Annie Cresta

"*Did you love Annie right away, Finnick?" I ask.
"No." A long time passes before he adds, "She crept up on me.*"
―Finnick Odair answering Katniss Everdeen's question about Annie**Annie Cresta** is a victor from District 4 who won 70th Hunger Games. She was the widow of Finnick Odair and the mother of their son.

## Biography

Annie was not a Career tribute, which was odd in the later years of the Games in District 4. Her mentor after she was reaped was Finnick Odair, who won the 65th Hunger Games, and her district partner Bill's mentor was Trawler. Annie had a crush on Finnick, but he didn't start to feel the same way about her until the 72nd Hunger Games.

During the Games, Annie witnessed Bill get beheaded by the boy from District 11 and thus isolated herself for most of the games. This worked for her up until an earthquake broke a dam, flooding the arena. Having grown up in District 4, Annie survived by being the best swimmer.

Since then, she suffered from mental instability; she often closed her eyes and covered her ears, laughed at unusual times, and fell into a stupor. The only person who could calm her was Finnick.

### *Catching Fire*

Annie was reaped to participate in the 75th Hunger Games, but Mags Flanagan, an older victor who mentored Finnick during his Hunger Games, volunteered to enter the Games in her place. After the jabberjay attack in the arena where Finnick went crazy searching for Annie, Peeta Mellark reminded Katniss Everdeen about her.

### *Mockingjay*

Annie was arrested by the Capitol and tortured along with Johanna Mason and Peeta. Finnick explained to Katniss that they didn't take her as a hostage because she did not have any information about the rebels; instead, the Capitol perceived that Finnick would never endanger Annie by telling her anything and took her simply as a weapon to use against him. After Finnick suffered a mental breakdown, a group of rebels broke into the Capitol and got her out, taking her safely into District 13. Upon her arrival, Annie was reunited with Finnick and the two embraced.

In District 13, she and Finnick were married in the traditional District 4 style and their wedding cake was decorated with waves and dolphins by Peeta . Annie wore the dress Katniss had worn in District 5 on her Victory Tour. Katniss noticed that, since their marriage, Finnick did not let go of Annie's hand and that Annie seemed "lost in some daze of happiness." Later on, Annie and Finnick met Katniss, Gale Hawthorne, Johanna, Beetee Latier, Delly Cartwright, and later a rehabilitating Peeta at lunch. When Johanna told Peeta that they were familiar with each other's screams, she covered her ears. Katniss figured that Annie was not all that bad, though a little mentally unstable. Peeta jokingly told Finnick to take care of Annie, or he would take her away from him. This disturbed the entire table.

Later on, Finnick suggested that Peeta ask about what was real or not real, claiming that it was what Annie does when she tries to remain sane. On a mission to infiltrate President Snow's mansion, Finnick was decapitated by several lizard mutts. Katniss described how she watches his life flash by as if she were Finnick, which included seeing Annie in her wedding dress. Katniss tried to kill the mutts, but she was too late to save Finnick.

Before President Snow's planned execution, President Coin gathered the seven surviving victors. She asked if they would like one final Hunger Games using children of the most powerful people in the Capitol in retribution for oppressing the districts. Annie, along with Peeta and Beetee, voted no, with Annie commenting that Finnick would have voted with her if he were still alive. Enobaria, Katniss, Haymitch, and Johanna, however, voted yes. At President Snow's execution, Annie watched Katniss kill President Coin when she was supposed to kill President Snow.

Annie returned to her home in District 4, where she gave birth to Finnick's son. She sent Katniss a photo of her late husband to be put into her memory book.

## Appearance

Annie was a young woman with flowing brown hair and sea-green eyes. After being imprisoned in the Capitol, her hair appeared dark and tangled—"lovely if somewhat bedraggled", which was no doubt due to her recent capture. During her wedding, she reused a dress designed for Katniss during her Victory Tour.

## Personality

Annie suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to her traumatic experiences in the Hunger Games. Katniss described her as "strange" but stated that she was not mad, as most others believed, simply unstable and liked Annie. They kept in touch after the war was over. Annie would occasionally withdraw into herself so that it seemed she was in a different place which would result in her staring into space with a blank smile on her face until she was brought back to reality. She sometimes laughed when there was nothing to laugh about and closed her eyes and covered her ears with her hands to block out the memories from the Hunger Games. When she was reaped in the 75th Hunger Games, Annie started screaming hysterically. Only Finnick was able to calm her down when she started having a fit.

Although Annie had some severe mental difficulties, she was a very kind-hearted and forgiving young woman, voting no when President Coin suggested doing a 76th Hunger Games using the Capitol's children as tributes in order to punish them for three-quarters of a century of tyranny and terror. She was not dangerous, and despite the fact that her mental problems were caused by the Hunger Games and Finnick (the love of her life) was killed by the Capitol, she showed no interest in revenge. The only reason she survived the Hunger Games was because she was a stronger swimmer than the other tributes.

## Relationships

* Peeta Mellark, Katniss Everdeen, Delly Cartwright (friends)
* Finnick Odair (mentor, lover, husband)
* Mags Flanagan (protector, friend)
* Annie and Finnick Odair's son (son)
* Bill (district partner, ally)

## Trivia

* Annie and Haymitch Abernathy were the only known victors still alive after the war that weren't tributes in the 75th Hunger Games. However, they were both reaped and volunteered for.

1. ↑ *Mockingjay*, Chapter 26