For Caesar's Palace July prompt. Sorry I've been MIA for a while :/ I've been working on my original work and I've been busy.
She always considered herself to be a traveler, never staying in the same place for more than a week or two. She needed to feel the wind in her hair, the soft forest floor under her feet, sand in her shoes, smooth rocks under her hands. She couldn't stay in one District for too long, she needed to keep moving, escaping.
There were traces of her Capitol upbringing in everything. She walked with her head up and a smile on her face, she was not afraid. Her choice in clothing was always a little less practical than it could be with brighter colors or feathers or jewels. She liked high heels because she was small and hated it. And then there was the small fact that her eyes were dyed into rainbows.
Sometimes she would see things, touching moments and heartbreaking ones alike. She never stepped in, never changed anything. She was just a passerby, the woman carrying bags as a child dropped a toy or the girl sitting alone when a man proposed to his girlfriend. She had no home but she always found a place to stay in the end.
When people saw her they assumed she was rich, powerful. The simple truth was that her family had been poor for Capitol standards. Her sister was dead, killed by the bombs dropped in the Rebellion. Her parents were killed by a trap in the streets. She was the only one left in her family but all their money had been taken by the government. She was barely a year old when they died and therefore not old enough to live on her own so she became a ward of the state.
She liked what was District Four the best, she thought. She loved the cool, salty breeze and the feeling of warm sand under her toes. There was a boy there, once, who told her that long, long before Panem was even formed the ocean was called the Pacific. She wasn't sure how he knew this and before she could ask he was gone in the gray water.
Small towns had been formed in each of the areas where the districts were before the war. She always seemed to find herself in the same small town for New Year's Day every year. It wasn't much, windblown houses with sand in the floorboards and faded paint on the outside. Wicker chairs were set up on the porch with seashell wind chimes hung up for decoration.
When she was there she felt like she was at home. It took the weight of survivor's guilt away and let her fly. For a few days she was free, she had no gravity. She could fly. It was a nice feeling but she could never stay for more than a week. She had to keep moving, keep moving on. It hurt too much to stay in one place, to grow roots.
In many ways she thought every place in the world had a heart, like a person. In some places the heart could be found in the smell of pine needles and the feeling of soft dirt. In others it was the feeling of warm, smooth stones. In her little beach side town the heart was the ever-changing waters beating down on the sand.
It was one year, she must have been maybe eighteen, when she found herself crying on the shore at ten to midnight. She was lost and she didn't know what the hell she was doing with her life, if she was honest. She didn't have a job, not friends, no family. She was alone and she thought she would die alone.
It was on that night, with stars burning clear but also with every color of the rainbow, when she saw him for the second time. He sat down next to her in the soft sand and stared out at the ocean for a moment. She didn't turn but she did took at him from the corner of her eye. The faint spark of recognition became a flickering flame when he spoke.
"I see you around here, every year. Never for more than a week and always at the same time."
She remained silent for a moment. She knew who he was, the boy who had told her about the ocean's old name. She also knew he wanted her story. "I wander everywhere but I always find myself back here." She said simply.
"I'm Cody," he smiled at her, turning his head, "Cody Cresta."
"I'm... well this is actually really pathetic but I don't even have a name." She smiled ruefully at him.
"You don't have a name? Everyone has a name."
"I don't. Well, I guess I must have had one at some point but my family is dead and I was a ward of my city for most of my life and they never really gave me a name."
Cody Cresta frowned at her for a moment. "Well then we're going to have to pick out a name for you then, huh? Come on, let's go inside. My mom has a couple friends over, she won't mind me bringing a plus one."
She frowned at him for a moment, thinking about it. She didn't have a place to stay or anywhere to go but she liked this odd boy for some reason. "Okay, I'll go."
She walked with Cody Cresta back to one of the pretty houses she always admired, the white paint was chipped and the blue trim was faded but it was still beautiful. The lights were on and she could hear the sounds of laughter from inside. He opened up the door and welcomed her into his home.
"Mom? Do you remember the girl I told you about? The one that always comes for New Years? I brought her back here for the party." A lovely woman with misty green eyes and long, wavy brown hair walked into the room. She smiled slightly.
"Hello... my son had told me a lot about you. Come on in, have some food. What's your name dearie? I'm Annie."
"I don't really have a name," She said awkwardly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Cresta." For some reason the name sounded familiar but she couldn't think of why.
"It's just Annie dearie... Katniss, Peeta, Johanna, come meet Cody's friend." A dark haired woman with striking gray eyes, a blond man and a woman with choppy brown hair and wide brown eyes.
"I'm Peeta and this is my wife, Katniss." The man introduced himself.
"Johanna Mason." The other woman said shortly. For some reason she felt like she should know who these people were.
"I'm sorry, I feel like I've heard your names before..." She trailed off. Annie smiled slightly.
"We're some of the only remaining Victors, honey. Katniss was the Mockingjay." She gasped, remembering who they were.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," she said, trying to be polite.
"So you're the girl Cody won't shut up about, huh?" Johanna Mason said.
"Auntie Jo, it's not like that!" Cody protested, face red. "I just mentioned you a couple times, wondered why you never stay."
She couldn't ignore the question so she just smiled and replied, "Being here... well it makes me free I guess you could stay. Just, like, this town takes away gravity for a moment but I can't stay. I can't stay anywhere, really."
Cody frowned, "Stay here, with me." And so she did.
She did get a name from Cody, later. He called her Rain for her rainbow eyes. Annie, who would stare blankly at walls until Cody brought her back, let her stay in their too-big house. Katniss and Peeta and their two young children as well as Johanna Mason would come over from time to time and tease Cody about her.
She didn't wander after that, she got a job at a shop in town and told stories to children about all the places she went. Cody would listen sometimes and bring little gifts to her in the shop, a shell or a feather or a starfish. They became friends first but over time that changed into something more. In a way they had always known, from the first time they saw each other.
She went from being a casual passerby who scrambled to find a place to stay for the night to someone who belonged. The city, with it's seashore heart, took away the gravity that held her down and pushed her around. She went from being clear, a ghost of nothingness, to a girl filled with color and hopes and dreams and so much more.