If we burn } Finnick Odair

Chapter 23 ~are you okay?~

We follow her a few more blocks turning into a gate that looks like a private residence. Only a few people are around. I try to keep Finnick as steady as possible so they don't see him limping. Cressida turns on a fake capital voice. "Wait until you see the prices! Believe me, it's half of what you pay on the avenues!"

We stop at a storefront with mannequins in the windows. Cressida pushes through the front store setting off a distant chiming. Behind the counter is a woman. She's been tattooed with black and gold stripes. Kind of like a tiger. "Tigris. We need help. Plutarch said you could be trusted." She gives a low growl. I don't speak tiger so I have no idea what this means.

"Did Snow ban you from the games?" Katniss asks. She just stares. "Because I'm going to kill him you know." She smiles I think. She leads us down a set of stairs. Finnick and I a little slower than the rest. We sit down once we get in there as the others tend to Gale.

"What else hurts?" I ask. He shrugs. "My leg mainly. I just feel it bleeding still." "How's your face?" "My face?" How bad is his leg? "Yeah you have a gash there too." I give him some pain killers and roll up his pant leg. Sure enough it's bleeding.

"Guys do you all have any bandages and cleaning stuff?" I ask. Pollux walks over handing us a few. "Do you need any help?" He signs to me. I shake my head. "It should be okay." He nods going back over to the others.

"This is gonna hurt." I warn him. He nods. I put some of the cleaning liquid on a piece of fabric and touch it gently to his leg. He winces but not loudly. This reminds me of the time he treated my knee during my games. He relaxes a little once it's clean. I wrap the bandage around. "Is that okay?" "Yeah that's good. Thank you." I clean his face next it's nowhere near as bad as his leg thankfully.

"Are you hurt any?" He asks. "No." "What about when one pulled you down?" "Oh yeah that. It wasn't too bad. I'm okay." He pulls me into his lap his lips closing onto mine. That's when I start to cry.

"You almost died." I say. "No way. I would've made it just in time." "No Finn you didn't see how close that mutt was to you. It wasn't even inches from your head. You would've died." "Guess what Pigeon? I didn't. You saved me. I seen the knife. You saved my life." I wrap my arms around his neck hugging him as he wraps his around my torso. "Never do that again." "Do what? Get attacked by lizard mutts. I must say that wasn't exactly my intention; however I will be much more prepared for next time." I hit his back for his smart remark and laugh through my tears. He laughs a little too hugging me even tighter. I don't ever want to go of him every again. I don't want to be apart from him.

"I love you pigeon." "I love you Finn." That night we all get some sleep. There's no point in keeping watch. This is probably the most comfortable setting we've had so far. Finnick holds me in his arms gently twirling the ends of my hair in his sleep. It's a comforting feeling even though I'm still jittery from the lizard mutts.

Finnick and I wake up last. Feeling a little refreshed I guess you could say. We sit up in a corner of the room having not let go one another since the mutts really.

"I lied about the mission." Katniss confesses as if we didn't know already. "Katniss, we all knew you were lying about Coin sending you to assassinate Snow." Gale says. "You knew maybe. The soldiers from Thirteen didn't." "Do you really think Jackson believed you had orders from Coin? Of course not but she trusted Boggs and he'd clearly wanted you go on." Cressida continues. "I never even told Boggs what I planned to do." "Katniss you told everyone in command. It was one of your conditions for being the Mockingjay "I kill Snow." Remember?" Finnick adds. "But not like this it's been a complete disaster." "I think it's been a pretty successful mission so far. I mean think about it we've infiltrated the enemy's camp showing that the Capital's defenses can be breached, we've managed to get footage of ourselves all over the capital, we've thrown a whole city into chaos trying to find us."