The Flying Fish (Exocoetidae)|| Finnick Odair X Fem!OC

Video

She stands on the platform that will raise her to where Flickerman is waiting. There was an order that was followed when showing off the victor. First the prep team, then the escort, then the stylist, then the mentor, then finally the victor. About three minutes ago, Sorrel, Tazzel, and Saffrin took off to get to their respective platforms. Cress was alone, under the stage, in the dark.

Lovely.

She tugs on the base of her skirt, fidgeting on the spot. It smelled moldy and damp down below the stage, and the smell of rot was prominent. The thought of the boards above her breaking and collapsing on her was causing her to sweat, her skin getting clammy.

Suddenly the anthem booms in her ears and Caesar's introduction music plays. Cress hears him greeting the audience with his usual smile and obnoxious laughter. The crowd's cheers grow as her prep team is presented to the crowd. Tazzel was probably bouncing off the walls with excitement, while Saffrin was waving cooly at the crowd, she imagined. Then the escort who's name she couldn't remember was presented, the cheers growing slightly. Sorrel is next and the crowd's cheers reach new heights. He was quite popular in the Capitol right now, his designs famous.

Then it's Finnick's turn. His appearance brings a round of ear-splitting screams and stomping that shakes the boards above her head. Now she's very worried that they'll fall right on her head. She imagines how he would look right now, maybe in a suit.

Maybe shirtless. She's ashamed of the way her lips curl into a grin at the thought.

The platform starts to rise, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Please welcome, the victor of the 67th annual Hunger Games, the Pearl Princess herself, Cress Bronzetide!" She sees the lights first, or rather doesn't see them as they blind her. The roar of the crowd becomes deafening when they see her. Cress' eyes adjust to the lighting as Caesar smiles widely. Finnick quickly walks over to her and takes her hand, guiding her to the chair where she'll be sitting. It's ornate and looks like a pearl.

Finnick sits close by, barely a foot behind her.

"Cress, I must say, I just love your outfit!" Caesar exclaims, gesturing to her dress. "It truly looks just like water!"

"Oh, thank you Caesar. I wish I could take the credit for it, but it all belongs to my incredible stylist, Sorrel." she smiles, and the crowd cheers.

"Such a humble girl!" Flickerman crosses his legs, leaning forward. He talks for a little bit longer, her practiced smile never leaving her face.

Then it was time for the show. It will last exactly three hours, and it required to view for all of Panem. The lights dim and the Capitol seal appears on the screen. Cress steels herself, as now she has to watch every single tribute die.

Including Ferric. Her chest tightens but she keeps her face neutral as it starts to play. She hates to admit it, but she's impressed by how they've compressed around three weeks worth of footage into a three hour video. They've chosen the footage to write a story, the story of Cress and Ferric. The first half hour focuses on the pre-arena events, the Reaping, the Tribute Parade, her and Ferric's training scores as well as their interviews.

Her chest hurts as she sees Ferric smiling and alive, feeling like she was being stabbed with a rusty knife once more. The upbeat soundtrack that's playing in the background just makes it worse, as everyone in this video is dead but her. Then they start on the arena footage. They start with the bloodbath, showing the tributes that were killed in extreme detail. The camera pans over to Cress and Ferric as Cliff asks them to form an alliance. The crowd boos when he asks, then cheers when Cress turns him down after Ferric shook his head. The next clips are of when Ferric shot his harpoon at the girl from 7, hitting her shoulder.

The shots are mostly of Ferric, of his longing glances directed at her that she'd never noticed, how he'd watch over her as she slept. Then they showed him killing the tribute who'd gone crazy after his sister was killed. They showed a few shots of the other tributes kills, mostly the Careers. Cress' blood boiled when she saw Velora on screen, gloating over her kill with Cliff. The camera pans back to her and Ferric, showing the moment when the tribute from 11 had thrown a knife into Ferric's shoulder.

She watched herself draw her knives and launch two of them, killing him. It zooms in on her and Ferric holding onto each other as the trees shift, his shoulder bleeding profusely. They show the clips of her taking care of him, of the drone that came from Finnick and the sponsors, her putting the cream onto his wound, and his slow recovery.

They show the fight between the girl from 7, how Cress slit her throat to keep Ferric safe. The audience swoons, some chattering about how romantic it was that she'd saved him like that. The movie continued to play, showing their escape from what she now knew was a Wildebeaste. The crowd laughed when she called the bear 'Deedee', and they all cheered when Ferric shot it with his harpoon.

Then it starts on the painful part. They show footage from Cress and Ferric's interaction with Morrel and Chrysa and then the footage of Cress' trap killing Morrel. The shot of Chrysa crying over his body while Ferric and Cress stand over her keeps the crowd silent. The music picks up as Chrysa starts to chase them through the trees, alternating between a closeup of Cress and Ferric and shots of Chrysa as she gets closer and closer. Then it shows her pushing Chrysa off the side, her pleading for her life, and Cress then removing her grip on the branch.

The filmmakers have zoomed in on Chrysa's hate filled eyes, her words echoing through the room as she falls. Then her neck snaps, her face still contorted in its glare. Cress takes a deep breath, knowing what's going to happen next. It shows the footage of her and Ferric climbing down from the tree and standing over Chrysa's body, then how the remaining Career's snuck up behind them.

Cress' grip on the armrests of her chair tighten as she knows what's coming next. Her eyes shut as the wet thump of a knife hitting a body rings in her ears. She forces herself to watch, tears rolling down her cheeks as she has to watch Ferric die for a second time, watches herself completely break down when he takes his final breath in her arms. They replayed the footage of her trying to kill Cliff before letting him run off. Her eyes glaze over as she watches herself set a trap, watches as she swings on her trapeze and slices up Cliff before dropping down.

She leaps and slices him to bits, her knife raising and slamming down so many times she'd lost count. Then it finishes with a clip of her standing over Cliff's mutilated body, almost half of her own body coated in Cliff's blood, as she looks up directly at a camera. The room erupts into cheers as the lights come back on, Cress quickly wiping her tears before they're seen by anyone. The anthem plays again and everyone rises as President Snow steps up to the stand followed by a small girl carrying the crown on a cushion.

He walks over to her and places the crown on her head, his smile that of a snake's. "Congratulations, princess." His voice is smooth like snakeskin, causing her muscles to tense slightly. The crowd erupts into cheers and Cress waves for what feels like forever before Flickerman says his closing words.

"Don't forget to tune in tomorrow for the final interviews with our beloved Cress!" Flickerman says, as the lights dim. She doesn't even have time to collect her thoughts before she's whisked away to the president's mansion for the Victory Party. She doesn't even have time to eat as so many Capitol officials and generous sponsors wanted to take photos with the Hunger Games' newest victor. The night blends together as she takes one photo after the next.

Occasionally she'll catch a glimpse of Finnick, which makes her feel better, or a glimpse of President Snow, which makes her want to curl up and die.