ＷＩＴＳ | ＭＡＲＶＥＬ ＨＵＮＧＥＲ ＧＡＭＥＳ ✅

ｔｗｅｎｔｙ ｏｎｅ

  Rye watches as her brother run around the field, his face filled with joy as runs through yards and yards of flowers. His hands brush against each and every flower he passes, wafting their scents into the air. Rybbon can smell the primroses and daisies from here. The birds are singing a soft tune, creating an almost serene feeling in Rye's chest. That was until the birds singing stopped. A high-pitched whistle followed.

She immediately gets up into a full sprint towards Cook. But as she continues running. He doesn't seem to be getting any closer. He runs in circles, never slowing down but never getting close to Rybbon either. His laughter soon becomes muted as a Capitol hovercraft appears above him, a harpoon slowly coming out from the bottom of it. Rye can hear herself scream his name, getting the tiniest bit closer to him. Sadly by the time he looks at her with a large smile, the harpoon has already struck him.

She wakes up with a gasp, finding it hard for her to breathe. She presses her hand against her chest, forcing herself to take deep breaths like she forced her brother to do. Her brother. Cook. Cook...

"Who's Cook?" She looks over instantly, seeing Marvel sitting against the tree on watch. Rye takes in another deep breath, shutting her eyes for a few seconds. "You said Cook in your sleep," he continues.

"My brother," she says slowly. "My brother's name is Cook. He's-" it takes Rye a second to find her words. "He's all I got left," she sighs. She rubs her eyes tiredly, a small headache forming.

"Come here." He scoots over, giving Rye some space to sit. She does so after a moment of thinking, their arms brush against each other. Rye pulls her knees to her chest, hoping it'll help her hurting heart. "I got a sister too, you know? Her name is Shinee."

"She sounds nice."

"My brother was the opposite. He was an ass," he chuckles lightly. "His name was Icari. He had the muscle and the strength to snap someone by their neck with one hand."

"'Was?'" Marvel goes silent for a moment. He fiddles with his spear, his tongue seemingly tied.

"He died a few years ago in the games. He got too cocky. Thought he would live forever." All Rybbon can do is look at him, not really having anything to say in response to that except one thing.

"My mom died a while ago," she says, gaining Marvel's attention. "I miss her sometimes. But she brought me Cookie." She smiles softly. "I keep seeing him. He always making sure I don't lose my shit."

"Well that's what brothers and sisters do. They make sure we don't lose it." He pauses for a second. "Well they'll make us lose our minds but no one else can." Rye laughs softly, turning her attention back to the fire, as does Marvel. Sometime passes before she even forms a thought, her mind becoming foggy from the lack of sleep. Without a thought she lays her head again Marvel's shoulder, it being more comfortable that the tree behind her. He tenses for a moment before relaxing, leaning into her as well.

"We're supposed to be killing each other soon. You know that right?" she mumbles slightly. She receives a tired hum in response. "You're a shitty opponent, I hope you know that," she grumbles, moving closer to him, feeling his warmth more than the fire.

"I guess." A length of time passes, Marvel having to put more wood in fire so it didn't go out. Neither speak a word, simply leaning against each other as they watch the fire slowly dwindle.

"This is probably stupid to say but I'm scared to kill," Rybbon admits. A small weight has risen from her shoulders. "Not just people. Animals too. I've never killed before, let alone fought."

"You know what I think about when I kill someone?" She snorts lightly.

"That you'll bring glory to your district."

"That," he sighs, a soft laugh leaving his lips, "but also how happy my family will be. How I'll be able to see my sister again and how my dad will be proud to see his son a victor." Despite her foggy mind, a single question forms in Rye's tired head.

"Why are you helping me?" He looks down at her as she looks up at him. His eyes say so much but so little. He swallows roughly before looking back at the fire.

"I don't know," he admits. "I just hope it's worth it."

"It will be. I promise." A couple beats pass before she says, "Promise you won't tell anyone what I said about killing."

"I won't." He leans more into her, placing his head atop of hers. "I promise."