𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 - Finnick Odair

𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

Phoenix was now standing in the shallow end of the water, feeling the waves splash up against her calves. She turned her head around slightly, with her gaze changing from Finnick, to Katniss and Peeta, who were a good distance away from them. Phoenix and Katniss made eye contact for a brief moment before turning back to the men who were at their sides.

" I think we're losing her trust. " Phoenix revealed to Finnick in a low tone, not wanting anyone outside of them to hear what she was trying to explain to Finnick. She watched Finnick steal a quick glance at the tributes from District 12 before looking back to Phoenix.

Finnick raised an eyebrow at the accusation Phoenix had made. " What makes you think that? " He asked, this causing Phoenix to sigh. " I can tell she's getting distance. We just need to make sure they don't run after we get rid of the Careers. " Finnick said nothing else, only nodding his head at what Phoenix had said.

The thought of losing track of Katniss and Peeta after they had finished the task of eliminating any last threats made both of them anxious. They were so close to completing the task that they couldn't stand anything messing it up." Maybe we should try and keep them apart as much as we can, at least until we can- " Finnick didn't finish his sentence, not wanting any cameras to pick up the last words of his sentence. Yet Phoenix knew exactly what he was going to say.

Until they could remove their trackers.

Phoenix nodded her head after finishing the sentence inside her head. With both now completely on the same page, Finnick grabs Phoenix's hands. He presses his lips against the ring on her ring finger. The ring that Phoenix had momentarily forgotten was there. Yet this, seeing Finnick kiss her ring finger while holding her other hand caused all worries about their plan to simply vanish.

" We'll be alright. " Phoenix reassures after Finnick takes his lips off her hand. He nods his head before opening his mouth to reply, only to be cut off by the voice of Johanna Mason. " Alright, lovebirds! " She called out to both Katniss and Peeta and Phoenix and Finnick, causing the 2 couples to walk towards her and Beetee.

The alliance of 6 tributes began making their way through the deep jungle of the arena. Yet, this time around Phoenix made sure to be very vigilant with her surroundings. The last thing the alliance needed was for any of them to die before they were able to make it out of the arena.

A light surges from above them, with the Capital anthem following close after. Phoenix looks up and is met with the face of Gloss, then Cashmere and Wiress. Feeling Finnick tense up next to her, the two looked up as Mags's face illuminated in the sky.

Phoenix kept her eyes glued to the sky a part of her hoped that Cassian's face would follow Mags. As the faces of Blight from District 7 starred back at them, Phoenix knew Cassian was still very much alive and still out for blood.

As the faces of the dead tributes kept flashing, Phoenix looked down at the belt on her waist. " 1, 2,3 " She counted under her breath, believing she might have dropped some during the jabberjay attack. Sighing, Phoenix knew she was more than capable of working with the final 3 knives. As there were only 3 threats left inside the arena.

The sky goes dark again and the alliance begins making their way through the jungle until they're faced with the infamous lightning tree. " Minimal charring. It's an impressive conductor. Let's get started. " Beetee said, finally breaking the silence that had overtaken the group.

Phoenix watched closely as Beetee finish wrapping the wire around the tree. She listened as he warned them not to be anywhere near the tree when it got struck by the lightning. Beetee then began walking up to Katniss before handing off the coil of wire to her. " You girls, go together now. " He said while looking between Johanna, Katniss, and Phoenix.

Confusion set in on Katniss's face as she held the coil of wire in her hands. " Take this. Unspool it carefully. Make sure the entire coil is in the water, you understand? Then head to the three in the 2 o'clock sector. We'll meet you there. " Beetee was now talking to all 3 of the girls simultaneously. Johanna and Phoenix nodded their heads while Katniss stood there confused. Not knowing why they wanted to separate her and Peeta, but having some ideas.

Before any of the girls could say anything, Peeta interjected. " I'm gonna go with them as a guard. " Phoenix ignored the urge to interject, knowing it might look suspicious coming from her. " No, no, no. You're staying here to protect me. " Beetee replied, with him believing Finnick and Peeta would be the best help against the 3 Careers that were left.

Phoenix could almost see the frustration on Peeta's face as he began shaking his head at the idea. " No, I need to go with her. " Peeta replied, knowing that he and Katniss had a plan to flee once the Careers were dead. " The Careers are out there, I'll need at least two guards. " Beetee explained.

The back and forth between Peeta and Beetee continued until Katniss joined in, making Phoenix more nervous. " Yeah, why can't Finnick, Johanna, and Phoenix stay with you and Peeta and I take the coil? " Katniss asked, knowing that the 3 of them would be more than able at protecting him against the 3 Careers.

Phoenix and Johanna made eye contact, both beginning to get worried about the stubbornness of the tributes from District 12. Phoenix looked from Katniss back to Johanna, signaling to the girl that they needed to stay with her. Phoenix watched Johanna nod slightly, for Peeta and Katniss not to see.

" You all agreed to keep me alive till midnight, right? " Beetee asked, beginning to get frustrated with the length of this conversation. Finnick, Phoenix, and Johanna all nod their heads towards Beetee. Johanna sat into her hip and looked towards Katniss. " It's his plan. " Johanna reminded wIth frustration lingering in her voice.

Phoenix crossed her arms as Johanna finished what she had said. " And we all agreed to it. " Phoenix reminded the teens. " I'm gonna be separated from Finnick, you don't see us worrying about it. I think you guys can handle being apart until midnight. " Phoenix added with a chuckle. Although she knew this was much more then them being separated, she needed this plan to go through.

Looking back to Finnick, the two made eye contact. Phoenix shot him a look as if telling him to " Say something. " Yet she could already tell that his patients were beginning to run very low. " Is there a problem here? " Finnick asked, making Katniss turn around to look at him. " Excellent question. " Beetee added, looking at Katniss from above his glasses.

You could almost see the thoughts moving through Katniss's mind at a mile a minute as she thought of what to say. " No. There's no problem. " Katniss replied, making Phoenix let out a small sigh of relief that she disguised as a chuckle. With this, it set into Phoenix that she would be leaving Finnick. Although they both believed they would be reunited, neither could be too sure.

Phoenix walked up to Finnick and wrapped her arms around the man's shoulders, with his hands wrapped tightly around her waist. " We'll get out of this. " He whispered into her ear. Phoenix held on a bit tighter, a part of her wishing she'd never let go. " I promise. " Finnick added, as the two detached.

Phoenix leaned towards Finnick, placing her hand on his cheek before planting one final kiss on the man's lips. Finnick sighed into the kiss, wanting to make sure to savor every moment he had with Phoenix. Especially since neither of them knew what the near future held.

Breaking away from the kiss Phoenix looked at Finnick, taking in the features of his face as though it was her last. " We'll be back together before you know it. " Finnick said through a small smile, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. Phoenix nodded, watching Finnick place one final kiss on her palm before letting go of the man completely.

Now facing Katniss and Johanna, the 3 girls began making their way through the jungle, with the coil in hand, ready to face what the jungle had in store.