Disclaimer: The Hunger Games Trilogy is property of Suzanne Collins. This is a parody fanwork by fans for fans. No money was made off of the creation of this fanwork.

Spectator

By Fanfic Allergy

Chapter One

Light streams through the window beside the bed I share with my sister waking me from my restless sleep. As I open my eyes, I let out a small groan noting the position of the sun in the sky. I'd planned on getting up earlier than this so I could do a lot of hunting before the events of the afternoon.

I roll over and my bladder twinges uncomfortably letting me know in no uncertain terms that I need to get up. As I start to get out of bed, I'm a little surprised when I realize my sister is still sleeping curled up against my back. I would have thought on today, of all days, she would have sought the comfort of our mother's bed. I guess she's grown up since the morning of her twelfth birthday four months ago, which was the last time I caught her sleeping with our mother.

I guess we all have.

I disengage Prim's arm from around my stomach and slip out from under the thin blanket. Standing upright, I realize I've made a mistake. The world shifts and spins and I fight to keep from blacking out. I sit down heavily on the bed and wait for the head rush to pass. These dizzy spells have been coming more and more frequently, much to my annoyance. My mother says it's not unusual considering I'm not eating properly. I stifle a snort at the remembered words. No one eats properly in the Seam. Still, I long for the days when standing up quickly didn't cause the world to spin like a child's top.

Prim's cat, Buttercup, hisses at me from his spot behind my sister's knees. I frown at the ugly yellow cat. "You do that again and I'll eat you," I threaten. Buttercup's eyes narrow and I can tell that he is considering doing just that when Prim shifts underneath the thin cover. Deciding to abandon hissing at me to go nuzzle at his mistress, Buttercup saunters up to Prim's face and gives a pathetic kitten meow.

"Katniss?" my sister's voice asks sleepily.

"Go back to sleep," I whisper, hoping that she'll do just that.

Unfortunately Prim ignores me. "You okay?" Prim's voice asks.

I grimace, naturally she would notice I'm leaning heavily on the edge of the bed. "I'm fine. Just getting up to pee."

"You want help?" she asks.

"No, I think I can pee on my own." And to prove my point, I start slowly making my way to the door leading out to the outhouse walking with one hand on a piece of furniture or a wall all the way. By the time I empty my bladder, the lightheaded feeling has passed. I feel better and ready to face the day. At least as ready as any person between the ages of twelve and eighteen can feel on Reaping Day.

When I get back inside, I notice Prim is no longer lying in bed but is instead up and dressed, my gathering bag flung over one shoulder, and is at the kitchen counter making the both of us breakfast of a few slices of bread and a little of her goat cheese. When she sees me, she smiles over one shoulder. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah."

"You still getting dizzy?" She looks at me pointedly.

I wince. "Yeah."

Prim frowns and scrapes some goat cheese from her bread on to mine. I start to protest but she stops me with a stern look. She knows as well as I do that I shouldn't be getting dizzy at all but she doesn't comment on it. Instead she says, "You should get dressed. The reaping isn't until two and we can get some good gathering in."

"And hunting," I add.

Prim makes a face. "That too." Ever since she started joining me on my daily excursions outside of the fence, she's become more accustomed to the necessities of hunting and killing your food. But she doesn't like it. However, when I suggest she doesn't need to join me anymore and that I already have a hunting partner in Gale she quickly shoots me down. It's just as well, I don't feel as comfortable with Gale as I used to and being alone outside the fence isn't a good idea at the best of times. And this really isn't the best of times.

I get dressed, noting with displeasure that my clothes don't fit me as well as they used to. Still it's not too bad, so I muddle through and pull on my boots. When I stand, Prim is there with my breakfast and I take it with a nod. I've learned never to turn down food in the past and it's an even more important lesson now.

As I eat my bread and cheese, Prim and I start walking toward the Meadow and the fence beyond it. "So what are we doing today?" she asks.

"I was planning on setting a few snares and maybe seeing if the blackberries and strawberries had ripened," I answer in between mouthfuls.

"Oh! I love strawberries!" Prim exclaims clapping her hands in delight.

I can't keep the smile from my face. "The mayor likes them more and he's willing to pay for them."

Prim pouts for a second at me then smiles. "Can we fish rather than hunt?"

I consider it. I can get more in trade when I hunt. Things we need like sugar, string, salt, tallow and clothes. But Prim seems to be more willing to kill when it comes to fish, probably because they aren't cute and cuddly like the game I hunt. "We'll see," I reply.

"Buttercup would like it better if we did," Prim tries wheedling.

"Oh, he would, would he?" I say with a smile.

"Yup! Please, Katniss!"

I sigh. "Fine. We can fish, but while you're picking berries, I'm going to try to get a few squirrels or something."

