She watches as Finnick makes his move, admiring the smartness of the eagle as he uses dirt as a form of distraction. She watches as he dives for Asterion’s eyes, his talons open and welcoming. However, despite their intentions, the talons do not do the damage that was intended. Instead, they rip holes in the king’s ears, the bleeding clearly visible from her position. Even despite the smell of the oncoming storm, she can still smell his blood. Finnick seems proud of himself and returns to his perch on a nearby rock just beside Katniss.
She can see the emotions that flicker over his face. He is hurting, but he is angry. Perhaps he thought that she would go easy on him because he was king, because he was a friend, or because this was supposed to be a friendly spar. But little does he know, Katniss does not go easy on anyone. They could be a king or a commoner, but everyone is treated the same. But luckily for Asterion, Katniss’ lover is a healer. Katniss would not inflict such damage to a friend unless she had plans to help heal him as well.
She watches as he summons the rain, pooling it into the shape of a large male elk. Katniss cocks her brow at the form his magic takes, a little upset that she had never bothered to ask him what his magic was. But now was not the time to dwell on such things. She had to focus and watch, to try and predict just what his magic might do.
She watches as the elk rushes towards her. She is in no shape to fight back, to figure out some sort of counter-attack. Her leg in injured far too badly for her to be making any sort of quick movements. She can still feel the ache of the strained tendons so she can only watch and predict. She times his speed, watching for just how fast he’s coming towards her. She counts his paces, calculating the distance in her head.
And just when he is about to hit her head on, she takes a big, deep breath, closing her lips, her eyes, and pinning her ears. She plants her feet firmly, hoping that she can remain upright. She feels the force of the full-blown attack and it knocks out the air that she had been holding when the elk crashes against her body. She feels her legs falter, as if they are about to give in and yet, she stays upright. She can feel some of the water fall down her nose and into her lungs, causing her to enter a coughing fit to clear her lungs of the fluid. As soon as the water washes away, she loosens her posture and relaxes.
And once the water has been forced from her lungs, she slowly begins to step towards Asterion. Her pace is slow, her injured leg causing her much pain. She looks to both the companions, giving them each a soft smile. And finally, as she comes to stand in front of Asterion, she can still sense that he is angry. “Come, Asterion, did you really think I would injure you and not have a plan to help you heal?” Her features are soft and despite the raspy tone in her voice from the injured lungs. She motions towards the way she entered. “Come, Metaphor will patch us up.” And then, she begins to slowly walk towards the entrance of the battle arena. Her armor feels far too heavy and she cannot wait to take it off.
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