Liberosis - The Hunger Games

50

There was a time of peace after the Morphling was carried away from the arena, Finnick had disappeared into the tree line for a while, filling me with a pool of anxiety that nothing seemed to alleviate. Peeta's head rested against Katniss' shoulder with exhaustion and all I could do was think about the people that I had lost already.

Thorn.

Elsie.

Beck.

Jude.

Atlas.

I felt the dark void building in my stomach with every person that I lost. Of course, I still had family and people that I loved- I was lucky that way. Most victors, people like Finnick, Johanna and Haymitch had lost almost everything they had ever know leaving the arena for the first time.

But in all honesty, an awful, twisted part of myself felt as though my life had not started until I took that step out of the arena. The victors became the family that I chose, they broke up the monotones of what my life had been before I was reaped and even with the relentless nightmares and the trauma, I always had them. The mother I had in Mags. The Uncles in Haymitch and Atlas. Aunts in Gaia and Sylvia. The sisters in Lorelei, Annie, Ophelia, and Johanna. Brothers in Reign, Pluto, and Blaze. Niece in Astrid and Nephew in Phoenix. Katniss and Peeta fit in there somewhere too.

Most importantly was Finnick, my sun and stars- he was there before the void appeared and through it, he was my source of light to clamber to. I fell for him before I even knew what love felt like, he was the reason I knew, the reason I remembered how to hold on.

I felt his presence before I saw him and a small smile appeared on my face as his hand poked over my shoulder, I took it gratefully, using him to stabilise myself as I stood up from the sand. In his other hand he held a collection of Katniss' arrows, covered in blood and matted fur, "Thought you might want these," He stated, dropping them into the sand beside the girl.

"I'll help you clean them up," I tell her, placing a tender kiss on the back of Finnick's hand as the two of us wade into the ocean. She handed me an arrow and I scrubbed the weapon clean of any grime left from the fight.

Katniss broke the tense silence with a tentative voice, "I'm sorry about Atlas," She said in a raw tone, the sincerity in her voice felt like a punch to the gut, "He seemed like a good person,"

"He was," I whispered, sinking lower into the water as I watch Peeta and Finnick talking on the sand. Finnick let out a loud laugh at something Peeta said and pushed the boy gently on the shoulder, causing me to smile at their building friendship, "People always underestimated him because of his injuries, but he would fight anyone who came between him and the people he loved. You remind me a lot of him, Katniss- you're a hell of a lot stronger than people would think," I remarked with a broken laugh.

"So are you," She replied awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck, unsure of how to respond to the compliment, "I remember watching your games. I couldn't help but admire the way you held yourself, the way you never let people perceive you as anything less than what you were. The Nightlock is what they called you in District Twelve, but I guess that had an entirely different meaning now," she said, her face darkening at the thought.

I couldn't help but remember one of the first conversations Atlas and I had on my tour.

"So, I'm a symbol of rebellion now?"

"Perhaps, there's a fine line between rebellion and hope- don't you think it's high time we have a bit of both?"

"To me, the Nightlock has always and will always be symbolic of a subversion of expectations. Whether that was me in my games, or you and Peeta in your own. Everything has a meaning, Katniss- I suppose the interpretation is dependent on the individual,"