𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐌𝐄, finnick odair

𝟬𝟭𝟳. trees and trackers

╔═*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═╗
017. trees and trackers
╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═╝

"that's when the rain started. I thought it was water, it turned out to be blood. Hot, thick blood that's coming down. It's choking us. We were stumbling around gagging on it blind" joanna explained, holding clear rage in her voice. gradually, the woman's tone softened as she spoke of her partner "That's when Blight hit the force field. He wasn't much but he was from home" she then directed a question at finnick "actually finnick, a word?"

"sure"

"um without..." she gestured vaguely to lyra who was wrapped tightly in his arms. immediately, the man got the hint that something else had happened with Lyra. he was almost positive she'd forgotten something drastic as joanna's face told him it wasn't one of her regular mishaps.

"lyra, sweetheart?" he pondered, slowly unravelling her from his hold. "you think you could go and talk to peeta for a second?"

"okay, peeta's the nice blonde one, right?"

"exactly, good remembering-"

"ugh, you two are so sappy" joanna groaned, extremely over the niceties "you over there" she pointed between lyra and peeta before raising her voice so the baker could hear her over the crashing waves in the arena "hey peeta, you let anything happen to her and you're dead. understand me? dead" she ordered, walking backwards with finnick in tow.

lyra half stumbled over to peeta, katniss being busy cleaning off wiress after gaining some more information about the situation form beetee. "peeta?" the blonde girl mumbled, thinking the boy was nice enough but not trusting him fully.

"yeah, lyra?"

"do you happen to play thumb war in district 12?"

"thumb war? i- i don't know what that is, sorry"

"you don't!?" she gasped, quieting down what peeta gently shushed her, guiding her shoulder as they both sat against a tree near the tide. "you don't?" she repeated much quieter. "so wait-" she crossed her legs and turned to face him, peeta mimicking her movements "give me your hand. so you have to try and pin my thumb down and i have to do the same but you can only use one hand. the other persons thumb has to be down for at least 3 seconds or it doesn't count, okay?"

"okay..." peeta trailed off, his mind still processing her fast instructions.

lyra assumed he didn't want to "you don't- you don't have to i was just- um- thinking that sometimes finnick and joanna do it with me when i'm nervous because otherwise i crack my fingers and im not supposed to do that because it's bad for my... um my..."

"joints?" peeta offered after seeing she was struggling with her wording.

"yeah joints!" she grinned.

"no i want to. i was just understanding, that's all"

"oh okay, annie needs time to understand sometimes as well. i do too. do you know annie?" she asked as the started their game of thumb war. before her newfound friend could answer she unintentionally cut him off "of course you don't, stupid Lyra" she mumbled to herself, frustrated with her own stupid questions.

"no, no it's okay" peeta panicked slightly, not wanting the woman to be upset "annie's the girl you volunteered for, right?"

"volunteered? for what?" the blonde woman thought she might've done something wrong, what had she volunteered for?