The Name of the Game I Finnick Odair

Tick Tock

It was mid-morning when Kenzie opened her eyes again. The star-crossed lovers were beside her. Above them, a mat of grass suspended on branches shielded their faces from sunlight. Kenzie quietly walked towards Finnick and sat down in the sand next to him, while Katniss started to wake up slowly as well. Mackenzie saw that Finnick had not been idle. Two woven bowls were filled with fresh water and a third held a mess of shellfish. Finnick started to crack them open with stones, whereas Kenzie only watched impassively.

"They're better fresh." Finnick informed the Girl on Fire, ripping a chunk of flesh from a shell and popping it into his mouth.

Kenzie grabbed a few shellfish herself and started to eat as well. Katniss' stomach began to growl at the smell of food and she reached for one. However the sight of her fingernails, caked with blood, stopped her. She had been scratching her skin raw in her sleep. At first Kenzie had tried to stop her, but each time her hands had tried to softly pry Katniss' hands away the young girl had started to whimper, so Kenzie had stopped trying.

"You know, if you scratch you'll bring on infection." Finnick exclaimed teasingly, throwing Katniss' own words back at her.

"That's what I've heard." Katniss retorted perkily, causing Kenzie to smile.

Katniss walked into the salt water to wash off the blood, while Kenzie blew cold air onto her own, scratched face.

Fed up, Katniss stomped back to the beach, turned her face upwards, and snapped, "Hey, Haymitch, if you're not too drunk, we could use a little something for our skin."

It was hilarious to Kenzie how quickly the parachute appeared above Katniss. She reached up and the tube landed squarely in her open hand.

"About time." she muttered, but Kenzie noticed that she couldn't keep the scowl on her face.

Then Katniss plunked down on the sand between Finnick and Kenzie and screwed the lid off the tube. Inside was a thick, dark ointment with a pungent smell, a combination of tar and pine needles. Kenzie could only place that smell because her arena had been a forest, similar to Katniss' and Peeta's. She wrinkled her nose as Katniss squeezed a glob of medicine onto her palm and began to massage it into her leg. A sound of pleasure escaped Katniss' lips as the stuff eradicated her itching. It also stained her scabby skin grey-green. As she started with her second leg, Kenzie started to treat her skin as well.

Then she tossed the tube to Finnick, who only eyed the her doubtfully. "It's like you're decomposing."

But after a minute the itching won out and he treated his own skin as well.

Katniss was truly enjoying his distress, "Poor Finnick. Is this the first time in your life you haven't looked pretty?"

"It must be. The sensation's completely new. How have you managed it all these years?" Finnick retorted easily.

"Just avoid mirrors. You'll forget about it." Katniss told him sarcastically.

"Not if I have to keep looking at you." Finnick shot back.

Kenzie smiled at their conversation, it was good that they had a bit of fun in the arena. Besides they needed to bond a bit.

After that, they took turns rubbing the ointment into each other's backs where the undershirt didn't protect their skins.

A while later Katniss told them she was going to wake Peeta, when Finnick stopped her.

"No, wait." Finnick said, "Let's do it together. Put our faces right in front of him."

"Poor Peeta." Kenzie muttered, a soft laugh slipping out of her mouth.

Katniss agreed, as there was so little opportunity for fun left in her life, and the duo positioned on either side of Peeta. Kenzie sat a few meters away, watching the scene unfold in amusement. Finnick and Katniss leaned over Peeta, their faces only centimeters from his nose and gave him a shake.