The Seed is Strong (Hunger Games Fanfic)

Thirst

After searching the area around their cave, they found no water source, indicating that the only water in the games, was the stream by the cornucopia.
They had found a few trees nearby that were growing coconuts, and after Tomas had climbed the tree to reach them, him and Ela finally had something to drink.
The milk from the coconut was nice, but it wasn't enough to fully quench their thirst.
Ela had noticed several lizards around the cave, which she knew she would be able to kill, but had refrained from doing so, as they had no way to cook them, since lighting a fire on day one was a sure way to get yourself killed.
The lack of bigger animals around them, worried Ela, as it meant that there was no close drinking source.

The pair decided to just sit the rest of the day out, as climbing up the mountain had made them both very tired.
A few more gongs sounded throughout out the day, and when night arrived, a hovercraft appeared in the sky, displaying a list of the dead.
9 tributes had been killed on day one, which was a rather low number. And all of the Career tributes were still alive, which Ela didn't fine very reassuring.
After fashioning the coconut shells into bowls, Tomas prepared to make the treck down the mountain under the cover of darkness, to bring back some water.

"Promise me that you'll be careful" begged Ela.
"I will" replied Tomas.
"You know that the Careers are probably still at the cornucopia, as it's by the river. So you have to make sure that they don't see you. Because 6 against 1, are not good odds" reminded Ela.
"I know. I've got the torch so that I can see where I'm going, and I'm going to walk as quietly as possible. But don't worry, I'll turn off the torch as soon as I get near the Careers, so that I don't alert them to my presence"
"O.K. Just be careful".
Tomas nodded and clenched the sword in his hand, tightly, before heading out of the cave, leaving Ela alone.

The cave was cold, and Ela knew that it was even colder outside.
She knew that Tomas had more fat on his body than her, which would keep him warm. But unlike her, he did not have a baby inside him, keeping him permanently warm.
As it turned out, even the baby couldn't keep Ela warm in the games.
Ela shivered, and wished more than anything that she had a blanket or a sleeping back. Or better still, Glen's warm comforting arms around her.
She had wanted to go with Tomas, so that they could bring back more water. But she had been shot down pretty quickly, as he had insisted on going alone.
Ela hated how useless she felt in the games. But she knew that she wasn't just protecting her life, she was defending her unborn baby as well.

Though she hadn't intended to, exhaustion overwhelmed Ela, and she drifted asleep.
When she woke up she found Tomas sitting opposite her, with the bowls of water in front of him, and the torch beside him, illuminating the cave.
She watched him carefully place a drop of the purifying liquid into each bowl, before securing the lid back onto the vial.
"How long do you think it will take to cleanse the water?" Asked Tomas, once he noticed that Ela was awake.
Ela pushed herself into a sitting position and yawned, as it was still dark outside, and she was still tired.
"A few minutes at least" she answered.
"Alright" mumbled Tomas.

"How was the trip? Did anything happen?" Asked Ela curiously.
"No. I could see the Careers all gathered in the cornucopia. Only one of them was awake, as the rest were sleeping. I managed to sneak to the river, and back without anyone seeing me" revealed Tomas.
"Good... This water won't keep us going very long though. And there's only so much water you can carry at one time. There also isn't enough wildlife here to keep us going indefinitely. We need decent food, and soon"
"I know. But hopefully we can survive in here for a while, until the pool of tributes has lessened, and it is safer for us to go into the forest and hunt"
"You will need to collect more water at least twice tomorrow, so that we don't get too dehydrated".

"And we could collect more water, if you let me go with you next time" continued Ela.
"Well that is not going to happen, because it is too dangerous for you. Besides, you would just slow me down" admitted Tomas.
"I'm not just going to sit in this cave all day doing nothing. I'll die of boredom"
"You can collect berries and other things nearby that we can eat. But I don't want you going too far from here and getting yourself killed".
Ela shuddered as a gust of wind suddenly swept into the cave.
"You're cold" commented Tomas.
"I'm fine" lied Ela.

Tomas shuffled around the water bowls, and pressed his body up against Ela.
"Sharing our body heat will keep us both warm" insisted Tomas, as he placed his arm around Ela's shoulders.
"That is true" sighed Ela.
"I'll try not to make your boyfriend too jealous" grinned Tomas.
Ela could tell that his comment was more for the camera than her, since she knew that he had no intention of coming in between her and Glen.
But the Capital might like the idea of Tomas and Ela getting together, according to Haymitch, so the pair had promised to play with the idea.

That had noticed the second they entered the cave that there was one camera near the entrance to the cave.
So they were well aware that their every move was being watched by those in the Capital.
Instead of swapping caves, they had decided to stay put, as the more people who saw them the better.
Getting sponsors was just as important as fighting the other tributes, because having good sponsors could save your life if you were at deaths door.

Once the water was purified, Ela and Tomas both drank from their coconut shells.
Ela sighed happily as the cold water touched her lips and made its way down her throat.
"You should go back to sleep and get some rest. I'll take the first watch" instructed Tomas, once they had both drunk enough.
"No. You need to sleep as well" countered Ela.
"I'm fine. I wasn't gone that long before, so you can't have been asleep for very long. I'm not tired yet, so I'll let you sleep first, and wake you up in a few hours" replied Tomas.
Knowing that she wasn't going to win the argument, Ela moved so that she was lying on the floor once more.

Tomas reached across the cave, for the torch and switched it off, before shuffling so that his body was pressed against Ela's.
"Goodnight Ela" he whispered.
"Goodnight Tomas" yawned Ela, before closing her eyes, and allowing herself to drift off once again.