. SURVIVAL GAME . .៹♡
                                               CHAPTER NINE
                                ─── GAIETY IN THE DARKNESS

 Katniss was the first to move, arming two arrows into her bow, and Finnick and Velren adjusting their tridents in their hands. Celestia nocked an arrow in her own bow and looked anxiously at the hunched form of Peeta's back while Aurora slowly gripped one of her knives.  "Peeta. " Katniss said as calmly as possible. "I need your help with something."

"Okay, just a minute. I think I've just about got it." he said back casually, oblivious as to what was going on. He still leaned against a tree and carved at it with his knife. "Yes, there. Have you got the spile?" "I do. But we've found something you'd better take a look at." Katniss continued in a measured voice. "Only move toward us quietly, so you don't startle it."

"Huh?" Peeta grumbled and looked back from the tree to the other five worried-looking tributes standing just a few meters away. He tilted his head in confusion before he turned back to the tree. Peeta let out a yell and jumped back as he came face to face with a snarling monkey. "Whoa."

The monkeys saw Peeta's gaze as a kind of threat and began to screech as they rushed towards the group. Velren, with the speed of a predator, attacked them immediately. His trident flashed dangerously as he speared one monkey after another, tossing them aside in a seemingly effortless motion. But despite his quick and precise attacks, the threat did not seem to diminish, as new monkeys kept appearing as if he had never killed them.

Finnick stood back to back with Velren and fought  with the same determination. His trident glided smoothly through the air, his gaze steady and focused as he speared the attackers and tossed their lifeless bodies aside. But even the combined efforts of the two seemed insufficient to stem the endless tide of monkeys.

Suddenly, one of the monkeys cut open Aurora's arm, causing her to let out a cry of pain, and Finnick speared the monkey with his trident. The monkey's lifeless body slumped to the ground. Aurora overcame the pain pulsing through her ripped open arm and stabbed at the attacking creatures with furious stabs of her knife.

A particularly aggressive monkey leapt at Finnick and pressed its trident against his chest as they fell to the ground together. Aurora hurled a knife through the air, which plunged with deadly precision into the neck of the monkey who tried to attack Finnnick, and gave him a moment of weakness.

Meanwhile, Celestia let fly an arrow that whizzed through the air with graceful speed and found its target - a monkey that lunged towards her, its claws outstretched for her flesh. The arrow hit its target with deadly accuracy, piercing the attacker and forcing it back, its roar stifled in an abrupt hiccup of death.

Everything happened far too quickly. Adrenaline coursed through Velren's veins as he continued to attack the rabid beasts with his trident. He could barely process what he was doing and whirled around to make sure his sister and the others made it out alive, even if he didn't. After finishing off the majority of the mutts, the group of six began to flee, stumbling towards the nearby beach.

As the group ran through the dense forest, Aurora and Celestia kept casting worried glances over their shoulders. They spotted Finnick and Velren, who were at the back of the group,stabbing at the wild monkeys that stood in their way. It almost seemed as if they were deliberately running slower to keep the rear positions. But it was obvious that Finnick and Velren were actually faster and more skillful than most of them. Besides, they were both just trying to protect their allies.

Peeta and Katniss ran ahead to the beach. Although they were ahead of the other four, they were still being attacked by monkeys. Maybe not as many as before, but there were still enough to worry about. "Peeta! Your arrows!" Velren heard Katniss scream as another monkey tried to attack him. But he was quicker and speared his trident through the monkey, causing it to fall to the ground dead.

As Aurora stabbed a mutt, a shrill scream of terror drew all her attention away from what she was doing. She turned back around and saw Peeta lying on the ground with a tribute throwing itself in front of him. Aurora realized it was the tribute from District 6, and her eyes widened as she saw the mutt sink its fangs right into her chest. Blood immediately began to flow from her body. "Come on, go to the beach!" Velren yelled to Aurora and Celestia, spearing a monkey that nearly killed the four of them.

Aurora and Celestia immediately listened to Velren and charged towards Peeta and Katniss as they helped the woman up. "Just you and me, huh?" Finnick remarked, to which velren  nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, just you and me." he said quietly. They both protected the group, making sure to kill every single monkey that got in their way. Soon,they made their way awkwardly back to the beach while they killed one of the mutts.

