Dew of the Sea [Finnick Odair]

[07. A Hint of Attraction]

Rye

"Wanna see the roof?" Rye asked his sister. "Haymitch showed me earlier. You can see the whole city and the wind's pretty loud."

He hoped that she was picking up the hidden meaning in his words. Who was he kidding, though? This was Rose and she was the smartest person he knew.

Rose nodded and Rye sighed in relief. On the roof, cameras would still be on them, but at least they wouldn't be able to hear their conversation.

Rye led the way to the stairwell that one would use in case of emergencies and when the elevator wasn't working. Even though they were technically the top floor of the Training Center, there was still a flight of stairs that led to the roof. All he had to do when they got to the rooftop access door was plug in the code that Haymitch told him.

There was a small dome-shaped room made completely out of glass that they had to walk through to actually get onto the roof but they finally entered the fresh air, cooled down by the windy night.

Rye's breath caught in his throat as he stared at the view around them. For all of its faults, the Capitol was a breathtaking place and being up this high made it all the better. The buildings around them twinkled like the fireflies they'd see at home during the summer season. Below, there was a low buzz from the people on the street as they celebrated the Tributes. Sometimes a horn would go off, but it would just set off another round of cheers. Rye imagined that most of them were drunk off their asses.

"Oh, look," he heard Rosemary say as she walked toward the edge of the roof. He got nervous for a second, but she just picked up a pebble from the ground and tossed it off the building. Only, it didn't fall. It hit a wall and flew back at her, making her duck just in time.

"It's a forcefield," she told him excitedly. "They make them in District 3 and supply them to the Capitol. They're very interesting and I read that once you know what you're doing, it's quite easy to get to the level of mastery that you need to create one. I wish I could get my hands on some of the instructional material from Three. I could learn how to make one!"

Rye grinned at her, happy as ever to see his sister so excited about something that it made her ramble. It didn't happen in the presence of others, but he and Peeta and even Kline were often blessed with them.

Rosemary's smile dropped and so did Rye's.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his stomach churning with anxiety. He didn't show her that he was nervous, though. He had to be strong for her.

"I won't get to learn how to make one," she said, so quietly that he could hardly hear her over the wind. "I won't get to do a lot of things."

Rye sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding her over to the part of the roof that housed a blooming garden, full of beautiful flowers and herbs. He sat her down in a chair next to the multicolored tulips, her favorite flower.