A/N - Hello Readers, so I know this is a tired idea but I wanted to give it a go anyways so please read it, it would make me smile. So anyways it is the 73rd Hunger Games' fallowing the district three tributes Marline Moreau. Everyone knows she is smart enough to win the games, but is she smart enough to stay unbroken.
Today was a good day for the reaping, crummy day outside mirrored the heavy souls of parents and children rifled with worry. Last year the sun was high and energizing making most in the Districts want to just skip and soak up the suns nurturance created a restless crowd. In a small apartment in District Three Jegg Moreau sat flopped over the small kitchen table sipping on his third cup of coffee that morning. And still the sun had yet to make an appearance.
Jegg was usually still fast asleep at this hour but you had to be in place for the Reaping Festivities at 8:00 AM. Reaping day was always the hardest day of the year, especially lately since his one and only daughter Marline, or Marley as he called her, became eligible. Somehow he had been lucky enough to stay far enough away from the games never really knowing anyone who was reaped.
Then moment from down the hall seized and it told him that Marley was having a bad dream, like every kid on reaping day. A dream that she was reaped into the games, he remembered the nightmares' well and the thought of them still made his skin erupt with goose bumps. He stood up from the table and made his way to the girl's small wooden bedroom door.
He slowly opened the creaky door revealing the child's messy yet organized room, on the walls and floors where different inventions and math problems, the small amount of paper she had was filled to the brim with different equations. Yet flopped on the bed he saw something he didn't expect. The small girl was tossing and turning, her thin quilt cocooning itself around her in a vicious way suffocating ways. Her long black hair flopped back and forth over her face. Quickly he closed the gap between the girls' small bed and the doorway and knelt down placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Marley, Marley come on get up hunny, Marley, Marley Get up" He said and Marline's eyes flew open as she gasped for breath. Whatever dream plagued her was bad, worse than the usual dreams and Jegg somehow just knew it. Wanting to protect his daughter from her own mind he worked swiftly moving himself to sit on her bed and pulled her into a tight hug while the thirteen year old sobbed into his arms.
He softened his usually course voice to a sweet soothing murmur of comfort as he tried to console his daughter. He used his right hand to rub small circles on her back while he hoisted the still small statured teen into his arms her legs wrapping around his waist and her head hiding in the left side crook of his neck using it to console her uncontrollable sobs. He sighed as he pushed the stray locks of her long black hair that had stuck itself to her face over the tears, over her shoulder and pressed his lips to her small right temple.
"It's okay Marline," He whispered as he slowly he made his way to the even smaller bathroom and deposited of his daughter on the half sized toilets given to the population. He then grabbed a washcloth and began wiping the sweat from her body while she sobbed still. He was worried, she had never been this scared before because of anything. Well anything other than the first few weeks after her mother's death. Those horrid weeks she would wake up every day like this and it would take most of the day to calm her down to a point where she could function. He still blames himself for letting the then only five year old girl out of the house that day.
"Good Morning Moreau's, today is Reaping day; ya'll better be up already." Jegg herd the teasing voice of Marline's best friend form the distant door way. Jegg had known Cyrus Sakoda since he was five, he met Marline the day her wife died actually, knocking they both knew was a technicality at this point. He however heard two pair of footsteps inter his house instead of one. The second pair he knew belonged to Pristine, or Miss. Tolbert as the kids called her. Miss. Tolbert had been the two's teacher since they were six and always was around for her two shining students.
"Cyrus" Came the woman's warning voice, a serious tone that did not fit the woman's bubbly nature and made Jegg chuckle a bit. She had always been one of those weaker willed people who didn't scolds very well. However when around the kids she always tried, week fabled efforts but efforts none the less.
"Fine You All. Better Miss. Tolbert," Cyrus grimaced softly not fighting the woman on the subject. Jegg smiled however a few centimeters away his daughter sat with now silent sobs that he needed to attend to.
"In here guys, give us a minute." He called wiping the girls face off with his right hand that held the now damp wash cloth and his left waved to the two people. However Cyrus didn't listen to the man and instead made his way down to the small regulatory bathroom and saw his best friends' state.
