Droplets of water flowed paths down her bare back, her hair was loose and flat from the weight of her shower.

Standing in the mirror, Terra brought a hand to wipe away the fog from her eye level. Wet lashes framed large, tired eyes. It was remarkable what a night in the capital could do to her appearance, what it never failed to do each time she stepped foot in the extravagant city.

Pulling her gaze away, she tucked herself in a warm, cozy towel and slipped into her room. The clothes provided to her were the same type that she was always expected to wear. A light, flowy satin style pyjamas that were more uncomfortable than they were meant to be.

Allowing her hair to soak the back of her top, Terra shuffled toward the dining room where a large meal was laid out for them by the kind benefactors of the capitol. She could spot some of her favorite dishes before even reaching the table.

"Took you long enough, Princess," Wilber's disgruntled grumble came from his seat at the head of the table.

Terra spared him a polite smile and a minuscule nod of acknowledgement before seating herself silently and serving herself a small portion of one of the richer meats.

Across from her, Lux lifted his fork in greeting - lips pulled in a taunt smile. It took only a moment for Terra to catch onto his attitude, the incessant chatter of Azolla was grating to her ears - sharp and burning as the woman rambled about how nice it was to be with them in the capital again.

Sighing in agitation, Terra made quick work of shoveling the rest of food from her plate and a couple of mouthfuls of vegetables.

Pushing her chair back and standing, she guzzled down a cool glass of water before she attempting to make a break for her room.

Halfway there, she was stopped by the grunting growns of Wilber clearing his throat in a clear and concise fashion. Freezing mid step, she slowly turned to face him as he slowly cut into a tender piece of porterhouse steak.

"I was approached today," he began, pausing to chew with systematic movements. "I was approached today by annoyingly persistent mentors and tributes alike looking to make strike an alliance with the pair of you."

The girl shut her eyes with a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. She returned to her seat with calculated steps, lowering herself cautiously.

"Oh, that's just wonderful!" Azolla exclaimed with a little clap of her hands.

Lux grunted, serving himself a rather large slab of ham. "Not really."

Ignoring them both, Terra addressed Wilber, "What did you tell them?"

The elderly man snorted. "That you were old enough to talk them on your own. If they want something from you then they could speak to you directly."

An abrupt choking drew her attention across the table to where Lux was struggling between laughter and breathing around the ham he had swallowed.

Azolla stood in a flurry, smacking him in a series of frantic slaps that brought quiet giggles from a grinning Terra.

It took a moment before the other tribute of district 10 was able to brush the woman off and breathe easy - cheeks and neck coloured a dark red.

"That sounds like something you would say old man," Lux grinned, cutting his food into smaller pieces.

"That's because I did say it, you little idiot." Wilber reached a withered hand across the table and pulled a rather expensive bottle of spirits towards himself - pooring a large glass up to the brim and downing it, only to poor another.

"Was that the end of it then?" Terra inquired, stopping the bickering before it could begin.

His hum was all she needed to relax again, the tension that she unknowingly held in her muscles loosening away enough for her to feel comfortable to reach for a fresh bun.

Pairing off with the other tributes, the people that she knows will eventually die, would work as more of a burden than travelling alone. This time arounx would be similar to the last - either way Terra would be hunted down again, last time as easy pickings and this time as a threat. Though knowing that they would come to her directly, she could now prevent such a conversation from occurring - and after yesterday's display it would be easier, she assumed, since she was the type that preferred her distance.

Munching quietly, she did not expect for Azolla to continue the conversation, questioning her on her motives.

"I don't understand," the woman expressed. "Why wouldn't you want allies? You struggled so much the last time for allies."

Lux was the one to respond. "Last time we didn't know any of the people that were trying to kill us. Our friends are going to be in there."

"Finnick, Mags and Johanna," Terra whispered, fiddling with the piece of bread. "Seeder and Chaff, I'll never get to see Haymitch again either."

"It's easier if it's just the two of us spending our finals days fighting together," Lux explained.

"Wow, that's morbid," Wilber mused, sipping at his drink.

