A/N: YAY! My first Hunger Games fanfic. The Avox girl always intrigued me. So I decided to give her some depth. It's short, but hopefully it explains a lot.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games or any of the characters (but I do LOVE the series!).
Flaming Hair and Eyes
She woke with a start, gasping for air. Her bright red hair was plastered all over her pale, sticky face. Even though she was surrounded by pristine, white walls and was lying in a soft bed, the horrific images still dominated her vision. Her high pitched screams and the hovercraft's escalating hum still filled her ears. Cowering under the warm sheets did no good.
Eventually, she remembered that she was to serve the District twelve tributes and their mentors their desert that evening. Hopping out of bed, she forced the painful images aside, and focused on making it to the kitchen on time. With a quick glance in the mirror, she was flying out of her room and down the hall to the kitchen, combing her tangled hair with her fingers all the way.
Grateful that she hadn't run into any higher-class people, she entered the large, busy kitchen. Almost immediately, she was being shoved everywhere around the room, knocking into a few appliances on the way. She quickly began to push aside others as well, trying to make it to her station before her manager noticed her tardiness. Unfortunately, her manager, a fierce woman with violet hair and lips, did notice.
"You insolent little girl! You're late... again!" The woman squawked in her shrill voice with spit occasionally escaping her puffed lips. "If you're late once more, you'll be sitting in the Den for a week! Now get out there, they're waiting for their desert. And at least try to look presentable!" The girl only listened in silence until her manager was finished with her rant. Then, like the good little Avox that she was, she gingerly picked up the heavy, elaborate cake, and made her way to the Avox elevator, which, of course, decided to be slow that day.
Once the elevator screeched to a halt, she stumbled out and was sprinting down the hall with it's beautiful décor and plush carpets, praying that the cake wouldn't collapse. Approaching the dining room, she slowed to a steady walk. A kind Avox noticed her dilemma in opening the door, and offered his assistance. Nodding her thanks, she stepped into the full dining room where polite small talk, mutterings, and the scraping of utensils on nearly-empty plates hovered in the atmosphere. Silently, she approached the table and set down the cake. For a fleeting moment, panic filled her thoughts as she realized that she had forgotten a lighter for the fire, until an Avox stepped up from behind her and gave her a spare one. Wanting to escape the stuffy room, she quickly lit up the cake and watched as it was engulfed by blue and orange flames. The flames eventually burn out, leaving the cake as beautiful as ever, if not even more majestic. She was just about to leave when a curious voice sounded, aimed towards her.
"What makes it burn? Is it alcohol? That's the last thing I wa- oh! I know you!" The feminine voices stated loudly. The girl flicked her eyes to the person who had spoken.
It was her.
No! The girl thought desperately. It can't be! Of all people- why- how does she possibly remember me of all people? She shook her head fiercely, screaming 'NO!' constantly in her mind.
The horrific images and noises appeared once again. Memories of running for her life with the boy she loved flashed before her eyes. Images of a net falling and trapping her, a spear stabbing the boy, stealing his life away, and her last, desperate plea of help to two strangers who merely stared at her dumbfounded, stole her vision.
The girl, the one who had been her last hope for salvation, was sitting in front of her, possibly about to die in the Games. She had never forgotten those gray eyes.
Guilt clouded the gray eyes now.
Still shaking her head furiously, she turned and ran from the room that was full of watchful eyes. She sprinted down the hall, tears blurring her vision, until she came to a small door that most Capitol people and Tributes passed by without a single glance. Wrenching open the door, she dived in and shut it firmly behind her, enclosing herself in darkness. Surrounded by cleaning supplies and the comforting darkness, she let the tears fall freely.
After a few minutes, she gathered herself together, wiped her wet cheeks, piled a mound of cleaning supplies in her arms, and headed back into the hallway. She caught a glimpse of the two tributes as they walked up to the roof to talk. She waited patiently until they had disappeared from her sight, then she ran to the first room down the hallway and knocked.
A large, middle-aged man answered the door. When he looked down to see who it was, he smiled kindly at her, recognizing her from previous years at the Capitol. He often smiled at the Avoxes. He somehow knew the hurt that they were forced to keep inside. It was almost as if he understood what they had tried to rebel for.
