Fandom Hunger Games (Closed)

[ChibiMonkey]

When Gale mentioned how he was good at hunting and because of that was good at tracking, Finnick smiled a bit and nodded his head "That's good" he said, before turning his attention back in front of him towards the direction he could hear the water. So it seemed those in district 12 actually could have some talents that could be of use in the games. He felt bad for thinking that, since he started to like Gale and Lilly, and thought they were good people. But it had been the truth. Up until now, he'd always thought District 12 was the most useless and least prepared when it came to the games. And, theoretically, that was probably still true. But the fact they had to learn to survive without much modernized or industrial sort of help they could get, it seemed to come in handy, that they were well accustomed for living through hardships and looking after themselves.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he was just thankful that this teaming up seemed to be paying off and a good idea in the long run. As they approached the treeline to the river, Finnick glanced around, trying to see if any other tributes were either at the water, or, waiting for others to come to launch a sort of surprise attack. Once he couldn't see anyone, he turned to Gale "I'll head out first. It's possible others could have set up camp and hiding around the river, knowing tributes will likely come to it. Wait a minute or two to be sure no one is waiting to attack me, then we should definitely be clear for the moment if nothing happens" he said with a nod.

He waited for Gale to agree with the plan, before Finnick cautiously headed out into the slight opening beside the river's edge. He glanced around a bit, still being wary, before acting like he was letting his guard down, so if someone was waiting for him to do so, they would think they were in the clear to attack him. He knelt down by the water's edge, keeping alert as he cupped some water in his hands and drank from the pool gathered in his palms.

~

As River agreed and assured her to get some rest, Lilly nodded her head lightly. She was incredibly thankful, honestly. She already felt like she was about ready to pass out, so now, at least this way she can say she actually fell asleep, rather than suddenly passed out unexpectedly. It sounded a lot better the former way. After checking with River, she shifted to get more comfortable. With the guys gone and it being just the two of them in the hideout, she could actually lay down on the ground a bit, and the cool dirt of the earth beneath her felt refreshing against her feverish skin, even though it probably wasn't all that cold. But compared to the stifling air around them, it was.

As she closed her eyes and got as comfortable as she could, she was ready to fall asleep, and forget the pain in her leg her her feverish temperature that was pounding at her head. As she closed her eyes and tried to rest though, her mind started to wander to darker places, and she started to worry herself again. What if this was some other sort of plan of Finnick's and Rivers? To separate them, and kill them off while they were separated so they couldn't defend each other? Right now, Lillian really was an easy target for River, and the fact she offered her to sleep...was she going to kill her in her sleep? What if Gale was fighting off Finnick right now?

Frowning to herself, her brows furrowed as she tried to shake such thoughts from her head. She was overthinking things, and getting paranoid. She told herself it was just the fever making her so paranoid. After all....why would they save them in the first place from the river just to kill them? Telling herself she was overreacting, Lillian tried to get some rest, but a part of her couldn't entirely shake the thoughts even as she started to fall asleep, unable to stay awake any longer.

 

[Soleil]

Gale snapped out of his thoughts and decided to try and keep them from going dark again. It was probably best not to think about anything other then getting supplies. He manuvered his footsteps to get around the underbrush and above ground roots. His boots were already slick with mud, as he followed Finnick back towards the river that almost killed him and Lilly.

He listened carefully to Finnick's plan, which he agreed with quickly. "Okay." He crouched down by a nearby tree, making sure to keep a good distance away while keeping Finnick in sight. He knew his teammate was right, a larger group of tributes might feel confident enough to camp by the river. Especially since it seemed to be the largest sorce of freshwater around.

As he watched Finnick's form retreating, he searched the area for any signs of tributes. When Finnick dropped down to take a handful of water, he waited to see if anyone would take the bait. What would they do if a whole camp of tributes came rushing out of the bushes? How could he and Finnick possibly fight all of them off?

---

Her eyes fluttered open to the sound of rustling outside the hideout. How long had she been asleep? Fear surged through her as she held her breath. Why did she fall asleep? She thought she had it under control, she didn't even feel that tired hours ago. Thankfully the sun seemed to still be up, and they guys hadn't returned so she knew it wasn't too late. That must be it, it was probably the guys coming back with whatever supplies they had gathered.

She nervously glaced at Lilly, but at the angle she was in she couldn't get a good view. She seemed to still be laying in the same position but couldn't tell if she was asleep or trying to keep completely still. Either way it was helping them not give out their location to anything undesired. She listen closely to the world outside the hideout, trying to hear for anything that didn't match the normal outside sounds.

Something felt off, the footsteps were uneven. If it were the guys they would've came right in, not stagger around like- and her thought dropped off. With as much control as she could muster, she inched her way across the dirt floor towards the vine entrance. It was hard to see out of them, since the vines were close together - she peeled one back as slowly as she could without being to obvious. There wasn't any movement, maybe she was being paranoid for no reason? With a sigh she was about to give up when two large feet walked right past where she was sitting.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

As Finnick crouch before the water, he remained alert as ever, though, let his body language so he seemed to have relaxed and was focused on the water in front of him. After a minute or two, it seemed that there were no other out of the ordinary sounds, other than the typical animals and insects. There was no unnatural sudden rustling of someone moving to attack or anything, and Finnick could finally, truly relax. At least a little bit, anyways. He never entirely let his guard down one hundred percent in these games.

A couple minutes had passed, and nothing had changed. Glancing over his shoulder in the direction he knew Gale was hiding, he nodded to him. They should be in the clear for now. Taking another handful of water, he instantly downed it, before splashing some of the cold water over his face. It was incredibly refreshing. The water sources were likely the only cold things in this rain-forest.

When Gale had joined him by the river, Finnick sat back a bit, letting Gale be able to just focus on the water, while Finnick kept more of an ear and eye out around them, so that the both of them weren't entirely distracted by the water at the same time. "We might as well fill our containers while were here too for while we look around for food. We can always come refill them on the way back to the hideout" he explained, waiting for Gale to finish before he filled his bamboo container up and stood up. Once Gale was ready, they headed off in search of the second most important thing. Food.

~

It could have been one hour, or several. But by the time Lillian finally started to stir, she was groggy. Thankfully, he sleep was dreamless again, no nightmares or anything of the sort about the horrors of these games, or what her future might look like, how she might be killed gruesomely. Just nothingness. Although it was restless. She woke up, not really feeling any better than before. She supposed having an infection would do that. Although...she didn't feel as fuzzy in the head as before, and her headache was gone.

Was it because she slept more, or because of the medicine? She didn't want to get too hopeful, but even though her leg still was certainly infected and in a lot of pain, the fact that at least one thing, even if minuscule, made her feel a lot better. Not just physically, but mentally too. It gave her the hope that there was a possibility for her to heal and get better. She felt a considerable amount better without the fever, and whether it was the sleep or medicine, or whatever helped it to go away, she didn't even care, she was just incredibly thankful. One less misery to deal with in this hell.

When she really started to wake up though, she heard the same thing that had minutes ago caught River's attention, and Lilly's eyes snapped wide open and her heart sank. That peaceful, happy moment she had waking up without a fever? Entirely vanished. In all but a half second. She practically held her breath, afraid to even breath. She didn't want to sit up....she knew with the sunlight out, it would be heard to see into the shadowed den-like area where River and her were. But just the thought of creating a possible movement of shadow scared her. She rolled over silently onto her back, seeing River by the entrance, and when catching her attention, motioned for her to lower her body as far away from the wall of vines as possible.

