A/N: Here it is. Chapter two of Seaweed Cookies! It's a bit shorter than I hoped but I hope you guys like it.
Saying goodbye was never Mera's strong suit. So when she had to say goodbye to her youngest child and only daughter, there was little else she did but cry. Cupping Annie's face in her hands, she told her daughter to use all of those fishing trips with her brothers and father to her advantage. To use her net weaving abilities to her advantage, to do whatever she could to come back home. Mera reached around her neck and unclipped the necklace there. Putting it in Annie's hands before the peacekeepers escort her out.
Her three older brothers came in together somehow, and held her for most of the two minutes they were allowed. When the peacekeepers opened the door, her youngest brother, Alec, smiled at her and said, "Just keep on swimming, Mermaid". It was a nickname she had since she was six.
When she was younger, her family had gone to a secluded beach that had run in her family. She, like most other District 4 children, loved to swim and had frightened her parents by staying under the water for an extended period of time. Her mother, being an extremely strong swimmer, went in after her, only to find Annie examining some coral under the water. When she noticed her mother she just smiled, then got dragged back to the surface.
"Anais Cresta! You scared us half to death!" Her mother said, holding a six year old Annie.
"Sorry, I just wanted to see the pretty coral down there!" the little girl said innocently. Her mother brought her back to the shore, where her father scooped her up and made sure she was okay.
"How is she still alive!?" Her oldest brother, Mathias, who was 12 at the time, asked no one.
"What do you mean?" Annie asked. Her big green eyes confused.
"Annie, you were under the water for five minutes!" Mathias told her. She didn't really see the significance of that because she felt like she could have held her breath for another five minutes if her mother hadn't gotten her.
"She's something like a mermaid, isn't she?" Dylan, the middle brother, said smiling. He had always been the most lighthearted of all of them and made everyone smile. Coming out of the memory, she looked up to see her father come in. He sat down on the ornate couch with her and took her hands in his.
"I believe in you Anais. You can do this, don't cry." He told her tenderly.
"But I don't want to kill, dad." Annie said, eyes threatening to become the ocean they resembled.
"Annie, look at me starfish," He cupped her cheeks, looking her in the eyes, "Believe in yourself. Believe that you can come home. Don't let yourself fear the games, make them fear you."
"But how, dad?!" Annie broke out of the hold. She couldn't make anyone fear her, she was just the pretty girl from district 4. "I'm just a... a mermaid. Who would scared of one of those?!"
"I think you're forgetting that mermaids are not all sweet and innocent. No matter how much we wish they were." Her father smiles, that last part is directed at her, and continues. "Legends say that mermaids lure in sailors with their beauty and enchanting voices to cause shipwrecks. They are dangerous, but look the opposite. You need to use that, Annie."
"I should use my looks?" Annie asks sniffling.
"Yes, mermaid. If that's what you need to do to stay alive. Use your beauty and your knowledge of net weaving and fishing. Make them love you, look how well it worked for Finnick." Her father reasoned.
"But he's Finnick Odair, there's no doubt that he's handsome." She said.
"How can anyone look at you and not see your beauty, mermaid?" he gave her another hug before the peacekeepers opened the door.
"Talk to your mentor! Tell them about it! WIN, ANNIE, WIN!" He yelled as he got dragged out of the room.
Annie was left alone for a few minutes, she had expected her friends to visit her but figured that she wouldn't be allowed too many visitors. Elmas came in through the door and escorted her and Percival to the car that was parked outside. Peacekeepers stood in front of it and helped them into the car. Two more were driving and half an hour later she found herself waiting in District 4's only train station. It was bigger and prettier than she imagined. The golden train rolled to a stop in front of them, captivated by its beauty, both her and Percival hadn't made a move for it until Elmas chuckled and motioned toward it.
"Come on, Finnick and Mags will be here shortly." As if by magic, Mags and Finnick came through the archway and onto the platform. Both wearing what they had been at the reaping ceremony. Finnick wearing dark blue pants, with a light blue button up, and a beige blazer. Mags had on a pretty floral green dress that came to her ankles, and her ever-present smile.
"And here they are! Come now, let's get in, shall we?" Perky as ever, Elmas practically bounced in her sky-high shoes walking into the train.
"Ladies first." Percival shrugs, motioning for her to go first.
"Thank you." She smiled, walking up the steps and onto the train.
The train was gold and Annie couldn't even have imagined the furniture and decorations in her wildest dreams. Elmas gestured to the chair next to her as she smiled. The chair Annie sat down in was quite comfortable and the color reminded her of the ocean on a stormy day. The rest of the party came in after her, all taking seats in the sitting area with her and Elmas.
"I'm Finnick, and this is Mags. This year we were chosen as your mentors." the young man with reddish-blonde hair said, holding out a hand. Both tributes shook his hand. He was handsome, but deadly. Then again, so was the innocent looking old woman sitting next to him. And maybe soon, Annie would be too. She didn't like the thought of that.
"Do either of you have any skills that would come in handy?" He asks casually, as if this is a picnic or business negotiation. To him, though, it probably is, Annie thinks bitterly.
"We can both swim, which many other tributes can't do, right?" Percival says. "I'm pretty strong and I have good aim."
"Decent or good?" Finnick asks, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.
"Good, maybe even a bit better." Percival answers.
"Okay, and you?" Finnick looks at Annie. One ankle crossed over the other, hands in her lap, and sitting like a lady, he thinks that the capitol will love her. He saddens, knowing what happens to pretty girls like her when they win. Or rather, what happens to pretty victors, period.
"I weave a sturdy net, and pretty quickly too. I'm good at catching fish and deep diving, but that won't really help of there's no water." She says.
"There will almost always be water. The capitol doesn't like it when most of the tributes die from natural causes like hypothermia or desert induced dehydration. On the off chance that there is no water, you'll be able to use your looks for sponsors. Come to think of it, both of you, right Ladies?" He asks Mags and Elmas. Mags nods, smiling at the two tributes.
"Oh, of course!" Elmas says clapping her hands. "They both look like gems! Or pearls, if you want to be District appropriate!" There's delight all over her face, as if they aren't discussing Annie and Percival's potential fate, but instead a beauty contest.
Oh great, Annie thinks, they agree with her father.
Mags mumbles something at Annie, but no one understands her. No one except for Finnick, who just smiles and agrees with Mags.
"What?" Percival asks, more at Finnick than Mags. Finnick is about to say something before Mags grabs his forearm.
"Mm her… made" Mags says again. Percival and Elmas still look like they don't understand, and Finnick is about to tell them when Annie speaks up.
"Mermaid?" She asks. Mags nods smiling at her with Finnick. Elmas looks even more delighted now that she understands. Annie just can't believe how much they agree with her father. She hasn't even told them about his plan yet.
"She does looks like a mermaid, doesn't she?!" Elmas is bouncing in her seat from excitement. "The capitol is going to love you. And once they see just how attractive, both of district 4's tributes are they won't be able to get enough!" Finnick has this look in his eyes, like he knows something she doesn't. Annie looks at Percival next to her. He's looking at her too and they shrug at each other.
"There's no denying that you two will be the hottest tributes in this year's games, if not in game's history! Except you, Finnick!" Finnick smiles at Elmas' comment, but Annie can't tell if it's genuine or not.
"So, that's what I'm going to do? Play the pretty girl next door?"
"Maybe. You still have a week to decide what angle you want to play. But right now let's focus on what you can do." He says. "Can either of you light a fire or climb a tree?" Both of them nod.
"Well it's good you know the basics." He looks between the two of them. "You both look about ready to cry. C'mon have some lamb stew, it helps with the nerves." He says with an empathetic smile. Annie thought she had concealed her fear pretty well. Finnick must be good at reading into people. All of them walk to the dining table and the avoxes bring out steaming dishes of food Annie doesn't recognise right away. Elmas sits at the head of the table and picks at her plate.
"Anais, darling your hair is simply beautiful, if only there was more sparkle to it!" Elmas says, her shimmering pink taloned hands flapping about. Her matching pink hair is pulled up in a style that Annie imagines must be very uncomfortable and time-consuming.
"Thank you, Elmas, but you can call me Annie." she corrects, kindly. Elmas beams at her, it's not every year that she gets such a pretty and inviting tribute. Everyone talks a bit more before finishing up their food.
"We'll be in the capitol tomorrow, so wash up and get a good night's rest!" Elmas instructs Percival and Annie down the corridor of the train to their rooms. Inside of the big room, Annie sees a very comfortable looking bed and clothes laid out atop it for her.
She looks into the closet and sees even more clothing for her to wear. Walking into the bathroom, she sees the towels hung neatly on the rack and strips her clothing, walking into the shower. She's not sure exactly what all the buttons do but she presses the one with the blue dots coming from something resembling a shower head. The cold water that meets her is very much not welcomed. With a loud scream she scrambles out of the shower and tries to close the cold water, with little success.
