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    THE UNUSUAL ALLIANCE continued for what must have been a mile before Finnick asked for a break, gently setting Mags down. Jupiter glanced back the way they had come, as if someone would have been following them, but the jungle was quiet, and she turned back and exchanged a look with Finnick.

    The bloodbath that the Cornucopia caused every year was inescapable– a natural part of the Games and human nature. Jupiter had been a Career during the 68th bloodbath, so had led the charge. It was very different to be fleeing that year.

    From their new position, they couldn't see the beach or the Cornucopia. The trees were too high and far too thick. Jupiter wondered how well sound would carry through the environment, if they got separated or needed a warning.

    "I need a better view," Katniss said first, slightly out of breath. Sweat was dripping from the tip of her nose. Mags looked up at her from where she was resting against a tree, Finnick standing above her.

    "I'll come with you," Jupiter volunteered, because there was not a chance she would risk the girl with the bow getting up high.

    Katniss looked at her cautiously, but didn't object as she glanced up, trying to figure out the tree with the best branches. Finnick watched the pair with hooded eyes, as the girl from District 12 led the way, Jupiter following her footsteps almost exactly. As a kid, Jupiter had climbed in the mountains, and in the Academy, they had been required to have the upper body strength and flexibility to clear anything.

    The air was slightly thinner up higher, the pair stopping when they could see the Cornucopia through the leaves. Jupiter, who had gone second, joined Katniss on her level, narrowing her eyes at the Cornucopia. She could see bodies in the water, easy to spot in the black and white jumpsuits, but with everyone dressed the same, Jupiter couldn't tell who was who. But even at the distance they were, she could see they were still fighting.

    Jupiter looked away from the bloodbath and back to Katniss, who seemed to be processing that their unity the night before meant nothing. And that, despite Finnick and Jupiter's help, they were not her friends. Jupiter was good at reading that– she saw it in her tribute's faces every year, when they realised why their mentor might have done what she did.

    "Let's head back down," Katniss said quietly. The breeze was cooling Jupiter's cheeks, she didn't want to move.

    "You first," Jupiter said lightly.

    "No way," Katniss retorted.

    Jupiter narrowed her golden eyes at the young girl. "Fine. But if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead."

    The words didn't seem to do much to comfort Katniss, as her expression didn't change. Jupiter moved back first, dropping down slightly as she got closer to the ground. She gave Finnick a pointed look, and a moment later Katniss joined them back on the jungle floor.

    Finnick had the trident raised casually. To someone who didn't know better, he may have looked relaxed. But to someone like Katniss, who knew what it meant to survive, it was clear where his mind was.

    "So, I guess we're not holding hands anymore?" he mused.

    "No," Katniss responded tensely.

    "No," Finnick repeated. "Because whatever happened in the past is in the past. No one in this arena was a Victor by chance." He paused. "Except maybe Peeta."

    The air was thick, and not simply because of the humidity. Katniss moved her head slightly, where Jupiter was at her flank, watching the situation like a cat. The girl looked back to Finnick, who hadn't moved. Katniss should have known she was pinned between the pair. She wasn't stupid, but she was driven.

    Jupiter wondered if she'd have the gall to shoot Finnick and risk a knife in her back. The 68th Victor was close enough to be out of firing range, and Katniss had to know one-on-one that Jupiter would overpower her. Peeta was watching the scene, jaw set.

    Finnick was right. And Katniss knew that.

    "So, how many are dead?" Peeta asked, stepping between Finnick and Katniss. Jupiter's gaze flicked to him. Katniss was glaring daggers, but her District partner did not move.

    "Hard to say," Katniss responded tightly. "At least six, I think. And they're still fighting."

    Peeta nodded. "Let's keep moving. We need water," he said simply.

    "He's right," Finnick said. He shifted, finally lifting the trident so it was pointed to the sky. "We need to be undercover when the others come hunting tonight."