 

[Soleil]

Gale continued his stance, crouched lowly by some underbrush waiting for a signal from Finnick letting him know it was all clear. His nails dug into the tree he was hanging onto, keeping him steady. He knew he needed to keep his breath even not to give out his location, and keeping an ear open for any rushed sounds in the bushes nearby.

After a few moments, Finnick seemed to feel comfortable enough to give him a signal. He crept out of his hiding spot, keeping his eyes peeled for any movement - but seeing none he contiuned to follow the path until he reached Finnick by the water. Dropping to his knees, he cupped his hands in the water.

The cool wetness of the river rushed over his hands, instantly refreshing his heated skin. Taking almost all of his strength not to dive in, he sipped from his cupped hands a few times until he felt full. He realized his stomach must have shrunk during the past couple of days - if it could shrink anymore that is. Filling up his container and splashing some water on the back of his neck, he hiked up the short enbankment towards the forest's edge where Finnick was. "Yeah, sounds good. Let's go."

--

River held her breath, she was paralysed - she was stuck half crouched in front of the vine covered entrance. One vine was still tightly clutched in her hand and she was afraid any movement might give away their location. By the movement of the footsteps, it looked like she hadn't been seen however anything could change that. The sound of footsteps crunching leaves continued outside as she remained unmoving.

She saw Lilly waving at her from the corner of her eyes and she slowly put down the vine she held. River widen her eyes - she knew her face was stricken with fear. What the hell were they going to do? If found, they had absolutely no chance at trying to fight anyone off - and by the size of the boots it was definitely a larger male tribute.

She inched backwards, slowly trying to find her spot back towards lilly with the bottom of her shoe. She lowered the top half of her body to the ground as she continued to back up. The anxiety ate at her, almost swallowing her up whole - she felt like she was drowing and suddenly she felt sick. Tunnel vision filled her sight, but she knew she had to get as far back as she could.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

Finishing up refreshing by the cold water and drinking a lot of it - though not too much so as he wouldn't get cramps from hiking around, he sat back and finished filling his makeshift bamboo container, getting up and stepping back a bit as he waited for Gale to finish up, while he surveyed the area and kept a lookout for any disturbances or anything nearby. Hearing Gale getting up, he glanced back over in his direction and nodded his head as the other agreed to coming back when finished hunting.

As they headed off into the thicker brush of the forest, Finnick kept an ear out as he spoke up "I would imagine there should be plenty of eatable vegetation, such as fruits and such, in a rain forest" he commented while looking around "Although some meat would really be good...there's not much point in wasting energy to catch meat that we can't really safely cook" he commented.

As the two looked around, Finnick found some fruit he was familiar with and knew would be safe, although there was other vegetation that looked eatable enough, Finnick wasn't sure about all of them, so the ones he wasn't familiar with, he didn't pick up - unless Gale knew of them. However, not that he was trying to be arrogant, but Finnick felt he would have a better idea of what was safe to eat and not - after all, he'd had his own private tutors and such that helped teach him in different kinds of vegetation that weren't seen in all the districts that could be used, either for eating or other things.

~

As she seemed to catch River's attention, Lillian watched fearfully as she slowly let go of the vine back in place, and Lillian glanced back outside to see if the footsteps stopped, or seemed to notice them while River made the risky move to shift around and move back away from the moves. However, while it was fearful to even move an inch, Lilly knew that being right up against the vines from the inside wouldn't be good either, as they would cast a shadow where a body or thing was against the vines.

As River made the silent move to lower herself to the ground beside her, Lillian kept an eye out through the cracks at the figure that was walking around just a few feet, if that, from them, the only thing keeping them safe and hidden at the moment were bundled and layered vines and roots. She watched carefully outside while River moved, to see if the figure outside would notice or catch on. Thankfully, River seemed to make it silently beside her away from the wall of vines without bringing attention to their location.

It seemed they were silent enough not to bring attention to their hideout. However, at the same time, what if this tribute thought like they had? Even if they were dead silent, and attracted no attention to themselves whatsoever, that didn't mean they could stop a tribute from noticing the area in general. They could be much like them, and decide to check the vines out and look inside at the space for themselves. So even if River and her were dead silent, that didn't get rid of all chances of being found out.

 

[Soleil]

Gale nodded his head at Finnick's words. He wanted to respond like he normally would, but after technically dying it was still hard to catch his breath - especially now that they were hiking through the forest. Other than that, and a few slight aches and pains, he seemed to be feeling better since the almost drowning. His chest was still tight when he overworked himself, and his throat still felt scratched to hell when he used it too much but other than that he felt better.

He kept an eye out as they continued farther into the thicket, looking for the colorful fruit they would be eating tonight. He knew a little about vegetation however he was more familiar with the forest behind his house than he was with a rainforest environment. And even then there was only a few different berries and roots that he had to look out for. He knew they'd be relying mostly on Finnick's knowledge, which hopefully was enough.

As they came to a patch, Finnick seemed to be comfortable picking so Gale started to help, as much as he could anyways. He recognized the orange colored fruit, though he had never tasted one before. They were usually too expensive for those in his district. He was nervous about eating it, even though it was edible he had no idea if he'd like it or not. He guessed it wasn't the time to be picky, and be grateful that they had found it at all.

---

River continued to hold her breath, barely exhaling. Which was ten times harder with her heart racing like it was about to explode. Her fear ridden eyes darted towards Lilly as she finally settled into place against the back of the vines.

She thought of the guys, and what they were doing. If her and Lilly were found, hopefully they were close by and could come back to help. And even if the tribute didn't find the hideout, what if he could track the guys - what if he wasn't alone out there? All the scenarios played out in her head like a film strip. There was no way she could warn the guys, or even get help if needed. And for a second she wasn't scared for her life. She was scared for them - she was scared for Lilly who couldn't run even to save herself. She was scared for Finnick who was still covered in burns but was still somehow leading this little messed up group. And she was scared for gale, who's life ended but still kept fighting to keep them all alive.

Her ears strained for any noise outside of the hideout. Her legs were cramping, and one half of her body was becoming numb. But she didn't move, she continued to lay on the ground in the awkward position. She hadn't heard anything for several mintues, but instincts told her he was still out there. Waiting, waiting for them to feel safe and slip up.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

Headed a bit further into the forest, Finnick also tried to pay attention to their surroundings, aside from the fact they were looking for food, but also not wanting to get lost, or wander too far from their hideout where if they wandered too far, he didn't want to exhaust themselves and end up too tired to make their way back. And the other obvious fact that they needed to be careful of other tributes possibly roaming the area. In the games there was always constantly something to be wary of, other tributes, tricks that the gamemakers may be up to, other animals....the list could go on, and if one wasn't wary enough, they could miss something that could end up saving their lives.

Thankfully, it didn't take too long for them to find fruit, as Finnick expected, in a rain-forest like this it was a great environment for fruit and other vegetation. They would have to just be careful of what they put in their mouths, since he was sure that the gamemakers wouldn't make everything safe to eat in this forest. Thankfully, he found some familiar fruit, and motioned over to Gale as they started collecting them. Able to tell that Gale wasn't quite as familiar with as many fruits as he himself was, he let Gale focus on picking what they'd found so far, while Finnick searched the area surrounding them for other possible eatables.

