Pearls and Perils ・❥・Finnick Odair x Reader

Chapter 14

I wake up abruptly to the sound of tweeting birds. Micah is still asleep, he looks so peaceful. I decide I have to unwrap my leg. I'd been avoiding having to do so, I thought maybe if I just ignored it the pain would go away. But now my leg feels like it's burning. I carefully undo the knot. The injury looks almost as bad as it feels. I realize now how stupid it was to ignore my wound as I look at the obviously infected, puss filled slash. I reach into my backpack and grab some off my leftover water. I grit my teeth as I pour some into the open wound. I know it's not enough though, I need help and I need it soon. I wrap up my leg with the other sleeve of my jacket that I had saved. I also realize the only food we have left is a scarce amount of grain from my bag. I decide that I'll have to go fishing later, even though the coast is god knows how far from here.

Suddenly, I hear the familiar beeping sound. It takes me a moment to register, but once it does I start praying to whatever god there is that it's for me. The beeping grows louder, and I can now see the parachute as it descends. The sound wakes Micah up, who follows the parachute curiously with his eyes. When it lands on the branch just above us I'm overcome with joy. I climb to it and snag the sponsor gift. I climb back down to where Micah is sitting. There's a note on the top of the metal canister, it says:

Rookie mistake.
-Finn

I let out a genuine laugh. He must be talking about how I didn't tend to my wound. Only Finnick Odair would find a way to tease me when I'm in a life threatening situation. Micah looks at me curiously, he must think I'm insane for laughing at a sponsor gift.

"Finnick left a funny message." I explain.

"I knew it was loverboy!" Micah exclaims. I shake my head at him grinning from ear to ear. I screw off the lid of the canister. Immediately there is a pungent smell, but if it helps my wound I could care less. I've never seen this stuff in my life before, but I trust that it's some fancy capitol magic paste. I roll up my wet suit and untie my makeshift bandage. I spread the cold gel substance generously across the wound, almost instantaneously feeling a soothing cooling sensation. I don't wrap my leg back up just yet so I can let the medicine dry. I feel like an asshole for practically dangling my fancy sponsor gift in front of Micah's face while he's got a broken ankle and not a single sponsor thus far. There must be some high tech medicine in the capitol that can be sent for a broken ankle.

"Where do you think the careers are?" I ask, trusting his judgment.

"Depends on how much of their stuff was damaged or lost during the flood." He replied. "They were huddled around the cornucopia with pretty much everything." This makes me second guess heading to the beach area today.

"We need food and water, do you think they'd be down by the coast?" I retort. He shrugs his shoulders and I sigh. I know I can make the journey there and back, but what do I do about Micah? What if I leave him here by himself and something happens? What if I injure him further by having him come with me?

"How's your ankle?" I inquire. "Be honest, don't lie to me."

"Uh broken." He joked. I roll my eyes and laugh at his sarcastic comment.

"I was planning on going down to the water today. I know it's probably best if you don't make the journey, but I also worry about leaving you here." I share.

"I'll be fine staying here by myself ." He assures me. "I did it for days before you found me." He has a point I guess, and his reassurance makes me feel slightly better.

"Okay." I reply. "I'll set up my trap nearby too, just in case." He nods. I turn to the trunk of the tree and begin my descent. I look about as graceful as a walrus, but eventually I reach the ground. I choose an area just a few feet away from our tree and get to work securing the trap. I try my best to camouflage the sandy colored rope into the forest ground. If all goes according to plan, anyone who comes within the vicinity of my trap will be hoisted up by and entangled in the net. I look back at Micah.

"Stay safe." I say. He nods. I begin my journey.

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It's been what feels like hours, but has in actuality been about 30 minutes, that I've been walking in the woods. I can't see the coastline at all through the large green trees so I keep walking west hoping I'll eventually reach it. I get bored. I distract myself by thinking about the first time Finnick and I formally met. It brings back the rush of emotions I felt after being selected, and the re-blossoming of a stupid kiddy crush. I remember his effortlessly comforting presence, the way his fingers slowly slipped away from mine as he tried to figure out how he knew me. I was intimidated, not just because of what he did in his games or because he was a victor, but also because of his reputation. I heard whispers of his time in the capitol, rumors of all the different women he had been with. Finnick Odair: the sex symbol. But within just those few seconds of meeting him I had my doubts about the rumors. He was actually acting normal, not the hypersexualized persona he seemingly put on for the cameras. Instead I met a soft, gentle stranger that tried to make me feel better during the worst moment of my life.

What was meant to be a comforting daydream during my boring walk turned into me having a lot of questions. What was Finnick doing in the Capitol then?

A cannon booms. I jump. I raise my trident out of instinct even though there's no immediate danger. It takes my brain a few moments to realize it's just a cannon. I lower my trident and put my foot forward to keep walking. Oh shit a canon! Micah! I open my mouth to shout his name but then reluctantly stop myself, if I did that I might as well just tell the others to come get me. My feet grow restless pacing back and forth trying to figure out what to do. It couldn't have been Micah. I set the trap. Plus he's clever, he would have escaped whatever it was. I stand still, I decide to keep going.

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I can vaguely make out the coastline and the sound of crashing waves, so I know I'm almost there. I'm about to step out into the open when I hear people talking. I propel myself backwards, desperately looking for a safe place to hide. I find a tree, and climb it delicately making sure not to make a sound. When I reach a branch that I deem is high enough, I look out through the leaves to see who's by the shore. Sitting in the sand is both of the tributes for district 1, and standing in the water trying to catch fish with a spear is Ronan. My heart sinks to my stomach. I had been able to avoid any encounters with the careers, especially Ronan, until this point. But now here they are, right in front of me, and I'm stuck in a tree. The boy and girl from district 1 are talking quietly about something, almost like they're trying to hide their conversation from Ronan. Naturally I want to listen in, but I don't know how close I can get and still be at a safe distance. I carefully move closer to the conversation, leaning my head in and trying to hear what they're saying.

"It's getting down to the last few and he hasn't been able to help us find the girl from his district." The boy says. I can't quite make out the girl's response to this but I can tell by her mannerisms she's frustrated and agrees. "He's useless to us." The boy continues.

"So we kill him now? We need food though." She motions to Ronan, who is struggling to spear a fish. I remember the flood and feel a smile form on my lips, most of their precious food from the cornucopia must have been lost or destroyed.

"Yeah it seems like he's doing a really good job at that." He replies sarcastically.

"At least it's something!" She snaps. "Let's be honest, we don't know which berries in the forest are poisonous. We're trained to fight, not forage for food."

"Fine. We'll keep him around. For now." He replies. It dawns on me, if I kill Ronan, I can kill the rest of the careers.

AUTHORS NOTE: okay two day turn around updateee😜 imma keep writing over break as much as possible love y'all <3