CHAPTER NINETEEN
no one good leaves the games

THE NIGHT WAS MOSTLY DEDICATED TO KEEPING AN EYE ON ELEANOR. Despite receiving the anti-venom from her mentor, the girl still remained quiet and at times, it did seem as though she had passed away rather peacefully. The only relief that could be provided to the group was the steady breathing that seemed to be the only sign of life from the brunette, which still sounded strained and, at times, painful. They watched cautiously every hour of the night, taking shifts each, to make sure that nothing was odd about the way she was. Sure, the marks that seemed to remain troubled each of them to no end, but at least Eleanor wasn't bleeding out of her nose and ears.

Marlene Woods focused attentively on the constant rising of Eleanor's chest and the shutters that deep breaths caused the girl. Her eyes fixed on the ground ever so often in shame. Guilt seemed to engulf her as she watched small breaths escape the girl's mouth, which still seemed choked or limited. Every hour she'd wait for those sounds to stop and be replaced by the sound of a canon, though it seemed the odds were miraculously in Eleanor's favour.

Since meeting Eleanor, all Marlene could associate with her was peace. She seemed to be the exact synonym for peace, a beacon of calmness which seemed to calm even the harshest of storms. Everything about Eleanor seemed peaceful and it truly did confuse Marlene on how no one had volunteered to save her. Surely District 4 loved Eleanor, knew how special such a peaceful soul is.

Marlene Woods had misjudged Eleanor Eves the moment she saw her reaping, simply because the girl was from District 4 who knew how to mess with a crowd and all Marlene wanted to do was beg Eleanor for forgiveness. When she woke up, Marlene knew she would give Eleanor all the apologies in the world because that is exactly what ElForgiveness for the comments she had made privately, the glares she had given her priorly.

The way she told Eleanor that she was lucky, even though she was here with all of them. None of them were lucky, especially not Eleanor Eves.

"You should sleep," Marlene tore her eyes away from Eleanor's body to finally face Sage. For a moment, Marlene watched Sage as the girl moved to sit besides her. Her eyes drifted to her shoulder, which seemed to be better at this point, though ever so often she'd wince at any sudden movement. The wound was covered by a torn shred of fabric, mimicking the makeshift bandage Eleanor had made the moment she first attended to the wound. "Come on, I'll take watch."

The blonde shook her head at the offer. "I nearly let her die..." Her voice was quiet, yet filled with anger as she realised what she was so willing to do to Eleanor. She had lost hope and had practically accepted her death without any hesitation, something she vowed she wouldn't do. Her only hope was that her brother had the decency to not let his kid watch the games because if Marlene came home, she didn't think she could look Jo in the eyes.

Because her sweet firecracker of a niece would be looking into the eyes of someone who remorselessly allowed a kind girl to die.

Then again, Marlene wasn't coming home. She wasn't going to watch Jo grow up and beat some kid up for hurting her younger siblings, or get married, or see her family ever again. She had so many small things she didn't do because she thought they were pointless and now Marlene just wished she had done them.

She had wasted her life on tesserae and grudges, wasting away on grain and hatred that didn't need to exist.

That shouldn't have to exist.

"Marl..."

She cut Sage off quickly, not willing to listen to the girl's meaningless words. "No, I nearly did it again... nearly killed someone... I nearly killed her." Her eyes focused on the dried up black blood that still strained Eleanor's chin, from where it had leaked down her face. She couldn't bring herself to touch the girl, afraid that she'd ruin and kill her. "I'm horrible."

Sage shook her head. "It's the Hunger Games," A soft, yet shaky, hand reached out to grip Marlene's forearm and for the first time since the games began, she found herself relaxing. Marlene took in a shaky breathe, before finally looking at Sage. "You aren't horrible, Marls."

"Sage?"

The curly haired girl hummed lightly. Her voice was soft and calm as she turned to focus her entire attention onto Marlene. "Yeah?"

"Why did you agree to be allies with me?" Marlene asked quietly, the question having been on the tip of her tongue ever since they began the alliance.

Sage gave a soft smile and Marlene relaxed as Sage rested her head on her shoulder. Their hands seemed to find each other's effortlessly, as though magnets connected them together. "Because you looked like you needed a friend."

