THE ANNOUNCEMENT HALL was not where Finnick wanted to be. Neither he, or Clio or Daniel, Sal, Natalia or Sam... none of them wanted to attend Coin's mandatory announcement to gloat about the success of the Mockingjay's visit to District Eight. It was untasteful and wildly inappropriate in the events that had transpired following said visit.

No one in District Thirteen knew Aella had been captured—confirmed by the interview broadcasted by the Capitol. They had jammed the signal from it being played among the televisions within the fortress that was District Thirteen.

It had taken Finnick everything and more to drag himself out of his bed—their bed—and dress to attend. He'd never wanted special circumstances to be granted to him so much in his entire life. Everything in his body hurt. His chest ached and even breathing caused him physical pain.

He hadn't gotten one second of sleep in the days she'd been gone. Exhaustion gripped him every waking moment but the second he rested his head against his pillow and her slowly fading scent settled around him his mind ran faster than a wild-fire. It made dreaming of sleep impossible. He was stuck, staring at the spot she had claimed in the bed that they shared. He'd lost count of the amount of times he'd replayed the memory of their last morning together in his head, of her teasing words and kiss in that hovercraft.

He thought his reluctance to let her go was purely because she hadn't left his side in all those weeks. He had no idea it was a higher power warning him. Never had he actually sat back and thought she wouldn't come back. He had taken it all for granted.. all those moments with her, those fleeting kisses and longing touches. Already he was beginning to forget what her smile looked like.

Haymitch's words laid heavy over him. He had committed them to memory and tortured himself with them every damn day. She had made an assassination threat against President Snow and she hadn't told him about it. Not even after the Games had ended. He didn't know how to feel about it, what to think about it. A part of him wanted to be mad with her for not telling him—for not trusting him but then that other part reminded him it had nothing to do with trust. Aella keeping him in the dark was her way of protecting him. He reminded himself of it daily even if he didn't completely understand it.

Everything she had done was to protect him and her loved ones. She hadn't ever done anything to protect herself and that was how she had managed to somehow fall into the hands of the Capitol. She had been so willing to run into a burning building to help the already injured people of District Eight. She moved without hesitation Boggs had told him in private the day after. Selflessly. But that was Aella, she didn't have a selfish bone in her body.

His Ella...

He missed her more than life itself. In the short, blissful, weeks they'd had together to grow and love he'd learned what it was like to have her and hold her wherever and whenever he wanted. They hadn't had to hide their love. Their relationship had blossomed and they'd so quickly come to depend on each other. He had forgotten how he had coped without her.

So in the announcement hall, surrounded by District Thirteen people and Aella's family who had sharply become his family, he couldn't bring himself to watch the propo video that was being played. It was all Katniss anyway, not a single shot of Aella had been included and from beside Clio, Daniel was silently seething. She had risked her life going to District Eight to aid the rebellion—had gotten captured by the Capitol—but Coin and Heavensbee couldn't even show her in their precious propaganda video.

Finnick—if he had the capacity to feel deep enough—would've shared similar feelings with Daniel had he not have been so painfully numb. So numb that Clio had to physically guide him from his room to the hall. He barely registered the cheering from the civilians of District Thirteen. Didn't register Katniss and Coin walk together to the platform, not as Coin delivered her speech.

The cheering died down as Coin emerged and the propo video ended. Clio took Finnick's hand as she stood between he and Daniel, her other hand in his. They stood united, watching Coin from behind as they'd been invited to stand among the leaders of the rebellion—in Aella's place. It was where she was supposed to be standing, watching the success of the propo, not them. They had made it seem like the visit to District Eight had been hugely influential—that their cause had doubled in numbers—but Clio was willing to wager Panem nor District Thirteen knew what had truly happened in District Eight that day, that the numbers of Eight were less than the numbers of Twelve.

"There is no progress without compromise." Coin began her speech by saying, "No victory without sacrifice... but I stand here with the Mockingjay to announce that our moment has arrived."

Again, roars of applause and cheers echoed off the walls of the large hall. Coin took Katniss' hand and lifted it to the air in misplaced victory and they stood there for some few moments. Everyone applauded them, everyone but Finnick, Clio and Daniel. Even from the ranks of soldiers Sam forced himself to clap. From the gathered nurses and doctors on the ground level looking up Sal clapped with hate in her eyes. From the uniformed rows of engineers Natalia brought her hands together slowly. Neither of the three of them wanted to show rebellion against Coin. Finnick, Clio and Daniel didn't care.

