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A tortured scream cut through the night, waking Finnick from his nightmare. The screams were familiar to him, he hears them almost every night.
He untangled his legs from the blanket before sprinting to the next room. Skipping to a stop at the doorway and seeing the source of the screams, Amelia, tossing and turning in her sleep, scratching at her skin, as if something was under it.
Finnick knew that particular nightmare well. It was the most frequent one, involving flying insects with sharp teeth.
Pain...
Ever since her Game, Amelia has been afraid of pain, no matter how big or small, emotional or physical, it frightens her to death. It doesn't help that 'The Pain Scale' messed up her nerves, lowering her pain tolerance. Getting a small paper cut would feel like a knife going through her finger.
Finnick was the only one who knew how to wake her from this nightmare. Quickly making his way to the corner of the room where a rocking chair sat, he grabbed the blanket that was draped over it. The blanket was hand knitted by Amelia, made of only the softest wool that Panem had to offer.
He sat down on the bed before wrapping the blanket around her and bringing her to sit on his lap, by now she had stopped moving around, but had started to shake like a leaf in the wind. Finnick held her close to him, stroking her hair and whispering lovingly things into her ear, succeeding in calming her down. He eventually broke the now peaceful silence.
"Was it the same one?" Though he knew it was, Finnick just wanted to get her talking so she wouldn't sink back into her horror filled mind.
Amelia nodded her head the slightest with a mumbled yes before pushing her head further into Finnick's chest. The soft woollen blanket soothed her mind from the nightmare she has all too often, about the last day in the Arena, when she felt the Tribute from District 1's pain when his flesh was ripped from his bones. While having her nightmares, it seems to get into her head that the Mutts were really there, crawling around on her skin and eating away at it, so she would subconsciously try to scratch her skin hoping to get them off. The soft blanket rubbing against her skin gets rid of the thoughts, plus the warmth that Finnick's body provides helps to remind her that she was no longer in the cold Arena.
Finnick slowly fell back onto the pillows, bringing Amelia to lay on top of him. She immediately moved her head to lay on top of where his heart is, the soft beating of Finnick's heart helps to slow her own. Finnick found that she did this a lot, he would always allow her to do so, it gave him an excuse to hold her near.
Finnick wrapped his left arm around her waist and had the other softly moving fallen hair behind her ear, before resting it on the side of her head, stroking her cheek with his thumb.
"Go back to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up." He whispers softly, running his thumb over her brow and down her face, the soothing gesture helped Amelia to fall asleep, and having Finnick there helped to fight off the nightmares.
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True to his word, Finnick was still there when Amelia awoke next. They were still in the same position from last night, though Finnick's right hand moved to her upper back. Amelia look up at his peaceful face as he continued to sleep, she was worried that her constant nightmares where keeping him from his sleep, but she remembered that he has his own nightmares and would say that they went away whenever he was with her, it made her happy that she could get rid of his nightmares, just as he helps get rid of hers.
Deciding she wanted to do something for him, she silently moved his arms from her and slipped out of bed, so she could head down stairs to make breakfast.
The smell of cooked salmon was what woke Finnick up, though the thought of hunger for breakfast was pushed aside when he realised that Amelia wasn't there. In a sleepy haze Finnick quickly got out of bed and raced down the stairs, the sight he found when entering the kitchen made him stop.
Amelia was dressed in one of his old shirts that she stole and pastel pink pyjama shorts, but the fact that she was wearing his shirt wasn't what made him stop, though he thought she was beautiful, it was that fact that she was smiling. Two birds had landed in the open window, destructing Amelia from the rest of the cooking. She grabbed a handful of seeds that she kept in a jar near the window and slowly showed them to the birds. She half expected them to fly away, but to her surprise, they flew over to her hand and started to peck at the seeds. The trust that the birds showed her warmed her heart. She couldn't help but smile.
Seeing that smile made Finnick think that she could perhaps one day heal from the horrors of the Games. She deserves every happiness life has to offer.
Finnick left her to bond with the wild birds as he went back upstairs to change out of his sleepwear. When he comes back he sees that the birds are gone and the table is set with plates of hot salmon, ready to eat.
"You didn't have to cook, you know." Finnick told Amelia after greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. Amelia just smiled sweetly at him in reply, before they silently ate their breakfast.
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The two Victors had planned their day after they ate, first they were going to check on Annie and give her company until lunch, then head to Mags where they were to make hooks for the children in town, who wanted to learn how to fish.
They reached Annie's house in less then a minute, considering that they were neighbors. They walked straight through the front door, not bothering to knock. All Victors were welcomed into the others homes, they were like family to each other. Though if they didn't want to be disturbed they would lock their doors.
They found Annie sitting on a one seater lounge chair, crying. It wasn't abnormal, she would suddenly cry all the time, they couldn't blame her. Amelia made a b-line to her, pulling her up so she could sit down and pulled Annie down onto her lap. Though Amelia is only two years older than Annie, they hold a mother/daughter relationship, it was something Annie was thankful for since her and Amelia's mum were killed by Snow, who wanted to show the women that he was in control. Like with their mothers, the girls also share the grief of losing their fathers, who had died mysteriously at sea, the same time as many children's parents in other Districts.
After lunch at Annie's they headed to Mags. Mags and Annie held a great relationship, they were like grandmother and granddaughter. They would drink tea every now and then, simply enjoying each other's company, since Mags couldn't talk anymore and Amelia chose to be silent, they felt like they could understand each other.
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Now the two Victors were home, sitting on the large lounge, waiting for the President to announce the Quarter Quell, they only had to wait a couple minutes until the holographic TV turned on.
The anthem plays and Finnick holds Amelia's hand, something tells him he isn't going to like what the president is going to say. President Snow walks into the stage followed by a young boy dressed in a white suit, holding a simple wooden box. Seeing this Finnick couldn't help but snort ' like anything in the Capital is simple' he thinks before paying attention again.
The anthem ends, and President Snow begins to speak, to remind Panem of the 'Dark Days' from which the Hunger Games were born. When the laws for the Games were laid out, they dictated that every twenty-five years the anniversary would be marked by a Quarter Quell. It would call for a glorified version of the Games to make fresh memories for those rebelling in the Districts.
President Snow then proceeds to go on to talk about what happened in the previous Quarter Quells and how their children were dying because of their choices.
"And now we honour," The President continues,"Our third Quarter Quell," He pauses as the little boy in white steps forward, holding out the box as he opens the lid. The President removes an envelope clearly marked with a 75. He runs his finger under the flap and pulls out a small square piece of paper
Without hesitation, he reads...
"On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capital, the male and female Tributes will be reaped from the existing pool of Visitors."
The hollow gram switched off, leaving the two Victors, now possibly the future Tributes, to handle the news. Finnick had let Amelia's hand go and had put his head in his own, slightly pulling at his hair, before he finally snapped. He jumped up from the lounge and started to break and smash anything within reach. Amelia was still sitting, not moving and eyes empty from any emotion, not even flinching at the sound of glass shattering. She simply just sat, until she felt that Finnick was too angry to be in the same room with, she didn't want to risk being hit with a flying shard of glass and experiencing the pain.
Her feet moved on their own as they guided her out the backdoor and down a thin path that led to a secluded beach.
(Update 2.July.22)
-1671 words-