chapter twenty-five
OCTAVIA HAD TO LEAVE. She knew the second she watched Katniss give Rue a burial that she had to rush home. Her act of kindness would ignite something in Eleven, Octavia was sure of that. As soon as the games cut to Caesar, Octavia rushed out of her apartment and had an Avox call for a train, telling him that the food in her apartment was free game for him.
She ran into Finnick on her way out.
"Where are you going?" His voice was soft, hesitant to rehash the burn of Rue's death.
"You saw that. I have to go home." She pushes past him. Finnick's long legs caught up to her quickly.
"I'm coming with you," he says. Octavia shakes her head and continues walking.
"No."
"Octavia, we don't know what's happening there. I'm not letting you go alone," he tells her, grabbing her arm to stop her from walking away from him.
"You can't, there's too much at stake for us right now," she says.
"You saw what that girl just did," his voice is low, "we are probably one of Snow's last worries right now. I'm coming with you or you aren't going." He is stern, jaw clenched at Octavia's stubbornness that he loved.
Octavia purses her lips for a moment. She nods.
"The train is ready."
───
The train ride felt particularly quick today. Probably because having Finnick by her side gave her less time to overthink what may be happening at home.
Octavia sits beside him, anxiously picking at her fingers while Finnick looks out the window.
"It's going to be okay," he says, trying to calm her nerves. Octavia's leg bounces wildly.
"We don't know what's going on, Finnick. My parents-"
"Are going to be fine. We'll figure things out when we're there, but right now you need to calm down." He places a hand over hers. pointing his other toward the screen, where Thresh is being shown for the first time since the beginning of the Games.
He is very briefly shown, wearing a curved sword on his belt and squatting down in the wheat field.
Octavia exhales in relief, nodding.
Katniss had reunited with her district partner.
"What's his name, again?" She asks Finnick.
"Peeta. Interesting strategy on his part, the whole crush thing," he says, eyebrows raised. Octavia nods in response.
"Yeah, be sure to write that down," Octavia teases. Finnick laughs. Their obliviousness to the possibilities of next year's quarter quell was just plain ignorance.
"I love you," Finnick says, eyes full of happiness as he looks at Octavia. She gives him a small smile, along with a nod. She places her hand on his cheek.
"I love you too."
The train comes to a screeching halt. Octavia jumps up instantly, and Finnick follows. They're practically prying the door apart by the time it opens.
The sight of Eleven was terrifying. Flames engulfed buildings that were designated for manufacturing rice, bodies decorated the streets, and peacekeepers were marching around like militants.
"Oh my god," Octavia whispers. The couple runs off the train toward Octavia's parent's home.
Finnick doesn't take the time to cover his head or try to hide his presence. The stakes of what may have happened weigh too heavy for proper thinking.
Octavia sprints through the street and directly to her parent's home. She bursts through the door.
Rhea, who was sitting at the kitchen table alone, jumped; startled. Her face immediately scrunches up when she sees her daughter. Tears flood the woman's eyes as she slowly stands up.
"Mom. What happened? Are you okay? Where's dad?" Octavia asks, all at once. She pulls Rhea into a hug. Finnick shuts the door behind them, locking it.
Rhea says nothing, just cries into her daughter's shoulder.
"Where's dad?" Octavia asks again, this time more urgently. Her voice cracks through her question as the possibilities flood her mind.
Rhea inhales deeply, trying to pause her hysterical crying. She pulls away from her daughter, motioning for her and Finnick to sit down.
"After the little girl died, things got out of control. The burial, the flowers, and then the salute. It happened so fast," she says, tears beginning to prick her eyes again. Octavia is still.
"The people in the square started fighting the peacekeepers, they were setting fires, it was chaos. Some of the peacekeepers started grabbing us, even though we weren't doing anything. We were just trying to get out of there, me, your father, and Thresh's grandmother," she pauses. Reality begins to set in for Octavia. Finnick places a hand over hers.
"One of them grabbed her, they were being so rough. You know Consus could never stand by and watch that. He got between it and," her voice shakes, tears rolling down her face as she's now lost her composure.
"We didn't even know they had guns," she cries, Octavia shakes her head, trying not to believe what she is hearing.
"He died instantly."
Octavia couldn't breathe, she couldn't really even hear. Her body went numb as quickly as her heart did. Her father was dead. Finnick's presence behind her keeps her from falling completely over the edge of destructive grief.
"And Mrs. Morrowson?" Octavia asks. Her mother shakes her head. Octavia gasped, brows furrowed.
"Those peacekeepers will be dealt with, though, right? They can't just kill, there are rules." Finnick says. Rhea shakes his head at him.
"This was different. This was like nothing I had ever seen before. I don't think it will get better, it feels like we're on the top of a downward slope, just getting started."
"I want you to come back to my house. It at least should be a little bit safer there. Please." Octavia says, placing a hand over her mother's, begging.
If Consus were here, Rhea would say that it wasn't necessary. She'd say that they'd rather die here together than live long and die apart. It wasn't an option now. Rhea nods.
"Let's go."
───
Octavia, Finnick, and Rhea walk to the Victor's Village quickly. With the destruction of the square, there was hardly anyone but peacekeepers out. Finnick keeps his head down, covering his head with the hood of his jacket while Octavia and Rhea walk on either side of him.
