images of the two boys that were dead because of her floated through her head. Kathryn then saw Vida, her eyes widening again. Kathryn shook her head no rapidly.

@dreamsbornofgrain

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

A large capsule attached to a parachute floats down from above and lands beside Kathryn. Inside is a machete. Attached is a note from mentor Birch Pembrooke that reads: "I'm very proud of you for making it this far. I hope this can help you get farther. I'll start a lavender-smelling bath for you."

Kathryn didn’t have time to even get in her sleeping bag before she heard the second beeping that signaled the arrival of a sponsor gift. Kathryn caught it as well and opened it. For the second time Kathryn’s eyes widened, this time in amazement. Kathryn picked the machete up and looked at it before carefully hugging it to her chest to show her graditude. She then picked up the slip of paper and read it. A sad look overcoming Kathryn.

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

A large capsule attached to a parachute floats down from above and lands beside Kathryn. Inside is a sleeping bag. Attached is a note from mentor Birch Pembrooke that reads: "Hey Kathryn, Did you know that the male pig puts everyone to sleep? You could say he’s quite the boar. I hope this gift helps just like the male pig. Love, Birch"

Kathryn was struggling to drift off to sleep because of how cold she was when she heard the beeping. It took her a moment to realize she was really hearing it and it wasn’t the beginning of a Dream. She looked up and saw the white parachute and silver container drifting down. Kathryn went out to catch it before sitting down to open it. First Kathryn read the small slip of paper. Her hand went to cover her grin as she let out a soft giggle. Then she really looked at her gift, her eyes widening with excitement. She looked up and mouthed “Thank you Mr. Birch.”

[taintedones]

—dreamsbornofgrain‌

“You do know she will find us eventually,” Arista pointed out. Sure they hadn’t seen Kathryn in a while, but she didn’t think it was at the point where they needed to go find her. Both Vida and her had wandered off and they came back, eventually. It wasn’t like they had heard a cannon go over lately. It had been a while now that she came to think of it since they had heard a cannon…

Then again, maybe Kathryn didn’t want to be found. Even Arista knew that this little pack of theirs, wasn’t going to last. Only one of them could win. It was the main motivation she had been staying quiet about the gift she had been sent during the night. The coldness of the metal on her arm gave her some peace of mind for what would happen when the inevitable downfall of their alliance.

“Any idea on where she went?”

@ofvidas​ @please-save-kathryn​

     ‘   i don’t   know  anything. ’    vida had given up two days ago on keeping track of the child.     she hadn’t been overly thrilled about the inclusion of her in their alliance.  this was the reason.    she knew there would be a point were she would go missing   or   fall behind.   they didn’t have the time to go  &  look for her.    so vida prayed arista wasn’t about to suggest that.

she  looked down,   ‘  no,    i have no idea.  ’    there was a high possibility that she was dead.  though vida daren’t say the word.   had there been a canon today?  she was certain she’d heard a few.   though she couldn’t recall when.    had they been before  or after they separated?   it had been particularly hard to keep track with the storm going on.   clutching her lip in her bottom teeth,    she looked to arista,   ‘ did you hear any canons? ’

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

As the rain began to pour down harder Kathryn went to seek shelter, after a while of marching in the rain Kathryn found herself back in the forest. She sat down with her rain poncho on and wrapped her arms around her knees before tucking her chin to her knees and beginning to cry again.

@dreamsbornofgrain

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

Starving

Vida had asked Kathryn to go out in search of food. Arista was still sleeping but both Kathryn and Vida had been awake when they saw a red squirrel pass by. Kathryn wasn’t sure why she had been tasked with hunting down as many squirrels as she could but she knew she still need to win over Vida so she got up without objection. Kathryn and Arista had sharpened some sticks the night before against stones so she grabbed one of the spear like sticks and headed out into the forest, alone.

Luckily for Kathryn she had experience with hunting squirrels back home in Ten. Granted it had mainly been with slingshots and traps but how hard could it be? Kathryn had no real concept of the time passing except for the sun but soon clouds began to hide her clock. She didn’t like the look of the clouds or the feeling and smell in the air. All seemed to point towards the soon arrival of rain or she could only fear worse, snow. 