    Katniss nodded. "Okay," she relented. She pulled away, glancing over her shoulder at Jupiter. "Why aren't you with the Careers?"

    Jupiter kept her face even. "They don't make good friends," she said.

    "Is that what we are?" Katniss asked quietly.

    "No," Jupiter responded simply. She lifted her eyes past Katniss as they began to move again, Mags climbing onto Finnick's back as Peeta took the lead once more, long knife raised. "That's a pretty pin," Jupiter mused as Katniss passed her to take the third position, eyes on the golden mockingjay pinned to her jumpsuit.

    Katniss looked at her oddly. "That's a pretty necklace," she fired back.

    Jupiter smiled at her energy being matched, the District 12 Victor brushing past her without another word.

    As they continued through the jungle, it was becoming clearer and clearer there was no fresh water, and Jupiter was getting tired of tasting her own sweat on her upper lip. They didn't speak much– there wasn't much to speak about. Jupiter was more focused on Katniss' movements than making small talk.

    Judging simply by how tired she was, Jupiter assumed they had gone another mile, as they came to the top of a ridge, and the 68th Victor briefly wondered if they had made it to the end of the treeline. She figured as much space as they could put between them and the Career pack was good space.

    In her first Games, Jupiter would have been the one hunting people down. Finnick had done the same. They were both from Career Districts and bred with certain instructions and expectations, but it seemed that no longer applied, as the former shining pair traversed the arena with an old woman and two teenagers.

    "Peeta, no!" Katniss shrieked abruptly, voice shrill and piercing through the relative quiet of the jungle.

    Through the fright from the cry, Jupiter saw Peeta slash his knife down on some vines up ahead, but instead of slicing through them, was met with a loud zapping noise. He was thrown back the second the blade made contact, knocking down Finnick and Mags in his path. Jupiter let out a noise of surprise, as the force field of the arena reignited, a brief patch of bare earth spread across them.

    Katniss ran forward and dropped to her knees, touching at his face, murmuring his name. Jupiter moved to Finnick instead, placing a hand on his bicep. He looked up at her and nodded, as Mags sat disgruntled against a tree.

    "Peeta!" Katniss started to scream. "He's not breathing. Peeta!"

    Finnick left Jupiter's side, moving Katniss out of the way. "Let me," he said firmly.

    "No!" Katniss shouted as Finnick pinched Peeta's nose.

    She lunged at the man, but was knocked squarely back by Finnick in an instant. Stunned, Katniss took a second to get breath back into her lungs, before her hands were on her bow and arrows.

    "Stop!" Jupiter shouted, shoving her hand, forcing the arrow tip upwards. Katniss shot the older Victor a murderous look. "He's saving him!"

    "What?" Katniss asked, eyes flicking to Finnick and Peeta on the ground. "Why?"

    Jupiter could only watch as Finnick tried to breathe life back into the boy, just as surprised as the young girl. "I... don't know," Jupiter breathed. But Katniss had lowered her bow, and that was all that mattered.

    The time between Finnick starting CPR and the time that there was any evidence that it was working was agonising, as Katniss leaned in, hovering around the pair. Jupiter stayed where she was, wary of being caught out in the open, as Mags frowned at the desperate situation. Katniss was borderline hysterical, still quietly sobbing as she watched the attempt to save Peeta's life.

    Jupiter couldn't make sense of it. She simply couldn't.

    Peeta gave a small cough finally, a husky breath as he tried to fill his lungs. Finnick let out a sigh and sat back, as Katniss dropped weapons and immediately was on Peeta. Jupiter tried not to watch, but it was hard not to, as Katniss cried over him, hands shaking against his pulse where her fingers pressed against it, as if she were afraid his heart would stop again.

    "Careful," he said weakly. "There's a force field up ahead."

    Katniss laughed, but it was choked out by tears. Jupiter let out a breath and moved back across the jungle floor, to where Finnick was still on his knees, watching the scene, perplexed. Jupiter placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, drawing his attention.

