I actually updated quickly, yay! Here's the District Four Reapings! Let's get right into them, shall we?

Ishmael Stow, District 4 Male, 15

"So," Ishmael says through a mouthful of food. "Since you're still in training for whatever reason, do you know who's gonna volunteer today?"

Brooke blushes bright red. Ishmael already told her she should have volunteered last year, but no, she wanted the glory of a Quarter Quell, and it came back to bite her. "Misha Levant and Herring Porter. Why?"

"Really?" Ishmael laughs, food on his plate now all but ignored. "I wouldn't trust Misha and Herring to have the nerve to volunteer to clean the Academy, let alone volunteer for the Games."

Their mother sighs, with that resigned expression Ishmael always notices on her face. "Now now, children. Play nice."

Brooke frowns, like she always does when treated like a child. "I'm eighteen, mom. I'm not a child!"

"Well, if you want to be treated like an adult you better start acting like one."

And so the daily routine of the Stow family went, undisturbed by the fact it was Reaping Day. Ishmael and Brooke get into some sort of argument, and their mother has to deal with it. Their father is usually off working in the docks, helping build and repair ships, but when he's home he gushes about Julian, the eldest child of the Stows, getting a promotion ("maybe he'll be Mayor some day!") or Brooke succeeding at training despite her young age ("she'll bring honour to our District!"). And then sometimes, once in a blue moon, he'll mention Ishmael.

Ishmael tried- he really did. Tried to study as hard as Julian, train as hard as Brooke, and when they always continued to seem better than him he tried everything he could think of, in the hope of being good at something, not just the ignored sibling, the one everyone would forget.

At least the Games are soon. Watching them is a much needed distraction from life- he's always dreamed of volunteering, but he knows he'd be a pariah if he volunteered when someone else would- Four had a nasty habit of volunteers chickening out at the last moment, but it didn't change the fact most years they sent two well trained Careers specifically picked out. Being just the bad one isn't much better than being the unremarkable one.

He couldn't help but feel jealous of the tributes stardom, how their names were on everyone's lips, how they spent a week pampered in the Capitol like Gods before being sent into the Arena, where their exploits would always live on as legends and they would always be remembered, at least by their home District if no one else. And, if you had the perfect combination of skill and luck, you'd come home a hero, loved by everyone, known by everyone, one of the lucky few who lived in the luxurious homes of the Victors Village that he sees from his window when the fog from the sea doesn't roll in.

If he were ever in the Games, he'd be able to experience so much- things he'd never experience here in Four, and Ishmael kept it a point of pride he tried everything at least once. He'd experience the taste of delicious food far beyond any in Four, a nights sleep away from the busy noises from the streets and the dock, a way to make his mark on not only Four but everyone- absolutely everyone in Panem, and who knows what thrills the Arena would bring! But, unfortunately, he'd never experience that.

Wouldn't he?

Nieves Steelheart, District 4 Female, 15

Nieves always hates the Reapings.

For her, they're just a distraction from the rest of the days' work. She's not even quite sure what they're for- she's heard the name "The Hunger Games" from the escort before, of course, but she's not got time for games. She studies, she works, and sometimes she sleeps. It's the routine she's always been in since she was a child, and she didn't need some "game" to ruin that.

And that's why, as she finds herself waiting in the pen filled to the brim with girls her age, she can't help but wish them to be over with already. She's got no friends to converse with, like many of the girls she sees around her- she's got no friends in general, to be honest. Any distraction from her work would disappoint her family, and she knew that would make her a failure.

It isn't even that she likes her parents- she doesn't. Honestly, if they just up and disappeared and stopped using her as their personal slave, she'd probably be happy for once in her life. But that's not what family does to family. Without family, she'd be without food, without a place to sleep and it's been drilled into her head enough this is the best she could get.

Not that she really eats or sleeps much. Eating and sleeping are (rather unfortunately, she thinks) necessary to survival, but that doesn't mean she needs to indulge in it like she's sure many of the other girls do. She gets on just fine with a meal every few days, whenever she finds the time, and sleeping the few hours she didn't have work.

The escort- a rather small man called Astrius Pann who's dyed a variety of bright pinks and looks like he's never had to work a day in his life, walks onto the stage and excitedly states "Welcome, my lovely District 4, to the 75th Hunger Games! Now, let's dispense with the pleasantries and reap our female tribute. I'm sure you're all just so excited!"

Just as Nieves starts wondering what they could be excited for he reads out the name "Nieves Steelheart!" and her first reaction is that she can't stand such a waste of time. Still, she remembers what the other girls did- she walks up to the stage emotionlessly and Astrius points a microphone in her face and asks "Now, aren't you excited Nieves?"

Nieves freezes for a second and can only say quietly "Let's get this over with." Astrius laughs and says "Can we get a round of applause for the lovely Nieves Steelheart?" When she hears the crowd actually start applauding, she's quite dumbfounded. Why do they care this much over a stupid game?

"And let's get our lovely male competitor," Astrius continues, before fishing out the name "Fishy Lee!" (God, that poor boy must have worse parents than she does.) As a scared twelve year old slowly walks out to the stage, she hears the words "I volunteer!" and a tan boy from the fifteen-year-olds walks onto the stage, shooting a grin and a thumbs up at someone in the crowd.

"Brave Volunteer, what's your name?" asks Astrius, and the boy replies "Ishmael Stow, but please, call me Stow." The crowd bursts into applause before Astrius can say something again, and Stow winks at her and flashes her a grin, before taking her hand to shake it while she's frozen from shock.

"And there you have it! District Four's brave Tributes!" Astrius cries, desperate to be overheard from the crowd as Nieves and Stow are escorted into the Justice Building. Nieves sits on a velvet sofa, absentmindedly waiting to be told what to do, when her parents walk in.

Her mother hands her a necklace with a dove carved upon it Nieves admits is quite beautiful, and just before her mother turns to speak, Nieves interrupts. "No. Don't say anything, just leave. You've bossed me around long enough, and now I'm going into this game, whatever the hell that might mean, and I'm going to do it without your orders. You hear me? Leave."

Her parents leave the room, and Nieves sits in shock, contemplating the first act of rebellion in her entire life.

So there we have it! The daredevil Ishmael from Elim9 and the stoic Nieves from Candela Moonson! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! How did you like the Tributes? And I hope I'll be able to stick to updating this much haha.