lover/fighter - Finnick Odair

Chapter 29 - Girls' Talk

"You do realize you've made a whole lot of enemies with this, right?"

Finnick still can't believe he's on the train back to District 4, long before his scheduled departure date and this time without being drugged by a crazy barman. Sitting across from him in his usual luxurious compartment is Rhea, relaxed with a book in her hand. His statement makes her look up from the pages.

"You're talking about your demon manager and the weird guy who's apparently responsible for the crimes against your clothing style?" she asks, the corners of her mouth twitching up slightly at the memory of her triumphant moment.

"Among others but not exclusively," Finnick comments.

Rhea turns her gaze back to her book; it's an old volume on maritime sagas that Linus gave her on loan for the trip, since he thought it somehow fitting. Of course, he knows that something like this is right up her alley. "I'm not worried about those two. There are a lot of people in the Capitol always looking for confrontation, so I'm fine with that," she explains.

Finnick laughs lightly and slumps back against the soft back of the large upholstered chair. Outside, he watches the landscape of red sand fly by. They left early in the morning, and now it's noon. By the time they arrive in 4 it will be evening, and he is already full of anticipation to finally spend another night in his own bed.

Meanwhile it is the beginning of May and his birthday, where the clash between Rhea and Donna took place, was already three weeks ago. That's how long it had taken to clear his schedule, because even with Snow's approval, you can't take away their favorite toy from such a big group of Capitolites from one day to the next.

Donna is at her wits' end but his compassion toward her is severely limited. It just serves her right that she now has to appease the frustration of so many dissatisfied Capitolites, after never having the slightest bit of consideration left for him so far.

It surprised him at first that Snow seems to just take it all in stride, but he must be getting something out of it. Finnick has received the message from him that Donna was supposed to deliver, but he remains calm as yet. There is still time until the end of the next games, however, he must expect not to have much time for anything else during the duration of the games.

"So, what exactly are we doing now, anyway?" he asks as he stares at the ceiling.

Rhea flips her book closed and replies, "Whatever we want, or rather, whatever helps you feel good and balanced. I then package that in a medical context to make it sound good in regular documentation that no one will ever read or check anyway and that's it."

Finnick eyes her with a grin. "So, you tricked the system and now get paid while you can take a vacation?" he laughs, amused.

"I firmly reject such insinuations," she replies, raising her eyebrows. "Especially when you accuse me of doing this in order to laze around. I was doing you a favor, this isn't about me. I'd send you home alone too, but this excuse unfortunately requires my presence to get away with it."

"And what do you plan to do now?"

"I won't be hanging on your leg the whole time, don't worry," Rhea laughs. "I have enough paperwork to do from here and another private project that needs some attention anyway."

For the first time, she brings up something that could potentially be of interest to his assignment. "And what would that be?" he asks innocently, because there's no harm in trying.

"I'm afraid that's top secret," she counters playfully. After all, she can't very well tell him that she's planning to fool the Capitol on a much grander scale. A performance that requires far more planning and preparation than bringing a single victor back to his district.