The avoxes never had much time to themselves. Lavinia was reporting to her usual spot in the dining room in the early hours of the morning, when the sun had not yet risen. There was another avox there too. He had red hair, just like her.
Lavinia was always curious, but she could never ask any questions. 'What's your name?' she wanted to ask this new avox. 'Why have you been punished?' She couldn't ask, so she just took her spot next to him and awaited orders.
The red headed avox boy was a bit taller than her, she observed. Her best guess was that he was in his early twenties, while she was 19 years old.
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the tributes from District 12 whom were competing in the 75th Hunger Games, along with Haymitch Abernathy and Effie Trinket, the escort, entered the room for breakfast. She noticed Katniss eyeing him, as if she recognized him. They both did their job of serving them their food and pouring their drinks and taking out their dishes when they were done. The entire time, she noticed, Katniss was eyeing the avox boy and he was looking at her too.
After the meal, the avoxes returned to their quarters, a small structure in which the avoxes lived. Each avox had a room to themselves. Lavinia saw that the new redheaded avox had a room right next door to hers. She wanted desperately to knock on his door and write out 'What's your name?' on a sheet of paper to ask him, but she couldn't, not now at least. During daylight hours, avoxes were always being watched. She served at dinner, along with the new avox boy that day before nightfall.
As soon as the guards had left, she snuck out of her small room with a note pad and pencil in hand. She knocked gently on his door. He opened soon after and looked a bit surprised when he saw her. She handed him the note pad anyways. 'What is your name?' it had said. She handed him the pencil as he finished reading. He quickly wrote a reply and handed it back. 'Darius, yours?' was written. She jotted down 'Lavinia' in her neat handwriting. He gestured for her to come into his room for they might be caught. They continued their silent conversation there. 'Pretty name' was his simple reply. She smiled at him, her first smile in quite a long time. Avoxes don't have much reason to.
'Why are you an avox?' was her next question. It took him longer to write his respond this time. 'I used to be a Peacekeeper in District 12. Katniss Everdeen's friend was being whipped for poaching and I was trying to help him. I got knocked out in the process, and then became an avox.' She now knew why Katniss had been staring at him. She nodded. She then told him why she had been turned into an avox, and their conversation went on from there. It was late by the time Lavinia decided it was time to go, but she just missed being with another human being. As she left, Darius gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. She smiled and waved goodnight.
Darius took a liking to Lavinia that night, which is why he was so heartbroken when he watched her die.