Only several yards away from Gale, the male still in his sights, he found some banana trees as well. He sighed a bit at the fact he'd have to climb the tree to get to them, but knew the bananas would be much more vital than the oranges, since they would do a better job of filling them up. After letting Gale know what he was doing, he began to carefully climb the tree, taking his time, since no immediate threats were in the area, and he didn't want to exhaust himself too much.

~

As she lay there, Lilly felt the fear creeping through her body, and her mind getting the best of her. What would happen? Would they be found? Would they have to fight the tribute? Or maybe he would just go on his way...though somehow Lilly doubted that. His footsteps and movements seemed irregular, and odd. Why was he pacing around the area? What had him interested in staying there? Was it perhaps them, and he'd already noticed them before they were even aware of him being there? Her thoughts continued to wander to uncertainties, wondering if Gale and Finnick would come back, and if they did, would they be coming back to find her and River dead?

She tried to shake these worries and uncertainties from her mind. And she closed her eyes to try and get herself to calm down, and think rationally about some things. But the hardest part of that was that her thoughts were pretty rational, and anything was a possibility in these games, really. She shared a fearful look with River, before glancing out through the gaps in the vines - though not getting too close. She didn't hear footsteps, nor did she see anyone anymore. But she still had this unsettling feeling in her chest.

Moments later, an axe of sorts came crashing through their ceiling of vines, and Lilly couldn't help but let out a short squeak sort of cry in surprise and fear, barely moving out of the way of the weapon that had crashed through in the space between River and herself. Before she even could recover properly, the fear having momentarily paralyzed her, she felt her hair roughly being grabbed and yanked, and she yelped out in pain as she was dragged out of the broken in hole of in the wall of their hideout now, and also away from her weapons.

 

[Soleil]

River let out a matching shriek, as the axe flew above the both of them. Terror paralysed her as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her. The axe contiuned to hack away at the top of their hideout, vines crunching and flying in all directions. She couldn't think, panick set in clouding her decision making. She knew her fight or flight instinct was always flight. If only she could get her legs to work, she could get the the entrance and then-

And then what? Even if she were able to get out, what could she possibly do? Lilly couldn't run so there was no chance of escaping him, she could always yell for the guys but then they were probably to far away to hear her screams. She hoped with everything she had left that they were on their way back and could hear them.

As the hands came through the top of the hideout, they grab for Lilly. Yanking her roughly until she started to slip out of the hideout completely. River felt her limbs unlock, as she saw her friend being dragged away. She grabbed the knife safely tucked in her boot, launching her half numb body through the broken wall and towards their attacker. The knife cramped her hand as she held onto it, sinking in into the tributes hand that was around Lilly - hoping it would be enough for the guy to release her.

---

The tension in Gales shoulders were releasing slightly. The initial fear from the start of their trip faded slightly. He knew it would never completely go away, but he was glad for the distraction of picking fruit. He didn't pick much after that, unless he was helping Finnick or he recognised something. He was thankful at this point to be in a rainforest, there seemed to be a good amount of food for the to eat and water - even though they did need to drink twice as much because of the heat.

He watch Finnick climb a tree with yellow hanging fruit, as he kept a lookout on the ground. He was glad they hadn't run into any trouble so far, while him and Finnick might have a chance against one enemy there were other threats far worse. But so far there was nothing. Small animals ran around the forest floor, showing no sign of danger in the immediate area. He leaned against a tree nearby, scanning the forest. He wondered about the girls, about how they were doing. Most of his concern was focused on Lilly, and he worried about them out there mostly defenseless.

A noise from a distance away alerted him as if it read his mind. He wasn't sure at first, could place the sound. An uneasy feeling flowed through him as he looked up towards Finnick who was still in the tree above him. "Did you hear that?"

 

[ChibiMonkey]

While Finnick could climb just fine, he took his time, mainly wanting to focus on not exhausting himself too much. He did worry about the girls being left on their own, both of them injured, so he did want to get back to them as soon as possible, but at the same time, he knew it wouldn't do good to exhaust himself unnecessarily. He figured that with these bananas and oranges, they would have a good amount of food to last them all a little while, so he planned that they could probably head back after this stop of collection.

As he was high up in the tree, he pulled a hand or two of bananas free from where they grew out of the branches. He was rustling up with the leaves shaking all around him, so he really couldn't hear too much. He'd gotten one hand of bananas free when he heard Gale calling up to him a bit, and he looked down to him curiously. "What? I didn't hear anything" he commented, as he motioned for Gale to catch the hand of bananas, before tossing them down to him. He went back to getting another grouping hand of them, and just pulled them free when he heard a distant cry, one louder than previous one and he glanced to Gale instantly "Okay, I heard that one" he said before quickly making his way down the tree.

"We have enough food, lets get back to camp" he said a bit worriedly as he was instantly concerned for the girls, hoping that they were just over-worried, and that it wasn't them screaming that they had heard. He didn't abandon the food though, since it would of course be a waste, and he helped carry half of what they had collected as he ran back towards the camp with Gale.

~

As she was being grabbed at by the larger, rough hands, Lilly cried out in pain as she was dragged by her hair out of the ditch, squirming and wincing in pain as she was carelessly dragged over the broken vines and twigs. Her heart was racing, but she didn't have time to think about that. She frantically struggled in a panicked motion to try and free herself from the mans grasp. Thankfully, River had come to her rescue, stabbing one of the man's hands deep enough to cause him to yelp out in pain and reflexively pull his hand back, giving Lilly enough time to free herself and quickly roll away from the man, who now had turned his attention on to River.

The man had reflexively yanked his hand back from it's grip on the redhead's hair, cursing in pain "You little bitch!" he snapped as he shot a glare over to the other girl, who look terrified and barely able to defensively hold that knife properly, causing him to smirk a bit. He noticed the redhead's leg seemed severely injured, so he didn't worry about her for the time being and ignored her as he lunged for River, grabbing her and pinning her to a tree, where he slammed her head against the trunk, his other hand reaching for his weapon, the axe.

Deciding the redhead wasn't a threat and not worrying about her though was a mistake. Lilly had gotten up to her feet, and while her leg still hurt like hell, she could at least stand on it and use it, somewhat, anyways, due to the medicine that was helping it a lot faster than she had anticipated a medicine could. So that, plus running off adrenaline, she charged at the man, tackling him to the ground, causing the axe to drop and be discarded in the process. She'd charged into him using her body weight, so while it worked in knocking him off his feet and away from River, he was still a lot stronger and bigger than her, and without the momentum of the charge, he quickly overpowered her, flipping her over so he was now the one pinning her to the ground, and without weapon, he used his hands to enclose tightly around Lilly's neck, choking her.

 

[Soleil]

Gale nodded at Finnick's words, he scrambled to pick up as many pieces of fruit as he could carry and headed off with Finnick in the direction of camp. He knew they were getting closer to the river by the loud sound of rushing water. He remembered their makeshift canteens, but figured they should push on ahead to check on the hideout and deliver the fruit. The good thing about being close to the water was that they could come back whenever they needed. However the downfall was that every tribute in the arena would be seeking out water for survival.

He picked up speed lightly when they got closer, he knew it might be nothing but the constant nag in the back of his mind told him differently. He had definitely heard a scream, but he couldn't tell if it was one of the girls or not. All he knew was it did sound female, and that it was close by. His concern grew, and he knew they didn't have much time. If someone did find the hideout, it wouldn't take them long to fight Lilly and river.

