finnick

FINNICK'S HAND was swatted away by Liberty, who had a frustrated yet amused look on her face as he reached for her nose again. "Finnick, it's fine, I already told you," she said, her tone a little softer than before.

He sighed and then glanced back to Katniss, who was still holding Peeta. She hadn't let go of him since he regained consciousness, her hand on his chest to make sure his heart was still beating. She was visibly shaken, her breath coming in sharp, irregular gasps.

"Well, it seems to be working now," Peeta said quietly, his voice hoarse but steady. "It's all right, Katniss." She nodded, but the sobs continued, deep and gut-wrenching.

"Katniss?" Peeta's voice was filled with concern now, noticing her emotional breakdown and the stress of it all began to weigh on him as well.

"It's okay. It's just her hormones," Finnick spoke up with a smirk, wiping sweat from his brow. "From the baby." Katniss looked up sharply, eyes red from crying, her gaze meeting his.

"No. It's not—" Katniss started, but she was cut off by another round of tears that seemed to confirm Finnick's statement. She shot him a glare through the tears.

Liberty chuckled quietly, her hand patting Finnick's leg as she rose to her feet. She glanced between Katniss and Peeta, trying to get a sense of their condition. After a moment, she shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and addressed Peeta. "How are you?" she asked gently.

"Alive," Peeta responded with a weak smile, attempting a joke. Liberty couldn't help but chuckle at his humour, even though the situation was anything but funny.

Finnick stepped in then, his face serious. "Do you think you can move on?"

Katniss quickly shook her head, a concerned frown on her face. "No, he has to rest." She wiped her nose on the back of her hand, realizing she had no cloth or fabric to use as a tissue. Her frustration was clear.

But then Liberty moved towards a nearby tree and, without a word, tore a handful of hanging moss from a branch and handed it to Katniss. She nodded in thanks, her gaze flickering to Finnick, who was still watching them.

Katniss noticed Finnick was eyeing Liberty closely, and when she smacked his hand away from her face, Katniss realized how long she had been staring at them. There was something stirred—some kind of unspoken connection between the two she envied.

Peeta caught the look between them and turned to Katniss, wanting to say something reassuring, but knowing she still harboured doubts. He trusted Finnick and Liberty; he just wished Katniss could see them the same way.

"So, you want to make camp here, then?" Finnick asked, turning his attention back to the group after a long pause.

"I don't think that's an option," Peeta replied, his voice steady but tired. "We can't stay here. No water, no protection. I feel okay now, but we need to keep moving. Slowly, if necessary."

"Slowly would be better than not at all." Finnick agreed, stepping closer to help Peeta stand. Liberty moved over to Katniss and held out her hand. After a brief moment of hesitation, Katniss took it and stood up.

"I'll take the lead," Katniss announced, already positioning herself at the front.

Peeta started to object, but Finnick cut him off. "No, let her do it." He looked at Katniss with a critical eye. "You knew that force field was there, didn't you? Right at the last second? You started to give a warning."

Katniss nodded, her expression unreadable. "How did you know?" Finnick pressed.

"I don't know. It's almost like I could hear it." Katniss' voice was quiet as if she wasn't entirely sure of what she was saying. She paused and let everyone fall into silence. The usual jungle sounds—chirping insects, rustling leaves—filled the air.

"I don't hear anything," Peeta said, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Yes," Katniss insisted, her voice firm now. "It's like the fence in District Twelve, only much, much quieter." They all listened intently, but there was nothing.

Liberty's gaze flickered between them, realizing that Katniss was lying about hearing it, but also recognizing how clever Katniss was at hiding the truth on what she knew; Liberty was curious, but stayed silent not wanting to waver the already thin ice she and Finnick were on with Katniss's trust.

"There!" Katniss exclaimed suddenly. "Can't you hear it? It's coming from where Peeta got shocked."

"I don't hear it, either," Finnick said, though he couldn't hide the amused look in his eyes as he exchanged a knowing glance with Liberty.

Liberty elbowed him playfully. "Alright, Katniss, if you say you can hear it, by all means, take the lead."

"That's weird," Katniss murmured, turning her head from side to side as if searching for the sound. "I can only hear it out of my left ear."

"The one the doctors reconstructed?" Peeta asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Yeah," Katniss answered with a shrug. "Maybe they did a better job than they thought. Sometimes, I hear strange things on that side. Things you wouldn't think have a sound. Like insect wings. Or snow hitting the ground."

As Katniss continued to lead the group, she tossed hard, nut-like fruits from a nearby tree ahead of her. When they hit the force field, there was a puff of smoke and the nuts fell to the ground, blackened and cracked.

Liberty bent down, narrowing her eyes as one of the nuts landed near her feet. She picked it up and began peeling the shell. Finnick raised an eyebrow at her, noticing her actions. "Liberty! Hey, what if that's poisonous?"

Liberty pushed his hand away as he tried to stop her from eating it. "It's not, it's safe," she said, a little exasperated. Finnick looked her over as she chewed the nut. "Mags gave me a book a while back about tree nuts, and I remembered seeing something similar."

"Similar? And you still risked it?" Peeta asked, eyeing her warily.

"I knew it was safe as soon as I smelled it," Liberty replied with a grin, tossing another nut in her mouth. She bent down to pick up another one and peeled it and, with a teasing smile, shoved it into Finnick's mouth before he could protest. He glared at her but chewed anyway, and she chuckled at his reluctance.

"It's not amazing, but it's edible," Finnick muttered, pinching Liberty's cheek playfully.

"Let's take a break," Katniss finally suggested, pointing to a nearby tree. "I need to get another look from above." She began climbing the tree swiftly, leaving the others to watch her.

