THE SIREN'S SONG 𓇼 F. ODAIR

27 | THE BLESSING NECKLACE

"Carolina Seymour, everyone!" Cashmere shouted the second Carolina entered the dining room. "The first two-time winner of the Hunger Games!"

Carolina screamed in excitement when she saw her friend. It was the second week of Annie's Victory Tour, and District 1 was the stop Carolina was most excited about. Carolina ran up to Cashmere and hugged her.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Carolina laughed when she pulled away, pretending to wave to a crowd. "Going into the arena again was a dream come true!"

They were the only victors in the room who seemed to be having any fun. The rest of the District 1 victors seemed like they couldn't care less about the victors from District 4, most not even bothering to turn their gazes at their arrival. 

Only Marina was greeted, and the woman she was welcomed by — a blonde woman who might be a couple of years older than her — only smiled and offered Marina a drink before walking back to her seat. 

Even Gloss seemed to be miserable, although that was more due to the woman who was yelling at him across the room. She was in the middle of her sentence when she met Carolina's eyes and froze. Huffing, she backed away from Gloss, turning on her heels and marching to her seat at the table — which just so happened to be the furthest seat away from his.

Gloss stared at the woman for a moment with a defeated look on his face before turning towards his sister and Carolina.

"Can we please tease him for whatever the hell Sapph just yelled at him for," Cashmere whispered, her words quick and excited. 

"Don't you dare," Carolina shook her head.

She only saw her friends a handful of times a year, and there was no way she was going to let some small argument ruin there night from the start.

Gloss pulled Carolina into his arms the moment he was close enough, while Cashmere shook her head and walked to the bar cart, making a drink for herself and Carolina. She handed the drink to Carolina.

"I think we should have a toast," Cashmere raised her glass. "To the best trio in all of Panem getting back together again."

"To Carolina and her Diamond Dogs!"

"We did not agree on that name," Gloss mumbled.

Carolina smiled and raised her glass, but Finnick walked into the room, taking the drink out of her hands before she could take a sip.

"What are you doing?" Carolina reached for her glass, but he lifted it above his head. "Finn!"

"No drinking," He said, handing the drink over to Fletch, who easily drank it all in one go. "Not after what happened in District 10."

As always, the first stop on the victory tour was District 12, home of the drunkest man in all of Panem. Carolina could handle drinking with Haymitch. In fact, she loved drinking with him. But the second stop was District 11, home of Chaff, the second drunkest man in Panem.

Drinking with Haymitch was one thing, but drinking with Haymitch and Chaff within 24 hours was too much for Carolina to handle. 

She ended up walking onto the stage in District 10 extremely hungover and ran off stage before the end of the speech to throw up. The sound alone had Annie throwing up her lunch as well, and thousands of rumors have been spread since, each one more creative than the other. Finnick and Fletch put her on a drinking ban that night.

"Oh, right! You ran off the stage to throw up," Gloss smirked. "I heard a rumor that you were pregnant."

"I'm not!"

"She's not!"

Cashmere turned to Finnick at his outburst. Her smirk was identical to her brother's.

"Did you finally pluck up the courage, Odair?" She laughed when Carolina and Finnick's eyes widened. "Took you long enough. The amount of times I have caught you staring at her at the Capitol parties is insane."