Disclaimer: The Hunger Games belong to Suzanne Collins.
A/N: Yep, another chapter. Replying to Guest who asked whether I had read the books, I pretty obviously have as quite a few of them are semi-direct quotations from the book rather than the movie. Enjoy this chapter. Again, I would like some more reviews although I was glad to get quite a few last time. Without further ado, another chapter:
Chapter 4 (Friends and Allies)
Katniss: Okay, back to the plot. Where did the monkeys go?
Finnick: The vines moved and they disappeared, as the Gamemakers can do that. Remember, they even did it in your arena with the wolf mutts. You know, they made them appear out of air from holographic projections. Because that totally makes sense, even in the wildest reigns of sci-fi.
Katniss: I know, I know. Stop reminding me. People are going to start wondering whether this is a 74th or 75th Hunger Games parody soon.
Katniss notices that the wounds from the fog have scabbed over and started itching, which she takes a good sign. Finnick and Peeta are scratching their skin.
Katniss: Don't scratch. It'll bring infection and I can't lose you two or it will sound like I am talking to myself. Also, I love Peeta, so yeah, I totally want to save him.
Finnick finds seashells to store drinking water and Peeta taps the tree.
Katniss: Why don't you two rest? It's still night after all, even though it felt like everything took a lot longer than that… wait, if it's night, how can you see the seashells? Wouldn't it have been more realistic to wait until morning?
Finnick: That is not a plot hole. They are all over the beach.
Katniss: Are you sure? All I see is dark sand. And how is it we fought the monkeys so well if we could barely see them?
Finnick: Just shut up and go to sleep.
Katniss: Fine.
She considers how she now no longer wants to kill Finnick and actually trusts him, as he could have saved Mags instead of Peeta. While this could possibly be due to a weird aforementioned Peeta/Finnick slash, she does the rational thing and pushes that idea out of her head. There is a first time for everything.
When she wakes up next it is mid-morning. Peeta is still asleep and Finnick has done a lot of things, including making them a shelter, weaving several bowls and collecting water and shellfish.
Katniss: You see, this is what people who are meant to be on guard should do. This is great hospitality.
She sees that Finnick has been crying, likely over Mags, but ignores it. Also, she finds that she had scratched her own scabs, wounds which won't do anything at all after this next scene.
Finnick: You know, if you scratch it brings infection.
Katniss: That's what I heard. Haymitch! If you aren't too drunk, as you probably are, give us something for our skin! For some reason I did not consider attempting this in my first Games. Maybe it is because Haymitch is a bigger character this time round so can have some off-screen influence… no wait, that still makes no sense… he got that pot of burn cream for me and communicated with me almost telepathically, getting me sponsors somehow and, never mind, we are getting too far from the plot.
This works. They get some putrid smelling ointment that makes them look like they are decomposing.
Katniss: Hey Finnick! Is this the first time you haven't looked pretty?
Finnick: Yeah, most likely. The sensation is completely new as I haven't ever done exactly this before. How do you live with it all these years?
Katniss: Um, just avoid mirrors, it isn't that noticeable. I don't think I even had a mirror in my old house, although that was less to do with the ugliness and more to do with the fact that we couldn't afford it. Our house was one massive big bathtub, remember. Either way, I'm going to wake Peeta.
Finnick: No, let's do it together. This story will have enough dark parts so let's have a bit of fun. Let's put our faces right in front of him when we wake him.
Katniss: Let's hope he does not sleep with a knife like Haymitch does. We probably look like some sort of mutts.
Finnick: Nah, there is absolutely no reason why somebody who is in a fight to the death for a second time would possibly sleep with weapons. And it's not like anybody ever said the 'he is handy with a knife' while you were in a tree above them, something which is never mentioned in the series again.
They wake Peeta, who screams. Every time he tries to get them to stop laughing they laugh even harder. A single loaf of District 4 bread comes down with a silver parachute, which Finnick stares at possessively.
Finnick: Don't worry. I like bread, is all.
Peeta: I like bread. In fact, speak with a certain accent and my name is bread.
Finnick: You are just tempting fan fiction writers, and that is not a good thing. They'll make us very OOC with clumsy bread puns...
After a while, they eat the food and head out to the beach. A massive tidal wave goes down on the other side of the Cornucopia and a cannon booms. 12 remaining. They collect their things and are about to place them down again when they see three figures on the beach, all a deep red colour. One is dragging another along, and the third is walking in loopy circles. The dragging one looks like she is throwing a strop.
Finnick: Johanna! I know it is you now, because nobody else in this arena can possibly throw a strop like that.
Johanna: Finnick! Is that you? You look like you are decomposing.
Katniss: I may have lied when I said it wasn't that noticeable, but looking at me you knew that already.
Finnick goes towards Johanna.
Peeta: Well, we can't leave him.
Katniss: Technically we can. I never wanted him as an ally, but now as we are friends I guess… wouldn't it be easier to go now before we get even closer. After all, it's not like more than one of us is getting out anyway and we can't get too attached.
Peeta: Yeah, that's right. We confuse fights to the death with love/friendship reality shows. Me and you. You and Rue. You and Cato in all of the Catoniss pairing you can read everywhere…
Katniss glares at him to shut up and figures that following Finnick is the lesser of the two evils. She walks towards Johanna and Finnick rather annoyed.
Katniss: She's got Beetee and Wiress? I thought she hated them. This is strange, I finally realize that now.
Johanna: Okay, there was this storm. We thought it was rain, because you know storms usually have rain in them and we were all so thirsty. Not that it is usually safe to drink rain water, but let's pretend it is. But it turned out to be blood, and we could not see or speak without getting a mouthful. It's a miracle none of us hit trees. Blight hit the force field. Seriously, he hit the force field even though there were hundreds of trees, bushes and shrubs he could have fallen over instead. He wasn't much but he was from home, and now I am left alone with these two.
Wiress: Tick tock, tick tock.
Johanna: I get it Wiress, you're in shock. Now shut up.
Wiress goes towards her and Johanna pushes her down, which makes Katniss mad. Finnick picks Johanna up and dunks her in the water as she yells curses at Katniss.
Johanna: I got them for you!
Katniss doesn't shoot as she thinks about it, then turns to Peeta.
Peeta: Don't shoot her. How else would you learn four dozen new colourful curse words? I did not even know there were that many.
Katniss fixes up Beetee's back as he got stabbed while collecting a coil of wire. Johanna gulps some of the water from a seashell Finnick collected, while Finnick explains coldly what had happened, leaving out the part about Mags.
Johanna: Where did you lose Mags?
Katniss explains.
Johanna: She was Finnick's mentor, which means she was half his family. It is funny how that works out, as mentors should not really get too attached to the tributes they are prepping for the slaughter. The chances are they will not make it back.
Wiress: Tick tock, tick tock.
3 pages later... as that is basically all that happens. Also, it gets a lot later.
Katniss: Oh look, it is a clock. Wonder why Beetee did not guess that, seeing as he can understand Wiress best and all...?