Kathryn had hunted down a few dozen squirrels but had only successfully killed three. She would take what she could get. Kathryn had to make a decision. Gut the squirrels here in the woods and risk someone finding blood and somehow following her back to her allies, or take them to the lake where she planned to dispose of the guts and gut them there. Kathryn decided to risk it with the second option and made her way to the lake. As Kathryn walked to the lake the rain started. She was thankful for the poncho she had been able to grab in the Bloodbath as she put it on. The small girl did not trust the water at all so she stayed watchful as she made quick work of gutting and skinning the squirrels and tossing their entrails and hides into the water. Only the water began to ripple and splash with movement of creatures going to eat what she had tossed into the water. Kathryn moved closer to investigate when she heard the squish of what she thought was boots in mud behind her. 

Kathryn’s head whipped around to see who had snuck up on her only to see boy from Seven. She reached for her spear even though the boy was a ways off and hadn’t seemed to have noticed the small girl yet. She stayed crouched low and watched the boy and finally saw what he saw. A cow! She grinned to herself, if she could get a weapon and kill one of the cows the girls would never go hungry! The boy from Seven must have had a similar idea because he started to approach the large bull. Kathryn’s eyes widened, this wasn’t going to end well. Kathryn was debating if she should give up her unnoticed location and warn the boy when it happened. The bull had been watching the boy closely but as he got closer and closer the large animal’s body language became more and more defensive until he had too much and charged. The boy tried to run but the beast was much faster and lowered it’s horns and scooped the boy up. Kathryn watched in horror as the boy was thrown up into the air and then came down with an unsoundly thud. It only got worse from there as the bull alternated between trying to stab the groaning male on the ground and to trample him with it’s sharp hooves and heavy weight. Kathryn stood, she wanted to help so badly but she knew she was no match for the creature. Especially unarmed on foot so she watched in helplessness until the bull sniffed the moaning and groaning human and snorted before walking off as nothing had happened. 

Once out of sight Kathryn tucked the squirrels into the pouch around her waist and ran over to the boy. His right leg was at an unnatural angle mid-femur and his hands were grabbing at his stomach, his sweater quickly turning red around his hands. The boy seemed unaware of her since his eyes were squeezed shut in pain. “H-Hey, you need to try to be quiet. Someone or something might hear you and come kill us.” The boy opened his eyes “It hurts! God, it hurts!” Kathryn drew in a deep breath. “Just stay awake and focus on being quiet. I’m-I’m gonna take a look.” The boy quieted some as Kathryn’s hands went to the edge of his sweater and pulled it up before moving his hands aside. Her throat tightened. His body was quickly bruising from being trampled, indicating internal bleeding, but worse yet was the hole. Kathryn had been hopeful that the horns had missed the boy but she was wrong. One of the bull’s sharp horns had made it’s mark, piercing into the boy’s abdominal cavity. Not only was blood pouring out but part of the boy from Seven’s intestines had been pulled out and torn. Kathryn knew, she looked up at the boy knowing, even if this hadn’t been in the Arena this would have been fatal but it without a doubt would kill the boy. Even if she had had the supplies to fix the tear blood loss, internal bleeding, or sepsis would have taken his life. The boy looked down at Kathryn with fearful eyes “I-Is it bad?” Kathryn bit her lip and smiled softly before nodding her head yes. Tears began to form as she knew what she had to do and then they fell, mixing in with the rain on her face. The boy groaned again, more quietly this time as he leaned his head back down and closed his eyes. “I...” Kathryn swallowed down the tight feeling in her throat. The sickness she was feeling. The fear and sadness and guilt she was feeling. “I can make it stop if you want. It might hurt more at first but then I promise the pain will stop. W-Would you like me to...to make it stop?” She asked softly. The boy stayed quiet for a moment leaving Kathryn to wonder if he had passed out but then in a small but strong voice he responded. “Please make it stop.” Kathryn grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Okay.” She whispered. 

