A/N: Okay folks this chapter gets a little smutty towards the end. Nothing too extreme though so don't cover the children's eyes.

CHAPTER TWO

FINCH

Two days passed and neither of them saw a single other tribute. They heard the occasional fire of a canon, and they would share a serious glance over the clearing, but not say anything. What was there to say? Finch saw Clove look into the sky every night, looking for the faces of her allies, or maybe just Cato. She wasn't sure what their relationship was exactly.

They had built some form of flimsy trust that served them for survival. Finch still refused to tell Clove where her knives were but the more time passed the more she wondered if she had misjudged her. Finch had thought them very different people, but maybe they weren't so different after all. Clove it seemed was sharp as one of her blades. Almost nothing slipped by her and Finch constantly caught Clove studying her closely. It made sense really, Finch thought. She wasn't like the Careers normally were. Sure she was good with knives but she didn't seem to have any other deadly skills and she was half the size of the normal Careers. She had to be sharp and perceptive, with a great survival instinct, to have made it this far in the Career world.

Just like Finch she seemed to watch the world through critical eyes, looking for advantages, disadvantages and threats in everything, and everyone. She had clearly found Finch in favour because not once did she try and kill her. Finch saw it as some form of trust, and gradually she began to return it.

They even shared a few awkward conversations over a quick, cold dinner. Mostly it consisted of Finch's natural curiosity for the other districts. She learnt that Clove had an older brother who was a Victor in his own games. She had lived with him in Victor's village since their father had been killed in a mining accident 5 years earlier. She didn't mention her mother. In return Finch told her about her three little sisters. She always found herself smiling as she described the quick, bright little birds that were her siblings. Thinking of them gave her some comfort. Once she thought she caught the flash of a smile from Clove as she described the way Imberly would climb every tree in the District.

One night Clove was on lookout and Finch was trying, and failing to get some sleep. The air had turned chill around them and she couldn't stop shivering. They had both discovered a little while ago that the most effective way to do lookout at night was to close your eyes. Without the distraction of sight their ears picked up even the slightest rustle in the leaves.

Finch rolled over and glanced across to where Clove was sitting against a tree, Finch's jacket lying discarded on the ground next to her. Heaving a sigh she crawled across to where Clove sat. At the sound of the movement Clove's eyes flicked open and she stared at Finch through the almost darkness.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," she murmured. "Just cold."

Clove flexed her arms out in front of her, stretching her stiff and cold limbs. "Here," Clove said, shifting over slightly so Finch could sit next to her against the tree. Finch was glad of the darkness because it hid her slight look of surprise. But she crawled forward, pulling the jacket around her shoulders as she did, and tucked herself in next to Clove. Almost instantly she could feel the benefits of their shared body heat. As she sat there listening to Clove breathe she thought how strange this was, to be huddling next to a Career. When she had been watching Clove at the training centre she never would have imagined this. But she liked it. She had been intrigued by the wall so clearly constructed around Clove and she was even more intrigued by the girl she was beginning to get glimpses of now. Because that was what Finch was realising. Yes she was a Career, but she was just a girl. Just like her. In fact, she was a whole year younger than Finch they had discovered. She was just a girl and she was human.

"Feeling better?" Clove's voice broke through her thoughts and she realised with a start that she had rested her head on Clove's shoulder, almost drifting off to sleep. She sat up slightly.

"A bit," she murmured, again glad of the darkness so Clove couldn't see her blush. She wondered what Clove would think of where her thoughts had been. She probably wouldn't like Finch's realisation that she was human, scared and vulnerable.

"Can't sleep?" Clove continued, shrugging slightly so that they were closer together. Finch wondered absently if she was offering her shoulder to her again. "What are you thinking about?"

"You," Finch muttered before she could stop herself. She felt Clove freeze slightly and wished she could take it back. "I- I just meant..." she tried but she couldn't think of how to explain it away.

"You know, I was thinking of you too," Clove said eventually. Finch glanced at her in surprise but she couldn't read her expression in the darkness.

"Why?"

"Because you're interesting." The answer was simple and honest. "You're like a wood nymph," Clove continued.

Finch sniffed with amusement. She had read about wood nymphs in a fairy book she found in the school of District 5. The connection amused her.

"You're interesting too," Finch murmured. Something about the night made Clove seem less scary. Her voice floating in the darkness sounded very small and fragile. Her warmth next to Finch's body was comforting.

She turned her head and realised too late that Clove had too. Their faces were an inch apart and she could feel Clove's breath on her lips. Her eyes were pure, unreadable black in the darkness.

"What are we doing?" Clove breathed and Finch felt a rush through her body as she realised Clove was held there too, by something neither of them could name. Finch moved forward the tiniest amount. "I don't know," she admitted, right before she closed the miniscule gap and pressed her lips to Clove's. She had never kissed anyone before, let alone a girl, but the warmth of Clove's skin against her own was intoxicating. Without thinking she pushed forward, pressing the length of her body against Clove's and felt with complete surprise her body respond, her hands lifting to grip at her waist.

They broke apart and stared at each other in the darkness, breathless and panting. Curiously Finch reached out a hand and touched her fingertips to Clove's cheek.

"Why are you crying?" she whispered as she felt the tears.

Clove blinked a few times. "I don't know," she admitted, and her voice was so sad that Finch compulsively leaned forwards and kissed her again. As she slid her hand under the edge of Clove's t shirt she half expected her to pull away, or hit her or something. She didn't know what was driving this crazy behaviour but she couldn't stop it. Maybe it was the darkness. Maybe it was the knowledge of her imminent death. But her fingertips skimmed over the warmth of Clove's stomach and she knew she didn't want to stop. She felt so alive under her touch.

Clove gasped against her lips as Finch's hand trailed up her body, feeling the hard bumps of her ribs and brushing the soft skin of her stomach. Clove's hands were pulling tight on the fabric at Finch's waist, pulling her closer almost subconsciously. With a sudden, swift movement, Finch rose on her knees and straddled Clove's lap, leaning down to kiss her. She felt a burning deep inside her and with every touch of Clove's skin the fire swelled and threatened to consume her. She could feel Clove's fingers now, slipped under the fabric of her shirt and pressed against her back, pushing her closer. She could feel each cold fingertip as if her skin had turned hypersensitive and prickled all over with desire. She pressed her body against Clove's and felt her respond, pushing her hips up to meet her.

"That's not very Career," Finch breathed against Clove's lips, smiling slightly.

"Shut up," Clove murmured before silencing her with another kiss.