It was shortly before dawn, a violent streak of red light painting the horizon as Coral beat her familiar route down towards the sea. As was the norm, her father had left before she'd finished breakfast. With winter coming along, she found she didn't mind it so much. The mornings were crisp. Far more enjoyable than the cloying humidity that plagued the summer months.

"Coral!" Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she was slow to react. Almost at the marina, it was rare for anyone to flag her down before making it to the boat. Soft footfalls followed behind her. She turned to see Finnick. A bag was slung over one shoulder, his face was still lined with sleep but it was the broad smile that caught her most off guard. They'd formed a companionable peace. Trust. With just him, her and the sea beyond them – his smile was nothing short of dazzling.

Shaking off the feeling, she rested a hand against her hip and spoke almost accusingly. "You're not on my roster Odair."

Finnick rolled his eyes, a hand waving as he tried to catch his breath and unearth something from his jacket pocket.

"I know, I know. I needed to give – AHA - this to you before you left." A slip of paper was held out. Coral took it gingerly, flipping it over to see Mags' neat script inside. A quick scan revealed it was nothing more than a shopping list. "I'm going out on my boat today and won't be back in time for dinner so she'll need groceries done. This way I spare you both making unnecessary trips."

Coral tucked the note, still warm from his pocket, into her own. "Thanks."

Unsure what else there was to be said, the pair of them stood opposite one another a long stretch before she cleared her throat in the same moment Finnick announced he should be getting on.

"Yeah, me too. Fish to catch right?" Another grin lifted and Coral returned it, unnerved by the second genuine smile she'd received in a matter of minutes. Now that he trusted her, completely, the mask was gone. What lay beneath was enough to scramble her brain each time it was trotted out before her. This Finnick wore his smile like a sunrise. Golden and vibrant, shadows cast violently aside. A disruption behind them made the expression vanish, the smile shifting into his façade. The curve of his mouth became more of a smirk, his eyes more calculating.

"Tully, good to see you." Coral turned to see the man in question looking at them inquisitively from a meter away.

"You too Odair. Joining us today?"

Finnick shook his head and made his excuses, glancing back at Coral only once more to say his goodbyes. She just about managed to respond before he vanished along the path once more. Tully, wisely, said nothing when she made a bumbling turn back to the boat and snapped that they were late. Indeed, she was left alone to dwell on her off-kilter state of being for much of the excursion to the fishing grounds. There was work to be done, after all. Idle gossip didn't become them. Or so she thought.

Tully, about as subtle as a brick through a window when he sidled up to her on the boats return, rested his arm on the last boxes they'd unloaded to the dock. He smiled. Slow. Dangerously.

"So," He dragged the word out too long, enough so that Coral immediately wanted to shove him into the water behind him, "You and Odair?"

"Me and Odair what?"

"No bad words from me Coral, just – I thought you were more like me?" She nearly dropped the end of the icebox she was holding as she started to laugh.

"What, into guys or gay? Those aren't overlapped when I'm not a man Tully." While their interactions had always been friendly, the past few weeks the man had been chattier than ever. Another one of the strange experiences of recent times. Coral wasn't sure if it was something she'd done or some new impression he had of her but she wasn't entirely averse to it either. Mornings on the boat had become far more enjoyable when she wasn't being catty to everyone.

He chuckled, giving the box they'd stacked a quick shake to ensure the fish inside were still covered in ice.

"Into girls then. You and Av-," He broke off in the middle of her name, eyes seeking for Coral's response. "I just thought."

"I like girls," Coral answered, "But I also like guys. I swing any way I suppose. Though I do not swing for Finnick Odair." Tully raised a dark and bushy brow, expression saying he didn't believe her.

"And this morning wasn't him seeing you off?" Snorting, Coral tightened the cords around the stacked row and signalled for another worker to come and transport the boxes down to the market. Peacekeepers there would distribute the load. The rest would be going direct to the factories.

"This morning," A huff as she pulled off her gloves and unearthed the shopping list, "Was an errand for Mags. Honestly, Pat, the more I get to know you the bigger a gossip you become."

Tully threw his head back in laughter, shrugging off her jab. He didn't deny it either. Coral replaced the shopping list into her pocket while he was still sniggering to himself.

