"Cress, sweetie, you can't go back in." Halle's face was deathly pale, her grip on Cress' arms tight and unrelenting. "Please, please don't let my baby's sacrifice be in vain."
"Halle, you know I don't have a choice," Cress says softly, gently removing Halle's hands from her wrists. "I brought your bread, here." Cress hands her the small wicker basket full of bread and other small things. She'd stolen one of her mother's various whiskey bottles for Halle, as well as some cider that Finnick had brought her a week ago.
"Still, it's not fair!" Halle sniffles, wiping her cheeks. "You were in there once and escaped, but now you're going back in. How is that justified?"
"It's not fair, that's the point," she sighs, hugging Halle gently. "I'll be okay."
A little white lie never hurt anybody, right? Cress returned back to her house, Annie immediately latching on to her arm. Her attachment issues had flared up with the announcement of the Quarter Quell, and she'd been almost permanently at Cress' side, only deterred by Jaycee or Junie.
"Your dress is set out on your bed," her mother says, crossing her arms over her chest. She tried to hide it, but Cress knew her too well. Could see her bloodshot eyes, red tint to her cheeks, and the way she was having trouble focusing. Her mother had been drinking, again.
"Okay," Cress respond curtly, walking up the stairs to her room. She'd taken the master bedroom, despite her mother's insistence that it should be hers since she was the parent. Finnick had shut that down real quick once he caught wind of it. Cress wasn't clear on what had happened, Finnick had never told her the details, but the sight of him was enough to make her mother back off now.
"Cress," Annie says softly, quickly following her into her room. She sat on the bed while Cress put on her dress, a deep blue colour.
"Yeah Ans?" she asks, glancing towards her.
"I don't want to go back," she whispers, staring up at Cress with teary eyes.
"You aren't going back, Annie, don't worry," Cress says softly, kneeling beside her and stroking her hair gently. "I promise. Do you trust me?"
"I trust you."
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"Finnick Odair!" Cress' heart sinks when she hears his name called, bringing her back to nine years ago when she heard his name being picked for the first time. She forces herself to look straight ahead, to look anywhere but Finnick, but her traitorous eyes glance over at him. He was wearing his practiced smirk, waving to the crowd with that confident aura that drove the ladies wild.
As the announcer shuffles over to the next pot, Annie grabs her hand and grips it tightly. So tightly that her knuckles are bone white and she's practically breaking Cress' poor hand.
"Easy, Ans," she whispers, and Annie's grip loosens slightly.
"Sorry," she whispers back, her reddish hair falling into a curtain that covers her face.
"And for our female victor.." the lady grabs an envelope from the bowl and reads it aloud. "Cress Bronzetide!"
There's a ringing in Cress' ears that wasn't there before, that same static that had filled her head when she'd been picked for her own Games. Her vision tunneled but she felt herself waving and smiling like a robot, her movement mechanical, automatic.
She was going back into that goddamn arena.
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"Let's take a little looksie at your future opponents, shall we?" Haymitch smiles, standing in front of the TV. Katniss rolled her eyes but sat down anyway, Peeta taking the spot beside her. "Alright, time for a crash course."
"Just get to the point, Haymitch," Katniss mutters, raising her eyebrows.
"Impatient, aren't we? Fine, fine." Haymitch mutters something about 'insolent teenagers' under his breath. "From District 1, we've got Cashmere and Gloss. Won their Games back to back, and they're siblings to boot. They're going to be tough. District 2 brings us Brutus and Enobaria."
"What's up with her teeth?" Peeta asks, leaning forward. He pointed to Enobaria's teeth, which Katniss now noticed were sharpened into points.
"She had them altered after her Games, an homage to how she won," Haymitch explains curtly.
"By ripping someone's throat out with her teeth," Katniss mumbles under her breath, and Haymitch nods.
"Correct. Ten points for District 12." he continues with his little presentation, District 3 being next. "Beetee Latier, genius guy but kind of a dick. Wiress, she lacks a bit of sanity if I'm being totally honest. I mean, this one time-"
"Focus, Haymitch," Katniss snaps, frowning.
"Sorry. Sorry. And that brings us to District 4. Now, if I'm being totally honest, these guys are your biggest threat." he points to the screen. The announcer picks a name from the small pile, reading it aloud.
"Finnick Odair!" Katniss watches the Golden Boy of the Capitol step forward.
"What's his weakness?" she asks, staring at the screen.
"You'll see." Haymitch's eyes are trained on the screen as the announcer dips her hand into the other pot, fishing out another name.
"Cress Bronzetide!"
"And there it is." Haymitch's expression turns into a frown when he hears the chosen victor. "That's going to be his only weakness. Cress Bronzetide."
"The Pearl Princess?" Peeta asks, raising his eyebrow. "Really?"
"Oh you don't even know the half of it," Haymitch snorts. "During her Games, the well polished Golden Boy became a little frayed around the edges. But that doesn't mean you should underestimate her."
"I remember her Games. Her final kill count was six if I remember correctly," Katniss says, her eyes narrowed at the image of her on the screen. "Her partner, uh.."
"Ferric," Haymitch supplies. "Good kid, very kind."
"Yeah, Ferric, he died in her arms, I think." Katniss nods. "But even before that, she'd killed five people."
"Really?" Peeta asks, looking surprised. "She doesn't seem like a killer."
"She isn't. She's actually a very lovely girl, a real lightweight though," Haymitch muses. "She's always been able to get through to people, despite her rather large kill list. And if her kill list isn't enough to deter them, Finnick is. I'd bet that he's going to be trying his best to protect her, no matter what."
"He's not very smart then," Katniss comments, raising her eyebrow.
"That's why Cress is there. They're going to be a deadly duo, sweetheart, brains and brawn." Haymitch stares at Finnick and Cress on the screen. "Be careful around them, her especially. You don't want Finnick coming after you because you hurt his girl."
"Are they dating?" Peeta asks. "Like, how myself and Katniss are?"
"No, they aren't involved, but there's always been something there if you ask me. You didn't see him during her Games." Haymitch shakes his head. "But it's none of my business."
"Uh huh, you seem to make everything your business." Peeta's lips raise into a half smile. "You seem to know everything about them."
"Call it a hobby if you will."
"You're unbelievable."
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...