Finnick and Velren tumbled onto the beach as they made their escape. The pair both held their tridents threateningly in the direction of the monkeys, who dared not set foot on the sand. But after a few seconds, a cannon sounded and they began to retreat into the forest.

Velren watched as Peeta laid the girl on the ground and Katniss cut away her suit to expose the wound. There were four deep holes in her chest . Blood slowly trickled from them and made it look far less deadly than it was. The real damage was inside. She laid on the sand and gasped like a fish out of water. There is nothing they could've done but stay with her as she died.

"Velren and I'll watch the trees." Finnick stated. "Okay." Aurora agreeded, grabbing his hand to squeeze it, a goodbye, for now. "I'm gonna clean my knives off." Velren nodded in understandingly before he took Finnicks hand and walked with him towards the place where the bodies of the mutts laid.

Finnick watched him as he started plucking the arrows from their mangled bodies, not caring if the blood splattered his suit, or what's left of it since the fog destroyed most of it. He followed his lead, noiselessly yanking the arrows out, the red of their blood slicking up his skin.

Suddenly, a cannon shot shattered the silence, causing Velren to look up. The District 6 woman  lifted out of the murky water by a hovercraft. Water and blood dripped from her lifeless body as she was lifted into the air. Her form grew smaller and smaller until she disappeared entirely into the hovercraft.

Finnick came over to him with the rest of the arrows gripped tightly in one hand and together they walked out to the beach where Katniss,Celestia,Aurora and Peeta were standing. They dropped Celestia and Katniss' arrows onto the damp sand. There was a distinct difference between black and silver arrows, but they were both covered in blood.

"We thought you might want these." Velren stated. Katniss paused for a moment and stared at her arrows  before she nodded  and picked out her arrows. "Thank you. " she replied and waded into the water to wash off the blood. Celestia joined her with her arrows.

"Where did they go?" Celestia asked about the dead bodies once the group of tributes had walked towards the jungle. "Not sure, they just vanished." Finnick replied as Peeta took a seat on the other side of him.

With a furrowed brow, Katniss stared at the five Tributes who was sitting in front of her, all of whom were scratching their damaged skin. Velren didn't believe he had ever been so itchy before. "Don't scratch." Katniss warned them, frowning. "You'll only bring infection. Think it's safe to try for the water again?"

Everyone listened immediately, even if they hesitated. It felt as if Velren's skin was burning due to the itchiness. Nevertheless, they obeyed Katniss's orders. They made their way back to the tree Peeta was tapping. The other five stood guard with their weapons poised while he worked the spile in, but no threat appeared.

Peeta had found a good vein and the water began to gush from the spile. They soothed their thirst and allowed the warm water to pour over their itching bodies. They filled a handful of shells with the water and went back to the beach.

The sun slowly descended towards the horizon, its last rays painting a canvas of reddish-orange and golden yellow across the sky, as if bidding a hesitant farewell to the world. Velren savored the sight, sipping from a shell filled with refreshing water before gazing into the distance at the artificial sky above them.

Beside him, Velren could feel Finnick's gaze upon him, his eyes attentively assessing Velren's every move. It quickened Velren's heart rate and a gentle flutter spread through his chest, as if a myriad of butterflies were trapped within.

"Why don't you five get some rest?" Katniss suggested after minutes of silence. "I'll watch for a while." "No, Katniss, I'd rather." Finnick said, and Katniss noticed how he was still eyeing Velren. "All right, Finnick, thanks." Katniss stated before she turned towards Velren. "Are you going to sleep?" "I'm going to guard with Finnick." Velren said, to which Katniss nodded before she lay down next to Peeta, Aurora and Celestia.

Velren sat down beside Finnick, and together they gazed out at the water, where the large, luminous moon illuminated a portion of the arena. Its light was so intense that it bathed the scene like a nightlight, yet it was also a constant reminder that none of it was real.

At home, under the familiar moonlight, the waves would shimmer gently, only traversed by the faintest movements, while the rest of the ocean's surface lay in deep black or navy blue. But on this evening, the waves in the arena shimmered in an almost mystical dark blue.

In this comfortable silence, they both remained, lost in thought. It was Velren who eventually broke the silence by suggesting they could now go fishing on the beach. Finnick nodded enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up.

So Velren and Finnick spent quite a while skillfully hunting for fish in the clear water with their tridents. Finnick couldn't help but occasionally playfully splash Velren with water to see his reaction. 

