THE SIREN'S SONG 𓇼 F. ODAIR

75 ~ finnick and carolina

10 years later

"Do you want to see my snail knot, Mom?"

Carolina finished setting the table before turning to her daughter. The young girl, only five years old, was sitting on the pier, alone, not far from where Carolina stood. She was supposed to be playing with her brother and father, but the two boys were nowhere in sight. Carolina sighed, straightened the plate she had just set down, and then turned to walk toward her daughter.

"It's pronounced snell, honey," Carolina said when she reached the edge of the pier.

"Daddy said it's called a snail knot, though," Nichola said, moving her gaze between her rope and her mother with a confused look on her face.

"Well, Daddy likes to make Mommy's life harder," Carolina sighed. "It's a snell knot. Now, repeat that to me so I know you understand."

"Snell knot," the little girl smiled, one of her front teeth prominently missing.

"Perfect," Carolina smiled back. "Let's see this snell knot."

Carolina watched carefully as her daughter focused intently on the rope in her hands, eventually tying it into a perfect snell knot. When she was done, Carolina immediately erupted into cheers and tightly hugged her daughter, who became a giggling mess.

"Did I do it right?"

"Right?" Carolina asked. "It is perfect, my smart girl! It looks amazing!"

"Really?" Nichola asked, biting her lip in excitement.

"Of course!" Carolina nodded, running a hand through Nichola's hair. "You are just like me when I was your age. Thank god you're not like your father."

"HEY!" Finnick yelled just as Carolina planted a kiss on the top of her daughter's head. "I HEARD THAT!"

"GOOD!" Carolina shouted back.

Nichola laughed from beside her, and Carolina couldn't help but laugh too. The two of them watched as Finnick walked out of their house, and Carolina waited for their three-year-old to appear right behind him. But the door shut behind him, and the boy was nowhere to be found.

"So, what are my two favorite girls doing?" Finnick said when he made it to the tip of the pier.

He tried to appear at ease, but Carolina knew her husband inside and out. Internally, the man was freaking out.

"Where's Riven?" Carolina asked slowly.

"Oh!" Finnick said slowly. "We're just playing a game of hide-and-seek."

"He's lying, Mommy," Nichola said, her eyes still focused on her piece of rope. Carolina's gaze snapped back to her husband. "Daddy lost Riven."

"Finn," Carolina said.

"He is fine," Finnick said. "Trust me, I'll find him soon. This happens all the time."

"What do you mean this happens all the time?" Carolina stared at Finnick for a long moment before looking past him, calling out for her son. "RIVEN!"

"RIVEN!" Finnick shouted immediately after.

He ran inside the house again, yelling Riven's name over and over again as he did so.

Carolina snatched Nichola's hand and held onto it tightly as she jumped up from her spot on the pier and started running along the beach. They looked out to the water to see if the small boy was splashing around. When they couldn't find him there, Carolina panicked even more, the worst thoughts spinning around her mind and haunting her.