"MnM, what's wrong?" He asked moving to touch the small girls shoulder Jegg took this opportunity to leave the small bathroom, Cyrus could always calm her down faster because he was always calmer than Jegg in situations such as this. Moreau's where kind of known for their mutable emotions. The almost five foot ten boy sat on the edge of the small brass tub and began to continue wiping the sweat off of Marline's face.
"Runn, I… I was Run, I." She began in her incoherent way that she always spoke when she became this flustered. At school everyone would not only make fun of this trait but of one of the only two victors in district three calling the small girl Wiress.
"You were running, running from what?" He asked calmly as he moved from her face and started to wash off her exposed body, which happened to not be a lot seeing as she had slept in a pair of night pants rolled down to her hips and a light blue tank top that fell a little bit below her bellybutton.
"You where, you all where, I couldn't," She began her speech pattern indicating she was already beginning to calm down a bit. However what she said shook Cyrus, he always was on page with the small girl able to finish her sentences if need be but he prayed he was wrong about this. Because if she meant what he thought she did he'd be at a loss.
"We were what?" He asked softly really not wanting to know the answer.
"Trying to Ki, Kill, you were trying to kill m, m, me" She said beginning to pull away but before she could Cyrus stood up and pulled the smaller girl into a tight embrace. He still knew what she was thinking unfortunately. The girl who was a head shorter smaller than Cyrus, seven inches by exact measurements tiredly swarmed in his grasp. But he was much strong than her and was able to contain her. After she stopped fighting he laid his chin on top of her head, tears in his black eyes.
"Cyrus," came the girls cracked voice, yet it was much steadier signaling that whatever was wrong before was somehow fixed miraculously. Cyrus nodded against the small girls head a signal for her to continue.
"I am pretty sure that normally it does not rain inside apartments and we are on the first floor and there is six stories in this building. Have you been crying Cyrus?" She asked weakly looking up at the face of her best friend. His blue sweater clad arms where wrapped around her chest and pinned her arms against her side. She couldn't get out form the grip but she could turn.
So she did she turned and loosed her hands enough so they landed on his chest, her first thought was correct. Cyrus was crying, silently and not much but he did have tears in his eyes he couldn't blink away with his abnormally long eyelashes. His glasses where falling off of his nose and she silently to pushed them back up. Then he took the opportunity to press his lips to her forehead in a soft sweet kiss before placing another on her button nose his bottom lip caressing a small freckle that danced on the tip ready to jump.
"I am pretty certain Cyborg's aren't supposed to leak you know." She said softly against his chest where she had now rested her head. He giggled running his hand threw her long knotted hair as he tugged her closer really not wanting to let her go.
"In the same way MnM's aren't supposed to melt." He whispered softly and her hand moved slowly to her cheek where sure enough there where not yet dried tears. She shot her arms around him tighter as if his chest would envelop her and keep her safe.
"MnM melt all the time cy," She whispered and he chucked yet halfheartedly. "I am sorry Cy, I really am." She whispered and he moved to kiss her forehead.
"It is alright MnM no one blames you. I am just glad you're back. Let's go eat, I heard that Miss Tolbert has a surprise for you." He said releasing her and she gripped tighter for a minute before nodding. Cyrus grabbed the small girl's coke bottle glasses from the counter and placed them on her face with a smile witch she generously returned.
"Good morning Marline." Miss Tolbert said when she appeared from the bathroom. Her father Jegg turned on his heal and ran to his small daughters form making sure she was okay.
"Don't worry father I am fine, I am sorry about earlier." She said wrapping her skinny arms around her father's waist.
"It is fine hunny," He said stroking her long hair with his hand.
"Why don't we eat now, I have some bread and milk for breakfast." Miss Tolbert said softly with her usually bright smile.
"A reaping feast for sure." Cyrus smiled as the small group of four sat down at the splintering table and ate there breakfast in relative silence that calmed them all. Most families chatted during the reaping to pass time but this small group new it was better not to. However the fact they were all huddled at one side of the table showed there fear old loosing each other to the capitols games. Cyrus smiled while during breakfast Marline's hand found its way to his and gripped tightly under the table.
