𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙤𝙡, 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙊𝙙𝙖𝙞𝙧

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 19: 𝒯𝒾𝓅 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝐼𝒸𝑒𝒷𝑒𝓇𝑔

Raven is sitting next to her brother in his bed, as he slowly rouses from the severe beating he took the previous day. She turns when she feels some movement, watching as she struggles to push himself up into a sitting position. "You're awake!" She remarks in relief, as she reaches to the side table, retrieving a glass of water. She assists her brother in sitting up, as she hands him the water. "How are you feeling?" 

        "Sore," he comments, sipping the water. 

        Raven chuckles, watching as he sips the water. "Yeah, makes sense." She clears her throat, holding the letter in her hand she hasn't yet open. "Look, I need to go to District 4. I'll be gone at most, two days." 

        Robin coughs, putting the water to the side. "For what?" 

        Raven thinks of an excuse, coming up with a meek one. "Victor... stuff." 

        Robin looks at her, unconvinced but decides to let it go. He stands up, attempting to walk, and aside from wincing and holding onto his ribcage, he was fine. 

        "The train will be here tonight, I'll just pack a few things," Raven informs. Heading to her room, she suddenly remembers the golden boy who will be in District 4. Snow never specifically mentions she can't meet up with an acquaintance...  

        Care to meet up tomorrow at 6 in the morning at the sea? I'll be there for about an hour, waiting once I arrive in District 4. 

        See ya, Odiar.  

.·:*¨ ✘♚✘ ¨*:·..·:*¨ ✘♚✘ ¨*:·..·:*¨ ✘♚✘ ¨*:·.

She isn't used to being alone on one of the Capitol's trains. The silence is unsettling, as the only thing to greet her ears is the sound of the train whirring. She opens her bag, taking out one of her trusty knives to fool around with in her hand. In the bag is: A pair of gloves, peroxide, throwing knives, regular knives, and some clothing. 

        A pit forms in her stomach, as she realizes what she is doing just for the sake of her brother. Her thoughts are interrupted when the train halts to a stop. She places the knife carefully back in its place, swinging it over her back and exiting onto the train station. Glancing at her watch, she realizes it's still only 5 A.M. A man comes up to her, offering to take her backpack. Before she does hand it over to the man, she takes out the knives, stuffing them in a pocket inside her jacket. 

        Raven traces the steps she took with Finnick the other day, remembering how at peace she felt. If there is one place she wants to spend the moments before her sanity is completely gone: It's there. Raven makes it through the small opening that leads to the beach, and stops to watch the sunrise. 

        Her face breaks into a smile, watching its orange glory. She looks down, noticing a figure already sitting on the beach, watching the same view as her. Raven stealthily jogs up to him, tapping his shoulder. He flinches, smiling the moment he sees her face. "You're early," Raven notices, looking at her watch to see it's only 5:30. 

        "I wanted to see the sunrise," he answers, glancing back at it. "And I didn't want to be late in meeting up with you." 

        "Thank you for coming," she says, sitting down next to him. 

        "What brings you here?" 

        Raven thinks about the most plausible answer she can think of. "Snow wants me to apologize to the families for feeding them lies," she comes up with on the spot. "Once that's done, I'll be gone by tomorrow." 

        Finnick nods, soaking in her words. "Why'd you want to meet me, then?" 

        Raven shrugs, facing Finnick, who is already looking at her. "You want us to be friends. Friends meet up," she says.  Raven stands up suddenly, holding out her hand to Finnick. "Let's go on that swim you wanted to last time," she giddily says. Finnick doesn't need to be asked twice, quickly holding her hand and dragging her into the sea.  

        It's freezing cold, but she is constantly moving, avoiding the attacks of splashes coming from Finnick. She finds herself giggling as she tries avoiding his grip and knockouts. Raven finally wins, managing to get his hair all messed up. 

         "How dare you touch my hair?" He asks, running a hand through his luscious locks. 

         Raven chuckles, kicking another wave at him. "Now we're even," she states. 

         Finnick smiles, shaking his head majestically to rid his hair of water. "Fine," he pouts. 

        And there it is. The final moment of not being selfish: In the Hunger Games, she killed to survive. She had a reason to. And now she will be doing it for selfish reasons, and not under the threat of death herself. "I should go," she suddenly says, running out of the sea, ignoring Finnick's confused calls.  

        She never imagined herself like this: Not being able to control her emotions or the situation around her. Raven will be killing for her brother, and he doesn't even know it. She can't even control her emotions around a boy she is barely friends with. Before she is tipped over the iceberg, she hides behind a bush, letting herself breakdown.