Terra pursed her lips, swallowing the lump in her throat, she quietly excused herself for the evening - telling them that she would see them all in the morning to prepare for the days training session before she returned to her room and burrowed herself beneath a mound of soft sheets.

Cries and screams of joy and parties from the streets echoed around her room, the lights from the festivities casting colourful shaped on the wall that kept her up well into the night before she finally clawed herself to sleep.

Training the next day was as expected, the tributes of district 10 forming a silent barrier for one another to keep away the stray and unwelcomed tributes that came to put in an ally requests. They were united, moving as a unit among each station and refusing to acknowledge anyone else.

It was a blessing that their friends did not take offence, quietly accepting their strategy and giving the pair space to do as they wished.

Working over the steps of tying intricate knots, Terra harshly knocked away the tanned, callused hand that moved to help her - angling herself away from him.

"You haven't spoken to anyone other than Lux, Land Pearl," a soft, gentle whisper brushed against the smooth skin of her neck. "Give me a little attention."

She rolled her shoulder and jutted her elbow back hard. "Leave me alone Finnick," she hissed. "You didn't want any attention from me yesterday."

A hand, one with a feathery touch, grazed along her hip. "I was trying to make new friends yesterday."

"Go and see your new friends then," Terra snapped. "I'm sure they would love some of your attention."

"I only want your attention," he whispered, breath fanning against her neck and fingers brushing over her hands.

Slowly, he began to guide her through the knots she was working over, not once allowing her to get tangled as she and Johanna had the day before. It was hypnotic, the way he worked through the motion with such grace and confidence that he didn't even need to watch what he was doing and easily rambled on about what she was meant to be doing.

At her side, she could see Lux slowly slipping away - completely disregarding the ropes and slinking off to the beautifully fashioned knives spread out in a wide array against the walls. He looked content, blissfully tracing the blades and spinning them between dexterous fingers.

She scowled, a swift emotion that flickered over her expression only for a brief moment before she settled into a serene and concentrated mask that she had worn the entire morning.

"You've chased off my partner, Finnick," Terra remarked, a hint of irritation slipping into her tone. "You're ruining our strategy of chasing off propositions."

He stiffened, fumbling in his knot tying before her meaning hit him and he was relaxing against the table so he could face her.

"You've been asked to join an alliance then?" His voice dropped in pitch, bringing a much more serious mood to their conversation.

Terra nodded. "Wilber told us he was approached and he basically told them off. Told them that only we would talk about an alliance-" she waved a hand around as though demonstrating "- I think he's just getting too old to deal with all of this anymore."

"Keep them away plan is working for you then?" Finnick side-eyed her, arms crossing over his chest. "Who do you plan to team up with then?"

Heart her jumped to her throat for a moment before it settled itself in resignation. Terra cleared her throat and linked her hands together, traipsing towards the target station where she eyed a series of weapons.

"We planned to do it just the two of us, actually," she mumbled, looking anywhere but at him. "We didn't want to be around friends in case the moment came down to it."

"Surrounded, surrounded by friends," he sputtered, and when she looked, she found his jaw to be working in seeming disbelief. "You wouldn't be surrounded by friends if you hadn't volunteered yourself."

"I would have been here anyway," she argued.

"You don't know that."

"Of course I do. Would you have expected me to allow Marium to go in my place and be forced to watch her children grow up without a mother?" Terra spun away, taking up a random knife and flipping it around a few times. With a huff, she put it away and stomped her way to a large hammer.

Finnick followed. "What about your life? You never should have been here."

She lifted the heavy object in her right hand, spinning it with a roll of her wrist. With a mighty swing, she knocked a sizable dent into the head of a training doll.

"What about yours? From the moment I heard the announcement I knew that I was going to be coming back," Terra breathed, lifting the hammer in a wide upwards swing. "Not only for my friend but for myself because I knew that you were going to be here and I wasn't going to risk never seeing you again."

Rough hands brushed down her arms to her wrist, gently turning her so she faced him. Finnick smiled, a sad sort of thing that made her uneasy.

"I would have come back for you," he insisted.