    "Yeah?" he breathed, looking up at her. One of his hands came up and held the one on his shoulder.

    "Nothing," she responded, but they both knew it was more than that.

    Jupiter couldn't understand what had just happened. They would be none the wiser if Peeta had died accidentally– and Katniss was the only one they needed in the alliance, anyway. Finnick going to the effort to bring him back to life was lost on her. Did that make her a worse person than him? Or better?

    "You were dead, your heart stopped!" Katniss cried, hands over her mouth.

    "Well, it seems to be working now," Peeta replied lightly. "It's alright Katniss." She nodded, but still sobbed. Jupiter's hand slipped from Finnick's shoulder– they needed to keep moving now. "Katniss?" Peeta asked, sounding concerned now.

    "It's okay," Finnick spoke up. "It's just her hormones from the baby."

    "No, it's not–" Katniss retorted, but was cut off by more sobbing. Through the tears, she glared at Finnick, but he didn't match her ferocity, only looking between the pair curiously.

    "How are you?" he asked Peeta. "Do you think you can keep moving?"

    "No, he has to rest," Katniss protested. Peeta did not say anything, still gazing up at the girl.

    Jupiter was still standing– the only one out of the group. Finnick looked at her, and she gave a pointed look. "So you want to make camp here, then?" Finnick asked, cautiously, looking back to Peeta.

    "I don't think that's an option," Peeta admitted. "Staying here with no water, no protection. I feel alright, really. If we could just go slowly."

    "Slowly would be better than not at all," Finnick said with a nod.

    He helped Peeta get to his feet carefully, as Katniss seemed to pull herself together. Again, Jupiter recognised the expression of compartmentalising well, as the teenage girl grit her teeth and checked over her weapons, as if something would have happened to them.

    "I'll take the lead," Katniss declared.

    "No, let her do it," Finnick said as Peeta went to object.

    Katniss only nodded, but her bottom lip was still jutting out. She stripped a nearby tree of nuts, and began to use them, throwing them ahead of her as they walked to keep track of where the forcefield was. Mags was second, walking with a makeshift cane that Finnick had quickly fashioned. Similarly, Peeta also had a cane– between his heart stopping and his leg, it was a wonder he was still walking.

    Thus, bringing up the rear were the two Career tributes, the most alert members of the alliance. Jupiter, at least, was not dead last this time. Finnick, in his words, had said there was a better view. Jupiter had shoved him away, but had been laughing.

    They kept the forcefield to their left, as Jupiter assumed Katniss was looking for a gap to move further away from the Cornucopia. As their line of people spread out more, Jupiter turned to Finnick, taking backwards steps so she could look at him.

    "Why?" she asked, simply and pointedly.

    He knew exactly what she meant. "We need them," he replied.

    Jupiter furrowed her brows. "Do we?"

    Finnick paused, looking up ahead. "Well, we need her," he relented. "And without Peeta, she's a wreck."

    It was true, but it went against their training as both Careers and Victors to actively save another tribute when they had already been mortally wounded. "I don't believe you," she said after a moment.

    Finnick shrugged. "I think I'd be pretty useless if I lost you."

    "You can't say things like that in the arena," she chastised, but her smile betrayed her.

    "Can't I?" he asked, lips brushing her cheek as he skipped up to her. His breath fanned her face before she rolled her eyes and moved back, the space between them lengthening again as they traipsed through the jungle.

    "Finnick," she scolded.

    The amusement faded from his face. "I'm serious," he told her.

    "I know you are," Jupiter sighed. She turned back so she was walking straight.

    "Mags!" Katniss cried from up ahead, both Finnick and Jupiter perking up in alarm. "Spit that out, it could be poisonous!"

    Finnick let out a breathy laugh as they realised Mags was chewing at the charred nuts Katniss was throwing at the forcefield. "I guess we'll find out," Finnick replied lightly as Katniss looked back at him, as if for help.