That's when he saw it, as they stepped into the small clearing. Lilly was currently laying on the ground struggling with one of the large tributes. River was clutching a decent sized axe as she lunged on top of the guy, the axe going straight into him. Gale didnt hesitate he dropped the fruit he was carrying and ran towards the scene. The axe seemed to have the guy distracted enough to give gale the advantage as he tackled the guy to the ground.

River clutched the knife in her hands, her nails digging into her palms as she gripped the handle too tightly. If it had been a normal situation she would have felt the stabbing pain of her nails, however adrenaline pulsed through her and her mind directed on her aim. He was obviously surprised by her attack causing him to let go of Lilly - however he regained himself enough to charge back at her. She lunged slightly with her knife hoping to stop the attack, but he had grabbed her wrist wrenching the knife from her grip. Then proceeed to throw her up against a nearby tree.

She felt her head hit the trunk, almost knocking the wind from her. She wouldn't have been able to stand up if he hadn't been holding her against the tree. Her body felt limp as pain radiated throughout her body, thankfully the adrenaline seemed to keep her conscious enough to throw several kicks in his direction once the shock of the blow wore over. She didn't see it happen, since the guy was large and his body blocking her virw, Lilly had seemed to knock the tribute over and releasing River. She grabbed her wrist, knowing it might be sprained.

"Think think think.." she looked around for an answer. Lilly was struggling with the tribute, until finally he overpowered her. She knew she had to do something and quick, if only she could find her knife.. or.. then she saw it. The axe he had dropped. Gripping the handle firmly, she steadied herself. She didn't want to make a wrong move, accidently hitting Lilly in the process. She lunged jumping on top of the guy shoving the axe into his shoulder before getting flung to the side. The guy yelled in pain and was able to throw her off quite easily.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

Once they had both definitely heard screaming, Finnick quickly hurried in the direction of their camp with Gale. Maybe it wasn't the girls. But maybe it was. He didn't want to take the chance of assuming it wasn't them, and only for them to arrive back at camp with them both dead. If there was time and something they could do to prevent their deaths, then he wanted to make sure they did so. Maybe only one of them was allowed to survive the games...but he didn't want to be the reason, or lack of reason, that they died.

With them now running, it didn't take them too long to get back to camp. As they passed by the river, the thought of water passed Finnick's head too, but he said they could just double back around to it later, once they made sure the camp and girls were safe. Unfortunately, as they arrived at the scene of where they had camped the past night or two, he noticed that the hideout itself was destroyed and the vines and roots were snapped everywhere. But more importantly, the fight that was currently taking place.

They arrived just in time to see River thrust an axe into the tributes shoulder. As Gale tackled the man to the ground, Finnick quickly went to the girls to make sure they were okay. He helped River sit up as she'd just been roughly thrown off and shoved to the ground "Are there others?" he quickly asked, while glancing to Lilly and helping her sit up as well. He wanted to know if this tribute had appeared with others around that they should worry about. Even if he hadn't though, they needed to move locations quickly, as the sounds of fighting would attract other bloodthirsty tributes.

It had taken all of her body weight as she threw herself into the man to tackle him to the ground in order to get him off of River, but it thankfully had worked. It was like running into a brick wall though, as she collided with the man and they both went tumbling to the ground. It didn't take long though for the man to gain the upper-hand and have the strength to overpower her, crushing her into the ground with his hands firmly grasped tightly around her neck.

As she was slammed to the ground when flipped over, she gasped out as she felt the tight hands enclose around her neck, and she inhaled shapely before her windpipe had been cut off all access to air, and she struggled to breath. She squirmed beneath the man, her hands reaching up to her neck and nailed digging into her own neck to try and slide under his fingers, struggling to try and pry his fingers and hands away but to no avail.

The tribute was quick to throw River off as he was cringing in pain, distracted by the axe to notice someone else was charging for him, someone new. He grunted as he was tackled to the ground once again, and cried out in pain as the axe just dug further into his shoulder as he had landed on it. Once Lilly had been released from the man's grasp her lungs instantly started pulsing for air as she gasped out choked out coughs. The pain to her neck was nothing to her, only more so focused on the actual ability to breath and gasping for air again.

 

[Soleil]

Gale heard the sickening crunch as he landed on top of the tribute. He knew the axe must have been pushed in further as the guy cried louder. He waved wildly around, trying to remove gale from him but Gale pinned his body against the ground. He leaned his forearm against the back of the tributes neck, keeping his head forced into the ground.

Gale felt a slight panick rising, while he had the tribute secure it was taking all his strength to keep him on the ground. The guy was definitely strong, he had recognized him as one of the tributes from the higher districts - probably 1 or 2. They were always trained from early on and usually won the games. If the guy hadn't had the axe in his shoulder, Gale was sure he wouldn't have been able to keep the guy down.

Gale looked towards lilly to make sure she was okay, while she was choking she was breathing and he sighed a little in relief. He was glad they hadn't been too late, and made it in time before one of them was killed. However, he knew they'd have to do something about the guy. They couldn't let him go, even though he hate the idea of actually killing someone he knew it was the only choice.

River didn't have much time to think before she hit the ground. She hadn't landed on anything the wrong way to further any damage already done. She half expected the guy to come charging back at her, however the attack never came. She contiuned to lay on the ground staring up at the sky. The only conclusion she came to as to why she wasn't concerned with getting up and defending her and Lilly was that she had a minor concusion. After getting slammed into the tree, and then the ground her head was spinning.

The world above her turned, as the sun filtered through the trees. The clouds were a soft white, softer then any she had seen before. On the ground it was only ugliness, fighting blood pain - but above her was beautiful. She heard the struggle between Gale and the tribute making her turn her head towards them. After hearing this she wanted to get up, to help but the gnawing pain and slight nausea kept her pinned down for a while longer.

She groaned as another wave a of nausea hit her. Finally she was able to flip herself over, seeing the struggle between Gale and the guy. He seemed to have the guy pinned down, but it was definitely a fight for him to keep the guy that way. While Gale was a relatively strong guy, he was also malnutrious like many of the lower districts. So while he did have strength, he lacked in stamina. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Finnick, and she wondered for a split second what he was about to do.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

After asking River a question, Finnick noticed that she seemed a bit unresponsive, and her gaze was cloudy over. He frowned worriedly, before glancing around at everything going on. River seemed unable to really do much of anything, he figured a head injury or something, while Lilly was coughing on her oxygen-deprived lungs, though she seemed like she'd be okay, and then there was the tribute and Gale who seemed all but able to just keep him pinned and from going anywhere.

Cursing a bit under his breath, he knew he'd have to help Gale, and glanced around to make sure no other tributes were in the area or coming just yet "Stay right here okay? Don't move too much" he said, before standing back up straight and quickly hurrying over to Gale. Unlike the others, while Finnick could be very compassionate and genuinely a good person, he also wasn't exactly afraid to get his hands dirty if needed. And it was needed right now.

Approaching where Gale had the man pinned to the ground, he nudged him a bit "Check on the girls, I'll finish him" he said, able to tell Gale didn't seem quite mentally ready to kill someone. Finnick personally didn't want to either, he'd prefer not to, but he knew it had to be done for all four of their own safety. Once he took control of the situation over from Gale, he roughly yanked the axe out of the mans shoulder, before lifting his arm and before he second guessed himself or hesitated, knowing it could bring his own death if he did, he swiftly brought the axe down on the man's neck, a few moments later followed by the familiar sound of a canon signaling a tribute's death.

