Well, now that you've got an idea of what's going on here, we can get to the good parts!
Oh, one thing: Their parents were killed SIX years ago. Sunny and frost are 14 years old, and Jack is 18. Sorry 'bout that!
Again, reviews are appreciated, and if you're confused, tell me and I'll try and clear it up.
Oh yeah: thanks to Claratrix LeChatham for my first review!
Jack's POV
I fell down onto one of the chairs around the kitchen table, watching as Frost started to prepare my squirrel (I'd caught three, plus a rabbit).
"I think we've got enough to trade today, eh?" I asked no one in particular, though I'd been watching Frost. She ignored me, focusing on the kills.
"I think so," Sunny piped up. I turned my head to see that she was organizing the greens she'd collected. I couldn't name most of them; the only ones I recognized were the blackberries.
"Frost?" I asked. She continued to ignore me, but I recognized her face, her tense stance, the unshed tears making her eyes look watery. She was reliving a time, six years ago, when we had watched our parents beaten to death by the peacekeepers...
Apparently, Sunny had realized it too. Without hesitating, she walked forward and wrapped her arms around her sister, gently pulling her away from the countertop, before spinning her around and hugging her. I jumped up and joined them, wrapping my long arms around the both of them.
We held that position for a few minutes. Frost didn't let the tears fall. Eventually, she squirmed her way out of the embrace and went back to the counter. The tears had disappeared and she stood more relaxed now. Sunny and I exchanged a look. We each knew that Frost wouldn't admit it, but when she was like that, we were the only ones who could snap her out of it.
"Yeah," she said suddenly. I looked away from Sunny and looked back at Frost. "We should trade. We can eat the rabbit, trade half the squirrels, and store the pheasant?" She ended it like a question, though I knew that she'd made her decision and wouldn't be swayed by any suggestions.
"Sounds good," I replied. She nodded, then started cleaning and gutting the rabbit.
Sunny's POV
A little while later, when Frost and Jack got back from trading the squirrels, I had sorted all the greens, putting some away for medicine, leaving others out to eat. I looked up when Frost walked in the back door, carrying some bandages and a couple rough loaves of bread. Jack had a small bag of apples.
"Shall we eat?" I asked. Before they'd left, Frost had finished preparing the rabbit and cut it into bits for a stew. I myself had added some herbs, spices, and greens.
In response to my question, Frost shrugged and Jack nodded enthusiastically.
While we ate, the table was unusually quiet. I mean, Frost rarely spoke anyways, but Jack and I usually chatted some. But not tonight. None of wanted to discuss what couldn't be avoided.
Tomorrow was Reaping Day.
All three of us were signed up for our own tesserae (no point in signing up for each other when we could just do it ourselves) despite Jack's protests. This meant that Frost and I each had 19, whereas Jack had 34. Not as many as people with large families all adding tesserae for each other, but the odds weren't quite in our favour.
Plus, this was the 75th Hunger Games. The Quarter Quell.
The one with the sick, horrible twist.
All three of us were terrified. Jack and I didn't exactly hide it, but Frost didn't show it. The way she rarely showed emotion at all.
Breaking my train of thought, Frost stood up suddenly. "I'm going to bed," she announced.
"Night," Jack mumbled around his stew. I waved as she headed upstairs.
After a bit of awkward silence and we finished eating, Jack spoke.
"What do you think will happen if one of us gets chosen?" His voice shook. He was trying not to get too upset- for my sake, probably- but he wasn't doing the best job.
"You can't think like that Jack!" I'd raised my voice, and without noticing, risen to my feet, shoving my chair backwards. "If you keep thinking like that, then I'll start thinking like that, and Frost'll start thinking like that, and then where would we be? Too scared to leave the house!" I rarely spoke like that. No, not rarely, never. The Games were getting to me. I shook my head to clear it. "I'm going to bed." I turned on my heel and ran upstairs before Jack could respond.
Even though there were four bedrooms in this house, we all shared one. We'd dragged mattresses from other rooms into the master bedroom so we could sleep in the same room. None of us liked being separated. Separation meant death.
I curled up next to Frost's form, gently rising and falling as she breathed. I closed my eyes and forced myself to relax. Thinking of the forest, the gentle sound of birds chirping, trees swaying in the wind, a river rushing on the edge of my hearing...
It was with these thoughts that I quickly drifted into unconsciousness.
Thanks so much to you people reading this. ;D Again, not the most exciting chapter, but I'll do reaping day soon, I promise.