    It must have been an hour before Katniss finally started to slow, realising what the others had. There wasn't a gap to the left, if anything, the forcefield was almost curving, herding them downwards. Jupiter had a hunch, but she didn't want to be the one who brought it up, and she was enjoying Finnick close behind her.

    "Let's take a break," Katniss finally said. "I need to get another look from above."

    She glanced at Jupiter, as if expecting the 68th Victor to accompany her again, but she didn't. Katniss disappeared up a nearby tree, and Jupiter and Finnick helped the slower two of their party sit down comfortably away from the forcefield.

    Jupiter felt it best not to voice that having both Mags and Peeta on their team was slowing them down– Finnick clearly wasn't thinking about victory the same way she was. She wished she had a moment to talk properly, but between needing to keep guard of their allies, and the cameras she knew were on them, she was struggling to find a gap to be honest in.

    "Thank you," Peeta said abruptly. Jupiter knew he was talking to Finnick, but she still glanced at the boy.

    "Won't happen again," Finnick said dismissively.

    Peeta nodded, just as Katniss clambered back down from above. Her face already told that there was bad news, as she scanned the group. "The force field has us trapped in a circle," she said. "A dome, really. I don't know how high it goes. There's the Cornucopia, the sea, and then the jungle all around. Very exact, very symmetrical, and not very large."

    "Fun," Jupiter hissed at the explanation.

    "Did you see any water?" Finnick asked.

    "Only the saltwater where we started the Games," Katniss sighed.

    "There must be some other source," Peeta insisted. "Or we'll all be dead in days."

    "He's right," Jupiter agreed. "It'd be a pretty un-entertaining Games if we didn't have a chance to kill each other."

    The morbid fact seemed to unsettle no one but Peeta.

    "Well, the foliage is thick," Katniss continued. "Maybe there are ponds or springs somewhere. At any rate, there's no point in trying to find out what's over this ridge, because it's nothing."

    "There must be drinkable water between the force field and the wheel," Peeta insisted.

    Using logic with the Capitol was stupid, but in this instance, Jupiter knew he was right. They had to be given a chance to play out the Games properly, especially with a collection of previous Victors. She could only imagine the bets being placed on them.

    With dread, they moved back down and closer towards the Cornucopia in search of water. Jupiter was used to there being a forcefield in the games, it wasn't anything new or unknown. But such a small arena was unusual, and the dome felt very on the nose. It was clear they were trying to corral them into a fight, make it quick and bloody.

    There was no water, even as they continued down the slope, and with the sun beating down on them by midafternoon, they had to accept defeat for the day and find a camp. Mags and Peeta were barely able to move as they chose to settle down a few metres from the forcefield.

    "That way, we can use it to catch anyone off guard if we're attacked," Finnick suggested.

    "At least it's a quick death," Jupiter agreed.

    Finnick and Mags had grabbed tufts of five foot grass and gathered it at their camp to weave into mats. Jupiter shuffled forward on her knees and took a handful. She recalled everything she had done on their final day of training, and the things she had been taught during the Academy. There was a reason the Careers often won.

    "Why are you doing it like that?" Finnick asked over her shoulder.

    "It's how we were taught at the Academy," Jupiter retorted.

    "It'll let too much water in," he stated.

    Jupiter held out a hand to test for rain. "What water?" she asked snidely. "This is the strongest way– it doesn't break." To prove a point, she pulled the foliage, which did not give under pressure.

    "Fine. We'll do it both ways," Finnick agreed. He tucked a piece of coiled hair behind her ear, and she jeered at his teasing.

    "Mags is fine, right?" Peeta asked, still leaning on his cane.

    Finnick glanced at the old lady who was in her own world weaving grass. "Seems so. Why?"

    "We need to eat something," Peeta said in exasperation.

    Through the growing thirst, Jupiter hadn't really noticed the hunger. "Guess you just volunteered," she told the teenager.

