Finnick sat in his seat in the Mentors' Lounge, waiting for the Games to begin. Mags looked over at him, and noticing his concern, she wrapped his hand in both of her own. He squeezed Mags's hand more tightly than he probably should have as the countdown began. Finnick focused intently on the screen, mentally drowning out the sounds coming from the other mentors' booths.

As soon as the cannon went off, Annie sprinted to the Cornucopia. Only Seannan beat her to the center of the supplies. Both of the Four tributes gathered weapons and prepared themselves for the onslaught of other tributes. Seannan made the first kill of the Games when he speared the boy from Five, but Finnick hardly noticed as he watched the small dark-haired girl from Eleven aim her arrow at Annie. He swallowed nervously. Annie was a Career, he thought, she should not be allowed to die so soon. Four's tributes nearly always made it through the bloodbath. Annie's throwing knife lodged itself into the girl's chest before she even released her arrow, and Finnick let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding.

This respite did not last. Annie, the brave friend that she had always been, decided to sneak up on the giant from Nine who currently had Seannan tackled. She stabbed him a dozen times with her long, curved sword before the man finally stopped moving. Finnick dragged his attention away from Annie to examine the competition. Several dead bodies lay strewn around the Cornucopia. A couple tributes from the outer districts were still fighting the Careers, but those scuffles would soon be over. The rest of the tributes had fled.

He looked up at the clock. Only half an hour had passed since the beginning of the Games, but already nearly half the tributes had been eliminated. Finnick predicted that this would be a particularly short Games. He kissed Mags on the cheek before he stood. "I have a couple appointments to go to, but I should be back by eleven," he told her. "Watch over Annie for me, okay?"

"She'll be fine, Finnick. Don't worry so much," the old woman shooed him away.

After he and his first client for the afternoon were done, he tried to convince her to sponsor Annie. The woman refused. She informed him that she was planning on sponsoring Seannan instead. "He's such a pretty boy, just like you. Don't you think the three of us could have fun together once he comes back?" the woman said, running her long, green fingernails down his chest. Finnick was too angry to respond. He left as quickly as he could without offending her.

His next client was more cooperative. A desperate older woman with more money than sense, she had agreed to donate the equivalent of one meal to Annie's fund. Finnick had kissed her in return. They separated only when the sound of cannon fire echoed from her television, but despite Finnick's worries, it was only the girl from Nine, not Annie.

When he finally returned to the Mentors' Lounge, he found Mags in the same position as when he had left. "How are they doing?"

"They're well. Neither of them has any injuries, and the pack has enough food and water for the next couple days." Mags paused as another cannon went off. "There are fourteen dead, but all the Careers are still fine."

"Have you sent them any sponsor gifts yet?"

She shook her head. "No, they haven't needed anything. Go sleep, boy. You can trade with me in a few hours."

Finnick tried to protest, but Mags would not give in. He dozed in his chair for just under three hours before he woke up again. Wordlessly, he and Mags traded positions. Mila, the girl from Two, had died while he was asleep. Only nine tributes were left. He examined the Arena, trying to find any obstacles that might pose a threat to Annie, but there did not seem to be any. Unless the Gamemakers had mutts or an enormous environment change in store for the finale, the Arena itself should not hurt her. The other tributes were a different matter entirely. Now that one member of the Careers was gone, it would not take long for the members of the pack to turn on each other. Hopefully, Annie could stay avoid the fighting. He was proven right the next day when Amethyst murdered Decius in his sleep.

For the next day or so, the Games went much as they always did. Finnick tried to watch as much as he could, but was often called away from the Mentor's Lounge to meet with clients. Annie and the remaining Careers traveled from island to island, searching for the remaining tributes, but only found the girl from Three.

Finnick could see something change in Annie's face the instant they stepped foot on the island the boy from Seven was hiding on. She wanted to run away, but something stopped her. Suddenly, the Seven boy ran straight at the pack of Careers with his axe held high. What was he thinking? If he had avoided the pack, he might have been able to win, but now he was throwing that chance away.

He saw Seannan's head separate from his body as if in slow motion. Next to him, Mags gasped, but Finnick did not make a sound as his friend's head bounced on the ground. Finnick could only watch in horror as Seannan's body finally collapsed and his blood stained the grass around him. He heard a loud scream and turned to comfort Mags, only to find that his mentor was not the source of the sound.

Annie was running, sprinting away from Seannan's body and the other Careers. She threw herself into the water, trying to escape both the other tributes and her friend's death. Finnick paused the broadcast to examine her face. Annie's eyes were wide with terror and her lips were shredded where she had bitten them. He choked on a sob, finally accepting what he had always known. Even if Annie escaped the Arena alive, she would never be the girl he'd known again.

A/N: Well, that wasn't the cheeriest chapter I've ever written. Thanks for reading! Extra thanks to bsmj, The Honey Crisp, Nola, and Odestalovebaby for reviewing. You guys are awesome, and your reviews are always fantastic to see! I'll try to have the next chapter up next weekend, but since it's Independence Day here in America this Friday, it might take until the next week to update. Anyways, see you then!

~finnicko-loves-anniec