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[deathtrapped]

[He's resorted to the odd piece of technology as a last ditch effort, cradling it in an unsteady hand. Gray eyes squint down at the screen, clouded with wincing pain.]

I don't know... where this is exactly, and I'm not expecting an answer. From anyone. [His voice is hoarse, all but scraped from his throat, ragged and broken in places. Sheer

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[berryclever]

Gale! [See Katniss being pleased to see him for like, a split second! Then see the look of unrestrained horror on her face as she realises he's injured. Gale!

[Aaaaaand she's on the move, slinging her backback over her shoulder and running out the door] Where are you? Are you still in the morgue? Stay where you are, I swear if you die on me, I'll kill you.

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[deathtrapped]

[Katniss.

Finally, someone he wants to see. The rush of relief is clear and almost numbing, because at least he knows she's alive now. For a moment, Gale hadn't been sure. Leaving her out in the open like that while he was gone, no longer capable of watching her back.

When she hadn't shot him. Like he begged her to.]

If that room was the morgue, I'm in the hallway. Hard to miss. [He tries for a smile, but it's more of a wince.] So I'm dying twice over?

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[berryclever]

Apparently. [If he'd been easier to miss, he wouldn't be bleeding out right now. She runs faster, trying to breathe through the tight feeling in her chest and failing miserably. How had he gotten shot? Has something attacked District 12? Her family--] You're not dying at all.

[deathtrapped]

Slow down. You're right, I'm not.

[There's a little more strength to his voice, at least to testify he's not at death's door like he was when the transmission first began.]

[berryclever]

[She recognises that his voice is strong, but she's still worried, and doesn't slow down. She saves her breath until she finally finds him, though, skidding around the corner and all but throwing herself to the ground next to him] You idiot. [She's gasping slightly, inspecting his body for the location of the wounds which have apparently been seen to] What happened? [She's not sure she wants to know the answer to that]

[deathtrapped]

Good to see you too, Catnip.

[He immediately relaxes, the hostility and tension he'd kept up around everyone he didn't know draining out of Gale. He almost wishes she'd gotten to him first, but he doesn't think she would've wanted to deal with that bloody mess. At least now someone else has wiped the worst of it away.

And left him nearly naked. There's a fresh bandage around his chest and a cauterized wound in his calf. The gown he'd arrived in is ripped and wadded up in his lap.

Katniss words are confirmation for everything Johanna had said. He doesn't know how to react, at first, then shakes his head.]

Long story.

[berryclever]

[She can feel her eyes starting to water, but she swallows them down. Satisfied that his wounds have been seen to better than her dubious field healing skills could managed, she notices his state of undress and turns red, looking away. His refusal to tell her what happened, though, clues her in to one thing, and she makes a sound of frustration] Don't tell me you think you're supposed to be from the future as well? [She thought better of you Gale, honestly]

[deathtrapped]

Supposed to be? I didn't even know there was a future, Katniss, until I got here and Johanna told me you don't remember anything after the Quell.

[He's defensive, planting a hand on the ground in order to lever himself up on his feet. He's already thinking back to everything that's happened since, where he can even begin to explain. Gale winces when he has to put some weight on his bad leg.]

[berryclever]

You know Johanna? [Obviously he'd know her from the Hunger Games coverage, but there's a familiarity in his tone that doesn't come from seeing her on a screen] And it's not that I don't remember, it's that nothing happened for me after the Quell, because there is no after the Quell. For me, at least. [Unlike with Finnick or Johanna, when Gales says it, it's a little harder to deny. And she hadn't been denying it all that hard before.

She makes an aggravated sound has he tries to stand up, wriggling herself under his arm and taking his weight as best she can, with the height difference. Once he's standing, she turns her (still red) face up to him and glares] If you want to stand up, how about letting the person who can actually do it on her own help you before you go about trying to be an idiot?

[deathtrapped]

[He doesn't think he ever doubted Katniss, as ridiculous and unbelievable as the idea of her not knowing is to him, but this seems to cement the fact for him, too. After all, isn't their whole situation unreal? Gale looks grim, haunted by the idea of telling Katniss the horrors that await them when she gets back.]

You're not missing out on anything, Katniss. Trust me. Forgoing the first question about Johanna -- it's obvious, unspoken, that Johanna knows him too -- Gale leans his weight on her with a humorless laugh.] And I could have crawled my way out of here eventually. I'm not on death's door anymore, at least. But it'd be nice to find some clothes.

[berryclever]

[She sees that grimness in his face, but doesn't ask why. It can wait, for a time where he isn't basically naked and about to keel over]

It's nice to have someone else I can trust around here. [Her own tone is tired; she likes Finnick, and Finnick trust Johanna, but this isn't the Games and the status quo isn't the same now. It's exhausting, always keeping her guard up.] There's a bunch of abandoned shops around the city. There isn't anyone here except the people who've been dragged here, so we mostly just take what we need.

[deathtrapped]

[For a moment, he glances at her as if he's not sure what that means -- as if Katniss is being sarcastic, the trust between them volatile. But a heartbeat later and he knows, they still have each other's back. She's not the Mockingjay here, yet.]

Of course, Catnip. [Gale makes a mental note to ask more about those shops later. Leaning on her, he lets Katniss lead them on, smiling and pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, since she's in reach. Admittedly, he's high on endorphins and just relieved to be alive and to see her alive.] How long have you been here? I didn't see you too long ago. That's a little unbelievable.

[berryclever]

[She makes a face at the nickname, hiding a smile at the familiarity. And then he leans down and kisses her forehead, and he's still almost naked and if he hadn't just been shot, she would have put some distance between them. She clears her throat and tucks those feelings away somewhere she doesn't have to look at them]

Two weeks? I was one of the first people to arrive. Finnick and Johanna showed up at the same time, Peeta was here three days later.

[deathtrapped]

You think there's a good chance more of us could show up?

[He spots a pile near the doorway of the morgue which he must have missed in his mad rush to get out. Gale indicates the seemingly convenient set of clothes there with a raised brow. At least he won't have to traverse the streets half-nude.]

[berryclever]

At this point, I think there's a good chance that anything could happened. [A beat, and her voice is slightly softer, more tired when she speaks again] I could really use Haymitch. [Because she could, and he's the only person she knows and cares about who she wouldn't care about dragging into a whole separate world like this. That probably says more about her character than it doesn't.

She eyes the clothes like they might attack them (and she's not 100% convinced that they won't, actually), before looking up at Gale] Can you get dress on your own?

[deathtrapped]

[He doesn't say anything about how her relationship with Haymitch has been... strained lately, to say the very least. It requires more information than Gale wants to give right now.

Shaking his head with a tiny, tight smile, Gale pulls away and leans his weight heavily on the wall beside the morgue entrance instead.] I think I can manage. You can close your eyes, if you want.