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It could be midnight, or even nearly dawn, Dove didn't know. The only thing that was lingering in her mind was Peeta's face. He had volunteered to go to the games with Katniss. He was willing to die for her, which left Dove in an unstable state. Her eyes were glued to the television as she watched the recap of the reaping repeatedly.
It didn't matter how much she tried to snap out of it, she always ended up seeing Alder instead of the poor district Twelve boy. Everything was confusing her, but not as much as she once was after her games. The only thing keeping her back to Earth was Finnick. The need to protect him. The absolute desperation to keep him alive was stronger than anything else.
Dove knew the look in Peeta's eyes when he volunteered. She had the same one when Finnick volunteered for Melo. Complete determination to die for the person they loved. "Still up?" Finnick asked, entering the room just before seeing what played on the television. "Dove, don't torture yourself like this," he pleaded.
"It's not exactly torturing. I'm getting ready for reality. He and Katniss have to die if I want to keep you alive." Dove replied, turning around to face him. Her face was serious. She didn't particularly enjoy saying such harsh words, but there was no other alternative if she wanted Finnick to go back home. Katniss and Peeta had to die.
"We could always be their allies. We can protect them, Dove," he commented, causing her to look at him, confused.
"And what will happen when it's them or us?" She asked, letting her tone show how lost she was. "We'll leave before that happens, and I can easily overpower both of them," he replied, letting his cocky behaviour show.
"I guess you're right. . . I don't know. I don't personally love the idea of being their ally, but I guess we can always take some time before deciding, right?" Dove questioned, pausing the tape as she got up from the couch.
"Right. And now, come to bed. It's strange to sleep alone." Finnick commented, a smile forming on his face as she mocked his command. In his assigned room, time flew by past them. One moment they were sleeping, and the other, Delia was waking them up to go meet their prep team for the tribute parade.
When the parade was mere minutes from starting, Finnick caught sight of Katniss entering the centre. He chuckled, and soon decided to walk to her chariot, which was decorated with white roses, simulating the wedding that would never happen.
Dove wasn't there yet, so she couldn't stop him from having some fun by teasing District Twelve's tribute. Confidently, he kept his walk to Katniss, who greeted him awkwardly once she realised his presence.
"Want a sugar cube?" He asked. A few sugar cubes were in his hand, two especially for Dove, who would appear at any moment. "They're supposed to be for the horses, but who cares? They've got years to eat sugar, whereas you and I. . . Well, if we see something sweet, we better grab it quick."
"No, thanks," Katniss replied, looking for another topic while trying to keep her uncomfortable expression under control. "I'd love to borrow your outfit sometime, though." She added, pointing at Finnick's outfit, or rather, lack of one.
He looked down at what his stylist had put him in. He was draped in a golden net, which was strategically knotted at his groin, so he couldn't technically be called naked, but also didn't let much room for imagination since it wasn't needed.
"You're absolutely terrifying me in that get-up. What happened to the pretty little-girl dresses?" He asked, his charm not getting through to Katniss, who continued with a deadpan expression as she replied.
"I outgrew them." She stated simply. Finnick took the collar of her outfit and ran it between his fingers. "It's too bad about this Quell thing. You could have made out like a bandit in the Capitol. Jewels, money, anything you wanted." He responded, a smirk on his face as he saw Katniss not falling for his Capitol behaviour.
"I don't like jewels, and I have more money than I need. What do you spend all yours on anyway, Finnick?" She asked. "Oh, I haven't dealt with anything as common as money for years," he replied.
"Then how do they pay you for the pleasure of your company?" Katniss asked, making it obvious she was oblivious of the other victors' deals and what that would truly mean for Finnick. "With secrets," he whispered.
"What about you, girl on fire? Do you have any secrets worth my time?" Finnick asked, causing the reaction he wanted for a long time to appear on her face. She was blushing.
"No. I'm an open book," she whispered back. "Everybody seems to know my secrets before I know them myself."
"Unfortunately, I think that's true," Finnick replied, taking a few steps back as he seemed to catch something out of the corner of his eye.
"Odair, what might you be saying to this poor girl? If you haven't noticed, she has a fiancée," Dove commented, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I love your outfit, by the way. I need to have a chat with Kala. She's done an outstanding job. The whole Capitol will drool for you again. Oh, and hello, Katniss."
"As strict as always, Ogilvy. Let people have some fun." Finnick replied, smirking at her with his usual Capitol exaggerated cockiness.
"Don't you see your fun is making her uncomfortable? Or is perhaps Finnick Odair oblivious to that?" Dove said, watching as he ate a sugar cube before replying.
"That, my dearest, is the definition of fun," he replied, winking at her teasingly while turning to Katniss, who watched the interaction completely baffled. "Peeta is coming. Sorry you had to cancel your wedding. I know how devastating that must be for you." He added mockingly, tossing yet another sugar cube in his mouth before walking in his chariot's direction.
