The Midnight Sun - Finnick Odair

iv.

The train journey to the Capitol had been quiet. Cecelia, our mentor had excused herself to go cry in her room quietly, and Woof was declared too unfit to mentor. Funny, I thought, that he was deemed unfit to mentor, but fit enough to be thrown into the arena. Eda was non-stop talking, but neither me nor Malachai had the energy nor patience to listen, so we both retreated into our rooms until we got to the training centre.

"Alaska!" Eda's sing-song voice pierced the veil of silence I had cloaked around my room in my new apartment. "Come! We're looking for allies, come join us dear!"

I stood up, placing my father's photograph at my bedside table, and exited the room, walking down the hallway and into the open plan living area, where Malachai was already sitting on one of the glossy white leather couches, alongside Cecelia, who seemed to have ceased crying, and welcomed me warmly with just a look. A look of gratitude.

"Come sit sit sit!" Eda patted enthusiastically at a spare seat on the opposite couch.

"I don't..." my voice trailed off as I stared at the screen, "I don't want allies." Eda huffed and made her way over to me as if dealing with a stubborn child.

"Oh Alaska would you stop being so diffi-"

"I don't want allies." I snapped, not shouting, but my voice raised considerably. Malachai shifted in his seat, rubbing his face with his hands out of exasperation.

"It makes it easier in the arena if we get more people by our side, Alaska."

"No offense Malachai," I start out, monotonous "but who said I was ever planning to ally with you? I work better on my own, and being from the same district doesn't mean shit anymore." My memories of Marlo were a bitter reminder of that. I stared at Malachai, waiting. He stared back, unsure of how to go on.

Cecelia rose to her feet. "Then size up your competition. Let's discuss strengths, weaknesses, weapons." She stared at me firmly, relentlessly. "Come and sit, Alaska."

I wasn't by any means a pushover, but I didn't want to make a scene right this second, so I stalked over to the couch, facing the screen silently.

"Okay," Cecelia began, "District one, Cashmere and Gloss. Brother and sister, won back to back games, Capitol favourites. Lots of sponsors here, so if fully equipped, are absolutely lethal." The scene of them cut to the other Career pack. "Brutus and Enobaria, District two."

"Her teeth-" Malachai spoke out.

"Filed down so she could rip people's throats out." Cecelia replied with a grimace.

"Pshyco bitch." I mumbled under my breath, putting her on my mental 'Do not cross, but if you do, kill at all costs' list. Words not gone unnoticed by Malachai, who blew a chuckle my way.

"Wiress and Beetee from district three. Not big fighters, but put their brains together and they're more dangerous than Enobaria and her teeth with all the knives in the cornucopia combined." We both nodded, and the clips went on.

District four cuts to a clip of a man. A handsome young man in his 20's seen waving to the crowd, smirking, his bronze hair glistening as if encrusted with miniscule diamonds."Finnick Odair, right?" I ask, though I know I'm right. I had met him last year when we were both mentors, but the meeting was so brief that we didn't even get to introduce each other properly, so the prolonged stares from across the halls and training rooms had to suffice.

"Yes, Finnick Odair. Charmer of the Capitol. Won his games at the age of 14 – the youngest ever. Master of the trident, so don't catch him in the water."

"Is there anything he can't do?" I questioned, genuinely curious.

Cecelia never missed a beat, "No."