Katniss sauntered back to the line of rebellion leaders gathered behind Coin and she stood next to Finnick, her eyes dancing over his lifeless form. He didn't even look like he was physically there and Katniss' heart clenched in her chest. They'd all seen the interview Aella had done within the Capitol, they'd seen her bruised face and marred cuts on her sickly pale skin. The mild bruising around Peeta's eyes had been nothing compared to what they had done to Aella in those short days she'd been missing. Katniss almost wished Aella had died in the bombing, anything instead of being in the Capitol's clutches.

"Beetee has increased our use of the airwaves tenfold. We will broadcast this message to all the Districts tonight. The Mockingjay's words inspiring everyone to join the rebellion." She said before brief pause slipped across the hall. Clio tensed sensing what was to come and Daniel squeezed her hand, in turn Clio squeezed Finnick's.

"But we have suffered tragedy," Coin said carefully, "during the mission to District Eight Aella Barnes, a great leading force within the rebel cause, was separated from the team when she selflessly ran to help the civilians of District Eight's injured following a bombing by the Capitol. Our team and our reinforcements searched District Eight high and low for two days. She was not found."

Silence so thick it could be cut with a knife blanketed the hall. Tension so palpable... Katniss took Finnick's hand and felt him ever so slightly squeeze her fingers in response. She glanced to him, his eyes glossed with unshed tears as he stared at President Coin's back. His jaw clenched tightly as he fought to keep himself together.

"Some days ago she was interviewed in the Capitol by Caesar Flickerman. I as your leader made the difficult decision not to air this interview because of its distressing nature. Aella fought for the rebels without relinquishing any information regarding our whereabouts or our plans. She remains loyal to our cause and for that we have upped our search to rescue her and the other Victors in the Capitol." Coin said, "Tonight, alongside Katniss' propo video we will release special footage of Aella within District Eight with the message that she continues to fight for us despite being a prisoner of the Capitol."

A different kind of applause echoed through the hall. Gratitude... the soft, cheerless, applause was in gratitude toward Aella for what she had sacrificed. Coin smiled toward her people and over their applause said, "Together, we will become an alliance to be reckoned with."

Their applause picked up again and chanting followed.

"Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah!"

Beside him, Katniss flinched at their chant and Finnick saw it. He barely glanced at her but leaned closer and said quietly, "You don't like hearing a fight song at a funeral, huh?" His tone was dull, eyes soulless, as he spoke for the first time in days. She didn't say anything but she turned to look at him and he continued, "The more people on our side, the closer we are to Peeta and Aella."

Katniss nodded numbly before she said quietly, "Yeah."

• • •

If being summoned to President Coin's mandatory announcement hadn't been hard enough Finnick was barely standing when he was summoned up to command later that day. Clio had muttered something to do with the video footage they planned to release about Aella that night on the way up but he didn't care to make a comment about it. He didn't have the brain capacity to do so, really. He was still considerably numb. The fog had only lifted earlier when he heard Coin speak Aella's name but after that he'd fallen head first back into the well of black abyss.

Plutarch Heavensbee was there to guide him into the very seat he'd occupied when they told him Aella hadn't returned from District Eight over a week ago. He refused to believe it had been that long when every minute had felt like an hour and every hour had felt like a day. Especially in those first two days when he knew District Thirteen soldiers had been deployed to aid District Eight soldiers in the search for her. Time since she had gone had dragged in the most painstaking way.

Everyone who had been invited—or rather called—to attend had arrived unbeknownst to Finnick. Clio sat beside him, never far, like she had those past seven days. He had never been so grateful for her, so relieved to know that in his absence—when he couldn't be there for her—Clio was there for Aella. The same could be said for Daniel who sat on Clio's other side.

The trio hadn't been seen apart. They'd stood united and consoled each other as best as they could. It had predominantly been Daniel trying to hold both Clio and Finnick together but they still stood as one. Finnick didn't know that when he retired to his and Aella's quarters alone Daniel and Clio were retiring to their now newly shared quarters together.

Daniel and Clio had been ready to tell Aella the night she returned from District Eight that they'd become romantically involved—finding much more in common than what they ever thought or realised—but she hadn't come back and so they were stuck. They had agreed she would be the first person they ever told and while they wanted to stick to that promise it was getting harder and harder everyday not to be together.

Sal, Natalia and Sam occupied the other three chairs on the left side of the table—facing the blank screen on the wall. Sal was next to Finnick, her hand laid on his arm sympathetically.

