The Price of Peace (Finnick Odair)

Eat Your Young

The morning came faster than either would have liked. 

Finnick had insisted on cuddling up next to her the night before the games. She could hear his facing heartbeat. His anxiety for the day kept her awake as she held onto him. 

As her mentor, he wasn't allowed to go far with her. After getting her tracker she turned and it was time to say goodbye. 

They stood at the end of the long hall that led to her platform in the arena. Time felt like a physical weight as it began to run out for the both of them.

"I will get every sponsor in Panem on your side. I will fight for you, I just need you to fight too." Finnick promised pulling her into his embrace.

That final moment with him...That brutal goodbye had nearly torn her heart straight from her chest. That final kiss on his soft lips, before marching to the hanging tree. That final touch to ground himself that, for the moment, she was still there with him. One final brush of her nose against his, not for show or to follow the script, but as a silent I love you.

"Promise me... Promise me I'll see you again." Finnick whispered like a prayer in the quiet morning. 

"I swear on my life, I'll come back to you." She promised, phrasing it to ensure it was true. 

He pulled off the friendship bracelet she gave him right before he left for his game. He tied it tightly to her dainty wrist, praying that the token would bring her the same success he had. 

"I love you, Evadine Ripley." 

"I love you more, Finnick Odair."

There was a quietness as her platform began to rise in the arena. The freezing air pierced her skin through her jacket. The arena was a snowy tundra, huge mountainous glaciers surrounded them blocking the harsh wind. A black cornucopia stood in the center of the tributes as a harsh contrast to the white backdrop. 

Her bare fingers already hurt from the cold. 

The countdown began. 

10. 

To her left was a 15-year-old from District 7, Evadine couldn't remember the name of the girl to save her life. To her right, a boy from District 12 who was also irrelevant to her. 

9. 

The wind stopped allowing the silence to build the anxiety. 

8.

One girl couldn't take the pressure, jumping off the platform and getting blown to hell before the game even began. Suicide was one way to win the game, Evadine mused, because at least then no one could beat you but you.

7.

She heard some kids scream at the gruesome scene. 

6.

The boy from 12 on her right also looked like he was going to puke. 

5. 

The girl from 7, started to cry in fear. 

4.

Evadine took a deep breath, readying for the performance of a lifetime. 

3. 

She was going to be memorable, that's for sure.

2.

Finnick was going to fucking kill her but... she was already dead anyway. A slow smile took over Evadine's face and she knew at least two cameras were watching her. 

1. 

The alarm blared for them to begin. 

Half turned and ran for the glaciers. Half sprinted towards the cornucopia. Evadine Ripley did neither. She calmly jumped off her stand and gracefully walked towards the cornucopia and much to everyone's shock she started singing...

"I'm starving, darling. Let me put my lips to something. Let me wrap my teeth around the world...Start carving, darling. I wanna smell the dinner cooking. I wanna feel the edges start to burn" It was eery to see her so calm. She strutted through the snow as if it were a stage like she thought it was all for show.

"Honey, I wanna race you to the table. If you hesitate, the getting is gone. I won't lie if there's something to be gained. There's money to be made, whatever's still to come...Get some! Pull up the ladder when the flood comes. Throw enough rope until the legs have swung. Seven new ways that you can eat your young!" Viewers were equally fascinated and horrified as she began to dance, slowly growing closer to the blood bath. 

"Come and get some. Skinning the children for a war drum. Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns. It's quicker and easier to eat your young"

 A knife was thrown towards her but she casually twirled out of the way as if it were some choreographed dance. 

"You can't buy this fineness. Let me see the heat get to it. Let me watch the dressing start to peel. It's a kindness, Highness. Crumbs enough for everyone. Old and young are welcome to the meal." She leaned down picking up an axe that had been previously buried in the chest of a girl from District 8. 

"Honey, I'm making sure the table's made. We can celebrate the good that we've done. I won't lie, if there's something still to take." The Career from District 2 heard her song, turning, sword in hand to race at her. 

He was too big to move quickly and he underestimated her, a deadly combination. When he raised his sword to take her head, she ducked, carving her axe through his unprotected stomach. Smokeing hot entrails fell from him, staining the pure white snow blood red. He gasped, unable to breathe as she severed his diaphragm. He collapsed but she didn't break stride, continuing to sing. BOOM! A Cannon sounded.

 "There is ground to break, whatever's still to come. Get some" 

The girl from two saw the encounter, screaming in rage at her game partner's death. She raised a bow, pulling the string. But she aimed for long enough that John's training kicked in and Evadine was already raising her hand. The arrow loosed and in a fraction of a second, it was caught in the Siren's strong grip just inches from her ocean-green eye. 

"Pull up the ladder when the flood comes. Throw enough rope until the legs have swung." Evadine through the axe directly between the Carreer's eyes, causing her to drop in a moment. BOOM! Another cannon rang out.

"Seven new ways that you can eat your young" 

Evadine never attacked first, but she always attacked harder as she grabbed a bag and started filling it with survival items, once again too eerily calm. Two more tried to kill her only for them to fall at her feet like the other. Boom. Boom.

"Come and get some. Skinning the children for a war drum"

She turned from the blood bath, retrieving her axe and casually making her way to the glaciers as if she were just returning from the market.

"Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns. It's quicker and easier to eat your young."