The strong salty air filled Evadine Ripley's lungs as her toes sunk deeper into the tide-soaked sand.
She remembered longing to see the ocean in her first life, a prisoner of foliage who never got to experience the peace of the beach.
Walking further into the water Evadine smiled to herself as she felt the water pull at her legs, beckoning her farther in only to push her away again a moment later.
She loved the peace she felt in her new life. It was sad to think that her life in District Four was a much more pleasant one than her previous life.
It didn't take long for Evadine to figure out where she was after her death. Between the District Four posters, the Capitol propaganda, and the fact that the fifty-second annual Hunger Games was announced a few days after her birth into this new life, her new world was pretty easy to deduce.
The real trouble was coming to terms with the fact that she was dead and then born again into a fictional universe that publicized the slaughter of children to avoid rebellion.
At first, she was terrified, but as she settled into life in Panem, she couldn't help but embrace her second chance at life.
She let her hair grow long, unlike the buzzcut John would force her to wear. She wore the most colorful clothes she could find, never being able to wear them before because it was easy to spot her. She still woke up before the sun, out of habit but she wouldn't get up immediately, she would wait for the morning light out of spite.
She promised herself that she would be happy in this life and that she would not live in fear.
When you've already faced death, everything else seems insignificant. Fear fades and in the absence of fear, there is only peace.
Her family in this life held no significance to her. Her mother in this life died a year after her birth, leaving her daughter solely in the hands of her absentee father.
Her father, Eryn Ripley, disappeared sometime after Evadine turned six. She never got a definitive answer as to where he went. Some neighbors whispered he escaped the district, some say the peacekeepers killed him, or that he was buried at sea. As cold-hearted as she felt, she never thought much of her father's disappearance, she was more than capable of caring for herself.
Evadine usually stayed on her own, still unaccustomed to strangers even years after she died in the woods. Occasionally she would give some of her hunted food away to poorer families. She still lived in the Ripley's home so shelter was never a problem. She also had developed a potentially detrimental habit of endearing the peacekeepers.
All of the capitol's puppets knew of the sweet curly-haired girl who would occasionally bring them flowers or weave them friendship bracelets out of yarn.
One time she learned that the Peace keeper's Captain had a guitar and by some miracle, she convinced him to let her play songs for the peacekeepers on Sundays. Captain Nash was an older man, stern and often rude, but even he found himself charmed by the little orphan.
After she began her Sunday concerts at the peacekeepers' base, she noticed that their patrol route shifted so that every hour or so one would walk by the house of the lonely little girl, just to make sure she was alright.
She got in trouble a few times for distracting her peacekeeper 'friends' while they were on duty. Well, she referred to them as friends, she suspected they viewed her more as a stray kitten they all collectively decided to adopt. They always gave in to her distractions even when they were on patrol. She had been pulled into Captain Nash's office more than once for doing so, but he usually let her go after a stern talking to.
Deep down she knew Captain Nash was a softy. She was proven correct when he gifted her the guitar for her eighth birthday. The streets were filled with her sweet voice for days after.
She exited the water grabbing that very guitar as she made her way up the rocky shore and to the abandoned fishing dock that had become a haven for her.
Even if it wasn't the world she would have chosen, Evadine was determined to live life to the fullest and enjoy even the hardships. She found peace even in the war-stained world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finnick Odair was what his mother referred to as a "spirited child". Which basically translated to him talking too much and being viscerally opposed to sitting still.
He enjoyed fishing with his father and playing with his dog, Shelly. He hated the schooling his mother forced him to attend and the smell of his father's liquor. He loved swimming with his best friends Ronny and Colton but most of all he loved the water.
For all the hardships of his short life, Finnick was a happy child. That was until his parents reminded him that tomorrow was his first reaping day. He was twelve now, old enough to be chosen as a tribute in the annual Hunger Games.
He never liked watching them, the thought of participating made him physically sick. Finnick always had a soft heart, he was kind and caring towards everyone and everything. Once when he was three he came to his mother sobbing because he accidentally stepped on a cat's tale causing it to cry out. He had been utterly devastated that he hurt the kitty, it wasn't until his mother found the stray cat so Finnick could apologize that the boy finally calmed down.
The Hunger Games were a nightmare for the young loving boy, too violent and terrible to view as entertainment.
He never understood how Ronny and Colton could smile and cheer when their favored tribute did something they deemed interesting. Though their tune seemed to change now that they too were twelve.
Finnick felt like he couldn't breathe the air in his house becoming too electric with anxiety as the minutes ticked closer to the reaping.
He threw off his shoes the moment his feet hit the sand, and his anxious heart calmed at the familiar feeling of the water. The salt cleansed each trembling breath bringing him back to earth. The shade of the dock overhead blocked out the suns heat as tried in vain to calm his racing heart.
"Sweet creature. Had another talk about where it's going wrong. But we're still young. We don't know where we're going. But we know where we belong." His ears perked at the sweet voice all fears vanishing as he focused on finding the source.
