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I can’t sleep one night, so I leave my family’s compartment to go find Finnick. He’s still awake, of course. He silently hands me a piece of rope and shows me a few knots. I learned some at the knot-tying station when training for the Games, but everything that has happened since then mostly drove them from my memory. I can see why he ties knots as much as he does. I’m not nearly as quick and smooth at tying them as he is, but even so, I like having my hands occupied.
I look over to see what he’s doing, and something about him holding the knot over his lap reminds me of the ridiculous net he wore at the opening ceremonies of the Quarter Quell.
“That outfit you wore at the opening ceremonies,” I say, undoing the knot I’m working on.
“The one you wanted to borrow?” The corner of Finnick’s mouth turns up.
I nod, even though I’d only been teasing. “You must have had rope burn in some…painful places.”
Finnick laughs. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Bet you wish you could have stripped like Johanna.”
He throws back his head and laughs. “She stripped down? Oh, I wish I could have seen your face.”
“Yes, in the elevator! Peeta--“ I falter at the mention of Peeta, remembering where we are. Remembering where Peeta is.
Finnick looks up from his knots, nudging my shoulder with his own. “What did Peeta say?” he says, gently.
I loop the rope around my fingers and pull tight, feeling the fibers dig into my skin. “He said you and Johanna were teasing me. Because I’m ‘pure.’” I roll my eyes. As much as I’m frightened for Peeta, feeling the ghost of an old annoyance with him is almost a relief. Something to feel towards him other than grief and fear.
Finnick laughs. It’s good to hear him laughing so much when recently he’s been drifting around Thirteen like he isn’t even there. “I was trying to figure you out.”
“And did you?”
“Not then.” He looks at me and smiles faintly. “And even now you’re a bit of an enigma, Katniss.”
I stop knotting and unknotting my rope for a second and stare at him. “Me?”
Finnick shrugs and returns his gaze to his rope. “You said everyone knows your secrets before you do. We do, but…you yourself, I think there’s always more to learn about you.” He pats my shoulder. “That’s not a bad thing.”
“No.” I stare at the wall as I tie and untie knots, my movements almost automatic by now. “No, I suppose not.”