Katniss let me sprinkle some starchy root to the meat.  As we sat around the fire, I licked my lips.  "I've only tried groosling once or twice, but it's the best thing I ever tasted."  I licked my lips and looked over at Katniss.  She was burrowing her brow.  "Huh?"  I pointed to the cooking meat.  "That's a groosling.  Sometimes a whole flock of them will get through the fence somehow and we get a good lunch that day.  Although the Peacekeepers eat most of it..."  I trailed off thoughtfully.

Katniss finished the cooking and gave me its leg.  I bit into it and sighed.  "I've never had a chance to eat a whole entire leg before."  Katniss looked at me with pity in her eyes.  "Oh, go ahead and take the other."  My eyes widened.  "Really?"  She nodded.  "You take all you want.  Now that I've got good weapons, I can just get more by the twitch of a snare or a sudden arrow through the eyes.  I can show you how to set snares if you want to."  

"I think you'll need-"  I started, but Katniss placed the leg in my hands.  "Oh, just take it.  You'll need all the strength and energy you can get in the next couple of weeks, and it won't be good for a very long time."  The smell was too tempting and I took a big mouthful.

Katniss said thoughtfully, "I'd have thought that in District 11, you'd have a lot more to eat than us in District 12, you know. Since you grow the crops and all."  I swallowed my mouthful and said, "Oh, never.  I mean, we're not allowed to eat things we grow."  Katniss scratched her nose.  "Do they arrest you or something?"  She asked.  I shook my head.  "They whip you and force everybody to watch.  It's horrible, but happens often.  That's one of the mayor's strictest rules."  

Katniss took a big bite of her groosling.  I asked, "Do you get all of the coal you want?  Whenever you want?"  She grinned.  "Just what we buy and discover on the bottom of our boots."  I smiled, too.  "Well, they do feed us a bit extra when harvesting comes around, so we can stay alive."  I take a small bite of the leg.  Katniss said, "Don't you go to school during harvest?"

I shook my head.  "During Harvest, everybody works, even small kids sometimes.  They like to come with us and sing our district songs and dance to them.  They're really fun to have around.  I didn't do that when I was younger, but I liked to race my friends up trees."  I trailed off.  Even thinking of that was painful.

I tried to change the subject.  "Why don't we split our stuff between us two?"  When she agreed, I laid my stuff out.  "This is my knife- I mean, a rock I use as a knife."  I pointed to the sharp rock, then to my slingshot.  "This is a slingshot I made a couple days ago.  And this is a water skin I got at the Cornucopia, along with some socks.  Here's some berries and nuts and things I've found around.  And, of course, the leaves for tracker jacker stings."  I realized how pathetic I must look to her with only a couple of things.  

"I know it isn't as much as you, but I had to get out fast, I think Clove was chasing me."  Katniss said, "Clove?"  I nodded.  "You know, the girl from District 2.  She's the girl that has all of the knives."  Katniss didn't answer, but picked up a berry and rolled in her fingers.  "Don't you think this could be- I mean, are you sure these are, um, safe?"  I nodded.  "Of course they are.  We have them everywhere back home.  I've been eating them for days here in the arena."

I popped some in my mouth just to prove it.  Katniss bit into it cautiously, and told me it was good, and she supposed it's safe.