Hurricane • F. Odair

fifteen » northern star

A L T H E A

Althea watched the screen as the crowd roared for Finnick. His show-biz smile dazzled in the lights and his skin seemed to glow.
Caesar had been dressed in a black and gold suit that sparkles. His obnoxious laughter boomed over the speakers. "Oh! I'm not sure we're ready to let go of you, Finnick!" The purple haired man exclaimed, the crowd going nearly feral in agreement.
Finnick laughed good-naturedly. "I just wish I could bring you all with me. It would bring me great comfort to be surrounded by my family in my final days." His words were sweet, but anyone who knew him as well as she did knew the deadliness lying underneath. He wanted them in the arena so he could kill every last one of them. That fact flew over the Capitol citizens' heads as they cried in grief.
"Finnick. I understand that you have a message for somebody out there — a special somebody," he laughed. "Can we hear it?" Althea's stomach clenched. A special someone? Finnick hadn't told her he had found someone! Thatcher's fingers laced through her own and she held onto him like a lifeline.
"My northern star," Finnick began. Althea nearly collapsed in her heels, leaning against Thatcher for support.

She had let Finnick take her on a boat only once and was teasing him about the poor navigation system.
"Well, if it fails, then I'll look at the sun—"
"What if you get lost at night?"
He had looked at her with such soft eyes. "Then I look for you, my little northern star." Her eyebrows furrowed and he must've read the confusion on her face because he laughed. "District Five is north of Four, yes?"
She nodded.
"That means you are almost always north of me. So I find the northern star because it leads me to you." Althea stared, cheeks flaming. Finnick looked down at the wheel in his hands with bright pink ears. "I mean it leads me home."
She wondered if there was a difference.

"You have my heart for all eternity. If I die in that arena—" dozens in the crowd screamed and Althea squeezed Thatcher's hand tighter in a weak attempt to stop shaking "— my last thought will be of your lips."
   Caesar was tearing up as the crowd wailed. Althea realized Finnick's time was quickly coming to an end and she was up next. The trembling in her hands only tripled when Finnick ascended the stairs and took his place beside Mags.
   "You know her, we love her — Althea Hawkforge!" The crowd quickly recovered from their Finnick-induced sorrow. With the Capitol citizens screeching her name, she put on her most lovely smile and walked into the blinding lights. Only nine years of looking into those same lights prevented her from squinting.
   She smiled warmly at Caesar as her took her hand. Even as his grip tightened to steel, it shook terribly.
   "You look stunning, darling!" The crowd roared in approval. Caesar's face turned solemn. "How can we ever say goodbye to our best entertainer? Especially with a twelve! Care to tell us how you managed that?"
   She ignored his first question. A constant reminder that she fed into their thirst for bloodshed during her games gnawed at the edges of her stomach. Not only had she won the games, but she'd won herself a title and her games had been the bloodiest since the Second Quarter Quell.
   Her eyes found Plutarch, but the man only winked at her while drinking a glass of something surely expensive. She smirked at Caesar. "I'm afraid I'll take that to my grave." She turned somber and sighed, "However soon that is." The words held the desired affect on the audience as they cried out.
   Caesar squeezed her hand impossibly tighter. "What about you— do you have anything to say to someone out there?"
   She didn't have to think much about it. "I just want Willow to never let a day go by without telling my niece I love her."
   Ever interactive, the audiences cooed and awed. Caesar even fanned his face and a tear slipped down his falsely tanned cheek.
   "Well, let us hope you can tell her yourself. Give it up for Althea!" The crowd roared.
   Althea shot them an award winning smile and did her best not to trip while walking up the stairs on wobbly legs. One of the few things long, puffy skirts were good for was hiding the lower half of your body.  She collapsed into her designated chair as gracefully as possible, still smiling. Before she could stop herself, Althea looked to Finnick for comfort as Thatcher took the stage. Finnick's eyes glowed, pinning her to her seat.
My northern star.
   A lump lodged itself in her throat.
   She loved him.
   She loved him so much.
   What the—
   "I wanted to bring Cassia here to learn fashion from the greatest industry in the world. I mean, look at all the beautiful people here!" Thatcher's exclamation drew her away from the angel beside her and back into the blinding lights. Several Capitol citizens fainted in the same general area. Thatcher must've singled them out in some way while she'd been distracted. Perhaps he'd winked at them.
Serial kiss-ass and heartthrob, Thatcher Golsbane was a Capitol dream.
Leave it to Althea to have two of the most desired men in Panem in her corner.
But she also knew that Thatcher was lying. He would never bring Cassia here. Not only did he want to keep her as far from the Capitol's prying eyes and fingers as possible, the girl hated the Capitol just as much as the rest of them.
"And how does Cassia feel about you going back?" Caesar asked. Althea dug her fingernails into her palms. What kind of question was that? The tactlessness and insensitivity pulled at her nerves. Althea knew Thatcher shared her resentment of the question at the sight of his clenched jaw.
Finnick's whisper carried to her ears like sweet music. "Easy, angelfish." She unclenched her fists, instead crossing her legs and folding her hands Iver her stomach to appear at ease.
   Thatcher turned on his killer smile, hazel-green eyes murderous under a friendly mask. "Do you have any siblings, Caesar?"
   Caesar let out a laugh like he was one of those squeaky toys getting punched repeatedly. "No, I can't say I do."
   "Then I can't expect you to understand how she feels."
   Caesar laughed again, dismissing any awkward animosity. Always quick on the recovery. "How about this — anybody special out there?"
   Thatcher looked out into the crowd. Althea wondered briefly if her was going to tell them about his daughter — her niece. While Snow would go directly for the child or for Willow, there were at least a thousand ways to cause a late-term miscarriage or complications in childbirth and make it look natural. Althea clenched her fingers together. It didn't matter if Thatcher said anything now, Snow likely already knew.
   "I saw her in the crowd when we got off the train. Love at first sight kind of deal," Thatcher said. His face looked as if he was in a love struck daze.
   What in the ever-loving—
   His left pinky tapping on his leg halted her internal colorful word choice.
   His pinky tapped when he was lying.
   While Thatcher respected women, he knew how to play with them and their emotions just like, if not better than, any other man. There was no doubt in Althea's mind that he was purposefully sending the women of the Capitol into a frenzy.
   "Unfortunately, that is all the time we have, ladies and gentlemen. Let's give him some love to send him off, shall we?"
   The response was deafening.

a/n: hey lovelies! how we doing? opinions on the chapter? Finn and Althea have kinda admitted their feelings??? well, Finn did, and Althea admitted them to herself. so... progress!! unfortunately I couldn't get the entire interview scene into one chapter — it would've been at least triple the length of this one lmao. next chapter we've got Jo, catnip, and pita bread. love you guys and hope you're safe and healthy!!