Opposite them sat Coin, Heavensbee and Beetee. Boggs stood off the side incase any of them had any further questions about what had happened in District Eight.

"I think you all know why you've been gathered here." Coin addressed with a soft tone, "We thought it only fair you all got to see the footage that had been gathered firsthand.. before it was released to the Districts tonight."

"You're not playing it in front of the District like you did Katniss's?" Daniel opposed. In his days since arriving to District Thirteen he'd had no problem in voicing his opinions. Since Aella had gone missing his pushback had only gotten worse.

"I never said that Mr. Amor." President Coin responded.

"But that's what you meant," Clio said in a more softer tone than Daniel, "Isn't it?"

Coin's pressed smile never faulted as she faced the still grieving family in front of her. Anger—that was where they now sat. She couldn't entirely say that she didn't blame them. 

"The video will air tonight when everyone is scheduled to be within their living quarters." Coin cleared up the confusion before adding her justification, "The footage is quite... raw. We believe it's better seen in solitude than as a collective, especially here in District Thirteen."

Natalia cocked her head, "Why?"

"Some years back we had an outbreak of disease here in Thirteen," Coin said carefully, "We lost a lot of our population to it. The footage that has been gathered of Aella is... well, why don't we just show you so you can understand for yourself."

None of the six members of Aella's chosen family deigned to respond. Coin took their silence as answer and she merely looked down the table to Beetee and nodded her head once. Boggs switched out the lights and Daniel flinched unnoticeably. Only Clio knew because she felt his movement. She placed her hand in his and he curled his fingers into her palm tightly in response taking deep breaths.

Even after all those years he still did not like the dark.

The footage started softly, the video faded in and focused on Aella sitting in the hovercraft no doubt on their way to District Eight. She was smiling brightly at Pollux—now sat next to him after swapping seats with Katniss briefly—and the two signed back and forth. Her smile was beaming, light circulating in her eyes and that ethereal glow surrounded her like a halo atop her head. Breathtaking... she was breathtaking.

Finnick's heart skipped a beat as he saw her on the screen. His hand reached out and grabbed Clio's on her armrest and she turned over her hand—opening her palm and slotting her fingers through his. He squeezed her hand and sat back in his seat, bringing his other hand to his chin. He watched her with unshed tears in his eyes that he hurried to blink away only to see her clearly again. That look of pure joy in her eyes was one he'd only seen a handful of times and he knew it no doubt had to do with the fact she was above ground level once more.

So beautiful, she was so beautiful, he thought to himself.

The conversation between Aella and Pollux was not translated and it brought a sense of delicacy to it. It made it seem more personal, more real. It crossed Finnick's mind then that the shaky angle and the way the camera zoomed in on Pollux and Aella midway through that they did not know they were being taped. What they were watching was candid and unscripted...authentic.

The camera zoomed out fractionally as Pollux turned to Castor and signed something. With the slight shake of the footage and fast movement none of them watching could really make it out but Finnick pin-pointed a few signals. Castor smiled and responded to his brother before he turned to Aella and said, "We didn't know you knew sign language."

Aella nodded and smiled as she looked between the two brothers, she turned to Pollux and began to sign while saying to Castor, "I was just telling your brother the story. When the forcefield was destroyed in the Games I was struck by the lightning and thrown back into a tree. They estimated it to be a good fifty feet judging by damage. I sustained a pretty nasty head injury," she pointed to her fading scarring around her hairline and her temple and Finnick smiled slightly seeing her embrace and talk openly about her insecurity.

"When I woke up I was pretty much deaf. The doctors predicted it was the lightning strike. I lost all my hearing in my right ear and seventy percent in my left. I could hardly hear anyone and so they taught me and everyone I know sign language."

Pollux signed something in response to her and Castor only nodded in agreement with his brother's actions, a curious frown on his face.

Aella said, "Ah, well, Beetee is a genius and was kind enough to invent a set of hearing aids for me. We didn't know if they would work but you know how vast the technological advancements are. Thankfully Beetee was able to create a fully functioning set for me that were implanted deep inside my ears. There's a special way to remove them that not even I know but they work and they restored my hearing back to normal. I'm... eternally grateful toward him."

A bright smile stretched across Pollux's face as he responded to her. In turn Aella responded back and it seemed like they had jumped into another conversation when Aella, Castor and Pollux began laughing together. It was hearty watching them. A soft hearted moment in the middle of a war. Three strangers coming together and sharing their stories.

