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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄

    𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅𝐅 in the distance, causing the pair to lift their heads at the sound, immediately looking to one another for reassurance as they do every time the cannon goes off, singeling another dead tribute. It doesn't matter if they were right next to another, they needed to see each other alive and breathing with their own eyes before they were able to continue on whatever they were doing prior to the cannon fire. It seems they both are a bit paranoid every time that they hear that boom go off, this being the third one today.

    Day 2 there were zero deaths. Day 3 there was one. Sandy, District 10.

    Now it's Day 4. Three more dead. Eleven remaining.

    It has been almost three days since Sage and Lorcan helped out their fellow tributes. They have relocated to a new spot every day, much closer to the mountains, where Sage got to work on a fire and set up the small tent while Lorcan skinned the red fox she had managed to kill earlier today and was cooking it over the flames. It was getting late once again, and so far only three deaths today. No sign of any retaliation from the gamemakers for what happened with Turner and Bobbi. They spent most of the time walking and trying not to freeze to death.

    By some miracle, they haven't encountered any tributes, which Sage believes is because her theory was correct. Most of them want to be in the warmest spot possible where they have a better chance. It is why Sage forced Lorcan out here with her, knowing they'd have a better chance of staying under the radar for a short while, despite the horrid temperature.

    Lorcan had given Sage the coat after much insistence, which Sage knew she would have to oblige him and only allowed herself to enjoy the comfort of the heavy coat for an hour or so before giving it back to Lorcan. Once the meat was cooked thoroughly, Sage took a seat next to Lorcan and mumbled a thanks as he let her cut off a piece. It was probably the most delicious thing she has ever tasted, mainly because she was starving and she has never been picky over food. She remembers during the time she was homeless and hunting season was at its worst... she doesn't want to admit the things she ate in order to survive.

    The light from the flames lighted their small space and as Sage stared at the dancing flames for a long period of time, she found herself drifting back to the first night she had to spend the night in the freezing night air. She had gotten severely ill afterwards, mainly because it had rained in the middle of the night and she had been so exhausted from not sleeping for four days straight that she slept right through it - in the pouring, freezing rain.

    She had gotten pneumonia, at least that is what she assumed she had. It sure has hell felt like it, not like she went to see any healers or anything to confirm her diagnosis. She couldn't afford them and no one was kind enough to her to make her feel like they would just do it out of the kindness of their hearts. It had almost killed her. She remembers being so sick she could barely move. She needed medicine, antibiotics. Anything. She was convinced she was going to die.

   Until she woke up in the middle of the night to a loud curse and a crash. Her vision was blurry and she was so weak she could barely lift her head, but she was able to see a shadow figure in the distance scurrying away as fast as they could. Sage had thought it was another homeless person, as they have taken residence near the blackmarket. But when she went to move, she felt something hard laying in her grasp. Slowly and carefully, she lifted her aching muscles into a sitting position and narrowed her eyes at the strange object in her palms.

    It had taken a bit for her eyes to examine what it was due to the blurriness of her vision and the night sky, but as she took note of the small vial with strange liquid inside of it, her eyes read over the label in shock.

    Penicillin.

    Sage remembers not being able to trust it, paranoid someone was poisoning her. But that is when she realized that she would die either way. Someone had given her this penicillin and it was the only thing that was going to save her life. Deciding she didn't have anything to lose, she downed the bottle and soon, she passed out once again. When she woke up the next morning, she felt a thousand times better. She still had a bad cough and her throat was still aching, but her muscles weren't as weak and her migraine had vanished.

    To this day, Sage still has no idea who had given her the medicine that saved her life and though she was curious, she decided not to waste time trying to figure it out. Whoever did it, whoever helped her, clearly did not want her to know it was them. So, instead, she thanked the mysterious stranger in her head and went on to get her strength back.

    Being in this winter air, Sage was nervous that something like that could happen again. More likely to Lorcan than herself, which is why after she finished gnawing down to the bone of the fox leg, she took off the coat and handed it back to him.