The slow strum of a guitar filled the air as he searched. His blue eyes caught two sand-covered feet dangling off the end of the wooden dock above him. Two flower crowns hugged her ankles as they swung in the breeze. The bright yellow of the flowers contrasted with the blue of the sky. He caught a glimpse of her green skirt as it brushed against her shins.
Her beautiful voice ensnared his every sense and he allowed himself to forget the horrors the next day would hold.
"And oh we started. Two hearts in one home. It's hard when we argue. We're both stubborn I know, but oh. Sweet creature, sweet creature. Wherever I go, you bring me home. Sweet creature, sweet creature. When I run out of road, you bring me home."
He abandoned the shade of the dock moving further down the beach trying to catch a glimpse of the siren's face as he listened to her song keeping pace with the crashing waves. He nearly tripped over his own feet in his desperation to see her.
And then his eyes fixed on her and the world around him seemed to stop spinning.
Finnick Odair was only twelve years old when he first laid eyes on the love of his life.
"Sweet creature. We're running through the garden. Oh, where nothing bothered us. But we're still young. I always think about you and how we don't speak enough. And oh we started Two Hearts in one home. I know, it's hard when we argue. We're both stubborn. I know, but oh... Sweet creature, sweet creature. Wherever I go, you bring me home. Sweet creature, sweet creature. When I run out of road, you bring me home"
White flowers were braided into her curly black hair, the golden skin glowed in the sunlight, and constellations of freckles decorated her cheeks and nose.
Seeing movement in her periphery she turned and ocean-green eyes met sky blue. He could feel his face flush under her gaze his usual ever-racing tongue stilled. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
"Hello." She smiled greeting him with that same angelic voice and in a moment Finnick Odair's heart was no longer his own, but the property of Evadine Ripley.
She looked at him strangely, receiving no response to her greeting. "Are you alright?" She asked placing her guitar down beside her on the rotting dock. Finnick continued to stare at the vision before him, opening and closing his mouth like a fish.
"Should I go get someone for you? You're looking a bit flushed." Her tone grew more concerned the longer he went without responding. She stood ready to go find a medic for the boy before he finally found his voice... well almost found his voice.
Rather than respond to her question all he said was, "Pretty."
She halted looking down at him in confusion before a light went off in her head, "Oh the song? It's pretty? Thank you."
He hadn't meant the song but he decided to save himself the embarrassment of admitting it, "I-I've never heard it before."
"I... wrote it." She lied. However, her lie was much more believable than the unfortunate truth that the song was from another universe.
"I'm Finnick." He announced, still not quite finding his feet in the conversation, rather just word-vomiting his immediate coherent thought.
She smiled, "I know, you're Finnick Odair. I see you around sometimes with Ronny and Colton." When she had first found herself in District Four, her mission became finding the only person besides Mags and Annie she remembered from the books. She first saw the capital's heartthrob when she was four, his father was teaching him to tie knots near the water. She didn't approach him, but in a distant world so different from her old one it was comforting to recognize someone. She still had yet to find Annie but she did sing for Mags sometimes in Victor's village.
"Your name." His blush grew even more intense when she recognized him. He didn't understand how he might have missed someone like her even in a crowd.
"You want to know my name? I'm Evadine Ripley... You're not very eloquent are you?" She smiled her ocean-green eyes shining with mischief as she teased his flustered ramblings.
"How old are you?" Evadine asked, taking control of the conversation. She saw a somber darkness flicker in his pretty blue eyes. "I'm twelve," Finnick responded, the fear of the reaping sinking back into his veins.
"You won't get chosen tomorrow." She announced as if her word was law.
"You don't know that." He responded sadly.
"Yes, I do. I'm always right. Don't worry so much, I promise they won't pull your name tomorrow. I never ever break a promise, so you'll be fine." Evadine smiled, eyes bright with an all-knowing joy.
"What about you?" Finnick asked worrying for his new friend.
"Oh, I suspect I won't be pulled either... I'm ten so I'd be pretty surprised if I was." She giggled to herself causing him to laugh too. He didn't know why her words brought him such comfort. His parents had assured him he wouldn't be picked but he could see the fear in their hearts, their comfort was more prayer than assurance. Evadine on the other hand spoke with such confidence it was as if God himself would change fate just so she was correct. Evadine Ripley promised and she never breaks a promise.
Before their conversation could continue, she noticed the sun's placement in the sky and realized she had promised Mrs. Lark she would join her for dinner.
She stood taking her prized guitar with her.
"Bye, Finnick!" She called as she made her way back down the dock.
Finnick was snapped out of his stupor and raced to grab his shoes and climb back up the rocks towards the road. "Wait!" He called out scraping his palm as he sped his way up the rock face.
By the time he reached the top, his siren was already gone. He stood there for a moment, shoes in hand wondering if she was real at all or if she was just an angel sent to comfort a scared boy.
He made his way home, heart pounding as he thought about Evadine Ripley, the pretty girl with a prettier voice.
His mother didn't even scold him as he tracked sand into the house. She just glanced at his face and smiled. "You're blushing Finn, did something happen?"
"Have you ever heard of a girl named Evadine Ripley?"