The footage softly faded out into a black screen and the hubbub of voices began to sound. The screen remained black as the sound continued, crying children echoing and the rustle of what sounded like plastic. A blurred image popped up on the screen and Finnick struggled to decipher what it was. They all did and they watched with squinted eyes as the blur started to sharpen up, the hubbub of voices growing louder and louder until white noise sounded and the image began crystal clear.

Finnick recognised it was Aella's back, saw that it was footage of her walking through the hospital of District Eight. The camera slowly moved to capture the full extent of the wounded, there were men, women and children of all ages lying on the ground gravely injured. Some were unconscious, some had family crying around them, some were being treated by the less wounded but they all stopped as Aella walked by them silently, looking.... observing.

Finnick saw the mesmerising expressions on the faces of the wounded, saw the hope that shone in their eyes.

The sound had returned and a high pitched cry of a child echoed, forcing Aella's attention. They watched as she turned her head and the camera followed her to focus on a small girl and two older women. Silently Aella walked over to them and she knelt down in front of the child, a soft and reassuring smile spread across her face but Finnick could see the anguish and anger shining in her ice blue eyes. 

Everyone around the four watched in silent awe. The child's cries ceased somewhat as she looked at Aella crouched in front of her. Finnick managed to view her more clearly and he frowned at her disheveled state. She was wearing what were once white and purple pyjamas but were now dirty with dust and torn in places. Her skin was covered in soot and brown dust, it coated her small face and cheeks and sat in her blonde hair.

He spotted the nasty wound across her forehead, saw the blood that stained the skin and the roots of her hair. It was angry and open to the elements, one woman beside the girl sat with a red cloth in her hands—no doubt trying to work to clean the wound.

The child's forest green eyes were glossy with tears and track marks had formed on her dirty cheeks. In her arms she clutched to an equally dirty bunny rabbit teddy bear.

Aella saw it all and kept a soft, reassuring, smile on her face for the child and spoke, "Hi, my name is Aella. Can you tell me yours?"

"P-piper." She hiccuped after a minute.

"That's a pretty name... and who's that?" Aella responded, pointing to her bear in her hands.

Piper hugged the bear closer to her and said, "Bunny."

Beside Finnick, Clio released a muffled sob as the child broke out into a cry again and said, "I want my mommy and daddy."

They watched Aella silently ask the woman next to the child and saw the responding shake of her head. No, Piper's parents were not alive. They had been killed in the bombing. Finnick felt his gut twist. He suddenly understood why Coin had decided to release this propo video in private instead of having a mass showing. It was rawer than he anticipated it to be in a number of ways.

The video continued to showed Aella with the child, chatting nonchalantly. Piper was only six and she'd become an orphan in the war. Finnick could see Aella was struggling to keep herself together in front of the child. He saw her bottom lip shake gently before she pressed her lips together to hold back her tears. They talked about school and Piper's favourite colour and Finnick saw the child's posture beginning to loosen as they did. Her shoulders uncurled slowly and she became more open to Aella.

"I know someone who really loves to paint... and he's really good at it, too." Aella said. Peeta... she was talking about Peeta.

"What's his favourite colour?" Piper asked and her eyes lit up in excitement.

Finnick placed his hand over his heart as a tear rolled down his cheek. The video continued and Aella slowly washed a cloth out with water and held it in her hand while looking at the child.

"He never told me.. why? Do you have a favourite colour?"

"Purple." Piper smiled.

Aella smiled in response and she began to gently wash away the dried blood on the child's face while saying, "Mine used to be pink when I was the same age as you. My entire room was covered in it, my walls, bed.. I even had a pink rug. I wouldn't ever wear anything but pink. I used to force my brother to wear it, too. I'd cry if he ever said no and he always hated it when I was upset so he would wear it to make me happy."

"It's true." Sam spoke quietly over the silence of the video. His voice was thick and he cleared his throat—no doubt swallowing the lump that had formed from watching her, "She even used to make me wear pink."

Natalia nodded from beside her brother and released a breathy laugh. She sniffled through her eyes and wiped her eyes while saying, "I remember that."

The siblings loosed a laugh and focused their attention back to the screen.

The child's eyes widened as she looked at Aella and said, "Where is he now?"

Utter silence filled the room. Even the hubbub of voices had been cut from the audio of the video as Aella halted briefly.

"He's in a better place now...." She said after regaining her composure, "with the angels in the sky but he's always with me, in here." She said, pointing to her heart.

