"Jumpsuits? Really?" complained Katniss, shifting around the broad, purple belt that brought the outfit together.
"It wouldn't have been my first choice either," remarked Cinna.
"What happened to the stuff from last time? I'd rather look like I'm about to go camping after my trip to the North Face store then whatever this is supposed to be."
Just like a year ago, the two of them stood together until the signal came for Katniss to take her place on the metal plate. The thick glass slid down around her just as Cinna opened his mouth for some parting words. She could hear the muffled sounds of heavy footsteps, and then a squad of Peacekeepers rushed into the room. Two seized Cinna by the arms while one smashed a baton into his temple. After that it was a free-for-all of fists and boots.
"You think that's going to affect me?" scoffed Katniss, "I saw little kids get killed; you better step your game up, Mr. President."
The plate brought her up into the daylight, and bright blue waves sparkled around her. Taking in her surroundings, she saw that, along with one other victor, she was between two strips of beach that ran to the Cornucopia, with somewhat of a lengthy swim in between.
"A water level? I was kind of hoping for an underground one," she said to nobody.
Without hesitation, Katniss plunged into the bracing water at the signal. Mentally calculating the amount of time it would take to reach the beach and sprint the rest of the way, she scanned the waves for others between strokes. Scrambling up the soft slope of sand, heart hammering, she reached the Cornucopia.
"Wow, nobody is even here yet," she observed, shouldering a pair of bows and their matching quivers, "I guess I must be a good swimmer after all."
"But do you know who's a great swimmer?"
A loaded bow was swiftly directed at the voice. "You again?"
Finnick smirked nearby, trident raised. "Me again. Don't worry though, we're allies."
"Since when?"
He held out his wrist. Catching the tropical sun was a golden band that read 'Haymie's Friendship Club'.
Katniss's bow remained steady as she groaned inwardly at her mentor's choices.
"Head's up!" shouted Finnick, his smirk vanishing as he speared the victor who had been approaching Katniss from behind.
She too switched into kill-mode, firing at the District 1 and 2 tributes who ducked back into the waves to avoid her. Sliding a second trident out of it's position in the Cornucopia, Finnick stood back to back with her as she defended their slice of beach.
"If you got what you need, we should go," said Finnick.
With a glance behind her shoulder towards the metal horn, Katniss replied, "You know, I wonder if they've ever put something totally overpowered at the very bottom. Maybe like a gun, armor, or a magic wand."
"Look," Finnick pointed with his trident, "There's Peeta."
"All that bread must be weighing him down so he can't swim," explained Katniss.
Gracefully splitting the waves, Finnick made for Peeta's plate. Watching from the shore, Katniss saw him tow her fiance to the mainland. Mags, bobbing along with the help of the inflatable belts, paddled her way towards them as well.
"Oh, hey, I didn't expect you to last this long," Katniss commented.
The elderly woman mumbled a response.
"Don't get me wrong," said Katniss, selecting some lengthy knives and placing them in her belt, "You're cute, but when we're the last team left, you're done-zo."
Finnick made a couple of additions to his own belt, then looked towards the forest that lay on the opposite ends of the beach-strips. "Let's go."
"But first, a team name," said Katniss.
"What about Team mockingjay?" suggested Peeta.
Katniss, incredulous, said, "I'm going to pretend that you never said that."
"The Teen Murder Squad?" was Finnick's input.
"I'm not even sure Peeta's killed anyone though. Also, Hags isn't a teen."
Sand shifted as Finnick took an anxious swivel around. "True, true."
"We're going to be the Final Four," said Katniss definitively, "So that we're all constantly reminded that our goal is to be the final four people, and then we'll have to kill each other."
Their name decided upon, the group started for the forest that was the outer circle. Unlike the deciduous forests Katniss was acquainted with, this one was lush and damp. A true jungle of sprawling leaves and vines, she felt thoroughly outside of her element. True to classic Hunger Games strategy, they planned to get to the border before beginning their search for a sustainable source of water.
Wiping the sweat from her hands onto her jumpsuit, Katniss stepped up onto one of the limbs of a nearby tree. "I think I'm going to try and get a better view."
After temporarily vanishing into the canopy, Katniss reappeared. "Sure seems like a lot of people are already dead."
"Could you tell how many exactly?" asked Finnick, letting Mags off of his back.
"Not really," Katniss brought her loaded bow casually up to about chest height with a shrug, "Some people, is all."
Finnick raised his trident slightly, looking at the tip intently as if examining it. "Alright."
"Yeah," she slowly drew her string back an inch or two, "Just thought you'd like to know."
Stepping in between them, Peeta stretched exaggeratedly, raising his arms above his head. "Guess we better be moving, huh?"
"Lead the way," muttered Katniss.
And he did, hacking a path through the underbrush, knife flashing. "You know," he said, panting slightly, "I think an underground l-" his thought was cut off, however, when he struck a seemingly invisible wall with a violent crackle and was knocked back.
Katniss rushed to his side. "No! I'm in love with the strategic benefits our romance provides me with!"
As Finnick let Mags off of his back and hurried over, Katniss held two fingers to her partner's throat just beneath the chin and pressed down lightly. As she slowly removed them, she calmly stated. "I feel nothing... in more ways than one."
Finnick slid down onto his knees beside them and began performing rapid chest compression. Katniss got up and stood off at a distance. When he checked his team member's pulse for himself and saw that his method was failing, he took a deep breath and placed his mouth over Peeta's.
"When you said this was going to become a love square, I did not know that this was what you meant. I mean, this is for kids."
Peeta gasped to life. Finnick looked directly into the nearest tree trunk, betting that it would contain one of thousands of cameras throughout the arena. "There's nothing gay about saving lives, kids."