Reputation (Finnick Odair)

Chapter 1

The day of the reaping passed in a blur. The second her name was called, Atlas started running on auto-pilot. She vaguely heard her district partner's name called and could hear his wife and kids call out in anguish. Mars Whitlock was a kind man. He was tall and strong despite his fatherly build. He had dark skin and worked on the damn before he won his hunger games. He had two kids and was married to a beautiful woman he had grown up with. He had been kind to Atlas every time she had seen him. But Atlas couldn't worry about any of that.

As selfish as it may sound, she was mainly worried about herself. Her thoughts drift to her mother and her brother Kian waiting to say goodbye in the justice building. She remembered leaving for her games the first time. Her brother had already accepted that Atlas was bound to die, inspiring no confidence in the girl. Her sister had cried but attempted to stay strong for their mother's sake. When Atlas had come home victorious, her mother thought she'd finally get a break. She remarried, they settled into the victors village. They were happy. Only, when the 74th hunger games came and Atlas's sister, Finch, was reaped the family fell into despair. The girl didn't die a painful death at least. It was quick and as merciful as a death can be in the games. Her step-father died a few days after, leaving behind a son and a wife, once again a widow, both clinging to the memory of him and the two daughters the family had lost. One to death and the other to the clutches of the capital.

When a rough hand wraps around Atlas's arm and pulls her away from the justice building and out of her thoughts, panic floods through her system. She scrambles wildly, attempting to turn around and get the chance to say goodbye.

But she didn't get to do that. Instead, she was roughly pulled onto the train before the hands let her go. She turns to try and run out the doors but they slam closed before she can slip between them. She huffs, turning and stomping to the table where a bowl of fruits sits. She grabs an apple and turns a chair around backwards to sit in it. She isn't hungry, the pit of despair in her stomach swallowing any of her hunger, but the apple is something to occupy her mouth or otherwise she would be cursing the capital and its cruel idea of justice.

"It was Finnick," Mars's gruff voice says quietly from behind her.

She turns her body to face his, taking a bite of the apple, "What?"

"Finnick was reaped," Mars replies and Atlas's stomach drops to her feet.

"Course he was," Atlas grumbles, teeth ripping off a piece of the apple again, "Did Annie at least stay safe?"

Atlas had met Annie a few times over the years. The girl didn't come around to the capitol much, instead choosing to stay at home in district 4. Annie Cresta was a nice girl, despite everything. Atlas didn't want her to have to go through the games again after her first games had messed her up. Especially considering Finnicks fondness for the red-headed girl. Atlas had actually become quite fond of the girl too.

"She was drawn but Mags volunteered for her," Mars sighs, shaking his head. Atlas opens her mouth to reply but the conversation is interrupted when the door between the train cars opens.

"What are we doing sitting around?" the high-pitched voice of their escort, Apricot, asks and Atlas sniffs lightly, "Shouldn't you be watching the recap of the reapings?"

"Scope out the competition?" a lower female voice asks. Atlas turns in her seat quickly, her frown upturning slightly at the woman who had just walked in.

"Oly?" Atlas calls out to the woman with her eyebrows furrowed. Olympia's, white hair is braided into two french braids that lay over her scarred and tanned shoulders. One of her green eyes is discoloured into a white-grey colour where a knife had swiped through it. The capitol had offered to fix it for her but she refused, choosing to keep the proof of the pain the capitol had inflicted on a little girl, much like what Atlas had thought when she chose to keep the scar that ran across her nose. The stress and pain of time had taken over some of her features and you could see it in her eyes which only lit up when she was home in District 5. Olympia was, in fact, a bit older than Atlas, having been Atlas's mentor during her first games.