Velren's loud laughter filled the surroundings. "Stop!" he shouted playfully as Finnick splashed him with water again. "Finnick!" The blond man laughed gleefully and leaned up aslightly to be at eye level with Velren. A mischievous smile played around his lips. "And what will you do if I don't stop?" he asked challengingly. 

Velren looked at him curiously before an extremely amusing idea occurred to his mind - two could play this game. With a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, he leaned forward a little to tease Finnick.

It almost looked like he was leaning in for a kiss, which took Finnick completely by surprise. Nevertheless, he willingly closed his eyes, and just as their lips were about to meet, Velren dunked Finnick's head under the water.

 It took a few seconds for Finnick to resurface with wet hair slicked back ,only to see Velren looking at him with an amused smile. "Oh, sorry, I thought you just wanted a little cool down." Velren said in a teasing voice. Finnick snorted playfully and splashed Velren with water again. "You'll get that back!"

After some more teasing in the water, Velren sat on the beach with him again. Velren couldn't help but put an arm around Finnick and pull him close. Finnick melted into his embrace and found the greatest comfort in his arms. 

Velren gave Katniss a smile when the younger girl woke up the next morning and looked at the three woven bowls, two of which held water and the third one held shellfish. Finnick sat on the sand and cracked the shellfish open with a stone.

"They're better fresh." Finnick explained as he ripped two chunks of flesh from a shell and gave a piece to Velren before he popped it into his mouth. Katniss nodded and reached for one before stopping once she realized that her fingernails were caked with blood, which meant that she was scratching her skin in her sleep.

"You know, if you scratch you'll bring on infection." Velren remarked. "That's what I've heard." Katniss replied before she went into the saltwater and washed the blood off. Once she stomped back onto the beach in annoyance, she turned her face upward. "Hey, Haymitch, if you're not too drunk, we could use a little something for our skin." Katniss snapped.

It was almost funny how quickly the parachute appeared above them. Katniss reached up and the tube landed squarely in her open hand. "About time."  she said before she sat down on the sand next to Finnick and screwed the lid off the tube.

Inside was a dark ointment with an astringent smell, a combination of tar and pine needles. Katniss wrinkled her nose as she squeezed a glob of the medicine onto her palm and began to massage it into her leg. She tossed the tube to Finnick as she began to apply it onto the second leg.

 Finnick eyed her doubtfully. "It's like you're decomposing." he said before he treated his own skin. After he had treated himself, Velren took it away from him, put his fingers in it and rubbed it into his skin. He was immediately overcome with a feeling of relief.

"Poor Finnick, poor Velren. Is this the first time in your lifes you both haven't looked pretty?" Katniss asked jokingly, much to the amusement of her. "It must be. The sensation's completely new. How have you managed it all these years?" Finnick asked with a smirk. "Just avoid mirrors. You both will forget about it." Katniss replied. "Not if we keep looking at you." Velren countered with a mischievous grin. 

Katniss shifted beside them. "I'm going to wake the others ." she said before she crawled over to Peeta,Aurora and Celestia who were still sleeping. "No, wait." Velren stopped her. He had a playful glint in his eyes as an idea came to his mind. "Let's do it together. Put our faces right in front of theirs. "

Well, there was so little opportunity for fun left in their lifes, they agreeed. The three positioned themselves, leaned forward until their faces were inches from their noses, and gave them a shake. "Guys. Guys, wake up. " Katniss said in a soft, singsong voice.

Slowly, they woke up with squinted eyes and it doesn't register to them that they were near them until their eyes were  wide open.  "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" they yelled in shock and jumped back into the sand.

Finnick, Velren and Katniss almost fell into the sand from laughing so hard and propped each other up, while Peeta,Aurora and Celestia sat next to them with their arms crossed and contemptuous expressions on their faces.

Their laughter calmed down briefly, but when they looked Peeta, Aurora and Celestia in the eye, their faces became serious again. Finnick, Velren and Katniss exchanged glances, then burst into more giggles. "You guys think you're so funny!" Peeta exclaimed. "You didn't even scare us!"

Once they had gathered themselves a bit better, Velren thought that maybe Katniss Everdeen was all right after all.  At least not as  serious or boring as as he had thought. Not so bad at all, really.

