Drowning - Oc x Finnick Odair

Undercover Superspy

Today was day one of training. Ellie and Finnick had woken up bright and late, not caring about being on time. Scott was not having it, trying to rush the two young adults out the door.

Both Finnick and Ellie wore the same training outfits as they did in the prior games, however, this time, they were dark blue. For Finnick's games, they were yellow, for Ellie's, white. She wondered if this nodded towards an arena with something like water or ice. She hoped not ice, she had enough of that for a lifetime. 

Ellie grabbed Finnick's hand as they walked down the hall, him squeezing her hand gently in reassurance. They could hear the grunts and yells of training tributes from the distance, and the sound brough Ellie back four years, to when she was a kid scared out of her mind. 

She stopped right before they reached the door, halting both her and her boyfriend. Prior to this moment, she did not think of the fact that she had no physical talents. She had won her last games by surprise. Sure, she got an average score, but she wasn't sure how. 

"What's wrong?" Finnick asked her.

Ellie looked at him, "I don't know how to use any weapons."

He gently reassured her, "I can teach you."

"No," She whispered, "Everyone already knows how."

He grabbed onto her shoulders and led her into the room, both tributes getting a good look around at what everyone was doing. As expected, those from 1 and 2 were all viciously attacking holograms and fighting with each other. Ellie saw Beetee and Wiress doing survival skills, Katniss trying to tie a knot, and Peeta painting his arm. 

Ellie saw an open spot at the pattern recognition and wildlife identification station, so she took it, leaving Finnick to wander off and probably bother Katniss again.

She started with patterns of games coming up, arenas, man-made disasters, and mathematical equations all coming into play. She then had to predict what would come next. To her surprise, she somehow seemed to find the right answer and select it before her mind even realized she knew it. She mastered the highest level on her first try.

She then read into the plants and animals found in different climates, each with a picture and description of them. She then had to categorize them into poisonous and safe, deadly or not. About halfway through the game, she had gotten them all correct, and she heard someone walk up behind her.

"How do you do that?" A boy asked.

Ellie turned around to see Peeta standing behind her, his arm still painted exactly like a tree trunk.

She smiled at him, "All poisonous plants in the game have something in common." She pulled up pictures of a few berries and fruits which all took out past tributes, "See anything?"

He shook his head, "No. Should I?"

Ellie waved her hand, telling him not to worry, "They're all bright colored." She turned back to her screen, zooming in on them to show the boy what she meant. "In nature, bright means deadly. If it doesn't camouflage, it can't hide. If it can't hide, it can't defend itself. Unless," She clicked on the fruit and selected the "eat" button, her character immediately died, "it's poison." 

"What about those?" He pointed to the ones that were also deadly, but appeared normal.

"Seeds." She announced, but then elaborated when she saw how confused Peeta was. "Normal plants found in the wild are full of seeds. They need the highest chance possible to reproduce. Plants that are modified are more fruit, less seed. They don't need to reproduce on their own, because they were placed there."

He looked amazed, "How do you just know that?"

"Practice," she admitted, "Let's just say I didn't win my games by doing much fighting." She stepped back and reset the game, "Give it a go."