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"Yeah, yeah. I can't believe you tricked me," Finnick said while walking towards her, making her go back a few steps. Dove was worried he would pull her into the water again.
"I'm really sneaky. Don't you dare throw me again. I'm already freezing." She replied, continuing to step back. She tripped on a stone, making her almost lose her balance.
"Relax, I'm not going to throw you again. I just want to get my coat. If you didn't notice, I got splashed twice, and I'm freezing too." He chuckled through his words.
"You brought a coat? I didn't notice." A long white coat was surprisingly next to hers, by the size it had to be his. How had she not noticed before? Quickly, she rushed to the coats. And put his coat on herself.
"Do I look good?" She asked, posing as if she was preparing herself for a photoshoot. He stopped in his tracks, staring at her, and laughed.
"Lovely. Now, can I have my coat back? I would do the same with yours, but I think I would tear it. And we don't want that, do we?" Dove shook her head, taking off his coat and passing it to him.
"Ugh, my hair is soaked. Do you have anything I could use to tie it with? If I leave with my hair down, my coat will be drenched," she stared at him as he thought for a second before pulling a piece of rope out of his pocket.
"Do you want me to tie it up for you?" he asked, to which she nodded. Her wet hair reached past her waist and was quite heavy. She would have a hard time tying it up by herself.
He stood behind her. Tying her hair was harder than he thought it would be, but after some failed tries, he achieved to do it. It wouldn't last long, but it would be enough until she got home.
"If you don't mind me asking, why do you carry a piece of rope with you?" she asked, remembering how sometimes she saw him with the rope, but he always hid it in his pocket once he saw her. He stepped back, admiring his work with Dove's hair.
"It helps me get my mind off things. I tie and untie knots, so I can't think of anything else," he replied. She didn't know what to say. There wasn't anything she did to keep her mind occupied. Normally, she just gave in to her overthinking.
"If it helps you, I guess I should try it out too," her comment made him laugh. Dove turned around, only to realise how close the two of them were. Usually, she wouldn't mind, but knowing there were cameras around them made her feel awkward.
She knew President Snow had seen this coming. He knew they would get along quickly. He knew they would sympathise with one another. He knew how they couldn't stop meeting each other, even if it meant they would be in more danger.
Dove only prayed to never fall in love with the boy in front of her. Who knows what that sociopath might do if I show any signs of liking Finnick? He won't let us alone. After all, Finnick is probably the most desirable Victor of all the Districts. President Snow can't let go of someone like that. She thought, looking into his eyes.
"We are soaked from head to toe. I guess we'll have to cut this meeting short. If we stay here, we'll freeze to death." She said, breaking the silence, to which he agreed. They got their shoes and left the beach, walking peacefully to Victor's Village. As they got to her doorstep, she turned around to look at him.
"Do I get any hugs today?" She laughed at his question. "You bet." Hugging him would have been pleasant if it wasn't for how cold and wet the two of them were.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight," she replied with a nod. After closing the door behind her, she discreetly went to her room, took a shower and changed her clothes.
The piece of rope Finnick had given her was drenched. She left it in her window to let it dry. It didn't look special. It was a simple old rope with no decorations whatsoever.
It took her a few minutes to put the rope in a place where it wouldn't fall. Once it was secured, she went to her bed. Immediately falling asleep while watching outside her window. It had been an exhausting day.
The next day, she took the opportunity of living in a Career District to try out different weapons at school. Knives were small and easy to carry, but her aim was horrible. The spear wasn't too bad, as long as she didn't have to throw it around. Finally, the trident. It was a bit heavy for her, but once she got used to its weight, it was almost perfect.
However, she had to leave it earlier than she would wish. Many of her classmates were staring at her. She had to mess up one or two times on purpose with the trident, using her illness as an excuse. Which helped for people to stop looking at her. It would be better for her not to be considered a threat.
Moving on, she tried swords, a bow, and an axe. The sword would be an excellent alternative if there wasn't a trident for her. Whereas the bow only made her look more like an idiot, her aim was so bad she hadn't even reached her target once. There were 24 arrows to be fired, and none even made it halfway. The axe wasn't too bad, but it wasn't convenient for her.
There were other training areas in the training centre of her school, but she had studied those for years. She knew every edible plant the Game makers would probably put on the Games. She even knew how to use the most common poisonous ones to her advantage. However, that wouldn't help her in close combat with another tribute.
When school was over, she felt tired. Getting used to different weapons was complicated and required a considerable amount of stamina, which she lacked. And even worse, she had to count the time she spent with every weapon to feign fatigue.
Dove waited outside the school for her sister to come out. Angel stayed longer since it was her last year, which implied more hours of training. Graduation was merely days before the reaping, where the two deadliest students would be 'allowed' to volunteer.
