Author's Note: Yes, I'm still alive.
Sorry, I've started a new job and its been leaving me very tired and busy, so I haven't been doing much writing. Obviously, but I finished off this chapter, so I had better post it.

Hope you all enjoy and as you know reviews are much loved.

Chapter Twenty-Five

I woke to the sound of Finnick's laughter still ringing in my ears and I felt an ache in my heart when I saw I was still in my little rocky cove and not safely tucked away in his arms.

It seems like a long time since I've had a dream that didn't include the sounds of screaming children, of blood and death.

It was a nice change and it was nice to dream of Finnick, even when the dream was about a time when he was still so lost and broken from his own games. It took a long time for him to become the person that he is now, to not react to things that reminded him even in the slightest about his own games.

I wondered if I survived my own games, would I survive reality as well as he and grandma do? Somehow, deep in my heart, I doubt it.

I ran my hand over my belly, feeling the swell of it and amazed that my child had managed to survive so long in this awful game.

I quickly cringed away from this thought. I would survive and so would my child.

I stayed tucked into my sleeping bag for quite some time, until mid-morning at least for I felt no need to get up.

I wasn't hungry yet and if I wanted I could always fish. I didn't need to go out and find any more wood, I had enough of it from all my gathering yesterday, so really I could simply stay where I was and there would be no consequences for doing so. I was quite comfortable staying put for the moment.

That is until the loneliness start to get to me, the quiet and lack of movement around me. I didn't realise how much I missed the sound of human voices and the movement of another human nearby.

I've never been a social person, but I have always had at least one person nearby me during all hours of the day and night. And now, nobody. At least that I know of. For all I know Jade might be climbing over the very rocks that protect this cove searching for me even now.

I cringe away from that unhappy thought even though my eyes instinctively start searching for any signs of movement against the rocks hanging over my head. None… I was almost disappointed… almost.

I wonder what Garth, the rude red-head and Willow were doing right now. Are they searching for food along the beach? Or still trying their luck at finding and trapping food in the woods?

A part of me wants to go and search for them, while the rest of me simply wants to stay put and try and survive these games on my own. I was feeling enough grief as it was from the last group I had been involved in; I didn't need or want to add anymore by trying to get myself involved in another.

But unbidden, worry for the others, Sera, Jep and Cole eat at my insides.

Had Jade killed them yet? No, I hadn't heard any cannons being fired. Not since… I shook my head, banishing that particular train of grief from my immediate thoughts.

I hoped that they remembered everything I had taught them on how to survive, what berries and plants were good to eat and which ones weren't. How to set up traps and so on to catch food.

When are you going to accept for you to survive, everyone else must die? An angry part of me growled and I sigh and shook my head, hoping to shake all thoughts of… everyone in these games from my head. Yes, it wouldn't do to keep thinking and worrying about them when I need them dead to live.

But did I even…

Stop! The angry part of me snarled and I again sigh and crawled out of my sleeping bag, knowing that the only way for me to clear my mind of all thoughts of the other tributes was to get myself busy and doing something, to start thinking about the task at hand so as to have no thoughts left for any of them.

It worked for a little while as I organised my little cove, unpacking my pack of things that I wouldn't need desperately the next time I had to leave my sanctuary and tucked them away into a small, shallow hole in the rock face that I was using as a shelf to store things into.

I tried to make the part of the cove that could be seen from above as clean and as boring as possible, to show no signs that someone might be inhabiting this little area and no tribute would feel the need to investigate further.

I was just starting to get bored – bored? Who would think one would get bored during the Hunger Games? Rather unbelievable really – when I heard somewhere nearby a childish squeal and a small splash.

Without a thought of who might be around and see me leaving my sanctuary I climbed up the rocks and took in my surroundings and sure enough, only a short distance away, I saw a pair of small arms waving above the water near a rocky path that went far out into the lake, with small cries for help accompanying them.

Hesitating though only for a moment I ran over the rocks in a half crouch in the direction of the cries and waving arms.

"Willow?" I called as I slipped into the water near where she struggling to keep her head above the lake's surface.

"Annie?" she choked back before her head went completely under the water. I dove down under the water after her, wrapping my arms around her tiny waist and pulled her to the surface and swam with her to the rocks.

"Willow," I said once I had her safely onto the rocks, "What happen? What are you doing here? Where are the others?"

"Fell in," she replied simply, "while trying to fish."

"Can you swim?" I asked. Her sheepish expression had me letting out a growl of frustration.

"So you came here, by yourself, to fish, even though you can't swim?! What were you thinking?"

"I'm hungry." Her reply was again simply but had me raking my hands through my greasy hair.

"But again, alone? Why didn't you bring anyone with you? I thought you were with Garth and rude, red-head."

"They're too busy fighting over what we should do next to come and actually do anything, so I came by myself."

"Willow," I exclaimed, "this is the Hunger Games! You don't just go wandering off by yourself!"

"You are." She reminded me, "you're by yourself and you seem to be just fine."