Lillian's vision blurred as the air rushed into her lungs after being deprived of oxygen for a solid couple of minutes. She was vaguely aware of the fact that Finnick and Gale had come back, and taken over the fight for them, helping them, so she felt a bit more comforted in the fact she didn't have to instantly worry about protecting herself from an oncoming attack or something, since she couldn't really focus on much else other than regaining her breathing.

Raspy coughs left her throat as she rolled over on her hands and knees as she tried to regain her normal breathing. Her vision started to clear as her lungs filled back up with air, a headache nagging the back of her head from having been deprived of oxygen along with a throbbing pain around her throat. She put her own hand lightly to her throat as if to check to make sure it wasn't still being gripped, since she could still feel the crushing sensation of pain in her neck, and while she herself couldn't see it, was left with an instant bruising that could vaguely make out the shape of a hand clutched around her neck.

At some point she heard the familiar sound of the canon echoing throughout the arena, signaling another death of a tribute. Her head snapped up reflexively in panic, looking to the fighting that had been going on between the guys, feeling a sense of relief, as well as horror as her eyes landed on the dead tribute - not Gale or Finnick. She was relieved the two were not the cause of the canon, but also was met with her first up close death of a teenager in these games, his head half decapitated.

 

[Soleil]

Finnick had been closer than she thought, staring at her as he talked. She was clearly seeing him speaking, but could not hear the words coming from his mouth. Was he talking to her? She thought for a moment as to what he possibly had to say right now, but his words never reached her ears. She would've been more concerned but she could still hear things around her, Finnick's voice was like a soft rumbling almost.

After he tried again, she gave him a confused look, "what?" She said, or at least that was what she was going for. But then he was off towards Gale and the tribute. She watched as Gale held him down until Finnick shouted something at him and then taking his place. She watched with horrified eyes as Finnick wrenched the axe from the guys body. She knew was was coming next and she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away.

It wasn't until Gale was kneeling in front of her, that her attention was snapped away. A loud canon sounded above them bringing her back to reality, "What?" She asked Gale. She wasn't sure if he had said something, but she knew she couldn't trust her ear quite yet. He placed a hand on the back of her head, the place where all her pain was radiating. She was confused for a second until he brought his hand back and it was stained with blood.

Gale knew his arms were slipping, but was able to keep the hold stable until Finnick came taking his place. He didn't watch what happened next, he already knew what Finnick would do. He nodded, and ran over towards River giving her a quick look over. She had been closer to him and Finnick, and he kneeled down in front of her. She was conscious, but a little out of it. "Are you okay?" He asked, when the loud canon went off she seemed to snap back, "what?" She asked looking up at him. He didn't ask again, he check her neck then the back of her head to see if there was any damage. Her hair was slick, and when he pulled his hand back it was covered in red.

Shit, he went reached back out to check again but it wasn't as bad as he first expected. "You lost some blood, so don't move too much okay? It seems to have stopped though so you'll be fine." He smiled reassuringly at her. After making sure she was alright, he quickly jumped up and headed in Lillys direction.

While she contiuned coughing, he sat next to her rubbing her back slightly. It was more as a comfort thing, and he sat with her until she seemed to regain more of her breathing. "Are you okay?" He asked concerned about anything else that might have happened before they got there. He saw her neck, it had already started to swell up, leaving a definite hand mark that was sure to darken. "That's a nasty bruise you'll have." He inspected it more, making sure it didn't damage her throat too much.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

Once Finnick had taken over from Gale, her motioned for him to switch places with him and go check on the girls. He was still concerned about them since he hadn't been able to really check them over before he had rushed over to help Gale before he lost control over the tribute. Once Gale was with River, Finnick turned his attention more to the tribute beneath him. He tried to finish him quickly, for several reasons - he didn't want to torture the man, he was already about to die, and unlike some other bloodthirsty tributes, Finnick didn't want the guy to suffer and die slowly. Another reason was because he wanted to get back to the girls and just get rid of this threat. Third reason, being that they needed to leave this area quickly. Not only did they need to find a new shelter, but the fighting would attract tributes.

So, swiftly bringing the axe down on the guys throat, the canon signaled his death and Finnick stood back up straight, relieved that immediate threat was gone now. Seeing Gale by Lilly's side now, Finnick went back over to River, checking over her more than he was able to before, seeing how she had a nasty head injury, but thankfully, the bleeding seemed to be stopping. He moved to help her stand up, making sure she was steady and didn't lose her balance or anything "Can you hear me?" he asked.

Once getting her up on her feet, he looked over to Gale who was helping Lilly "We need to get out of here" he said, before glancing around their surroundings, not really wanting to deal with another immediate threat, specifically other tributes. Leaving River's side for a moment once he was sure she wouldn't fall over or anything, he went to their now destroyed hideout, but thankfully all their stuff was still in it. He shuffled through the broken twigs and such to find all their supplies, the medicine, Lilly's arrows, even the small bag that Finnick had from the beginning of the games, tattered and beaten, but still usable, which would be helpful for carrying the fruit he and Gale had dropped when they arrived here.

When she heard the cannon and her eyes snapped up to see the scene not far from her, Lilly felt a mixture of emotions sweep through her. It took her a moment, but she finally tore her eyes away before she got sick or anything. It was only that much more of a reality check of the games. It wasn't just the dangerous environment and everything the capitol would throw into the games to screw with them, but people would actually kill people...and she realized if had it not been for Gale and Finnick, how close that dead tribute on the ground could have instead been herself or River - or both of them.

She shook the thoughts from her head, and by the time Gale had come to her side, her coughing had mostly subsided now, and it was just heavy breathing and panting as she was now just trying to even out her breaths and heart rate to regulate her breathing back to normal. Hearing his comment about a bruise, she put a hand gently to her neck, but honestly didn't care about a bruise "I'll- " she started but was cut off by her own raspy voice from her throat having nearly been crushed.

She tried clearing her throat a bit, but her voice was still a bit scratchy as she spoke since her throat was a bit swollen "I'll be fine" she spoke as she shook her head, slowly moving to sit up a bit more. She heard Finnick talking about something, and looked over in his direction to see him sifting through the wreckage of their hideout, gathering all the supplies and things that they had in there.

 

[Soleil]

He tried not to let the cringing feeling show on his face. She had barely even gotten a word out, her voice raspy and cracked. He smiled reassuringly down at her, and waited for her to try again while she tried clearing her throat. When she said she'd be fine, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad she wasnt severly injured or worse, dead. He knew he'd have to say goodbye to Lilly eventually, they all would, but not today - and he was glad for the more time they had together. He opened his mouth about to respond when Finnick caught his attention.

He was right, they needed to get out of the area as soon as possible. So when he turned towards lilly he ask, "Can you get up?" He stood up, holding a hand out for her. "Finnick's right, that guy was a career. And careers always stay together, and as soon as the heard the canon I'm sure they're looking for him." After letting Lilly adjust herself and helping her up, he went over to help Finnick with the destroyed hideout.

