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"Do you want to do anything?" Finnick asked. Everyone had gone silent since he had asked her to survive. The mood in the room was getting more awkward by the second. "Not really. It won't be long until Ohan arrives anyway," she replied.
The Capitol people always woke up late, so the Hunger Games started at late hours of the day. Either way, the tributes had to be transported to the Arena and prepared, so they didn't get that satisfaction. Just after the break of Dawn, Ohan would be there to get her to the Arena.
As if he had heard her, Ohan appeared through the door. Everyone in the room looked frightened at the stylist. It was time to let go, but they weren't ready. As Ohan gave a simple shift for Dove to wear, he looked with pity at her mentors.
Once she was ready, she turned back to her mother and Melo, giving them one last hug. "I love you two so much," Dove whispered. Letting go, she walked to Mags, who looked at her with teary eyes. Mags was like a grandma to her, saying goodbye was really difficult, and she wasn't good at goodbyes.
Dove let go of Mags to hug Finnick, the last person left for her to say goodbye to. "Take care of them for me," she whispered to him.
"I will. . . take care of yourself," Dove nodded at his words. During the hug, she discreetly left her rope in one of his jacket's pockets. "Something to remember me by," she whispered back, before letting go of him.
"I love you all." Dove said. That was it, her last words had been said. Now she had to follow Ohan to the roof, where a ladder from a hovercraft appeared right in front of her.
Half an hour later, she reached the catacombs of the Arena. The Launch Room where she would receive her last preparations was noticeably brand new. They prepared everything for the Capitol people to visit after the Hunger Games had ended.
She showered and cleaned her teeth, trying not to vomit at the sight of the Capitol food all the tributes were distributed. Ohan did her hair in a sort of pigtail that rested on her back. The clothes finally arrived. The stylists weren't allowed to intervene with them and didn't even know, so they wouldn't tell the tributes. So they were going to be a surprise to both of them.
As Ohan unzipped the bag, both of them stared at the different clothing. From a sleeveless shirt to a jacket. "The material of the jacket is made to reflect body heat. Better expect cold nights," Ohan spoke up as she got dressed.
She was ready. Everything was in place. "Just one last thing," Ohan said before taking a necklace from his pocket. That's my necklace! But I gave it to Melo. . . She thought as she stared at it.
"Where did you get that?" Dove asked, confused. "Melo gave it to me after the opening ceremony. He wanted it to be your token. Do you want my help to put it on you?" he offered, to what Dove nodded.
Moments after, a female voice announced it was time for launching. Dove walked to the platform as she looked at Ohan. She hadn't said any goodbyes to him.
"I'm not saying goodbye because I know you'll be back. I can't bet, but if I could, I would bet on you, goddess of the sea," he announced.
Dove nodded with a light chuckle. "It was a pleasure to be your model. Keep up the good work, Ohan." She said. Ohan let out a slight laugh just before the platform rose. Once she was in the open air, the voice of Claudius Templesmith roared around the Arena.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Sixty-seventh Hunger Games begin!"
The Arena was completely different from last year. It was some sort of dessert with few, close to none, water supplies. One of the biggest was a lake on the right side of the Cornucopia. The Careers would go there for sure, so it was best to avoid it.
The others were small waterfalls here and there at the verges of the arena. Much safer, but once there were few tributes, they would either disappear, or the tributes would be obligated to move. There were small parts around the arena with forests, which would be great for hiding. The forests were near the waterfalls, leaving a good space of desert between, to let everyone know if someone went to a waterfall.
As Dove glanced at her right, she saw Alder, two tributes away from her. He was analysing his surroundings as well. Once they locked eyes, Dove motioned at a bag that was a few metres away from him, and back again to one of the forests. It was the farthest one from the lake, and the closest to a waterfall. Alder caught the message and nodded. He would follow her plan.
Neither of them would fight in the bloodbath. It would be safer to run and hide for the time being. They would get a bag and meet at the forest Dove had pointed.
Looking around, Dove analysed the other tributes' positions to know whether they would fight or flee. Sparing a glance to the Cornucopia, she saw a golden trident. She was tented to go for it. But what were the odds that she could get out of the bloodbath carrying something as heavy as a trident? Close to none.
