Fluid || Finnick Odair

13

Newton was gone by morning. When Rio woke in the cave, the tips of his fingers still raw, now pale, and aching, he realised that it was only him and Coda left. Though, the smaller their group, it seemed, the safer they were. 

     He sat alone for hours with nothing to do but wait for Coda to wake up. There was no conversation without him... there was little conversation with him, really. It was like the Games had unearthed some sort of mental illness, because with everything he did, he shook. His words were slurred. He was broken. 

     In the small hours of the morning, Rio gathered as much firewood as he could, but he began to worry about his fingers in the process. He couldn't feel a thing. They were infected, maybe, but that was due to the yellowish colour growing around the wounds. If it was by touch, well, there was nothing there. 

     Next, after the fire, was water. He'd given up on ponds and lakes, and melting snow seemed to be more efficient. Choosing where from was something else. If any animals had gotten to it, any mud, or dirt, they couldn't use it. It wasn't as if they had any iodine to purify it. 

     When that was sorted, Rio sat back in the cave. It was colder than when he left.. he never understood how that happened. The fire didn't grow, and it didn't spread to both corners of the cavern. Even if it was supposed to be a survival of the fittest, it wouldn't sit well on Rio's conscience if he ever let anything happen to Coda, not when he was in such a state. 

     It was a risky game, because if Coda broke when Rio was sleeping, then he was dead. There were no two ways about it. 

     Finnick must have been screaming. That was, if he still cared about the outcome. Even though they didn't get along, Rio would have killed for a conversation with him. It would have been so much more than this. He needed to cling to something, to anything. 

     Home.

     He had to remember home. His sister was there, she was in need of him. His parents. They wanted him to survive. Rio had to survive for them, because without them, he didn't know who he was. 

     It was like something had read his mind, like Finnick knew he needed something, and low and behold, it came to him. A small metal box. A sponsorship. Rio couldn't help but sigh in relief as he took it in his hands. There were things to go home to, but more-so, Finnick was looking out for him when no one else would. 

     He opened up the metal box, though it came with quite a lot of difficulty. His entire right hand was aching. He didn't know how to cope with it, he had to hope that it was some sort of medical supply sent to him. 

     Finnick knew it was exactly what was needed. A medical paste somewhere inside a small dish, it wasn't a lot, but it was enough. It was enough for something, anyway, and the note on the top of it, which was so clearly for him, and not Coda. Rio wasn't sure Coda had anyone looking out for him at all. 

Put yourself first - F

     Very quickly, Rio understood. There was very little there for him, never mind Coda, and he clearly understood that Rio would've wanted to help him too. Finnick knew him well already, but he didn't know if that was something he could promise. 

     Coda's wounds were much worse than his. It was his fingers which, yes impacted everything he did, but he could live with it as long as the infection didn't grow too badly, or spread anywhere else. If Coda got infected, he would die. It was the simple fact. His entire chest had been slashed, only thinly, thank god, but it was still horrific. 

     There were blood stains on the stone where the snow and the wound had dripped from his skin. Rio didn't want to look at it, but he could hardly help himself.