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(( Alright, sounds great. One of the rules of the thing, though. Each person gets one District, both male and female tributes. So two characters each. ))
District Eight.
I knew I was going to have to cross half of it, just to get back by the time the Reaping was to take place. My feet padded softly on the cracked pavement of the street, the outskirts of the town empty. Everyone was already there, waiting for the disgusting calling of names to be echoed over the intercom. Eight wasn't an incredibly populous District, but the citizens were a bit better off than a few. Twelve to name one. Still, we had to be close to the bottom of the scale on the prosperity list. The Peacekeepers had been growing in numbers for years. There were rumors spreading in the Rim of others speaking up against the Capitol and their sadistic Games. Every time one started; however, another person disappeared from the streets. A heart attack, they said. Death from starvation. A tragic machinery malfunction. Each time was a new story. And each time was a new death.
I didn't care enough to stop by my home and get into better clothes. I had on a oil-smudged pair of cargo pants on, and a white tank top that fit my chest well, but was a bit stretched and curved down partway over my back side. It worked. My hair was short, and the light brown color hid the dirt that clung lightly to my head; nothing I could have done with it anyway.
My feet danced over a puddle, and a flash of my bright, icy blue eyes smudged across the still surface. My eyes. My damned, blue eyes. I had a rather thin frame for someone of my stature, "petite", I had heard it called. I wasn't very tall, somewhere just over five foot, but my glare had always seemed to make up for it. My light, beige skin was streaked with soot and other dark materials from the factories that lay abandoned on the far of the Rim. We weren't allowed to explore them, under tight, severe restrictions.
That's why I did it.
I guess that was another reason for not dressing for the Reaping as would have been expected. I wasn't willing to fade in and cower before the rules. I was fifteen, but my name was in the drawing a few more times than would have been necessary. In order to keep my little brothers alive, I had taken a few tesseraes over the years. The total times my name had been entered was seventeen. My family wasn't bad off, but we still struggled at times. When I was only seven I had suffered the death of my third brother; who had died of malnutrition. He was only five at the time.
"Where do you think you're going, dear?" a voice echoed from the shadows, breaking me from my train of thought. A moment later, a set of hands grabbed me, covering my mouth as I was yanked into a dark side-street. Not enough people were around to notice. I was pulled against someone's chest, and squirmed halfheartedly as a chuckle sounded from behind me. "You're so adorable when you fight back." he laughed.
"Mmnh- get off, Raden." I said, pulling his hand off my mouth as he dragged me further into the street. "What the hell do you think you're d- RADEN!" I yelped as he dumped me in a tub of chilled water, soaking my clothes and drenching me in an instant. He grabbed my hair as I tried to pull myself free, clawing for the side of the water trough.
"Sit still." he ordered, running the bristles of a scrub brush over my skin, being firm and yet gentle. I began to shiver as I continued to fight my way out of the water, but each time I would get a chance at leverage he would pull me back in. Water began sloshing out of the sides as he scrubbed my body clean of the dirt and grime, leaving me gasping as I tried to keep my head above the surface. When I finally gave up trying to get out of the far side, I landed a fist solidly in the center of his face. It wasn't enough to break his nose, but it was enough to convince him to let me go. Still, somehow, as I pulled myself out of the tub and onto solid ground he was rolling on the curb, laughing. "Ohh, don't look at me that way, Cay." he snickered, watching me as I glared down at him, "I knew you wouldn't be willing to clean up for the Reapings, I didn't want you getting into trouble with the Peacekeepers. Wait, don't hit me!" he laughed, "There's a towel over there." he pointed at a stack of crates, pulling himself to his knees and picking it up.
We exchanged an unwavering look.
"Come here." he said.
There was little of me that wanted to listen to him, but after a moment the breeze began to pick up, and I began to get chilled to the bone. I reluctantly walked up to him, frowning at his smug grin, allowing him to wrap the towel around my shoulders.
"I hate you." I said.
"I know."
There was no choice now, so we headed back for my house. We crept out of the ally, careful to be sure that none of the white-clad Peacekeepers spotted us. Nobody gave a second glance at my condition, nor the arm Raden kept wrapped possessively around me. Stranger things happened all the time. We descended the streets at a slower pace than I had held before, but we were still partway between casually walking and jogging.
I didn't bother to knock on the door of my home, but Raden was a bit reluctant to enter. It took my confirming glance for him to enter the walls, even though he had been inside too many times to count. As soon as we entered, however, there were two sets of arms wrapped around my thighs.
"Cay, Cay!" both of the boys beamed, grinning from ear to ear. My twin brothers were only six, and other from my father, they were all I had for family. They finished hugging me, then turned their attention towards Raden. Both blonde-haired, grey-eyed boys seemed to love Raden as if he were the best person in the world. And despite the morning's events, I couldn't say they were far off. We had known each other basically from the crib; his mother was the one that delivered me. Although he was a year older than me, we grew up closer than we ever could have with anyone else.
"Good morning, mister Rook." he smiled politely at my father as he looked around the corner from the dining area, allowing a smile for my companion. He glanced at me in my soaked, cold state, and up to Raden as if to thank him. Then he took a step into the main room.
There was a creak of the floor as he set down his foot, then a click, then another creak. His old, wooden cane set itself solidly on the ground, his paralyzed leg eventually following along. He had been crippled in a factory accident many years ago, but still somehow found a way to make it out to the textile camp and work each day. All but today, of course. You never worked on the day of the Reaping.
"Hey kid." he addressed me, ruffling my damp hair with a rough, callused hand. I felt him smile at me, but he couldn't hide the grimness in his eyes. From the others, perhaps, but not me. He was dressed in one of his best, grey suits, an ancient thing that he had worn to every Reaping for the past twenty years. Every single one of them, he had this same look in his eyes that he did now. "I hate to rush you, but you'd better start getting ready." he nodded towards the back where my bed lay, waving me forward with his cane.
Without a word, I headed to the back to get dressed. Raden didn't follow me, but instead stayed with my father, passing along useless pleasantries. Always so damned formal. As soon as I neared my bed, the sight of black drew my eyes forward, and I let out a sigh. I recognized it; it was my mother's dress, no doubt my father had laid it out for me. My fingers trailed gently over the fabric, lifting it into the air as I looked it over.
And suddenly, the coming words of our District's host echoed through my head. Something wasn't right. I had the feeling that something was about to change, and very soon.
(( You guys do not have to have a post this big, by the way. xD ))
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