Play it safe. She repeated in her head. The best option was grabbing the nearest bag, which was a horrible bright yellow colour. A loaf of bread was near her, and a small piece of wire. After that, she would run straight to the forest to meet with Alder.
The gong sounded. The tributes could leave the pedestals now. Dove ran straight ahead and grabbed the yellow bag and the loaf of bread. She had to leave the piece of wire behind, since she had the boy from One on her tail. Running as fast as she could, she reached the forest, losing the boy.
She didn't stop running. The further from the cornucopia she was, the better. Cannons sounded as she ran. Nine, one more than last year. Dove thought once she had stopped to catch her breath.
The sound of footsteps made their presence towards her at a great speed. Someone was running to catch her, and she had no weapons. There were many trees near her, but she didn't know how to climb. District Four obviously preferred to teach combat, not survival.
Dove did what she could and hid behind the biggest tree she saw, hoping for the other tribute to be lost. The person stopped once they reached the spot she was merely seconds ago. "Dove, are you there?" she heard the person whisper. It was Alder.
"Thank God, it's you," Dove whispered as she revealed herself from her hiding spot, and hugged the boy. "I could say the same. Hey, look what I got from the Cornucopia," he said happily, letting go of the grasp she had on him.
"Wait, you went to the Cornucopia?" Dove asked in disbelief. She didn't expect Alder to risk his life that early in the games.
"Not exactly. The boy from Nine had a sword and was going after me when the girl from Two killed him by throwing a knife. So now I have a sword and a knife!" He announced, proud of his own quick thinking. "Which one do you want?" he asked.
"For real? You're asking the sick girl if she wants to carry a sword? Do you want to contribute to our deaths or what?" Dove asked sarcastically. Even though her aim was bad, it would be better to carry the knife than carry a heavy sword around, with her supposedly sick body, so soon in the games. To say the truth, the sword still scared her after her nightmares. It would be better to evade it for now.
"Yeah, true. Sorry," Alder replied with a chuckle. "How many so far?" he asked. She guessed that during the time he was battling for his life, he couldn't pay attention to the number of deaths.
"Nine," Dove replied plainly. "We should find a safe spot, and we'll see what we have in these bags. By the way, we should camouflage them," she added.
"Then we should camouflage your hair as well." Alder joked with a grin plastered on his face. Dove laughed lightly and shook her head. "OK, genius. We should find where the waterfall is first, then we'll get mud for the bags and my hair. How does that sound?" she proposed with a chuckle.
"Sounds fair. OK, the easiest way to find anything. Up in a tree. After you, my lady." He said, moving a bit from what would probably be the highest tree around them, and motioned for her to go first.
"I don't know how to climb," Dove said. "Of course, you don't. OK, let me help you." Alder replied. The two spent the next half an hour climbing the tree. He had to help her with every step, and she tried her hardest not to slip.
When they were at the top, everything was clear. The tree they were on wasn't the highest of them all. But it was good enough for them to find their destination. The waterfall was relatively near. It would take less than half a day to get there.
It was perfect. They would arrive there nearly by night and could go undetected. Then, once they drank water and got the mud, they could go back to the treeline and sleep protected.
"Wow. I could get used to this," Dove spoke up, as she looked around the Arena, clearly impressed. "You've been on the ground for far too long. Doesn't it feel as if we were birds from here?" Alder replied. There was something in his expression that she knew perfectly well. Climbing was a daily activity for him, and he missed it. He probably felt like home up in a tree.
"It does. But I still prefer the sea. Less possibilities to slip, fall, and break my neck." Dove commented with a smirk. It was the first time both of them shared any personal information with each other.
"I would rather break my neck than die drowning, thanks," his playful tone reminded her of her brother. Even though, Alder had a completely different accent from Melo, they seemed alike.
"You say that because you don't know how to swim. If you knew, maybe you would like it better than climbing," Dove tried her best to make her mocking tone with a heavy District Four accent, but it didn't work out.
"No, thanks. But I would love to visit the sea. I guess since you're from Four, you must be fed up with it." The combination between a person and the sea made Dove laugh. She was sure he would freak out at the beauty of the sea, and its deadly side.
