A/N: Sorry for lack of updates! Unfortunately there are multiple issues in my personal life that I'm attempting to sort out. But, for those of you still reading, I've tried to whip something up for you. I can't promise when the next update will be, but I'm doing my best not to abandon this story. Also, I've changed the title to something less pretentious.
10. Sparsile
The stars were exceptionally bright that night.
Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta sat on a hill adjacent to the ocean, listening to the waves crash violently—but yet, almost melodically—against the shores, staring up at the stars. Annie, once again trapped inside her own mind, nightmares of the Games ever-present, had not spoken in days. Finnick held her hand in his reassuringly, as if to remind her that he was still there. When he saw the tears welling up in her eyes, he settled on distracting her.
Nudging her shoulder with his own, he pointed up at the star-littered sky. "I think I remember the names of some of these," he said cocking his head to the side. "Let's see now…there's Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Orion's belt…uh…" his hand, which had been tracing the sky in the shapes of the constellations, stopped suddenly on a single lone star, seemingly burning haphazardly in the far reaches of the universe.
"Sparsile," Annie said, turning to him. Her voice sounded raspy and uneven, a sign of chronic disuse. But Finnick couldn't help but smile.
"Where's the rest of it?" he grinned, turning to face her.
Annie leaned into him, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. She cleared her throat, "No, 'sparsile' is a very old and forgotten word for a star that doesn't have any constellation. It's just alone."
Finnick draped an arm over her shoulders, "I've never heard of it."
"No, no one ever has," Annie assured him. She paused, "I'm not sure why I know it myself."
He gave her his biggest grin—the one reserved only for her, "Because you're brilliant," he said. She responded with a sarcastic chuckle and eye roll.
He pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead, "I mean it."
A/N: Ah, I like this one. It's a bit longer than the rest, about 250 words, but I really couldn't tell the story in 100 words this time. "Sparsile" is a real word the has fallen into disuse, by the way, and for some reason I've been obsessed with the word for years. I'll try to update in a timely manner.