Rue

Rue was a female tribute from District 11 who was selected to participate in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. She is described as being small and easily underestimated by other competitors. Rue died in The 74th Hunger Games at the age of 12. She formed an alliance with Katniss Everdeen after warning her about a nest of tracker jackers hidden in a tree.

Biography
Rue worked in the orchards of District 11. Though small, she was able to jump from tree to tree. Her considerable agility and skill at traveling through the tree tops would probably be the reason she earned an impressive score after the private training sessions preceding the 74th Hunger Games. Every night she would sing a four note tune to signal of the end of the workday.

74th Hunger Games
Rue was chosen during the reaping at the age of twelve for the 74th Hunger Games along with Thresh. In the training center, she followed Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark around as they moved from station to station. She managed to get a seven out of twelve on her evaluation with the Gamemakers, probably showing them her skill to move about along treetops swiftly and unnoticed.

In the arena, it is likely that Rue managed to stay alive by staying off the ground, much like Katniss did. She also got a backpack at the Cornucopia in the beginning of the games. Her pack contained a small water skin and an extra pair of socks. Her stalking Katniss in the training center followed her into the arena, as she had followed Katniss most likely before the tracker jacker incident.


 * Alliance

Rue reminded Katniss Everdeen of her sister, Primrose. Small, quick, and young, the two had many similarities. This caused Katniss to join up with Rue. Rue made the decision to trust Katniss upon seeing her mockingjay pin.

The two worked together to survive, and learned much about each other and their districts. They shared stories together and became close, although their alliance was short lived. Like Katniss, Rue was able to find edible and medicinal plants in the arena. Among the edible plants she found were some berries and roots. She was also able to pick out a plant that could help extract tracker jacker venom out of Katniss' wounds as well. When it came time to eat, Rue was shy in taking such a large quantity in food, saying that she had never had a whole leg of groosling to herself.

The first and only night that the two spent together, Rue was surprised by the sleeping bag that Katniss had gotten. When Katniss asked how she had kept warm every night, she said that she would pull out her extra socks and put them on her hands. Rue was very comfortable with Katniss indicated by the fact that she immediately snuggled up close to her in the sleeping bag. When Rue told Katniss about the mockingjays in her district, Katniss offered her the gold mockingjay pin she was wearing that Madge had given her, but Rue told her to keep it because it was how she knew that she could trust Katniss.

Katniss and Rue knew that the Careers had to go and the only way they could possibly kill them was to take their food and supplies away. At first, this feat seemed nearly impossible, but Katniss and Rue devised a plan to get their supplies. Rue, being the smallest of the two, was in charge of setting three fires in various areas about the arena. This would distract the Careers and get them moving as Katniss would try to figure out a way to get their precious supplies, the only things keeping them alive. Katniss and Rue decided to communicate by fires and the mockingjays. Rue would sing her four-note melody if all was well but she couldn't get to Katniss at the moment. The four-note melody was also the tune that Rue sang to the mockingjays in District 11 to signal the end of the workday. Because she worked high in the trees, she was the first out of the workers in the orchard to know when it was time to go home.

In Mockingjay,Katniss made a book about all the people who died because of the Hunger Games.She described how Rue stood leaning forward with arms slightly extended to make her look like a bird.

Rue died during the Katniss' attempt to destroy the Careers' stash of supplies, while she was creating her diversion. After successfully lighting the first two fires, she got caught in a net on her way to start the third and final fire. After following the sound of the mockingjays, Katniss found Rue. But the moment she heard her name escape Rue's lips, Marvel speared Rue in the stomach, earning him an arrow through the neck, as Katniss tried in vain to save her.
 * Death

As a last wish, Rue asked Katniss to sing to her. And so, Katniss sang a lullaby to her until Rue's eyes fluttered shut and she died. The mockingjays soon picked up Rue's Lullaby and sang it throughout the entire arena.

To show the Capitol that Rue was more than a piece in the Games, Katniss covered her in brightly colored flowers she found nearby. As a final goodbye, Katniss giver her the same goodbye gesture that the entire District 12 gave her when she left. This gesture is placing the three middle fingers of the left hand to your lips, then holding them out to the person you're saying farewell to. It is a gesture often used at funerals, or when someone has died. It means respect and admiration.

Description
"And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she's very like Prim in size and demeanor."

- Katniss Everdeen, while watching Rue's reaping.

Being the youngest of the tributes at the age of 12, Rue was naturally the smallest - but this still gave her a heavy advantage for being light on her feet and quick. Rue had thick, dark hair, dark brown skin and eyes. She always stood leaning forward, on her toes, with both arms slightly extended. This is how Prim, Katniss's sister, stands also, which brings back memories of Rue whenever Katniss sees her own sister. This made her look like a bird, ready to take flight. Her swift and almost invisible movements through the treetops added to the bird-like description.

Family
Rue was the eldest of six children. She had five younger siblings, all living in poverty in District 11.

She usually gave her food rations to her younger siblings, and foraged in the fields to provide more food for them. On the victory tour, Katniss sees her family. A man in back whistles her four note tune, getting himself shot and starting a small uprising.

Personality
Rue had a sweet nature, loving those close to her, and hates to see them hurt. Her greatest joy in life was music, and she loved singing with the mockingjays at home.

Rue fully understood the inhumane and brutality of the Hunger Games, but couldn't sink down to the level of the others. Katniss supplied a bit of emotional support to Rue, giving her the hope that maybe it wouldn't be all bad.

It is also her personality that set her apart from Prim. Prim could not stand to see anything get hurt and would have definitely not been able to harm anyone in the games, but Rue was ready and willing to go forth with the plan, seeing it as an adventure (Prim sees adventures as an ordeal). Teaching Prim to hunt was a disaster, with her crying over the shot animal and wondering if there was time to rush it home and nurse it back to health, whereas Rue was prepared to do whatever to survive.

Trivia

 * Rue received her name from a small mountain flower, just as Katniss received her name from a waterside plant.
 * 'Rue' also means to regret.
 * Due to her physical description and the description of her district (11) it might be concluded that she is of African American decent. She could also be Latin American or South asian.

Mutt
Rue's mutt was one of the wolf creatures that appeared at the end of the 74th Hunger Games. It was described as the smallest of the wolf creatures with a dark brown coat. It also wore a woven collar made of plant fibers. Rue's district number, 11, was woven into the collar as well.