Cage me like an animal • F Odair¹ •

XXIX

"Everything with you is so much stronger,"

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Long chapter ahead y'all. Settle in

Just as they needed to, they woke up earlier than everyone else. It was still dark out when Athena woke up, still in Finnick's arms. She shifted a little in the spot, closing her eyes again, which seemed to stir Finnick as well. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them opened their eyes. They just stayed where they were, curled together, pretending to sleep, trying to put off the inevitable for just a little longer... still, eventually, Athena opened her eyes a little and looked out the window to see that the sky was beginning to lighten considerably. The sun would rise soon, and they would have to rise with it; if nothing else, the last thing they needed was Alayne walking in on them again, especially in a position like this.

She opened her eyes wider and looked over at Finnick. Her head was on his chest, so she had to look up at him. "Finnick. Finnick, come on, don't pretend with me, I know you're awake."

His eyes opened slowly, and he looked down at her. He looked a little groggy. His hair was messed up from sleep, and Athena had to smile a little; he tended to sport a perfectly crafted messy look, but this was far beyond that point. She reached forward and smoothed down some of the hairs that were sticking straight up. She could feel him relax under her fingers at the touch. She smiled a little wider at the feeling, but then made herself stop abruptly. They had to forge ahead.

"We should get up," she murmured.

"We should," he agreed.

But it was still several minutes before they finally detached from each other and got to their feet. Athena tried to ignore how much colder she suddenly felt. Finnick crept over to the door and cracked it open just slightly, peering through.

"Okay," he said quietly. "No one's there." He looked over at Athena and nodded at her once. "See you at breakfast."

"Yeah, see you."

Finnick slid the door open wide enough to squeeze through, and soon disappeared, the door sliding shut behind him. Athena, without much left to do, got ready for the day. She made sure she looked nice - she knew that when they pulled into the Capitol train station, while the main focus would not be on her and Finnick, there would be pictures taken of them. She still wasn't overly concerned about her appearance, though; Annie and Trent would get pretty much all of the attention, and the District Four stylists would be changing her appearance when they were in the Remake Center. There would be a party in President Snow's mansion later, in the hours leading up to the opening ceremonies; all the mentors, the Capitol escorts, the Gamemakers, and the Capitol's richest citizens, would all be in attendance. The event was televised to bring about more excitement for the Opening Ceremonies, but for the mentors, this was all about promoting their tributes, bringing about the beginnings of sponsorships. In the hours that the prep team prepared the tributes, the stylists would ready the mentors for the event. Athena didn't see any point in doing anything too drastic with her appearance when Tatiana or Syrio would be changing it all soon.

When she was finished getting dressed, she walked over to the dining car. Only Alayne was there.

"Where's everyone else?" Athena asked.

"Finnick went to wake Annie and Trent," Alayne replied. "I think he went to wake Annie first."

"Okay," said Athena. "I'll go wake up Trent, then. Save everyone some time."

When Athena knocked on the door to Trent's chambers, he answered immediately, giving Athena the distinct impression he had been awake for some time. He opened the door, already dressed and looking distinctly unrested. She raised her eyebrows a little, but said nothing of it.