𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇 | Finnick Odair

𝐱𝐱𝐯𝐢. let the games begin

After the drones had disposed of the two bodies Genevieve and Caspian made their way back to camp with a half-hearted tale of losing the other two tributes in the forest while chasing a rabbit to eat. Pertan didn't seem bothered by their obvious lie but Genevieve could feel Marla's stare burning holes into her at random points throughout the evening. When the district one tributes faces were projected into the sky that night they feigned innocence and Caspian wondered aloud if it was mutts or the other tributes that had gotten to them.

They took turns again doing night shifts with Caspian volunteering to go first. Genevieve didn't argue with him; she knew he was having trouble sleeping lately which, seemed to be understandable she'd had a couple of nightmares herself but nothing as bad as the insomnia that he seemed to be plagued with.

She woke up early on the sixth day that they'd be stuck in the arena with a thirst for blood. Marla and Caspian agreed to stay back while she and Pertan went hunting for some meat. They hadn't walked more than a kilometre before they came across a strange bird of sorts. It was a large-bodied, sturdy type of bird. A soothing combination of blue-grey, dark grey, and a slate colour that resembled the rooftops in the capital, Genevieve didn't look too closely just in case it saw that as a sign of aggression. The belly of the bird was white, with some elongated feathers on the breast, with dark, contrasting shafts. It had a small, crest and piercing eyes that were a bright yellow.

It clapped its beak together at the sight of them and produced a loud hollow sound. They both shrunk down towards the forest floor and approached quietly. They'd almost made it a safe enough distance to attack when Pertan stepped onto a branch. It snapped and the sound started the bird who went straight to attack.

It opened its beak wide and jabbed the hooked end of it straight into Pertan's arm. He cursed loudly and attempted to stab the flailing animal which just seemed to make the injury worse. Taking advantage of the kerfuffle Genevieve snuck up behind the bird and grabbed it by its neck. Pertan pulled free and killed the horrid beast as it attempted to break free.

"You're bleeding," Genevieve stated bluntly, holding the bird carcass aloft.

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed that half of my goddamned blood was flowing out of my arm, but thanks for letting me know." He snapped and she shrugged unbothered. "Let's go find some water to wash this off." Pertan looked around and then hummed as he watched a drone descend from the sky. It was heading in their direction but snagged into a tree branch before falling. "Hold this," Genevieve demanded thrusting the bird into his arms as she scaled the pine. She lay flat on her stomach and shimmied along the branch to reach the offending parcel before chucking it down to Pertan.

"Watch it. You nearly knocked me out." He grumbled as it hit the floor a couple of centimetres away from him. "Don't be such a baby and open it. I wanna see what's inside." She huffed climbing back down.

He unwrapped the packaging daintily and pulled out some gauze and antibacterial spray meant to clean infected wounds.

"That's for your arm," Genevieve stated. "No way! Really?" He replied sarcastically and Genevieve just rolled her eyes. He gave her back the bird and she began to pluck its feathers off as he wrapped up his arm.

"We should warn the other two about them." He grunted as they made the trek back. "Yeah, that's true. Imagine if I hadn't been there. Death by a bird, that's the worst way to go." She laughed at the offended look on his face.

"I had the situation under control."

"No, you didn't. Just count yourself lucky. Imagine how embarrassing that would have been. Rest in Peace to Pertan the boy taken out by some weird-looking stork."

"Shut up." He grumbled as his ear turned red.

The bird was a little difficult to cook because it was some sort of mutt. Marla had to help Caspian gut it properly because all of its organs seemed to be in the wrong place. The giant beak was disposed of and the legs were set aside to be used as broth flavouring. Once they'd eaten the other two went off in search of any tributes or more information but came up empty-handed. There was no point exhausting energy on looking anyway since the sun was going down so they simply enjoyed the rest.

Genevieve was woken on the seventh day by the sound of Caspian tossing and turning, his dark circles even more pronounced than the day before. His face was ashy and something about him seemed skeletal. She watched him as they ate from their rations for breakfast and tried to figure out what was wrong with him. Maybe he'd come in contact with some capital-altered flower and was feeling the effects of it. When Marla and Pertan left in the morning to search for tributes she felt his hand which were clammy and cold.

He seemed to understand what she was doing but made no effort to shake her off. After an hour she ordered him to go and get some rest and he didn't bother arguing. Slinking back to his tent to lay there in silence. Marla and Pertan returned as Panem's anthem played over the night sky. Another day of no deaths.

Genevieve frowned, where were these other tributes hiding? She fell asleep next to a ragged-looking Caspian, her mind going a million miles a minute.

She longed for a long night of sleep unfortunately her plans were interrupted by the loud thundering of a dam breaking as dawn broke over the horizon.