He was surprised to see all the salvageable items that Finnick had found. He started gathering up some of the fruit that hadn't fit in the bag Finnick used and headed back over towards the girls. River had seemed to find her way closer to Lilly and he smiled glad that she too wasn't the one who ended up dead. "Here, I know it's probably the last thing you want but it'll keep your strength up while we hike." He wasn't sure how far they'd travel as he handed each of them a piece of fruit. He gave the orange to Lilly, since he knew the fruit was mostly juice and would go down better - then gave a banana to River. Since losing blood, she'd need more substance to keep herself going.

As she watched Gale's retreating form, she looked past him and on towards Lilly. She was definitely a little banged up, but she was glad neither of them were killed today. If the guys were even a minute later they both might have been dead. She could see the tributes body laying on the ground a few feet away, but didn't turn her head to look at it. Her stomach was already about to be sick, she didn't need the sight finishing it off.

She did notice Finnick approaching her, this time the words flowed out of his mouth, and she gave him a half hearted smile. "Yeah." Was all she could come up with. She was physically and emotionally drained, she had enough experiences to last a lifetime and had been close to death on several occasions now. When would be the time when she wouldn't be so lucky? She shuddered at the thought, trying to shaking it from her mind completely.

Finnick then proceed to help her to her feet, warning all of them they needed to head out soon. Then she watched as he went towards the wreckage that was their hideout. She knew he was right, someone might come looking sooner or later, but she couldn't seem to get her legs to work. She felt almost stuck to the ground, and it would take her several mintues to pry herself from the spot. Gale had left Lillys side, so she headed in that direction stretching out her legs a little when Gale had quickly returned, handing each other them some fruit.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

Finnick gathered up the supplies quickly with Gale, not wanting to spend more time than they had to in the area. He handed the bow and arrows that were in her makeshift quiver she'd made to Lilly, and carried the bag that now carried the medicine and most of the fruit they'd gathered. Before long, the four of them were off walking again, and as they went, Finnick made sure they didn't leave any obvious tracks of their travel from the location of the dead career tribute. The last thing they needed was a pack of careers hunting them.

As they walked, he noticed Lilly confused with the orange and couldn't help but snicker a bit "It has an outer skin, you need to peel that off first" he informed her as he walked in the general direction of the river "We should stop for water to fill out canteens first. But further down the river a bit more" he suggested, not wanting to stop at the river too close to their previous location, but they also needed to get water, in case they needed to travel farther away from the water source they knew about and didn't know when they would next get water.

They walked for about twenty minutes, following the sound of the river though to be sure they were following it and could stop for the water, when they finally did. He glanced around their surroundings, trying to look and hear for any unnatural or warning movements. When it all seemed in the clear though, he motioned for them to stop by the water's edge, where they could hydrate and fill up their canteens for further traveling.

As Lilly was able to finally get her breathing under control and back to normal for the most part, aside from it just still being swollen and hurting in her neck, she glanced to Gale when he asked if she could get up. She nodded her head lightly, before carefully moving to stand up, keeping mind about her injured leg. It still hurt a lot, but it was doing a lot better than it was before. Her fever from the infection had long since left hours ago, and she could actually put pressure on her leg to stand on it now and walk. Granted, there was still a slight limp to her step, but it was an improvement, and proof the medicine was really helping it.

As she got to her feet, she watched Gale help Finnick gather their supplies and everything, before glancing over to River when she saw her make her way over to her. She gave her a small smile "Hey...you okay?" she asked softly, her voice still raspy in the swelling of her throat, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She noticed the dried blood in River's hair and on her head, but was glad to see she otherwise seemed like she would be okay. They both would be, for now, anyways, and Lilly was thankful for that.

It only took a minute for them to gather everything, since they all wanted to get out of the area pretty quickly before they ran into more trouble. Granted, there was no guarantee that by leaving the area they would avoid trouble, but it certainly were better chances than remaining there. She gratefully took the fruit Gale handed to her, inspecting it curiously as she walked with them as they left in search of a new place to hide out and camp out at. She was unfamiliar with the fruit, since the lower districts didn't get such kinds of fruits, so she was unsure how to eat it.

 

[Soleil]

River nodded at Lillys comment, "Yeah I think so." She gave a half hearted smile, "Still alive." She mumbled, rolling her eyes to herself mostly. Running a hand through her hair, she could feel the dried blood mix with dirt and sweat clinging at the back of her head. Thankfully she had taken her hair tye off last night, she thought as she stared down at the little band around her wrist. She pulled the hair away from her face, quickly twisting the hair into an ugly braid. Right now, she missed showers.

When Finnick seemed to be set, they started off in a new direction, she could hear the sound of rushing water and her dry mouth ached. Trying to distract herself, knowing they couldn't stop just yet, she turned a little towards Lilly. "How's your neck?" She contiuned to follow Finnick and listened to Lilly response. She was glad the guy hadn't damaged her throat completely, and thanked Gale who was behind her for coming in time. "Any later.." She shook her head at the thought, "And who knows what would've happened."

When they had walked a good twenty minutes Finnick changed direction towards the river. River almost cried in relief as she saw the water rushing it was taking all her restraint not to leap over the embankment and into the river. It was then that she remembered the long fruit in her hand. She hadn't had many bananas in her lifetime, but she did have a few and was excited to rip the peel off - but figured she'd better get some water first.

Gale laughed slightly when Finnick explained how to eat it. He had forgotten that most of his district had never had oranges before, he too had never had one until last year when katniss brought his family some food. She had won the hunger games last year, and with that was rewarded with beyond either of their imaginations. Even after moving in with Peete, she still would come by with food or clothes anything his family was lacking, which seemed to be everything.

Rivers comment brought him back, and he nodded solemnly. She was right, another mintue and the guy would've suffocated Lilly and then most likely over power River. She didn't need to thank them, he knew if the roles were reversed they would've done the same for him and Finnick. And they continued on like that for twenty minutes or so until finally stopping to fill their canteens and get a few drinks of water.

He knelt in front of the rising water, dipping his hands in he washed the dried blood and dirt from his palms. The disturbing part was that the blood wasn't even his, and with that thought he scrubbed his hands harder together until he felt they were clean enough. The freezing water cooled his skin, as he brought a hand to the back of his neck. "What should we do about shelter? Should we try higher ground this time or hopefully come across a cave?" He finally asked after a couple minutes, after he felt more refreshed. He knew they needed a plan, even though it was hard to plan around the tributes running around and messed up tricks the game makers threw in.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

As Finnick walked with the group, he kept an ear out for anything in their surrounding area's. Just because they were moving didn't mean that they were safe. At any moment they could unknowingly walk into another tributes territory where they were hiding out. Thankfully though after a little while they made it safely to the water, Finnick felt like they were far enough away from their last camp that they could spare a few minutes to rest and drink up.

As they stepped along the river, Finnick drank up, before then filling the water canteen for the travel. They didn't know how far they would travel from this water source, but a good distance was a safe guess. He was sure it wasn't the only fresh water source in the arena, but it was the only one they knew of, and so they didn't know when they would next be able to come across some.

As they all drank up and relaxed for a few minutes, he heard Gale's question about what their next plan should be for the night, which was quickly drawing closer. "If Lilly's leg can handle it now, we should go for higher ground" he said as he glanced over to her seeing her cleaning the wound out, though she did give a nod that she could. It was good that injury was improving, and she could walk on it now. He'd gotten pretty worried about her the other night, and honestly....had it not been for the medicine, he felt that she would be dead by now from the infection alone. Which she probably should put a bit more on now that it'd gotten covered and dirty and who knows what from the fight.