Obviously, anyone could volunteer in the Reaping. But the school suggested those who had more chances to survive, instead of letting anyone volunteer. They didn't want an incompetent to represent District 4 in The Hunger Games.
For example, the poor girl chosen in Melo's games. She was so young, yet no one volunteered for her. After the Victor tour, Dove heard that the girl had family, with two older sisters. The oldest was past the age of volunteering, but the second oldest was seventeen years old.
She had a blood-related family, yet she didn't get spared. And here I am with my adoptive family, completely willing to die for each other. She didn't know which one of the two possibilities was better. Maybe neither.
Having a sibling die because they volunteered for you, or seeing your sibling die while knowing you could have taken their place. Both sound horrible. The sound of footsteps coming her way took her out of her thoughts. Looking around, she saw her older sister walking to her.
"Hey. How has training been?" Angel asked, grabbing her sister's arm. They walked to Victor's village while Dove explained her day. The only thing she hadn't tried were nets, but she was already skilled with them. She didn't need her classmates knowing her strengths.
"I have to improve my aim, though. I did horrible with the bow," she told her sister between laughs. "Come on, it can't be that bad," her sister tried to joke.
"Zero out of twenty-four shots. It is that bad," she replied. "At least I know how to use a trident. If I didn't, Melo would probably lecture me," Angel gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulder. Their brother took the use of a trident as a basic thing every District Four-person should be able to do.
When they reached home, their family was waiting for them to eat dinner. Since Melo had become a Victor, he prepared the dinners, which was an improvement over their mother. It was clear the talent their mother had picked up after her games wasn't cooking.
As the days went by, Melos's annual visit to the Capitol came. The day everyone feared, it was the day when he would start to get sold to the Capitol. Watching him enter the train was harder than she expected. He waved everyone goodbye as the train left the station.
He wouldn't be too long in the Capitol, but every day felt like an eternity. Day after day, Dove met Finnick on the beach, and they chatted to get their minds occupied. She gave the rope back to him, days after he had tied it up in her hair.
From time to time, he would take the rope out of his pocket, to do and undo knots. The speed at which he did the knots surprised her, to a point where she asked him to teach her. Finnick agreed, and from that point on, he would teach her a different knot every day.
The day before Melo's arrival from the Capitol, Finnick taught her how to do what he said to be 'the most important knot in the Arena', which resulted in the hangman's knot.
"Funny. Now be serious, Finnick," she stated, watching as he put the knot on his neck and tightened it. He got the other end of the rope and placed it in her hands.
"You want to take me for a walk?" He asked, while Dove continued to stare at him, completely dumbfounded. "Are you sure you want me to answer that?" She joked with an evil grin. After some seconds, Finnick slowly took back the end of the rope from her hands.
"Good choice," she told him, patting his shoulder with a smile on her face. "Now, let's get this off of you." She loosened the knot and took it off his neck. Once the rope was in her hands, she undid the knot as fast as she could.
"Thanks, mum." he joked, crossing his arms in front of his chest, resting them on his knees. "Oh, please. If you continue to be like this, I'm going to treat you even more like a baby," she remarked with a giggle. They didn't stay on the beach for long after that.
Soon it was the next day, and as before, all the family stood on the platform, watching the train approach them. Once she saw her brother, she knew he had suffered a breakdown on the way to Four.
However, without giving it much thought, they went back to their house. Where Melo excused himself to take a shower. An hour had gone by when he got out of the bathroom. His skin and eyes were bright red and irritated. She could only imagine a few situations where that could happen, each worse than the last.
Despite that, she didn't ask, no one did. Neither Melo explained anything. There was no need, everyone knew why he had gone to the Capitol, and what he had done. Her brother walked to the couch, where Dove and Angel were sitting.
"Hey, girls, I've got something for you," Dove's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't expect him to get them anything during his traumatic trip. Both sisters shifted a bit in their seats, leaving a space between them, where Melo sat.
He went to his pocket and took out three necklaces. Dove's had a Melo Melo pearl on the left, an Angel shell in the middle, and a Dove shell on the right. The first thing that surprised her was seeing a Melo Melo pearl. They were extremely rare, apart from expensive.
As she took a better look at the necklace, she realised why the Angel shell was in the middle. Of course, the contrast between the white with the orange and red was beautiful. But it represented their situation. Both Melo and Dove were protecting their older sister. She was the only one, white, pure.
It was ironic, since recently Dove was considered the pure one. But now, it was the oldest of the siblings. They would make sure Angel never knew what killing another person felt like. A thing Dove was still scared of. Moreover, children, just like her. But, it had to be done to protect her family.
"Melo, it's beautiful. I'll wear it forever," Dove reassured him. If she could, she would use it as her token. It would remind her why she was there whenever she felt scared. It would remind her what she was fighting for. It would give her hope.
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