"You're too good." Marlene said softly. One of Marlene's oddest comforts was leaning onto someone ever so slightly. Sure, she metaphorically could not lean onto someone, since she was the only kid in her family eligible for tesserae (she had forbid Jo from signing up simply because the kid was only now twelve and shouldn't put herself in unnecessary danger), but she always liked leaning on someone when things were too tough. Marlene rested her head on Sage's shoulder, Sage simply leaning inwards too.

No one had ever provided her as much comfort, apart from Sage. How strange to think she would have never found this odd comfort if she hadn't been reaped.

Eleanor's guttered breathing seemed distant now, more faint and relaxed. Marlene tore her eyes away from the body that laid on the ground, now fixed on Sage.

"Guess I won't be surviving then." She turned and saw the confusion plastered on the blonde's face. Sage added shortly, "No one good leaves the games."

Their eyes immediately fell on Eleanor.

Marlene scoffed, but she knew that it was true. No one good ever won because whoever survived had died in that arena and had just returned as a walking, talking corpse. She reached down to the ground and mockingly brought a half empty bottle and turned it up at Sage. "Shall we drink to it?"

Sage took her own half full bottle, toasting with Marlene. "To dying with our goodness-"

"Or living without it." They tapped their bottles together, taking a sip of the lukewarm water. "Cheers."

District 4 had always had incredibly strong morning suns, so usually waking up wouldn't be so painful. Yet, as light evaded her sight, Eleanor wanted nothing more than to shut her eyes and go back to sleep. Finally, her eyes painfully fluttered open and for the first time, she was hyper aware of the uncomfortable pain that seemed to consume her entire body. The sensation began at her wrists, which were coated with brightly coloured veins, and finally ended just under her chin. She groaned ever so slightly as she tried to get up, only to be pushed back down by August. The black haired girl was holding a drenched piece of cloth to her head and it took a moment for Eleanor to realise she was back at the tree.

"Hey Princess," August grinned at the brunette, who lethargically looked around. She tried getting up, only to be pushed back down by August. The black haired girl glared at her with a stern look pierced on her face. "Don't. You need to rest."

"You-"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have allied with them." August apologised genuinely, her eyes downturned momentarily. "I came back to see if I could help Alina, but found you instead."

Eleanor sighed, closing her eyes for a moment as a headache began. "How long was I out?" She resisted the urge to hold her head in her hands, simply scrunching her eyes shut as she tried blocking out all light. Absolutely everything hurt.

"By 'out', do you mean 'almost dead'?" August quirked her head to the side with an unimpressed look flat on her face. She finally placed the cloth off Eleanor's head, twisting it and draining it of all the liquid. She placed it next to her on the ground, perched just beside Eleanor.

Eleanor's response was reluctant. "Yes."

"Just a day," August finally told her after a brief moment of silence. She brushed a stray wet curl away from Eleanor's face. Her touch lingered for a moment, before August finally set her hand down. "Don't worry, everyone's okay. They've gone to gather food."

"All of them?" Eleanor's eyebrows furrowed together, confusion evident in the way her voice was raised higher in an octave.

"Supplies are shorter," August explained briefly, not saying anything else in an effort not to worry Eleanor. The black haired girl reached into a bag besides her and pulled out a bottle of water. She unscrewed the lid and passed it to Eleanor. "Drink, you must be thirsty."

Eleanor stared at it for a moment. "I'm not."

"Hungry?"

"No."

August ran a hand through her straight black hair. Concern was evident in her eyes. "Have you eaten since you came into the arena?" In truth, Eleanor had not eaten much. She had barely eaten any of the bread Finnick had sent them, only taking small bites since she was honestly convinced she would throw up if she ate anymore. The realisation that her lack of hunger was concerning hit Eleanor hard. Before, she had felt hungry. Now, she felt empty, as though she'd throw up if anything entered her body. August's eyes averted down in concern, focused plainly on the floor. "Shit."

"What?"

August sighed. "Wouldn't surprise me if this is because of that venom?"

Eleanor's mouth turned downwards in a frown, confusion evident in her face. Since when was she- Oh. "Venom?"

"I don't know how, but you must've been infected by that mutt that killed Alina," August didn't seem to notice the way Eleanor flinched at the reminder of what she had witnessed just over a day ago. The memory of Alina's pleas echoed in her aching mind, the sound of the machete- Oh my god, Eleanor had done that. She had killed- no - murdered Alina Scaro. What had she become? "Your mentor sent you venom, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's still in your system."

