Hunger Games Chapter 19

In which...ack, Katniss!  Stop yelling!  Don't you know people are trying to find you and kill you?  In which Katniss realizes Peeta must have been playing the "star-crossed lovers" routine (do you think they still learn about Shakespeare in school?) the whole time, working hard to save her, while she's been doing nothing except not actively trying to kill him.

Katniss goes up a tree to sleep, and assesses her competition:  she's only really scared of Thresh, and she has no idea where he is.  Foxface is evasive, not aggressive.  Cato and GD2 will team up, but she hates them, sooo...

In the morning, Katniss is extra careful as she reasons out where Peeta might be hiding, in a very wounded state.  Sarah, are you still keeping track of days?  I've lost track.  How long ago was Peeta wounded?  Katniss eats up, and gets her weapons ready.  Hmm, where could Peeta be?  Probably by the water.  But she starts a smoky fire first, just in case the Careers are really on her trail.  She only really wants them after her when she has the most control.

She finds a bloody boulder and knows she's on the right track.  Soon, she hears Peeta, but can't find him.  He's so camo-clever!  Frost them to death, indeed!  I love that the first thing Katniss tells him is to close his eyes again so she can admire his handiwork.  And he's still trying to get smoochy with her.  She's not the only one constantly aware of the cameras.  Katniss laughs it off.

She tries to get Peeta in the stream, and gags over his leg wound once she gets him cleaned off and naked.  It's worse than she thought, but thankfully she seems to have some of that healer instinct she thinks she doesn't have from her mother.  Some tracker jacker leaves, fever pills, burn ointment, dried fruit, and a bandage later, and he's coherent, at least.  Peeta reveals he hasn't gotten anything from Haymitch.  I guess hiding isn't good enough in Haymitch's opinion, nor, apparently, is defending Katniss against all the other players.  Hrmph.  What does that man want?

Peeta can't really go anywhere, so they make do in a cave-ish type rock formation.  Katniss tucks Peeta in, and gives him the first kiss she's ever given to a boy.  It equals one pot of hot broth from Haymitch.  How do you think the gifts work?  Did someone buy a pot of hot broth to send in a long time ago, just hoping they'd need it?  Do they call Haymitch and say "send them broth in an hour" or is it all up to Haymitch how to spend the money?  Hmmmm...

Katniss "never having been in love," isn't sure how to play this.  She thinks of her parents and how lovely they were together, and Katniss uses them as an example.  So she kisses Peeta awake.  "Then he smiles as if he'd be happy to lie there gazing at me forever.  He's great at this stuff."  Is he?  Or isn't he?  And will we ever find out for sure?