Chapter 4: Gale's Death and Katniss's First Reaping

( Peeta POV)

In class the next day, for the first time Katniss took the initiative to speak to me. This made me feel over the moon. There was even a red trickle rolling down towards my mouth from my nose.

"Tha..tha..thank yo..yo.. You, my sister said I should" she stuttered out, her stutter was so seductive that i felt like leaning forwards and taking those soft, delicate looking lips. But I refrained. Despite how similar she was to my first love i could not possibly behave like we did in our wild years.

"No problem, if it is for my one and only goddess of cause."I responded, my restrain melting.

"Please cou..could you continue giving us foo..food as we really ne..need it, so I do not have to put my name in for the Tesserae because we need more grains. also , please could you instead of meat exchange meat for something that does not go off so me, prim and mother can eat all week," she said nervously at first, speeding up as she went along.

"I'll do anything for you if you agree to be my girlfriend."

"Bu..but we are only 12 an..and you come from a baker's family whereas I my family is a coal miner's family with no man to look after it.you would receive no dowry."

"But I only want to be with you."

"You could go out with the mayor's daughter, she is nicer, prettier, smarter and she comes from the richest family in town"

"Who cares about that nonsense? I have 2 older brothers anyway. Fine, I know how stubborn you are. Just stay away from that boy you were with yesterday, Gane something."

"Gale"

"Yeah, stay away from him and i will give your family all the food they could possibly want and teach you how to hunt properly."

"Deal!"

That conversation started a relationship which we developed into much more, lasting until death parted us. Also that f**** Gale is out the way now she is all mine. Just to be sure Gale was out the way i snuck into his family's house and slaughtered the bunch of them. I know it was evil but it was necessary to protect Katniss from that evil bastard who wanted nothing more than to kidnap her, abuse her to collect food, then r*** her and leave her for dead in the middle of the woods.

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( Third person POV)

A few days later the peacekeepers arrived at the house to complaints of the rotting smell. No one was surprised they kicked the dust at the beginning as they always look on the edge of starving to death however it actually turned out that they were murdered in cold blood. In the main room where they all slept all the bodies had had their throats slit and had been piled up against the wall. Their eyes were closed and had smiles on their faces as if before being murdered they had been enjoying a wonderful dream most likely about eating succulent, cooked meat. However was of the corpses had a look of horror on his face, his eyes had been scratched out and there was scars all on his faces. His genitals had been ripped off leaving a pool of blood. His guts were ripped out and rearranged to spell the words " LEAVE MY LOVE ALONE". Despite all the damage inflicted on his body his handsome face and body still made him easily recognisable to all that knew him as Gale Hawthorne.

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(Katniss POV)

At the funeral for Gale and his family few showed up but those who did other than me were all there to mock his family for most likely offending someone from the Capitol who had set their eyes on someone from this district.

"Serves their family right i cannot believe they had the bravery to live longer than a week after he kissed madge from the mayor's family"

"Truly a toad lusting after a swan's meat"

"Lucky for the mayor though, he must have got really lucky as anyone powerful enough to spy on our district 12 for just 1 girl alone is bound to be really high up in command"

"Where do you think they spotted her? Probably at the last reapin in the background or when they visited the Capitol so the mayor's wife could be healed."

"I really envy that girl."

"Me too, i wish i could live in the Capitol and be married to one of them instead of a stinking coal miner"

"..."

Their conversation was really getting on my nerves. How could they so blatantly disrespect the death of Gale and his family. As I was thinking that, i saw Peeta come in wearing a grey shirt instead of his usual orange. At least he is wearing something appropriate.

"Peeta, can you tell me why is Gale's death not even mourned? I may have known him for a day but i showed up, unlike those people who knew him all his life but are still disrespecting him after his death"

"Katniss that is just how humanity works, we step over each other to achieve our goals and all those left behind are forgotten."

"Why though? Why?"

"It is because the cycle of hate can never be broken never. Not while the Capitol exists."

I wished Peeta would stay comforting me like that but he said he had to leave and had business to attend to, he was probably going to get my dinner which I was very thankful for.

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(Third person POV)

Today was the Reaping, the day in which 2 candidates, a boy and a girl, from the 12 remaining districts would be selected from a bowl with names and be sent to the Capitol to participate in The Hunger Games. It was the 72nd Hunger Games and the year that both Peeta and Katniss would enter for the first time. Due to them both not signing up for the Tesserae they only have their name in once

It starts for them by first registering at the entrance. They are then forced into 2 sections, boys and girls. Up comes the weirdly dressed snob from the Capitol as well as the dunkard, Haymitch, who each year falls off the stage.the mayor then comes up and describes how the districts rebelled against the Capitol and so were forced into the Hunger Games as a way to atone for the deaths of all the Capitol inhabitants killed.

'What a load of Bullsh** all they are doing is boasting their own egos while trying to put us district inhabitants down, but it is fine as long as it does not affect me being with Katniss I will not bother.'

'Actually why not participate in the final year to show off if Katniss was not chosen for the other years. That way I can show off that the way of the ninja is not yet dead while killing all those monsters who train to kill'

While Peeta was contemplating what to do, Katniss was having a nervous breakdown almost on the edge of crying as she wondered whether she would be chosen.

' If i was chosen what would happen to Prim or mother? Would Peeta look after them as promised or will he abandon them? Wait, what about me? I would probably die a gruesome death at the cornucopia bloodbath. Stop your name is so unlikely, you are in once while people like Gale are already in over 20 times in their teens. You will be fine so stop worrying.'

In the end the obnoxious Capitol woman pulled out 2 random names neither Peeta nor Katniss knew. They were dragged kicking and screaming all the way to the stage where they were gagged for being too loud and taken away. As everyone was leaving the drunkard who would be the tributes only help in the Hunger Games fell off the stage making even Peeta's icy heart feel sorry for the soon to be dead duo.