Even with time passing throughout the day, the seven of them staying in the original order they had fallen into, Eden still found himself falling prey to many aspects of the coastline's beauty. That's what Beau bad called it, anyway. But he didn't seem to be the only one letting his guard down.

Lara and Ivy had both fallen into a comfortable chatter that neither seemed to second guess, and even with Flora settled comfortably in his arms, Volt seemed to be relaxed. But he knew it was what had been intended by the game makers;

They had reached a cliff face just after what Flora guessed was midday, and Beau looked almost happy to see the surging waves trying to claw their way up the jagged rock to them, then wither away in a flurry of rolling white foam and deep blue splashes.

For the first time in his life Eden and Flora were seeing water somewhere other than a puddle, or in a large basin to be spread equally through out the cattle troughs.

And it was beautiful.

It was peaceful enough, too. As peaceful as the arena could get, anyway. They didn't bump into any tributes, but for the next three hours they heard randomly spaced out cannons as the others bumped into each other and fought to the death. Each time one sounded Flora visibly flinched, and each time Eden only squeezed her hand tighter.

The seven walked well into the afternoon, and it didn't occur to anyone that they should stop for a rest until Ivy pointed out the sun — or whatever was programmed to create the difference between day and night — was beginning to set. It created colours in the water that made it look like paintings he'd seen in the capitol, but found it unsettling that the final colour to present itself was red before the fake sun set completely.

As the capitol anthem rang out in the sky, they hastily found a small break in the canopy of trees and situated themselves to they were as hidden as possible.

He helped Flora sit next to Ivy, then took a seat in front of her. He was mildly surprised when Beau landed in the space next to him, but didn't say anything when he didn't either. For the first time since they'd started moving, he noticed the thin layer of dew that had built up on his skin from the misty air, now that night was beginning to fall and it was getting chilly out. He understood why the jackets were meant to reflect body heat, now.

At first, the sky had been dark when the anthem ended, but it was soon replaced with the faces of the tributes who had died in the bloodbath; Lark from 3, Isla from 4, Silas from 5, both tributes from 7 and 8, Raven from 9, and Hoiza from 11. Then, the sky went dark as if nothing had happened.

The seven sat silently for a moment, doing the mental math.

Nine tributes were dead.

Fifteen were left.

Seven were right there.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about Isla," Eden murmured, head tilted to the left so only Beau would hear him.

He shrugged his shoulders in response to it, but he could see his jaw clench and felt his own shudder of disgust as well.

They allowed themselves another few minutes to sit and rest before having to get up again, knowing Flora would be needing it if what they were planning to do for night fall followed through. When they finally agreed to get up, Eden kept an arm hooked around Flora's shoulders.

"I bet the Capitol has never seen a team of seven before," Lara commented softly into the night air, causing them all to pause and think about it.

Volt chuckled. "I don't think they've ever seen a career team up with someone from 12, either," he hummed while giving Rin's shoulder a slight nudge.

She just stuck her tongue out at him, then fell into step between Flora and Ivy as they began walking again.

The drop of the cliff began sloping downwards, as if to taper off with the beach below it, and Lara suggested they follow that until they could find somewhere to hide out for the rest of the night, and maybe find something substantial enough for them to eat. Sure enough, the cliff ended at a drop about half the height of the original part they'd found, and it would be much easier for them to climb down.

Beau and Rin went first, to find the best footing for everyone to use since they were the most equipped. Ivy carried down most of the belongings while Volt and Lara went on either side of Flora to point out where she was to put her feet. Eden went last, and ended up above everyone else. His hands were cramping and aching as he had to stop for Flora to move at her own pace, but he didn't complain once. Just clenched his jaw and occasionally bit down on his bottom lip as a distraction.

By the time the seven of them had scaled down the cliff face and were on solid ground, Rin spotted something she thought could be a cave. They had managed to get Flora down to solid ground with only minor injuries from the rest; Eden had skinned a knee, and Lara had cut an elbow on the rocks. Rin had been right about the cave, and after concluding that it would be just big enough to fit them all if they were methodical about sleeping arrangements, they went inside and began looking through the backpacks.

Inside them, they found the plastic tarps Rin had commented on, some rope, a canteen in each along with water purifier, various dried foods that they all agreed to save for Flora while they walked, and a small knife in one.

After ensuring there was no one else around, they began setting up a mobile camp.

