Impavid

“This is insane,” I said quietly, looking up at the ceiling of Finnick’s room. It was six in the morning and I was laying flat on my back in his bed, staring at the roof. Haymitch had left hours ago, but I remained in Finnick’s room, laying a few inches away from him. Our arms were barely touching, but our fingers were laced. The contact between us ranged from extreme to delicate, confusing me the more it happened. “Do you really think that blowing up the arena is going to work? I mean.. sure this place is supposed to be built for us to escape, but...”

“Beetee is a genius,” Finnick murmured, his eyes focused on the same ceiling spot as my own. His fingers rubbed the length of my own fingers, light brushes against my skin. “If Haymitch says Beetee’s coil can be used against that force field, then it is going to work.”

“Let’s hope it does. Getting Katniss to remain allies with us that long will be extremely hard.” I looked at Finnick then. He turned his head, our eyes connecting. I tried not to think that our times laying like this were limited. “I wouldn’t trust us. We didn’t just survive in our games- we killed. She isn’t going to like that much.”

“Haymitch said he’s got an idea to gain her trust, we’re just going to have to go on that, Lana. I know you don’t like it, but he’s right. The districts are fighting back and Katniss is this beacon of hope that is fueling that. The fact that Plutarch Heavensbee is behind this? That’s the sign we need to be on board.”

Districts rebelling. The thought of it totally stole my breath away. That something this monumental could happen was something I had never dreamt about in my entire life, especially growing up in district four. I had grown up in a good home with indifference towards the capitol. All it took was for them to threaten my life. The thought made me laugh.

Finnick looked at me strangely. “Why are you laughing?”

“Because everyone fights back when it’s life and death.”

“It’s human nature. What made you think of that?”

“I was just wondering when it all changed for me,” I sighed. I rolled over on my side. The sun in the window behind Finnick was beginning to rise, the sky turning pink and orange. “When I began to hate the capitol so much. Seems very weak minded of me to have started hating it only because they took away the life I was living.”

“It’s the same way for me. We weren’t raised to hate it, not the way those outer districts were. Don’t beat yourself up over it. You’re trying to help now, aren’t you?” I nodded. “That’s all that matters. Whatever you believed about them before doesn’t matter anymore, Lana. This isn’t about games anymore. It’s about surviving, fighting.”

“Wow. You are more than just a pretty face.”

Finnick smiled and leaned forward, pressing a kiss against my forehead. He had not kissed me since the incident in the car. It made me nervous, wondering if I had done something wrong. “We should probably sleep for at least three hours. They won’t miss us at the training center.”

“What, with nothing to look at for motivation?”

He chuckled. “Just sleep.”

*

“Is she in there?” The voice made me stir, rolling in my sleep and muttering something incoherent. Someone answered the voice softly. My arms stretched out for Finnick, but there was an empty space, still warm as if he had been there a moment before. “Well wake her up, Finnick! You’re three hours late to training! You need to make allies!”

“We did not sleep well, Bellona.”

“I do not wish to know what it is you both do besides sleep! That is on your own terms. As long as it does not get in the way of your image.”

“I’ll get her up.”

There was a soft clicking sound. My conscious was already awake and I opened my eyes. A shadow had been put over the windows, the setting on the window-glass turned to dull out the light of the rising sun. Rolling on my back and then sitting up, I rubbed my eyes with the backs of my hand, seeing stars burst behind my lids.

When my vision cleared, Finnick was sitting in front of me. He was dressed in a black shirt and matching black bottoms, sneakers on his feet. He looked tired but alert, his eyes bright as he stretched his hand out, brushing his hand over my thigh. He gave me a small smile, before getting back up and heading towards the washroom.

Rolling off of the bed, I left Finnick’s room, returning to my own across the hall. Inside, I showered quickly, stepping under a drying system and holding my hands out. I flinched when the driers came on, hot hair hitting my skin and drying the water in my hair and skin in record timing. I twisted my hair up into a simple pony tail and stepped into leggings, sneakers and a tight fitted tank top that would prevent me from sweating.

Leaving my room, I found Finnick sitting at the dinning room table. Food of a manner of delicacies were spread out. Sitting down next to him, I went right for all of the fruit, filling my plate with grapes, apple slices and watermelon. A vox came to the table, gesturing to my cup. I looked up at him and said, “Coconut water, please.” He vanished to retrieve my drink. I glanced at Finnick and said quietly, “They still terrify me. But I pity them.”

“Good,” he answered, popping a grape into his mouth. His eyes were exponentially blue that morning. “Pity only living for the dead have already found peace.”

“Did you read that somewhere?”

Dimples appeared in his cheeks. The vox filled my cup with the desired contents before stepping away. “Maybe I did.”

"I didn't know you could read."

Several minutes later, we were stepping into the elevator, the door shutting and elevator shooting us downwards. I felt the fruit sitting badly in my stomach as I thought about having to train with the other tributes. The last thing that I wanted to do was deal with them- especially particular career tributes I had met in the past.

The elevator began to slow down. Before it stopped completely, Finnick leaned over, grabbing my face gently by the chin and pulling it to his. He kissed me briefly, just long enough for my eyes to flutter shut, but short enough that he was walking out of the elevator when it opened, leaving me still standing there, confused.

Quickly, I hurried from the shaft, stepping into the training center. It was different than before, my steps slowing as I glanced around. Everything was made for a higher caliber, the areas and training stations all flashing with new technology. It made me uncomfortable to see how much the center relied on machines and holograms as opposed to people as instructors.

