treacherous (finnick odair x oc)

four

Today was Orion's last day in the capitol. The last day before the games and she wasn't sure how she felt. She wasn't sure if she should be nervous or scared or at peace knowing her time would soon come to an end. She wasn't sure if she should start saying her goodbyes, or who she should be saying them to. She wasn't sure if she should just pretend like none of this was happening.

Today was the final day that tributes had access to the training center. Today was the day that the game makers would watch them perform and put a number on their head as their rate for their survival. Yet another thing she wasn't sure of, did she want a high number? And risk being targeted by other tributes, but have the ability to attract more sponsors, or did she want to risk a low number? Did she want the number on her head to take the target off of her back but then risk no sponsors at all. Did she really even care?

All of this was too much for Orion to think about. She was overwhelmed with the amount of decisions she would be making the next few days, and they wouldn't end with the game makers. It wouldn't end with the interviews. It would never end until her time in the games was up.

Orion rolled in bed, staring at the ceiling. She wondered if breakfast was even worth it, for the conversations with Finnick had left her feeling more hopeful than she ever had yet she wished it would go away. She didn't want the hope to be a constant reminder of the pain that was sure to come when her dreams of surviving were crushed. That's all she was ever used to; having high hopes without deliverance of what she had anticipated.

Porter knocked on her door "All right kid, it's time to go, you have to eat before training." His voice was gruff. He seemed like he hadn't slept well either. Orion wondered what a toll mentoring the games must take on someone. She wondered if maybe that's why he had been so hard on her, if that was why he was distant too. She assumed maybe it was just a general consensus that if you stayed away from people, bonds wouldn't be made and your heart wouldn't get broken.

She groaned, throwing the covers off of her body. The room was unusually chilly that morning which made it even harder to get out of bed. She showered before grabbing her training clothes and changing, heading down for breakfast. Everyone seemed more stressed today than they had before. The room was silent besides the sound of utensil scraping plates and the avoxes preparing dishes on the table.

Nothing looked appetizing. Orion faced the internal battle again of if she should eat so she would have energy for training and performing for the game makers, or if she should just avoid breakfast, altogether due to the sick feeling in her stomach.

If things were normal, Orion could be sitting home alone; she wouldn't have to worry about if she should eat because of her nerves, she would only be worried if she was going to eat at all. A terrible issue that somehow she now felt like she had taken for granted. The delicacies of the capital could not give her the comfort she assumed they expected them to. She would rather be at home starving, than burying herself in a lush breakfast in a fancy room, full of people that would watch her die and die with her.

Orion had been sitting at the table silently for a few minutes now, when Porter reached over and placed a plate in front of her, there was a few small portions of random capital breakfasts that she had never had before.
"Eat up kid, you're going to need your energy you're gonna wanna impress those game makers." Orion sighed, deep in thought; after talking with Finnick, and realizing things are never the way they seem, she couldn't help but analyze Porter's behavior and wonder if he was hurting just as bad as they were. Maybe like Finnick he truly didn't know what he was doing, but was just trying to survive in this day today life the capital had created for him.

Orion played with the food on her plate before deciding she should at least have a few bites to appease Porter, she knew Calliope would probably complain too, so instead of having to face the stress of that on top of the stress of her day to come she decided one problem was enough. The couple bites she took did not go down easy, it was like she was struggling to chew and swallow the food past her lips. Like she was forcing herself to eat. She couldn't help but feel guilty for eating this food. When the people of her district could use it more than her. She couldn't feel okay when she would be gone in a few days; she couldn't deny it. She also couldn't deny the fact that her people back home would be enjoying this food much more than she was if it were placed in front of them.