Hello to you all! Love to all my reviewers, especially the consistent ones (you know who you are!) Although I got a less-than-average number of reviews last chapter, I seriously hope you guys still like this! AND ON A SIDE NOTE. UH, OMG, I JUST LEARNED ABOUT TRAFFIC STATS. I hadn't clicked that button until yesterday! So I've had over 2,000 hits and like 630 visitors! I have no clue if this is good or even standard (Translucent Waters if my only story on here - I have no comparison), but I feel proud that so many have even glanced at my little story3 :')
TO EVERYONE: I WILL HAVE SOME VERY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER. IF YOU WANT A SAY IN HOW THIS STORY IS GOING TO BE DONE, ANSWER THEM PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP!
Could we be friends,
At least until the heartbeats return
And we resist and make sharp turns and slip away
I was stranded outside your door,
I was waiting for something more,
And now you've taken this so far
We'll never make it back to shore.
Getaway Driver; The Ivy Walls.
FINNICK'S POV
Snow knew exactly what he was doing. Any tribute in their right mind would participate in the dance - those who didn't lost out on sponsorship and even Capitol favouritism. The dance would be more like an auction then a celebration - tributes paraded out in skimpy outfits and plastered smiles, all to amuse the sick men and women who would bet on their lives.
The demon thrashed on his leash, howling for blood. Snow's blood, to be specific, but it would accept any kind. It held no prejudice, it just wanted to hurt something.
"Finnick?" The soft voice sent the demon back into the depths of its dark prison, whimpering until eventually subsiding entirely.
"You're going to have to do it," I turned my gaze back to half-fish Annie.
She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, I figured. There's no way around it. I wouldn't mind, but it just means I'm going to be that much more exhausted when I'm in the Arena."
I nodded. Her sentiment was true, the mental and physical strain it would put on her would be taxing, to say the least, but it would have to be done.
"Oh, it'll be fine." My smirk grew on my lips. "We'll get you in a pretty dress and they won't even be able to look at anyone else." When I reached out to place a hand on her cheek, she tensed up ever-so-slightly and backed away.
She laughed good-naturedly, but I was taken aback.
Nothing's wrong with me. I'm not scary or malicious or even ugly. Why was she moving away? No one ever moved away. I didn't like it.
"Well, we'll see about that." She muttered. "I mean, Amphitrite's muscles certainly stole some attention from the Capitol ladies, isn't that right?" She grinned at the oiled-up Career before biting her lip and shaking her head.
My face grew red hot as Amphitrite laughed. Clenching my jaw to keep in sour words, I inhaled deeply through my nose.
When the two stopped laughing Amphitrite turned back to Mags and Annie turned to me.
"Do you think you could take me to my room?" She gave a small smile before adding quickly, "Please. I'm awfully tired."
Deciding to try and be as smooth as possible, I brought my face close to hers and took my lips to her ear.
"Is that an invitation?" I let a small wisp of hot breath escape on her neck, and her body visibly trembled in response.
I played with a loose strand of hair on the nape of her neck before straightening out my back and turning my face to hers.
"If so, I accept." With a raise of one eyebrow and flick of pink tongue over already well-moistened lips, I almost jumped in satisfaction as she blushed and stuttered.
Try? I am smooth. The smirk that covered my face rose naturally. I still had it.
The shining returns to her eyes as she turns her gaze to her feet and she blushes yet again. Her melodious laugh reverberates off the walls, and my smile increases. It doesn't seem she can quite meet my eyes after my brazen comment, and her innocence makes me chuckle.
A voice rings through my head -
Enjoy it now. It will be destroyed within the week.
ANNIE'S POV
He said I looked good.
My stomach fluttered as I slowly flickered my eyelashes away from my cheeks and forced my lids open.
He said I looked really good.
I bit my lip and rolled over, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. Finnick Odair thought I looked good! I gathered handfuls of the silky bed sheets while I giggled, swirling aimlessly in the fabric sea. After several more seconds of indulgence, it occurred to me just how perverse my first thoughts of the day were. Here I was, on the day I would begin my kill-or-be-killed training, thinking about something a pretty boy said.
