It was late afternoon and we had a fire started to dry our clothes before nightfall. We agreed that we would light it and let it die, that was all we get. We sat by the fire with our feet as close to it as possible without burning them and shared the lamb stew. We pretty much demolished it in minutes and battled forks for the last few bites.

“So who do you think this was meant for?” I asked as I stretched out lazily after the best meal I’ve had in days.

“Uh, both of us, there were two servings. Though by the way you were eating it could have been for one of us.” I nudged him with my shoulder.

“You know what I mean, who were they sponsoring?”

“Both of us, if it was you they wouldn’t send you something that they know you would share, and same for me. We have fans out there.” It was an eerie feeling really.

There were people out there who were betting on my life, people who were trying to save me because they wanted me to succeed, or because they thought I was pretty. And everyone loves Caius, he’ll be a favourite. He was probably the best person to ally with.

“I can take the first watch again tonight.” I said.

“If you want, just wake me when you start to freeze.”

I waited a moment, “how many canons did you hear today?”

“Including the one for Richter, two I think.”

“Was that only today? It feels like it happened days ago.” I sighed.

He ran his hand over the bandage on his chest. “Thanks to your remedy it does.”

We sat around chatting until night fell; Caius was telling me about working in the pine forests of district 7.

When the seal rose we saw Richter’s picture in the sky and the number for district 4, then there was the man from district 11. The sky went black after that.

“How many of us does that leave?” I asked.

“Two down today, two down yesterday, and eight-”

“Nine, there was nine on day one.” I interrupted.

“Well that makes thirteen down, so there must be eleven of us left.” I was grateful that he said down rather than dead.

“You and me, and Haymitch, Cress and Blaze, Michel, I don’t know the others names.” I said as I ran through the remaining victors.

“Thea from 1, Rover from 3, Kara from 4, Janet from 6, and Dana from my district.”

“Do you know her well?”

“We mentored together; I don’t think she fully recovered from her games. You see this?” He rolled up his sleeve and I saw a purple mark in the shape of a ring.

“That’s not a-”

“Bite mark? Yes, it is. She looked worried when we all jumped off our platforms so I went to ask if she needed help and she launched at me like some kind of rabid animal. I had to slam her into the ground to get her off.” I must have given him a pity face because he got a little defensive. “I won’t really miss her at the end; I mean we didn’t really know each other. I think I know her even less than you. It’s just that it’s been five years, you know?”

“I know.” He had no idea just how much I meant it.

“The sky looks pretty in the lake.” I said as I stared at the glassy surface of stars.

“If that really is the sky.” Caius said drolly.

“Why did you have to ruin it?” I shook my head and looked over to him.

“It’s fun. Besides, you’re cute when you get annoyed at me.” He winked and walked over to his pack.

I smiled stupidly. I’m glad he wasn’t looking because he would just revel in the sight of me looking like that. He started pulling out his sleeping bag and I stretched out in preparation for a long night.

I watched as he picked one of the trees that faced the meadow and sat down. I sat by the dying embers as he propped himself up in his sleeping bag. I’m still not sure about staying here where it’s so open, but Caius thinks we’ll be fine so I’m going to trust him.

He sent a warm smile my way before he closed his eyes and tried his luck at sleeping. I imagine he’ll sleep better tonight than last night,

I took out the glasses and put them on. As it became quieter around us and the stars became brighter, the cold started to set in. I managed to take some of the warm coals in my hands to keep them warm, but it wasn’t long before I had run out. It seemed colder than last night, probably some agenda of the gamemakers.

It must have only been a few hours before my chest started to tighten from the cold again. I shuffled over to Caius and nudged him on the shoulder.

“What? What is it?” He seemed more alert then I would have thought for someone who had just been asleep.

Then again, he knew all about the danger of the games so it really shouldn’t have surprised me.

“W…we…wee…n…need to switch.” I choked.

“This is ridiculous! It’s not even midnight.”

“Well…tell…tell that to…the weather.”

“I’ll have to wake you up in a few hours too, we won’t get much sleep.”

“Do…do you have…a…b…better idea?”

He was about to say something but held back and I watched him think of an idea in his head.

“Well if we could both be warm at the same time it would solve the problem.” He said slowly.

“Clearly.”

“Well, it’s a big sleeping bag; we could always… share it.”

“You mean…get in…to…together?

“… Yes.” He looked like he was preparing for a spray from me.

“I could have yelled, but what was the point? He was right, it was a logical idea and I wasn’t in a position right now to say no.

Or at least that’s what I’ll tell myself.

“Okay.”

“Really?” He opened his eyes wide and a small smile crept onto his face.

“Don’t… get too excited.”

He laughed as he unzipped the bag so that I could climb in next to him.

“Wow, you’re freezing!” As my legs pressed against his the heat from his body was almost too much, but it felt wonderful after being exposed to the cold night air.

“I’m aware of that!” I hissed.

“Okay, so you keep watch for another few hours then wake me up.” He said as we moved about almost awkwardly to try and get comfortable.

“Fine.” He lifted his arm and we managed to settle with his arm around my shoulders and one of my legs resting on his.

“Just try and keep your hands to yourself while I sleep.” He chuckled as he leant his head back against the tree and closed his eyes.

He drifted to sleep quickly.

My senses were overwhelmed by him. The pine and spice smell was so much stronger. It was so rich and intoxicating. The noises he made in his sleep were surprisingly content and they made his body tremble in a way that gave me goose bumps. I had absorbed all of my heat from his body and now we shared it in the small space of the sleeping bag.

It gave me that feeling of safety like I was back home and the constant rise and fall of his chest was comforting.

By the time midnight rolled around I was exhausted. I don’t know if it was the run we made today or the large hearty meal we shared but all I felt like doing was sleeping.

