Percy’s POV

My head hurts…

I opened my eyes and it was still dark, though I doubt it was the same day. I looked around and saw a sleeping figure – no, three sleeping figure – on the floor.

  I groaned as I tried to sit up. I could barely feel my lower body but at least they’re still functioning. I examined my arms and legs. Lots of burn and a few new scars but other than that, they’re fine. New skin had started to grow back over the burn wounds, the scars had faded a bit. Someone stirred on the floor and next thing I knew, a mane of dark hair engulfed me in a hug.

   “ Please, don’t be a lunatic…,” Addy pleaded. “ Don’t lose your head, okay?”

   “ Am not going to…it’s still attached to my neck,” I said, smiling slightly. She buried her head in my chest and I could feel her hot tears. “ Relax,” I said, smoothing her hair, “ I’m okay, I’m alive…really, I’m pushing my luck.”

   “ Don’t die on me, okay?” her muffled voice came. “ Promise me!” She held out her pinkie.

   “ Oh, come on…we’re teenagers now. Pinkie swear is so out of date,” I rolled my eyes. But I intertwined my pinkie with hers nonetheless. Just to humor her.  “ Who’s the other two?”

   “ Katniss and Prim.” I raised my eyebrow. “ Prim was supposed to watch over you since she has the most medical knowledge between us three but I didn’t want to leave you…and Katniss didn’t want to leave Prim so here we are.”

   “ Addy?” came a very groggy voice from Katniss. “ Is Percy up already?”

  “ Up and about,” I replied. “ Hey, I’m really sorry for losing my head..uh..yesterday? Two days ago?”

   “ Three,” Addy muttered.

  “ Ah…um, yeah…three days ago. I didn’t know what came over me. I mean, I should be glad that she’s dead and can’t torture us emotionally and mentally and physically again. And that we’re out of that hellhole..and that-“ She held her hand up.

   “ It’s okay, Perce. Feeling guilty over something and being loyal to someone, even to someone who doesn’t deserve it, is one of your admirable traits,” Katniss said gently. “ So…I can understand why you felt guilty about her going to the gallows. No need to apologize for what happened.”

   I sighed out in relief. I had nightmares about it when I was in Slumberland. I turned to Addy, who was somewhat snickering and grinning ( I could feel it since she had her face pressed against my chest ). “ Uh…where do you think you want to stay after this?” I asked her.

   “ Oh, Mother requested that you and Addy live with us,” came Prim’s soft voice. “ She felt bad that you two don’t have any place to live.”

   “ Oh, that’s okay. I think we could find some abandoned houses or any other orphanages to live. I don’t want to be a bother to you guys because I’ve been a bother enough with my ravings and occasionally black outs and all….” my voice trailed off at Prim’s intent gaze.

   “ You two have never been a bother to us. It’s nice to have a brother for a change, you know,” she said softly. Which earned her a headlock from Katniss.

  “ Oh, you’d rather trade me for him, Little Duck?” Katniss asked in a what I assumed as menacing voice. “ Huh, Little Duck? Would you?” She tickled Prim in the belly. She giggled hysterically. Addy laughed at the two sisters’ banter. Katniss looked at me after she was done with Prim.

   “ Seriously. We could really use some humor in this house. In this district. Perce, you’ll bring this house to life!” she said earnestly.

   “ Uh, why?”

   “ Oh…due to your klutziness, bluntness and seaweed brainess?” Addy said, an innocent look on her face. I frowned at her. “ No, Percy. This is what would even make someone close to death laugh. You never realized it.”

  “ Please, Percy?” Prim pleaded at me. “ Pretty please with cherry on top?”

  “ You two could be sisters for all I know,” I muttered, addressing Addy. “ Fine…” Prim and Addy screamed with joy and raced out of the room, shouting who knows what.

   “ C’mon…Mother will be pleased to see you up,” Katniss said, pulling me out of the bed.

********************************************************************************************

“ Well, your burns are healing nicely. I’ve got something for that scars but it’ll sting a bit,” Mrs. Everdeen said as she examined my wounds. “ Would you want me to put it?”

   “ Yes, please,” I said gratefully. “ Those scars will make me fearsome.” She laughed softly and pulled a box out of a cabinet. When she opened it, the smell of medicine hit me and I nearly gagged.

