𝙵𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙳𝙾𝚆𝙽 | 𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝙾𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚛

𝚝𝚠𝚘

RAEL WAS GROWING used to having the blonde around the house and he found himself somewhat grateful that Maisie finally had somebody to hang with during the day. Despite his several protests, Alexis adamantly refused to return home. The reason still remained unknown to Rael, but he decided not to push any further in fear of pushing the already fragile girl over the edge.

The three of them fell into a pattern of sorts. Rael woke early in the mornings, earlier than either of the two, enough to get breakfast set for the girls and dress for work before Maisie woke up. When his younger sister came to, she rushed to Alexis' side, ready to start the new day trying to cheer up the blonde. Rael wasn't exactly sure what the girls did while he was away at work but he could take a guess and assume Alexis preferred to spend much of her day listening to Ceasar Flickerman discussing each tribute's predicted odds in the games.

That day, however, was different than the last three. It marked the beginning of the 65th Hunger Games, an event important enough where even Rael didn't have to work. As he woke up at his usual time, he could feel the sense of dread that hung in the air. Muffled noises drew Rael's attention as he drowsily made his way to the main room, where he was surprised to find Alexis already wide awake. 

Rael slowly walked behind the couch, observing how Alexis had her knees tucked in, arms wrapped around her legs, rocking as her eyes remained glued to the hologram screen. Rael reached out to place a hand on the blonde's shoulder, startling Alexis as she flinched away and whipped around to face Rael with wide, fearful eyes. 

"Sorry," Rael muttered an apology to the terrified girl as she slightly relaxed when she realized it was only Rael, however, the fear never left her eyes as she turned back around to watch the screen.

"It's alright," Alexis' soft voice could barely be heard over Ceasar Flickerman's voice as she rested her head on her knees.

The familiar sound of the floorboards creaking prompted Rael to look over to the bedroom door, where Maisie stood as she released a long yawn and stretched her hands up to the ceiling in a half-asleep state. 

"Morning, Mais," Rael softly smiled at his younger sister as she slugged over to the two teenagers.

"Morn-" Maisie cut off as she released another audible yawn.

"How late did you stay up last night?" Rael raised a questioning eyebrow at his younger sister, who simply replied with a sheepish grin and the shrug of her shoulder before turning her attention to Alexis.

"Will you braid my hair?" Maisie asked Alexis, forcing the blonde to tear her eyes away from the screen to look at the younger girl who sported wide, puppy eyes and a slight pout.

Alexis softly smiled at the girl and nodded, causing Maisie to jump with glee as she plopped herself down in front of the blonde and allowed her to begin weaving her fingers through her hair. Although Rael could tell the smile didn't quite reach her eyes, Rael observed the way Alexis relaxed as she became engrossed in braiding Maisie's hair, taking her focus away from the games if only for a few minutes.

Rael soon realized Maisie's plan of distracting the blonde as the Capital and all of Panem prepared for the games in the following hours. First it was helping with breakfast, later it was playing with Maisie and her dolls. None of it was enough to truly help Alexis, but it was enough to ease her worries and distract her for a few hours. Somehow in the process, Maisie had even dragged Rael along to play with the dolls as they created a nice happy family, no matter how unrealistic the idea might have been to the three children.

All of it had to come to an end eventually as, while they were playing, Alexis suddenly dropped the doll in her hand, her face paling drastically as her eyes widened at the screen. Rael shifted, glancing over his shoulder to find the minute countdown to the Hunger Games had begun and the tributes already shown surrounding the Cornucopia in the arena.

Alexis shot up, much too quickly for her body to adjust after kneeling on the hard wooden floor for hours, and her knees immediately collapsed beneath her. Luckily, Rael caught her before she fell completely, releasing a small 'woah' as she promptly pulled away from the brunette and rushed to stand in front of the hologram as Finnick Odair appeared as the focus for several seconds.

Alexis reached out, almost if as hoping she could grab hold of Finnick, as her hand simply passed through the hologram. She retracted her hand as the camera shifted away from Finnick and to other tributes. 

6

Alexis took a step back in fear, followed by several more until the back of her legs hit the couch and she fell into the cushions. 

5

Her nails dug into her palms, an unhealthy habit she had recently developed, unaffected by the blood she drew.

4

Rael had made his way around the couch and grabbed both of Alexis' hands, unclenching them as he looked over her bloodied hands in worry as they trembled in his own.

3

Looking up at Alexis, Rael wasn't surprised to find her eyes trained at the screen without even a single reaction to him.

2

Maisie pulled herself on the couch next to Alexis and wrapped her arms around the shaking blonde, burying her head into Alexis' side as the timer reached its final number.

1

The sirens erupted through the speakers as the 65th Hunger Games officially began. Alexis tightened her grip, which happened to be around Rael's hands, as the screen flipped between all twenty-four tributes. Alexis held in her breath as Finnick appeared running towards the Cornucopia for supplies.

Alexis flinched away as blood splattered across the screen, hastily twisting and burying her face into Rael's chest as her hands instinctively reached up and clench Rael's shirt in her fists.

"Is he dead?" Alexis' voice cracked as she remained buried in his chest, her heart racing as she became sick with the thought of her best friend dying.

"Hey, it's alright," Rael reassured as he gently used his hands to pull Alexis off his shoulder. After freezing for several seconds, Alexis raised her chocolate, doe eyes to meet his as she tried to gauge his reaction. Rael attempted his best reassuring smile as he turned Alexis to face the screen, where it followed Finnick as he dived into the large body of water in the arena. 

"It's alright," Rael repeated as Alexis released a long breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "He's alive."

"He's alive," Alexis mumbled in disbelief as her shoulder's sagged in relief at the sight of her best friend making his way away from the Cornucopia for supplies.

She only prayed he could make it through the rest of the games unharmed.