I wake with my body pressed against another heat source. I shiver a little, not used to the feeling of bare skin without a pelt keeping my heat to myself. I blink open my eyes and turn over, away from the sun. I blink at Peeta, realizing the comfortable warmth had been coming from him, making me ever grateful he had gotten over his apprehensions and slept next to me as he always had One last night by his side is something I am very grateful for. 

I sit up and stretch, pulling the dark fabric of the t-shirt I had borrowed back down. I get out of the bed and step into the soft carpet of the bedroom, moving around the bed and back to my clothing. I dress in what I came with, careful to be quiet and not wake Peeta and have him find me like this. I really don't want to give him a chance to stop me.

Just as I stand, I hear the bed rumble as he rolls over, groaning. His arm reaches for me, gazing over the ruffled sheets. He opens his eyes and glances at me, before sitting up. I just stand there, a deer caught in the headlights as he cracks his neck and looks over at me.

"So, really not a dream, huh?" He says and I pull my arms around myself. 

"Like I said," I say quietly. "I can just go, Peeta. I'm healed now. You don't owe me anything." I walk over to the window and look out, feeling the calm of a fall breeze wrapping around me. "You never did."

"I think you owe me an explanation," He says and I look back at him. 

"I don't know what you expect, child," I say. "But I don't have answers either. In all the years, I've never had an explanation either."

"Child?" He says, sounding a little insulted. "You don't look any older than me." I chuckle and look back out at the sun rising over the green of the backyard.

"Looks can be deceiving," I say. "I mean, all this time you thought I was a wounded animal you took in. Clearly not the case, cub." 

"Katniss, stop dancing around the questions I'm asking you," Peeta says and I turn away from the window. 

"And I am telling you all I know," I say. "I don't know what I am, how old I am seeing as I lost count a long time ago of how many seasons passed my eyes. Perhaps I have always existed, though I don't remember the beginning of time nor my own. Really, I only remember the forest reservation."

"Are you just a fox?" Peeta asks and I shake my head.

"Any four limbed beast is within my grasp, though I prefer mammalian forms," I say. "I fear heights and don't like not being able to control my body temperature." I stop as I hear footsteps in the hall and glance at Peeta. "The others are awake."

"Don't worry about them," He says. "They won't notice you. They don't notice anything." He looks down and I feel the bile rising in my throat as I remember the often smell of blood and fear on him. 

Reminding me of why I didn't run as soon as I could hold my paws evenly beneath myself.

"Do you maybe want to go somewhere else and talk properly?" I ask and he looks aback up at me and down at my outfit. 

"I think you would kind of stand out, dressed like you are," He says and I look down, uncrossing my arms. 

"I'll figure something out," I say. "I'll meet you at the street corner."

"What do you mean?" He asks and I shrug, grabbing onto the window frame. 

"Just trust me, Peeta," I say, hopping out and landing on the four paws of a black cat.

I walk to the fence and hop up, climbing until I reach the top of it. I walk along the top of the fenceposts, tracing my way to the street corner. I watch people walking down the street, dressed in clothes that make me defiantly feel underdressed as I was before. I pick out a few girls in simple dresses that reach their knees of jewel tones and simple patterns. I feel the cat in me let out a purr and I jump down into a dense patch of bushes. I sit in wait and clean my paws, scenting every once in a while for the boy.  

"Katniss, this had better not be a trick," I hear him mumbling as he walks close. "You owe me answers. I run a paw over an ear and sigh, shaking out my pelt. I slide from the bushes and resume my human form, this time in a black dress littered with peonies as I had seen one of the girls wearing. 

"Now why would I trick you?" I ask. "It was my idea to come here." He glances at me and the dress, sandals on my feet.

"You didn't steal that, did you?" He asks. 

"Of course not," I say softly. "It's just an illusion really. I saw, so I appeared in it." 

"Really?" Peeta says and I shrug. 

"I don't know all the answers, but it certainly seems that easy," I reply, picking at my perfectly sharpened nails.

"Then why didn't you change last night?" He asks and  roll my eyes at him. 

"Because I'm not really on the up and up on what human girls wear incase my original appearance didn't give you a big clue, I haven't been a human in quite some time," I say. "Is this really what you want to waste your breath asking me, Peeta?" He glances at me and sighs. 

"I suppose not," He says and I stand up from leaning on the fence.

"Good," I say. "Now tell me, what is it you were so concerned with knowing?"

"Why did you let yourself get caught?" He asks and I chuckle, starting to walk away from him. "Katniss, what is it?"