    She suspected if Peeta was anybody else, he would have snapped back at her, but he just nodded and headed off. Not too far, not out of sight, especially not in his condition– but there were branches of the nuts in most directions, and he collected a pile quickly. He had even begun to methodically throw them at the forcefield to roast them and remove the shells. It filled their camp with a nice scent.

    Katniss was standing guard, bow half-ready, but she was growing fidgety. Jupiter had made herself very comfortable on the jungle floor as she weaved, but she was never quite relaxed. Finnick glanced at her every few minutes as they worked, but she ignored his pretty eyes for once.

    "Finnick," Katniss finally spoke up. "Why don't you stand guard and I'll hunt around some more for water?"

    "On your own?" Finnick asked incredulously. Mags also made a sound of protest.

    "Don't worry, I won't go far," Katniss reassured.

    "I'll go, too," Peeta chimed in.

    "No, I'm going to do some hunting if I can," Katniss told him. "I won't be long."

    Peeta relented, kissing her quickly, before she departed. "Trouble in paradise?" Finnick mused. Peeta protested by throwing a nut at him, but Finnick caught it and simply popped it in his mouth.

    Katniss hadn't been gone for long when the familiar sound of the cannon went off, signalling what must have been the end of the bloodbath. Jupiter counted along with it, mouthing the number as they went up.

    "Seven?" Jupiter spoke up when it went quiet again. Peeta and Finnick nodded. "Doesn't seem like that much."

    Peeta seemed uncomfortable at the declaration. Jupiter could see now that he had a golden medallion around his neck, matching the bangle on Finnick's wrist and the pin on Katniss' suit. Jupiter reached a hand up to the pearl around her neck, clinging to it.

    While Katniss was gone, the small alliance transformed the place from a patch of jungle into a camp. Using the grass mats, and hammering in branches using the flat end of their machetes, they erected a hut. It was open, but with three walls and a roof, the weaving a mix of Jupiter and Finnick's styles.

    Mags had stopped on the mats and began to make bowls that were even too advanced for Finnick, who had just shrugged when she had started. Peeta was scooping the nuts he had roasted and collected into the bowls, but kept glancing up, as if Katniss would appear. He was growing anxious, she could tell.

    "Here," Jupiter offered, moving from the hut to help Peeta, who was looking more tired by the minute. The 68th Victor suspected that having your heart suddenly stop and restart would take a toll.

    "Oh– thanks," Peeta breathed, darting back a bit as Jupiter stepped up to him.

    "You look like you're scared of me," Jupiter told him lightly.

    "I'm not," Peeta retorted, sounding firm. "Should I be?"

    "You flinched at me saying seven wasn't a lot of dead people," Jupiter pointed out. "I killed eight people in my Games."

    "I know. Is that number ten now?" Peeta challenged.

    "Everyone in this arena knows what to do," Jupiter said. "Even if they pretend to be above it all. There is only one Victor. Everyone else is a body."

    Peeta looked at her intently. "If I wasn't here, Katniss would have shot your boyfriend," he told her simply.

    "He's not my boyfriend," Jupiter responded coolly. "Your fiancee wouldn't get the chance, anyway."

    "If Finnick wasn't here, what would happen?" Peeta asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

    Jupiter gave him a fond smile. "Now you're getting it."

    "You were a mentor, weren't you?" Peeta asked her. Jupiter nodded. "I can tell."

    Jupiter decided to take it as a compliment, as they went quiet again.

    It was getting close to dusk when Katniss finally reappeared, and they all turned to her with mixed expressions of hopefulness. She shook her head, stepping further into their camp, looking around the progress they had made.

    "No water," Katniss sighed. "It's out there, though. He knew where it was." She held up a skinned rodent. "He had water on his nose when I shot him down. I looked everywhere, I swear, I couldn't find the source."

    "At least we know it's out there," Jupiter said with a shrug.

    "Can we eat him?" Peeta asked, pointing to the rodent.

