It was good of him to try and hack the tall grass but Katniss felt little shock when it refused to relent. She supposed the team had designed it so it wouldn't easily break and give Tributes with a blade, an easy fix to the problem of not having any kind of vantage point. Katniss hated how the stupid Game Makers had thought of so much. Just once, she wished they forgot about something or didn't push combatants so hard with their tricky technology. It was revolting to think they were getting paid to play God as if they were better when they were just luckier. Nothing more.

They got little rest the night before and Katniss had hoped that tonight would be better but he right, if they stopped too long, they would surely be cut down by someone else trying to figure out how to get out alive. She wondered if they could rest once they reached the end. But as Haymitch said, it would take all day. Part of her missed the marsh, as evil as it was. Looking over her shoulder, she made a conflicted scowl before looking back at what was in front of them. The unknown.

She started to walk but not before she felt hi squeeze her shoulder a little and mention that should they get separated, to keep going for the mountains. Katniss wasn't going to let that happen but she knew better than to act immature and hopeful. They needed to be prepared and stay focused. "Alright." She couldn't do anything except agree as they began to walk through the grass. She pushed the thin grass out of their way, not thinking about where cameras could be hidden or what traps could be laid out for them. All she wanted to do was get through the field without losing Haymitch or an arm.

After several hours had passed and sun had been beating down upon their faces, Katniss began to smell something burning. Immediate panic overtook her and she looked around, trying to see where smoke could be coming from. She heard the screams of a teenage boy from District 6, she believed his name was Jaxob or something. Suddenly the boy rushed in front of them before running onward, his whole body in flame. The entire time he was screaming that it just came out of nowhere and sucked him up. Katniss cringed and drew her blade and ran after the boy, unable to continue to hear him screaming for his parents. She quickly shot for his chest but he fell to the ground and she missed.

Cursing, Katniss loaded her bow again and this time she finally got him. A canon was heard and she ran over to get her two arrows. She looked and thankfully saw Haymitch had caught up with where she ran off. "I know, I know, I shouldn't have deviated...it just wasn't right to let him burn." She glanced down at the burnt body, there was nothing to scavenge which meant they could move on. Katniss and Haymitch resumed their walking and as the sun began to set, she knew they had to keep going or risk being woken up by a very hot fire that was as clever as the mist or bugs. "When we get out of here, we'll rest."

Being by the mountains, would give them good enough cover to take shifts resting. Of course once they were there, they'd need to assess the area like any other and Katniss was well aware that it wouldn't be easy. As the sun set, she glanced to Haymitch. "Night time might be when beasts come out to play." She sighed and looked up to see only minimal light now. "We'll be in the dark soon too." She wasn't sure if the durable grass would break off to make a fire but if they stood around and wasted time trying something out, it might lead to a terrible mistake. "Let's try to pick up the pace." Was all she could suggest.

With the rope helping them stay together, as well as remove some of the claustrophobia the field held, Gale felt his spirits rise. He knew they had a long five days ahead of them but at least they were finally making some real progress. When Prim looked over and apologized, he smiled to her, not holding any sort of bad feelings. She was worried, he understood that, even if he didn't understand the extensive worry itself. The arena was a tough place and they were both doing their best to keep a level head, so Gale understood that they couldn't always be calm about things. "It's fine." He whispered in return, his tone light.

The girl tied to his side then added she didn't get it for nothing. Gale smiled a little more. "I love the gift, it's a great accessory with our outfit." He replied, knowing his own attempt at a joke was pretty poor. Humor wasn't his strong suit but he was trying to keep things good between them so they weren't bogged down with anything superficial. Soon they would find Katniss and Haymitch and they could all suffer together. It would be nothing like the party they had for Peeta but it would be something at least. 

While Prim hadn't noticed the change around them, which he attributed to her limited time hunting back home, Gale wasn't going to take any chances, which meant untying them. She reached for him but stopped herself. That was good and bad. It meant she saw what he did but it also meant they indeed, had reason to worry. He didn't agree vocally to her suggestion, but instead did it. He put his back to hers and held out his sword. The grass rustled once more and a large mutation hound finally showed itself, its teeth barred at them. Gale's eyes widened and it leaped at them. His instinct was to run but that would be awful, leaving him defenseless.

Gale swung at the animal and hit its shoulder. It then hurled itself toward Prim. For the next twenty minutes, the pair took turns taking on the beast, needing breaks to catch their breath but finally they killed it. Gale had taken some clawed swipes to his arm as well as a bite but for now, he needed to rest and make sure Prim was okay. He wasn't bleeding heavily and thought he'd be okay. Of course now he wished he hadn't cut off his sleeve and turned back to Prim to see how she was doing. "You were right." He gave her a tired pained smile as he picked up their pack.

The pair started to treat their wounds which weren't awful, but needed treatment regardless. A sound could be heard and he looked up to see a shiny object fall and land off to the left, about five feet away. Gale jogged over to it and opened it to see some salve as well as a canteen half filled with water. He ran back to Prim, rather surprised that Peeta had managed to swing such things for them. Sadly though, there wasn't a lot of salve for them, probably enough to patch them up now but none to save for later. The sun was also beginning to slowly descend. "Let's save the water and keep moving. I don't think we'll find sleep tonight." He said as he returned his arm to Prim so she could work her magic.