   “ Sorry. This is medicine we’re talking about. Not some bread,” Katniss said as she lounged on the chair. I rolled my eyes at her and she merely smirked.

   “ Katniss, where are the girls?” Mrs. Everdeen asked her as she pulled out some ointment from the box. “ I haven’t seen them since they came running down the stairs, screaming with delight.” Katniss didn’t reply, her smirk turned into a sour look.

   “ I think they probably went to roam the town. Addy’s a little bit more adventurous than Prim,” I replied, wondering why that playful smirk turned into a disapproving look. “ Don’t worry, Mrs. Everdeen. I don’t think they’ll get into trouble. The townsfolk adore them.”

   “ Yes, I hope so,” she replied, applying the ointment on my scars. I nearly screamed at the intense feeling of it. “ Sorry. I did warn you it will sting a little.”

   “ Maybe not a little,” I muttered. She laughed again. Her laugh was stopped abruptly when Katniss stood up so suddenly.

“ I think I’m going to go hunting. The meat supply is running low. You coming?” she questioned me. “ Yeah, you should,” she decided. “ C’mon.” She was out of the house in a heartbeat.

  “ I’m really sorry for her sudden attitude change,” Mrs. Everdeen said to me. “ She’s still angry with me.”

  “ For what?”

  “ I sort of zoned out after my husband’s death..and left them to starve.” I felt a pang of sympathy for them. “ I can’t blame her for that. Anyone would be angry if their parents wallow up in their own grief and left their kids to starve.”

   “ I’m really sorry..” I said but she waved it aside.

   “ It’s not your fault, now, is it?” I shook my head and she smiled. “ Go and join her hunting. You’ve got to help her support the family now that you’re a part of it.” I nodded and raced out of the house quickly, finding Katniss leaning against a tree.

   “ Sorry…your mom patched me up some more,” I said as I reached her.

   “ Whatever,” she said curtly and started to walk towards the fence. “ Gale will join us shortly. You can’t shoot an arrow, right?”

   “ No..”

  “ How about a knife?”

 “ Pretty handy…”

  “ Good…then you’ll use the knife. Aim for the eye, okay?” she said, as she ducked under the fence. “ It will be a clean kill…no blood spatter, no mangled body parts. Got it?”

  “ Aim for the eye. Clean kill. Pretty much,” I said as I ducked under the fence. “ Hey, wait up!” I said as I jogged to keep up with her. “ Why are you still angry?”

  “ What? With my mother? It’s hard not to be since she left us, starving to death after my father’s death at the mines,” she said harshly. I ducked under a tree branch. “ Was it right for her to leave us alone?” she snapped, turning around to face me so suddenly that I stumbled back.

   “ I…uh…sorry for bringing the subject up,” I mumbled. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “ But…don’t you think you should give her a chance to..uh..come back into your lives?” When she opened her eyes, I had seriously thought that she’d send an arrow straight into my heart.

  “ I tried…but it was too hard,” she whispered, the dam finally broke. But she wouldn’t let the tears fall freely. She wiped at it quickly and offered her hand to me. “ C’mon…I shouldn’t yelled at you,” she said as she pulled me up to my feet. “ I’m really sorry…”

   “ It’s okay..,” I said awkwardly. “ Where will Gale meet us?” In response, she pointed to the said person, who was perched on a boulder, lounging lazily on top of it, waiting for us. His eyes sent some message to me but, as Addy had described, my seaweed of a brain couldn’t process it.

   “ Hey, there guys…what took you?” he said lazily, playing with his arrows. “ I got here quicker than you, even though you ran to my house first to tell me.”

   “ Uh…this one got tangled up with some roots,” Katniss said. Her voice was still thick, though. Thicker than usual that Gale raised an eyebrow at her. “ Nothing. It’s nothing. C’mon. We’ve got hunting to do.” She trudged off into the forest, leaving me and Gale behind.

As I was about to follow her, Gale grabbed me by the arm. His gray eyes was intense, perhaps with anger. “ What did you do to her?” he hissed.

  “ Nothing,” I blurted out. “ Nothing…”

  “ Because if you do something that could upset her, this arrow will pierce through your heart,” he brandished the arrow in my face. “ Got it?” He pushed me to the ground before sprinting off to join Katniss.

“ Yeah…got it,” I muttered, dusting myself before running off to catch up with them.

A/N: Vote and comment, please! :)