The wind was much harsher now that they were close to the water, and it seemed like Beau was the only one used to it. He immediately set to work with the ropes, sitting at the opening of the cave while Volt managed to hook two of the plastic sheets together in a way that would catch the mist and send it pooling into the center, and allow it to build up until there was enough to fill the canteens.

Eden got Flora settled into the back of the cave with the last plastic tarp, bunching it up so she could use it for a pillow. She settled in quickly, her eyes drifting shut as the exhaustion of the day caught up with her all too quickly. He smiled softly down at her, and gently moved hair away from her face before kissing her forehead and draping his jacket over her for a blanket.

Then, he went outside.

He hadn't been entirely sure as to what Beau had been doing with the ropes, but it was quite obvious now; he'd made a fishing net. Now, he was standing knee-deep in the icy waves, rigging the net up to rocks in the water in a way that made sense only to him.

Slightly off to the left, Ivy was sitting with Lara. The two had found fallen branches from trees and were taking turns with the knife to sharpen the tips into fine points; more spears. It took him a second to spot Rin, and almost smiled when he noticed her curled up against the opening of the cave, her head on a relatively flat rock while her knees were brought up inside the torso of her jacket.

"You okay?" He asked softly, sitting down beside her.

She yawned quietly and nodded. "Penn's still alive," she mumbled, looking up at the sky as if she were waiting for his photo to take over the fake stars that were currently visible. "I don't know if that's good, bad or both."

Eden thought about it for a moment. "Both, I think."

Rin nodded softly. "Yeah, I guess so." She yawned again.

"Go inside, get some sleep," he chuckled quietly, nudging her until she was standing on trembling legs. "Who knows when we'll find another spot safe enough."

She nodded sleepily, and patted the top of his head twice while she passed him.

Sighing to himself, Eden shifted where he sat and settled himself against the rocking cliff face, staring out at the waves. He allowed his eyes to close, not quite tired enough for sleep but enough to find it hard to keep them open. As he relaxed into the rock, he found the shapes behind his eyelids began to take to shapes until an entire story was being played for him.

The dark green forest surrounding his farmland was always the place he met Flora when they were supposed to be in school, or working, or doing anything other than spending time together. The canopy the trees provided them with the feeling they were hidden from the eyes of the world; like they were finally, truly alone.

The ring was heavily in the pocket of his jeans, even though it weighed roughly as much as an acorn.

His palms were sweaty and his heart was racing and she was walking ahead of him looking so ethereal with her skirt and flower crown that it made him want to hold her and never let her go.

"Flora, I think you know by now that I love you. That I would do absolutely anything to see you smile, because I know that there's nothing else I want to see when I first wake up in the mornings. I want you to completely understand how much you really, truly mean to me, okay? I know your parents only tolerate me for your sake, and that's okay, because as long as they let me stay with you then I'll spend the rest of my life owing them a debt I'll never be able to pay of. No amount of money could even begin to cover it.  My sister and Gramps both love you like you're already part of our family, but I'd like to make it official so Flora Arden Flint, will you do me the honour of deciding to spend the rest of your life letting me make you breakfast, and marry me?"

Her hands flew up to cover her mouth out of instinct, and tears filled her gray eyes as she rapidly nodded her head. Her lips parted to say something, and his own eyes were tearing up, and—

—the sound of a cannon brought him out of his thoughts, and all mild chatter that had been going on crazed almost completely. Ivy and Lara both froze to look at the sky, as if expecting to see someone's image appear in the sky.

Even Beau paused where he was out in the water. The moonlight was glowing off his skin, creating a contrast of shadows and their opposite, and it made him look utterly lethal.

Eden didn't want him to be one of the final people alive, because he wasn't sure he'd be able to kill him if he had to.

He stood up and wiped his hands on the thighs of his pants, biting harshly on his bottom lip for a moment before entering the cave. He had to step over Rin's sleeping form, even though it wasn't that big, and then maneuvered himself around Volt who was laying down a couple inches away from Flora's exhausted self.

Smiling softly, he carefully maneuvered her so he could lay against the wall behind her, and she could use him as a pillow. Her eyes fluttered open at the moment, and he couldn't help but compare her to the calves the two of them often had to heard around the ranches, looking so endearingly confused as they were tagged and moved to a new patch of grass with their mothers. "Do we have to move?" She asked though a soft yawn, her brows raising as she pushed her upper body off the cave floor.

"Not yet," he promised softly, settling into the empty space behind her. "I'll wake you when we do, okay?" His fingers carefully carded through her hair, pulling at the knots until they slowly loosened and became smooth enough for him to move through without his fingers being caught.

"Okay."