第67章

  the
  words come out of my mouth before i can stop them.
  “you know, they’re not the only ones who can form al-
  liances,” i say.
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  for a moment, no response. then one of rue’s eyes edges
  around the trunk. “you want me for an ally?”
  “why not? you saved me with those tracker jackers. you’re
  smart enough to still be alive. and i can’t seem to shake you
  anyway,” i say. she blinks at me, trying to decide. “you hun-
  gry?” i can see her swallow hard, her eye flickering to the
  meat. “come on then, i’ve had two kills today.”
  rue tentatively steps out into the open. “i can fix your
  stings.”
  “can you?” i ask. “how?”
  she digs in the pack she carries and pulls out a handful of
  leaves. i’m almost certain they’re the ones my mother uses.
  “where’d you find those?”
  “just around. we all carry them when we work in the orc-
  hards. they left a lot of nests there,” says rue. “there are a lot
  here, too.”
  “that’s right. you’re district eleven. agriculture,” i say.
  “orchards, huh? that must be how you can fly around the
  trees like you’ve got wings.” rue smiles. i’ve landed on one of
  the few things she’ll admit pride in. “well, come on, then. fix
  me up.”
  i plunk down by the fire and roll up my pant leg to reveal
  the sting on my knee. to my surprise, rue places the handful
  of leaves into her mouth and begins to chew them. my mother
  would use other methods, but it’s not like we have a lot of op-
  tions. after a minute or so, rue presses a gloppy green wad of
  chewed leaves and spit on my knee.
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  “ohhh.” the sound comes out of my mouth before i can
  stop it. it’s as if the leaves are actually leaching the pain right
  out of the sting.
  rue gives a giggle. “lucky you had the sense to pull the
  stingers out or you’d be a lot worse.”
  “do my neck! do my cheek!” i almost beg.
  rue stuffs another handful of leaves in her mouth, and soon
  i’m laughing because the relief is so sweet. i notice a long burn
  on rue’s forearm. “i’ve got something for that.” i set aside my
  weapons and anoint her arm with the burn medicine.
  “you have good sponsors,” she says longingly.
  “have you gotten anything yet?” i ask. she shakes her head.
  “you will, though. watch. the closer we get to the end, the
  more people will realize how clever you are.” i turn the meat
  over.
  “you weren’t joking, about wanting me for an ally?” she
  asks.
  “no, i meant it,” i say. i can almost hear haymitch groaning
  as i team up with this wispy child. but i want her. because
  she’s a survivor, and i trust her, and why not admit it? she
  reminds me of prim.
  “okay,” she says, and holds out her hand. we shake. “it’s a
  deal.”
  of course, this kind of deal can only be temporary, but nei-
  ther of us mentions that.
  rue contributes a big handful of some sort of starchy root
  to the meal. roasted over the fire, they have the sharp sweet
  taste of a parsnip. she recognizes the bird, too, some wild
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  thing they call a groosling in her district. she says sometimes a
  flock will wander into the orchard and they get a decent lunch
  that day. for a while, all conversation stops as we fill our sto-
  machs. the groosling has delicious meal that’s so fatty, the
  grease drips down your face when you bite into it.
  “oh,” says rue with a sigh. “i’ve never had a whole leg to
  myself before.”
  i’ll bet she hasn’t. i’ll bet meat hardly ever comes her way.
  “take the other,” i say.
  “really?”