𝐒𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄 - finnick odair

𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞.

( drown my sins )

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

In all honesty, Ares should have been able to set aside his emotions and focus on the trials that were Games. But in reality, he was quite an emotional person and he found his every waking motion and thought being guided by the darkening skeletal hands of his waning sanity. It tugged at him, dragging him along as if he were a mere puppet, strings being pulled by the unseen.

"—that must be it, or do you think we're being purposely misled?" Pandora's voice broke through his spiralling thoughts, but Ares only caught the tail end of her question.

He glanced over at her and found that she was inspecting something in her hands. "What?"

He'd been somewhat out of it, whether it be from the oppressive heat settling deep into his bones and getting to his head or the relentless strum of anger that burned brighter like his own little mini sun under such duress. The emotion had been coursing through him ever since he killed Shasta, and it was hard to stamp out once it had festered.

The rest of the second day had passed by with few incidents and far more silence. Voltina had gone her separate way as soon as Ares turned his back, and Pandora, despite her attempts to act normal after once again having to be saved, couldn't hide how utterly useless she felt. It was in her entire demeanour as she tried to take the bags from Ares and guide them both through the fires. While Ares was quiet as they trekked some more, giving in to what she wanted, she was busy trying to think about what the next day would bring, racking her brain for any and all clues.

In the end, the hint came in the form of Shasta herself.

"The bag. Look, Ares."

Before they'd left the ring of death, Pandora thought to grab the supply bag the dead girl had on her, rolling her body onto her front and maneuvering it off from her shoulders while Ares waited impatiently. She pretended as though she was handling nothing but a doll as she shifted limbs so she wouldn't throw up, but Shasta's body had warmed unnaturally underneath the blazing sun and her skin was all too human-like to even pretend. Pandora still managed it though, not willing to ask Ares for help again. Especially not when his face had darkened considerably with some terrible emotion that made him look far older than he was.

But the bag was what Pandora was talking about, and Ares forced his brain of noodles to focus on what she was saying.

"Yeah, what about the bag?" He asked, wiping sweat off his brow. He was glad for the sunscreen they'd gotten in the fire emblem pack, otherwise he'd be insane and also burnt into a steamed potato.

Pick your poison.

"It's another symbol."

Ares eyed the stupid bag, the fabric stained with Shasta's blood. He'd been trying not to look at it for too long. Past the darkened fabric, he didn't see any symbol, but before he could complain about it, Pandora showed him the underside of the zipper tag where what appeared to be a pentagram was engraved into it.