    "The meat doesn't look that different from a squirrel's," Katniss responded cautiously. "It should be cooked."

    "Starting a fire would be suicide," Finnick pointed out, and Katniss' face told them she'd realised the same thing. Between the humidity and how small the arena was, on the off chance a fire started, the smoke would kill them in seconds when the Careers descended on them.

    "Well, the force field roasts things," Peeta pointed out.

    "That's not funny," Katniss chastised.

    But it was effective. As the sun sank below the fake horizon, the unusual alliance gathered in the hut. Finnick and Jupiter had even included a floor to protect against whatever might have been crawling in the leaves, and it made it slightly more comfortable. Between the nuts and passing around the stringy but juicy meat, it wasn't a bad meal for a first night in a Games.

    As night closed in, Jupiter could feel the tension growing amongst their group. Doubts about the safety between them, who would stay up on watch, what may wait for them in the trees. Jupiter wasn't worried about being killed by her alliance, Katniss and Peeta seemed to know they had a better chance for now with the older Victors.

    "That's bright," Jupiter murmured at the moon that rose above them.

    After her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could still see quite clearly, and looked across at Finnick. Before they could start the dreaded task of discussing watch and who got to sleep, the sky brightened further, the Capitol seal floating above them in the distance.

    They gathered at the front of the hut to watch the projection of Victors who had died that day. Katniss and Peeta were holding hands, and Jupiter was shoulder-to-shoulder with Finnick. The anthem rang out, a haunting sound Jupiter had learned to hate over the years, as the man from District 5 – the one Finnick had killed – was projected first.

    Jupiter swallowed thickly. That meant no one from any higher Districts had passed, and from District 5, it only descended. The male morphling from 6, the two Victors from District 8, both from District 9, and Seeder from 11. The Capitol seal returned for a moment, playing the final chords of the anthem, before it disappeared, and the moon became their only source of light again.

    No one said anything, and Jupiter leaned into Finnick's side, feeling him press back against her. The nightly recap of those who had died haunted Jupiter during her Games. She wondered what the rest of her arena had thought when they saw every Career tribute but one projected in the sky. Relief? Terror? Dread?

    Jupiter lifted her eyes at the glint of silver in the moonlight, lips slightly parted at the parachute gliding down towards them. It landed silently just in front of the group on the jungle floor. No one made a move for it.

    "Whose is it, do you think?" Katniss spoke first.

    "No telling," Finnick responded. "Why don't we let Peeta claim it, since he died today?"

    Peeta shrugged, shuffling forward. Inside the parachute was a small metal object, hollow, with a pointed end and what looked like a spout. "What is it?" the District 12 boy asked.

    Katniss took it from his hands, turning it over in her own. "I think it's a spile."

    "A what?" Finnick said, furrowing his brows.

    Katniss' entire face had brightened. "A spile," she repeated. "Sort of like a faucet. You put it in a tree and sap comes out." She looked at the sinewy trees around them. "Well, the right sort of tree."

    Finnick looked at Jupiter. "Sap?"

    "To make syrup," Jupiter told him. "It's not the type of tree that grows by the sea."

    Finnick nodded, as Peeta continued to look at the spile. "There has to be something else in these trees," he said.

    "Water," Katniss breathed. "The tree rat–" She didn't finish her sentence, jumping to her feet.

    She was by the nearest tree in a second, hammering the spile into the soft wood with the end of a knife. The others stood back, watching, as a small drop of water ran out the end, followed by many more.

    Finnick grinned. "You're kidding me." A thin stream of water began to trickle out, and Katniss went first, mouth open as she drank. Finnick made way for Peeta second, the boy swallowing desperately. "Jove, go," Finnick told her.

    She didn't protest, lifting her chin up as she let the water run down her throat. It was warm, but still quenched the thirst she had been battling with all day. When she felt she had had enough for the moment, she made way for Finnick.