Without another thought of Finnick's words I sat up and padded to the bathroom, eyes still blinking harshly, resisting against the warm light that filtered into the room through the large windows.
I was reminded briefly of my flirtatious mentor when I glanced in the mirror to see my green eyes, so close in colour to his own. But before he could take over my thoughts once again I admonished myself.
Quit being so stupid I told myself, shaking my head. Concentrate. There is no reason to think about him. And you're going to stop right now.
A knock on my door startled me from my inward conversation.
"Annie?" My heart quickened.
"Yes?" I peered around the corner of the bathroom hesitantly, eyes trained on the entrance to my room.
"It's time for some food to pass through those pretty lips of yours." Of course, the minute I decide to stop thinking about him he shows up.
A smile involuntarily tugged at my lips, but the eye roll was completely voluntary.
After taking long, silent strides to the door I pull it open, the ever-alert Finnick waiting with a smirk. "Then again, I wouldn't mind putting something else on your lips either."
The comment is so ridiculous coming out of his mouth at this hour in the morning that I can't help but throw my head back and laugh. He seems to understand the level of absurdity his statement contains as well, because he soon joins me with a low-pitch, hearty laugh. It rings through my ears like a bird song, and my cheeks warm as I hear it.
It occurs to me this is the first time I've heard him really laugh. Usually it's a chuckle or a scoff, not often a real laugh. I decide I like it.
"Okay, Finnick, just let me get some clothes on." I turn and walk to the closet, surprised when I hear his steps close behind me.
"Oh, but I find this ensemble so very enticing." I blush, realizing I the only thing covering my lower half is the bottom of the extra-large t-shirt. But what catches my attention the most is the fact that his voice is back to the strange rumble.
"You're talking funny again." I call over my shoulder, ruffling through sets of clothes.
I hear the bed squeak as he sits down.
"No I'm not," His tone is defensive and slightly confused, and I can practically envision him scrunching his eyebrows behind my back. "Oh, and wear something you can move in. Training day and all,"
I only nod and grab a preset outfit of a deep-purple athletic top and black leggings. I turn to walk into the bathroom, and as I do Finnick objects.
"Where are you going?"
"To change," I laugh, closing the door between us. "What else would I be doing?"
"Oh Annie. To me," He purrs. "You're just taking my fun away."
When I reemerge, Finnick bites his lip and eyes me up and down in exaggerated appreciated.
"Mmm-mmm-mmm." He mumbles, winking before casting a large grin in my direction.
"Oh, shut-up." I laugh, scaring him by whipping my t-shirt at him before bringing it back to my body. He stumbles onto his back, laughter unrestrained, before swinging himself back up and shaking his head.
It briefly crosses my mind how easy it is to be around each other so early, and how strange that is. But I promised myself no more thoughts of trivial things, so I squash and hide it along with so many others.
We exit the room at the same time, and he closes the door behind us. We must be late to breakfast, because in the minute it takes us to get there Amphitrite, Mags and Stark are all waiting for us, nibbling food off their respective plates.
"It's considered bad manners to arrive so late to a set function," Stark huffs, not bothering to look up from her plate.
"Sorry, Stark." The smile I put on my face is strained, but it's the best I can do for her icy greeting. "You know how it is picking out an outfit in the morning."
Although my clothes selection took less than a minute, I know appealing to her materialistic side can only earn me brownie points. And indeed it does, because she manages to tear her gaze from her plate of fruit to nod sympathetically.
"Oh, so true. I suppose it's forgivable this time." She smiles lightly, and I thank her. Finnick is doing his best not to laugh, and so are the rest of the table's occupants. They all know what I'm doing, but Stark prefers to not see it.
I begin to cross the room for the chair next to Amphitrite, but Finnick beats me to it. With a smile he pulls out my chair, gesturing for me to sit.
