ψ haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds? | OTA

[fishermansweater]

WHO: Finnick Odair
WHERE: The woods, by the fields, and the Inn
WHEN: June 6
OPEN TO: EVERYONE
WARNINGS: None so far but always the chance of Panem-related asshattery

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THE WOODS

OTA

He thinks they're dandelions. At least, they look like dandelions. But for all his training, edible-plants was never Finnick's strongest point. Fishing, hunting, improvising nets and ropes out of whatever he could find around him, those were the skills that got him through the arena of the 65th Hunger Games. So when he finds that a spot in the woods near one of his fishing traps has, in the space of a few days, erupted into a carpet of fluffy white balls that burst seeds into the air as he walks through them, Finnick's immediate response is uncertainty.

He crouches down by one of the plants and peers at its leaves. Dandelions, he knows, are safe to eat. He's seen tributes eat them in the arena. But he isn't sure if these are actually dandelions or just some other plant that acts like them, and he can't remember as he studies the leaves whether or not that's what dandelion leaves look like. if they were dandelions, shouldn't there have been flowers? Or at least, flowers for longer than the time it's been since Finnick last walked through this spot?

Maybe someone in the village will know. Maybe Katniss will know, since somehow she seems to know a lot more about how to survive in the wild than any tribute from her District he's ever seen. (There's a story there, somewhere, but it's a story that nobody would expect anyone else to share, at least not someone who's spent as long under the Capitol's surveillance as Finnick.)

So Finnick gathers a collection of leaves from the plants, and tries his best to collect one of the fluffy heads without it bursting into the air, and puts them in one of the woven baskets he and Annie use for transporting fish.

THE FIELDS

OTA

Finnick plans to stop by the fields on his way home, with the vague thought that there might be someone there who's able to help him work out what the plant he's found is. But as he cuts across from the woods towards the fields, Finnick's suddenly overcome by the smell of salt on the breeze, the tangy smell of the sea that means home.

He stops, uncertain, and raises his trident, his body suddenly tense, the alertness that's always running under the surface suddenly springing to the surface. It's impossible that he's smelling the ocean here; surely it can only be some sort of trap.

He waits, only sign of movement the rapid rate at his his gaze goes from one spot to another, scanning trees, shrubs, anything that could act as cover. It's only slowly that he realizes there's no real apparent danger, and heads towards the smell.

THE INN

OTA

The smell of the sea had turned out to be coming from another unexpected spring blossoming, this time an expanse of purple flowers on the boundary of the fields. He doesn't remember seeing wildflowers there before now, and now there are so many of them that they look like a field of their own. Since he already has a sample of uncertain flora in his pack, he'd picked some of these flowers, too, and he heads for the Inn with his samples in his backpack.

He stalks into the main room of the Inn, because it's one of the places it's common to see a lot of the villagers gathered. He has one of the purple flowers in his hand, and he holds it out, his head tilted to one side, as he leans on the never-stocked bar.

"Is it me, or are there more plants around than there should be?"


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Comments

inn

[ethnobotany]

Beverly has been thinking the same thing as Finnick lately. Not one to pick or disturb unknown plants without proper observance, at least not here without a good tricorder, she's taken to making mental notes more than anything else, hoping that over time she'll be able to figure things out about them without risking anything. But given that Finnick comes wandering in while she's perusing the food stores, she glances up at him with interest.

"It does seem that way," she agrees. "What have you got there?"

[fishermansweater]

He's aware that picking strange plants isn't always a wise move -- after all, he'd seen what nearly happened to Peeta and what did happen to Finch Crossly from District Five, when she'd eaten the berries Peeta had unknowingly picked. But he'd been disconcerted by the flowers that smelled like the ocean, and he'd thought that the things like dandelions were probably fairly safe.

He knows that Beverly likes to garden, and that means she'd probably be someone good to talk to about the plants, if anyone was, so he's pleased that she's there when he wanders into the Inn looking for some advice.

He gives her a careful smile.

"These were growing out by the fields," he says, offering her the purple flower. "Thought the smell was a little strange."

[ethnobotany]

Beverly steps a little closer at the mention of a smell. She hadn't noticed anything right away, but as she takes a quick sniff, a wave of nostalgia floats over her. At first, she can't pinpoint the actual smell. It doesn't smell like anything powerful or strong. Something familiar, almost metallic, sterile. Or not quite sterile.

It smells like sickbay. Or more accurately it smells like a starship and reminds her quite forcefully of the Enterprise.

"Well, that sure makes me homesick," she jokes lightly.