Calm Before The Storm {Finnick Odair}

Stick Men

Hebe awoke the next morning covered in dirt and leaves, grinning maniacally. Her dreams had been filled with the career's screams, vivid visions of Verity's face melting, an axe in Icarus' skull, blood covering the floor, her trekking their blood through the swamp, the rusty red mixing with the mud.

Her thoughts were cut off when she buried her head in her hands, resisting the temptation to slap herself across the face to rid herself of the bloodthirsty abstractions. She unzipped the top of her suit, swatting at the flies and mosquitoes that buzzed around her, reaching in and grabbing the chain Luca had given her, moving her thumb over the pendant. She looked down at it, realising it was a small arrowhead.

A tear began to slip down her cheek as she stared at it, remembering seeing Luca's mother at the docks wearing the same one while she sold her nets. Hebe held it tightly, rubbing her fingers over the ridges of the piece of metal.

She then looked up, finally taking in her surroundings. Thankfully the rest of the careers were asleep, even Icarus who was supposed to be on watch. It was just after dawn, the early morning sun creeping up over the treetops, shining speckled light onto her. It reminded Hebe of the willow tree outside her bedroom window, the dappled rays of the sun on her bed. She quickly pushed those thoughts of home away, zipping her suit back up before the mosquitoes struck and sucked all the blood from her body.

Hebe grabbed her backpack and took stock of her food supplies. Inside was one last full canteen of water and 2 boxes of crackers. Her 'allies' would have more, maybe another 2 bottles of water, a few other boxes of crackers, even some apples, but not enough to sustain them for any stretch of time. They would be eager to hunt down other tributes today before their meager supplies ran out.

The tributes left were the three careers, the pair from 3, Hebe, the boy from 5, the girl from 6, the pair from 7, the girl from 12 and possibly the girl from 8 too. Only 12 left, halfway there. Halfway home.

Soon they were all awake, Verity berating Icarus for falling asleep on the job, Gaia quietly sniggering at them in the corner. Icarus didn't seem overly bothered by her complaints, brushing the girl off in favour of eating some of his own crackers. Irritated, Verity was the one to lay out the plan for today, usurping Icarus' leadership.

"We're gonna have to hunt down some of the other tributes. Steal their supplies. We're going to go deeper into the forest, it's probably going to be where the others are hiding out, trying to stay as far away from the cornucopia as possible," She turned to Hebe, eyeing her with disdain. "Now's the time to prove your worth 4. Or this won't be working anymore." She finished, parroting the same words Hebe had said to her at the lunch table in the training centre.

"Sounds great." Hebe responded coldly, staring the girl down. Verity just huffed and returned to her crackers, walking over to Icarus and offering him a sip of water.

Then they were picking up their backpacks and trekking through the jungle, leaving no remnants of their camp behind. Hebe toyed with her necklaces as she walked, holding Luca's pendant through the thin fabric of her suit.

She was glad for the sun, it cheered her despite the circumstances. It reminded her of home, walking by the docks in the summer, laughing with Annie, going down to the beach and swimming, lounging by the shore together. She enjoyed the way it made their silver suits look as they moved, glistening in the sunlight like liquid mercury winding its way through the twisted trunks of dead grey trees.

Hebe could hear the playful joking between Icarus and Verity, not really listening to their conversation. She smiled slightly, until her ears finally honed in on what they were discussing.