My heart starts with surprise, and yet again blood rushes to my cheeks. Chivalry is a weakness of mine.
I can see Mags eyeing him curiously, and Stark is almost outright gawking, so I gather this isn't something he does often. Nonetheless, I appreciate it.
"Thank-you, Finnick." I bite my lip as he slides into the chair across from mine.
"Anytime," He winks, turning to the table to begin filling his empty plate.
I take my time choosing the foods I want to sample, avoiding anything too heavy or foreign. If there's anything swimming has taught me, it's that an overly full stomach is always a hindrance - I can only assume the same principle will apply to training.
When I've emptied my plate and tossed my napkin onto it, a white-gloved hand manages to grab them both before I can blink.
"Oh!" The quick movement of the hand startles me, and I turn around to find the owner. It's a tall boy with light brown hair and bleak grey eyes.
"Well thank-you!" I beam at him. His eyes suddenly grow large, and he looks around the room nervously.
The whole room is suddenly quiet. I shrink in my chair, three sets of eyes studying me intensely.
"Annalaese," Stark hisses from beside me. "They're Avoxes. Traitors. You don't talk to them!"
I lean away from her, appalled. "What?" I look around the room for support, but everyone remains quiet.
My blood boils at her pride and ignorance.
"They're still people, Stark!" My tone is much more venomous than I had intended, a dangerous whisper, but once the words are out I can't retract them.
She opens her mouth to respond, her eyes furious, and I'm sure she's about to send me off to some dungeon or prison hidden in the depths of the Capitol.
"She's right, Stark. Now sit there and shut up, we have bigger things to discuss."
The words belong to Finnick, and everyone's eyes are drawn to the bronze-haired man as he snaps at the vain escort.
"Exactly," Mags interjects before Stark can. "Today they begin their training and we need to talk about it."
Stark is effectively silenced by the mentors combined effort, and she only picks at her food for a few more minutes before leaving without a word.
"Amphitrite, you've been trained for years, you told me that already," Mags takes a sip of coffee before continuing. "What are you strengths?"
He clears his throat and places his cutlery down before answering.
"Spears and nets. I can't make the nets, but if I have one, along with a spear, or even just a stick, I can make a pretty efficient trap. That, and it's good for hunting too."
Mags nods, considering this while swallowing a bite of croissant. "Anything else?"
"I've got good upper body strength. I'm strong. Uh, that's it I suppose."
"That's a great place to start," Finnick smiles before turning to me. "And you, Annie?"
His eyes are hopeful as he searches me, but I have nothing to give him. I am not useful. I don't have strengths like Amphitrite does - and the moment that thought hit me, the reality of my looming death began to creep over my mind. It's a good thing I knew I was going to die anyway.
Like Iphigenia, I reminded myself. With grace.
"Uh," I attempt a laugh, unable to meet his eyes any longer. "No such luck."
"I'm sure you have something!" His tone is hopeful, and when I look up his eyes don't hold the glaze they normally do.
I search my mind for any useful attribute of mine.
"Well..." I trail off, unsure.
"Everything counts Annie." He smiles at me once more, reassuringly.
"I can make nets, uh, I know how to use a knife. And I'm pretty fast." Even to me the list sounds feeble.
"Well that's good!" Finnick's face brightens. "Anything else?"
I think for another moment. "I can make myself invisible."
Mags enters the conversation. "What, like camouflage?"
"No. Hiding. I'm good at hiding - I can always find somewhere to cram myself in. It came in handy when we were little playing hide-and-seek... I never imagined it would work here." I let a light laugh escape my lips. It's true - I'd never imagined I would have to use that ability here.
"You'd be surprised what can save your life in the Hunger Games." Finnick replies, eyes still searching mine. "Well, I'd advise you both try and focus on learning a little bit of everything. Make sure to stop at the stations you already know you're good at, keep improving."
"So Annie, that's knives and nets. Amphitrite, spears and weight-lifting." Mags added.
