𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄 | finnick odair

- 𝟏𝟔

༻ CHAPTER 16 ༺
" prove to yourself what you
can really do. "

     ATLANTIS STARED AT finnick dumbfounded for a second. was she that naive to think he was going to somehow find a way out of the situation for her?

     merlin spared them a glance, sitting down opposite evelynn and mags who. the escort was already jabbering on about some of the capitol luxuries they were going to experience while mags nodded along quietly, not as if she could silence her. she wasn't frustrating, but just a tad bit over-enthusiastic about the capitol.

     the blonde placed his palm on atlantis' shoulder, leading her over into a separate car, the door sliding as they moved through the train. she couldn't help but stare at everything that looked slightly different from what she was used to until finnick's voice had snapped atlantis from her thoughts. she'd just been trying to distract herself from the idea of a very possible death.

     "hey." he choked out, "you have a shot at winning. i taught you everything you could possibly need to know about surviving. it's not hopeless atlantis. i can get you sponsors."

     she let out a sharp breath. it was almost as if finnick was trying to convince himself that she could live through what was going to be thrown at her, "finn, please. i just don't really want to think about all that."

     finn. that was the first time she'd called him that. he couldn't help but drop his head to the floor, "i just don't want you to die. partner with the careers if you have to and then just leave when the numbers get low."

     "i know. i'll try to win, okay?" she promised, her eyes becoming watery again, finnick wiping the tears away just as he'd done before.

     "yeah." he agreed, "mags will focus on merlin and i'll focus on you. if you need to ask me what to do, i'll help and answer every question until you need to go in there."

     atlantis gave him a weak smile, "deal."

     "great." he whispered, bringing her into a tight embrace before they even bothered to return to the lounge car. by then, atlantis had attempted to calm herself down and not show any weakness to her district partner.

     he was going to be her enemy in the arena sooner than later - best thing to do was not let him in on many things for her own safety.

     when the pair returned, merlin was being shown something by mags. she'd taken a piece of string and a toothpick, beginning to craft a fishhook out of it. her speciality - the woman was amazing at making anything work as a hook. it could work as a weapon and have use to search for food. in mags' games, from what finnick had told atlantis once, it'd been her specialty and key to winning. a great skill to have imprinted into the back of your head as a tribute.

     the dark-haired girl took her place in the seat beside her partner, finnick joining up next to mags whilst evelynn would concern herself with how her clothes were looking and what was going to be brought out for dinner in the background.

     atlantis felt herself being nudged from the side, the most obvious answer to the interaction being merlin. she turned her head slightly to indicate that she was listening.

     his voice was low, not loud enough for finnick or mags to hear, "you know finnick personally, right? i used to see you both out in the district sometimes selling fish, something i used to do too."

     she gave a short nod, "yes. we're friends."

     "i assume he's going to be focusing on you then, hmm?"

     atlantis didn't feel particularly talkative, and she had no clue as to if it was even relevant to sell him something like that. what did it matter? mags was just as competent as finnick, if not more. she was due more credit than young tributes gave her. so instead, she gave an approving hum, attempting to keep the conversation short.

     then, the boy casted his gaze to the blonde sitting opposite him, "so, how do we really win the games?"

     that was an answer that really depended on the natural ability of the tribute, as well as what they could work on. finnick bobbed his head up and down slowly, processing the question to give him a suitable answer. although, as he opened his mouth the train car door opened and the attendants had come to deliver the food.

     the girl took the time to let her eyes scan over all the delicacies they had to offer. she'd never seen so much food in her life, even with the amount of money finnick had to offer. he never made himself wasteful with anything he had. this just all seemed like too much for 4 people.

     several types of seafood were presented on silver platters, garnished with all kinds of great vegetables and fruit. that wasn't the only thing there of course, steam was rising from bowls all kinds of scents of soups filling her nostrils, desserts and all types of sweet things. if atlantis had seen this when she was starving, she'd believe it was some kind of paradise.

     she had no idea where to start.

     childishly, she'd love to stuff her face with all the kinds of chocolate that were offered up in the little dessert bowls, but it would be silly. quietly, she pulled over a plate of rich meat, which she assumed was steak, spearing it on a fork. her table manners were up to speed, despite the feeling of hunger always pinching away at her when she wasn't with finnick.

     when finnick had selected his own dish, only then he continued to answer merlin's question, "the best thing, would be to get the capitol on your side and show them that you're going to give them something to watch this year. sponsors are always a good thing to have, but don't forget that combat and survival are important too."

     it seemed that all of this was more directed to the stranger boy with them, as atlantis already knew all of this from the shocking amounts of time the two spent together. besides hunger wasn't something that let you sit around without learning how to provide for yourself in tough situations.

     merlin didn't look unfed, yet he was as physically attributed as the other blonde opposite them. perhaps that was something that atlantis should've been thankful for because if she were to end up with someone of finnick's stature to fend off in battle she'd be a lost cause.

     "i'm alright at combat. had a shot at it before." merlin responded, taking his own pick of the fresh food.

     "great. then you should focus on the latter." he declared, occasionally giving the girl opposite him glances.

     from the side, mags was actually beginning to present some useful things to craft from natural materials, except those materials were replaced with some string and wool she had brought along for the trip to keep herself busy with.

     the rest of their dinner went quite smoothly, finnick exchanging tips with merlin and sometimes atlantis, although she didn't feel like giving too much input. she still had no idea how she was going to play her game. it was something that was very much worth thinking about.

     atlantis knew she wasn't going to be getting any rest that night.

༻ NOTE!
a bit of a deeper look at our district partner
merlin, he seems quite strange actually. that's
mostly how i imagine him. a bit mysterious.
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