The three of them explained to the others what had happened, while Peeta continued to pout. Aurora and Celestia were relieved  at the knowledge  that they had been given an ointment to cover their skin with. By the time they had finished their story,  a second parachute of the day fell from the artificial sky – a fresh loaf of bread.

Finnick was the first to reach it, turning it over in his hands intimately, and Velren noticed it too. It was tinted green from the seaweed that laid out on the sandy beaches of their homes; District Four and District Thirteen. "This will go well with the shellfish." he muttered and walked over to the pile of fish him and Velren had gathered last night.

 As Finnick and Velren began cleaning the fish from the shells for them, Katniss helped Peeta,Aurora and Celestia put the ointment on their own skin. It wasn't long before they were completely covered in the stuff, and they all sat down on the sand to eat the delicious sweet flesh with the salty bread.

Next to Velren, Peeta broke open a shell and found a small shimmery pearl inside. With a smile, he grabbed it  and nudged Katniss with his shoulder. "Look."  he said and held it out to her. "It's for you." Katniss held out her hand and Peeta placed it in her palm gently. " Thank you."  the girl replied, sounding genuinely grateful.

Meanwhile, Velren braided ropes he had found in the sand on the ground and made bracelets out of them for himself and Finnick. After a while, he tied one of his bracelets around Finnick's wrist. In the middle of this bracelet he had hung a small silver charm of a fish. His own had a majestic phoenix. "For you,Finn." he said gently.

Finnick looked at the bracelet with a hint of surprise and joy in his eyes. Then he looked at the small silver fish pendant, which sparkled in the sun, and  stroked it gently. "It's beautiful. Thank you,Vel." he said with a warm smile,that wasn't intended to make Velren's heart beat quicken, but it did.

Velren nodded his head with a smile and tied his own bracelet around his wrist. The majestic phoenix pendant on the bracelet sparkled in the sun as well . The other members of their small group watched the scene fondly, exchanging furtive glances and quiet laughs. They all knew that what was going on between Velren and Finnick was more than a friendship, even if the two men didn't quite realize it themselves.

Just as Velren took another bite of the shellfish and let the taste melt in his mouth, a loud, deep rumble suddenly pierced the peaceful atmosphere. The group froze and stared intently in the direction from which the sound came. They could see a huge wave breaking through the forest and knocking down trees on its way to the beach. A woman's screams, filled with panic, pierced the sky and a cold shiver ran down Velren's spine. He drew his eyebrows together. "That's new." Peeta commented, and reached for his machete as he stood up next to Katniss

A cannon pierced the air as the mighty wave crashed into the Cornucopia. They all watched in confusion as a hovercraft raced in at impressive speed to grab another lifeless body and then  carry it away. The water splashed across the sand and up their feet, and Velren let his gaze wander over the other side of the arena.

"Someone's here." Katniss said sharply as she pulled an arrow from her quiver and Peeta kneeled down next to her. On the beach, not far away, they could make out three figures who were covered in what looked like blood.

Finnick stepped back a little into the trees and looked out at the group. His eyes narrowed before he let out a sigh . "Johanna? "he murmured before he looked to his younger sister.  In a blink of an eye, they made their way down the beach to the familiar group of friends.

 The Black siblings ran after the Odair siblings, while Katniss and Peeta stayed behind.  "Johanna!Jo! " Celestia shouted happily  to get her attention. "Celestia!" Johanna shouted back in joy and relief while she ran to them. "Aurora! Velren! Finnick!"

On the gentle shores of the beach, Velren's gaze fell on Beetee, who was lying in the sand, holding his glasses in his hand as he breathed rapidly. Wiress paced back and forth anxiously, her voice barely audible as she mumbled to herself. It seemed as though the trio had endured trials as harsh as Velren, Celestia, Finnick, Aurora, Peeta and Katniss.

Johanna immediately began to tell them where they were and what challenges they had to overcome, as Peeta and Katniss joined them. "Well, I got them out." she said, and  gestured to the jungle with a fake smile that quickly faded. "We were all the way deep into the jungle where I thought it would be safe. That's when the rain started. I thought it was water, it turned out to be blood. Thick, hot blood. You couldn't see, you couldn't speak without getting a mouthful. It was choking us! We just staggered around, trying to get out of it. That's when Blight hit the force field."