"Exactly. And don't let the full extent of your ability show. You never want the opponent to know too much. When it comes to making alliances, I wouldn't expect anything to happen today - we can talk about that when the time comes around." Finnick finished, ending the perfect synchronicity Mags and him spoke with.
Amphitrite and I nodded in understanding, and soon we were all excusing ourselves from the table and walking towards the training center.
Mentors and tributes walked side by side in the narrow hallway, and occasionally when Finnick's shoulder brushed mine I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through my entire body. What is he wearing that's causing that? I kept wondering.
We wandered through the twisting corridors in silence, my stomach swarming with butterflies. My palms began to sweat, and I wiped them on my tights nonchalantly, hoping not to draw attention to myself.
We reached a large archway, and within I could see several sets of kids already inside.
Finnick pulled me off to the side, as Mags did to Amphitrite.
He bent down to my eye level, resting his hands on his knees.
"Don't worry if things don't go to well today," His eyes were serious, as was his tone, nothing like the purr he was so famous for. "You've got another two weeks in there to perfect those things. Don't panic, whatever you do. Okay?" His eyes probed mine, comforting in their beauty.
"Okay." I responded, smiling lightly. "But I'm Iphigenia, not Penthesilea." (A/N: Penthesilea is another woman in the Trojan War myth, but she's queen of a race of women Amazon warriors.)
I watched the confusion in his eyes grow as I walked through the door frame with Amphitrite.
"Annie!" He called after me. "What do you mean?" I could hear the urgency in his tone, but I ignored it and simply turned to Amphitrite with a smile.
"I'm here for you if you need me," His voice was quiet, but I knew he meant what he said. "Why don't we go to the stations together?"
I nodded thankfully. He didn't have to do this - in fact, I would slow him down. I knew that, even he knew that. But I couldn't bring myself to dismiss the only comfort I would have in this strange world of combat.
"Tributes, gather round!" A strong female voice carried throughout the room.
I pulled the elastic from my wrist and tied my hair into a high ponytail, pulling until my scalp hurt.
Amphitrite and I walked slowly to the center of the room, eyeing the other kids as we did. We all centered around the tall, warrior-esque woman standing in the middle of a large blue mat.
She had chestnut hair tied up in a ponytail, with relatively pretty features and an athletic body covered in black-and-silver athletic wear. Her eyes were kind, and despite her intimidating body language I decided I liked her.
"My name's Fathom," She explained, smiling at us. "And my twin sister Faith is over there." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder to a woman in identical clothing stretching against the Northern wall.
"We'll be running your training session, so if you have any major questions you can come to either of us. We'll be moving around as you guys practice, but just act as if we aren't here. Other than that, every station has a trained expert with exceeding skills in that area, so trust them for answers to anything weapon-specific. Questions?"
We all remained silent, staring at her with wide eyes.
"Alright then, happy training everyone. May the odds ever be in your favor." Even though she spoke the same words as all the escorts and Capitol officials, she said it with such a mocking smile that it elicited more than a few laughs from the tributes, including me.
Everyone dispersed within seconds, fanning out either singularly or in pairs. I desperately tried not to resist physically clinging to Amphitrite, but my hands itched to grab him nonetheless.
"Wanna try spears first?" He asked, eyeing the empty station with the only bit of excitement I'd seen in him have all trip.
Why not? I thought. So many killing machines, so little time.
Six stations, a pulled muscle and five bruises later, the training session came to an official close.
It had gone relatively well, I had learned I hadn't lost my proficiency with making nets or aiming knives.
I had mistaken Faith for Fathom at one point, and when I blushed and stuttered out an apology she only laughed and gave my shoulder a squeeze, telling me how she had liked my outfit last night. At least the tight contraption had been good for something. Finnick had been right about no one forming alliances - everyone had more or less remained in their District pairs, and I knew no more about any of them now then at the beginning of the day.
When the mass of sweating, aching tributes began to pile out the door, Faith stood in the middle of the room and made an announcement that made everyone turn around.
