SINKING [Finnick Odair]

iv. the capitol's darling

"'Cause baby now we've got Bad Blood,
You know it used to be mad love,
So take a look what you've done,
'Cause baby now we've got Bad Blood!"
~ Bad Blood, Taylor Swift

Ophelia had warned her to play nice when the train arrived to the station, the crowd of capitolites with their elaborate clothing and hairstyles like a sea of colours awaiting them.

It wasn't like she would have done anything less as she needed sponsors if she was to get back to her family.

So swallowing any pride that threatened to surface, she stepped into the crowds and smiled and waved as they cried out her name in glee, every camera trained on her and the man next to her; who also seemed to receive lively welcoming from the crowd.

6 days to go, she found herself thinking as she continued to wave at the people in the crowds as Ophelia pushed them on; 6 days.

Cold consumed her as she lay there upon the metal plate in the middle of the stylist's room, longing for nothing but to pull that blanket up to cover what she could.

However, her longing thought were cut from head as a rather confident - if a bit too much so - stylist walked through the doors, the woman grinned rather mischievously, "I'm Ceresa Dina, and are you ready to see what you're going to wear?"

Any child-like excitement slowly diminished as Ceresa began to dress her into the outfit; Emeraude was no Virgin Mary but that didn't mean that she couldn't wonder wear half of the outfit had gone.

Her outfit was a golden fishing net covering her bust and lower regions with a star fish connecting them and keeping it in place to her left side.

No. She was definitely not looking forward to parading around in front  of hundreds of thousands of capitolites and the millions watching from the Capitol and Districts on TV like this.

Perhaps she should have asked to be a tree with Johanna; but all of that was far too late now as she lifted herself off of her metal surface and onto her bare feat, sending a burning glare in the direction of her stylist as she made her way towards the horses.

Thankful that Finnick was half way across the room flirting with the Girl on Fire - who Emeraude couldn't help but grudgingly admire, for she too volunteered to help another; and she had even beaten the games - Emeraude lay her hand upon her horse.

"I must say, I prefer your getup to the Girl on Fire's 'Queen of Darkness' one, very... open," came the drawling voice of the man behind her, rolling her eyes she simply glanced at him; ignoring the slight blush that wanted to take over from all those adolescent years crushing on him at the sight of his sculptured chest and heart-wrenching grin; but instead simply stated.

"Shame, I think I prefer yours. Would make me rather dashing, don't you think, Fish Boy?"

Her cutting words only seemed to raise his ego as he bit back, "I take it you'd be a 'raine' fish then, would you, Cohen?"

"And I guess you'll always be the boy who abandoned a desperate fourteen year old with a death sentence, Odair?" Emeraude stated, cocking her head to aside as he turned his gaze to the floor.

She easily leaped onto her chariot and he stood on behind her, her ignoring the way his breath hit the back of her neck in that moment; the way in which she felt inches of guilt for his broken expression when he looked down at her words earlier.

But the bitterness that clawed at her for the abandonment was like a cut, red, raw and irritated; and thoughts clawed at her mind of how it would have been better if she had simply been brutally murdered by Luka in her games, let the boy she had trusted - hell, the boy she'd near enough love - come out with the crown of betrayal at the end.

And then the chariots began to pull away; and then she was one step closer to going back.

-•-•-•-

"I want you guys to forget everything you think you know about the games," Haymitch informed his tributes, looking between them and the board that he was presenting upon, "last year was child's play; this year, you're dealing with all experienced killers," upon his last words he reached for the liquor, pouring it into a glass and waiting to insure that Katniss was acknowledging that allies would be needed.

It was Peeta who spoke up, "alright, what does that mean for us?" He looked to Katniss with such tenderness that Haymitch discretely rolled his eyes; he had never seen two more hopeless individuals, but soon dismissed his thoughts in favour of his liquor.

"That means that you're going to have to have some allies."

"Okay," Peeta replied readily, "I think that if we-,"

Haymitch stopped Peeta in his words, "you're not the problem."

Katniss sat stonily, stubbornly shaking her head; she wouldn't take any risks, not with Peeta's life, "no."

"Look, you're starting at a disadvantage here," Haymitch began to reason, though already knowing by Katniss' expression that it would do no good, "most of these people have been friends for years."

"That just puts us higher on their kill list."

"Do it your own way," Haymitch finally conceded, she was not going to give up; the girl was determined, he'd give her that, "but I know these people, go in alone and their first move will be to hunt you down. Both of you," his words were to inspire fear in Katniss but to no avail, her expression remained stoic.

"How can any of us even trust each other?" Katniss inquired, hoping to fault Haymitch in his words; but the blonde alcoholic simply bounced back with logic.

"It's not about trust it's about staying alive."

"Cashmere and Gloss, brother and sister, District 1, they won back to back games, Capitol favourites, lots of sponsors; so they will be lethal."

"And the other half of the career pack, Brutus and Enobaria-,"

"What's with her teeth?" Katniss interrupted.

"She had them filed into fangs," Haymitch stated in a tone akin to casual, "so she could rip people's throats out."

Peeta wittingly replied, "she's committed, I'll give her that."

"Wiress and Beetee, not fighter but brilliant, and weird, real tech-savvy; he won his games by electrocuting six tributes at once."

Suddenly Katniss interrupted his display, recognising the dark blonde haired man upon the screen, "Finnick Odair, right?"

"He won his games at fourteen, joint youngest ever, extremely humble-,"

"-you're kidding," Katniss stated.

"Yes," Haymitch confirmed, "I'm kidding, he's a peacock, a total preener, but he's the Capitol darling, they love him here," Peeta leaned forward in interest, "charming, smart and extremely skilled at combat; especially in water."

"Weaknesses?" Katniss queried.

Haymitch let out a smirk as he clicked the remote, "Emeraude Cohen. Volunteered for Annie Cresta. She won the 71st Hunger Games at fourteen. Intelligent, silver-tongued and very good with throwing knives and swords; definitely a threat."

Narrowing her eyes at the girl as if to be able to see everything about her through the board, Katniss inquired, "and her weaknesses?"

"None. That's what makes her so dangerous."

-•-•-•-

Training next chapter!
I'm looking forward to this ;)
-Vee