"Oh, my.." Clio whispered quietly. She covered her mouth with her hand and Daniel wrapped his arm around her body.

Piper reached forward and pressed her small hand over Aella's heart, "Here?" Aella hummed while she nodded and Piper laughed innocently. It was a beautiful sound and confusion shone in the child's eyes, "How is he in there? Where is he?"

"He's not really in there, silly." Aella said with a laugh, "He's in a place called Heaven... but I know that he is watching over me."

"A lady told me my mommy and daddy were in Heaven but my mommy told me that she would never leave me."

There wasn't a dry eye in the darkness of the room.

Aella took the child's hand and said softly, "Sometimes people go to Heaven because they are needed more there. They don't get the choice and they're not allowed to take anyone with them. Your mommy never wanted to leave you."

"Like your brother didn't want to leave you." Piper said innocently.

The video continued on, Aella kissed the child's forehead and told her to be good, told her those ladies were going to make her head feel better. They watched as she rose to her feet with a lump in her throat and glossy eyes, torn to be walking away from the child who became immersed in talking to the lady on her right as they looked at purple bandaids.

Aella was about to walk away when the second woman clasped her wrist lightly and smiled to say, "Thank you for your kindness."

Aella nodded briefly before walking away but the camera remained and it swept over the sea of people who had reduced to silence. They had all been watching Aella, all looking at her interaction with the child. Hundreds... there were hundreds of people watching her with hope in their eyes.

The camera found her across the room, eyes still on here as a boy came forward to ask them if they'd come to fight with them. She nodded her head in determination and pressed her fingers to her lips and rose her hand into the air in a three finger salute as the boy had in front of her and she watched as the hundreds of people she had inspired copied her action.

Then a series of short clips played of her talking to other injured civilians in the hospital. Showed her holding the hand of an elderly woman who patted her cheek with an aging smile. She spoke to a group of around twenty men and women about how she was there to fight for a better life with them and they cheered alongside her words. It showed her about to leave from a distance with the group before Piper shouted her back, followed by the woman who had thanked her. They watched as Aella got down on her knees and hugged the child, singing her a song that made her smile before the child made her promise she would see her soon.

Aella swore on her life she would be back and left the child with a smile on her innocent face.

The next shot tore them all apart as it showed Aella sprinting down the street towards a crumbling building. A solemn song played as shots of the hospital now reduced to nothing more than flames but she was no where to be seen. All those people dead, that child Aella had promised to see again.

Clio broke down into hysterical sobs at that final shot before the screen faded into black again. Writing then appeared on the screen and read;

'Of 122,139 citizens only 7,837 were accounted for following the initial Capitol bombing of District Eight.'

"Shit." Daniel swore softly under his breath but his words were loud enough in the harrowing silence for them all to hear. The loss they had suffered was greater than ever expected.

'Over 40,000 citizens have been found and buried... 74,000 people are still missing.'

'During the visit to the District Eight a second Captiol bombing occurred on the hospital ... District Thirteen technology gave District Eight an additional seven minutes warning before the bombing. Out of the 7,837 survivors only 4,562 survived the second bombing.'

Finnick's breath hitched. He was deathly still. He didn't know what to think, how to feel. All he could comprehend was a soul destroying pain that seeped throughout his entire body. He mourned the losses of District Eight and yet he was so incredibly enraged at the same time. The Capitol—Snow—had ordered that second bombing on the hospital. He killed thousands upon thousands of innocent men, women and children.

He shook with rage, physically sick to his stomach.

The text continued;

'Following the bombing Aella Barnes ran back to the hospital to aid the wounded and help extract the survivors ... she did not make it.'

The words faded into nothing before more replaced them;

'Two nights ago she was seen in interview with Caesar Flickerman against her will. Among the chaos of the bombing she was captured by Peacekeepers and taken to the Capitol... she continues to fight for the rebel cause in enemy territory.'

'We have prioritised her rescue as a matter of urgency though while we continue to search for her we will continue to fight, the same way she would want us to.'

'Fight in hope of a new world.... A better world.'

'Join the rebellion... join the cause.'

The words faded again, the video ended and the lights in the room were switched back on. The six that had gathered to watch the recording stared blankly ahead, eyes red and tear streaks staining their faces. A box of tissues was handed out and they all took one numbly.

Clio blew her nose into the tissue, her head in the crook of Daniel's shoulder but she said, "I'm so proud of her."

