King of the Sea || odair

.one.

.one. 

On a regular day, the boy with the sea green eyes and bronze colored hair would have gone about his daily routine in District Four. His routine included: getting up at seven in the morning, grabbing his fishing equipment and then heading off to the ocean. Every morning, he'd catch fish because it was all he and his parents ate. Anything they didn't eat that day was sold at the market in order to make some profit. He and his parents made enough money to live a comfortable life. His father was also a fisherman, and his mother owned a small jewelry store that specialized in dealing and selling all kinds of pearls and corals.

He always had a knack for catching sea creatures, always catching over twice as much fish as a regular fishermen in the district, despite being only fourteen. Sometimes he'd even take a break from it all and just did some sailing in his small boat he fondly named Aquamarine, after his best friend. 

Today was much different than all the others though. Today, he was to wake up and get ready to go to the town square, where the whole district watched the reaping.

His parents were never very affectionate with him, especially on reaping day, but there was a time when they were. When he was a little boy, he remembered that his parents loved him so much; he was their pride and joy, and their only son. That all came to an end the second he turned twelve. His parents knew that during those next six years to come, there was a chance they might lose their son, their only son, and that drove them away from him. They still loved him, but they hid away their affection. It was the same reason why they didn't have more children. It was difficult to see a child being sent away to their imminent death like that. 

Finnick wasn't angry at them because of it, he knew why they did it. But he still wished they'd snap out of their trance and show him they still cared. Especially on a day like today, a reaping day. He needed all the support he could get and so far, he wasn't getting any. The only person who actually talked to him was Aquamarine Cresta, daughter of the people who owned a seafood restaurant down by the beach, who was just a year younger than he was. She was his best friend and the person he cared for the most, besides his parents. He had friends at school, but they weren't as close to him as Aquamarine was. He only talked to them whenever he was at school, and had no contact with them outside. 

He took a quick scrub, down on the secluded part of the beach after doing some fishing, and wore his best clothes for the reaping. It was clothes he had bought himself, since his parents never did anything for him anymore. His short sleeve, button down shirt was sea green, the same color of his eyes and he wore black slacks. Black, as Aquamarine had taught him, looked nice combined with any color. He combed his copper colored hair neatly to the side and looked in the mirror, he was now ready to participate in the reaping. 

Panem always wanted the people to look nice while they were on television, but the reality was the majority of people didn't have decent clothes to wear on a regular basis. Finnick was lucky enough to come from a career district, where the people did pretty well for themselves, but he knew there were others worse off somewhere in the country. He remembered always watching the people of other districts such as eleven or twelve, wearing their best clothes for the reaping, when everyone in the country knew they wore rags the rest of the year. There was nothing anyone did, or could do for them. They were the forgotten of Panem.

He for the town square without even letting his parents know. 

By now, they were probably in their room, hiding under the covers until the very last moment. There was nothing he could do to get them out of there on time when it was reaping day. They waited a couple of minutes after he left the house before they got up. This year he didn't even return home to let them know he was leaving. 

He walked the dirt path, lined with stones to make a road and soon he was at his best friend's house. As their yearly routine since he became old enough to participate in the reaping, he'd wait for her and then both would walk to the town square together. She always wore sea green, just like him, because she said she wanted to match his clothes. Her long and beautiful brown hair cascaded down her back in soft curls and her cream colored skin glistened in the sun light of the port city in which they lived. Her ice blue eyes stared into his as a warm smile formed on her lips.

Finnick and Aquamarine walked the rest of the way in silence, yet walking so close that their hands brushed against each other occasionally. Aquamarine liked Finnick, and had a crush on him ever since they met, but was afraid to tell him. She was determined to let him know how she felt if they survived the reaping that day.

-

"Aquamarine Cresta." The woman with turquoise colored hair that fell a bit past her shoulders and a bright orange outfit said into the microphone with enthusiasm in her voice. 

Aquamarine froze in her place near the front, her face gone completely pale, but was summoned by the peacekeepers and taken up to the stage. Everyone watched with horror etched across their faces, and some with relief, that she was the one chosen that day. The boy with bronze hair could only feel terrified, as if his heart were about to stop beating in his chest. 

"Such a pretty young lady." The woman commented when she spotted Aquamarine coming up the steps to the stage in a very robotic way. "How old are you, sweetie?" Her voice didn't sound sympathetic at all, but rather excited. It was difficult for that woman to imagine the fear Aquamarine was feeling because she knew she would never be chosen for the games, just like the rest of the people in the Capital.

"Thirteen..." She replied quietly, with a shaky voice that showed her fear. She played with the fingers of her shaking hands as if in an attempt to calm herself down, but nothing was helping her. Everyone in the town square watched in silence as one of their own, a girl who was only thirteen, got picked to die in the Hunger Games.

The woman smiled wide and then continued with the ceremony, as though the possibility that a thirteen year old would perish was not entirely possible. "Now its the boys turn." She said as she reached into the large crystal bowl and pulled out a slip of paper in thousands. She opened it up and read the name typed up on the slip of paper. "Finnick Odair."

Finnick was still for a moment. Everyone else around him moved out of his way as if his touch were poisonous to them. He saw the woman on the stage lick her lips when she spotted him in the crowd. "Come, come." She beckoned to him with her purple painted lips. Feeling as if his legs were made of jelly, he stumbled onto the stage next to Aquamarine who was trying to hold back her tears. The woman walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Finnick involuntarily shuddered at her touch. She purred, "Well, well, these are by far the most gorgeous tributes I've ever seen! Looks like these games are going to be interesting for District Four." Her excitement was evident. She finished with the same words that were said every year, "Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Finnick was zoned out by the time the woman continued doting on him, as well as Aquamarine, and the mayor read off the treaty of treason.

Soon he was led into the Justice Building, where he would get to give his loved ones a final goodbye. But he was numb to everything now. 

Not only would he have to fight twenty three other kids in an arena, but one of them was his best friend.

The odds of that happening were so small that he had never thought of them before.

But, as Finnick learned the hard way, sometimes the odds were not in your favor.

-

i had this chapter already written, and half of the second one written, so idk why i never posted this one before. i think it was the easiest because it takes place at the reaping, and we all know how that goes down. i just went back and did a few edits to it before posting, so i hope you all like it. i'll try to post a bit more often, especially since i dont have much to do while im on vacation.

anyway, i really hope you all like the update. 

blessings! i hope you all had a very merry christmas.

-clary xx