Even if he had not been far too absorbed in taking big gulps of water and savoring the relief that results from it, Marius would still have failed to hear R's careful approach. He stays there, kneeling beside the water hole, and it's only when he spots the pale, cracked face in the water's reflection that his eyes bulge and his senses snap alert.

He whirls around at the same time that he feels the body barrel against him, and he falls back-first into the water with a surprised yelp, crashing against the surface with a loud splash.

"What are—" He glimpses the blood on the man's chin and his words come to a halt. He doesn't know whether this man is a strange creation of the Gamekeepers or whether he is also a Tribute, or even if he is human at all, but the warnings go up. A threat.

With a strangled cry, he attempts to push the man away with all his might.