The man, who the Avox girl had come to know as Haymitch, was the only victor and mentor of District 12. His room was always full of bottles that had once contained alcohol. The girl took in the mess of the room and started straight to work. All the while, having Haymitch's tall shadow looming over her.
"Hey Phoenix!" He greeted her like an old friend. Since she was not able to tell him her name, he had decided to call her Phoenix because of her bright, flaming red hair. "Has it been another whole dreadful year? Wow!" He exclaimed sarcastically. Phoenix merely ignored him and continued to collect the empty bottles and throw them into the garbage bag she had grabbed.
"You can at least acknowledge me, you know. You won't get into trouble for smiling at me. I'm only a drunken idiot around here. Nobody will care!" He said, taking a swig from the bottle in his hands. His speech was gradually growing more slurred, but Phoenix was accustomed to it. Once Haymitch had downed the rest of the bottle, he threw it into the garbage bag. Phoenix approached Haymitch and motioned for him to open his mouth. He did so, confused, and she tossed a bed mint into his mouth. He made a sour face, but chewed on the small mint obediently until it was all gone. To prove that he had actually ate it, he opened his mouth wide and stuck out his tongue, waiting for her approval. Hesitantly, she took a whiff. His breath, while still slightly rotten, was better than it had been. She smiled and proceeded to finish cleaning the room.
Before she left, Haymitch said behind her, "Thanks Phoenix. Us rebels have to stand together, right?" Throwing a small smile his way, she left his room and went to the next. Effie Trinket opened it with a bright smile plastered on her face.
"Oh, I knew you were itching to give me that promotion Mr..." she trailed off, once she noticed who it was. A sour expression wrinkled her stretched skin. Ignoring Phoenix, she strutted back into her room, which had already been bejeweled. Phoenix quickly tidied up her room and left a grumbling Effie behind. The other bedrooms already had their lights switched off, so she didn't dare interrupt them.
She opened the boy tribute's door to find it desolate of any mess. He had already neatly placed his clothing in the drawers and he had barely touched anything else. Thankful for a little bit of less work ,she left the room.
Her last stop was the girl tribute's room. She cautiously cracked open the door. Thankfully, the girl wasn't there, but there was a little bit of a mess. Phoenix made certain that all of the shower's functions were still running. Then she began to pick up the costume that the girl had thrown carelessly on the floor, when the door flew open. The girl tribute walked in and stopped short when she caught sight of Phoenix collecting her clothes.
Please don't speak to me, she thought. I'm probably going to be in enough trouble as it is. Please!
The girl tribute opened her mouth and said, "Oh, sorry. I was supposed to get those back to Cinna. I'm sorry. Can you take them to him?" She ordered awkwardly. She obviously hadn't been ordering people around her entire life. Avoiding eye-contact, Phoenix gave a small nod and ducked out of the room.
After she had dropped off the costume to the designer, she trudged back to her room for the night. The nap that she'd had earlier hadn't helped. Nightmares never gave the satisfaction of real sleep.
As she lay under the covers, thoughts about the evening drifted into her head. Amazingly, she hadn't been whipped for being recognized by the girl tribute. Hopefully, they had reassured the girl tribute that she couldn't possibly know an Avox.
But they knew better.
Phoenix and the girl tribute both knew of their brief, but drastic, history. And the apology that the girl tribute had given earlier wasn't just for what had happened during the desert. Her sad gray eyes had held so much more than her words were allowed to.
And Phoenix forgave her.
Deep inside her silent soul, Phoenix knew that the girl tribute from District 12 was different. She knew, no matter how impossible it seemed at the time, that the girl tribute was destined for far greater things. She had a fire that burned brighter than Phoenix's hair behind those gray eyes. A fire that couldn't be smothered or blown out.
As her costume had stated, she was the girl on fire.
President Snow won't see what's coming this time, she thought before sleep overtook her.
A/N: Remember to review! Thanks! Oh, and I've posted a video on YouTube for a song based on Katniss and Peeta. It's called, 'Katniss and Peeta- Beside You'. Look it up! :)