. SURVIVAL GAME . .៹♡
CHAPTER TWELVE
─── STRATEGY
Velren heard his name being called by Aurora, paired with Finnick's as well. As they pulled away from each other, the two men gave each other an amorous look. Finnick leaned forward to give Velren a swift kiss on his lips. But before Velren even had a chance to react,Finnick grabbed his hand and walked back with him to his sister and the others to hear about the plan.
Most of them couldn't believe what had happened, while others had apparently always known that the two would eventually become a couple. Aurora, for example, grinned proudly. Johanna's mouth were open and her eyes widened in surprise while Beetee had his mouth frozen in an 'O' shape. Peeta kissed Katniss on the cheek as he had lost a bet they had made a long time ago.
Velren couldn't help but roll his eyes and shake his head at their reactions before he leaned back against the tree opposite Katniss. Finnick snuggled against Velren's chest while the latter wrapped his arms tightly around him. Velren smiled contentedly before he looked at Beete, who had calmed down like the others.
Beetee stood in the middle of the six tributes who had gathered around him, and made sure everyone was listening before he spoke. He had a plan, Velren thought curiously. "Where do the Careers feel safest?" Beete asked the group while he fixed his glasses and pushed them up on the bridge of his nose. " The jungle?"
"The jungle's a nightmare." Johanna commented across from Aurora,who nodded in agreement. "Probably here on the beach. " Peeta said, who sat next to Katniss with his machete. Beetee frowned slightly. "Then why are there not here?" he asked the others.
"Because we are here. We claimed it." Aurora answered him after a silence cut through the group for a moment. "And if we left, they would come." Velren remarked, to which Beete nodded in the affirmative. "Or stay hidden in the tree line." Finnick added within the crook of the neck of his boyfriend.
Beetee nodded again. "Which in just over four hours will be soaked with water from the 10 o'clock wave." he explained to them and took the spool of wire which lay in the sand in front of him. "And what happens at midnight?" he asked then the group. "Lightning strikes that tree." Katniss said and stared curiously at Beetee.
"Here's what I propose." Beetee began to say. "We leave the beach at dusk. We head to the lightning tree. " he exlpained and pointed to the largest tree in the centre of the forest, to which all the tributes looked to where his finger was pointing. " That should draw them back to the beach. Prior to midnight we then run this wire from the tree to the water." he continued and pointed from the tree to the sand below them. He grabbed a handful of sand and let it slip through his fingers. "Anyone in the water or on the damp sand will be electrocuted."
Johanna raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced by Beetee's master plan, and crossed her arms. "How do we know the wire's not gonna burn up?" she asked. Beetee looked at the black-haired girl. "Because I invented it." he answered her, and a smile played at his lips. "I assure you, it won't burn up."
When Johanna looked away, she caught Aurora's gaze and felt as if she could read her mind. Johanna nodded unobtrusively at her before she looked at Finnick, who raised an eyebrow. Then she looked back at Beetee. "Well, it's better than hunting them down." she said to him.
"Yeah, why not?" Katniss agreed and looked at Velren, Finnick, Johanna and Aurora suspiciously. "If it fails, no harm done anyway, right?" "Alright, I say we try it." Peeta said while Velren shifted his gaze down to his boyfriend,who nodded at him. "We are in."
"Me too." Aurora said, a glimmer of hope in her sea-green eyes. "So what can we do to help?" she asked then. "Keep me alive for the next six hours." Beete suggested to them. "That would be extremely helpful."
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The sun slowly approached the horizon, and as it gradually set, a spectacle of color appeared in the sky. The colors, from deep purple to a soft faded orange, blended harmoniously across the expansive sky. The orange tones seemed to literally bounce against the edge of the rough water. The sun, once radiant and majestic, fell from the sky and headed into the sea, where the moon would soon take its place.
Velren watched Finnick with a loving smile while Peeta and Katniss sat together on the beach, Beetee, Aurora and Johanna were doing the same. Finnick stood a few meters away from him in the water, and stared at the surrounding arena. As he did so, he practiced with his trident, which he swung around and over his head.
"What?" Finnick asked with a grin when he noticed his boyfriend watching him. A smile tugged at the corners of Velren's mouth before he grinned to himself and gave his head a slight shake. Finnick tilted his head as his eyebrows drew together. The smile on his lips remained, however. Velren took a step towards him while Finnick dropped his trident on the ground.
"You think you're cool, don't you?" Velren remarked with a slightly challenging tone. "I think I'm handsome." Finnick corrected him with a wink and grinned playfully at him with bright eyes. "Maybe a little." Velren admitted with a touch of teasing.
A smirk escaped Finnick's lips. He opened his mouth to say something back, but the words caught in his throat. Instead, he sighed and got out of the water.
"So..." Velren began to say, and glanced back at the rest of the group. "What do you think of the plan?" "Don't worry about it. The plan will work." Finnick assured him with a calm smile as he took Velren's hand and gently intertwined their fingers to squeeze it tightly." We'll be fine." He rested his other hand gently on Velren's cheek and stroked it gently. "But at this moment, I just want to show you how much I love you."
Velren shook his head and a soft smile played around his lips as his heart began to beat faster with anticipation. "Oh yeah?" he asked in his best seductive voice. "And how-" The words hadn't even left his mouth when Finnick had wrapped a hand around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.
Both of Finnick's hands had wrapped around Velren's neck and pulled him closer, if that was even possible, so that the kiss became even deeper. Both immediately fell back into intense passion, as if this was not their fourth, but their hundredth kiss. Velren put his arms around his boyfriend's waist. He wished the kiss would never end.
After Finnick pulled back again, despite Velren's disappointed moan, he took a deep breath and gently rested his forehead against his. His gaze was filled with loving affection as he looked into his eyes. "I love you."
"I love you more." Velren said with a big smile before he began to kiss the blond man's face fervently; first the delicate skin on his neck, then the soft forehead, then the small nose and the prominent cheekbones, then the cheeks and finally he pressed his lips more needily on his boyfriend's lips again, savoring the time they had before it was taken from them. "All right, lovebirds!" Johanna shouted suddenly not far away. "Let's get moving!"
━━ AUTHORS NOTE
There you have it, Chapter 12 ! I hope you enjoyed it!
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Until next time! Much love to you all!