Kathryn held onto his hand tightly with her left hand and drew in a deep breath before putting her other hand on the boy’s neck. Kathryn look down “You’re sure?” He looked up at her and nodded yes. “I’m so sorry.” She muttered before breathing deep again and pushing all her weight down on his throat. After what felt like eternity she felt a snap deep in the boy’s neck that she could only assume was his Hyoid and a few minutes after that his chest stopped rising and falling. After a few more moments Kathryn lifted her weight off him, still holding his hand, and felt for a pulse and found none. That’s when the tears really started falling, sobs wracked her body, she didn’t care if anyone heard and came for her. She continued to cry and hold the boy’s hand for quiet some time before she wiped her eyes with her forearm since her hands were bloody and closed the boy’s eyes and kissed his forehead where his wet hair clung to it. She pulled his sweater back down over the wound. She finally let go of the boy’s limp hand and stood as the canon finally sounded. She didn’t even know his name.

[dreamsbornofgrain]

ofvidas‌:

       a guilty conscious,     that was arista’s reasoning.     vida had one of them slowly developing every time she looked at her hands    or   the blood stain on her cream sweater.     she did what she did for a reason.    arista’s blasé attitude urks vida slightly but she doesn’t let it show.   she forces what could’ve been a smile   (   if you squinted  ) .      ‘   i’ll take your word for it. ’

evidently,    vida wasn’t  as optimistic as arista — then again,   she was a natural   pessimist.  her eyes intensified as the young girl began to shiver with what vida could only assume was fear.   it would be harsh of vida to judge the girl for that,    yet her face still appeared to.   as kathryn spoke,    she raised an eyebrow,     ‘   that’s a   start   i suppose;     guess i don’t have a problem with it then.  ’     that was obviously a lie.    however she wasn’t going to delve deep in to the reasoning.

as vida picked up the pace,    she began to pull ahead of the other two;   leading them in whichever way she decided to go.    she didn’t want to travel in a complete straight line so occasionally she stopped to change direction.   in all honesty,    time had escaped her in the same way it had during her private training session.     they could’ve been walking for over an hour,      ‘  are you guys good to keep going?  ’  she turned to her allies,    whom she expected to be behind her,      ‘ – or do you want to stop here for a while.  we’re far enough from the cornucopia so we   should   be safe ’

“I’m good at the survival skills,” Arista pointed out because that had kind of been her leverage with her alliance with Vida. It w as their unspoken agreement or that is what she had perceived it as. However, Arista supposed it didn’t hurt to have two people that could find food. She already had water, but that didn’t help all of them. Arista wasn’t even sure if her allies realized her canteen was full or not, but she didn’t need to draw attention to it. They weren’t dying of dehydration, yet.

When they kept walking, Arista was content to take up the rear, allowing herself to trail behind slightly so she could collect her thoughts and ponder strategies for them now. “Lets walk a little farther. See if we can find a good place for shelter.” They were in the forest, but it felt exposed. They had four sides to guard and that left her uneasy.

“We probably should look for food too, yeah?” She didn’t even want to throw out they should watch for signs of other tributes. “See if we can find some animal tracks?” In training she had learned about tracking, now they were going to find out how well she had retained it. Killing the animal? That would be up to the other girls.

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

Kathryn’s couldn’t help but notice the change in Vida’s eyes and it made her uneasy. Kathryn drew in a deep breath and tried to focus on calming herself. “I-I promise to be helpful. You won’t regret helping me.” Kathryn was thankful for being so in shape because of how fast Vida was walking. 

Kathryn gulped when Arista said she was good at survival skills too. Kathryn’s eyes glanced around “I-I-I’m good at other stuff too!” When Arista suggested finding food Kathryn nodded “Let’s meet back here in five minutes.” Kathryn started off to search for food.

It didn’t take long for Kathryn to find some dandelions and wild garlic. She collected as much as she could find in four minutes before heading back to where she had left the girls. 