"Who knows, if you win. . ." Dove trailed off. Neither of them had brought up what they would do if they were the last two. They were supposed to be in love. Lovers don't just kill each other like that. Still, she needed to prepare herself. She wasn't too sure in her capability of killing the boy right in front of her, or anyone for that matter.
"If you win, tell my family it wasn't their fault. They did what they could, and I love them for that," she finished, looking at the boy with teary eyes. Alder motioned to go near him. She moved to him the best she could to the branch where he was sitting. He wrapped his arms around her, not letting her go.
"I won't let that happen. So, when you win, tell my family I love them for me, OK?" he said. "I'm not letting you die." Dove replied with a serious tone as she looked up, trying to lock eyes. "I can't let you die either," he muttered under his breath. But Dove had heard, and she was sure the Capitol had heard too.
"Anyway, let's see what we have in the bags before doing anything," Alder suggested, to which she agreed reluctantly. If any of them had a water bottle or similar, they could depend less on the waterfall, and move around the Arena more freely. Dove moved and sat in front of him, as she opened her bag.
"I have a sleeping bag, a bottle of iodine, a box of wooden matches, a pack of oyster crackers, a bit of coiled wire, and a bottle. What about you?" Dove said.
"I have these weird-looking glasses," Alder said, showing them to her. "Oh, wow! Alder, these are night-vision glasses," Dove exclaimed excitedly. Travelling at night would be less risky if one of them had the glasses. "Cool! It also has a pack of nutrition bars, a piece of rope, some sterile gauzes, an adhesive tape, and a bottle," he said.
"Wow. You got extremely lucky today. First weapons, then night-vision glasses, and now this?" Dove said, amazed as she pointed to the sterile gauzes. She hadn't seen a tribute being so lucky in all the Hunger Games she had seen.
"Let's hope it continues to be like that for the rest of the day," Alder muttered under his breath. "OK, let's make a move. We've been here for far too long, and now that we have bottles and the iodine, we can move freely around the Arena." Dove said while putting the things back in the bag.
"Once we have the water, we should go back to the forest. Let's find the tallest tree and remain there. We have to figure out where are the careers," he suggested as he put his things back in the bag, too.
When Dove's feet touched the ground again, she let out a sigh. Climbing down the tree was scarier than up. But she had to admit that being up was safer than remaining on the ground. Alder walked in front of her as they went to the waterfall, sword ready in his hand to attach anyone who could appear.
It was almost midnight when they arrived at the waterfall. The moon was bright and high in the sky. Dove wondered if it was the same moon her family watched, or if it was one of the many Arena illusions.
"OK, let's get the water, get the mud on the bags, and clear out." Alder proposed. He gave his bottle to Dove, and she gave him her bag. They had decided to divide the tasks.
Dove got the bottles as full as she could and calculated more or less the drops of iodine she had to drop. After that, they would have to wait half an hour more or less until they could drink it.
Alder tried his best to put mud on the bags. However, these seemed to be made from some type of material that caused the mud to slip off. They would have to put the dirt daily to camouflage it properly.
"Ready?" Dove asked as he approached him with the two bottles. He nodded and gave her a bag. They walked back to the forest, stopping once they found a tree tall enough to oversee all the arena. Once they reached the top, the anthem played, showing the fallen.
The girls from Five and Six, the guys from Seven and Eight, both tributes from Nine, the guy from Ten, the girl from Eleven. . . And Alder's district partner, the girl from Twelve. Dove counted in her mind. When his ally's District partner was shown, she looked at him with pity, only to see him do a weird gesture to the sky.
"What's that? If you don't mind me asking," Dove spoke up once the girl's face had disappeared from the sky. Alder looked at her, slightly surprised.
"I thought other Districts had it too. In Twelve, when someone dies, we get our three middle fingers of our left hand to our lips, kiss them, and hold it out in the person's direction. It's a way to pay our respects. It is not as common now, but it's still used." He explained. "It means thanks, admiration, even goodbye to someone you love," he added.
Dove looked at him, perplexed. It was a beautiful way to express so much in such a simple gesture. She nodded slightly, letting him know she had understood his explanation, and looked back at the sky where the tributes had been shown. Getting her three middle fingers to her lips, she kissed them and held them to the sky. She wanted to express her goodbyes appropriately, too.
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