Rest was dire, just as was food and water.
Shelter was a possible luxury but not as necessary.
And Haymitch was the one who needed it. Katniss could tell he was close to crumbling and that meant they needed to settle down and try and get some rest soon or it could spell disaster when they were faced with more crazed killers and Capitol fabricated sabotages. Even though they hadn't made it to the edge like he wanted, for now they needed to stop and had to get as much shut eye as possible. She was sure somewhere, some sneaky bastard wanted to make the sunrise right now but Katniss had a feeling they could have a couple more hours before day two was upon them. "I'll be fine, so will you." She told him with a nod as he moved towards a bush.
Katniss looked around and remained standing. She paced around the area again before she circled back to where she left Haymitch. In another situation, she may have considered letting him rest his head on her shoulder, or even her lap but right now she had to be ready to strike, to move and evade danger and ensure Haymitch wasn't injured either. The mist had been the worst thing to deal with. Though with some more contemplation, trying to rest had been pretty bad. The ambush that jolted her awake wasn't so bad as much as the reality of death itself. With another soft sigh, she tried not to think about the countless tricks they might be forced to face soon.
The Games were nasty and she wondered how long they would last. Most of them lasted around a week but she also wondered if they'd drag it out even further since it was such a special one. Katniss rubbed her eyes, trying to ward off the sleepiness that threatened to overtake her. She wasn't as tired as Haymitch but she was starting to feel the ware of stress. The physical strain was nothing compared to the mental and emotional stress which went unseen by the millions of viewers, most hungry and dirty, while the few privileged never felt the distress of cold or disease.
When daylight broke a few hours later, Katniss was sitting down, her head hung forward. While she let Haymitch sleep most of the time, she managed to grab twenty minutes here and there, unwilling to try sleeping after how horribly it had gone for her. When they were up and ready to go, Katniss looked around, finding the daylight somewhat comforting but not much. "We'll need to be careful here." She mentioned as they faced the marshes once again. "Something tells me we can't rush through this." She said and began to walk down the thin strip of solid land, careful not to slip into either shall body of water on either side of her. If they ran into someone out here, she didn't think they'd get out of it.
Even though Gale wanted to make whatever mushy berry concoction was needed, he was willing to let Prim do it. He didn't want to botch it up and leave them without anymore berries to use. He gave her a small nod and a shy smile before stretching. Sleep did sound really good but he also wanted to make sure they were okay. Right now, they were out in the open and anyone could pin them down. Of course the area they were in also lent itself well in the sense that quick ambushes were impossible unless someone traversed through the waters and questionable terrain. So while they were out in the open, he wasn't sure who could get to them before they noticed it.
"Sure, don't let me sleep for long though."
He took a deep breath and then exhaled.
"I'll take the next watch soon." He assured her, though it also give himself some assurance too. He kept watching her as she then began to do as she needed to ensure the injury on her leg was dealt with in the best possible manner. He knew Peeta had to prepare them for their escape as well as a backup plan of having to live in the Wilds but he wished the mentor could give them something more, something they could actually use in the coming week. If they were to break out, they had to still be alive after all. Gale knew his anger with the boy was somewhat due to being tired as well as stressed.
Getting comfortable wasn't a possibility but Gale at least managed to find a way to sit so he wasn't too close to the edge. In years to come, he was sure the last few hours would fuel nightmares. For now, he sat cross legged and propped his elbows on his knees and swung his neck forward in a slightly right direction. It was by no means comfortable but it would do given their location and situation. When Prim woke him up next, he waited until she settled down before he made sure his hand was on his sword at all times. Dawn was quick to greet the pair and when it did, Gale felt pretty terrible, sore and dirty but at least he was alive, as was Prim and the others.
"The mountains still seems far away, we'll do what we can." He told Prim as he put the bag over his shoulders and then shifted his sword to his other hand so they could keep going. His stomach growled and he felt his cheeks flush in brief sheepishness. It wasn't distracting yet, but Gale knew finding food would have to wait for the time being. "Those pastries back at the Capitol weren't that good, Peeta's were better back home." He tried lying aloud, hoping to force his mind to think of surviving, as opposed to breakfast foods.
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