PROLOGUE
the beginning

THE STENCH OF BLOOD USED TO MAKE ELEANOR GAG SO BADLY THAT SHE COULDN'T BE IN THE SAME PERIMETER AS SOMEONE BLEEDING. When she was smaller, she used to sit in the other room while men brought in injured individuals, blood staining the carpets of the house entrance. The Eves household was notorious for the generosity of the family's gifted doctors, earning kind smiles of all the people of District 4. She had grown accustomed to the smell though, her ma working tirelessly in a Doctor's Office of a home.

Eleanor Eves was eleven when she began helping out. Everyone knew how intelligent she was, her eyes wide and all knowing. The brunette had a steady hand and a calmness to her, allowing her to act quickly in sudden situations. She always wanted to do what her parents did, being easily able to understand how to help treat individuals when they were in states of pain.

"Quick get everything off the table, Ele," Her mother instructed the girl. Sue had rushed into the kitchen quickly after a day around the town, helping some of the elderly clients who couldn't travel easily. Eleanor was shocked at her mother's outburst, although the harshness of Sue Eves' voice was usual whenever she was helping people. She pulled all the papers and cups off the table, rushing to place them on the counters. "You sure you'll be fine here? You can go to your bedroom, Sweetheart. It's a pretty bloody situation."

Eleanor shook her head. "I'm fine," she dismissed the concerned look on her mother's face, opening up a cupboard and pulling out supplies. "Boating accident?"

Her mother shook her head. "Kid fell off a rock down the beach, cut his leg open. He was lucky he didn't drown." Her tone sounded overwhelmingly motherly, almost annoyed the kid decided to go climbing on the rocks in the first place. Sue Eves grabbed onto a syringe, shaking ever so slightly as she held it. Quickly, Eleanor took it off her, pulling out some Morphling  gauzes out of the drawers. "Careful, gentlemen. He has several injuries. Not just the leg." Sue placed a pillow down on the table, allowing for the boy's head to rest there. Nervously, Eleanor assessed what she could of the situation, noting down his head injury as well as the massive stain of blood along his leg. She grabbed a hair band from the drawers, tying her hair up quickly before pulling on some surgical gloves. She handed her mother some, who seemed to be frantically ranting about the men and their harshness to the kid. "I swear you men are all brute and no compassion." Sue glared at the men, who quickly left the room.

Sue undid the rag that was wrapped around his leg, before rushing to grab a needle and thread. "Ele, can you deal with his head? Thankfully, it's only a graze so he doesn't need stitches there. Alcohol, gauze, and bandage it, sweetheart. You know what you need to do." The woman instructed, pressing a quick kiss on Eleanor's head. She held tightly onto the syringe, with was filled with Morphling. "I'm busy with his leg. He needs stitches so I'm going to have to give him Morphling. Though, first the priority is disinfecting. Will you be alright handling the head for a minute?" her mother asked her gently. Eleanor nodded at her mother, quickly moving to the cupboard and pulling out some vodka. "He looks around your age, try and distract him. I can't imagine he's okay right now."

Eleanor nodded, passing her mother the needle with Morphling and quickly moving to the boy, who sat sobbing on the table. His head didn't look too bad, though the large gash seemed painful. She gave him a gentle smile, grabbing some vodka off the counter and pouring it onto a cotton pad. She tapped his cheek ever so slightly, getting his attention.

"I'm going to put this," she gestured to the gauze. "On your head. It's vodka, you know the stuff you get drunk off of. But, we use it as a way to clean wounds here." She saw his eyes transfixed on her, making her slightly nervous, although she continued gently. "It'll hurt, but you need to stay still or else you might cause more damage to your leg. Ma's gonna inject you with some Morphling now once she cleans up your leg."

He seemed almost hesitant, nodding. Eleanor gave him a soft smile, moving the gauze to his head and gently pressing onto it. 

"Ow!" He winced, flinching as Eleanor applied pressure. He looked up and sea green met ocean blue, and Eleanor simply smiled in reassurance. Her left hand remained pressed on the wound, but her right immediately found his, allowing him to squeeze her hand tightly. He mumbled out his reply, "what are you doing?"

"Cleaning your head, idiot," Eleanor responded with a calm tone. She smiled as she saw him calm down ever so slightly at her. "I'm sorry, that was a bit harsh, this must be scary. I'd be scared too if I was you. I'm Eleanor Eves, what's your name?" Her aim was to distract him until her mother finally injected him with the Morphling.

The boy winced as the Morphling was injected into his body. "Finnick Odair."

"Nice to meet you, Finnick, sorry it's like this." She grinned slightly and he smiled back, perhaps relieved to see someone his age near. Eleanor wondered why she had never seen him before,  "Why were you climbing by the rocks? Everyone knows that's a stupid idea."

"I was curious." Finnick admitted, faintly embarrassed at his reveal. His cheeks had turned a slight shade of red, a stark contrast to how pale they had been previously. "I've been there before, so I just assumed I'd be alright."

Eleanor sighed, apologising once more when Finnick winced. She felt his hand squeezing hers and simply smiled. She looked down and saw her mother looking up at her. The syringe was just about to be injected and she could see Finnick's fear. He seemed focused on the size of the needle, shivering ever so slightly. Eleanor tapped his cheek once more. "What's your favourite colour?"

Finnick frowned, but his eyes met hers. "What?"

Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Your favourite colour? Come on, you have to have one!" Eleanor laughed, making Finnick smile ever so slightly. She increased the pressure on the wound, making him wince ever so slightly. Then, he let out a small yelp as the needle entered his skin, his eyes watering but never leaving her gaze. Her smile seemed to evaporate as she saw the pain flash in those sea green eyes. "I'm trying to distract you. Please? You're in pain."

Finnick nodded. "Blue." He shyly responded, noticing every small detail as Eleanor smiled. The young girl quickly let go of the gauze, placing it next to his head, and grabbing onto a plaster. She gently opened it, placing it down gently and slowly. "But not dark blue, blue like-- like the ocean."

"Ironic," Eleanor remarked, grinning slightly at his face. She laughed, gently dabbing the blood on his head once more. This time he didn't wince, focusing on her small rambles. "You know, those rocks may be dangerous but they definitely have the best shells in all of District 4. My friend, Annie, she went there once and brought me back so many shells. You'd like Annie. She's brave, funny, but most of all, she's alive. Maybe when this is all over, you can meet her?"

Finnick nodded slightly, though focused on his own story. "I was trying to find shells for my Ma, it's her birthday and she's been sad and I thought she'd like a shell." He frowned, looking down slightly. "When I fell, I dropped the shell. Guess getting injured was pointless."

Eleanor shook her head. "You shouldn't be risking yourself for a shell, but that's a lovely excuse, I guess." She grinned ever so slightly, looking down to see her mother cutting the thread. Sue looked up at her daughter, nodding to let her know it's over. "Ma's finished now. She's going to bandage it up and then you'll be alright. Are you okay?"

Finnick looked up at her, his eyes fixed on hers. He nodded, squeezing her arm tightly.

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