All she had to do was keep breathing.

Inhale and exhale.

Inhale. Haymitch insisted she try to not think about it, to not let them toy with her as they wished. Katniss knew that was their plan. She knew Cinna had been reduced to a pawn to get to her and she hated it. She hated herself for involving everyone else. She hated the Capitol for everything they had ever done. Exhale. After she looked through the pack, Haymitch attempted to make a joke but she didn't take the bait, not finding the humor in anything at the moment. Cinna was hurt, more likely dead and she was supposed to keep moving? She held her breath for a moment and finally let out a shaky sigh, not willing to suffocate herself and take the cowardly, meaningless way out.

After they scrounged through his backpack, it was time to keep moving. If they stayed out in the open for much longer, they'd be targets. Katniss had seen other long range weaponry back in the cityscape and she wasn't willing to be on the receiving end of any of it. And there were others with an affinity for a bow and she didn't want to risk provoking them, even if it meant getting an extra arrow out of it. "Yeah." Katniss gave a nod as she felt him take her hand and give it a squeeze, reminding her of who she could be, not who the Capitol was forcing her to be. She kept breathing in and out, slowly. She got to her feet and put the backpack on and gave Haymitch a smile.

But she wasn't going to let Snow get away so easily without trying...

Katniss turned, unsure where a camera could be stashed. She saw a shriveled up bush with the support of tissue paper. That may have something small attached to it. She was going to say something, anything. As she thought more about Gale and Prim and Peeta and CInna and even her own District, her anger began to boil. "The Capitol kills innocent people who don't agree with it." She growled. "The Capitol only cares about control and keeping itself safe. It doesn't care about anyone outside of its shiny walls where it brainwashes everyone to believe killing like this serves a purpose. It doesn't. They killed my friend and they will kill yours without caring either." The more she spoke, the more bitter the words tasted but at least they were true, which those watching deserved. "Stop listening to their lies!" She glared and turned away and bit down on her lower lip, knowing she shouldn't have wasted the energy.

Nor should she have been too loud, just in case an enemy was around but Katniss didn't care. She should have said something like Haymitch and Gale had when she was on stage the night before. But that didn't mean she wanted to stop trying to help anyone else watching. She was sure they had cut away if she was ever being streamed live but even so, she knew people had to have been watching, even if it was just those in control. Finding cover or shelter would be tough, given the terrain. She walked along the dry edge, making sure not to slip into the ponds of water surrounding them. She kept looking around the horizon for any signs of new landscape or people. 

"I don't want to risk wand find out what's hiding down there." She muttered, looking down into the marsh to her right.

With her balance helping her traverse the thin edge separating two murky marshes, she finally made it to an area with more solid land for them. Katniss could see the city in one direction but just wetlands anywhere else. "They spared no expense making this so expansive." She sighed and heard someone approaching behind them. She turned and saw a girl with dark sleek hair running toward them with a spear though Katniss could tell she was new, otherwise she would have been more careful and thrown it at them instead of trying to get the upper-hand with close combat with the two of them. Katniss felt no need to shoot or defend herself. Part of her briefly considered making her an ally but Katniss couldn't be sure how to trust, as many would support Careers before her.

The young girl, from District 7, was closing in and Haymitch seemed to be willing to take her out. As the gap closed, the girl let out a yell and lunged for them but slipped on the earth under her and fell down. She tumbled down into the marsh off toward their right and started struggling for weeds or dirt to grab onto, there was an odd noise followed by a severe change in the still water. A whirlpool quickly formed and began to spin the tribute around and around. Katniss stood there, not willing to help since she knew if she did, she'd have to kill the younger girl anyway. And as much as she wanted to look away, she knew she couldn't. "Help help!" She cried out as her head finally was pulled into the middle of the vortex before the water became calm once more and a canon sounded. Katniss could feel the panic and turned to Haymitch.

Katniss breathed in.

"I'd rather keep moving than stick around this place." And then she exhaled and turned to keep walking.

As they did so, Katniss wondered about her sister and the others. She was sure Haymitch had his own concerns as well and she knew they needed to have a clear head if they were to get far and figure out where the others were and if they were okay. Part of her was eager for nightfall, then she'd be able to rest easier if the knew the status of the others. Katniss looked back to Haymitch again, not wanting to regret holding anything back if the worst happened. "I couldn't do this without you." She told him, though she didn't want to put pressure on the situation, they had enough of that already. "We's going to see this to the end."

