Finnick was sitting on a bench in his Arena Launch Room. His limbs were shaking, his feet tapping incessantly. He could hear the door slide open and Desdemona entered. She was thirteen and skinny, her dark red hair only reached her chin and she hadn't started wearing makeup yet. She looked so innocent then, unburdened by the troubles life would eventually bring her. Her bright blue eyes looked at him from under her bangs and blinked.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, breaking the silence. There were about five minutes left until he had to be in the tube. He hadn't dressed in his arena gear yet, hoping that putting it off would delay the inevitable rise into the arena above him.

"Tress got sick last night, so my mom is helping your district partner. She sent me in her place." The girl said, taking him in, "You're not dressed yet?" She asked, pointing out the obvious.

"I know that."

"Do you need help?"

"I'm perfectly capable of dressing myself, thanks." He stood and moved toward the outfit, lifting the hem of his shirt over his head. Desdemona turned around in embarrassment, but he ignored her and set about putting on the outfit. Black nylon pants, a grey long-sleeved shirt, and a hunter green nylon jacket with a deep hood.

"All of the outfit is pretty light, I'm guessing a temperate climate. They used waterproof material; so expect lots of rain or dampness. But you're from District Four so I don't think that'll be a problem for you…Your interview last night is sure to get you tons of sponsors, so I wouldn't worry about that."

"What are you doing?" he asked, more than a hint of annoyance in his voice. He turned around and looked at her with anger in his eyes.

"My mother said it's always nice to reassure the tributes before they go into the arena." She explained simply. Surprisingly she didn't back away from him, but held his stare until she pushed a hand into the pocket of her dress. It looked to Finnick that she had grabbed a tangle of cord that she started straightening and reached up to fasten around his neck.

"I noticed you didn't have a district token, so I made this for you." She explicated as if she'd read his mind. A small, almost nonexistent weight rested on his sternum as she finished tying it and backed away.

He lifted his hand to it and pulled the weight off his chest. It was a seashell or, rather, the skeleton of one, attached to thin cords that had been woven together like the nets from back home.

"You made this?" He looked at her with wide, unbelieving eyes. Why would she have done this for him? Wasn't he just a piece in their Games?

"Not the seashell part, I found that in one of my mom's boxes of District Four stuff. I braided the cords myself, though." He could see her becoming insecure about her present to him, her eyes flicked to the floor, "You don't have to wear it if you don't want to. It was stupid…"

"No," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "It was really thoughtful of you. Thank you, Desdemona." She raised her eyes back to meet his and they stood there, she put her small hand on top of the hand that rested on her shoulder and smiled. The girl standing in front of him confused him. Why was she being so kind? Why wasn't she telling him that he should be honored to go into the Games like everyone else did?

He decided her motives didn't matter, and that if he was heading to his death in the arena there were much worse people he could be spending it with.

"Fifteen seconds to launch," the computerized voice said, interrupting their staring contest. Finnick dropped his hand and turned to face the clear tube, the shaking returning to his limbs and fear creeping around the corners of his mind once again.

"Finnick," She said from behind him, putting her small hand on his shoulder as he had done to her a minute ago.

He looked back at her over his shoulder and smirked, "Thanks for everything, Desi." Stepping into the tube, he kept his eyes on her and the smirk on his face, "I'll see you on the other side."

The tube closed and he started to rise. Before he disappeared completely, Desdemona gave him a small, adorable wave. Even then, he knew he would never forget the Capitol girl who gave him his district token. Not that he would want to.

Finnick awoke with the sun streaming in through his open bedroom window. He could hear the waves crashing on the beach outside. He was not back in the arena, he was home. District Four. The Victor's Village. His bedroom. His bed.

He sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed and onto the cool tile. The sun streamed in through his bedroom window and he crossed to it, looking out onto the spectacular ocean view.

The District Four Victor's Village was situated on top of some ocean side cliffs, about two miles from the District Center. Each of the twelve houses boasted stunning views of the cliffs, along with access to the white sand beaches and turquoise water that lay below them. They had their own private harbor down the beach a ways, where Finnick's father and a few other victors kept their boats.

Only five of the houses were occupied, now that Annie was dead. Finnick, as the most recent Victor, had the house at the end of the row. Mags's house was closest to the entrance, followed by Kai, a quiet man in his mid to late fifties who kept to himself, then the childless Tad and his wife Elisa, then Isla and her husband and three young children, and then Finnick. Annie had lived in the house next to his, but it had been cleared out by the time Finnick had returned from the Capitol. He still couldn't even look at it without a painful clench in his gut.

