Renata felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck as she followed Finnick through the crowded basement, her hand slick with sweat. This was the rebellion? They looked like a bunch of weathered long liners. Her heart was pounding and she felt the overwhelming feeling that she didn't belong there.
Finnick stopped and she ran into his back, hugging her arms to his chest and shivering from the dampness of the basement. "Have you got the frequency?" he murmured to a man that was fiddling with what looked to be a TV projector. As if on cue, the light turned on and there was the image of an older, stoic looking man before them. "Plutarch."
"Finnick." He gave a small nod, his eyes going to Rini. "And this will be our female tribute. Renata Crane, was it?"
She blinked and furrowed her brow. "Kelde," she corrected him, glancing at Finnick. Tribute?
"No, she's not going back in." Finnick ignored her glance and stared at the image with a serious, business-like expression on his face. "But she deserves to be included in this."
Plutarch thought this over for a minute, nodding. "Fair enough. As you know, the tributes for the Quarter Quell are going to be reaped from the past victors-" He was cut off by a gasp from Renata's lips, and he gave her a curious look before continuing. "Half of you will be involved in the extraction of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark."
"Why the boy?" someone from the crowd spoke up, and there were a few murmurs of agreement.
"Haymitch has informed us that in order for Katniss to cooperate, the boy needs to come too. And we need her, so he's part of the deal. Half the districts are in on this extraction. You, Three, Six, Seven, Eight, and Eleven will all be working to get the tributes from Twelve out and to District Thirteen."
"Johanna," Finnick murmured and he nodded, having begun to pace in front of the projector.
"Thirteen?" Renata whispered. She wasn't the only one puzzled over Plutarch's statement. "But…but I thought-" She looked to Finnick for some kind of explanation but again he ignored her.
"What's the arena going to be? Surely you aren't going to send us in blind," Finnick muttered, the rest of the basement quiet so they could hear the two converse.
Plutarch smiled at that, the pride on his face uncanny for a gamemaker. "We're still working out the plans, but don't worry. It will be catered to your advantage. We need you and the others for this to work. It's time things were changed, and the time to act is now. Katniss Everdeen is the mockingjay. While she lives, the rebellion lives."
Renata felt goosebumps on her arms and she rubbed them away, looking from the projection to Finnick, who was nodding firmly. She reached out for his arm when the projector shut off, about to burst with questions.
"Let's go," he murmured, slipping his hand with hers.
"You're going back in," Renata murmured. It was nighttime, and the two of them sat at the end of the dock behind the houses in Victor's Village. Finnick's sailboat bobbed gently in the water beside them. It was quiet now. All the rioting from earlier seemed to be contained, but only on the surface. There was a hidden undercurrent coursing through the district, and it felt unstoppable.
Finnick sighed, his knuckles brushing over her hand. "I'm going back in. But it'll be different."
"Simpler?"
"I don't know about simpler, but…" He trailed off and shivered, the air rolling off the ocean a bit cold. "We'll certainly have somewhat of an upper hand. What are you thinking?" He looked at her, the light of the moon giving off enough glow so that they could see one another.
Renata shrugged and she pulled the blanket she had grabbed off of Finnick's boat tighter around herself. "I'm afraid."
"I figured. I can't tell you that it's going to be okay, because if something went wrong, I…" He trailed off again when she gave him a look. "You'll be safe. That's all that matters. When they get us out, they'll come for you too. We'll be together in Thirteen." He reached over and held her chin in his hands, looking into her eyes for a moment before pressing a kiss to her lips. "And if you're here, I won't have to worry about you getting hurt in the arena."
"I won my games out of luck," she said quietly, closing her eyes when he kissed her forehead.
"I know," he whispered.
"I'd just be baggage if I went back in."
He pursed his lips, sitting back to get a good look at her. "Renata?"
The redhead was staring out into the darkness, a determined look on her face. "You could train me."
"What?" He sounded dumbfounded. What did she mean?
"If you train me, you wouldn't have to worry about protecting me. I could hold my own or at least protect myself." As she spoke, a smile grew on her face. "Train me, Finnick. I can do it."
Finnick stared at her in disbelief, unable to find words. "Train you? No! No, absolutely not! I can't believe you would even ask me that! You're staying here."
She narrowed her eyes at him and he groaned inwardly. Had he really thought she was going to comply? "Says you. Tell me, who else would be going in? Mags?"
"Librae," he muttered, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "Or Muscida."
"She's in her fifties!"
"Librae is forty-something."
"And I'm eighteen! I'll be nineteen before the games! I know that I'm not exactly a champion, but I could at least last longer than the others! They wouldn't have to die!" she exclaimed, resisting the urge to shove him into the water. She stood and stared down at him as he sat motionless. "Last time I checked, you weren't my husband. And you aren't my mentor anymore, so you can't tell me what I will and won't do."
Finnick got up suddenly and towered over her, looking intimidating in the lack of light. "Why do you want to go back in? You've had more than you can handle since you stuck that ice pick through Kain's neck, and you want to just jump back into that? Why?"
"I want to be with you," Renata said firmly, refusing to break his eye contact. "If something happens to either of us and we're apart, I don't know what I'll do. I want to be a part of this, Finnick. Please, can't you see? I need this."