Terra grimaced. "You couldn't promise me that. If they're going to try and kill us, I'd rather do it with you."

The lunchroom was loud and bright, everything was very metallic and cold.

The food was spread in a wide buffet style that she paid little attention to - only grabbing a plate of vegetables and bread to nibble on.

The district 10 duo sat alone, off in the corner with a table to themselves. They passed the meal in silence - neither touching on the moment she shared with Finnick not long before.

It was a good system they had set in place, or so they believed it to be before they were interrupted once more as a mess of a man dropped himself down next to Lux across from her.

They shared an exasperated loom before finally acknowledging a Haymitch that was studiously stealing food from her tray.

"What can we help you with?" Terra inquired, giving the man her best impression of a polite smile.

He was a friend, one she had made 6 years ago, and as such, she would afford him the kindest that he probably didn't deserve but she would gift him nonetheless.

"I have a favour to ask you." Haymitch tossed a tiny carrot into his mouth. "A pretty big favour."

"I'm guessing you haven't been told yet?" Lux ventured, waving his fork around. "We're winging it."

"Oh no, I've heard," the man nodded solemnly. "You two have got some of the others up in a fuss."

Terra turned back to her food. "I'm certain they'll be fine with us choosing not to join their teams. They'll get over it."

"You're famous for your passive-aggressive murderous tendencies," Haymitch continued as though she hadn't said a word. "District 10 has always been underestimated, in my humble opinion."

"We raise livestock for a living, how underestimated could we possibly be?" She began to clear her things.

"Stop trying to butter us up. What do you want?" Terra cringe at the chewed food that flew from Lux's mouth.

The district 12 mentor glanced around the room nervously, fidgetting in his seat until he was leaning over the table.

"The Mockingjay, it's the symbol that's keeping the rebellion alive," he began, placing his hands on the table and leaning his weight forward. "They want to kill those that can easily persuade the public."

Terra slammed a fist down next to her tray, a fearful glance over the room had her looking for camera's and peacekeepers alike. "Will you shut up!" She hissed, teeth grinding. "Are you trying to get us all killed?"

"We're already going to be killed," Haymitch argued vehemently. "Why not go down swinging?"

"We will go down swinging, what does the Love Club over there have to do with it?" Lux intervened, a large hand coming to rest on Terra's forcefully to prevent another possible outburst.

She realized she was shaking, tiny quivers that inched its way over her skin. She blinked hard, pushing back the urge to hide in her room - the feeling of eyes following her making her nauseous.

"Well, that's what I need the favour for," Haymitch pushed onward, voice lowering even further.

Terra sneered. "You just said we were going to die. What good would a favour be?"

"Donations? You'll need plenty of those if you plan to go solo." The mentor said. "What if they don't have what you need at the cornucopia?"

Terra clenched her jaw and looked away, eyeing the other tributes. Each was skilled and victorious, strong together and apart. It was easy for her to discern who was the biggest threat - to carve out a plan on which individuals she would take out first. Finnick sat among them, one of the biggest threats that she hoped someone reached first.

Meeting Lux's eyes, she gave him a shrug and nod - pushing her tray toward Haymitch forcefully. "It's up to you," she told her partner. "Whatever you decide."

"What would this mean for us?" He asked after a moment. "What would you have us do?"

"It's very easy-" Terra rolled her eyes "-All you need to do is make sure Katniss lives."

Terra snorted. "You want me to babysit them?"

"Babysit is a loose term, but essentially yes-" Haymitch grinned "- Finnick is allying himself with the lovely couple."

Laughing sort of hysterically, Terra stood from her seat and stretched tall. "I'll do what you want, but you'll owe me more than a favour."

She wasn't sure what they were saying as she left, the small chatter of details lost on her as she watched Finnick laugh freely, a wide smile that was all teeth shining like the sun. Isolating herself was Katniss, a frantic gleam to the girl's eyes as she attempted to avoid all forms of interaction.

If it meant protecting Finnick then she would do what she needed to.

Terra flexed a hand, bringing it up to eye level - this time she didn't flinch at the sight of the blood that haunted her.

♦♦♦

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2018-02-22