He would probably never say it at loud, but recently he had developed more than a little crush on the girl. Miss. Tolbert was the only one who knew because she caught him staring at the girl during school. This advancement made Cyrus become careful with the staring because liking Marline was a secret he wanted to keep, at least for another four years and twenty four hours.
He knew someone who had told there high school crush that they liked them and who had gotten reaped for the games promising to come back to her. A promice everyone but the two seamed to realize he couldn't keep. When he was sent home, in multiple coffins the girl broke down and is almost as crazy as Annie Cresta from district four. And that was only two years ago, Her parents had tried to help but nothing worked. The day her high school crush died in the arena something inside of her died as well. Something elemental something spiritual, something everyone had accepted was never returning. That's why Cyrus would not tell Marline until after the reaping was a distant memory because he knew that he couldn't handle losing her to the games and he didn't know what would happen if she lost him to the games.
That's why he was okay; just holding your hand, because he knew fair well there may come a day when he no longer can. After breakfast Miss Tolbert smiles and tugs Marline's arm slightly, Marline takes the hint and slithers from the table releasing Cyrus' hand and fallows Miss Tolbert back to her own room. There the young teen finds that lying on her now made bed was a dress. She knew imeadetly it was one of Miss Tolbert's old ones from the days that she would have been reaped; the length of the skirt told her that much along with the unfitted top. The dress itself almost looked like two separate things sown together, it was beautiful.
"I know it isn't much, but your father told me that you grew out of last year's reaping dress, the one from your mother. I didn't think you would want one from a store though. If you don't want it Marline.." She rambled in her soft spoken tone Marline turned on a heal and threw herself into her teachers arms. She didn't know how to react to the simultaneous hug so she just stood there silently.
"I love it, it's perfect, thank you." Marline said and Miss. Tolbert's arms made their way to finally hug the girl back, resulting in the teen looking up at the woman with a smile.
Miss Tolbert's black hair was pulled into its usual flipped pony tail spewing like a waterfall from the center of the back of her head. She wore a flower print dress that fell to her knees with a slight A-lined flair. Yet the top of it was a wide tank top strapped shoulder with a fitted boddest and high defined waist, for shoes she wore a pair of black ankle high boots much like the ones laid next to the dress on the bed. The teacher's eyes where black like most of three's population including the two men that sat in the kitchen discussing whatever men discuss when you leave them alone.
"I am also going to help you with your hair and make-up to. So let's place these glasses somewhere safe shall we." She said simply as she moved the girl to sit on the bed before taking a seat in front of the fourteen year old. She grabbed a small bag from her purse and set it on the bed next to her. Then she went to work on separating a thin section of Marline's hair located near the middle of the girls right earlobe, taking the hair in front of it she pushed it back and then braided said piece down to the middle and flipping it over the top of the teens head securing it with a small black bobby pin from her bag. The piece of hair then dangled over the girls' nose from its place on the crown of her head.
Miss. Tolbert moved to do the same thing with the other side however she braided the entire piece of hair and placed a few more bobby pins in. Then she finished her first one braiding it until the end and securing it tighter to the girl's hair. After she was finished she moved to the back of the girl and pulled the remainder of the girl's hair into a side ponytail witch she filled under and deposited of over the girls left shoulder. Next she picked up a small daisy and secured it to the right side of Marline's fine hair.
"Thank you for doing this Miss. Tolbert I know you don't have to and I appreciate it." Marline said softly and the smile was returned by the teacher.
"You are right Marley, I do not have to. I want to, I think every girl deserves to feel pretty some times. Reaping day or not." She said with a soft smile while moving back to the front the woman pulls out a small amount of make-up, consisting of not much more than eyeliner, eye shadow, lip gloss, and powder make up. She begins with the powder softly coating the girls' naturally freckled complexion making the freckles blend in a bit more with the girls' skin tone. Then she moved to eye shadow witch was black and fit the dress perfectly, lastly she lined Marline's eyes with precision and a soft hand, lastly a bit of lip gloss. Less than five minutes passed and the make-up was finished.
