Querencia | Finnick Odair

Chapter 17

I start plucking the bird's feathers and then Katniss returns with one of the ugly sloths also having found no water. We prepare the meat and as suggested I just hold the birds against the forcefield while we cut up the sloth and throw the pieces against it.

It is a good meal, but the absence of water becomes more and more prominent. It is already hard to swallow and it is only early evening.

It is getting dark quickly and soon the sun slipped past the horizon and the moon rises. Cold white light is falling through the leaves, illuminating just enough of the ground. I move closer to Finnick because everybody knows what is coming now.

"Have you seen Johanna at the Cornucopia?", I ask, worry in my tone.

Finnick shakes his head. "No, but she is fine. Simply for defiance."

"You're right. I just...they really are my friends"

"Come here", he says and I sit down in between his legs, leaning back against his chest. Mags joins us and then we sit in a line. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Gloss is fine, Johanna is fine. Sadly Seeder is dead and so is Cecilia. She had three children. A hand takes a hold of mine. We sit like that for some time, in silence. It is as if someone sat on my chest. Breathing is hard and my body can't move.

I tighten my grip on Finnick's hand.

He pulls me closer, drawing circles on my hand as we do so often until I calmed down. Mags smiles at us, while Katniss looks purely confused.

Then a silver parachute lands in front of us.

It is a small silver object, like a tube, but not.

We hand it around testing it out, but nothing. It has to be for water, that much is set in stone, but how.

Katniss is looking at it for a long time and then jams it into the ground. And then it hits me.

"It's for the trees. The water! It's in the trees", I call out and Katniss gets up from her lying position.

"You are right. It's a spile!"

We beam at each other, forgetting that we actually mistrust the other. We are all on our feet in seconds and Finnick wants to ram the spile into the next best tree, but Katniss stops him.

We are almost jittery as the boys open up a hole in the tree.

Then finally the spile can fit and I push it inside and then there is water.

Warm, fresh, water. We take turns drinking and fill the baskets that were made for the nuts with water, drinking until we are full and splashing our faces.

The moon is high in the sky now and we decide to settle down for the night.

Finnick takes the first watch and to my surprise, the younger girl doesn't protest.

I am so tired and as much as I want to spend time with Finnick, I need at least a little bit of sleep. And Finnick is watching out, so I don't have to be afraid to be killed in my sleep. I remove the other dagger from the sheath and lay it next to me in order to be able to sleep on my stomach, because I am still wearing the quiver and the katana on my back.

I don't know how long I sleep, four hours maybe. Then I jerk awake having forgotten that I have allies, that I am not alone and that I can sleep without danger.

Nobody else is awake except for Finnick. Katniss is snuggled up to Peeta and Mags lies next to me, curled up with her hands under her head. I get up as quietly as possible and join Finnick who is sitting on a log.

"Couldn't sleep?", he asks.

"Did, but it's like I can't accept that it is safe, at least for now."

He sighs. "How did we end up here?"

"We survived", I say and he turns to me.

"I like your new hair", he says and plays with a strand.

"Thanks. I had to threaten my prep team into it", I chuckle.

"Well, it was a good decision. Makes you look more of the badass that you are."

"And it is way more useful that way too", I say and silence takes place.

"Finnick. With your interview. I..."

"It's okay."
"No, it's not. It isn't okay. It's not fair. I...I wanted...", and there I go, crying again.

"I know."

"I love you"

"Love you too", he mumbles and pulls me close, a sweet, salty kiss shared between us. I can hear the screams from the monitors in the Capitol. But I don't care.

We then sit in silence, hands locked together as we look into the dark forest around us. Not an hour later gongs ring out and Katniss wakes up, while the others continue sleeping.

"I've counted twelve. Mean anything?", she asks and I shrug.

"Probably, but nothing that matters to us right now I would guess", I say.

Katniss says she will take watch now and we nod.

"Wake me if you are tired. I haven't been up for long."

She nods at my words and I then flop down onto my stomach once more, Finnick next to me. I brush a damp lock from his face and fall back asleep.