"Don't mind, Finnick, he can be an idiot sometimes. . . I'm sorry. . . For everything. You two deserved better. Well, we all did, didn't we? But, I guess, that's just the Capitol at its finest. Giving you something, only to take it away from you the next second. Anyway, sorry again." Dove said, not waiting for any reply, as she left to find Finnick, who was already chatting lively with Ron.
District Four's Mentors for the 75th Hunger Games were an obvious warning from President Snow. There were four mentors, two male and two female. The male, Rhett and Ron, and the female, Muscida and Mags. That left an elder victor, an unstable girl, and the rest of Dove's family back home. Where they were supposedly protected, although everyone knew better than to assume that.
"Why did you tease Katniss with the wedding thing?" Dove asked Finnick as she approached him and her father. Both turned to look at her. Finnick, for the first time, took a good look at her outfit. It was beautiful, although it remarked obvious attributes that would be expected from a tribute playing the part of 'attractive and desirable'. A thing Dove didn't want, but was forced upon, just like him.
"Can't a man get jealous?" He replied, the same smirk from before still present, causing Dove to snort as she covered her mouth with her hand.
"Finnick, she's seventeen, for God's sake. . . Are you some kind of creepy old man or what?" She replied, raising her eyebrows teasingly at him.
"Not like that. Well, hope you're happy, because I'm not saving any more sugar cubes for you." He stated with a chuckle, watching as Dove faked pouting, an expression he was weak towards. "OK, but just because you're adorable."
"You've got to go. One's chariot is already leaving." Ron pointed out while signalling them at the chariots right in front of them. Dove ate the sugar cube Finnick had given her rapidly, lifting her skirt to get on the chariot.
"Come here, Dove, I'll hop you up," Finnick commented with a grin, placing his hands on her waist as he helped her, before getting on himself. The twenty-minute ride, the speech, the waiting for lifts that seemed to never get there. Every one of those seemed to last an eternity. Although, the latter was more enjoyable that year since Johanna took her turn to tease the new victors. She took off her parade outfit in front of them while doing small talk.
"I beg you, I want to ride their same lift, please," Dove said with a smile, glancing at Finnick, who tried his best not to laugh out loud at the interaction between their friend and the couple. "Yeah, sure. Let's approach them," he replied.
"Isn't my costume awful? My stylist's the biggest idiot in the Capitol. Our tributes have been trees for forty years under her. Wish I got Cinna or Ohan. You look fantastic." Johanna whined, resting her arm on Finnick's shoulder while talking with Dove and the couple from Twelve.
"Yeah, he's been helping me design my own clothing line. You should see what he can do with velvet," Katniss replied the best she could, obviously uncomfortable at the sudden girl talk.
"I have. On your tour. That strapless number you wore in District Two? The deep blue one with the diamonds? So gorgeous I wanted to reach through the screen and tear it right off your back. What about you, Dove?" Johanna asked, causing everyone's attention to go to Dove, who had been trying not to show how much she was loving the conversation.
"Oh, yeah. It was pretty. Although, personally, I prefer the dress she wore in District Five. The green silk one? That was truly beautiful." Dove replied, trying her best to compose herself and return to her usual Capitol attitude with a calm smile. It wasn't too easy, since Johanna was unzipping the rest of her tree dress right in front of them. "That's better," said Johanna.
Finnick and Dove followed the three, entering the same lift as them. Johanna chatted with Peeta while Katniss tried not to look at the naked victor. Neither Finnick nor Dove hid their amusement with the situation, glancing from Johanna to Katniss repeatedly until they reached the fourth floor.
"We couldn't be from Eight or Nine. No. We had to be from Four and miss all the fun." Dove muttered, causing Finnick to snicker as he waved goodbye to the rest. When they entered the floor, there were still some hours until Delia could nag them about going to sleep.
"Do you want to see the garden?" Finnick asked, turning around to face Dove as she pretended to doubt his offering. "Is Finnick Odair asking me to go on a date?" she suggested with a mocking smile.
"Yes," he said, a smirk plastered on his face as he approached her. Delia caught them sneaking out of the flat before they could go anywhere, although she seemed not to care as much as before since she let them go. Of course, there was a catch. They had to be back before midnight. "Feels like when we were young. We even have a curfew and everything."
They sat under a tree in the Training Centre's garden. With the breeze and the noise coming from the people in the street, anyone would have a hard time hearing their conversation. There wasn't much to be discussed, though. Everything important had already been said.
"Are we really doing this? I mean, the whole allies with Twelve." Dove said, leaning her head on Finnick's shoulder as they stared at the horizon. Their hands intertwined, their breathing synchronised, and the beating of their hearts accompanied the sound of the wind passing through the leaves.