Prim's face falls for a moment, then she seems to accept it is about the best 'm going to do. It is true, besides we really need the extra income. Even with my mother the primary healer in the Seam we d0n't make all that much. Mostly my mother gets paid in goods, if she gets paid at all. Thinking about healing and my mother another thought pops into my head. "Once we get out there, we should try to get some more herbs for Mother. You know, just in case."

My sister screws up her face in thought for a moment, then nods. "I know just the ones."

When we reach the fence, we listen for the tell tale buzz of electricity running through the wires before slipping under the bottommost wire. I still get a little thrill from doing something illegal, even though I've been venturing out beyond the fence for over four years now. I feel lighter, freer on the other side of the fence than I do in District Twelve. We clear the tree line and I automatically set off toward the little cave covered by blackberry bushes where I used to meet with Gale.

Prim follows her eyes darting here and there nervously. She's always a little nervous in the woods and I can't really blame her. The second time she joined me in the woods a wild dog charged us. Luckily, I had my bow and was able to kill the beast before it did any damage. But it still scared the crap out of her, literally unfortunately, which didn't make Prim any happier having to walk home in soiled clothing.

We reach the jumble of rocks where I used to meet with Gale and the brambles of blackberry bushes scattered all over the area. Prim pulls out a square of cloth from my gathering bag and beelines for the berries. "Don't eat too many!" I call and she grins at me. I leave her be and walk over to the hollow tree where I store my favorite of my father's bows. I don't dare keep them inside the fence because while catching game is overlooked by the authorities so long as they don't outright catch you in the act of poaching, owning a weapon is on a whole other scale. If the Peacekeepers found out, I could be whipped or worse, so it is safer to keep the weapons out in the woods despite the potential damage from the weather.

I pull out the bow and sit down on a fallen log to string it while watching Prim. She is picking the berries with a smile on her face with about every fifth berry finding its way into her mouth. I don't say anything to her, my sister deserves her indulgence. She doesn't have to come with me into the woods, but she does it anyway because she loves me.

I feel more than hear someone approaching the two of us and cautiously turn to face the interloper, my bow at the ready. Almost as soon as I raise it, I lower it.

It's Gale.

My friend and hunting partner smiles slowly at the two of us. "Hey Catnip. Prim," he says in greeting.

Prim stops her gathering to shoot Gale a wary look. Ever since the events of her birthday she hasn't liked Gale as much as she used to. I can't blame her. I don't feel the same way about Gale that I used to either.

Not wanting to be totally rude to him, I greet, "Hi Gale. I didn't think you were going to be here today." It is the truth, I didn't think he was going to come here, to this spot. It is one of the reasons I'd set out for here.

"I wanted to get some berries, for Posy," he replies looking a little sheepish. I nod. His baby sister loves blackberries and Gale loves her.

"We can go somewhere else," Prim says moving to gather up her square of cloth.

He shakes his head. "No, I don't want to drive you away." He looks around nervously. "So what are you two planning on doing today?"

I know why he's asking. He wants to know if he's going to be in the way or if he can hang around with the two of us. "We were thinking of heading to the stream to set up a few nets and then pick some strawberries and maybe gather a few herbs."

"Not going to hunt?" he asks eyeing the bow in my hands.

"If the opportunity presents itself, I am," I answer.

"What about snares?"

I shrug. "I'm not as good with them as you." It's not false modesty, Gale is a better trapper than I am but I'm a better shot. We were a good team.

"I could come with you," he offers. "Set some snares and we can split fish and game?"

I look over at Prim who has stayed silent during the exchange. She looks like she wants to object but she knows that while out in the woods I am in charge. It is my call. My choice. "You can come with us, Gale," I say after a few moments. "But you don't need to feel obligated to."

A flash of anger sparks in Gale's Seam grey eyes. "You make it sound like hunting with me is a burden."

"You're overreacting," I state. "I just don't want you to change your plans because you feel like you need to watch over Prim and me."

"Dammit, Katniss! I should be watching over you!" he explodes, flailing his hands around for emphasis. "You're pregnant with my child!"

AN:

This was originally written on November 1, 2012 as part of Nanowrimo. It was revised as of November 26, 2012 after I won Nanowrimo.

Beta read by RoseFyre.

Now that I have that out of the way, if you can't tell this story is definitely falling into the Realm of Alternate Universe. I've put out enough chapters that I feel that I can reveal the primary pairings of this story. There are three. A former Gale/Katniss as you can guess. An eventual Peeta/Katnisss, well, at least as much of one as we get at the beginning of Catching Fire. And Cato/Clove. There are others, but they are decidedly secondary and not important to the plot. This is also not a pure romance but something I am trying to write in the same feel and vein as the original books. I have this thing planned out through the end of Mockingjay for goodness' sake.

I've had this idea kicking around in my brain since about March and have held off on writing it until now. I hope you enjoy.

Reviews are the currency of all fanfic authors. It is the only payment that we receive.