AN: Does anyone know what the Imagine Dragons mean with: "Love is a polaroid."? We both don't know it, and Google isn't exactly in our favor.
Anyway, here's the new chapter! It's a bit delayed because:
BobSaysHelloFromNL was sick (That's what you get for running around in only a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt in the winter. Yeah, not so smart, but we were playing hide-and-seek…)
Nikki-loves-crossovers was lost in the fairytale forest. (Don't even ask…)
BobSaysHelloFromNL bought a new fish (His name is Rainbow)
Nikki-loves-crossovers ate sushi (Not BobSaysHelloFromNL her fish!)
BobSaysHelloFromNL got addicted (to Suits fanfics)
Nikki-loves-crossovers got addicted (to ''The Son of Neptune''(BobSaysHelloFromNL has already read BoO, otherwise she would've been addicted too))
BobSaysHelloFromNL had to write her other stories, who are also delayed
Nikki-loves-crossovers had to listen to Imagine Dragons
BobSaysHelloFromNL was more than wiling to listen to Imagine Dragons their new album 'Smoke + Mirrors' all day long
Nikki-loves-crossovers had to be excited for the Katy Perry concert on 04-03-2015 (Not that it was so hard for her)
Disclaimer: we don't own anything.
Chapter VII: Finnick doesn't taste good!
Percy's P.O.V
After the whole compass incident we decided to stay there for a while, nearby the water.
"Do you know how many tributes are left?" I asked Finnick. He shrugged in response. I sighed and sat down next to him, feet in the water. "Shall we find something to eat?"
"Let's unpack the backpack first." He suggested. I agreed and reached behind me to grab it.
"Okay, let's see… rope, throwing knives-" Finnick suddenly perked up at that. "How many?"
"Umm…" I dumped the contents of the backpack on the ground. "Three… and also a sleeping bag. Look at that! A Swiss army knife!" I excitedly held up the knife with a broad grin.
"Great." Finnick said.
I frowned at him, was there something wrong? "Are you alright, Finnick?"
He shook his head dejectedly. I put my hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"
He sighed. "You could've been dead because of my stupidity."
I scoffed and gave him a weird look. "Seriously? That's what got you so sad? It's not your fault I die on a daily basis."
"Yes, it is." He complained. "If it weren't for me you would still be in your own time period."
"Exactly. If it weren't for you I would've been having a dreamless sleep for I don't know how long." I reasoned. "Now, shut up and help me put this stuff back into the backpack." I collected the items and Finnick held the backpack open.
"Alright then, let's find some food." Finnick stated, looking a bit cheerfuller than before.
We went deeper into the woods, collecting berries. Sometimes when we saw animals Finnick would throw a knife at it. He always hit right in the mark and I had to admit that it was impressive. It had started to rain slightly, but we both didn't mind it at all. Suddenly I stopped walking and Finnick bumped into me.
"Percy?" he asked in confusion. I concentrated on our surroundings, but I couldn't find what had alarmed me. I thought that someone moved, but there was nobody except for us. Still, I was on high alert.
"It's nothing." I dismissed. No need to worry him if it really was nothing.
He looked unconvinced but nodded. We continued our search for food, making sure to not lose each other.
"Finnick, is this edible?" Without turning around I held up a green berry with black dots on it that was bigger than most other berries. I waited for a response but I didn't get one. However, I did hear some muffled sound that made me worry enough to face him.
"Finnick!" My eyes widened at the sight of Finnick's upper body being stuck in a huge green plant with black dots. I let the berries drop and ran up to him, sword at a ready to cut the plant. "Let go of him!" I shouted at the plant, and don't call me a plant whisperer.
It didn't listen. Instead Finnick screamed something that I didn't catch. 'Say it again.' I told him.
'Get me out of this thing!' He panicked.
I rolled my eyes. 'No shit, Sherlock. What do you think I'm trying to do here?'
I swung my sword at it and the blade struck the plant low enough to not hit Finnick, but it didn't get through the plant. I paled and tried it again. And again.
I threw the sword on the ground in frustration and pulled out Riptide. But even my beloved sword couldn't get through a stupid Finnick-eating plant!
'Percy, what is taking you so long!' Finnick complained loudly in my head, trying to give me a headache or something.
'The plant won't die!' I exclaimed and gritted my teeth.
'What?!' Finnick started trashing around even wilder than before, he almost kicked me in the face.
