𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑳𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝑫𝑨𝑯𝑳𝑰𝑨, 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒓

𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝑶𝒇 𝑼𝒔

Finnick's features hardened in disdain, his eyes glaring with a darkness that would rival Dahlia's own stare. Then his fist flew towards the man's face, hitting his cheek with a satisfying crack. Gripping the material of Plutarch's clothing, Finnick slammed his back against the wall and shouted wrathfully into his face, "Don't you dare talk about her like that again! You don't deserve to even say her name. She has a good heart, a loyal soul. She was mine and you left her! You took her from me!"

A string of curse words left Finnick's mouth as he continued to brutally hit and berate Plutarch for his words. No one had ever seen such fury from the man before. It caused genuine fear in the hearts of the other two men at the violent and protective display. The violent assault would've continued for as long as Finnick deemed necessary if Haymitch hadn't snapped from his shocked daze and physically separated the two.

"Calm down, Finnick." He hisses to the boy, who continues to struggle in the older Victor's arms as he is dragged away from Plutarch. Finnick grunts in fury, kicking and fighting against Haymitch's hold as he's desperate to unleash his rage. "Stop it! Calm down!"

Eventually, Finnick's fatigued body loses the energy to keep fighting and the boy completely breaks down. He couldn't believe he had actually lost her. She was his reason for living, his tether to happiness. How could he survive without her? The answer was, he couldn't.

"Kill me." He pleads to Haymitch in little more than a frail whisper. "Let me die, please." Haymitch just stares at the boy in confusion as he babbles on about needing to die. The normally over-confident Victor was now a broken young boy who'd just lost his heart. "Lia and I made an agreement. Either we both leave that arena, or neither of us do."

"She's not dead, boy." Haymitch points out, clasping Finnick's shoulders firmly to make the boy see reason.

"She's as good as." Finnick retorts, utterly defeated at being separated from her. "You left her to rot in the hands of the Capitol. Whatever happens to her now is your fault."

"And that's a guilt I'll carry with me for the rest of my life." Haymitch admits sorrowfully, already feeling like he'd let Alaric down and betrayed his oldest friend. "I don't know much about her, but I do know that Dahlia is a fighter. And she's gonna be fighting to get back to you. So you need to do the same for her." Finnick knows Haymitch's words are true, and if Dahlia were here she'd scold him for giving up so easily. But it's difficult to find the motivation to carry on without her by his side. "Now, pull yourself together and lets get back to discussing the Mockingjay."

Suppressing his emotions as best as he can, Finnick joins Haymitch and Plutarch at the table once again. Though tensions between the men are high, they are forced to put their grievances aside for the moment and only show their dislike through discreet scowls.

"What's there to discuss?" Finnick asks numbly, leaning his body against the table as exhaustion catches up with him. "We did our job, she needs to do hers."

"Well, she's gonna lose it when she finds out about the boy." Haymitch reveals, feeling even more guilty for leaving Peeta behind as well.

"She'll still cooperate, though?" Plutarch questions, becoming nervous that his symbol of hope won't comply with their revolution, especially after the efforts it took to get her out.

Haymitch shakes his head lightly as Plutarch turns to him, "Without Peeta? There's no guarantee."

Finnick rolls his eyes with a huff of annoyance, grumbling under his breath, "Well, you should've thought of that before you abandoned him and Lia--"

His chastising rant is mercifully stopped before his anger can get the better of him as Katniss appears in the doorway. All conversation halts as Katniss surveys the room, taking each individual into account. As far as she was concerned, one of them was a traitor and the other was a slave to the Capitol. So she was both relieved and confused to find Haymitch among them.