"You don't want to?" asked Finnick, to which she sighed. "I'm not sure. They are nice, I think. But I'm not sure if I can cope being next to Peeta when he looks so much like Alder, while also trying not to fall into a mental breakdown." She replied.
"I know you're scared. But this will be different from your Games. This time, you've got me. And I'll be next to you all the time. To a point, I'm sure you'll get tired of me." Finnick stated, raising their intertwined hands to kiss the back of her hand.
"Don't get all peacock now," Dove complained teasingly, raising her head from his shoulder to look at him. "OK, then, do you want to especially annoy Peeta, Katniss, or whoever?"
"How about we let it happen? Although, I have to say, annoying Katniss was quite fun." He said, chuckling at the memory of an uncomfortable Katniss trying not to show how uncomfortable she was with his presence.
"All yours then. I'll just play the good kid. I would feel a bit bad if I tease Peeta too much. He looks like a sweet child, volunteering for love and everything." She added, letting her head fall on his shoulder again.
"Are you saying I'm a sweet child, then? Or did you already forget I volunteered for love too?" he mocked, leaning his head on top of hers.
"For love? And here I thought you wanted the glory and popularity that winning the Hunger Games could give you." She replied teasingly, to which Finnick chuckled. "I don't need that glory," he muttered.
The next morning, Delia had to wake the both of them up, yelling at them for being late to training. Finnick, as usual, got up pretty quickly, whereas Dove took considerably longer. By the time they arrived at the training station, half of the tributes were there, listening to Atala begin her usual lecture. When she was done explaining the stations, everyone was dismissed to do what they wanted.
"I'll go to the tridents' station. Want to come?" Finnick proposed, pointing at the station filled with targets and tridents. "No. I'm not confident yet. Let me wake up a bit with something else, and then I'll join you." said Dove, patting his arm before walking to the fishhook station.
From there, she watched almost an hour after as Finnick put his arms around Katniss, who was in the knot station, and helped her finish a knot she had been struggling with for a while. They had a little chat, before he knotted the hangman's knot, placing it around his neck, tightening it, and tried to give her the end of the rope. Katniss muttered something in reply and left, which gave Dove the liberty to approach Finnick, who still had the knot around his neck.
"If this is the whole 'walk me' proposal, I volunteer," Dove commented, taking the end of the rope in her hands as she tried not to laugh loudly. "You had your chance and refused. So, I'm sorry, but no." He replied, taking the rope from her before undoing the knot.
"Want to go to archery?" He proposed, to which she nodded, following him until there. Just as expected, Dove was just as bad at archery as she once was. "Zero out of twenty-four shots. Amazing." Finnick said mockingly, receiving a playful punch on his arm.
"And I thought I would get better at this with time. Turns out, I'm still useless." Dove returned the bow, watching as Finnick continued to try it out. He wasn't bad, but he definitely should stick to the trident.
At dinner, they put together the tables that once were separated to form only one. Dove sat between Finnick and Johanna while glancing at the other tributes, unsure. She wasn't blind. Something was going on with most of the victors. Neither Finnick nor Johanna would go out of their way to annoy the new victors for no reason.
There wasn't much time to figure it out, though, as she was forced to join the conversation frequently. "What is it, Dove? The Capitol food is not good enough for you?" Johanna pointed out teasingly while watching her scarce plate of food not being touched at all during dinner.
"I'm not that hungry," Dove replied, catching the attention of a few other tributes, Peeta between them. "You've got to eat everything on that dish, you promised," Finnick whispered, patting her back comfortingly as she forced herself to eat another spoon of food.
Dinner passed by slowly. It didn't help Dove to have her friends at each side, making sure she was eating. And, to top it all, for some reason, the vomiting sensation had returned, although she hadn't been poisoned recently. To calm herself down, she went back to the fishhook station, trying to remember all the tips Mags had given her since she was little.
"That's beautiful," Katniss said from her left, watching Dove as she did Mags' favourite fishhook. "Thanks," Dove replied softly.
"I saw how you volunteered for the girl in your district," Katniss commented, causing Dove to glance at her in expectation. "That was really brave."
"Annie is my sister-in-law. You should know better than anyone else how horrible it is to hear your sister's name being reaped. You were very brave, too." Dove replied, staring at the girl with a melancholic smile.
"I volunteered when I was sixteen. You, however, volunteered first when you were fourteen. And now, you're ill, and still volunteering." The girl replied, getting closer as she took the fishhook trial right next to hers.
"And you, District Twelve, not even one victor in twenty-three games, but you didn't care. Family always goes first, even before your own life." Katniss let out a giggle at her statement, nodding to show her approval before truly replying.
"I haven't agreed more to anything in all my life," she breathed, smiling at Dove, who explained cheerfully a few tricks when doing fishhooks. It was reassuring to find someone who thought exactly the same as them about family and the sacrifices it carried.
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