"I promised I'd bring home all the stories. Wouldn't be a good husband if I didn't, now would I?" Grudgingly, Coral agreed. Trouble was, in Four, idle gossip grew quick moving legs. An innocent snowball became an avalanche in a few days. She wasn't sure what kind of landslide could emerge from a rumour about her and Finnick but either way, she didn't like it. It was better to nip it quickly in the bud.

"Pat, the day I fawn over Finnick Odair is the day I throw my senses out the window. Besides, he's too fucking pretty."

Tully made a noise that sounded altogether unbelieving. Coral doubled down. "Come on, can you imagine? I tried to murder him less than six months ago. Feelings like that don't change. I might've softened a bit but I haven't melted altogether and that, that, won't happen. Now leave off."

What threw her when she glanced back up was the concern in his eyes. A touch of alarm twisted around his mouth. He was looking at her funny, peeling the gloves off his hands and tucking them into his waterproofs. With the boxes gone, it was just the two of them alone again. Tully reached out to ruffle her hair.

"If you insist. Just," He patted her cheek with a rough hand the size of a shovel, "Remember to have fun now and again. No matter how you swing. You're still a kid Coral. It's okay to act like it from time to time. Now go clean up and get off to school before you're late."

Grumbling out of her waterproofs but unable to argue the point further, Coral took the quickest shower of her life before practically racing to her classes.

Six hours.

That was all it took for her own premonition to catch up with her.

Exiting the market with the shopping bags for Mags, Coral felt a shudder run the length of her spine when she heard a very female voice call out.

"Co-co! How areyou?" Stalled like a deer in headlights, the blonde looked up from the punnet of peaches she'd been balancing on top of the basket. Right into the eyes of Mallory Pine. They were the same age, both blonde and fair and once upon a time had been the best of friends. At least on the surface. Together the pair had thrived on torturing their fellow classmates, reminding them of their inferior statuses while showing off their own as a badge of gilded honour. Mallory's family ran one of the few bespoke shoe stores in the district and for that, they gained a high honour. Mass-produced footwear was one thing, but a pair of actually fitted boots that could be worn on the boats? It was sometimes the difference between life and death. The Pine's had flourished hand in hand with the Swans.

Funny, now that she was looking at the girl, Coral was sure the last time they'd spoken was the day of Ford's reaping. The memory was difficult to hold on to, full of sharp pointed edges that sought only to draw blood. It's going to be okay. Coral had repeated that mantra so many times that day. Convinced she wasn't going to be reaped. Convinced her brother wouldn't be either. She'd said it to Mallory with condescension before the names were drawn, filled with an assurance only a twelve-year-old could bear.

Flexing her grip against the basket handle, Coral's eyes slipped past the blonde to her two companions behind. These girls she didn't know all that well - a redhead and brunette that had been in their year but too far beneath them for engaging with. Except, of course, to spew wretched accusations and taunting remarks to. It was almost hilarious to be standing opposite them now. Of the four, Coral had been the one to fall the furthest.

She'd lost her brother, her school, and her reputation in one fell swoop.

Until Aveline, she'd been angry over that.

Until Finnick, she'd believed that it was the worst thing in the world.

Now she was only tired. Bored almost.

"Mallory." She stressed the full length of the name, refusing to unearth the old nickname she'd called the other girl. They weren't the same people now. No use in pretending otherwise. "What brings you down to the dredges?"

There were better stores around the main square, stores where the wealthier citizens frequented. Coral had chosen to shop at the market out of a combination of habit and the desire to buy Mags' peaches. She preferred the ones that were a little older. She said they weren't too sweet. Plus, shopping in the lower level markets meant she could avoid meetings like this.

"I heard a rumour…" Mallory began. Coral raised a brow at the attempt at a suspenseful pause. Trust Mallory Pine to make this experience more drawn out and wasteful than it needed to be.

"Bully for you. What has that to do with me? I have to get to work."

Coral made to move around Mallory and was met with a raised arm. Eyes flickering down, she saw the stained fingertips that betrayed Mallory's profession. Working with leather and dyes was inevitably going to stain the skin. Somehow though, the other girl's nails were perfectly rounded. That fact was almost more annoying than anything else. Corals own hands curled, hiding the cracked ends of her nails within.

