When I wake, I find that Prim is not beside me. She must have had a nightmare, and crawled into bed with mother. She must be scared for me, today is the reaping for the 73rd Annual hunger games, and with my 16 slips in that bowl, I understand why. I dress in my usual hunting gear, my father's old jacket and leather boots, and silently move through the house and out into the Seam. Today no miners are going down into the Earth, so most sleep in, not many are awake at this time.

I make my way down to the meadow, and slip through the non-electric electric fence. I grab my bow and quiver of arrows, and sense a familiar person standing behind me. Gale. I turn around to find him standing there, leaning against a tall oak tree, smiling.

We don't need to talk to communicate, so we move forward through the forest, shooting everything we see. A young dear sprints past us, and not far away from it are footsteps. Human footsteps. I ready my bow, to shoot at the person I know is just a few meters away.

She appears through the small clearing, and something shimmers off her body, reflecting sunlight into my eyes. She turns towards me, hands raised.
"Hey, hey. Don't shoot me." She pleads, and both Gale and I lower our bows and take in the girl before us. She's about my age, maybe a year younger, with long, brown hair down to her stomach, hair going over her face and curling at the end, cascading down to the next curl.

She is well fed, but still shows some signs of starvation, and she's wearing a black vest top, light, black trousers and boots not very different to my own. She tensely steps towards us, flashing a warm but not fake smile. As she gets closer, I look at her eyes, a dazzling white with chocolate innards. She places a shiny knife she was holding back into a small back she's wearing over her shoulder, and finally I'm able to recognise her.

It's very rare that a Seam person and Merchant person get together, and if they do, the child that they produce usually takes one side looks wise. I got my fathers Seam look, whereas Prim looks like a Merchant kid. I don't know her name, but I know who her family are. Her father was a miner, and was blown to bits about a year ago, her mother was a butcher, sister to Rooba, and she fell ill last winter and died.

Ever since then she's lived with Rooba, and occasionally you see her in the Hob or outside the shop. I've only ever seen her once, eating some of Sae's soup a few years ago in the Hob. I look up at Gale, who is not quite sure of this new face in our woods.
I glance down at her bag, and it looks quite full, no one could get that much out here in one go without some skill, so I try and talk to her.

"So what is your name? I've seen you around before but I've never met you." I ask.
"I'm Charlotte, and you are Katniss Everdeen" she says pointing at me. "And you are Gale Hawthorne; my auntie sometimes buys off you." My eyes flicker to Gale, and looks a bit apprehensive because Charlotte knows about us.

"So Charlotte, what are you doing out here in the woods. It's illegal to hunt you know." He says, reiterating what he had said to me the first time we met.
"Well, we need meat from somewhere, and we need to trade at the Hob as well, and I try to give to the homeless around 12 as well." She says whilst brushing her hands through the hair falling gradually over more of her face. "Are we going to hunt or just stand here having a nice chat?" She says, moving deeper into the woods.

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading! Please review (let me know what you think of Charlotte) and maybe even follow the story so you can get updates when I write more! I've written up to the interviews before the Games (mini spoiler I guess) but it will be an open ending so suggestions are welcome and greatly received! Thank you again and have a great day 3

SimplyAbi :)