circus | finnick odair

reaping

reaping

"Katniss, it's just a dream!" Peeta whispered, gently shaking the brunette's sturdy shoulder. "You need to wake up."

Katniss shot out of bed, gasping loudly, hands clawing at the sweaty skin of her chest — she was having yet another nightmare. Once she realized it was just Peeta, she quickly pulled him into her arms and hugged him as tight as she could.

"I thought I lost you..." She whispered into his shoulder, sniffling. Losing Peeta was a nightmare that Katniss hoped would never become reality.

After the Quell, the two both realized that their love could no longer be put off. That their love was true. Once they reached Thirteen, they were married within days in a private ceremony, only inviting the few people who mattered to them.

But there was someone missing, someone Katniss ached to see again.

"You'll never lose me Katniss," Peeta reassured her, rubbing his calloused hands up and down Katniss' back. "Never."

"I wish Prim was here," Katniss said, still whispering. Her hold on Peeta tightened as her thoughts trailed off to her sister, who was still held hostage in District Twelve.

"She'll be here after today, I promise. Coin explained this - we can't get your sister until the Reaping is over. They'd notice her absence and come looking for her. Which would lead to an all out search. Thus beginning something none of us are ready for."

"I know," Katniss sighed, pulling away from the man that fixed her wounds. She'd known she truly loved and needed Peeta when he ran into the force field in the Quarter Quell. "I'm just worried about her being all alone in Twelve, she's only fourteen. My mother is, without a doubt, acting like she was when my father died."

Peeta sighed, pulling Katniss up from her bed and wrapped the blankets around her. "Let's get you to the conference room, everyone's already there."

The couple then made their way to the room where their friends and family patiently waited for the beginning of the Reaping. When they entered the room, it was eerily quiet. Everyone speaking in quiet tongue — no one seemed confident about the days bringing.

Katniss took a seat next to Finnick and smiled at him, they had become great friends in the past few months. Their mutual hatred for the Capitol and need for fresh air brought them together.

Johanna was on the other side of Finnick along with Haymitch and Effie. After Katniss and Peeta sat down, Coin and Plutarch finally made an appearance.

"Good morning," Coin began. "When the Reapings are officially over, a hovercraft will be sent to District Twelve to retrieve Prim and Katniss' mother." Her cold and calculated eyes fall on the mentioned Victor. "Then, when they are safely in our District, we will begin the takedown we've all been waiting for."

Everyone in the room began to cheer at the mention of the rebellion but soon were silenced when the Capitol's anthem began to play.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

It happened like it always had, tributes from Districts One, Two, and Four all volunteering. The others, not so much. The tributes shook in fear and cried, their families screaming out in pain, begging for someone to take their child's place.