The snow falls silently as I steady my breath. I lean into the tree I have perched myself on and steady my throwing arm. Down below on the forest floor, I spot a fox. It is sniffing around in search of food. I take a deep breath and then hurl the knife that was in my hand, toward the helpless animal. The knife buries itself in the the fox's skull and I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
I jump from my perch, about 4 meters up the tree and land next to the fox. Its blood has leaked onto the snow, turning it a deep crimson color. "Good work Fither" comes the voice of Alden. I turn and smile up at him.
"The Dengal's will pay good money for the pelt" I reply as I pull the scarf away from my mouth. Alden gets to skinning the fox while I use some snow to clean of my knife. After we are done he gives me the meet to store and he takes the pelt, then we make out way back towards the fence.
Its easy enough to get over the fence, well easy if you are a good jumper. All you have to do is climb a nearby tree then jump to another on the other side of the fence. Within minutes we are back inside district 7. I look to Alden who smile down at me. Alden is taller than we with a two years difference between is both. He, like the rest of us in district 7, has almond colored eyes and dark hair. I have the dark hair, but my eyes are a light gray.
He pulls me into a hug and I sigh in content. "I will see you after okay?" he says.
"Okay" I reply. Today is the reaping for the 47th hunger games. This is Alden's last year and if he makes it out, he wont have to worry about getting reaped again. I still have two years to go. We pull away and I stand on my tip toes and plant a soft kiss on his lips, "I love you" I whisper before pulling away.
"Love you to" he replies before he starts walking away. I watch as he disappears through the trees before walking away myself. I move stealthily through the trees before coming up to the Vane, the poor side of the district. I don't know why they call is the Vane, just something that happened a long time ago. I pass through the Vane as fast as I could before coming to the town center. Its still early so not all of the shops are open. I walk over to the butchers and spot Delia Wynne, the middle age woman who owns the butchers, inside getting ready to open up.
I knock on the glass twice and she looks up, a smile forming on her face. She lets me in and I put my game bag on the metal table, "What did you get today?" she asks.
"Some fox meat and two squirrels" I reply as I give her the meats.
"Very nice" she says as she hands me some coins, "a little extra in there" she adds as she puts the meat away. I like Delia. She and mum grew up together and are like sisters to one an other. Delia has always been there to help me and mum out when we are in trouble, and we return the favor.
I go to leave but she stops me. I turn and her blue eyes meet mine, "Good luck today" she whispers before hugging me. I hug back and smile.
"Thank you" I reply before leaving. It doesn't take me long to get back to the house. We live above the family apothecary shop. "I'm home" I call as I slip off my leather boots. I find mum serving up breakfast in the kitchen.
"I do wish that you'd stop going out to hunt" she says as she places a bowl of oats in front of me.
"I am always careful mum, and we need the money. The grain we get from tesserae I take out isn't nearly enough" I reply. I take out the coins I got and show them to her, "with this we can get a lot more."
"I know you mean well" she says as she sits next to me, "but...what if you do get caught. I would rather have us go short for a week or two, than having you dead" she says as she pulls me into her arms.
"I know, but I don't only do it for us. I do it for Alden's family. He has six mouths to feed. That's why he takes the most that we get" I reply before eating some of the oats. Mum just nods her head before eating hers. Afterwards, she tells me she had laid out my reaping outfit in my room. After a quick was I dress into a white shirt and black slacks before slipping on my brown leather boots.
By the time we are both dressed, its time to go to the reaping. We are lucky that we live in the town center because its takes us minutes to get there. I hug mum goodbye before signing in then falling into line with the other 16 year olds. I recognise a few others, but cant put a name to them. The only friend I really have is Alden, and we are more than friends.
I look behind me and find Alden with the 18 year olds. He smiles and winks at me, making me blush a little. I turn back to the front and wait until the mayor comes onto the stage. It isn't long before he does. When he gets onto the stage he smiles at all of us. "Good afternoon everyone" he says. He then moves on to reading the treaty of treason. He introduces out past victors.
Altogether district 7 have had 3 victors. The first is Marianne Backster, winner of the 4th games. Then there is Tello Vienna, winner of the 17th. The last victor we had won the 37th. His name is Tarinus Birch. The mentors this year will be Marianne and Tarinus. The next person to come on stage makes me cringe. She is out escort, Ashette is her name, and is wearing a hideous outfit. Her lime green hair is curly. Her skin is pale and her lips are a bright blue. She is wearing a long green dress that stops are her ankles, showing off a pair of teal high heels.
"Welcome, welcome" she speaks clearly into the microphone. "Welcome district seven to the reaping for the forty-seventh annual hunger games." She then goes on to show us a video of president Snow, talking about he dark days and how the districts rebelled. The video ends and the only one clapping is Ashette. "Well then,lets get on with the reaping should we? Ladies first" she says as she makes her way over to a fish bowl on her left. She pulls out a name and opens up the slip, "Tayla finch."
There is a slight scuffle in the 17 year old section and out comes a tall girl, a little taller than I, with her dark hair pulled back into the ponytail. Her almond eyes show she is from the Vane. But she holds herself strong and is showing no emotion. She gets to the stage and I hear somebody whimpering to my left. There is a boy there, he looks like her. Maybe he is her brother.
"Well then, now for the male" Ashette says. I take a deep breath as I watch her pull a name out of the bowl to her right. She opens the slip and clears her throat, "Fither Willows!"
I let the breath go and my body freezes, me...I am going into the hunger games.
A/N: So...what do you think? I enjoyed writing this. Also, there is slash in this. Not major, M rated stuff. But there is going to be a boy/boy relationship going on. So if you don't like then I suggest you don't read on. For those of you who don't mind this then I hope you enjoy whats to come.