Tainted Sunrise
A/N: All characters which are not OC belong to Suzanna Collins. I claim no ownership for the non-OC characters.
The day dawned crisp, frost smothered the hard ground and Sulfur filt a bitter chill coarse through him as he exited his home.
"Perfect weather for Reaping Day," he grumbled, hoisting his worn, deer-skinned jacket up to his ears and walked off to make some early morning dealings at the Hob. Normally his father would be accompanying him, but on this day Sulfur had allowed him some rest. It was better for him to be fast asleep than have to awake to the fear Reaping Day never ceased to bring. Four children made up the Hawthorne family, with Sulfur being the eldest, followed by Gale, Rory then Vick. But with only Sulfur available for tesserae, his name had been put in twenty-five times, many more times than the average District Twelve sixteen year old.
AS Sulfur entered the hob, many cries of, "May the odds be ever in your favour," met his ears, sending a shiver of fear down his spine. He bought a few metres of cloth and some goat milk from the local traders before making a pit stop at Greasy Sae's.
"So where's your father today Sully?" Greasy Sae asked, dishing up a bowl of that day's special; katniss and rat stew.
"Sleeping in. Would rather he wasn't up until needs be today," Sulfur accepted the hot stew gratefully, beginning to spoon it into his mouth. What Sulfur liked about Greasy Sae was that she didn't tend to bring up the Reaping, which kept up Sulfur's pretence that this was just another day. He finished the stew and thanked her, receiving a curt nod in return, giving him one last look knowing that there was no way to predict that he was out of the Reaping.
It was coming up nine o'clock by the time Sulfur made it home, walking in the door to receive a warm welcome from Rory and Vick, who were excited to see the array of food their mother, Hazel, had set out for breakfast. They were still too young to understand what the Reaping was, what they saw instead was a day with better than average food.
"Where's Gale mum?" Sulfur asked, and Hazel pointed him in the direction of the room the children shared. With Gale being ten, he understood quite a bit about the Hunger Games in preparation for when he must take part in the Reaping. Sulfur found him sitting on the mattress, hands covering his face.
"Hey little bro," Sulfur murmured, sitting down next to him.
"Why does this have to happen?" Gale mumbled loud enough for Sulfur to catch it.
"The Capitol," was all Sulfur needed to say.
"But still, why?" He whimpered into Sulfur's shoulder as the brothers held each other in a close embrace, dreading the moments that ticked by until eleven o'clock came around.
Soon enough, the entire Hawthorne family were dressed in their best and were making their way to the town square, ready to join the rest of District Twelve. Sulfur was shepherded off to the boys' side, feeling very much like cattle the rich possessed. Within minutes, Effie Trinket toddled up onto the stage, bearing her usual candyfloss-coloured wig and powdered complexion.
"Welcome, welcome all to the sixty-sixth Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favour," Effie beamed after the traditional clip of the reason behind the Games had finished rolling. This happiness that Effie expressed only made Sulfur's stomach squirm in discomfort, knowing that although it was Effie's duty to appear positive and bubbly, she had never had to experience Reaping Day firsthand, being Capitol-born.
"Ladies first," Effie stuck her hand in the girls' bowl and drew out a slip of paper.
"Leila Cantho," she called and all of District Twelve watched on mournfully as a girl, who looked no more than fifteen, scuttled forward to the podium, looking dazed as if the information had not yet processed. After no volunteers had come forward, Effie moved on to the boys'.
"And the boy tribute for District Twelve is...Sulfur Hawthorne," Sulfur felt dread overtake him and his knees sway, but after an aggressive shove from a Peacekeeper, he walked to the podium with his head held high with an air of almost arrogance.
"Lovely, we now have our two Tributes! Let's give them a hand shall we?" Effie smiled out to the audience, but no one clapped or did anything to demonstrate happiness or relief. This didn't seem to bother Effie as she led Sulfur and Leila off-stage, the girl only just coming to terms with her predicament.
"Well I best be off to find your mentor. He seems to have staggered off somewhere, probably leaving a trail of spirits in his wake," Effie said, sounding somewhat annoyed. Two Peacekeepers showed up and led the pair off to say their final goodbyes. Whilst Sulfur had dark, curly brown hair and the usual Seam, grey eyes, being from the richer part of the District, Leila had inherited the golden blonde, blue-eyed and well-fed look, which seemed bursting with colour unlike Sulfur's cold, gaunt cheeks. The two didn't speak a word to each other on the way and barely exchanged a glance as they each departed for separate rooms to say their final goodbyes. Through a varnished oak door stood a dark, mahogany desk and a plush leather couch. Sulfur paced the room, anxiously awaiting his family, unable to think of what he was to say to them as his mind was a-jumbled.
First Rory and Vick rushed in and Sulfur bent down to scoop them up, kissing each on top of their heads as they giggled and fidgeted in his grip. Setting them down, Sulfur turned to face his mother and father. His mother cradled him in her arms, her warm breath on his neck bringing tears to his eyes which he attempted to stifle.
"You look after yourself Sulfur, alright? I hope to see my boy back safe and sound as soon as possible," Hazel said, wiping a stray tear away from her eye and kissing him on the cheek.
"I promise mum, I know you'll do a good job in the meantime though," Sulfur replied, giving his mother one last embrace. Hazel then stood aside to let his father, Ben, speak to his son.
"You show them what Hawthorne men are made of. You've watched it every year; you know not to show mercy, you know how to handle this Sully. You're going to come away from this a victor, I just know it," Ben said gruffly, giving Sulfur a pat on the back before Sulfur drew his father in for one last hug, which was gladly received. Gale was last to go, but by far the most emotional. Breaking down into tears, Sulfur comforted his little brother, scared that he was going to let his guard down and start to cry with him.
"It's your job to step up now, okay? Dad could do with the help, so help him in every way possible, got it?" Sulfur brushed Gale's tears away, looking him firmly in the eyes.
"Yes, I-I promise," Gale squeaked.
"You can do it Sully, I know you can. You'll come home right?" Gale asked, seeming to brightening up at the idea of Sulfur being crowned victor. Sulfur felt his throat tighten, but he was able to say, "Yes Gale, I promise. For you."