At this point, Octavia didn't know what would happen if any Capitol personnel saw him. It seemed like Snow had more to worry about than Finnick and Octavia's relationship.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" A man's voice calls out loudly. The three keep walking, heads down, not looking for trouble.
"I'm talking to you!" The voice calls.
"You guys keep going," Rhea says, turning to face the peacekeeper. Octavia and Finnick slow their pace drastically, more worried about Rhea than themselves.
"Yes, sir?" She asks.
"I said, where do you think you're going?" The peacekeeper repeats, obviously angered and on a power trip.
"My daughter's house," Rhea answers, beginning to turn away to continue walking. The peacekeeper grabs her arm aggressively.
"Hey! Don't touch her!" Octavia immediately gets involved, yelling at the peacekeeper. She quickly approaches him, grabbing his arm in an attempt to release her mother.
The peacekeeper quickly pulls out his baton. He swings at Octavia, who dodges in time to avoid the blow. The baton misses her and swings straight into Rhea's head.
In an instant, the peacekeeper is on the ground with Finnick standing above him. Blood begins to drip from the man's nose from Finnick's balled-up fist. Rhea rubs her head with her hand, and Octavia begins to drag her away.
"Finnick! Let's go." She yells. Finnick quickly follows her. They rush back to Victor's Village, no one says a word.
When they finally get into Octavia's home, Finnick locks the deadbolt and shuts the blinds.
"What the hell was that?" Finnick asks, referring to the peacekeeper. Octavia sat Rhea down on the couch examining her head, which was beginning to swell.
"I don't know. You shouldn't have hit him, if they find out it was us, we'll be in deep shit with Snow." Octavia shakes her head while she responds. She gets up to grab a bag of ice for her mother.
"We're already in deep shit with him. He shouldn't have peacekeepers attacking people." Finnick retorts, frustrated.
"You shouldn't have hit him." Octavia remains stern. Finnick pinches the bridge of his nose but says nothing.
"Hold this here," Octavia instructs her mother, who nods. Octavia gets up from her spot on the couch and walks to her room, signaling for Finnick to follow. He shuts the door behind them.
"I'm not sorry for hitting him," he says. Octavia sighs.
"I know. I'm not asking you to be sorry, I'm just asking you to be smarter. Things are exploding right now. My father," her voice trails off, the realization that she had yet to cry hits her. Finnick's eyes soften.
"He's dead, Finn," she begins to cry. Finnick quickly pulls her into his chest, wrapping an arm around her back and a hand placed comfortingly on her head.
He'd lost people, of course. He can't remember losing his father, because it happened when he was a baby. His mother and brother were still alive, thanks to his cooperation with Snow.
"I'm so sorry," he whispers, letting his girlfriend cry in his arms. Octavia tries to gather herself, breathing deeply. Finnick wipes away her tears when she pulls away, looking up at him.
"Thank you for being here," she says. Finnick gives her a small smile.
"Always, love." The couple look at each other for a moment. Finnick leans to kiss her forehead, tears still slipping from her eyes.
"Octavia!" Her mother calls. Octavia and Finnick quickly rush out.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Octavia interrogates. Rhea points to the television. The feast was happening.
Katniss was on the ground, bleeding from her face. The girl from Two, Clove, was crouching above her, knife in hand. Thresh was sneaking up behind the two girls. At first, he seems like he's going to grab his pack and go, which is exactly what Octavia is begging him to do. Something seems to grab his attention, though.
He effortlessly rips Clove off of Katniss, lifting her off the ground and pushing her against the cornucopia.
"You kill her?" He demands, the girl is frantic.
"No!"
"I heard you! You said her name!" He says angrily, a large rock placed in his hand.
"Cato! Cato!" She cries out for her district partner, who is nowhere to be seen but can faintly be heard calling out for her.
She's dead quickly. A large, rock-sized dent in her skull can be seen on the screen. Octavia's stomach stirs at the sight of the young girl.
When you're in the Arena, you think that the other tributes are your biggest enemy. When you get out, you realize that they were the same as you.
Thresh turns toward Katniss, who remains on the grassy ground. He points at her, for a moment, Katniss thinks he's going to kill her next.
"Just this one time, I let you go. For the little girl. You and me, we're even then. No more owed. You understand?" His voice booms. Katniss gives him a nod. Thresh looks around for one last time, grabbing his pack, and sprinting away. Octavia gulps.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Finnick looking at her, anticipating a reaction. It was different this year, for Octavia to so personally know her tribute. He knew she was afraid, but she wouldn't admit it.
"He spared her," she says, pointing out the obvious. Finnick and Rhea nod.
"Of course he did. That's who we are, they can't stop that," Rhea says. Octavia and Finnick can assume well enough that she's talking about Snow, the peacekeepers, and their attacks on the districts.
The sun begins to set. Finnick begins to examine Rhea's head further.
"I'm going to start some tea," Octavia says, walking toward the kitchen. She subtly watches Finnick taking care of her mother. She can't help but smile at them.
It was as clear nine years ago, as it's clear right now: Octavia Cirillo is completely, wholly, incredibly in love with Finnick Odair, and he loved her just as much.
END OF CHAPTER
a/n
rest in peace, consus.
the cirillo's are down to only two of four now..
thank you for reading!