   "I'll get a basket for Mags," Jupiter said, moving back to the hut where Mags was still curled up.

    The baskets the elder woman had weaved were so tight, no water escaped, as she headed back to the spile and watched it fill up, water droplets batting against it. She carefully carried it back to Mags, who gratefully took it. Jupiter carried another basket over the spile to stock up, and Finnick watched as she filled it up.

    "I told you water wouldn't get in," he said, leaning down to her ear. She shot him a look.

    After filling up multiple baskets of water, and passing it around, the tiredness began to settle in. Mags had drifted off for the night already, not a care in the world, while Peeta claimed the corner of the hut, looking at Katniss expectantly. The archer still looked hesitant.

    "Get some sleep, Katniss," Finnick told her. "I'll take first watch."

    "Alright," Katniss sighed. She relented and moved to Peeta's side, laying down with him inside the hut. "Wake me up when you're tired," she added. Finnick only nodded and looked back to the jungle, trident beside him.

    Jupiter moved to sit with him, Finnick looking at her quizzically. "I'll stay up a bit," she said simply.

    Finnick nodded, as she settled beside him, slightly against him, just sitting with his presence. They listened to the others fall asleep, breaths evening, as Katniss curled up against Peeta. Jupiter looked at the pair, the star-crossed lovers from District 12, curiously, and then back to Finnick.

    "What is it?" Finnick asked softly.

    "Just... young and in love," Jupiter murmured.

    Finnick had that odd look on his face again, the one he had had when Katniss was crying over Peeta. It passed silently between the pair that they had not quite believed the ruse at first, but Jupiter knew one could not fake that sort of hysteria.

    "I know a little of what that's like," Finnick mused.

    Jupiter scoffed. "Sure you do."

   They lapsed into silence, Jupiter eventually leaning into him. There was not a sound around them, and she felt her eyes grow heavy as the time passed, the moonlight shifting along the ground. Jupiter wished she could say more, or had more to say, but she couldn't quite think of anything. Maybe unspoken was better– easier in the long run.

    "You should sleep," Finnick said after a few hours.

    Jupiter shook her head, truthfully worrying if she did, she'd wake up and the dream would be over. Daylight would bring a new host of horrors, and she'd have to pull away from Finnick's side. She didn't know what the next day would bring– they could very well be projected into the sky.

    She swallowed thickly, hating that thought.

    The tolling of what sounded like a bell suddenly sounded. It wasn't like the cannon– it sounded more like a gong, lower. Katniss jumped awake at the noise, sitting up, eyes wide. Finnick and Jupiter were both staring into the sky, looking for some sort of announcement or physical manifestation of the sound.

    "I counted twelve," Finnick said, glancing over at Katniss.

    "What could it mean?" Katniss murmured.

    "No idea," Jupiter responded.

    The teenage girl looked at the two Victors pressed together warily, as if trying to figure out what they were. Twelve was a very specific number, Jupiter thought. The twelve sections of the wheel by the Cornucopia, twelve Districts, twelve hours. Nothing appeared to show any significance of the tolls, except for a lightning storm in the distance.

    Katniss sighed, looking too wary for sleep. "Go to sleep. It's my turn to watch, anyway."

    Finnick hesitated, but they all knew no one could stay awake forever. Eyes hooded, Jupiter moved to the lip of the hut with him. He stayed sitting up, one hand on his trident, as Jupiter curled up beside him, head practically in his lap, but her hand resting on the combat knife at her hip. Katniss watched the pair for a moment, before turning back to the jungle, bow loaded.

    Jupiter just let out a breath, knowing Katniss would not kill them in their sleep if she knew what was good for her. She'd been smart so far. With that comfort, and knowing she might be able to beat Katniss if she did attack, Jupiter managed to fall into a restless sleep, Finnick's free hand in her hair.

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please please please comment if you're enjoying or any thoughts comments etc!!

this is sort of the arena filler before things get really chaotic so i hope everyone enjoyed this lol break