Finnick nodded wordlessly in agreement. His throat bobbed and unshed tears lined his eyes. He moved to wipe them away before returning his eyes to the table in front of him.

Distantly someone cleared their throat but he really didn't have it in him to look up. He barely listened for the voice as it spoke, "I think when the bomb dropped Aella ran back to that hospital for the girl."

It was Boggs, Boggs who was talking to them and when his words actually registered in Finnick's mind he looked up to the Colonel with furrowed brows.

"What do you mean?" He spoke, voice so incredibly hoarse. It cracked from misuse, from the shedding of tears over the days she'd been missing.

"You saw it for yourself," Boggs said to them—to him, "they had a connection. She was orphaned in the first bombing. Her father was Commander Paylor's second, died trying to save people from crumbling buildings. Her mother died when their house collapsed after going back in for something. She was only six and all alone. I think she saw herself in that child—"

"You know nothing of Aella." Clio whispered with tear-filled eyes.

"You're right, I don't." Boggs agreed with her, "But if she were here now and I were to ask her why she ran back I think her answer would be for her."

"Why?" Finnick asked more dumbfounded than curious as he sat forward in his chair.

Silence seeped across the table and President Coin said softly, "Because she wanted to bring her here... to give her a better life that didn't involve living in a cramped orphanage in a District in war."

Finnick's breath hitched in his throat. He and Aella hadn't even spoke of having children of their own never mind taking in a six year old. His mind was completely blank but after seeing that footage... it made sense to him. The way that she had opened up to Aella so quickly hadn't been a coincidence. Even through a camera he felt the tug in his heart watching them interact. Boggs was entirely right—he didn't know the first thing about Aella—but she wholeheartedly saw herself in that orphaned child.

"I was on radio with President Coin when we received warning about the bombing," Boggs began to explain, "Aella wanted to bring her back then and there but Paylor wouldn't agree unless the President gave her permission. We were already circling back to the hospital because she couldn't walk away from her."

It was Daniel who found himself holding his breath waiting for the rest of the story to unfold. He wasn't entirely sure Finnick was breathing—just that he was pale faced and entirely numb. Clio shifted underneath his arms and rose her head from his shoulder to regard the people sitting opposite them. Her brow rose.

"Well?"

A faint smile crossed Coin's aging face, "I said yes."

"But the bombing had already begun." Finnick breathed.

Boggs nodded solemnly, "We had to run for cover."

"Did she survive?" Clio asked desperately, "The child?"

"She did." Coin told them with a small nod, "I spoke with Commander Paylor earlier in the week, "Piper was accounted for and asking when Aella would be coming back to see her."

Finnick dragged his hands over his face in shock. He knew Aella could be rash but he doubted she'd make a decision this serious on a whim. He knew she'd of given it considerate thought and if that was the choice she had made... he trusted her. He knew if she had arrived back with a six year old child clutching to her legs he would have trusted she made the best choice and would have worked to welcome that six year old girl in any way he could... if that was what Aella had wanted.

So it drove him into saying, "So what now? Can she still come or have the circumstances changed?"

To his surprise, Clio balked next to him. Her mouth fell agape with shock as she turned to regard him and said, "You'd take her?"

Finnick nodded without a moment's hesitation, "If Aella wanted to bring her back here and give her a life she deserved I would be there every step of the way. I don't see why it should change knowing she's now in the Capitol and that child is still in the poverty of District Eight."

His words said it all, if Aella was willing to care for her so was he.

President Coin's smile remained as she said, "For the moment I would hesitate on bringing the child here," She began by saying, "At least until we rescue Aella and the remaining Victors. I think it's mildly unfair taking a young and no doubt frightened child out of an environment she knows to fetch her here and put her with strangers. When Aella is back and if she still wants to care for her we can arrange for her to go to District Eight and see her... and you also, if you wish, Mr. Odair."

Finnick merely nodded in response. His heart was too busy hammering in his chest as he clung on to the way Coin had spoken about Aella as if she'd be back in his arms before the week was out. He knew they were searching relentlessly because Heavensbee kept him updated from the inside but it didn't stop him from asking, "Are you close?"

"We've narrowed our search down to the inner Capitol." Heavensbee said, "But we're still looking. I've reached out to some contacts to see if they have any word on where they might be but for now we still don't know."

It didn't reassure him and it reflected in his face.

"We will find her Finnick." Heavensbee assured him.

He merely nodded in response, not entirely convinced.

• • •

A/N; next update Monday!