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

                        A Breath of Air After Rainfall

Why Can’t We Be Friends-War

Why can't we be friends Why can't we be friends Why can't we be friends Why can't we be friends

War-Edwin Starr

War, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing War, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it again, why'all                                                                       War, huh, good god What is it good for Absolutely nothing, listen to me                                                      Oh, war, I despise 'Cause it means destruction of innocent lives                                War means tears to thousands of mothers eyes

Masters of War-Bob Dylan

You that fasten all the trigger For the others to fire And you sit back and watch While the death toll gets higher You hide in your mansion While young people's blood Flows out of their bodies and is buried in the mud                     You've thrown the worst fear That could ever be hurled The fear to bring children Into this world For threatening my baby Unborn and unnamed You ain't worth the blood that runs through your veins                  How much do we know To talk out of turn? You might say that we're young You might say we're unlearned But there's one thing I know Though I'm younger than you Even Jesus would never forgive what you do                                  Let me ask you one question Is your money that good? Will it buy you forgiveness? Do you think that it would? Oh, I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made will never buy back your soul                  And I hope that you die And your death will come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I'll watch while you're lowered Into your deathbed And I'll stand on your grave till I'm sure that you're dead

For President Snow

I Miss You Daddy-DJ Sammy

Can’t you see me? I miss how you used to tickle me.. Tickle my belly. My belly hurts… I try not to cry, Mommy says it’s okay! I know you don’t like it when I cry. You never wanted me to be sad. I try Daddy but it hurts..! Is it true you’re not coming home? Maybe someday, I can visit you in heaven, okay? It’s time for me to go bed now. I sleep with the light on, Just in case you come home And kiss me good night. I love you so much.. I miss you Daddy…

You Can Let Go Daddy-Laura Aston

It was killin’ me to see The strongest man I ever knew Wastin’ away to nothin’ In that hospital room ‘You know he’s only hangin’ on for you’ That’s what the night nurse said My voice and heart were breakin’ As I crawled up in his bed, and said You can let go now, Daddy You can let go Your little girl is ready To do this on my own It’s gonna be a little bit scary But I want you to know I’ll be ok now, Daddy You can let go

If I Die Young-The Band Perry

I've never known the lovin' of a man But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand There's a boy here in town says he'll love me forever Who would have thought forever could be severed by                   The sharp knife of a short life, Well I've had just enough time                                                          So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls What I never did is done                                                                     A penny for my thoughts, oh no I'll sell them for a dollar They're worth so much more after I'm a goner And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin' Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'                            If I die young bury me in satin Lay me down on a bed of roses Sink me in the river at dawn Send me away with the words of a love song

Forever Young-Alphaville

Let us die young or let us live forever We don't have the power, but we never say never Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip The music's for the sad man                                                          Can you imagine when this race is won? Turn our golden the faces into the sun Praising our leaders, we're getting in tune The music's played by the, the madman                                  Forever young I want to be forever young Do you really want to live forever? Forever, and ever

Grow Up-Simple Plan

Yeah I don't want to B told to grow up And I don't want to change I just want to have fun Yeah I don't want to B told to grow up And I don't want to change So you better give up 'cause I'm not gonna change I don't want to grow upI'd like to stay up and spend hours on the phone Hanging out with all my friends and never being at home I'm impolite and I make fun off everyone I'm immature but I will stay this way forever Until the day I die I promise I won't change So you better give up 

Bonus Tracks

Kathryn just likes lip syncing into her hairbrush and dancing to these.

Wannabe-Spice Girls

Bye Bye Bye-*NSYNC

California-The Bait Shop Band

Everytime We Touch-Cascada

When I Grow Up-The Pussycat Dolls

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

Moodboard: Kathryn Huntington (1/?)

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

"AUT AGERE AUT MORI"

EITHER ACTION OR DEATH

[dreamsbornofgrain]

ofvidas‌:

      ‘   you better keep up.  ’        she said,     words aimed directly at kathryn.     they still had quite the way to go before vida would be satisfied of how far they were from the cornucopia.   she heaved the kilt-sack back over her shoulder   &  began to walk ahead.    there was not much she could do to protest,      she wanted her alliance with arista to last for a while,  long enough to see her through a few days  at least.     one more person wouldn’t hurt.    though that was about vida’s limit. 

her feet move quickly,     the last few shreds of adrenaline wearing off as she walked.    stopping for a moment,    she clutched arista’s shoulder   &  pulled her close to her,      ‘  for the record,   i think this is a    REALLY    bad idea.  ’

Arista did her best not to help when Vida grabbed her shoulder. She had to admit, it could be a bad idea but… “I owe someone, don’t make me die with a guilty conscious.” It really was as simple and as complicated as that. “Besides, it might be a good thing.” The unspoken truth of it was that they didn’t have to stick to any alliance. There was no harm seeing how it went though. It could be beneficial to everyone involved.

