"Poppy!" Joshua calls after his sister. "Poppy, come back!"

Poppy is halfway down the road when she stops. She turns to face the house, hands placed defiantly on her hips. "No!" she yells back.

Joshua can't tell if she is yelling so loud because she is angry or because she wants to make sure she can be hard. It is always hard to tell what Poppy means. "Come on," pleads Joshua. "We'll brush your hair, put on this pretty dress, and…"

"No!" yells Poppy again. "I don't want to." Then she runs back down the street.

Joshua sighs, fingering the locket he gave to Poppy when she turned twelve.

"Presents," Poppy said. Whether it was a request or a demand, Joshua was unsure. It didn't matter, though. It was her birthday and she could have whatever she wanted.

Her mother gives her a new dress. Her father gives her a box of chocolates.

When it is Joshua's turn to give Poppy his present he stands up. He takes the necklace out of his pocket. It isn't extraordinarily eye-catching. The wooden 'P' is poorly carved, and only vaguely recognizable. But Joshua has made it with his own two hands, and he is proud of it.

"What on earth is that?" asks Poppy when he tries to put it around her neck.

"A necklace," he replies. "To remind you how much we love you. No matter what."

She sighs loudly, but allows him to put it on her. Joshua knows she doesn't understand what it means. She doesn't understand that getting this necklace means that she could die.


Brazer whistles as he slowly walks upstairs. The sound is high and shrill. He cannot produce more than one slightly off key note. It isn't a very pleasant sound, but it is better than the silence of the bleak morning.

He opens the door to the room his three sisters share. Both Evermore and Melie are already downstairs eating breakfast. Only little Elezza is still asleep. Or, well, pretending to be asleep. The offbeat breathing and muffled noises give away her laughter.

"Oh dear," Brazer says to himself. "Elezza must still be asleep. I guess I should eat her share of the bacon." He looks in her direction and smiles. He knows that will get her up faster than anything.

"Bacon?" she asks.

"Yeah," says Brazer. "Dad got bacon this morning as a special treat."

Elezza frowns. "Bacon," she says again sadly. "Today is the Reaping." Brazer isn't sure how she knows this. She has always been smart for her age, but he doesn't know how she connected the bacon to the Reaping. "You might go away."

Brazer's laughing retort catches in his throat. He might go away. He might die. But he can't lie to Elezza. "Maybe," Brazer tells her.

Brazer squeezes her hand as she cries. They can both smell the bacon, but neither of them cares anymore.

The Reaping is over and Brazer is still squeezing Elezza's hand. He isn't thinking that his large, bulky hand might hurt her. He is only thinking that he cannot leave her. Not sweet, innocent, little five-year-old Elezza.

But he does. The train whistle blows and he leaves. He cannot look back. He cannot see the tearstained faces of his sisters. He cannot watch as his father falls to pieces.

He holds his head up strong, he decides that the only option now is to win.


Joshua holds back tears as he walks into the Justice Building. His mother and father are already there.

Poppy isn't sad. She loves the attention. Besides, she is sure she can win.

Joshua puts her necklace around her neck and thinks back to that day four years ago. She doesn't understand that this necklace means that she could die.


A/N: I've got four tribute spots still open. You may create a male tribute for Districts 8, 9, 10, or 11. Please keep in mind that these characters will most likely die the first day of the Games.