once upon a time • finnick odair

ix. the fog

"Be careful," Finnick warned.

Everyone nodded.

With another swishing sound, this time, a knife flew their way, but they were quick enough to avoid it and see it getting plunged into the ground right before the tree.

"Weren't there only two bows?" Katniss hissed, looking at the arrow on the tree.

"I thought there was," Finnick said.

Devon thought about it.

If there were really only two bows in the Cornucopia, that would mean that a) either someone made it, or b) there was another weapon...

Oh.

Crossbow.

How had he not realized?

"Lucian," Devon whispered.

"Lucian?" Katniss repeated. "Why are you ... oh."

Katniss noticed what Devon was referring to, and sighed.

"But he doesn't use a knife," Finnick reminded them.

"And why would he shoot at us?" Devon pondered.

"It's the Hunger Games," said Katniss bitterly. "Anything can happen."

That was true.

Silence fell between the alliance until large sounds of metal meeting metal as well as quick runs were heard. It was a clear sign of a battle happening.

"Get down," Devon warned.

As soon as Finnick helped Mags sit down, a knife came flying to the exact place where Mags was standing just a few seconds ago.

Devon could now really realize where he was: back in the Games, where his life could be gone at any second.

He glanced at Finnick and knew he was thinking the same thing because he was staring at the knife with a faraway look in his eyes that Devon knew wasn't so good.

"Snap out of it," Devon muttered to him.

Just then, a large grunt was heard, and a thin figure came flying into where they were standing, before crashing into the tree with a huge cracking sound.

The cannon sounded.

"What the ..."

They all looked at the person who crashed, and Katniss seemed to not recognize her, but everyone else did, and Finnick walked over.

"Adira," Finnick muttered, closing her eyes. "Who ..."

Devon cut off his words when he saw a certain man stalking toward them, his face covered in blood and having a crossbow and a small backpack over his back. The man looked like he was straight out of those bad Capitol TV shows with human mutts in them, almost looking like one.

"Is it a mutt?" Katniss said out loud.

The man stopped in his tracks. "Mutt?"

All of them put their weapons up to defend themselves.

"Oh, my bad," said the man, a familiar drawl rolling out of his tongue. He wiped the blood off his face, and Devon could see a familiar face that matched the voice. "Hyesung," Lucian said.

Devon backtracked unconsciously. "Hyung?"

"Hey, nice to see you again—"

"Back off, Two," Finnick said, pointing his trident at his chest.

Lucian put his hands up in the air in surrender. "Calm down, Four. Are you really planning to kill your ally?"

He shook his right hand from side to side cheekily, and the four of them could see a golden ring on his finger.