Mallory sank her fingertips into Coral's arm. A silent warning. There was a social hierarchy in place and Coral had already lost her crown. It was just a pity that the expression she wore wasn't warning enough to Mallory that she didn't exactly care.

"I heard a rumour," Mallory continued pointedly, "That you've been spending a lot of time in the victor's village lately."

"I work there. It's difficult to not spend time in one's place of work." The brunette behind them snorted and Coral's eyes moved appreciatively to the girl. She was pretty. Not as much as Aveline had been, but certainly, enough to catch an eye or two. Nails sank into her arm and drew her gaze back to Mallory who wore a tight and dangerous smile. It spoke volumes in a language Coral wasn't sure she understood.

"See, I could understand that. Except it seems you've been walking home from there with Finnick almost every night. People notice such things you know." Mouth going dry, she readied herself for another rash flood of excuses. The ones she'd used on Tully that morning had hardly floated, but for someone like Mallory, they would sink immediately. Worse still, removed from the upper echelons of her Four, Coral had little clue of what sorts of secrets got flung about. Any single one that happened to include her name in association to Finnick's, however, was entirely unwelcome.

Finnick had his fan clubs. Coral avoided most of them since leaving her work at the fish market, but she'd noted enough by now to recognise the trends. Those who sat in the cream of their district admired and desired Finnick for his connections to the Capitol. For his victory. Those in the middle craved acknowledgement from him. Opportunity to be seen. Finally, the dredges wanted the dream. To imagine a chance where he'd pluck them out and make one of them his partner. Someone who could reap the rewards of a place higher in the world they lived in.

She didn't know which of them were worse. Power grabbers or idolisers. They'd pissed her off when she'd disliked Finnick, offering free wares in shops or inviting him to meals. People who didn't know a damn thing about the boy falling over themselves to ingratiate themselves should they ever need a friend in a high place. For Coral now, with more knowledge and perspective, they perpetuated a system where he was little more than a show pony. For all that she denied friendship, it didn't sit right with her to do her level best to ignore those things anymore. With no one else left to protect, why not him?

"I'm glad they have eyes. Pity none of them were able to actually convince him to leave me the hell alone."

Mallory's head tilted. Her eyes reminded Coral of a cat. Wide and calculating.

"So, you're implying he's been the one following you around?" A laugh, "As if he'd ever have anything to do with a person like you. Not after what your father did." More laughter caught on, the kind of awkward merriment that faded out too quick and left emptiness behind.

"What did my father do?" It was out of Coral's mouth before she could stop it. She was met with a knowing look, an expression she didn't like. It had been an easy thing to ignore and avoid Mallory's existence until the other girl was put right in front of her. Coral had retreated into herself after Ford, made sure to ignite each and every attempt at friendship so she didn't have to face the ordeal of being known again. That was the worst thing. Mallory had known her. Even in their mutual evisceration of everyone else, there had been enough there to create a mimicry of friendship. The old familiarity was present now, working its way between her lips. Into her nose. Into every pore. Mallory's expression said that the other girl recognised that fact.

"The rumours are true then?" A smirk. "Aveline Wyndham made sure to trickle gossip place to place, but I never believed it. You were a bitch, but not a murderer. She was just trying to make you seem scary enough so people wouldn't ask questions."

Coral frowned, another flex of her hands against the basket handle. Confusion and anger were bubbling to the surface and neither were welcome. With Mallory, one needed their wits about them. Coral, unfortunately, was fast losing hers.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

She was met with a smile and Mallory stepped back.

"Or were the rumours a lie and you are as evil as your dear old dad? Why else stick around with him? Did you pay people to trickle stories on both sides of the page so no one would know what was true?" Coral blinked, disorientation rising. Mallory was obviously talking nonsense, but then – Mallory worked in needlepoint. She chose her words and actions with care so that each one drew blood.

"Just remember that Finnick is one of my people. He's going places. There's absolutely zero logic in him being interested in someone like you. A district traitor, just like dear dad. Tell me, was your affection for Aveline Wyndham real or did you just woo her so she'd take the fall for you?" The basket crackled as it hit the ground and Coral was stopped from moving by a hand on her upper arm. Red had clouded her vision almost entirely.