    His blue eyes narrowed in disbelief. "No. I'm not taking that. You've barely had it for an hour."

    "The fire is going. I'm warm."

    "I don't believe you." Lorcan told her.

    "Just put the damn thing on. Your teeth chattering is making me want to punch you in the face." Sage threatened, shoving the coat in his lap. Knowing better than to argue, Lorcan frustratingly puts on the coat. The two remain quiet for a little bit, listening to the hooting of the owls that were extra loud and obnoxious tonight. Sage could see one in the fair distance, sitting purged in one of the pine trees high up in the branch. It was like he was staring directly at Sage, making that irritating noise on purpose just to piss her off. It took everything for the redhead not to throw a knife between its eyes to shut it up.

    "How long were you homeless?" At first, Sage hadn't processed Lorcan's question, but when his words finally settled, she felt herself go ridged, but did not respond. Sensing her defenses going up, Lorcan sighed. "You really don't like to talk about yourself, do you?"

    Finally, Sage turned to him, her own blue eyes hardening into a scowl. "This isn't a fucking camping trip, Lorcan. In case you've forgotten, we are fighting for our lives. Every cannon that goes off, only ticks down to the limited time we have."

    "Exactly," Lorcan replied. "Which is why it wouldn't hurt to get to know one other."

    "What? That doesn't make any sense."

    "I think it makes perfect sense." Lorcan stated firmly. "Me and you, we decided to team up for a reason. That reason being that we clearly trust one another, or else what the hell are we doing here?" The blond male paused, causing Sage to turn to him as he poked at the flames with a stick, shaking his head wistfully. "One of us is going to die. Very soon. I just think... I'd rather the last person I'm close to is not my ally... but a friend."

    Sage stared at him, dumbfounded. "Won't that just make things harder? In the end?"

    Lorcan lifted his gaze and they locked eyes, so much tension building between them as Sage felt her heart beat pick up only a tad bit. A part of her wanted to move away, to break this connection forming, but the other part glued her to his side, not moving an inch.

    "If I die... I'd rather die knowing I had a friend with me, instead of some stranger who decided to work with me out of convenience."

    His words made her flinch. Just the thought of him dying twisted something in her gut, only making her mission to save him much more important. "You are not going to die." Sage whispered softly, hoping he didn't hear her. He can't die, she won't allow it to happen.

    Lorcan, of course, did hear her and turned to face her again, shocked by her proclamation. Sage was ready to tell him. She was prepared to explain to him her plan to save him, to make sure he wins this whole thing and gets to go home to a mother who actually loves him and believes in him and doesn't think he is a waste of space and doesn't think he ruined her life by just being born. That he gets to see his brother again, and gets to see him live the life he volunteered for him to have.

    If Lorcan questioned it, she was ready to tell him the whole truth. But he didn't pick up on it. Instead, he smiled at her softly. "I keep saying the same about you. But no matter how much we say it, it doesn't change where we are. It's easy to forget, though. I wish we had more time."

    More time for what? Sage wanted to ask, but refrained. Instead, she took a deep breath and found all the courage she could muster. "A year, three months and fourteen days."

    Lorcan looked over to her with a frown. "What?"

    "I was homeless for a year, three months and fourteen days. Yes, I counted the days. Freaky brain, remember?" Sage informed him with a slight smirk, causing the boy to chuckle softly. "After Peacekeepers kicked me out of Victor's Village, I spent so long living under every sewage hole, every makeshift shelter I could make. I got by given I knew how to hunt, even at the age of eight years old. But no one in my District liked me enough to offer any kind of pity handouts. Not the daughter of Deirdre Rowan, that's for damn sure."

    "Wait, people actually blamed you for what your mother did during her games?" Lorcan asked in shock.

    "I wouldn't say they blamed me," Sage whispered, staring at the flames with a heavy heart. "No. They just didn't like that I was her daughter or that I am a possible daughter of someone-" she paused, realizing that maybe talking about this with the Capitol listening wasn't exactly the wisest idea.

    Lorcan, however, was not subtle about it. "So the rumors are true. Your father is from the Capitol?"