Lilly smiled a bit at River's response of still being alive, and she nodded her head lightly in agreement "Still in one piece". That was the most important thing, she supposed. Getting a little roughed up and injured wasn't the biggest of their concerns right now. The two of them really had to be grateful for Finnick and Gale showing up. Had they not...Lillian wasn't sure how much longer River and herself could keep helping each other fight off that large tribute.

She listened to FInnick explain how to eat the foreign fruit in her hands, and pouted a bit at the two laughing at her. She followed his instructions though, and dug her nails into the outer skin of the fruit, before getting the hang of it. She didn't drop the pieces of skin though, since some tributes who were good trackers might be able to see the trail of peeled fruit and figure it was another tribute's trail and follow it. she kept the skin in her pocket, and bit into the fruit, her eyes widening a bit at the juicy flavor that exploded into her mouth. The fruit and juice was definitely refreshing to her swollen throat though, as well as hydrating.

Once they stopped at the river, Lilly tossed the pieces of orange skin and everything into the water as it washed away down stream. She then eagerly cupped her hands into the water, sipping at it eagerly. She knew she was dehydrated and thirsty, but she hadn't realized just how much until the water hit her mouth. Once she drank her fill, she splashed some water over her face and any exposed skin, as well as cleaned out the gash on her leg that was still healing, and which had gotten caked in dirt and grime from the scuffle and fight earlier.

 

[Soleil]

After handfuls of water River felt twenty times better. She shoved her arms into the cooling water, and she held them there for a few minutes letting the water cool down her body. It spread a calm relaxing feeling through every pore in her, and she smiled at the relief of being alive. After a few more minutes, the cold starting sending tingles through her finger tips and reluctantly pulled her hands away.

She picked at her banana as she listened to the guys discussing their next move. The yellow skin was rubbery, But didn't seem to give her much trouble as she pulled the ends down . It wasn't bruised much, and she was surprised at the sweetness of the banana. Her attention was pulled back to the conversation when they started talking about climbing. She agreed with the plan of finding higher ground, while the hideout was great it was only safe for a short time.

"It would be a good idea, the branches and leaves will give us good coverage and we'll bee off the ground so surprise attacks will be a low chance." She stated, taking on other bite of the banana. She remembered the first couple of days of the games when her and Finnick stayed in the trees. There was plenty of vines to tye themselves with, and they're sturdy enough to hold through the night.

Gale nodded his head, he was glad everyone seemed to be leaning towards finding higher ground. He felt this was the safer of the two, he just wasn't sure if everyone was up for climbing after everything especially with Lillys leg. But thankfully she seemed okay with it and was willing to try it out. Even River responded, she was right the branches would provided great coverage.

"How is your leg?" He asked quietly, staring down at the cut. The medicine had helped greatly, and he was surprised how fast acting it was. He wanted to make sure it wasn't giving her too much of a problem, he had a slight suspicion that she'd underplay the pain. She rarely complained, and he respected that - ^e just didn't want her to damage it any further if she was pushing it to far.

But it did look a lot better, and if she did feel better than it should probably be alright. Before they left he slashed some water over him, clearing the rest of the dirt that had clung to him. Gale was use the the constant layer of dirt that covered clothing and hair. His father was a coal miner, and was always dragging it in everywhere. It was something he was comfortable with, and one day he had even planned to work in those same mines that his father worked in. It wasn't a dream of his or anything, but unless you had connections it was the only place to work at to make a decent living.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

Once filling up his travel container for water, and washing himself off a bit with the cold water to cool down a bit, Finnick sat back to just relax while the others finished up with the water and they all discussed a plan about what they should do next, and their plan of action. Their hideout was now destroyed - and even if it hadn't been, it would be too risky and dangerous to stay in that same place a fight took place, as it would certainly attract attention that they didn't need or want.

He was glad to hear that Lilly seemed up for a climb, since that would be beneficial to all of them. He was sure her leg was still hurting, but it was looking better which was a positive improvement. He figured she should probably put more medicine on it though when they had the chance until it was closer to being more healed, so that it wouldn't revert back to how it was. He doubted one application of the medicine would be enough to fully kill the infection and heal it all together, no matter how strong the medicine was.

"Lilly when we find a place to stay, you should apply a bit more medicine to that wound" he suggested as he got up from where he was sitting, seeing as they all seemed about ready to continue on. It was getting later in the afternoon and it would be beneficial for them to find a place to stay before it got dark, and they couldn't see. They walked for about an hour or so, before Lilly was pointing out a tree and inspecting it, Finnick nodded in agreement. The branches were high up and would be difficult for a single one of them to get in to themselves, but that could be better for them. They could help each other up into the tree, and with the branches not easily accessible, it'd be less likely for another tribute to try climbing it.

As Lilly cleaned at her wound she listened to them as they all talked about where to go next and what to do. She had to agree that getting off of the ground was probably a good idea. And while her injury was still painful and hurt to use, the fact that she could use it at all was an improvement, so she agreed with the idea of climbing. She didn't doubt it would hurt, but she could put up with it. She knew in the long run it would be safer for all of them, especially considering what just happened, she really didn't want to stay on the ground that night.

Hearing Gale ask her about her leg, she glanced over to him, before down to her leg she had just finished cleaning off "It's okay. Nothing I can't handle" she said with a small reassuring smile, not wanting to worry him or anything. After a little bit longer, she got up as they were all ready to leave, and nodded to Finnick when he mentioned putting more medicine on her leg when they find a place to stay for the night.

It was always hard to tell where a safe place would be to stay in the games. Because no where was ever really safe. There was always something. The game-makers made sure of that. If it wasn't another tribute, it was some beast, or other danger to be exposed to with every step they took. After a while more of walking though, Lilly saw a large tree, and motioned to it "How about that tree? It's got great coverage, and looks pretty sturdy too" she suggested.

 

[Soleil]

After everyone was ready to head out, Gale gathered but the few items he had, and after refilling his canteen he set out with the rest of the group. He followed behind the rest of them, keeping a look out from the rear just in case some tribute decided to sneak up behind them. He wasn't sure how many groups were left, many made alliances early on however the further the games went on the more people decided to try it out alone. He could understand that, you turn your back for a second and your teammate turns into your killer.

However he didn't see that happening with the group he was in now, if they were going to kill him or Lilly it would've happened by now. He did worry about Finnick somewhat, since he had on won these game before who knows what kind of strategies he had planned. But for now it seemed their alliance was stable, which was all that he could ask for. Gale wasn't much of a leader, but he also didn't follow - he was more independent and did his own thing the majority of the time. Being in a group was definitely different.

After an hour or so, Lilly was pointing out a tree nearby. She was right, it was a decent height so they could climb high enough and the leaves were large providing more coverage. When they came up to it closer Gale noticed the higher branches. They wouldn't be able to get up it alone, which he figured was a good benefit. A lone tribute wouldn't be able to climb it. He knelt down slightly, cupping his hand together to give someone a boost up.

River stared up at the tree with wide eyes. She wasn't afraid of heights, in fact her and Finnick had even slept in a tree the first few nights during the games however this was different. The other tree was smaller with many branches to hold her up - this however was a monstrosity of a tree looming high above the tree line towards the sky. The branches were fewer and farther between, and they'd have to scale higher than she had been known to do.

