BLOOD ON MY HANDS || Finnick Odair

eleven; a day of rest.

That night, as the mist slowly but surely turned into rain, the five of them had taken up residence in a strange-looking structure made out of piled rocks bigger than he was, almost like a man-made cave that was just a few meters away from the cliff face, though it wasn't the same portion they'd arrived at last time. Their clothes, miraculously, weren't soaked through. Eden suspected it was something in the fabric that was keeping them dry, and he only wished that he was able to get his hood on because the cold water was dripping down the back of his neck.

But he cold barely hold Lara up as it was, and she wasn't able to let him go without sending them both sprawling into the wet ground, so they went on as they were. The inside of the cave, however, was relatively dry. Aside from a few small rivers in the compact dirt, and two small puddles created by water dripping through the rocks at the front, it was dry, and much larger than the first cave they'd found. If Ivy and Volt had still been with them, the seven of them could've fit easily.

So as the three girls had gone in to build a small fire as well as properly bandage Lara's leg, him and Beau set to work with heaving leaves and pine needles up towards the middle of the surface where the leaks were, and then piling fallen branches on top of that for extra covering. Eden's hair and the neck of his shirt were completely soaked through by the time they got back in the cave, and he wound up drying his boots off over the coals.

Rin had sent him out again after a half hour rest and nutrition break, because she needed three roots and leaves in order to keep the infection from spreading through Lara's leg and into the rest of her body. She gave him the descriptions of what they'd look like, and after an hour of wandering and searching he managed to find two of the necessary items.

She'd said that would have to work for now.

They'd had smoked fish again for dinner, and had set up the tarp idea that Volt had showed them so they could refill their canteens for the next day, then had all made themselves comfortable at the mouth of the shelter so they could find out who was dead. Aside from Volt and Ivy, there were two more deaths; the boy from 9 and the girl from 11.

That meant there were 9 tributes left in total.

Four of them were sitting around him.

Between the five of them, they were able to figure out who was left; aside from them, it was Darius, Amethyst, and Sloane, and the final tribute was alone and from District 6; Rin said her name was Yule.

After the Capitol anthem ended they drifted back into the cave and kicked out the fire so the glow wouldn't attract anything unwanted, and they went to sleep. Even with all the room it was obvious they were more comfortable close together, and wound up sleeping in a pile. Eden had Flora against his chest while Rin was tucked under her arm; Lara was using his legs as a pillow for her head while her injured leg was propped up on Beau's lap as he sat up for watch.

Halfway through the night, the guard duty switched to Eden while Beau went back down to the beach to catch more fish, and as he sat there staring blankly at the slowly brightening forest, he couldn't help but tug at the dry skin on his chapped lips. He looked down where Flora was asleep in his arms again, the expression on her face peaceful, and he could only smile as Rin curled herself further into his darling girls side, and she only held her closer.

Eden couldn't help but briefly wish that he was laying in his bed back home with Flora, just like this, and their daughter was asleep on his chest. But he knew he would miss those moments — he had the moment he'd volunteered to protect her — but his heart ached to be a part of them all the same.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been awake, but he begrudgingly admitted to himself that everything was unreasonably peaceful; the raindrops hitting the ground, the vague sounds of the the ocean crashing upon the cliff face...the absence of the cannon. Even though he knew that every cannon meant he was one step closer to making sure the two most important people in his life lived, he couldn't help but feel the relief as for just one moment, everything felt almost normal.