    Sage turned to him with a sad smile and a shrug of her shoulders. "I don't know. I have no idea who he is. My mother would never confirm or deny it. She'd just get really, really angry whenever I asked about him."

    Unfavorable memories of the consequences that came from asking such questions flashed in her mind. She remembers the darkness, her hands aching from pounding on the wooden door multiple times on repeat, her voice going raw from screaming and crying. Begging to be let out. She was left in that suffocating darkness for hours.

    Sage didn't realize she had zoned out, nor that she had one of the worst haunted looks on her face until she felt a cold hand grab her, the redhead snapping out of her trance and turning to see Lorcan looking at her strongly. Not with pity, somehow he knew she did not need his pity. But he stared at her with compassion and sadness. He knew. Even if she didn't speak it out loud, Lorcan knew her childhood was worse than most with loving and caring parents in poor Districts give their children.

    Lorcan just simply smiled, leaning into her and for the first time, Sage did not tense this time. She allowed his closeness, found comfort in it. "I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear and the sympathetic apology was something that almost made her break. Almost made her wall come crumbling down as she fought back tears.

    Almost.

    "After that year, Hyacinth found me. She's an older woman, and she offered me a roof over my head if I helped her get around and stuff." Sage said, clearing her throat and looking back at the flames. "Stubborn old woman. We bickered so much that I'm surprised she didn't kick me out every time I challenged her. Turns out that is why she liked me, because I remind her of herself. A stubborn, ignorant little shit, is what she always called me."

    Lorcan shook his head with a chuckle. "I mean, she's right."

    Sage snorted, one of the rare smiles spreading on her face as she covered her mouth, laughing hysterically. "Yeah. Yeah, she definitely was right about that."

    Suddenly they were interrupted by the Capitol's anthem playing overhead and the two settled down and looked up to see the fallen. Three dead.

    Claroline, District 5. Zahra, District 12.

    The last one was enough to put a wicked smile on Sage's lips, despite her emotions just seconds prior.

    Dick, District 2.

    A part of Sage wished she knew how he died. Which prediction she made was true. Did he die from natural causes? Did one of his 'allies' take him out for being too slow and unable to walk? Did the gamemakers throw something at him that he just wasn't able to handle? She felt eyes on her and when she turned to meet Lorcan's, she found her smile dropping when she saw the look in his eyes. The admiration.

    "What?" Sage demanded, not liking being under his strange gaze.

    As if snapping out of whatever was going through his mind and cleared his throat. "Nothing. I just realized... eleven to go."

    Sage nodded, bringing her legs close to her chest and shivering, as if the temperature was slowly getting worse. Surprisingly, there was no wind and- something suddenly hit Sage and she was consumed with horrible dread.

    As if sensing her worry, Lorcan glanced over and frowned. "What? What is it?"

    "I-I'm not sure." She whispers, looking around. "I just... suddenly have this horrible feeling."

    "Should we leave?" Lorcan questions, and a part of Sage can't help but feel grateful that Lorcan trusts her so much that he is willing to leave at night without any proof or explanation, just simply because she has a feeling.

    Looking around, she listened closely, surveying their little campsite and nothing seemed to be so bad. Sighing, Sage just shook her head. "No. We're fine for now. But I am going to keep watch first." Nodding softly, Lorcan moved towards the small kent, but unzipped the coat and handed it to her. "Lorcan, stop. I don't want it."

    "Bullshit. You're shivering. You can give it back when we switch for the night." Lorcan insisted, this time he was not taking no for an answer. Groaning, Sage snatched the coat from his grasp and watched as he smirked at her, heading back into the tent. "Goodnight, Sage."

    It had only been ten minutes once she was confident he was long asleep that she snuck into the tent and placed the coat over him, going back out and trying to ignore this horrible feeling in her stomach.

    When Sage had woken him and attempted to get some sleep herself (making sure to take the coat back first before she did so), she couldn't stop worrying that something bad was going to happen. She tossed and turned and maybe rested her eyes for twenty minutes before she was up fully, just waited until the sun began to come through. However, it never came, heavy clouds forming overhead.