"For all those interested in the upcoming dance Caesar announced yesterday, I am instructed to relay details to you here and now."
Nearly all the tributes brought themselves back to the blue center mat, plopping down tiredly, myself and Amphitrite included. Only a few tributes continued wearily out the door, and I momentarily envied them.
"Good choice," Faith turned to us, eyes sparkling slightly. "Alright. President Snow has issued that we create a dance representing the fall of North America and rise of Panem. Each of you will receive a choreographed part to learn based on your appearance and abilities. It will be hard, and you have the option to leave now if you so choose. However, once you are assigned your part - which Fathom or I will give you within the next two days - it is your responsibility to know the routine by heart, no exceptions."
We all nodded in understanding.
"The first choreography session will be tomorrow - and before you officially sign on you must talk to your mentors and stylists to get their permission. Stylists will be responsible for making your outfit, although they will receive guidelines. And every District that participates will be required to have at least one more male participate, whether that be mentor or stylist, that's up to you."
She scanned the room once more, clearing her throat as she pulled a slip of paper from her pocket.
"The interpretation will be loose, mind you - the dance has to be somewhat entertaining." She winked. "For the males, there are two kinds of parts available - and those will be explained tomorrow."
"Unfortunately boys, you're playing second fiddle to the ladies here. But I'm sure you're already aware of that lot in life," Everyone laughed at her joke, and Faith seemed pleased with herself for making us do so. "Girls, you have more significant roles. Or, at least, you have names."
"Let's see, only one girl left..." She checked over the piece of paper, brows furrowed as she scribbled something out. "Okay, that means there are 11 spots for tributes... okay, girls, here are the roles available: Honesty, Valor, Purity, Constancy, Liberty, Peace, Trust, Justice, Fidelity, Freedom, and Beauty."
She paused for a moment, allowing these "roles" to sink in. How, exactly were these roles? Was one of us supposed to dance with honesty while the other danced with purity? It didn't make any sense. Only the Capitol would come up with something so ridiculous.
"I'd like to be Beauty," I high-pitched voice called out from the other side of the circle. Heads swiveled to find the speaker, a blonde-haired girl that must have come from District 1.
"I'm sorry, Vonlea, but I can't guarantee anyone certain spots. You may request certain roles but the overall the decision will be for the President to make."
No one could argue once Snow was mentioned, so when she dismissed us we piled out without another word.
"Snow is making the decision for the roles? That seems a little bit over-the-top, doesn't it?" I turned to Amphitrite, my voice low in his ear. You never know who would report me for saying something like that.
"Maybe," He eyed the passing tributes. "But it means he gets to take a closer look at us."
I gulped, realizing he was right.
I could only hope I would pass inspection.
ANNIE'S TRAINING OUTFIT: h t t p : / / f o t o s . f o t o f l e x e r . c o m / 9 5 5 1 b 7 b e 8 0 b 0 9 0 c d a 4 9 5 a a 1 b 5 b b 3 a 6 2 7 . j p g
Annnddd, end of chapter! Did you like it? I KNOW it was long (actually, the longest chapter yet!)... but that's better than a short chapter, right? And I'm trying to include more Finnick-Annie interaction, as I was asked for! Now that time is moving along I can start to make things heat up between them:D
OKAY, SO, THE BIG QUESTION - How much do you want me to delve into the next two weeks of training? I mean, do you want me to gloss over the days and sum them up with a paragraph or so, or do you want me to do chapters for every couple days (I wont do a chapter per day.. I don't think.. that'd get too exhausting!) ? I have lots of stuff I want to include in the next two weeks of Finnick and Annie's relationship, and it's up to you how much detail you want me to give about them. If you'd rather I gloss over the training/Games I can do so (although if I come up with something I want to do I might overrule and write what I want) or if you can wait for the MAJOR romance (they can't fall in love overnight!) I can show the whole budding relationship.
UP TO YOU! TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT!