The reaping is described in the summer by Katniss I decided to say it's in June.

Enjoy !

I don't own any of the characters credits to Suzanne Collins

Chapter one - Above the pink sky they met

Every year the first Sunday of June one brave young men and one brave young women, between the age of 12 and the age of 18, will be reaped in every district to fight for their life and bring honour to their district.

70th Hunger Games - June 6 - Reaping day - dawn

It was pink above the waves sighing crescendo along the wind and dancing back and forth conquering the beach, titling his feet, reflecting on a shade of green sea. Green sea eyes lost in the infinite morning's waves.

Today was reaping day. Another year. Another death on the conscience. Another strangers's coloured skin, pressed. Against his. Against his will.

At the idea, his heart ached. He sighed loudly and tried to stop the salty tears forming from the corner of his eyes. He got up and headed to the grounding sea to take a swim. On this particular day or any other day for the matter, only swimming got his mind from the dark thoughts banging loudly in his head like drumming rolls. Some other times fishing worked too, but not this morning. He would not have time, he would not come home today to share a grilled fish with Mags for dinner. Today was reaping day, and he would not go back home for probably the next two months.

By now his body was half into the water. At this time of the day it was very fresh and cooled down his blood. It was perfect, it woke him up like a strong shot of alcohol. Alcohol, the only thing that would help him gets out of his constant nightmares in the next two months. There was no sea in the Capitol. He was going to feel so empty without it, like a fish out of the water. He was not himself far from the sea, far from the beach, far from his boat, far from the salt scent. He would be so far he would not smell like fish anymore (Mags always teased him) but he would smell like a musky male cologne scent they always made him wear.

He jumped in completely and started swimming. He was finally alive. His mind was finally away, far from everything but himself. In the sea he was himself, he was breathing like a fish in the ocean. The cold had taken all his body now and it felt amazing. Nothing felt better than to be embraced by the cold water. After a good hour swirling under the waves, he finally decided that now his lips were blue it was time to go out.

When he got out of the water the sky was still pink and a girl was sitting above, in the same spot he was before. She was short and had a light skin. For a District like the 4, where it was very sunny, it was odd, but some inhabitants were light skinned. The other inhabitants were more like him, tanned and burned by the sun. The girl was probably a shop's owner's daughter he guessed. Her skin was red on the neck and shoulders. Probably a sun burn. Or embarrassment ? He remembered suddenly who he was and the effect he had on people, girls especially.

She had freckles, over her nose, her forehead, her arms, and the curves of her breast. He flushed, realising he was staring at the little neckline of her simple lilas dress.

She was slender and graceful but vigourous. Vigorous like a strong a swimmer he guessed looking at her legs arms and shoulders.

She had very wavy long dark hair going down her back. Her eyes were big round and made her look like a cat. Her eyes were green but not like his, more like a very pure shade of green, emerald green. But now a bit of red had invaded the green of her eyes. She had been crying.

Finally their eyes locked for the first time. Green sea meeting green emerald.

« Hi » she said shyly. « Hi » he replied. He frowned, doubting. Did he know this girl ? She seemed his age. He felt embarrassed suddenly, he had not been in school since his fourteen, maybe they used to be in the same grade. Sure it was five years ago, but it seemed like ages, a decade to him. It was the old time where he was a young and a normal teenager. « You are Finnick Odair » she said. « And you're… » He let his sentence hanging in the air, hoping to make her believe he remembered her if they used to be in the same grade.

« Annie, Annie Cresta» He had never heard her name before. « Why are you up so early ? » It was six in the morning « So excited for the reaping that you couldn't sleep? » He said winking and giving her a seductive smile like he always did with girls. She flushed. « Something like that » she muttered with a chuckle.

He sat next to her. For a moment a confortable silent hanged in the air. It was rare for Finnick to feel confortable around someone other than Mags.

Both of their different shades green eyes locked on the ocean, locked on the beauty of the early pink morning, the wind embracing their skins. Finally she broke the silence. « Your'e lucky to have met her you know. She was such a luminous being»

Finnick frowned very confused. What she was talking about? Annie realised suddenly she had talked out loud. « Pearl » She finally replied. Finnick was still confused. This girl seemed so lost in her own world. Was she crying over this Pearl ?

« What? » He said again. « Pearl » She replied again.

But finally he had a hint. He had heard this name before, it was familiar. In fact… her name gave him chills when he knew. He remembered suddenly who was Pearl and felt like he had eaten rocks. She was last year's tribute, a twelve or thirteen girl who had died first in the Cornucopia, killed brutally by a machete. It was so fast that who killed her was not even clear. Probably someone from 1 or 2. But he hadn't mentored her, Mags did. He only remembered she was a very shy and skinny girl, with brown hair. This is why Annie was crying he knew for sure. He realised suddenly he had been silent for longs minutes now.

« Was she your sister ? » Annie smiled when she realised he knew who she was talking about, but as quickly it arrived it faded. « Not exactly she was my neighbour, but I did considered her as a little sister. Our moms went to school together. I used to help her with homework, I used to teach her how to makes nets. I loved her. She was only twelve. It is so unfair. It is been a year now and I regret everyday not volunteering for her » Silent fall again on them. Finnick wanted to reply something but everything seemed so shallow. He felt awkward and wanted to run away all of the sudden.

« She was a luminous being » She said again. Finnick felt even more uncomfortable and guilt crept up on him.

He had to think several minutes earlier to remember Pearl and even now he had very blurry memories about her. He had seen and let so many children from District 4 died ( ten exactly) in the last five years. It has become such a morbid habit he could not even remember a young twelve years old girl correctly who had died a year ago. He freak out when he realised he didn't even remember the guy name. He had mentored him. Come one Finnick think. But he thought and the only thing he could remember was a boy, Fourteen ? Who died on the blood bath or was it ? No it was two years ago. Last year's tribute had been alive three days and had been killed by the carrier in his sleep. Yeah that was it. Damn it. He felt heartless. But it was for the better. It was something Mags had taught him his first year as a mentor. Never get personal with a tribute or you will get hurt. That what he wanted to scream. He wanted to scream at this Annie girl, tell her he had no choice, tell her how it was difficult to be a mentor, to be a victor, to be alive. But instead he stayed silence.

But what made him even more uncomfortable was that he did not know that girl Annie at all and she had opened up to him so vulnerably, so care-freely. He noticed then that she felt very awkward too. Her face was red. « Sorry » she muttered.

« No I'm sorry she died. I did not mentor her but I remember Mags telling me she was luminous» he lied. A huge smile appeared on her face when he said that. His lie washed a bit of his guilt.

Another silence fell on them. It was awkward and agonising this time. He wished she would leave. But instead he asked « How old are you ? »

She was eighteen and it was her last reaping. She explained to him how she couldn't sleep this morning ( he could only empathise with her), and had decided to come and take a swim. Swimming was the only thing that helped feel better. He smiled and felt warm suddenly. It has been a long time since he did not met someone he could empathise with. What was wrong with him ? A minute ago he wanted to scream at her and now he felt empathy ?

They were both surprised when he dared her a to have a race. She had just told him how she was the best swimmer in her year. She seemed good but no as good as he was he thought proudly. He had grew up in the water, he was a fish. This little argument woke up his inner child, the one who would always raced with his two brothers. They shook hands and jumped in the water. She was good, very good. She was making one with the sea, swirling under the waves like he was. She was a mermaid.

They both arrived on the same time on the beach. They collapsed and started laughing arguing over who had won. They finally called it a tie. But Finnick knew he had arrived on the beach a few seconds before her.

At first he didn't recognise this tickling sensation in his stomach, it took him a few minutes to understand it was from laughter. Finnick had not laughed and argued playfully with someone around his age for so long.

Annie seemed to feel a bit better now. She got up and started to leave as unexpectedly as she had arrived. « Well bye ! That was fun to meet you and to beat you in a race Odair » She said with a miscevioush smile and a wink. Wait was she imitating him ? She laughed seeing his expression. « Couldn't help it ». He laughed too. This day was so weird it was not even eight in the morning and he had laughed more than in the past five years.

« Well Annie may be the odds be ever in your favour » He said with a reverence and he meant it. He did not want this girl to be picked suddenly. She seemed too sweet and gentle against the brutality of the games. A weird animal instinct crept to him, protectiveness. That why he had never got closed to anyone (except for Mags) in the last five years. Because he would have cared. With his situation he couldn't not care. Caring meant more people to protect, more people's life in Snow's hand depending on him to stay alive. He feared suddenly on how little time he had taken for him to care for this complete stranger.

She gently smiled to him. « May be the odds be ever in your favour for you too »

And he didn't get it. He was a victor he was not going to get reaped. And even if he wasn't a victor he was nineteen. You stopped being reaped at eighteen. But then it hit him like a punch in the stomach. She meant as a mentor. She meant be the odds be ever in your favour for you to bring a victor this year in district 4. This time guilt had taken all his body.

This is when he finally let himself cry.