    "You think it's going to rain?" Lorcan questions, staring up at the sky.

    Suddenly, she was hit by harsh wind and she was on her feet in an instant, causing Lorcan to jump up with her, feeling the pressure of the wind that came again and again, each time harder and more violent.

    Sage snapped her head around, her horrible feeling increasing as her eyes widened. She pointed to the left of them, deep in the woods. "Lorcan, we need to go. Now."

   What Lorcan saw when he followed her pointed direction was another harsh gust of wind smacking against them so hard, they were sent flying, unable to remain on their feet. It took out their fire and caused their small tent to go flying through the air.

    Retaliation time.

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    𝐒𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐃 a blizzard before. She has heard about them, they were common in the Northern Districts, but they were rare. It was categorized as a storm which contains blowing snow with harsh, relentless winds going 35 miles per hour. The temperature drops to something deadly and visibility is pretty impossible.

    The young female tribute was only 99% certain that is what was happening at this very moment. That 1% was merely her own brain grasping for a strain of hope that she was wrong, though it was obvious she wasn't.

    After regaining their composers from being knocked off their feet, both Lorcan and Sage didn't waste any time as they grabbed all their things, not bothering to look for the tent that flew into oblivion and they started treading in the opposite of the heavy winds. She knew what was happening... Whether it was in retaliation for what happened with Turner and Bobbi or the gamemakers were just trying to mess with them, Sage would never know for certain.

    But what she did know was that they were definitely forcing them somewhere. Away from the mountains, towards the direction of the cornucopia where the sun was at its highest. Towards the other tributes.

    They've been walking for what she believes is an hour. They were both struggling hard at this point, exhausted as the snow on the ground became thicker and their muscles screaming at them in agony. But they never stopped. They couldn't. They needed to get out of this storm's range. It was brutal and painful, but both Sage and Lorcan knew they could not stop.

    "W-We need to f-find shelter," Lorcan yelled over the heavy winds.

    Pausing, Sage looked around but was barely able to make out anything in front of her let alone scout for any caves. "I can't see anything."

    "God, I-I-I can b-barely fe-el m-my hands." Lorcan mumbles under his breath, his teeth chattering like crazy.

    I need to get him out of here. We can't start a fire, not with this wind and snow, it would be impossible to start it and keep it going.

    "I-I think if we ke-ep g-going south, we'll be able to get out of the b-blizzard's range."

    Lorcan nodded. "Lead the way, boss."

    They start walking again, slower than before but necessary. Sage was too tired to take care of their tracks like usual but with this relentless snow, it would just cover them for her. They were very low on water. It felt like another hour or two went by. It was hard to tell anymore. Time was void in this horrible storm. They just had to keep moving and hopefully they will break through range or the gamemakers will finally think they've tortured the tributes enough.

    Through the hard, swirling winds, a strange sound picked up and Lorcan was the one to hear it first, looking behind him. "D-Did you h-h-hear that?"

    Sage stopped, looking from him and then back. She was about to answer no, but paused when an ear-pinching screech sounded in the far distance. What the hell was that? Sage thought to herself, holding her hand out to stop the snow from whacking her in the face.

    It all happened in the blink of an eye. One second they were staring in the direction of the sound, the next something was on them. It emerged from the blinding snow and Sage barely managed to grab Lorcan in time as it flew over them. It screeched again, flapping its insanely large wings and turned and aimed for them again.

    "What the hell is that?" Lorcan screamed as they scrambled to their feet one more time.

    Sage opened her mouth to respond, but even she couldn't figure it out. But what she could tell, it was coming right back at them again. "Run!"

    Through the thick, heavy snow, the two tribute partners ran as fast as they could as the creature screeched, swooping down again. It was like some gigantic bird, but not like any bird she has seen or read about before. Its colors were a mixture of white, gold and brown with strong powerful wings and large, yellow talons. If she had to take an educated guess, she would say it was about six feet tall.

