Stay with me, always.

Chapter 25. Archery Lessons

Normally, I would wake up next to Soarynn, and count the freckles on her face while she slept. But these aren't normal circumstances. And I'm not the one counting her freckles. Jessup is. I hate him. He kept watch all night long and went to wake up Soarynn once the sun started to rise. But Jessup got a bit distracted by her beauty, it was no secret that Soarynn was absolutely gorgeous, even in the Games.

He was crouched down by her head, watching her as she slept. Creep. Eventually, he woke her up, "Hey, wake up, it's morning already," he said, gently shaking her awake. She groaned and let out a huge yawn before opening those beautiful blue-gray eyes. "Why didn't you wake me so I could take the watch?" She asked him, eyebrows furrowing. He smiled and stood up, "You needed as much sleep as you could get," he said, walking over to his supplies. She huffed as she sat up, "Well from now on, we're taking turns," she said, crossing her arms.

He turned around and raised his eyebrows, "So now there's a 'from now on'?" He asked, smirking as she turned pink. She picked at her sleeping bag before replying, "Only if you want me around," she said quietly, he padded over to her, crouching back down and grabbing her chin in his fingers, "You're welcome to stay as long as you like," he said smiling. She smiled back, "Okay," she whispered, grinning, he stood back up, "On one condition," he said over his shoulder. Soarynn crawled out of the sleeping bag, "And what are your conditions?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. He turned around with the two bows in his hands, "You've gotta learn how to hunt."

Great, just great. Now we get to watch those two have some real team bonding moments in the woods, while I have to watch Lucky Flickerman start his interviews, and those were not easy to get through. It was at this point in the Games where all the Tribute's immediate family members were being interviewed by Lucky, it was easy to see where all these kids get their personalities from. Beckett's dad looked like he could eat my Father for breakfast, he stood six foot three, had the same shaggy blonde hair and brown eyes Beckett had, and only answered Lucky's questions with one-word answers. 'Yes' and 'No'.

Cleo's parents looked like one flew over the cuckoo's nest, so it was easy to see where she got it from. Her mother was small like her, but she kept clenching her hands like she wanted to hit someone. People definitely went out of their way to avoid these people. Jessup's father looked like a lump of coal. I mean, surely he was a coal miner, but he could've washed up before being interviewed. When Lucky asked what he thought about Jessup and Soarynn's "romance" he said: "Well, the boy struck gold I'll give him that," I hated that man.

I assumed Lucky would interview next us since we were Soarynn's family, but after Jessup's father, came Soarynn's dad. Last I saw of the Mayor, he was on stage in shock after hearing his daughter's name being called in the Reaping. He looked the same from when I first met him, he was rather clean and talked in such a quiet voice that they had to ask him to speak up. Lucky asked him what he thought about Soarynn being put in somewhat of a love triangle during these Games, and the Mayor simply said: "I just hope she's able to win and live a quiet, simple life." Not happening old man.

Finally, Lucky was strolling into our viewing booth with a big smile on his face. He interviewed all of the families remotely, but it appeared that we were the first and last family in the Capitol to have a child thrown into the arena. In a way, Snow landed on top. Lucky started by interviewing Mother who was a mess before he even sat down. "How have you been coping with her absence, Madame Snow?" He asked, patting her hand as she blew her nose, "Oh, it's been dreadful, I mean, the amount of things we've had to reschedule because of this, it's just unthinkable," she said. It was also safe to say that she was on her seventh glass of wine today. But who's counting?

Eudora managed to have a bit more class, and when Lucky asked her if she and Soarynn were close, her answer surprised me. "Yes, I love the children immensely, I've watched them grow up and become closer than ever, their love blossoming into something more, passionate and real, I can only hope for them to be reunited," she said, dabbing her eyes for dramatic effect. Say what you want about Eudora, but she can sell it. I was the last one to be interviewed, Father opting out, of course. "So, Coriolanus, what do you think of the Games' most recent events?" Lucky asked, gesturing to Soarynn and Jessup sitting together by the fire. What did I think? To be honest, I hated every event that had occurred since I spoke to my Father in his study, but now wasn't the time to complain, now was the time to sell.