"This won't bring Cecil back."
"I know. Don't you think I know that?" she raised her voice. "I deserve this as much as you do. I don't want to wait around here while you're in the arena. I want to stay by your side."
He swallowed and licked his lips, tasting salt. "You could get hurt, you could be killed. I can't…"
"The same could happen to you," she pointed out, reaching her hand up to touch his cheek. They were quiet for a moment, standing together at the end of the dock. "Train me, Finn," she whispered.
He stood straighter and pursed his lips, giving her a long look. "I'm not your mentor anymore," was all he said before brushing past her and leaving her alone on the dock.
Renata swayed when she made it to the door of her latest client. She caught herself on the doorpost and waited for the dizziness to pass. What was wrong with her? She had never had a reaction to the birth control shot before, but now she felt awful. There was no choice, though; she had to grit her teeth and bear it. She heard footsteps coming to the door before she knocked and when it opened, she almost frowned in confusion.
"You're here! Wonderful," the white haired young woman smiled, beckoning her to come in. Why did she seem so familiar? Had she been in Seneca's crowd? As if sensing her confusion, she smiled and took her coat. "I haven't seen you in person since your wedding. Such a beautiful ceremony it was." She sighed and opened her mouth to continue, but was interrupted by a couple of manly chuckles.
"Marielle, you coming back?" a man called.
"Yes, love!" Marielle winked at Rini and motioned for her to follow her down the bare hallway towards the voices. "We're all here now. I believe you know each other."
Renata smiled at the older man, but she stopped cold in her tracks when she saw who was sitting beside him. Finnick was looking back at her with an equally stunned expression. He stood up and smoothed over his surprise with a smile, putting his hand to her hip and drawing her close so he could kiss her cheek.
"You aren't supposed to be here," he murmured in her ear, his voice low. He then addressed the couple. "I believe there's a bit of a mistake," he said with a charming laugh. "You only need one of us, I'd be happy to-"
"No, this is right," Olivier smirked, taking a pull of his wine. "Let me explain. Come here, red, come get acquainted with me."
She swayed a little and stumbled as she went over to him, parking herself in his lap. "I'm all ears," she purred, swallowing back her distaste.
"Our marriage has been…somewhat strained as of late. I never minded letting Marielle have her fun with Finnick, but then I wondered, what about me?"
Renata rolled her eyes inwardly. Of course he did.
"So I thought we could all have a little fun together. All of us," Olivier smiled and he rubbed Rini's back, making her shiver.
"Oh?" Finnick muttered, raising a brow. He was trying so hard not to show his anger; she could see the cracks in his façade. "Is that so?"
"Don't tell me you wouldn't jump at the chance to have these two beautiful ladies, Odair," he laughed and his hand went down Renata's side. He raised his eyebrows when Finnick opened his mouth to retort, but Rini interrupted him.
"I think Finnick is just being shy," she smirked, standing up and sauntering over to the man. "You aren't too proud to fuck your old tribute, are you? I know I thought about it." She leaned in and gave his lips a teasing kiss, hearing Marielle giggle and move to the couch where her husband sat. "Just do it, okay?" she whispered when she pulled away, her lips sweeping over his earlobe. "I want you to watch," she addressed the two. "Watch how well we can fuck."
Olivier grinned and he motioned for her to start, running his hands up and down his wife's sides.
Rini pulled her dress off over her head, looking into Finnick's eyes as she undressed the rest of the way. This was the worst thing that could have happened. Being forced to have sex with one another, it was like having the one thing they cherished between themselves ripped away from them for the pleasure of someone else. This had to have happened on purpose, to remind them that they weren't human. They existed for the pleasure and happiness of others. She could see the burning in his eyes as she climbed into his lap, his hands mechanically running along the curved planes of her skin.
"Hold on." He stopped her and stood up, undressing without giving the other two so much as a glance. He snuck a pill into his mouth before crawling onto the couch and lying between Renata's open legs, kissing her hard on the mouth. He grunted loudly, sucking at her lower lip and stopping for a minute, steadying himself with an arm. "Sorry," he mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Everything alright?" piped Marielle from the peanut gallery.
"Just a little dizzy. I'm alright." He opened his eyes and furrowed his brow when Renata gave him a worried look. "I'm fine." He kissed down her neck and Rini whimpered again when she felt his hardness against her. She felt no pleasure when he made his way inside her. It wasn't painful, it was just there. No emotion, no feelings attached to the act.
She held onto his shoulders as he thrust, the cries of elation spilling from her lips sounding so empty to her ears. Tears pricked at her eyes and she couldn't look him in the eyes, so instead she buried her face in his neck, praying that it would be over quickly. His hands held her tighter as he came closer to his orgasm, and hers was nowhere in sight.
She started breathing heavily, faster and faster, her fingernails biting into his skin. What was happening to her? The dizziness had come back, and she cried out in fear, sounding quiet to the loud groan that came from Finnick. He had finished and what didn't fit inside her came slowly oozing out down her thighs. By the time he had pulled out, she was seizing, feeling unattached but still in her body. The last thing she heard before the darkness overcame her was Finnick yelling her name.
Thanks for reading!
-Kelsey x