I nudged Caius again and this time he was a little slower to react.

“It’s not midnight yet.” He grumbled.

“Close enough.” I took off the glasses and handed them over to him.

He adjusted himself again and let me rest my head on his shoulder as I slipped into sleep. The last thing I remember is Caius gently brushing my shoulder with his thumb as he held me against him.

I dreamt about the games. This time I was surrounded by three men; Caius, Peeta, and Haymitch.

Haymitch started walking towards me and Caius lunged at him, blade first. I didn’t see how it ended between them because Peeta was reaching out for my hand and I’m reaching for him when Caius turns on him, his eyes a deep crimson red. I try to yell but the dream ends before I find out what happens.

The same dream played over at least four times during my sleep and when the sun was up I woke with a start right as Caius made it to Peeta.

“You’ve been doing that all night.” Caius said from beside me.

“Sorry, bad dream.” I mumbled as I climbed out.

“Don’t be, you’re not the only one.”

“I don’t doubt that.” I said as I stretched out.

He rolled out of the sleeping bag and stuffed it into his pack.

“So what’s on the agenda today?” I called back to him as I was filling up the water bottles.

“First I say we try and find out exactly where we are.”

“And how do you propose we do that? Commandeer a hovercraft?”

“The trees are just as good.”

I looked up at the giants that towered over us and raised an eyebrow. “I suppose, so how do you propose we get up there?”

“We climb obviously.” He smiled and walked over to one of the trees at the edge of the meadow.

“You go ahead spider monkey, my feet are probably better on the ground.”

“Spider monkey?” Crap, that slipped out.

He was just beaming with arrogance and I felt my face flushing furiously. “They’re a type of old world monkey… You reminded me of one back in the training arena on that climbing frame.”

“You don’t have to justify yourself, I think it’s adorable that you gave me a pet name.” He was absolutely grinning with satisfaction. He looked almost like he was genuinely happy and not just revelling in my humiliation. I felt my cheeks flushing even more and I avoided his eyes. “Sorry,” I didn’t expect that, why would he apologise? “But it is cute.” There it is.

He started to climb through the thick branches and he was gone in seconds.

H really is a spider monkey.” I said under my breath.

I waited for him to call out and it really wasn’t long.

“Are you coming?” He yelled.

“Just tell me what you see.”

“Come on.” Great.

I walked over to the tree and started to climb up through the branches but I was clumsy. I saw that Caius had hung his bag on a branch and so I did the same. I looked up and wondered how Caius even made it, let alone as fast as he did.

“Where are you?” I called.

“Right here.” He hung down my the legs and appeared behind me.

I just about fell out of the tree from the fright he gave me. He caught my arms and pulled me back so that I regained my balance.

“Don’t do that! How are you even holding yourself up?”

He grabbed a branch and swung around so that he was standing with me. “I was practically raised in the trees, remember? This is pretty easy-going for me.” He shrugged.

“Okay, so can I get down now?”

No, where’s the fun in that? I’ll help you.”

So we started to climb the tree, Caius was all over it. I’m sure he was enjoying showing off. I’m not exaggerating, that’s exactly what he was doing. He kept swinging around and climbing back and forth while I struggled to make it from one branch to the next.

“Can you stop that?! I’m nervous enough as it is without you flinging yourself around like that.” I said irritably.

“You’re almost at the top.” He perched himself above me and offered me his hand like he had done so many times before.

When I took it he pulled me up and through the tree line. It was pretty amazing. I could see further than I thought I would be able to, from the rocky ridges we had travelled from the day before on one side to an on-going expanse of trees to the other. I could see some black smoke billowing up into the sky from the direction with all the trees. It wasn’t like a games fire, more like a tribute’s fire for cooking or warmth.

“Who do you think that is?”

“Probably Dana, she gets to a point where she just doesn’t care about anything anymore, she probably just wants things over and done with sooner.”

“Did you do all of this kind of stuff on the first day?”

“If you mean did I go all spider monkey then yes, I did. I even slept up here.”

“How did you not fall out?”

“I tied myself in with the rope in my pack.”

“Oh.”

A breeze came through gently. I watched as all of the trees rustled in turn and the smoke began to drift through the sky.

“It’s peaceful up here isn’t it?” He said before he inhaled deeply.

“It’s like stepping into another reality.”

Another gust of wind came through and I tightened my grip on the branches.

“Relax, it’s safe.” Caius laughed.

“Easy for you to say.”

“Here, I’ll give you a tip.”

He reached out and put his hands on my hips, holding me steady. I remember when he did this the first time in the training arena and I shoved him away from me, this time my body was almost waiting for him to pull me in.

“Are we back to throwing knives Caius? Because I left mine with my pack.” I felt him give a silent laugh.

“Let go of the branch.”

“No.”

“I can always make you.” He whispered in my ear and a shiver ran down my spine.

“And I can always push you.” I said through gritted teeth.

“Go ahead, I know how to catch myself, but could you get down if I wasn’t here to help?”

I sighed and pried my fingers away from the branches.

“I’ve got you, put your arms out.”

“That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“I can always push you.” I smiled. “Quick, another breeze is coming.”

I closed my eyes and put my arms out. I felt like I was going to fall so I didn’t dare open my eyes. Caius held me into him tightly and it made me feel better about the fact that I wasn’t holding on anymore.

I was trying to focus on all of those things when the breeze engulfed me. I could feel the wind encompass my whole body. It was a different kind of breeze then at ground level. It was warm and sweet with an updraft that made me feel like I was soaring high above the treetops.

That was when I realised it; In that moment, letting go of the branches and letting Caius hold my body and essentially my life in his hands, I was surrendering to him my complete trust.

In these games, trust is the only thing more dangerous than the game itself.