lover/fighter - Finnick Odair

Chapter 19 - Message in a bottle

In the weeks that follow, they each go their separate ways. Finnick has come to the conclusion that it is best to wait for a favorable opportunity to arise. Forcing himself on her too much would only have a negative effect and waiting for her to come to him all by herself would probably be fatal, since she is too reserved for something like that.

Unfortunately, nothing has turned up yet and while he waits for fate to play into his hands for once, Donna makes sure that he is kept well occupied.

The Capitol is already getting in the mood for the new season of the Hunger Games, but it will be quite a while before that happens.

That particular evening, Finnick finds himself in one of the clubs that is particularly popular among the younger Capitolites. His client is a young woman celebrating her 22nd birthday today, so she's only a few months older than he is. It's a painful thought, knowing full well that like every year, he'll be spending his own birthday here at the Capitol, far away from the people who really care about him, just like every other day that used to have meaning for him.

The only consolation is that his present companion pays little attention to him. This is unusual at first glance, but there are a few exceptions among his admirers who have other reasons for seeking his company than usual.

The most common explanation is that his presence is primarily desired as a symbol of prestige, or to attract attention in general. Fashion designers book him for an evening and dress him up to bring their new collection into the conversation, if a new business opens somewhere, people pay for him to show up at the opening party, because wherever he is, the other Capitolites are drawn to it like moths to a flame.

At a birthday party like this, for example, you can be sure that no one will cancel and no one will forget about the evening anytime soon if Finnick Odair is on the guest list. At least that's his explanation, because his client only appears out of nowhere every now and then, then clings on to him for a few minutes as if no one else existed in the room, only to disappear again just as quickly afterwards.

It's strange but he doesn't complain. The way the evening is going so far, it looks like he'll probably be able to sleep in his own bed, which definitely lifts his spirits. He spends most of his time at one of the counters, only very sporadically sipping on his drink. Finnick prefers not to be drunk in questionable company, and that is more or less always the case here at the Capitol.

He's been here for a few hours, occasionally flirting for a while with the slightly drunk girls who approach him, before taking his leave again with the excuse of having to look for the birthday girl. The tactic works quite well and the evening is much more relaxed than many similar events he has had to attend.

Just as he returns from such an encounter and sets his empty glass down at the counter, a new one is placed in front of him in the next moment and the tall barman gives him a quick nod.

Just as Finnick is about to thank him, his client suddenly reappears next to him, snuggles up to him and asks him for the twentieth time if he is enjoying the evening. Slowly, he seriously wonders what she's actually trying to achieve. The few minutes of conversation are almost exactly the same every time. Either she has serious memory problems, or she really doesn't care.

A few minutes later, as she disappears again with a group of other Capitolites toward the dance floor. Finnick takes a slightly larger sip from his fresh glass before the ice has melted again, because the Capitol stuff still tastes horrible when it gets warm.

He hasn't found anything remarkable about the Capitol's alcohol preferences yet; all of it is way too expensive, and most of it tastes awful, too. Not that the cheap booze they drink in 4 really has a good taste, but that's not the point either. The taste is secondary, and even if it's disgusting, at least it tastes like home which is still a hundred times better than this stuff from the Capitol.