Something Worth Living For [THG] // Finnick Odair

IX

"One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity."

--Albert Schweitzer

I open my eyes at 4:30 a.m. I am about to go back to sleep when I remember my training session with Finnick. I get out of bed and put my hair in a high ponytail. I put on a sweater and walk out of my room.

I eat a banana and some almonds, to have a bit of strength but decide not to eat much because I don't want to make my stomach upset again, especially when I am about to train, so eating a normal breakfast isn't the best idea right now.

Time flew by and when I glance at the clock again, I realize I only have two minutes to get to the gymnasium. I wait for the lift and when the doors open they reveal Finnick inside. He smirks at me, even at this time of the day. I am too sleepy to even care so I just smile at him and whisper a 'Good morning' to him.

"It seems you do want to distract me." He says as he walks out of the lift.

I was confused for a moment but then I remember I haven't changed, again. I am wearing another pair of shorts and a normal green shirt. He is wearing some grey sweatpants and a green shirt too, but his is a couple of shades darker.

"What are we going to do today?" I ask him.

"I don't want to tire you up." He says. "So we won't do much."

Finnick made me climb. Climb trees, fake trees but still trees, climb with a rope, and every time faster and faster. I am not bad but I am not good enough either at the end. I used to climb trees when I was younger but haven't done it in so long. The first times I slip and fall to the ground, then I improve a bit, at least I don't fall, and then I manage to climb a bit, it takes me a while but I do it.

At 5:40 Finnick lets me rest so I can catch my breath and drink some water, which I really need. I am still tired from the day before and I have never woken up so early in my life, my brain is still half asleep. My butt and my sides hurt because of the falls, but that actually helped me to wake up a bit.

"Okay let's get this straight." Finnick says. "You say you are weak, that you have no chance of winning, that you are small, and younger, and so much more."

"Because I am." I say without looking at him in the eye. "Everybody thinks so too."

"You showed me yesterday you are good and even lethal with some of the weapons, we still have to work on the sword though. You have been on the survival stations, you can tell which plants aren't edible, at least some of them, right? You can make snares, you can climb, you can swim." I say nothing so he just continues. "Short and thinner people may not be so strong but they are fast and agile. You could also hide in any place while the other tributes wouldn't because of their big sizes. You could climb places they couldn't because the twigs of the trees would break at their weight."

He takes the bottle of water from my hand, and puts it on a table next to me. I nod in agreement at him, but still don't dare to say something.

"You don't have to see the negative side to everything, instead see how you can turn your weaknesses as you call them, to something in your favour, to your advantage. I bet you would be faster than your tribute partner and would be able to run longer."

"I won several races in my school." I find myself saying.

"See? So I wasn't wrong, you are fast. What else did you say? That you are younger than all of them, how old are you anyway, twelve, thirteen?"