She hears someone calling her name and coming through her door and the voice sounds like it belongs to a man. Her eyes widen. Finnick. She grabs a towel from the rack- it's warm- and wraps it around her body in time to allow some modesty before Finnick barges in, looking around to help. When he sees Annie, wet, shaking, and clinging to a towel that's been haphazardly placed around her with the cold water still running, he laughs.
"Hey! Get out, and stop laughing!" Annie snaps, a blush on her cheeks. Finnick composes himself enough to look at her then bursts into laughter again. Once he regains his composure, he reaches behind her and turns off the water. She pouts, why couldn't she do that?
"Everyone from the districts has a hard time adjusting to these showers." He says smiling fondly. Pointing to a few buttons he tells her which buttons do what and once she grasps how to control this contraption before she shoos him out.
Finnick turns around, takes her in, then winks before shutting the door. She can't help the blush that comes to her cheeks. Stepping back into the shower she presses the button that squirts shampoo onto her hands. She washes up the rest of her body and even conditions her hair then steps out of the golden shower. Pulling a warm towel around her body, and one around her hair, she goes back into her room to change. From the windows in the room she can see it's become dark out, and a glance at the clock says it's about 9:30 pm.
The pajamas they have set out for Annie were a pair of silk cream-colored shorts with a white lace trim, and an identical button down top. There were slippers and a matching robe next to them as well. After getting dressed and drying her hair, she climbs into the plush bed. It's extremely comfortable but she can't sleep. She can only think of her parents and her brothers, of the life she could've had if she hadn't been chosen. It was her last year and of course she would get reaped.
A little while later, the train suddenly comes to a stop and Annie climbs out of bed. The clock tells her it's 3:00 am and she leaves the room to see what's happened. She closes her door quietly and makes her way down the dark hallway, then hits something that feels suspiciously like a back.
That's because it is.
Squinting in the dark she can only make out a tall silhouette and sea green eyes. The figure walked to the wall and felt around for something. Annie heard a flick and suddenly the lights came on. Standing by the wall was Finnick Odair in nothing but a pair of silk blue pajama pants, a matching robe, and some slippers. Annie notices the lack of scars on his chest and remembers the bad gashes he had gotten in the arena.
"Like what you see?" He smirks.
"No, I mean you're handsome, of course! But I just…" He's smiling and she blushes again, "Your chest, there aren't any scars. I just remember you getting a few in your games." There's a change in his eyes and he looks down at his chest, nodding.
"They wouldn't let me keep them." He says quietly, and she doesn't really catch what he says.
"What was that?" She asks the victor.
"Capitol medicine. Great isn't it?" Finnick says instead. His eyes no longer show the slight anger they did before, now it's just… nothing. No emotion, a fake smile.
"Yea." She agrees. Changing the subject Annie asks, "What are you doing up? It's three in the morning."
"Couldn't sleep." Finnick says. "What about you?"
"I couldn't sleep either. So I figured, when the train stopped I should stretch my legs, maybe investigate." Annie tells him.
"There's not much to investigate, miss Cresta." Finnick says, "The train stopped for some fuel, apparently it didn't have enough when we left district 4."
"Oh."
"Wanna go outside?" Annie looks up at him confused.
"I thought we weren't allowed to."
"It'll only be in the station. Besides, what are we gonna do? Make a run for it?" He laughs but Annie gets a distinct feeling that he might be contemplating it. She shakes the thought from her head, blaming it on lack of sleep.
"Okay then, if you're sure we can." He holds out his hand and she takes it.
They walk out onto the platform in their pajamas and sit on a bench, breathing in the city air. They're in district 8, where there are apartments and factories. There are a few lights in the distance and Annie feels slightly homesick. When the train official sees them he yells at them to get back in the train. Finnick puts himself in front of Annie and calms the official down, saying they just wanted some fresh air and that it was his idea. They all get back in the train, but Annie still doesn't feel like sleeping. Finnick takes her hand and motions to a door. Annie feels just a little nervous being in only her thin pajamas and a robe, thinking that if Finnick tries to pull something, she won't be able to match his strength. What he does, however, is bring her to the back of the train where there is a big window around the room. They sit down and watch as the train pulls away from district 8.
A/N: The of Annie's brothers are as follows:
Mathias- 24
Dylan- 22
Alec- 20
Her parents are in their early 50's.