Cress stared out at the sea of onlookers as they chattered, all of them stealing glances of the stage where Cress would be in a few moments. The Victory Tour had begun, as always, in her home district.
"Presenting the winner of the 67th annual Hunger Games, the Pearl Princess of District 4, Cress Bronzetide!" She steps out onto the stage, the crowd cheering for her. She scans the audience, spotting Jaycee, Junie, and Annie waving at her wildly. It had been a relief when she'd reunited with them after the Games, there were lots of tears. Her eyes land on Ferric's family and she forces herself to stay still. There was his mother, Halle Amberfall, and his sister, Opal Amberfall.
Halle watched Cress with sympathetic eyes, meanwhile Opal looked at her with a withering glare. It's clear what their opinions were on her.
"Hello District 4," she says into the microphone. "I wanted to speak to you today to thank you all for your unwavering support of me during the Games. I truly couldn't have done this without the support of my district behind me." She pauses, letting the cheers of the crowd resonate for a moment. She glanced towards Ferric's family, feeling the colour drain from her cheeks as she meets Opal's intense glare.
"Murderer." Opal's mouth forms the word, her eyes boring holes into Cress' skull. She flinches slightly before straightening herself out, fidgeting with the pearls on her dress.
"But I think the person who deserves the most thanks is Ferric." Her throat feels dry, but she continues. "I'm not going to say that I know- knew, knew him very well, but he was there for me during the Games. He saved me more times than I can count, mostly from myself, and it hurts knowing that I'll never be able to repay him for that." She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as a stray tear runs down her cheek. She quickly wipes it away, refocusing.
"Ferric was too good to die. He didn't deserve it." she looks out towards Opal, meeting her gaze. "He died for me, I couldn't save him, and now I have to live with that for the rest of my life."
Opal's gaze softens momentarily before hardening once more. She seemed hell bent on hating Cress, which she couldn't fault her for. Her brother was dead because he chose to save her, it's only logical that she shouldered the blame for it.
"My sincere condolences to the family of Ferric, Opal and Halle Amberfall. Your son was a good man. I'm sorry, I just-" she covers her mouth, hurrying off the stage as the tears welled in her eyes. She ran to the nearest garbage and emptied the contents of her stomach into it behind closed doors. She could hear the heavy footfalls that belonged to Finnick coming down the hall, and felt his hand on her shoulder.
"Cress?" he asks softly, no sign of the usual arrogant personality that he usually projected. "You alright?"
"Great," she mumbles, glancing up. "I'm just peachy."
"Cress, come on. Don't lie to me." he tilts her chin up, her eyes meeting his. "Tell me the truth, Birdie." She pauses for a moment, considering it, before she pushes his arm away.
"I'm fine, Finnick." she turns and walks back to the train, hiding herself in her own room before Finnick could catch up to her. She couldn't spill her guts to him, he was the root of her goddamn problems after all.
She was so totally fucked.
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The 68th Hunger Games; victor: Idris Webber
Sub: District 4 Tributes.
Dillon Bellrock, male, 14, reaped.
Status: Dead. Killed by Allium Gallowmark, District 6.
Opal Amberfall, female, 15, volunteered.
Status: Dead. Killed by Deezee Hawkway, District 2.
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The 69th Hunger Games; victor: Gaius Flamsteed
Sub: District 4 Tributes.
Flint Wildfall, male, 17, reaped.
Status: Dead. Killed by Cob Spottedwing, District 2.
Sapphire Lowway, female, 13, reaped.
Status: Dead. Killed by Cob Spottedwing, District 2.
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The 70th Hunger Games; victor: Annabelle Cresta
Sub: District 4 Tributes.
Marley Klisto, male, 16, reaped.
Status: Dead. Killed by Marsha Silverrock.
Annabelle Cresta, female, 17, reaped.
Status: Alive. Victor of the 70th Hunger Games.
-----------------------------------------------------
Capitol Files, Hunger Games; Victors.
File: Cress Bronzetide.
INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE, NO CLEARANCE.
----------------------------------------------------
Capitol Files, Hunger Games; Victors.
File: Finnick Odair.
INFORMATION NOT AVAILABLE, NO CLEARANCE.
-----------------------------------------------------
Cress was mad. Real fucking mad. She took a sip of her drink, glaring at the TV as yet another pair of her tributes prepared to enter the Games. This was the 73rd Games, if Cress recalled correctly.
"What's with the frowny face, Cressie?" Finnick sits down beside her, arm over her shoulders.
"We're back here again, Finnick. Watching yet another pair of children die." she chugs the remainder of her drink down, setting the glass back down on the table. "This is so fucked, you know that."
"Believe me, I know." Finnick leans back on the couch, watching as the timer counts down. "I've been doing this longer than you have, sweetheart."
"Believe me, I'm aware," she mutters. "We've been doing this for, what six years now? You've been doing it for eight. God, I mean, we're twenty two years old and we're still stuck here year after year."
"I know, Cressie. I know," Finnick whispers, staring blankly at his hands.
"This shit is fucked. Holy crap, I have a headache." she stumbles to her feet and wanders down the hall into her room. She falls face first onto the bed, curling up into a ball. She'd always been a lightweight when it came to drinks, Haymitch kicked her ass every time at shots.
The memory of her past mentees, specifically Opal, came to mind. She'd made it so far, right to the final three, but was basically torn limb from limb by Deezee, a tribute who'd lost it when her district partner had been killed.
Opal. She'd failed not one, but both of the Amberfall children, and that just meant that the blood on her hands was getting darker with each passing day. She made sure to visit Halle and take care of her, feeling obliged to be there for her after she'd failed so horribly. Halle, thankfully, never blamed her for her children's deaths even though she had every right to. Cress made sure that she kept herself in check, for Halle, Junie, Annie, and Jaycee.
After Annie's Games, Cress wasn't able to leave her side for a week. The poor girl was so frazzled that if Cress was out of sight, she'd start screaming.
It had gotten bad, but with some help from both Junie and Jaycee, Annie could now be separated from her for days at a time.
Then there was Finnick. He was a topic that Cress didn't dare breach with herself. How could she, when that opened the door to a forbidden topic.
Ferric.
She couldn't talk about him, hadn't said his name in six whole years. She couldn't, not without bringing back the memories of his smile that felt like being stabbed with a thousand knives at once. So, by extension, Finnick was a forbidden topic for her to think about.
Her feelings didn't seem to be with the program, however.
YOU ARE READING
The Flying Fish (Exocoetidae)|| Finnick Odair X Fem!OC
Fanfiction"Hello Birdie." "Not in the mood Finn." The 67th Hunger Games, with Iuvartus Templesmith as Head Gamemaker, was nothing special. The victor that year was Cress Bronzetide, a 16 year old girl from District 4. She was an unexpected victor, as her dist...
