Pearls and Perils ・❥・Finnick Odair x Reader

Chapter 5

"Up up up!" Seraphina claps as she waltzes into my room. "First day of training so make sure to eat a big breakfast." I toss around in bed a bit before I finally have the will to get up. Seraphina has already carefully placed the outfits for training on my dresser, some sort of jumpsuit looking thing with a 4 on the sleeves. I put it on and secure my hair back. I can already hear everyone bustling outside my door at breakfast, so I go join them.

"Good morning sunshine." Finnick grinned. Why does this make my heart flutter? I need to focus.

"Good morning." I reply sitting down as I load up my plate.

"Are you two excited? The first day of training is always super exciting!" Seraphina gleams.

"I mean I wouldn't exactly say excited.." I trail off.

"That's because you're weak." Ronan says under his breath. "I, on the other hand, am looking forward to it." Finnick drops his metal utensils on his plate which makes a louder sound than expected.

"I don't know why you're so cocky." Finnick scolded. "You're a year older than me, and I vividly remember kicking your ass during training back in district four. You could train all your life and Y/n would still have more skill than you." I've never seen Finnick Odair so angry, and I've never seen Ronan Redmond so quiet; I loved it. Finnick got up from the table and stomped back to his room. I decide to follow him.

"Finnick?" I knock at his door. "It's Y/n." There's just silence so I slowly open the door. He's sitting on his bed.

"Hey." I say slowly approaching him.

"Hey." He replies. "I'm sorry I sorta snapped back there. I know I'm not supposed to say this about my mentees but he really pisses me off." We both laugh.

"If it makes you feel any better I'm not too fond of him either." I smile, sitting down next to him on his bed.

"Well, not all of my mentees are so bad." He teases, grabbing my hand and placing it in his. They mold together perfectly and suddenly I forget all about the games.

"Thank you for sticking up for me." I added.

"Of course. I'm here for you through this whole thing." He replied. He glances up at the clock. "And unfortunately, you do have training to get to." I sigh as Finnick walks me out of his room and to the elevator. We descend all the way down to the basement. The training center is a huge space filled with obstacle courses and weapons. While we wait for the other tributes to arrive, I start to size up the competition. Immediately I notice the careers, they're smirking and whispering to each other like a bunch of mean girls in highschool. They're all stronger and better fed than the majority. The boy from 8 could be mistaken for a career, minus the snarky attitude. I frown at the young kids, the ones about Cora's age, the boy from 11 looks like a lost puppy. When everyone finally arrives, the head trainer begins explaining the training: experts stay at each station and you're free to move from station to station as you please. Some stations teach survival skills, others teach fighting techniques. When she's finished we're sent off to start training. My eyes linger around the room, the careers rush to hog most of the stations with weapons, so I decide to start with edible plants.

Over the next three days I make my rounds at different stations. I decide not to show off with my trident skills yet, that will be my little secret and I'll save it for evaluations. I also skip knot tying and net making, I'm from district four for Christ sake I can do that in my sleep. I learn camouflage, how to make shelter, knife throwing, archery, and how to start a fire. Each day we all eat lunch together, which is just as awkward as it sounds. I sit alone the first day, but on the second the girl from district 2 approaches me.

"Hey, y/n right? From district four? Why don't you come sit with us?" She flashes me the most artificial smile I've ever seen. I'm caught off guard by her request. If I'm gonna win this thing it's certainly not going to be as part of the career pack, but I also don't want to be their first target in the arena.

"I'm good." I reply plainly. She looks at me like I've just insulted her entire family. I try to look unbothered but can't help but wonder if I've just written my own death sentence.

When we aren't at training, Ronan and I are talking over a meal with Mags and Finnick back on the district four level. Debriefing what we learned that day and what we still need to do. Ronan seems to have heard about my interaction with the girl from district 2.

"Are you stupid?" He barks. "That was your only shot at survival and you blew it, not that I care about you; but that made me look bad in-front of careers. You're so mindless." I don't know why but I just laugh.

"Everyone has their own strategy, one is not better than the other." Finnick buts in. I'm still laughing.

"I'd rather die alone in the arena than be with the career pack. They're gonna turn on you as soon as they can." I retort. Ronan is glaring at me but stays silent, even he knows it's true.

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On the third day, we were pulled out during our lunch for evaluation with the gamemakers. I sit by myself again picking at my lunch and waiting for district four, until the boy from 11 approaches my table.

"Is it okay if I sit here?" He asked meekly.

"Yes of course." I reply shyly. We sit in silence for a few moments eating our food until I feel like I should say something. "So what's your name?" I ask.

"Micah." He replies. "What's yours?"

"Y/n." I say. "Nice to meet you." He smiles back at me. We quietly finish our lunch and I can't help thinking about how this small boy will die in that arena. I can only hope it's painless, but given the brutality of the games, this isn't likely.

"Y/n L/n, district 4." I'm called in for my assessment. I rise up from the table.

"Good luck." The small boy tells me.

"Thanks," I smile, "you too." I walk into the room, the gamemakers chatting amongst themselves over a large meal and plenty of booze. First, I set up a net trap that I would typically use to catch fish back home, only to make it larger and able to bear more weight. The game makers aren't as impressed with that but seem to acknowledge how useful it could be. The real show will be my ability with tridents. I step into the simulator and targets begin to run at me. I spear the first one right in the heart, I turn my head and another one is coming at me with an axe. I duck and then stab the target. This continues on, I hit every single one. ducking, rolling, jumping, sliding, whatever it takes to impress the gamemakers. The simulation ends and I'm happy to see the gamemakers are thoroughly impressed with my performance. They dismiss me and I return back to the district 4 floor.