Devyn Vaneer (D2)

Devyn Vaneer placed the worn book down upon the small wooden table by her bedside. She hoped that tonight would not be the last night she read the book, an old favorite of hers. Her room was filled with leather bound books, the history and all the stories of generations past. Her favorites were about life before the games, where the horrible Quarter Quell never occurred, back when no child feared dying in an arena. But that was hundreds of years ago, now every child of the twelve districts knew the fear of the Quarter Quell, the reaping of their lives. Devyn liked the years before the games; the years after were not so forgiving.

But Devyn was not the type to dwell on such matters. She was stronger than that. Her cousin Emilie, perhaps, no, her only true friend, like to say Devyn was too stubborn for that.

"You're too stubborn to let anyone see you fail. It's not good for your health, you know." Emile was fond of telling her this on many occasions. Devyn would roll her eyes and bat her cousin away, but never for long; her cousin was her soul sister. Devyn could never live without her other half.

As Devyn laid her head down for bed that night, the full moon illuminating her open bedroom, thoughts flickered in her mind. It was the 113th Hunger Games. Thirteen was quite the unlucky number and Devyn suppressed a shiver for those who were put through the games. At least, for those who were reaped, or foolish enough to volunteer, District Two had the luxury of being a career district. Devyn hated the careers. They relied too heavily on each other and the general fear the other tributes had for them based not on their skills, but on their numbers and past wins by their districts. Devyn hoped she never had to enter the arena, but if she did, she knew she would depend on her skills and her skills alone. That was the only true way to win.

Luke Mancini (D2)

Luke Mancini tucked his younger sister Lily into bed, giving her a small peck on the cheek. Lily Mancini was the light in seventeen year-old Luke Mancini's life, and anyone with a ounce of intelligence could easily recognize it. Of course, Luke thought grimily, he lived in District Two and intelligence wasn't the highest commodity around. Not that he would say such a thing aloud. Oh no, the populace of District Two could not with stand a scandal of such magnitude. To everyone that knew him, Luke Mancini was the perfect teenager: polite, intelligent, and calm. To those who did not know them, he was another pretty face. He was considered one of the best looking males in the entire district.

They did not know the truth. They couldn't possibly understand the truth, and it was for the best. If they knew, it would be less fun for him. So Luke Mancini kept his head, kept playing the game, and protected his sister Lily and mother Emma Mancini, the only two he could ever recall loving. It was a pity that soon he would not see their faces. Oh, he laughed, it wouldn't be for a long time, surly, but still, the thought of leaving little Lily all alone pushed emotions past his well built stone wall of emotional blockage. He knew he could trust his mother to take care of little Lily as well as herself; she was a strong woman that had made sure her children would never have to sign their names up for a tesserae. She had survived being purposely abandoned by Luke's father and the death of Lily's father in a work accident. She had built a successful bakery from the ground up, and gave her children all that she had. Yes, Luke could count on her.

Too bad she was the only one other than himself that he could believe in.

Devyn Vaneer (D2)

Devyn ignored the slight chill in the air as she hacked into the log, her blonde hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. Her district might have been based on stone cutting and weaponry, but didn't mean firewood wasn't need, especially for those who lived on the outer limits of the district. Today was the reaping day; she needed something to settle her mind, and her father Tallow wouldn't be pleased to catch her reading so soon in the day, although reading would forever be Devyn's first choice in activities. Her father could not understand his daughter's desire to read about times long ago, but she was his baby girl, his only child, and so he was more often than not the one who bought her the books she so desired to read. Her mother, Echo, would have much rathered her cook than read, and rathered her sew than chop trees, but could sense a losing battle when it was staring her in the face. But today was the Quarter Quell, a reaping day, and there was another battle to be fought.

"Devyn Vaneer, stop the hacking of the tree, and come inside. Your father can finish that today." Echo Vaneer called to her seventeen year-old daughter.

Devyn shook her head. "There's too much to be done, I can finish. Dad has too much work to do as it is." Her mother should know that, after all, her father was one of the best weapons maker and stone cutter in District Two, even if he was still looked down upon by the inner population of the district for his coarse language and ruggish behavior. He was a man's man and that's all there was to it.

"Devyn Evelyn Vaneer, you get in this house this instant! There's no time for such foolishness today! You know what we have to attend to today." Echo raised her voice at the girl, hating herself for doing so, and frustrated with her daughter for not once in her life listening to her. Echo Vaneer had grown to be testy on the reaping days since the day she learned she was expecting a baby, a baby that turned out to be Devyn. Every year she felt the mother's worry of losing her baby to that blood stained game.

"Hello Aunt Echo, how are you this morning?" Tallow's brother's daughter Emilie asked as she walked onto the porch. She was dressed in a nice blue dress that fluttered as she walked, her brown hair combed and braided into a pristine braid. At times Echo had to wonder if Emilie was her real daughter, their looks quite the same, whereas Devyn looked nothing like her mother, if one excluded the blue in their eyes.

"I would be much better if that cousin of yours would find it in her heart to listen to her mother, and come get ready."

"I'll take care of her, don't you worry Aunt Echo."

If only she did not have to worry on this day every year. Only one more year, she told herself, and then she'll be safe. Just one more year.

Luke Mancini (D2)

Luke fought the urge to punch Fredrick Feterstone in the mouth, if only to shut him up for the time being.

Little baboon believes that I care for his company, Luke huffed, what a fool.

Luke and the rest of District Two awaited the capital man to finish his speech so that the reaping could begin. He cracked his fingers, itching for it all to begin. He was no fool, he knew what his plan entailed, but at the present, it mattered little. There was something he wanted to experience and there was nothing to stop him.

The capital man finally finished his worn out speech and called for the tributes.

"Let's begin with our strapping young lads, shall we?" The man started to call out a name, but before he could even finish, Luke appeared on the stage.

"I volunteer."

His mother would weep.

Devyn Vaneer (D2)

Devyn couldn't understand that boy volunteering like that. She had never really seen him before, he most have been closer to the center, but to her, he looked like a real pretty boy. Devyn wondered if he had ever worked a hard day's labor even once in his life, although he did have some muscles to show off, probably one of those kids who trained for years to be in the games, he seemed to be more of a school boy type of person.

Devyn was brought out of her thoughts by her cousin Emilie taking her by the hand. Emilie had tears in her gentle brown eyes, and Devyn squeezed her hand in reassurance. Emilie by no means was a weak girl, but Devyn knew the idea of being in the games scared the life out of her cousin. Emilie could never harm another person, not for anything. Devyn wondered if she herself could, and hoped she never would.

"Devyn Vaneer! Devyn Vaneer is our female tribute for District Two!" Emilie gasped besides her and Devyn bit down hard onto her lip, her body frozen for the slightest second, before she regained her strength. She had to remain calm, she didn't want anyone to know how afraid she was. But as she walked onto the platform, she knew that anyone looking into her blue doe eyes, would know the truth.

I'm trying to make the chapters a little bit longer than the first reaping because that was really short and that bugs me, but no promises.

xLostStar, Luke is gonna take awhile to get his personality right, I'm trying to show the double side of him, without doing it too early, but I have big plans for him, and I hope you enjoy the ride your tribute goes on.

StarshipRanger0012, I gotta say, Devyn is really fun to write for, but it's gonna take a chapter or two to get her personality right. She's no Mary Sue, that's for sure! I hope you like how she started in this chapter.