"Willow, it's completely different." I argued, "I know how to swim and fish and just how to survive by water. Plus I'm older than you,"

"Yeah, but you have Jade hunting you which means you shouldn't go wandering off without someone watching your back."

"I don't have anyone watching me back, plus I'm not wandering, I'm in the one place in this arena that I feel perfectly safe and comfortable in. You, are not." I say poking her thin, little chest with my finger, causing her to giggle softly.

"You could teach me."

"What?"

"You could teach me to swim and fish so that I would be comfortable and safe here." she said, her grey eyes turning wide and pleading.

I tried to ignore the look, turning my attention over head and towards the roaring waterfall on the other side of the lake.

"Please, Annie."

"Jade is hunting me." I sighed as I looked back her, "if you're with me, she'll kill you without a thought. As I said to the boys yesterday, it's not safe being around me."

"I don't care."

"You will care when you're dead." I snapped harshly back at her. Her grey eyes narrowed, defiance blazing like a grey fire.

"I won't because I'll be dead. I don't care."

"Alright, maybe you don't, but I do. I've spent enough time in these games watching people die, I don't," I looked away from her, "I can't watch anyone else die, not because of me. I can't, Willow. Please go back to the others. You'll be safer with them then you would ever be with me."

"But," Her voice was small and she sounded so young it broke my heart. "I want to stay with you."

"Why?" I asked her incredulously, "I'm, I mean, I was a Career. I did nothing to stop Jade from killing Ronan. You should hate me! Not wanting to join up and be allies with me."

"I don't hate you." She said softly, leaning her head against my shoulder.

I snorted.

"Well, that's means you're silly because you should."

"Nope, I can't and I won't. I don't blame you for Ronan's death and I know my family won't be and don't think he blames you either. If anything you helped him, you stopped Jade from making his final moments of life truly horrible." As she spoke I felt tears start to roll down my face and before I knew I was sobbing.

"Annie?" I felt her skinny arms wrap around me as I cried. "I'm sorry Annie. Did I make you cry? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to make you cry. Please stop crying Annie." After a while my sobs eased and I was able to calm myself down again.

"Are you sure you want to stick with me?" I asked, knowing that I was probably making all my Districts' Victors groan and feel exasperated at me yet again.

She grinned and nodded.

"What about the others?"

She shrugged.

"I was only really close to Garth and I think he knew that I was wanting to leave." She replied as we walked slowly and carefully back to shore.

"But…" I started before simply caving in. If Willow was so determined to stay with me, than fine, I just hoped she didn't die regretting this decision.

After a moments more hesitation, I lead her back to my little cove and inside the safety of its rocky walls, after I wrapped us both in blankets and had dried ourselves the best we could, I gave her her first ever fishing lesson.

She didn't catch anything, it's the wrong time of day to catch fish anyway, but after a few failed attempts at casting, she finally got the hang of it.

I'll need to make another fishing rod, I thought as I settled back against a rocky wall watching Willow practise casting, amused by her determined little face to get it just right, grinning widely when she does.

We don't talk about the games, what horrors we've both seen and have had inflicted upon us. We talk about our families, our homes. I tell her more about the ocean and she talks about the woods surrounding District Twelve. She talks about them in a hushed tone which confirms my suspicion that hunting or even being the woods is against the law, but I don't mention it and she doesn't bring it up.

I catch us fish for dinner, thankful that I had had the luck to catch as many as I did because Willow was ravenous and ate three fish all to herself. But again, I didn't comment on it and slipped her some of my fish when she wasn't looking.

I also didn't say a word when she curled up against me when she grew tired, asking in a shy voice to tell her a story about the ocean. I told her the story about a mermaid who fell in love with human man. It was a doomed love, but it was a story about strength, to strive for what you believe in, for what you wanted, to live your life and having control over your own destiny, your own death, that there was always another option, always.

When I finished the story Willow was fast asleep against my side. I ran my hand over her long, thick black hair, feeling warmth and comfort at having her here with me.

I didn't know what tomorrow would bring or even the next hour but for now, I was content. A strange feeling to feel to be sure, but it was how I felt, for now at least. But it was a feeling I would hold onto and pray that it would remain for a little while longer.

Author's Note: So Annie and Willow have finally become allies. At last! Actually this wasn't how they were meant to join up originally, but as this thing got written, things changed and moved and so on. But it doesn't really matter, they're a team now and will be until the end... and that's all I'm saying. The only reason I'm saying this much is because I have a number of reviewer who have PM me that they don't want Willow to die until basically the last minutes of the Games (and only because she has to or Annie can't win, obviously.). And I'm fine with this because I don't want Will to die either, so don't worry, she will be around for a good many chapters still, don't worry. I just need to write them 'sigh'.
Anyone got any ideas for what should happen at the feast/banquet? I actually forgot about during the intial planning of this fic so I never actually planned for it so I'm open to all ideas. The best idea or the idea that inspires me the most will be what I write, along with a huge thank you to the person who gave me the idea along with a sneak preview to the feast chapter. How does that sound?

Thanks for reading and please review. All ideas and/or suggestions are welcome!
Bye for now!