Apprehensive Love ¤ Finnick Odair

one; another reaping

CHAPTER ONE, ANOTHER REAPING

Ragged breathes left Ella's mouth as she put on the dress for the reaping in District Four. The residents were pleased as for once in their life they didn't have to worry about their children or siblings having a chance of getting reaped. Though that was just the people who still had humanity left in them, some sort of shock of the games left.

Because most of the people who live in the 'Career' Districts, wanted people to go into the game and maybe that ego was the reason there were only barely any Victor's in the district. But thinking about the next games was just the first step to losing her mind all over again. It had been Seven Years since her last Games, she could still remember seeing blood on her hands in the dark, non-existent and tributes with blood-lust at it's finest and yet she still remembered how to hurt people.

Ella's expression was stone cold when her brother had approached her, she didn't want him to know that she didn't want to go back in, for him to do anytjing, absolutely anything together her out of this. Ella knew there was no chance of her winning for the second time, how could anybody be lucky enough to win the Hunger Games twice but with experienced and old killers to be in the same arena, she knew that she had no chance of winning, even with all the Hope in the world.

"How do you feel?" Logan asked finally, his soft accented voice broke her train of thoughts along with the silence still hanging in the air, waiting to return.

Ella scoffs, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. "I feel nothing."

It was true, she felt nothing. How could she feel anything at all when there was nothing to feel in the first place, it was going to happen eventually, she was aware of that. Ella wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to tell her brother what she meant when she said she wouldn't be back.

"You have to try, Ella." Logan whispered, his voice wavering and cracking at the end.

"There's no point." Ella answered, her own voice lowered. "That's what you said last time too, nobody is that lucky, to win the games twice."

Logan's expression hardened at her claim, his large hands wrapping around her forearm. "You'll never win if you say that, Ella. Don't be a coward, they're always the first to go."

"Finnick." Ella breathed out, her eyes shutting closed at the memory of him. "How can I kill or leave, Fin."

It seemed that Logan had nothing to say anymore, because he sighed and wrapped his arms around his sister, his tall physique towering iver her small frame, his chin resting on her head. Ella breathed him in for one last time, air momentarily finding it's way into her lungs with the everlasting scent of her family.

"We should get going." Logan murmured, pulling away from her but keeping his hand firmly on her arm.

Ella nodded, taking a large intake of air as she opened the door to reveal the soft breeze and Finnick leaving his own house. For a moment her eyes locked on his, she could tell that he had been crying, red lining his eyes yet his structure seemed angry. Ella almost choked on air as Finnick's lips pressed into a thin line, getting ready to fake his exterior. It could have been a trick of her eye, or a frigment of her active imagination, but Finnick managed the smallest of smiles, only the ends of his lips lifting ever so slightly.