Coming from the fishing district, there wasn't as many forest's as there were in others. They lived mainly by the ocean, and the closest real treeline was past the wall, so they were unable to get to it ever. Sure there were trees around, but none that were climbable. Growing up, they usually spent most of their time swimming or on a boat. Unless of course you were wealthy like Finnick then they were trained for this sort of thing.

She thought back to this one time as a kid, part of the wall surrounding her district was only a skimpy looking wired fence. She had watched her brother sneak under it, as he ran towards the small patch of forest. He was confident that no one ever patrolled this area, but River felt unsure and had decided to stay back. She watched him from a distance, tempted to join him but the fear of being caught held her back.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

As they had gotten to the tree, Finnick had to admit it was a good choice. Not only in it's protection from sight, but how large it was. Not only would it be able to sturdily hold all four of them, but it would be unlikely for any other tribute to choose the tree should they be looking for one to camp out in. A long tribute wouldn't be able to get into it without great effort, like using rope or something, and then if they did that, they were an idiot, and exhausting too much energy that needed.

Even a group would be unlikely to choose it just because of the difficulty getting into it. Granted, yes they were a group choosing it, but it would be worth it because of how unlikely a tree it would be and it's grand size and height would likely deter others. Once they had all decided and agreed on it, he nodded to Gale. Gale would be the strongest to be able to help his weight into the tree, so then that way Finnick could also help in reaching down to pull them up into it.

Nodding to Gale, he stepped in his propped hands when ready, and with Gale's help hauled himself up into the nearest branch. Once securing himself on the branch, he leaned down and extended an arm to help Gale up, so that way they could then each both help the girls up. Once he'd pulled Gale up, he reached down for River's hand grasping on to it firmly and pulling her into the branches of the tree.

Once they had all seemed to agree on the tree, Lilly was relieved. She was already exhausted from walking in the humidity, and her injured leg was really starting to protest to all the usage of it that day. Even though it was healing, it was pushing it a bit to suddenly be using it like she normally could. She did her best not to let it show though, however, she was relieved that once she climbed up and they were in the tree, she could rest it for a while.

She watched as Gale crouched forward to help boost someone into the tree, and when Finnick went first, she figured that was probably the best idea. Finnick and Gale being stronger by their mass and gender as the males, they would be able to help each other more easily into the tree, and therefore once the two of them were up in it, it'd be easier for them to just reach down and pull herself and River up into the tree.

As she waited for Gale to position himself so he wouldn't fall in helping pull her up, she looked around the surroundings to get more familiar with it. She honestly wasn't sure where in the arena they were anymore. How far had they walked from the known water source of the river? It definitely was far. She shook the thoughts from her head as she looked up at Gale when he was ready, and took his extended hand to climb up into the tree.

 

[Soleil]

After Finnick seemed to understand what he was doing, he braced himself for Finnicks weight. He knew he'd have the best chance of getting him up in the tree, and with a little boost he hosted Finnick up onto the lowest branch. He watched as Finnick pulled himself up before leaning over and reaching a hand out. Grasping it, he pushed off the tree a little to get better leverage, reaching towards the nearest branch.

He watched as River nervously walked up to the tree, she reached up towards Finnick as he pulled her up into the tree. She clung to Finnick slightly with wide eyes while gale held out a hand for her. He was going to boost River up onto the next branch to give Finnick enough room to bring Lilly up. While the branch looked strong, he didn't want to test it with four fully grown people weighing on it.

"Not afraid of heights are you?" Gale teased when River finally let go of Finnick and reached out towards him. After getting a snapped response, Gale could only laugh before helping her up. He waited for Lilly to get pulled up, he knew it might take a little longer for her, since her leg was still healing however he'd be on edge until they were all safely in the tree, he assumed it was just left over anxiety from the attack but that didn't mean he'd let his guard down.

River watched as the two guys figured out a way to get themselves up. It didn't take them long, and soon they were several feet above her staring down at her. A nervous energy coursed through her, trying to leave a neutral expression on her face as she approached the tree. She knew her eyes might give her away, so she focused on Finnick's hand not making eye contact.

He easily lifted her up, however she missed her footing and clung to Finnick in shear panick. She felt her face heat with embarrassment, 'get your self together' she chanted to herself. "Sorry." She murmured under her breath before reaching out towards Gale, who only furthered her embarrassment. "Of course not." She snapped before he let out hearty chuckle. He'd be lucky if she didn't kill him in his sleep.

She reached for the branch above her, pulling herself up she scooted closer towards the trunk and watched below her. They were waiting on Lilly, giving her enough time to get ready. She let out a long sigh of relief, if she was lucky she'd get a few hours of needed sleep. And after today her body seemed worn out enough to fall asleep quickly.

 

[ChibiMonkey]

Once Gale was fully up in the tree and ready, he looked down at River and nodded to her as he outstretched his hand as low as he could for her. Once she reached up and grasped onto her hand tightly, he pulled her up into the tree beside him on the branch, his eyes widening a bit with surprise when she suddenly clung into him. He blinked a bit as he stared down at her, before chuckling softly, keeping an arm around her momentarily to help her feel a bit safer. Before he could tease her though Gale had already beat him to it, and he just chuckled softly as he handed her off to Gale for her to keep going higher in the tree.

Finnick then reached down to help Lilly up into the tree. She was short, so he had to reach even further down to try and make it as easy as possible for her, since with her leg, he'd prefer avoiding her slipping and mistepping, and further injuring that leg of hers. He managed to grasp her hand as she jumped up for it, pushing off the base of the tree trunk to give herself a slightly extra boost, and he pulled her up into the branch, and let out a sigh of relief. At least they were all in the tree now. Now just to get a bit further up in it.

They all continued to help each other higher up in the tree until they were entirely surrounded by branches and large leafs. Finnick's arms were tired and he relaxed back on the branch he'd settled himself down on, since he and Gale had done a lot of the work of helping everyone and each other up. He took a sip of water from the canteen, though not a lot wanting to make sure they preserved it for as long as possible, just enough to hydrate himself after the climb, and then offered some River, knowing Gale and Lilly had their own travel-like canteen of water to share if they needed some.

Lilly watched as they started to climb up into the tree, the boys going first, being the stronger half of the group they would be able to more easily help each other up. Once they were secure up in the tree, she motioned to let River go up before her. Not only did River look more nervous about the tree and it's height, but also the fact that Lilly figured she might need a little more time to get up in the tree because of her leg. She was tough and stubborn, so while it might physically show it'd take her a bit more struggling to get in the tree, she would never admit it or complain about it or anything.

She watched as River made her way up the tree and smirked a bit in amusement as she noticed her cling to finnick in fear. She noticed the slight blush on Rivers pale cheeks and thought it a bit cute and amusing. She noticed the two of them seemed to be close, and while it was pretty cute she knew it was a dangerous thing in the games. Granted she wasn't really one to talk...she'd found herself having grown more attached to Gale than she probably should have let herself become.

She watched as they all made their way into the tree where they all got set on good branches before Finnick reached down to help her up when there was enough room. She grabbed Finnick hand and pushed off the trunk with her feet for a bit more of a boost of leverage to get into the tree. Her injured leg throbbed out in protest but she ignored it as she continued to climb higher into the tree with the group, and before long they had all gotten a good height up into the tree where they felt comfortable staying, and all found branches near each other to settle themselves on.