Stepping next to Finnick, I swept my eyes around. We seemed to be one of the first arrivals. The woman from district six was leaning against a wall, asleep and slouching. Her male counterpart was across the room, vomiting into a waste bin, making me raise my brows. Katniss Everdeen was across the room, working on tying ropes, while Peeta Mellark was standing next to Johanna Mason as she pointed something out to him about her axe. The careers from district one, brother and sister were practicing throwing knives.

“Where the hell is everyone else?” I asked quietly, noting that a heavy amount of the tributes had not arrived. Finnick shrugged his shoulders, seemingly unworried about it. “While I’m on the cycle of asking questions, what was that in the elevator?”

“It looked like you needed it.”

“The next time I want you to kiss me, I’ll ask, Odair.”

He looked down at me and grinned, walking towards Katniss and shrugging his shoulders. “Ask more often, Ladureé.”

Finnick made a beeline for Katniss, leaving me standing there with a stupid grin on my face. Shaking it off, I took myself towards the trident station, wanting the weight of a real weapon in my hands. It didn’t matter if I showed off to the other tributes or not; all of them knew what I was and wasn’t good at.

Passing the sword station, I was stopped by a voice, “How big are you making your body count this year?” Turning to face Enobaria, I crossed my arms, looking at her. She stepped down from a platform, her tan skin covered in a sheen of sweat. Her ebony hair was pulled out of her elongated face, her sharp teeth flashing as she grinned at me. “You had a pretty good amount your year.”

“Why, are you planning on sticking your shark teeth into me if it’s higher than yours?”

“I may just. I’ve never tasted fish before. I hear it doesn’t taste that great, or smell good for that matter.”

“Why don’t you open your le-"

“Peeta Mellark.” Stopping midsentence, I turned my head to the left to see Peeta standing with his hand extended, a warm smile on his face. He glanced at Enobaria with an unconcerned glance, looking back at me expectantly. Unfolding my arms, I shook his hand firmly. “And you’re Lana Ladureé, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“My reputation precedes me,” I answered, pointing to the trident station. We left a glaring Enobaria behind as we walked up to the platform. A metal rack with tridents of various weights, sizes and fork styles were lined up. I went for a three-pronged, stainless steal one, twirling it several times in one hand. “You don’t like confrontation much.”

“Was it that easy to tell?”

“You’re an open book. Take this.” He caught it as I tossed it to him. I took up a smaller one spinning it faster than the first and taking a stance. He stared at me, confused. I gestured to his feet. “Come on, I’m teaching you how to use one of these here. You seem to be good with a machete but if they don’t have one of those you’re going to have to use something.”

Seeming to agree, Peeta widened his stance like my own. Showing him how I was holding it, he echoed my movement. I nodded before looking at the dummy in front of me. I raised my hand and threw the trident, hitting the dummy right in the neck as I turned to Peeta, who looked impressed.

“So I just throw it?”

“Weren’t you watching?” I approached him, standing next to him and raising my arm. “Lean back on your right foot and when you throw, shift the weight to your front left. Throw with your arm, not your hand. Let go of the spear when you reach about here.” I stopped my hand mid-throw, imitating where he should let go. “I gave you a heavier spear because you’re stronger than I am. You need to learn how to handle a heavy trident before a lighter one, otherwise you’ll be throwing them all over the damn place.”

Peeta nodded his head, taking in everything that I said. He pulled his arm back and threw the trident. It went forward, hitting the dummy at the knees. I gave him a look, raising a brow. “Where did I tell you to let go?”

“I didn’t let go right?”

“No.” I walked to the dummies, pulling out the tridents and walking back. I handed him the heavier one again. “You threw way too late, which is why it went down. If you throw too late, your aim is at a downwards angle. You need to let go in the middle if you want it to go straight. Try it again.”

"I thought that I thew that good."

"Threw that well. And yeah, if you want someone to jump over it."

We worked like that for an hour until his arm was shaking with the effort. Despite his lack of knowledge, he improved, managing to catch the dummy in the stomach almost every time, save for missing entirely a few times. He thanked me with a smile and I returned it, shrugging it off as I moved along.

Everyone was moving towards the archery range, pointing through the windows. Peeta and I exchanged glances, joining the throng of the people who stared through the glass as Katniss had taken up her bow, preparing to run an exercise.

“He isn’t very good at throwing,” Finnick said quietly to me when I stood next to him. I shrugged my shoulders, not commenting as Katniss began her exercise. “Good thing she’s a good shot.”

Finnick’s words could not have been better. I watched with raise brows as Katniss let off arrow after arrow, hitting each moving target, dodging virtual weapons and rolling on the ground to fire more arrows. Her aim was impeccable and her speed was incredible. She was a true marksmen.

The exercise ended and the lights came on. She looked up, realizing a crowd had formed outside of the archery range. Finnick and I glanced at one another, both of our faces filled with surprise. “We’re going to have a problem if she decides we’re enemies.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, frowning at the girl. “We are.”

“Come on. I need someone decent to train against.”

“Go with Johanna.”

I glanced at Johanna Mason. Her choppy black hair was tied up. She looked up at me and wagged her fingers, raising her brows up and down. “Oh, good. I’ll just got get decapitated. See you later. Maybe.”

“She loves you.”

I rolled my eyes, walking towards Johanna. “Johanna loves no one.”