Look back over to Kathryn, Arista watched her for a moment. “Did you see any of the bloodbath?” They hadn’t started firing the canons yet, so she was curious as to the death count. Part of her wanted to know and part didn’t. What she didn’t want was for the girl to think they were conspiring against her. For now, Kathryn was part of the team.

“And any talents you want to share?” Arista figured if they could find a place for Kathryn, a niche per se, on their team perhaps it would make Vida feel a little better about having her there. Make them all feel a little better. Arista knew the survival skills were here reason for being there, Vida was certainly the might on the team, but she didn’t know all that much about the youngest member of their team. “Only going to work if we all know what we’re working with…”

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

When Vida spoke to Kathryn she swallowed hard before nodding her head quickly to show she understood. Kathryn hadn’t talked to Vida during training but she had seen her around and she definitely made her uneasy. When the dark haired girl started walking Kathryn quickly fell inline and followed. 

 As Vida stopped and grabbed Arista’s shoulder she couldn’t help but wonder what the older girls were talking about although she had a guess that it had to do with her. 

When Arista spoke to Kathryn the memories of the carnage she had just witnessed all came flooding back and she began to shake again and her knees felt weak but she was determined to stay on her feet. She couldn’t show the other girls any weakness. Kathryn nodded her head yes. She hadn’t seen anything other than the boy that tried to kill her and Shay who ended up breaking her nose but that still counted as part of the Bloodbath.

Kathryn was overwhelmed by Arista’s next question. What was she good at that could help the group? Her answer could mean life or death for her if the girls decided that she was of no use. For the first time since they had joined up with Vida Kathryn spoke. “I’m good at survival skills.” It came choked out, quiet, and shaky but it still came out nonetheless. She wasn’t ready to freely give up her slaughtering background in case this was a trick after all or it would make Sponsors not want her.

[primrxsed]

Kathryn settled her foot back on the ground as she looked down at the boy numbly. How could this be happening? How could this be so different from what she had imagined? God she just wanted to go home. Kathryn felt wetness and raised a hand to her face only to realize she was crying. How long had she been crying? Kathryn wiped her tears and looked around at the chaos around her. Everything was happening so fast but also seemed to be in slow motion. She stumbled forward, trying to forget the boy whom she wasn’t if he was dead or not, to the pile of supplies. Her hand reached for a set of throwing knives only to meet another. She hadn’t even noticed the other girl at first. Kathryn grabbed the knives and pulled them to her chest as she stared at the much larger and much older girl wide eyed and frozen.

shay saw the smaller girl she’d met on her first day in the capitol. she could easily kill her, a small voice whispers. just get the knives, she reminds herself. if she blinks, she’s seeing cam or chase or giesl, and shay — she just couldn’t. the girl is still staring at her like a frightened deer, and shay lunges for the knives, trying to grab them out of the smaller girl’s arms.

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

Kathryn startled as the much larger girl lunged at her. Kathryn tried to hold the knives with one hand and push Shay away with the other. “Please let go!” Kathryn cried but as the struggle went on Kathryn suddenly heard a crunch and felt excruciating pain on her face as warm blood spilled out of her nose and into her mouth when Shay’s elbow collided with it. Kathryn dropped the knives as she grabbed her nose and fat tears welled up and flowed down her face. Her shoulders shook as she sob at the pain she was now experiencing.