    "It's a mutt." Sage comes to the conclusion, knowing whatever this creature is, it is not natural. Suddenly, Sage was tackled to the ground, her face burying in the snow with a body on top of hers. She hadn't processed Lorcan had tackled her when the bird tried to grab her and knocked her out of the way before it could dig its talons into her back.

    Lorcan gave her a knowing look. "Really? I hadn't put that together."

    Rolling her eyes at his sarcasm, Sage allowed him to help her just as they mutt slammed into the ground in front of them, screeching loudly. Sage drew her sickle sword, holding it up to the mutt, prepared to fight it. Lorcan, however, was not ready and grabbed her arm. "Have you lost your damn mind?"

    He pulled her and they started running again, the mutt now chasing them on foot. They were running for their lives now, neither realizing that the snow was getting easier to run in and the blizzard was settling down, as was the wind. They were keeping perfect speed, until suddenly Lorcan stumbled, tripping over a trunk and fell face first. Sage paused, turning to grab him but was too late. The mutt thing was on him. One second, Lorcan was on the ground, the next he was being lifted in the air.

    "NO!" Sage screamed, not even bothering to waste a second. She grabbed one of her knives and she threw it at the mutt. It landed directly in its wing, causing the mutt to scream and squeal in pain, immediately dropping Lorcan who fell six feet. When he landed, he yelled, holding the arm he had landed on and Sage was kneeling beside him, quickly examining him for injuries. "Are you hurt?"

    "I landed on my hand wrong. I think I broke my wrist."

    The mutt circled back, struggling with its injured wing, but Sage didn't have time to throw another knife as it purposely scratched her face with its talons. Letting out a sharp hiss, she could feel something drip from the side of her cheek down to her neck. Now she was getting pissed off.

    Standing up fully, she turned towards the mutt and twirled the sickle sword in her hand, walking away from Lorcan to keep him out of harm's way. "Alright, you fucker. Come on!"

    As if it understood her, the mutt charged at her in full speed. Sage managed to dodge the attack, dropping to her knees when it tried biting her with its beak. Sage swung her arm straight out, the sharp steel slicing against its thick flesh, causing the mutt to cry out once again from the blow. Its own blood dripped into the snow as it spun in a very swift 180, its uninjured wing knocking into Sage so hard it sent her flying through the air, and was knocked into something hard.

    Pain exploded from her side and head as she fell to the ground with a hard thud. Suddenly, her vision became blurry and the last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was the sound of Lorcan screaming her name and the vision of the mutt flying away in the distance.

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    𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 aching by the time she finally woke up. She attempted to open her eyes, but immediately closed them, letting out a loud groan. She could feel the heat of flames radiating in front of her face. Turned onto her back, she slowly sat up the best she could, her right side sore but she pushed through the pain as she finally opened her eyes.

    It had taken Sage a minute to collect herself before everything hit her at once and suddenly, she was looking around in alert, noticing they were secluded somewhere, stone rock walls surrounded her and the snow on the ground was light, but a wide opening in front of her. The coat was laying on top of her and she felt null pain along her cheek. Then the image of the mutt came back and she let out a sharp gasp. Immediately, she began to panic.

    "Lorcan?" She called out, looking around what she assumed was a very small cave. Her partner was nowhere to be seen. Her heart sank. No. No, no, no. She didn't protect him. She failed him. "Lorcan!"

    "Hey, I'm right here." The sound of his voice rushing in through the large opening, carrying a bunch of branches and wood for the fire. He dropped to the ground before her. Sage felt so much relief of course through her, her panic settling slightly, but her heart was still racing. Lorcan quickly examined her. "I'm so happy you woke up. I was so scared."

    His words scared her. "How long was I out?"

    "Just a day." He informed her and Sage's eyes widened.

    "The mutt?" She questioned in a panic.

    Lorcan couldn't help but smirk a little. "It flew off when you sliced its chest. You injured it pretty badly."

    Sage leaned back into one of the backpacks Lorcan had used as a pillow for her. "But I didn't kill it. So that means it will be back." The redhead looked around their surroundings before turning back to Lorcan. "How did we get here?"