"Wouldn't I be dead?"

August shook her head. "Not necessarily. Maybe just enough so you can make it to the end so the doctors can give you a full cure," she grabbed onto Eleanor's arm, flipping it so Eleanor could see the veins in her forearm. The angry rainbow veins seemed to glare up at them and August cursed. "Lets just hope the only side affects are your appetite, hydration, and those... things."

"Veins."

"Yeah," August hesitated, looking down at the veins with a sad look deep in her steel grey eyes. Her eyes snapped up to look to Eleanor once more. She stared for a moment, before her lips turned downwards with concern. "Eleanor?"

"Yeah?"

"Your nose..."

Eleanor used her knuckle to swipe underneath her nose, feeling liquid coat her skin. She looked at it and shakily breathed out. "It's-"

"Black," August completed. She grabbed onto the piece of cloth and handed it to Eleanor. "Alina's body was full of-"

"It's blood," Eleanor nodded, not wanting to imagine Alina Scaro's dead body. She could only hope that the Capitol wasn't twisted enough to deliver her body in the state it had been when she died. Alina deserved to be buried as beautiful as she was when she was alive. "I know." Eleanor squeezed her eyes shut and groaned out, one of her hands reaching up to massage her temples with a pained look flashing on her face.

"Are you okay?"

Eleanor gave her a hesitant nod. "Probably a side effect."

August gave a tight lipped grimace. "Hopefully just a side effect."

"You really think I got fully cured?" She gave a small laugh, grunting at the pain in her side. "Maybe I'll drop dead right at the end." She placed both her hands onto the ground and pressed down to lift herself up. With shaky legs, she stood up and stretched, yawning. August seemed too nervous to focus on anything else, practically waiting with outstretched arms for Eleanor to collapse. Eleanor turned to face the black haired girl with an unimpressed look.

"What? Just preparing for you to-" When Eleanor's legs finally gave way, August chuckled as Eleanor finally collapsed, groaning loudly in both annoyance and pain. "Take it easy, Princess."

"You're just happy to be this close to me, pretty girl." Eleanor snarked back, her nose scrunched up as she smirked at August. The pale faced girl blushed, suppressing a grin. "Admit it, you love me."

"Who doesn't love you?"

"My childhood crush?" Eleanor's lips curled upwards in a small smile as she looked into August's eyes. She wanted to be cliche and say that it felt like they were the only people in the world that mattered, but Eleanor felt an uncomfortable chill in her body that reminded her that they were not alone.

You were never alone in the arena.

"Ouch, relatable." It seemed as though August remained totally oblivious to the feeling of discomfort being watched brought Eleanor. It made Eleanor want to turn a corner and hide, but of course that was completely impossible.

She brushed away the feeling with hesitance, instead focusing solely on August. "Oh my god, are we bonding over shared life experience?" Eleanor quipped with a smirk, tilting her head to the side with a laugh. She would have continued laughing, if not for the dull yet painful ache in the side. It seemed her happiness left her the moment she heard Marlene, Sage, and Jaime yelling Kai's name over and over again. Eleanor's head immediately snapped to where the three tributes emerged, Marlene practically holding Sage back.

"Let- Me-- Go!" Sage shoved Marlene back as she tried moving forward. There were tears streaming down Sage's face, her eyes filled with anger. Marlene tried pushing her backwards, only for Sage to raise her fist and strike Marlene back. She rushed back into the clearing away from the willow tree, yelling out. "Kai? Kai?"

The sudden shock of Sage's violence wore off Marlene as she moved forward, pulling Sage close. She brought her back through the willow tree leaves, making the girl look at her. "Come on, you'll get us caught!" But, at this point, it seemed as though all Sage could focus on was the wide eyed expression Eleanor possessed. She looked between the pair for a moment, scowling. Marlene caught on, her eyes immediately snapped to Eleanor the moment the brunette gained her footing, unsteadily walking towards them in quick strides.

"Shit."

CHEEKY LITTLE UPDATE IN HONOUR OF ME CAUSING DRAMA BC I REALLY HATE THIS BITCH

in honour of cuntney who still tries blaming me for her blabbering about this dude being clapped

this goes out to u babes <3333

uh guys also this is where things go bad

say goodbye to eleanor's happiness