[dreamsbornofgrain]

ofvidas‌:

a child?      that was all vida needed.    from her spot in the tree she watched as arista made conversation with the girl.    not skilled enough to read their lips,    all she could do was guess what they were saying.      nonetheless,     she didn’t like the look of the situation.   moving silently down a few branches,    she kept her eyes peeled on the ground.  

there were certain negative aspects to being allied with a child,     which  she could only assume arista was intending.        the main one was that killing a child   never   went down well in panem.  whilst vida didn’t particularly care about the majority's opinion of her,    she could imagine the look in her grandfathers eyes.   the shame.   there was also the simple fact that most   children  weren’t skilled in many areas.    

‘   you’ve made a friend.  ’   her words come just moments before she drops herself from the lowest branch she’d been perched on   &   lands on the ground beside the two girls.   ‘ that’s funny,    i could’ve sworn you went out to pick up leaves,     not a  child.  ’

“Don’t worry, I’ll weave an extra basket.” Arista told her knowing that was by no means what she was supposed to say. She had gone to get leaves for weaving, but Kathryn was a wrinkle. It was what it was and she didn’t think they were worse for it. They would make it work, she was determined.

“But yes, I made a friend.” Arista told Vida knowing she would have to explain later. She wasn’t backing down from her decision though. “And hey, she’s from Ten. She might be some help in this arena. It’ll be good for all of us. We can help each other.” She pointed out again.

“You want to work with us, right?” Arista asked looking at Kathryn. They needed to get this formalities out of the way. She wanted to know they could trust her too. 

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

Kathryn’s eyes widened as the girl dropped out of the tree. It wasn’t hard to tell that Kathryn’s newly met ally didn’t like her or want her there. She thought for a moment maybe she should leave but her feet were frozen to the ground. Kathryn looked back and forth between the two older girls as the spoke before Arista spoke to Kathryn. Kathryn nodded her head vigorously.

[primrxsed]

of course it had to be a fucking skirt, shay muses, as she slips into the sweater and skirt. fuck. she’ll have to deal with it somehow, there’s no way she can run in this. she bites her lip as she resecures her ponytail, and steps into the tube, which slides shut without so much as a sound. she frowns, and as she emerges into the arena, she almost gasps. the hills dotting the horizon and the lake in the distance looks promising. she should make a run for it, she thinks. that’s what francis would tell her. as the countdown blinks lower and lower, shay can hear the beat of her own heart in her ears along with it, and the sun peers out from behind thin clouds, glinting on a set of knives not even a mere five feet away from shay, and its then that she makes up her mind. 

as the countdown ends, shay bursts off her pedestal. she’s never been much of a runner, but she supposes the adrenaline is doing its part. she skids to a stop in front of the knives, and as she reaches down for them, she sees another hand reaching for them. 

@please-save-kathryn

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

Kathryn settled her foot back on the ground as she looked down at the boy numbly. How could this be happening? How could this be so different from what she had imagined? God she just wanted to go home. Kathryn felt wetness and raised a hand to her face only to realize she was crying. How long had she been crying? Kathryn wiped her tears and looked around at the chaos around her. Everything was happening so fast but also seemed to be in slow motion. She stumbled forward, trying to forget the boy whom she wasn’t if he was dead or not, to the pile of supplies. Her hand reached for a set of throwing knives only to meet another. She hadn’t even noticed the other girl at first. Kathryn grabbed the knives and pulled them to her chest as she stared at the much larger and much older girl wide eyed and frozen.

[dreamsbornofgrain]

Quietly, Arista led Kathryn back to where she had left Vida and with thirty seconds to spare. The girl had said five minutes, and she was back well within those five minutes. Hopefully, the new ally thing didn’t set ablaze to their agreed on plan. Then again, she wasn’t going to tackle two of them right? Who was to say this wouldn’t blow up on all three of them and turn into a three person free for all?

Her stomach flipped with nerves. Her ally had already killed one girl… She didn’t want to be the second. What was she doing? Arista told herself though she wasn’t going to let herself be sick. Instead she told herself to take control of the situation before it controlled her or someone else did. Arista also hoped she hadn’t upset any sponsors or even her mentor, Callahan. Being in the games was so different than she imagined.