"Move along Miss Pine, I'm sure you've got better things to be doing." The calloused fingertips and rough voice had Coral turning to see who had halted her jump to violence. Tully looked more severe than usual as the trio of girls tittered and escaped his glare, a look which was promptly turned on Coral herself.

Defensive, she raised her eyebrows. "What?!"

He huffed and started to walk, barely giving Coral time to retrieve her basket and stagger after him. It was a terse and silent ascent to the village, the ring of his grip leaving five indented marks that would undoubtedly bruise later. She wanted to protest but found herself too out of breath to do so while trying to keep up with his pace.

Finally, the man stopped and boxed her in between both his outreached arms.

"Were those girls telling the truth? Did you know?" Coral blinked, all of her frazzled emotions coming to the fore at once.

"Did I know what?!"

"About your father – did you know Coral I need you to tell me right now." His grip was tight enough to make her arms ache but she hardly noticed. Secrets and accusations. That was what she was caught in. A whirlpool of chaos that she couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"Why do people keep bringing him up?! What is so fucking riveting about my father that he seems to have birthed a whole army of querying minds?" Coral shoved at one of Tully's arms, her own fingertips starting to go numb from the pressure he was using.

"The deal? You don't know about the deal?"

"What deal?" Tully's face went red. Then white. Then almost green. His grip loosened and the man ran a hand through his short hair. It made the strands stick out at odd angles.

"Fuck," He said it more to himself in a manner that could've been relieved or furious, "Fuck fuck fuck." Coral stared at the man, the fragile pieces of her composure giving way.

"No, fuck you! What the hell is going on Pat?" It was the first time in her life she'd called Tully by anything other than Tully and the shock of it was enough to draw his attention back to her. He looked tired when he finally met her eyes. Worn out. An old band of rubber stretched too thin. He was older than her father as it was, but she'd never really thought of him as old. Maybe she'd said it as a means to wind him up, but never in a concrete kind of way.

The lines on his face looked haggard, a sorrowful edge to his frown sapping all the oxygen out of her fire.

"Let's get you back to Mags' place." Tully didn't speak again before they were past the entrance trellis and its now dying vines. When he did, it was to tell her to wait outside because he needed to have a private conversation with the woman inside.

Finnick found Coral sitting on the front step almost an hour later, the basket discarded on the path beneath. A half-eaten peach sampled and discarded. There was an icebox in his arms, bringing with it the scent of fresh catch. He took one glance at her expression and asked -

"What's happened?"

Coral opened her mouth to answer at the same moment the door finally creaked to admit them. Tully stepped out, patted her shoulder and left. Mags beckoned them in. Now she looked weary. Fucking hell, Coral thought, something rotten is going on. She remembered Mags' insinuation about her brother. Her father and mother's night-time discussion. Recalled the gleam in Mallory's eye as she'd leveraged her bladed words against Coral's skin and slid them home.

People were keeping things from her. Huge things.

Mags was signing so rapidly she missed half the words and Finnick's eyes flickered between the woman and Coral before he gave a small sigh. Signed back.

"Coral," He said, "I think this Sunday you should come out on my boat with me." About to protest, she met Mags' eyes. Saw the quiet urgency there. Sunday was two days away. Sunday was too far. About to shake her head and disagree, Finnick cut her off.

"Sunday. It'd be the best time. You can show me all the mistakes I'm making while fishing and I'll regale you with stories."

Her arms ached from Tully's grip. Her ego smarted. None of it was welcome. None of it, apparently, could be solved until Sunday. Moving past them both to put away the shopping, Coral exhaled a reluctant agreement. Patience wasn't her strong suit. Not by any stretch. It seemed she just didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Those stories better be worth my time if I'm to put up with you alone." Finnick gave a grim smile and patted her shoulder.

"Oh, I think you'll find them illuminating. Maybe not very fun though."

"It's better than silence though." She answered stubbornly. Finnick's smile was sad but it was Mags that cut through the tension.

"Sometimes, Coral, it's really not."