𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄 | finnick odair

- 𝟐𝟖

༻ CHAPTER 28 ༺
" return to me, my
sun and stars. "

     BREAKFAST WAS A hard pill to swallow for everyone present in the lounge. the tension could be sliced with a knife. even the stylists had found the morning distasteful, their speech limited at the table. any chatter that had been planned to be made had completely diminished with the miserable face of finnick. the boy clearly wasn't pleased with anything going on, just like atlantis.

     it had seemed that everyone had formed an emotional connection to the tributes. the bloodshed that was to come was only anticipated. clearly, it had been destroying finnick inside and out as he'd looked less than satisfied. the girl at his side looked no less good than him, if worse.

     mags, on the other hand, was trying to stay strong for both her and merlin as well as finnick. anything like that had seemed to prove an impossible task as any attempts to give them an encouraging look had been practically useless - returned with a fake smile. the former victors knew they were going to be sending one of their closest friends into bloodshed and death. to finnick, it felt like he was sending his heart out for slaughter.

     everything had seemed short and quiet. time had been moving too fast for all of them. merlin had also not seemed to be at his best at the thought of being sent into the games right that day. perhaps he'd been camping the days out, attempting to look unbothered but today his facade had failed.

     before anyone could even take a moment, the tributes and the mentors were being sent down into the landing site for the hovercraft. the stylists still had their time to say goodbye, being flown below the arena to dress them up for the entrance into the cornucopia.

     for atlantis, finnick's previous words rang strong in her mind. to pay attention to the clothing they were going to be provided for the arena. it could give her an idea of what landscape they were going to be inevitably tossed into.

     thankfully, atlantis was being escorted by finnick. the halls of the tribute center seemed especially dark that morning, the tension in the brunette's shoulders increasing within each second. there was nothing she could do to stop this.

     so she didn't resist.

     finnick wanted to say something, badly, but it seemed that the words were stuck in his throat, as nothing reassuring came. he'd once been in her position - he knew how frightening this was going to be and sugarcoating it would probably irritate her or cause her distress. it wasn't easy letting her go.

     as expected, peacekeepers had been waiting outside the door welcoming them in with open arms. the blonde next to her had put on a smile as if the time he had here had been a pleasure to him, even if he was going to stay some more due to the duty he had to perform for atlantis of pursuing sponsors for her.