“Look…” Arista knew Vida had to be there somewhere. “Three is better than one or two…” Arista looked towards Kathryn trying to get a feel for how she was feeling. “Lets show these Careers and other tributes how it’s done. That they can’t forget about us because we’re from the other Districts… Yes?”

@please-save-kathryn, @ofvidas

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

Kathryn followed Arista quietly, her body and mind still in shock from everything that was happening and not yet having processed it. She could slowly feel her heart and breathing slow ever so slightly but the blood was still pounding in her ears. Kathryn wanted to just go home. She wanted her mother to hold her more than anything in that moment.

Kathryn felt so far away but so on edge and hyper-aware at the same time. Her eyes alternating between looking at her shaking hands as she walked and scanning her surroundings for danger. Kathryn looked up as Arista spoke. Kathryn nodded her head yes after a moment. 

[dreamsbornofgrain]

please-save-kathryn‌:

Kathryn hadn’t stopped running since she left the Cornucopia after getting into it with Shay. She had luckily picked up a rain poncho, which her fingers clutched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Well that was until she crashed into something in the forest. Kathryn quickly realized it was another tribute and the panic from earlier began to fill her again. Kathryn had fallen to the ground and she began scooting back but soon saw who it was and that the girl was holding her hands up rather than attacking her. Kathryn was still terrified but stopped scooting back as she listened to the girl. She nodded her head timidly yes at the first question but she found the rest hard to believe. It all sounded like something someone would say that was trying to trick you. “Y-Y-You’re trying to trick me.” Kathryn’s eyes darted around to see if Arista might have hidden allies.

Arista stood there a moment assessing the situation. She did owe a debt to Birch, but she wasn’t going to force this girl to join her. Offering was enough, right? She just wanted a free conscious because she did care about that. If she was dying tonight, she wanted to do it on her own terms.

“No tricks,” Arista told her calculating just how far it was to run away. She was sure she probably could take this little kid if she decided to come at her, but she didn’t want to do that either. “Either do or don’t, I don’t care. But the offer is there.. Just for now.” If she wanted a free pass, Arista would do that too. That would certainly count as filling her debt. “But I’m leaving in sixty seconds. So what’s it going to be?”

Mentally, however, she was preparing to fight if that’s what the girl wanted to do.

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

Kathryn swallowed, her heart was still pounding and her breaths ragged from terror. Kathryn knew this could REALLY backfire but it also could be really good. “O-Okay, I’ll come with you. Just…please don’t hurt me later.” Kathryn rose and brushed herself off before putting her poncho in her little pouch around her waist and walking over to the girl. “So…what now?”

[dreamsbornofgrain]

SNAP.

Arista heard it just as she seen another tribute run into her field of view. Before she could process which tribute it was, the girl came crashing into her sending the leaves she had been holding flying, spinning her around. She was not ready for this.

Quickly, Arista spun back around instantly defensive expecting to see one of the Careers glaring back at her. She was going to at least make it one day! What she found instead though was one of the small tributes, the girl from Ten. One of Birch’s tributes.

“Kathryn, right?” Arista asked as she stepped backwards, hands up showing her she didn’t have any weapons. “I am not going to hurt you.” Truthfully she wasn’t sure she could hurt her. “Birch helped me you know… I can help you if you want. You don’t have to do this alone.” Arista told the girl, rambling a bit, hoping she would listen. If not, well she needed to get back to Vida before the other girl thought something happened to her.

@please-save-kathryn

[please-save-kathryn-blog]

Kathryn hadn’t stopped running since she left the Cornucopia after getting into it with Shay. She had luckily picked up a rain poncho, which her fingers clutched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Well that was until she crashed into something in the forest. Kathryn quickly realized it was another tribute and the panic from earlier began to fill her again. Kathryn had fallen to the ground and she began scooting back but soon saw who it was and that the girl was holding her hands up rather than attacking her. Kathryn was still terrified but stopped scooting back as she listened to the girl. She nodded her head timidly yes at the first question but she found the rest hard to believe. It all sounded like something someone would say that was trying to trick you. “Y-Y-You’re trying to trick me.” Kathryn’s eyes darted around to see if Arista might have hidden allies.