    "I dragged you." Lorcan admitted with a faint smile. "You are heavier than you look."

    Sage playfully punched his arm, but it wasn't hard. She was still weak and sore. Lorcan chuckled softly. "Thankfully when the mutt took off, the storm stopped. It took me hours, but I managed to find this cave. After making sure no bears or wild animals resided in it, I pulled you in, made a fire and boiled more water. Here." He held out of their canteens and Sage drank it lightly. Her cheek was still aching, but when she touched her flesh, she was surprised to find that it was only sensitive and sore. Noticing her confusion, Lorcan reaches over and pulls out not only one parachute, but two. "Seems you are quite popular. One arrived last night when I found the cave and the other this morning. Salve for the claw wounds on your cheek and hot soup."

    "How do you know they are for me?" Sage whispers, not wanting to admit the fact that she knows that he is illiterate.

    Lorcan huffs softly, not in annoyance by her question, but in amusement before reaching inside his jacket and pulling out two small cards that must be from Walker. "Because I highly doubt they were for me."

    Taking the two cards, Sage holds them up to the light and reads the top one first. You are causing a bit of an uproar over here. Keep it up. - Walker

    Immediately, Sage knew what he was talking about. It's because she hasn't kept her mouth shut and has admitted to being homeless and the possibilities of being a Capitol child. Everyone already heard the rumors, but to hear Sage actually admitting that she believes they might be true... who knows what President Snow is having to deal with resolving the backlash. Not only was she the daughter of one of their beloved victors, but she might possibly be one of them?

    An uproar indeed.

    Sage looked at the other card and couldn't help but chuckle at what the words said. Lorcan raised his brows at her curiously and she continued to giggle at the card. She looked up at the blond male and shook her head softly. "The second just says 'wake up' from Walker."

    Lorcan chuckled as well, shaking his head as he went to put more wood in the fire. That's when she noticed him only doing it with one hand, cradling his left to his chest. "How's your wrist?"

    Looking down, Lorcan shrugged slightly. "It's no big deal. I don't think I really broke it, but it's definitely sprained."

    "You should put a splint on it."

    Lorcan shot the redhead a strange look. "A what?"

    "A splint. So you don't have to keep cradling your hand to your stomach all the time. It will help protect your wrist so it can heal properly."

    Lorcan only shook his head. "It's fine. I don't need one."

    Sage tried to get up to grab one of the pieces of wood he had collected, but felt a way of dizziness hit her. Lorcan was at her side, forcing her back down. "No, you need to rest. We are safe here for the time being."

    Sage went to argue, but when she moved she felt another wave of dizziness hit her and the back of her head throbbed. Yeah, she definitely has a small concussion, Lorcan then went and grabbed the container that held the soup and started warming it over the fire. "You said I was out for a day. Any more deaths?"

    "Just one. The girl from 11."

    "Olive." Sage mumbles, mostly to herself. Fourteen dead. Ten remaining. "Game is moving fast. It's only Day 6."

    Lorcan sighed tiredly, stirring the soup with the provided spoon. "I know."

    She noticed he was wearing the gloves and frowned when she still saw him shivering. "Lorcan, take the coat."

    "No."

    Sage groaned at his stubbornness. "Lorcan, please take the coat."

    "No, you need it more than I do right now."

    "No, what I need is for you to not die. That is the only thing I care about."

    "Why? Why are you only worried about me?" Lorcan suddenly snaps, looking back at Sage with a sharp look, surprising her with his outburst. "This alliance is so we can help each other before we go our separate ways. You should be worried about yourself. You should be worrying only about yourself and how you are going to survive and win this thing."

     Tell him. Sage's subconscious orders her. And she listens. She was ready to tell him everything. Her plan to save him, to take herself out when the time comes so he wouldn't have to do it. But just as she opened her mouth to say it, someone else spoke up before her.

    "Well, well. Aren't you two cozy?"

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I'm really loving how this story is coming along. I dread what's to come, thankfully I got another chapter or two before that scene comes. I'm gonna be a mess.

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!