Prim's question about the girl threw Gale off but he knew he needed to acknowledge it.

"...Yes." He nodded.

Gale had taken a life, a human life. He couldn't lie about it. That would be wrong, disrespectful and only darken his soul further. For ever life he had to take for the next week, Gale refused to forget who he was and who they were and why they were fighting. He was sure the other girl had a home, some family, people who cared and were now crying because of his actions. He had a family too. He had all of his friends with him and he knew he couldn't put one life over the other, but right now he had to, even if he didn't like it. The fact he didn't, was what reminded him that he wasn't part of the entertainment value or trying to win for glory and riches. Gale was doing it to save those he loved. He would kill and he would remember and he wouldn't be the same after it was all over, even after an eternity had passed.

Prim apologized and dismissed it which he appreciated.

He looked around, checking what was around them before he turned his gaze back up to Prim to see how she was doing. He was sure if she saw anyone nearing, she'd say so but he still wanted to keep moving, just to be safe. He was already considering the kind of deadly pack people were forming to combat the mighty district twelve. He almost wished they hadn't gotten such promising scores but he also considered that having them was like having a target on their back's, thanks to the Gamemakers. Gale licked his lips and settled his rampant thoughts. He couldn't keep thinking about the dead or those who wished them dead too. He had to think about those he was fighting for and that the fight was going to be worth it.

The mountainous region sounded promising but the length to it from the forest they were in was unknown. He still thought it would be their best bet for now while they try to escape injury. And hopefully along the way they could find any of the others and get some food. He looked around the area again, wanting to take their time looking around before they left and headed for the mountains. He knew there would be some food, some wildlife to keep them all going, as it seemed pointless to put nearly 50 people in a huge arena without any food, otherwise the fights wouldn't make for much television and things would be cut rather short. 

Above him, Primrose moved a bit higher and he found himself getting anxious.

"No." He called up to her when she asked about the song. He knew it would be the best chance to see if Katniss or Haymitch were in the nearby land but he also figured it would carry rather far thanks to her height. The song would likely be heard by plenty others who would then target them. And even if Katniss heard it, the chance of them pinpointing where he and Prim were, was low. He thought it was best to wait and do some more walking and foraging before they tried to signal for the other half of their tributes. "Let's wait a bit, come on down." He suggested to Prim. According to statistics, many of them would die die due to either injury, accident, natural causes or hunger or dehydration. He wanted to make sure none of them made a mistake that would cost them their lives.

As Prim careful made her way back down the trunk, he circled around it, offering any advice he could as far as foot placement went. He had faith in, he just wanted her to come down safely without twisting an ankle or cutting herself, as those would surely be detrimental and require some help from Peeta, which Gale wanted to save for their escape. When she was almost down, Gale slipped his arms around her and lifted her back down to the ground and placed a very light, quick kiss to her temple before he let her go so they could plan their next move. Though they should have consider what Katniss and Haymitch might be doing, Gale thought they needed to focus on themselves and forage and make their way towards the mountain Prim had spotted, as it seemed like a wise move and could give them a good base camp. If they picked the right spot, they wouldn't need to be so worried about being ambushed.

"How about we look around for anything and then head towards those mountains?" He asked Prim, wanting to know if she was okay with that plan and if not, what she thought would be wise. They needed to work together in order to make it out, after all. They were both new to the Games and although Gale had more experience in the wilds, he still wanted to hear Prim's ideas and take them into consideration. She had a fresh perspective to offer and he didn't want to lead. He wanted them both to be leaders, making choices together and weighing options, rather than being passive wanderers. "There's got to be something useful for food or even making medicine." He considered.

Even if Peeta could give them aid, he knew Prim's might be more immediate, given in an emergency.

A frantic flutter of wings was heard overhead and Gale's head spun toward the source. He had a feeling danger was close by but he couldn't tell if it was a tribute or something home to their setting. He gripped his blade and stepped close to the blond girl. As much as he wanted to forage, they needed to do it on the move now. "Come on." He whispered to her and turned, watching where he stepped, before he quickly began to weave between the bushes and thick trees around them. As they quickly but carefully moved, he stopped and saw a colorful bush, filled with white and green berries. He recalled seeing them during training, they had some kind of healing property. He looked over his shoulder again, unsure if they were still in danger from the unknown.

"What do you think of those?" He asked Prim as he looked back to the bush, his heart still beating quickly but evenly.