"Oh, Johanna, I'm so sorry." Finnick said mournfully while Aurora placed a hand on her shoulder for her condolences .  Johanna took a deep breath and looked up at the sky, shaking her head. "Yeah, well, he wasn't much, but he was from home." she continued and nudged Beetee who was still lying quietly on the ground. "And he left me alone with these two. Beetee got a knife in the back at the Cornucopia. And her--"

They all looked to the spiraling, bloodied woman who was muttering to herself. "Tick, tock. Tick, tock." "What's wrong with her?"Celestia asked nobody in particular. "She's in shock. " Beetee explained to them quietly and stood up with the help of Finnick. "Dehydration isn't helping. Do you have fresh water?"  Velren nodded at the man. "We can get some." he informed him.

While Wiress persistently repeated the same words and clung tightly to Johanna's arms, the other woman lost her composure. With a quick grip, she grabbed Wiress' shoulders and began to shake her. "Yeah, we know. Tick, tock.  Just stop." she said and pushed Wiress onto the ground harshly. "Just stay down, will you?"

Katniss rushed forward with quick strides and  pushed Johanna aside. "Hey! Lay off her!" she exclaimed sharply. But this action only seemed to further agitate Johanna. In an impulsive moment of anger, she swung and delivered a resounding slap to Katniss before she started to shout with raised voice. "Lay off her?" she exclaimed challengingly  while she pushed Katniss back with palpable fury. "Who do you think got them out of that bleeding jungle for you and Velren? You—!"

With no second thought, Velren rushed between the two fighting girls. He pushed his body between their arms and turned to an angry Johanna. He placed a hand on each of her shoulders. "Hey, hey, hey." Velren tried to reassure her and didn't let her go, even though she fought him and tried to get to Katniss. Katniss, on the other hand, paused in her fight when Peeta put an arm around her waist.

Finnick hurried over to Johanna and Velren with quick steps. "Let go of me, Velren! Please, let go of me!" Johanna shouted desperately as Velren continued to drag her towards the water, leaving her no opportunity to attack another tributes. "You wish." Velren replied. "Help me, Finnick!" Johanna then pleaded.  "Johanna, please. It's okay, it's okay." Finnick tried to reassure her and grabbed her hand.

When Johanna began to wriggle in Velren's grip, he simply gave up. An amused smile played on his lips as he simply threw her over his broad shoulder and carried her towards the water with springy ease. Johanna screamed insults at Katniss and cursed as Velren plunged her repeatedly in and out of the water again and again. Finnick stood on the shore and tried not to smile at his crazy friend and charming friend.

After Johanna had calmed down a little, the group got back to work. While Katniss and Peeta washed Wiress off in the water, Aurora and Celestia helped Beetee with his wound. Although they did not have the usual medical supplies, they skillfully improvised with the natural resources at their disposal. With thoughtful care and a dash of improvisation, they made a makeshift bandage of soft moss and sturdy vines to stabilize and protect Beetee's injury. Velren helped wash the blood from Johanna's hair and skin while Finnick got  fish and water for her, who accepted it wordlessly and chewed rather aggressively as she stared into the arena.

Meeting Katniss and Peeta, Beetee and Wiress, and Aurora and Celestia after Johanna was washed as good as possible, Finnick and Velren told them in turn about the force field, the fog and the monkeys.  They deliberately didn't mention the moment when they almost kissed if Celestia hadn't interrupted them. Their voices were filled with finality and control, as if they had discussed it a thousand times before.

Then Celestisa suggested that they all rest for a while. Johanna immediately offered to take the first watch, which led to Katniss volunteering soon after. For Velren, it didn't matter who took the first watch. He simply lay down between Finnick and Celestia and tried not to let a bad dream get the better of him.  Finnick mumbled unintelligible words and then gently put an arm around Velren's waist, as if to signal to him that he was not alone. Velren felt the warmth of Finnick's touch and exhaled in relief.

"Sleep well, Finnick." Velren finally whispered, his voice barely more than a breath. "Sleep well, Velren." Finnick replied softly, his words full of affection. The two lingered in a silent embrace for a moment before they drifted off to sleep.

━━ AUTHORS NOTE

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Johanna is back which means that we're getting closer and closer to the end of Act One ( Catching Fire) ! Thank god ahaha.

While you're here, I'd appreciate it if you could like, comment, vote and share this story with your friends!

Until next time! Much love to you all!