How many good times he had in that house. How many times had he broken in when he heard her having a panic attack, how many sleepless nights spent by her slumbering side in case she had night terrors?

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. There was a hole inside him where Annie used to be, but the hole was becoming easier to live with. It had to, because today was the day Desdemona was supposed to arrive in District Four for her scouting mission.

For the first time in months, he felt something other than gnawing grief in his gut. He was excited for Desi's visit, and had been looking forward to it since she told him about it. He checked the time and saw that her train was due in an hour and a half, which gave him plenty of time for a morning swim. He changed into his suit and made his way outside, pausing to grab an apple from a bowl on the countertop.

"Going for a swim?" his father asked, looking up from the fish he was scaling at the opposite counter.

"Yeah, care to join me?" Finnick said after biting into the crisp green apple. His father, Johann, regarded him from under his weathered brow.

"Naw, you go on." Finnick nodded at his father and ducked out of the house without another word.

He exited his house and walked down the long wooden staircase the led from their patio down to the beach. The sun was shining brightly with not a cloud in the sky, a perfect day for a swim. The water was warm as he walked out to waist height, then dove right in.

The waves were pretty low, which made for an easier swim as he worked on his breaststroke. The water washed away his guilt and helped ease his grief for the time being. Unfortunately it was only a temporary fix, as he had to return to shore. He lay on the warm sand for a bit, baking in the sun and letting the salt water dry onto his skin.

He lay in the sun for a while, letting his mind wander, not thinking about anything in particular, when he heard footsteps approaching. Sitting up, he saw Mags approach him. In one hand she carried her tackle box, in the other she held her fishing rod. She wore her typical large straw hat that had once belonged to her husband as she staggered across the sand. Even at her age with her particular disabilities, she insisted on catching at least one fish per day from their private harbor. Finnick often joined her.

"Hey Mags." He said congenially, letting her come to him. She was in no particular rush (no Victor ever was), so she sat down next to him, Finnick taking her arm to help her down to the sand. She mimed her query as to his mood, indicating that she knew he had something on his mind.

"A friend of mine is coming in from the Capitol today," he explained. Mags raised an eyebrow at him and he shook his head, denying her assumption, "No, not like that. She's the District Four boys' stylist. She's coming to do some research on the district."

Mags nodded, an air of suspicion about her. It was the same suspicion that his father had expressed about the Capitoline visitor, and indeed about the Capitol in general, the night previous.

"She's different, Mags. She's not like the others, I think she could actually be a really big asset to us." He explained and the elderly victor nodded dubiously.

"I'm serious! She's smart and dedicated and loyal. To her, the Games are just a meal ticket. She sees what tributes go through, she saw what happened to me and…she knows how horrible it is. All of it. I'm hoping that if she sees what happens out here in the Districts that she'll join us. We need more people on the inside, and you know it." He explained. Mags looked at him like she knew something he didn't and asked him what her name was with her sign language.

He smirked, "Desdemona. Her name is Desdemona."

Mags circled her face with her hand and smiled at him. His smirk turned into a smile and he answered her question, "Yes, Mags, she's very pretty. You've met her, Calpurnia's daughter. But…it's too soon. And she's from the Capitol. Even if she isn't completely like them, she and I are just…too different."

Mags placed one hand on his shoulder and turned his torso toward her, then placed the other hand over his heart. She paused there a moment before placing a hand on either side of his face, looking directly into his eyes for a minute before patting his right cheek and moving to stand up. Finnick rose to his feet and helped her up, handing her the tackle box and rod.

"I'll see you later, Mags. Maybe I'll bring Desdemona by to meet you?" Mags nodded at the suggestion and made her way down the beach, slowly disappearing from view. Finnick sighed and took heart at her last message as he mounted the staircase. She had told him his heart would heal, and when it did he should welcome new love.

In the weeks following Annie's death he wasn't sure he would ever heal. But now, a few months removed from the devastation, the noxious gas of grief that had settled in his torso had mostly dissipated and the hole in his heart was easier to deal with. It would never go away completely, he knew, but perhaps there was room for other things in his life now.

The worst was over, he thought, and now he could start to move on.

So kind of on the short end of the chapter-length spectrum, but I think it's kinda nice. We got to see a little of District Four, some Finnick introspection...not bad if I say so myself.

Than again, I'm biased. Let me know what you think in a review!