Yo! Welcome to the first Reaping chapter, of District Two! I know, I know, you should do One first, but Two is my first and only complete pair. A word of advice, by the way, if you submit a tribute to a district that already has another (opposite gender) tribute they'll have their reaping written earlier.
Auden Tetra, 12, District 2 Female
Like all days, Auden Tetra wakes up to the ringing of a bell at six o'clock sharp. She's long grown out of trying to get just five more minutes of sleep- the Training Centre isn't as harsh as what she's heard about the community home, but that's not saying much. Her room is mostly barren, in the dull grey colours that have grown to symbolise District Two. The only source of colour is a light blue dress neatly laid out on the floor, she supposes to look nice for the Capitol as it's so far removed from the usual lightweight training clothes she wears every other day.
Auden gets changed quickly- if possible, she might be able to sneak in half hour of training before the Reapings, which are at around seven-thirty. The dresses material is reassuringly lightweight, and she thinks she may be able to fight in it if needs be. She heads down the corridor to the small mess hall for the children who live here- a number that hovers roughly around ten, Auden never bothered to count the exact number. As far as she's aware, they're all here by choice. Their parents receive a monthly stipend every month they're living here, to promote District honour if she remembers the excuse correctly, but she's seen some of them leave.
She can't. Her parents had sold her to this facility, staff had said that much, before she could even remember their faces. She's aware that's of questionable legality, at best, but so's this whole operation. From what little she remembers of home, she remembers the smell of alcohol and a gnawing feeling in her stomach, similar to the kind of being hit in the stomach by a wooden sword. All she cares to think about her parents is that she hates them for betraying her, turning her into a tool for the Capitol, not that she cares about that. She knows she must win- she is going to win the Games someday because she has no other choice.
She shovels down her breakfast, lamb soup she guesses from the taste, and stares at the other trainees surrounding her. They'd likely be her future opponents, after all, it's well known in Two that most of the Volunteers come from here and from the community homes. They're weak, she surmises. They're all talking to each other like friends, about irrelevancy wholly removed from the entire reason they're here, the Games.
And then a thought strikes. I should volunteer. Glancing a quick look around the table, realising she's probably the oldest one there, the idea comes back. The words I should Volunteer bounce through her head, and as she thinks about it, it makes more sense. The Volunteers hand selected can't Volunteer, obviously, as they're eighteen. And if these are to be her competition, it's best to strike early, when they're still dumb and naive.
She turns to the staff member supervising them, a man twice her size easily, and asks "May I get in some extra training time?" The man- Cassius, she thinks his name is- nods and holds up six fingers. Six minutes. She better make this count. The Training Centre is surprisingly small- it's less than a minute to get to the weapons, and that's right next to the door out- and Auden grabs one of the real swords before turning to a pathetic looking dummy that already has a knife poking out of its arm. She knows what she will do- she'll practice for her private session.
She holds the sword up (it's a bit too big for her, she realises, but she can make it work) and swings it towards the dummy, cutting off its arm with the satisfying sound of the arms collision with the floor. She picks up some throwing knives and, just to be impressive, throws them at the dummy with her eyes closed. It's breaking safety rules, of course, but if no one's around to notice Auden can do whatever the hell she damn well likes. After hearing the sound of metal on metal, she opens her eyes to see her handiwork.
It's a mess, she decides. One of the knives had landed firmly in the foot of the dummy, which could possibly be a kill if your opponent also happened to be currently bleeding to death. The others had awkwardly bounced off a metal rack holding some wooden weapons for training with others. She's going to keep her eyes open next time. Before she can pick up the knives and hide the evidence, she hears the door opening and sees the others- the weaklings, actually, as a future Victor she can't compare herself to them- enter the room. She briefly thinks oh shit, I'm in trouble before realising they can't well punish her in the Games.
She rushes out the doors before the rest of them can even catch up, barely avoiding running into people with the single-minded thought I have to get to the Justice Building. There wasn't any rush, the Reapings were in about thirty minutes, but there's no reason for her to sit around and wait. If she can get to the Reaping early, it just shows she's all the better for it.
She gets there earlier than she would have expected- the Training Centre is fifteen minutes away from the Justice Building, and she's there sixteen minutes before the reaping if the clock she sees through a window is to be trusted. After getting her blood taken, she's herded into a pen of twelve year olds, and Auden can't stand them at first sight. They're nervous, bouncing on their toes, one is crying to a friend no Volunteer will be able to save me if I'm Reaped, and Auden decides maybe she shouldn't Volunteer if she gets Reaped, but she immediately discards the thought. She's a Career, and she wouldn't give up volunteering for the sake of a scared weak girl.
She'll prove to everyone that they shouldn't underestimate her.
Luka Tetra, 16, District 2 Male
Luka bounces up and down on his heels nervously, the minutes until the Reaping seeming like hours. All Luka can think is please don't reap me please don't reap me please don't reap me. He knows someone will volunteer, most likely, but that only makes it worse. He's the oldest possible age for a Tribute in these games, and someone volunteering for him means he sent a child off to their deaths.
When finally the Escort walks on, a small, young-looking woman by the name of Metru Serris, Luka breathes out a sigh of relief. At least we can get things over with. She awkwardly looks into the crowd with metallic red eyes, before speaking. "Hello and, uh, welcome to the 75th Reaping! I'll reap the girls first?" Luka wonders how such a blatantly Escort ended up in Two of all places, though he guesses she must have at least some talent hidden under the exterior.
She sticks her hands into the reaping bowl and fumbles around for a slip, ears twitching- oh my god did she get cat ears installed that's adorable Luka idly thought, before realising the woman is likely twice his age- before grabbing a small piece of paper. She reads out "Artemia L-"
"I volunteer!"
Before Artemia can even start walking up to the stage, a blur runs out of the twelve-year-old section- god, please don't be her be anyone but her- and a tanned young girl with the same dark brown hair as him- it can't be her fuck no be literally anyone but her I don't care- as she announces "I'm Auden Tetra, the soon to be Victor of the 75th Hunger Games!"
Luka's ears ring as he desperately tries not to be sick. Not Auden. Auden should be safe, she should be safe away from Mom and Dad. But she's not, she's about to die because his parents couldn't go a month without a drink and sold their fucking innocent daughter to the academies. He remembers her innocent smile, her laugh, and now he sees it all replaced with bloodshed and murder, her smile turned twisted, and her laugh turned bitter.
And when the next name read out is "Luka Tetra", Luka can't even think anymore. Of course he's in the Games with his sister- his little, lovely sister who should have never left him- and he can't move, all the muscles just don't work, he can't run and he can't walk up to the stage and he wants to scream but he can't.
After what seems like an eternity and a second, the strong arms of Peacekeepers lift him and frog-march him towards the stage, and when he's standing there with his sister, you see the look in her eyes towards him. Hatred. Her expression paints a thousand words and in a second Luka knows she wants him dead.
This time, he really is sick.
And so here we have the tributes of District Two! The bloodthirsty Auden and the pacifistic Luka! Both are by the lovely Professor R.J Lupin, who has submitted some lovely tributes to help me! I'd like to know what you thought of the sibling Tributes here, that would help me a lot. Thanks!
