Dew of the Sea [Finnick Odair]

[26. Grief]

Rosemary

The air was chilly. When she spoke, she could see her breath in the air like smoke, slowly dissipating until she couldn't see it anymore. Her white jumpsuit was doing what it was meant to do, keep the cold out and her heat in. She was warm and comfortable, even as she laid in the snow and gazed up at the sky.

"That one looks like a bear," Kyler said from beside her, in a similar position, and pointed up at one of the clouds above them. Rosemary squinted, trying to see what he saw, but it just looked like a cloud to her.

"It looks like a cloud."

She turned her head to look at Kyler and found that he was already looking at her, amusement in his deep brown eyes. "Did you try hard enough?"

"Yes," she said indignantly. "It just looks like a cloud to me."

"What if you tilt your head this way?" He demonstrated the move.

Rosemary indulged him and copied his movement. The cloud didn't look any different. "It's a cloud."

"Okay, fair enough." Kyler chuckled. She smiled at the sound.

Rosemary liked the way that he enjoyed simple things, especially in the arena. It pleased him to spot little things like lady bugs and chipmunks, but he also enjoyed the big things too, like pine trees and clouds. It was because of that endearing quality that she decided to indulge him.

"What about that one?" she pointed to a cloud near the one that he claimed to be a bear.

Kyler hummed, studying the cloud. "That is definitely a bunny."

This cloud, she could see how he saw a bunny. There were two separate bumps to one side of it that could act as the rabbit's ears. "I think I see it."

"Atta girl!" Kyler pumped his fist triumphantly, lips curled into a pleased smile. "Alright, you try another one."

Rosemary looked for another cloud close by. When she found one, she took in its shape, how one side of the cloud seemed to sharpen like a blade.

"I think that one looks like a knife," she told him.

Kyler nodded. "Huh, yeah, it does."

Suddenly, the cloud shifted into a different shape. Rosemary's eyes widened as it warped into a twisted face, too detailed to be natural. Were the Gamemakers playing with them?

Her stomach clenched and the fine hairs on her arms stood straight up. "Come on," she popped up onto her feet. "We should keep moving. It doesn't feel safe here."

Kyler stood up and gave her a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

Rosemary shook her head. "I just have a bad feeling."