Secrets of the Sea | Finnick Odair

- chapter 24 -

CORDELIA

Slamming open the door to the apartment, Cordelia looked around to find Finnick or Mags. Luckily Elora was not here, the escort was out at the moment, Cordelia would've gotten a good lecture about slamming doors. She'd be back by tonight, ready to watch as the scores were revealed. Focus. Mags and Finnick, Cordelia had to tell them what happened.

"Mags? Finnick? Are you in here?" She called. Waiting for a response Cordelia was surprised she hadn't gotten one yet. Usually one of them was here. Maybe Elliot was around. He had finished before her. "Elliot?" Still nothing.

Walking through the halls she found no one. Perhaps Mags and Finnick were doing mentor things again, but that wouldn't explain the lack of her District partner. Where was everyone? Finnick and Mags could be anywhere, they could go pretty much anywhere, Elliot not so much. Tributes had extremely limited access despite this being the tribute training center. Since the private sessions were in progress the whole area was added to the no-access zone. Even once they were finished, the training center would be closed. They wouldn't be allowed to use it. Cordelia could hear some noises, was that sobbing?

"Hello?" Once she spoke there were some sniffles to cover the noise, followed by silence. Was this Elliot's room? Seeing as her own room was behind her, on the opposite side of the hallway, it must be. The front door creaked open and the sound of it closing broke Cordelia's focus. But it was Mag's call that pulled her away from the door.

"Cordelia? Are you here?"

"Yeah Mags, I'm here." Cordelia walked back out to the main rooms, greeting Mag's near the entrance. "Where's Finnick?" She thought they might be together, and that they'd come back together.

"He got a little caught up, shouldn't be too far behind." Mag's explained. "Let's put some tea on while we wait, I'm sure you have a lot to tell us."

...

˙· 𓆝.° ｡˚𓆛˚｡ °.𓆞 ·˙

...

The front door slammed open.

"Did you start without me?!" Finnick yelled, rushing over to the couch Cordelia and Mags were sitting on. He almost tripped over in his hurry. Mags snickered at the boy and motioned for him to sit down. On the table, beside both Mags and Cordelia's own cups, sat a third still steaming, with a bowl of sugar cubes off to the side. Pausing, Finnick chuckled, his face flushing before he moved to sit down. "So? Private session?"

Ignoring the way Finnick put three sugar cubes in his tea, Cordelia started to explain her experience. The lack of a trident in the private session was a surprise for her mentors. As far as they were concerned, there was no reason not to have one.

"I didn't even realise I was looking for one, it was almost like an unconscious action- like I impulsively needed to see." Looking from her mentors down to her tea Cordelia sighed. "I don't even use tridents." With her head still angled down towards her teacup, Cordelia lifted only her eyes, glancing through her eyelashes. She focused on Finnick but looked at Mags when she noticed she was staring. There was a reason she'd checked for a trident, and it was not because of her District partner. No, the trident was Finnick's weapon of choice, and for a moment Cordelia had forgotten that he wouldn't be with her.

She'd grown accustomed to him always being nearby. Grown accustomed to his presence and the way it made her feel safe. The private session was hard enough, considering she was still trying to decide whether or not to put all her effort in right up until she was in the room, but when she'd noticed the lack of a trident... It was like a reminder. A horrible reality check. They seemed to be happening more often.