"You think I let myself get caught?" I scoff. "I may have appeared a lesser creature to you, but I most certainly didn't aim to almost die with a wire around my neck. I got caught because I didn't see or smell the damn wire in my panic."

"So you didn't have some ulterior motive with me?" He asks and I shake my head. 

"I never once saw you in my long life before you grabbed hold of that snare to free me," I say. "There are no motives to my existence in your life." I continue to walk away. 

"Then why did you stay, if you were better and knew very well how to leave?" Peeta asks and I stop, turning back to look at him.

"Well then, that is the question, isn't it, young one?" I say. He walks up to me and I look back down the street. "Perhaps we can talk somewhere that the school children might not walk up on our conversation." Peeta looks around and then sighs. 

"Follow me," He says, walking past me. I follow, uncomfortable in these impractical shoes. My feet fall lightly as I walk behind him, noticing his uneven gate a little. Probably another blow I wasn't witness to. 

He leads me to a small park, devoid of people this early in the morning. I look around, listening to sounds of the birds singing in the trees around us. The scent of squirrels among the scattered pieces of human garbage that roll across the ground, making me shiver. I wrinkle my nose a little and sit down on a bench.

"This will do, I suppose," I say and he sits down next to me. 

"What was so secret that you needed a quiet location?" Peeta asks and I glance at him, folding my hands over my middle.

"For one, this isn't exactly something people won't call you crazy for talking about," I say before glancing over at him. "For a second point, I wasn't sure you would want what I have to say about my reasons for staying overheard."

"What do you mean?" He says and I look down shaking my head.

"One of the first things I noticed about you Peeta," I say quietly. "You often smelled of fear." He shakes his head, looking away from me.

"You can't smell fear," He says and I shake my head.

"Peeta, I'm a predator," I say. I know the smell of fear in another animal. I've smelled it often in prey."

"I'm not prey," He says and I glance at him.

"I don't mean to offend," I say. "I'm sorry. I'm not well versed in how humans talk to one another. It is just something I noticed." I look around him. "I also noticed blood in the trash and on some of your clothing." He looks at me sighing.

"Yeah, well it isn't as though I didn't ask for it," He says and I reach for his arm.

"What you could have possibly done to deserve mistreatment?" I ask and Peeta shrugs.

"I'm a screw up, worthless," He says and I feel my heart clench like there is a fist around it.

"The one who does this, she is the one who says these things," I say. Peeta is silent and I sigh. "I greatly dislike mothers who harm their young. I can't believe such a thing would exist in a so called 'higher species,' though one of humans merit shouldn't surprise me."

"How do you know it is her and not my father?" He asks and I glance at him.

"You told me a lot as your pet," I say. "May have stated it all out, but you let things slip."

"What does any of this have to do with you staying?" He asks and I look up at him.

"You saved my life," I say. "I owed you a life in return. So, in realizing that you enjoyed my company, I decided to keep that for you. You deserved the joy you got in caring for me."  He stares at me and I awkwardly pick my fingers.

"Is that why I dreamt of you each night, every time I felt lonely?" He asks. 

"Well, If you enjoyed your pet, it would only make sense that I would be a comfort there to you" I say and he shakes his head.

"Katniss, I wasn't talking about the fox," He says and I look up. "I dreamt of you as you are sitting here now. A human girl." I feel a slight frown on my face and I sit up a little.

"What, just since you found me or?" He shakes his head.

"As long as I can remember," Peeta says. "You would come to me and I would talk with you. I could tell you anything. I'd hate to wake up." I look at him and feel a flush rise to my cheeks. 

"That isn't possible," I say and he looks away from me. "I have no explanation for that." 

"Katniss," Peeta says and I blink at him. "That isn't all."

"What do you mean?" I ask. He looks at his hands, shaking his head.

"Her name, the girl in my dreams," Peeta says. "Her name is Katniss. It's you, somehow." I look away and shake my head.

"That bastard feline," I growl and he grabs my arm.

"What are you talking about?" He asks and I stand up. I turn to look at him, shaking my head.

"I knew he knew more than he was letting on," I say. I feel rage trembling in my body.

"Katniss?" Peeta asks and I look at him, crossing my arms.

"I think I know where to get you some answers," I say. "We need to talk to Buttercup."

"My cat?" Peeta asks standing up and I shake my head as I start to walk away.

"That's what he'd have you believe," I say. "Come on. It's time to find out how many more ways you need to skin a cat to make him speak."