'Calm down, Finnick!' I ordered, trying to sound calm myself. 'Tell me what happened, maybe that helps.'
I could imagine him scowling at me now. 'I was looking for some berries when I got attacked by this black hole of a plant!'
'And you managed to get eaten…' I rolled my eyes at our luck. 'Do you see something in there that could help you escape?'
He went silent for a moment and I was worried that he ran out of oxygen and died. But then he responded. 'Not exactly, I think that maybe the plant is venomous. Is that even possible?'
I gulped. 'Eh, don't worry about it. You're not stuck in the poison, are you?'
'Well, actually… I think I am.' He tried to stay cool, but I could tell that he was freaking out. I grabbed a hold of his legs, frantically trying to pull him out and ignoring his comment of: 'Oh, and now you start pulling!'
He didn't move an inch and deep down we both knew it. 'Percy, stop. It's not working.' Finnick sounded defeated. Anger bubbled up in me and I pulled even harder. 'Percy!' He said with a stern voice, but also a bit in pain. I let go of him and balled my hands into fists.
'What should I do then, Finnick? I'm not going to sit by while you get poisoned or eaten by a dam plant!' I punched the plant and immediately regretted it since its skin was like iron. The pain quickly faded away because of the rain, though.
'Calm down, Percy.' I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Out of nowhere a plan formed inside my head. 'Finnick, can plants drown?'
'What? No, they can't.' He replied ridiculed.
I groaned, why don't my plans work like I want them to? Wait… Plants contain water. And if Finnick is right, there is poison too, although I'm not so sure that I can control that out here. But the water must be enough to cause an explosion from the inside. Just like with the Nemean Lion, its skin is like iron, but the inside is vulnerable.
'Brace yourself.' I told Finnick, not explaining my genius plan. I concentrated hard on the plant, more specifically the water. I heard the water bubbling inside of the plant. 'What are you doing?' Finnick asked me suspiciously. 'Nothing.' I said with an innocent voice, still concentrating. Then I heard a sound of a balloon popping, but then much harder. I got blasted away by the shockwave and fell backwards on the ground.
"Percy, what have you done!"Finnick shouted from somewhere above me. Dazed I opened one eye carefully, closing it again as a slimy liquid landed on my face. I wanted to groan, but luckily I changed my mind, otherwise my mouth would've been full of slime too.
I raised a hand up to my face and wiped most of it away. The rain helped too. I sat up and saw that almost everything was covered in green slime. "Finnick?" He was nowhere to be seen, but I swore that I heard him after the explosion.
"Up here!" I looked up, but got blinded by another load of slime falling from the tree I sat under.
Wiping it of again I stood up to get away from the slime-covered tree. I found the sword that I had thrown away in frustration and picked it up. "What are you waiting for, Finnick, come down here!"
"I'm trying, but I'm not used to climbing trees!" He shouted down.
"You don't have to climb it, just let gravity do it's work."
"I'd rather not break my neck, but thank you for the advice, Percy."
I rolled my eyes at his response. "Just fall down and I will make a water pillow under the tree for you! Trust me."
"Okay, here I go!" My eyes widened, not expecting him to actually do it the moment I suggested. Oh gods, he is already falling!
I extended my arms and willed all the water I could find to collect under the tree. And that was a lot, thanks to the rain.
Finnick landed with a big splash and sank to the bottom of the water pillow. I let it drop again and ran up to him. "Are you okay?"
He slowly nodded. "Yeah, think so. From now on we need to be careful with those plants."
I nodded in agreement. "How about we find shelter for the night and get some rest while we can."
As if someone decided to get us going the rain started to pour even harder and dark clouds gathered above us. Finnick also noticed it. "I think the Gamemakers want to get rid of that slime as much as I do."
"Let's get going-" a flash of light blinded me and at the same time the tree we were standing under got struck by lightning. I have to admit that at the moment I was kinda grateful for Thalia zapping me so much that I got used to it a bit. But Finnick clearly wasn't used to it. He grabbed his head, maybe to block out the loud sound of thunder, maybe because we were so close to the lightning, maybe both. Whatever his reason was, we had to get away from the storm.
I grabbed Finnick's arm and pulled him away from the tree. Only then did I notice the smell of smoke and the incredible heat. I looked up and saw that the upper-half of the tree was on fire. A branch fell of but wasn't even close to hitting us. However, it was enough to let the fire spread even more, and soon we had to run for our lives.
