Calm Before The Storm {Finnick Odair}

Black Tulip

Hebe woke up the next morning, not to the sound of Ambrosia's shrieking in her ear but Luca peeking around her door, fully dressed, softly saying her name

She shot up in bed, caught off guard by his presence but more worried about anything else.

Hebe had known Luca for many years before the reaping, although the extent to which he seemed to have latched onto her was surprising. He attended the academy and was friends with Annie's younger sister, Selene, so he was familiar. He was always surprisingly polite considering most boys his age were vain and arrogant, not to mention moronic. So Hebe felt for the boy, he didn't deserve to be on this train, headed towards his imminent death. So she had made a vow to protect him. If she couldn't make it she would do everything in her power to make sure that Luca did.

"Are you ok Luca?" Hebe asked softly, standing up out of her bed.

"Yeah I'm fine. Sorry for waking you up. We have an hour until breakfast and I was thinking we could watch some of the old tapes from the games. I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep." He said, trailing off slightly.

Hebe smiled, "Sure thing. I'll get changed and meet you in the last compartment."

Luca smiled back at her, seeming more at ease, clearly he had been worried about having woken her up. She turned and began pulling her dress from the reaping back on slipping her shoes back on, opting to leave her hair loose. She walked down the corridor to the last compartment where she found Luca holding several highlight reels, all from victors from 4. Hebe sat down on the sofa, as Luca got up to put on Adrian Morris' games, the winner of the 58th games.

He had won by secretly allying with the tributes from 7 before the games while publicly joining with the careers. He would meet with the two during the games when he was sent off to fish a nearby lake. When all of the rest of the tributes had died off, he then led the male tribute from 1 and the female tribute from 2 away from the main group and ambushing them, stabbing the girl from behind and drowning the boy in a nearby river, leaving the two from 7 to take care of the rest of the careers, including his own district partner. The pair of tributes from 7 managed to overpower the careers, but when Adrian rendezvoused with them back at the camp he found that the girl from 7 had beheaded her district partner with her axe. Adrian fought the girl but she was no match for him. He broke her neck.

Luca and Hebe watched, almost enraptured. Hebe knew that she had to do something equally as devious to capture the attention of the Capitol. The only reason Adrian lasted so long was because of the generous sponsors that he earned by being not only charming but creating a scheme so clever and interesting that people couldn't turn away.

Her plotting was interrupted by Ambrosia knocking on the door to their compartment, calling them for breakfast. The pair stood and made their way down the hall yet again, walking in step behind Ambrosia to the dining car.

Mags and Finnick were sat in the same seats as yesterday, their tributes following suit. Their ridiculously dressed escort took her seat at the head of the table and quickly began babbling about today's itinerary. Hebe switched off, already knowing that today was their arrival in the Capitol and tribute parade. She was only broken from her daydreaming by Finnick's voice cutting through the haze of her thoughts.

"You'll be brought to the remake centre and taken in by your prep teams. Don't make a fuss, and don't argue with them. And don't be a brat, rumours spread fast in the Capitol." He said, almost sternly. Hebe resented being treated like a child when they were the same age. Who was he to talk to her like that?

The irritation clearly showed on her face as Finnick then turned to her, asking, "Is there a problem, Cross?" He glared at her, practically spitting out her name like it left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. Hebe furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Had she done something to offend him?