Liberty picked up a few more nuts, peeling another and handing it to Peeta. He thanked her, and they all waited in silence for Katniss to return.

The trio on the ground stood in tense silence, their eyes fixed on Katniss as they waited for her to make her way back to them.

She had climbed the tree to survey their surroundings, but the wait felt endless. The sounds of the jungle surrounded them, a symphony of rustling leaves and distant bird calls, but the feeling of being trapped in this strange, claustrophobic arena weighed heavily on them all. Katniss had been gone for what seemed like an eternity, but soon enough, they turned to see her descending from the tree with her usual lithe agility.

She landed lightly on the ground, her eyes narrowing as she approached them, scanning the area. "The force field has us trapped in a circle," she said, her voice sharp with frustration. "A dome, really. I don't know how high it goes, but the boundaries are clear. There's the Cornucopia, the water to the centre, and the jungle surrounds us on all sides. It's very exact. Very symmetrical. And not very large."

She paused for a moment, glancing around as if the forest itself might reveal some secret they hadn't noticed. "I couldn't see any way out, no gap, no way to escape."

"Did you see any water?" Finnick asked, his voice tinged with concern, though he was trying to keep his usual calm.

Katniss shook her head. "Only the saltwater where we started the Games," she replied with a sigh, the weight of the situation clearly getting to her.

Peeta frowned deeply, his brows knitting together in thought. "There must be some other source," he said, his voice tinged with desperation. "Or we're all going to die of thirst in a matter of days."

Katniss glanced around, clearly unsure. "Well, the foliage is thick. Maybe there are ponds or springs somewhere, but I doubt it. The forest doesn't feel like it's hiding anything. I mean, at any rate, there's no point in trying to find out what's over the edge of this hill, because the answer is nothing."

Peeta's eyes sharpened. "There must be drinkable water between the force field and the wheel," he insisted, his voice rising with frustration.

They all shared a collective look, one that spoke volumes about their shared experiences, the memories of the Cornucopia bloodshed still fresh in their minds. The memory of the cannons echoing through the jungle haunted them, the number of fallen tributes far too many to count.

The bloodshed at the Cornucopia had been brutal, and their only hope had been to make it into the forest, where the trees might offer some shelter, some temporary safety. That decision had been their smartest move so far, but it didn't feel like nearly enough.

Katniss broke the silence, her voice steady as she spoke again. "We need to keep moving," she said, her words low but firm. "The forest is our best chance. We just need to keep looking."

For a while, the four of them trudged through the dense undergrowth, moving carefully down the slope a few hundred yards. The thick jungle foliage made it hard to see much beyond their immediate surroundings, and every step felt like a cautious advance.

Katniss remained in the lead, her eyes scanning the ground ahead, tossing hard nuts from a tree as she moved. The nuts, hanging from the branches like strange, bulbous fruit, hit the force field with a distinct, crackling sound each time.

Liberty was quick to bend down and pick up each one, examining it before she moved to collect more. Finnick rolled his eyes playfully as he watched her, unable to suppress the fond amusement that tugged at him.

"What? Food is scarce. I'm not wasting them," Liberty huffed as she stood, holding a small pile of nuts in her hands. She wasn't about to let anything go to waste, especially not in this harsh, unforgiving environment.

Finnick chuckled, shaking his head. "No, of course not," he said, his voice tinged with amusement. He reached over and took some of the nuts from her hand, helping her carry them. Peeta, too, reached for a few and added them to the pile. They moved with quiet efficiency, gathering as much as they could, even as their minds remained fixed on the desperate need for water.

Finnick couldn't help but watch Liberty, noticing the way she handled the nuts with such care. He knew how hard it had been for her to even find food in her Games—how she'd often gone without, surviving on little more than scraps. He barely remembered how little she ate during her Games, but he'd seen firsthand the toll it had taken on her.

One thing Finnick knew for sure was that after her Games, Liberty had developed a bad habit of forgetting to eat. Often, it was Finnick who had to remind her to take care of herself, to eat something.

It hadn't been easy for her, but eventually, she had found her rhythm again, learning to eat properly. Finnick couldn't fault her for being cautious, though. After everything she'd been through, he understood why she treated food like a precious commodity. It wasn't just about survival anymore; it was about remembering what it was like to have something to hold onto, something that wasn't tainted by violence or loss.

Liberty glanced up at Finnick, catching the look on his face as he studied her. She could see the quiet understanding in his eyes, and it made her feel a little less alone in the weight of it all. Without a word, she handed him another nut, her way of showing appreciation without needing to say anything at all. Finnick accepted it with a small nod, the two of them sharing a moment of unspoken understanding amidst the chaos.

For a while longer, they moved together in silence, the sound of their footsteps blending with the rustling of the jungle around them. Katniss led the way, her sharp eyes constantly scanning the area. Despite the tension in the air, there was a quiet rhythm to their movements, a sense that they were all trying to make the best of a terrible situation.

Eventually, they stopped to take a brief rest, though none of them felt like they were truly safe. Katniss sat down on a large rock, wiping the sweat from her brow as she took a long, steadying breath. She glanced back at the others, still holding the pile of nuts in her hands, though her eyes were focused on something far away. The jungle around them felt like a never-ending maze, each direction leading them only further into uncertainty.

As they paused to regroup, Finnick looked over at Liberty, his brow furrowed slightly. "You're always so careful with food," he said quietly, his voice more serious now. "I know it's not just about survival. You're holding onto something, aren't you?"

Liberty met his gaze for a moment, then gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. "Yeah," she admitted, her voice low. "It's about not letting everything slip away. It's about remembering that some things matter."

Finnick didn't say anything more, but his expression softened. He understood. He understood better than anyone.