You Asked For This - Finnick Odair

The Newport Family

"Family isn't always blood related."
— Unknown

...

Harp Newport and Evangeline Cousteau were in love. They had grown up together, but never really talked until she was seventeen and he was nineteen. Once they started talking, they never really stopped. One year later, the two were married.

Harp Newport had light skin, tanned by the years out in the sun. His eyes were green like sea glass and his hair was a rich dark brown.

Evangeline Newport had dark brown skin, only made darker by the years in the sun. Her eyes were a deep and dark brown and her hair was blacker than the night sky.

One year after they were married, when she was nineteen and he was twenty-one, the Miller family had gotten poisoned by some bad food and died. The couple left their only child, Ocean, an orphan.

No one could afford or care to take in the poor boy. But the Newports were well-off, both of their families being rather rich in District 4, and decided they were up to the challenge of taking in and raising a seven-year-old boy.

And so, Ocean Miller became Ocean Newport. He had dark brown skin, though it was lighter than Evangeline's, dark brown eyes, and black hair that he would always keep cut close to his scalp.

Later that same year, two more families left their children orphaned when a hurricane came through. The newly six-year-old Coral and Reef were added to the Newport family.

By some incredible coincidence, both the children's names and birthdays lined up. And so, despite not being related and looking nothing alike, the two became known as "the twins."

Coral had wavy, strawberry blonde hair. Her skin was rather pale, but she did have a tan from the sun. Her eyes were green like a sea storm.

Reef had dark brown hair that he kept to about chin length in messy spiral curls. His skin was naturally a light brown and could get to a medium brown in the sun. His eyes were green like emeralds.

About one year later, when Evangeline was twenty and Harp was twenty-two, a single mother died due to an infection shortly after childbirth.

Little Sean (pronounced "Seen" or "Sea-in") Newport became the newest addition to the family.

The boy had pale skin that refused to tan no matter how much sun it was exposed to. His eyes were a dark brown and his straight hair was jet black.

About three years after Sean, when Evangeline was twenty-three and Harp was twenty-five, the couple gave birth to their youngest son.

Blue Newport (named by the kids) had medium brown and dark freckled skin, brown eyes, and curly dark brown hair.

Evangeline died during childbirth and Harp of heartbreak a few weeks after.

By the time the 61st Annual Hunger Games rolled around, Ocean was eleven, Coral and Reef were nine (soon to be ten), Sean was three, and Blue was a few weeks old. And all of them had been orphaned for the final time.

But Ocean was mature, and Coral and Reef were particularly resourceful. That, mixed with the fact that the children had a bit of a fortune from their parents, kept them all alive and healthy.

Mags Flanagan, winner of the 11th Annual Hunger Games, once offered to take them in, but the Newport children politely refused. Mags was getting along in years and they didn't want to lose yet another parent (they didn't tell her that part).

They did however, have meals with her a few times a month. Not because they needed the food, but because they enjoyed the older woman's company.

The Newports had dealt with much more hardship than most children their age. They had dealt with more death than any child should ever have to. But they were okay. In fact, they were as close to thriving as anyone could be in their situation.

They had a big home, they never went hungry, they had clothing and could buy more whenever they needed it, and they had each other. It was an odd sort of patchwork family, but it was family.

Yes, the Newports had dealt with loss and love and turned out just fine. But the game of life has only just begun.

And the odds do not seem to be in their favor.