"Now for the dress," She said standing the girl up and helping her get out of the shirt whilst not messing up the hair and also assisting when she slipped on the dress that fell inches above her knobby hyper extended knees and slightly less freckled legs. The dress was a tank top styled onyx top falls into a flex-waisted twofer dress' tangerine; licorice, mocha, and chai stripes take horizontal turns across the A-line bottom. Then finally they placed on the slightly healed black boots with outlaying buckles finishing the outfit.
"My goodness Marline, you look beautiful." Miss. Tolbert said asking the girl to turn. Tears welded up in the woman's black eyes as she watched the child whom she loved like her own twirl in her old dress. Miss. Tolbert knew marriage and children where but distant memories to her, that's why the girl that stood in front of her and the boy who were in the other room became so important. They were like the children she never got a chance to have.
"Well Miss. Tolbert, I don't think it is just the dress, I did have an amazing stylist." Marline laughed turning to face the woman attempting to mock Caesar Flickerman. She smiled looking up at her teacher with the green eyes sparkling with joy. Somehow they still sparkled despite the horrid reality of the day.
"Yes a good stylist who wants to wish you, 'A happy happy seventy third hunger games, and may the odds, be ever in your favor' my dear." She said with a soft giggle whilst turning the girl around in a hap-hazard circle making the fourteen year old laugh as well.
"Ladies," came the voice of Marline's father as he opened the bedroom door taking in full view of the two in front of him. Cyrus was standing behind him with a goofy smile on his face that dropped when seeing Marline. He silently cursed himself for his four year promise not to tell her about his feelings. Because the way Marline looked right now just weekend the teenagers resolve.
"Come Pristine let me escort you to the reaping before we are late. We will see you two afterwards." Jegg said reaching his arm out for Miss. Tolbert to take witch she gladly did. Then the two disappeared leaving only Cyrus and Marline in the house. Marline moved uncomfortably in Cyrus' fixed gaze biting her lip bottom softly the tip of her bottom four teeth showing clearly.
"Why are you looking at me like that Cy," She asked rubbing her left elbow with her right hand slowly. In her nervous habit Cyrus was so accustomed to.
"Because MnM you look, beautiful." He goggled stepping closer to the recently made up girl, the slight heels giving her a few inches and placing her at roughly five' five.
"You are lying Cyborg, I don't look beautiful." Marline whispered sheepishly with a soft smile as she glanced at the floor. Cyrus grabbed her arm and pulled her into the bathroom where the only mirror in the house stood mounted to the wall. He made her look up at herself for the first time since Miss. Tolbert had made her up.
"Are you still going to tell me you aren't beautiful MnM." Cyrus whispered softly his breath tickling her ear. Marline then switched her gaze to the mirror and stood at her black hair and green eyes judging her fiscal body as she judged her reflection.
"I think you are mistaken on what beautiful is Cyborg," She sighed running her shaking hand through the end of her ponytail as tears welded up In her eyes.
"You don't get it do you. You are one of the smartest people I know but you don't understand what beautiful is do you Marley." He asked turning the girl to face him. She knew he was serious because he never, ever called her Marley it was always MnM or Short Stack, Marley was an old nickname he used to use that he stopped upon learning her middle name was Nannette, making her full name Marline Nannette Moreau or MnM.
"MnM, look a thing just can't be beautiful on its own, it's not possible, beautiful comes, it comes from reflection. Beautiful takes someone to connect the dots. You know what I mean; For Beautiful just can be, it has got to be seen." Cyrus says and he can swear he sees Marline smile at his comment.
"Cyborg," She says lovingly using his nickname while turning around to face the taller boy and chuckling at his goofy half grin.
"Yeah MnM," He coos with turning the sides of his mouth to show his one slight smile in perfection. A slightly to pointy k-9 tooth that protruded the slightest bit making his teeth all the more special. He
"You really, really need to stop watching capitol soap operas'." She said with a slight smile that intoxicated Cyrus more than liquor intoxicated Haymitch Abernathy.