The Life of A Victor || Finnick Odair

CHAPTER 23

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"Let's get some sleep," Alder proposed as he looked around the bags he had picked up earlier. He was looking for the sleeping bag. He wasn't sure how they would share it without making things weird. But, technically, they were in love, so it should be fine.

"Don't worry about me. I'll keep the first watch," Dove said. She was too scared to sleep without Finnick around her. What if nightmares attacked during her sleep and fell off? Even screaming would get them in trouble. The careers surely had the night-vision glasses too. Screaming would only attract the group to them.

"Dove, I'm not letting you do that. First, we're at the top of the highest tree we could find. Second, not even you knew how to climb. Do you really think they'll know how to? Third, if you're scared to fall off, it's alright. I'll wrap a belt around us, we won't fall." Alder said, as he paused for some seconds before talking again. "You need sleep," he was right. But her major worry hadn't been resolved yet. 

"If I mumble, wake me up immediately," Dove uttered. Mumbles were the precursor of her screams. Her nightmares worked in a similar way to her brother and mother's. There was approximately an hour of mumbling before the screams started.

Alder nodded and motioned her to approach him. Dove sat next to him as he wrapped the sleeping bag around them. Once they were safely wrapped, Alder tied his belt around them and the branch. To fit, they had to get quite close to each other, but it would only contribute to the star-crossed act, so they didn't mind.

After minutes of silence, Alder spoke up. "What is Four like?" The taboo subject appeared again. Dove guessed it was the first topic he could think of at the moment.

"Lots of water, lots of sand, and lots of sunlight. What about Twelve?" Dove asked with a smirk, she wasn't trying to mock the boy's question, but there was not much else to say about her district. 

"Heavy poverty, lots of trees, lots of kids. . . Did I mention heavy poverty already?" Alder replied with the same tone as hers. "Yes, you did," she commented.

"About the interview-" he tried to say.

"Oh, you mean when you confessed without letting me know first? You should mind your timing when saying things. Some days earlier would have been great," Dove commented playfully. If the Capitol had the cameras on them, it would be better to make them believe she had feelings for him even before the confession.

"Then, the song. . ." Alder understood her game and decided to play along. Both knew the song wasn't for him. Although, she didn't truly know if it was for someone. Her feelings were going crazy, making it difficult to understand them. 

She knew about her attraction towards Finnick. But, was it really love? She was too young for such a strong word. How could she even sort out her feelings with her possible death right around the corner? Or maybe it had been thanks to her probable death that she had realised her strange emotions. 

"If you want to ask whether the song was for you or not. Yes, yes it was." That answer was obligatory, and they knew it. However, when she replied, she didn't feel it was forced. It neither felt as if she was confessing that to Alder. Finnick had crossed her mind for a split second when the words escaped her mouth.

"Why sea-green?" Alder asked again, making Dove come back to her senses. She tried her best not to blurt out 'your eyes'. After all, Alder's eyes were a soft blue colour, not sea-green. Thankfully, if there was something Dove had learned from her mother, it was quick thinking.

"Remember the first day of training?" Dove asked, getting a hum in reply. "When we met in the knot station, the first thing I saw from you was the colour sea-green. It was in that necklace you tried to hide under your shirt. Without realising, I started linking sea-green with you," she explained.