Beneath the Crystal Sky

by laptop246

Fawn Dogwood is 16. She lives in District 7. She is part of a prosperous scouting troop. She has two little sisters. She is learning a trade. She is being courted. She was never meant to be Reaped. "Scout. Sister. Performer. Tribute. What am I, now? Staring into my own brown eyes, I find that I can't tell anymore." High quality. Works very closely with the original series.

10. II ALLIES

PART II. PREPARING.
CHAPTER 10. ALLIES.

The names of the tributes are fairly easy to track to their districts. For instance, Cabel and Pixel. District 3. Maze and October. District 11. Syren and Tide. District 4. And so on. That information should come in handy this chapter, if you hadn't already picked up on that. There's a couple of first names that don't go with districts, and only their last names fit. The tributes are Scarlett Wires, District 6, and Angela Herder and Grant Farmer from District 10. So, there's that skill.

Um ... I think I mentioned in an author's note last chapter that Fawn is really good at picking up skills with weapons. That's true. She's not really your typical meek non-Career tribute girl. Sorry everyone that thinks she should be. She's not. You'll see more of that side of her in here, as well as some of her weak points because ... well, she is human.

What does everyone think of the tributes? I want you to remember something significant about most, if not all of them. So pay attention to the tidbits about non-Career tributes and non-Fawn's-allies tributes. Most of them will end up mattering. Anyone have favorite tributes?

~BTCS~

October glances up from his plate of food at Raven, looking curious. "What is home for you, Raven?" I dare glance at Raven, curious despite myself, because Raven and I have never spoken about home.

Raven sucks in a deep breath, not looking up from his food, poking about the vibrant material with him fork. "Home ..." his voice dies slightly as he says the word. "Ah ... Well, what do you want to know? My family?" He coughs slightly, and I suspect that he is disguising a sob. "Well, my mother is dead - has been for a few years now. Ah, my grandfather is deafened from the sound of the wood processing machines. I have three siblings - triplets. My brother, Rowan, is the oldest. Just like me, Dad used to say ... Hazal is next, and is the kindest person you'd ever meet. And Dara," he chuckles slightly, though still appearing solemn. "is very competitive, and gets in fights a lot. She's our family's warrior." I recall that in the reaping, one girl had fallen into the arms of another when Raven had been reaped. Had this been Hazal and Dara? Raven glances up from his food towards October. "What about you?"

"I'm an orphan," October says, very bluntly. "Nobody likes me much, except for Maze here." He smiles at his district partner, and I look at them, puzzled. Did they know each other before the Games? Not from the Orphanage, that's for sure - Maze has a large family.

Catching my quizzical look, Maze explains, "October and I met in the fields. He comes by to help me with the kids after work every day." She gives him a fond look, and I wonder if there is any romance between the two.

October shrugs off her look. "The Fields family is the closest thing I have to a family," he tells his food. "I owe them a lot." He gives a timid smile to Maze, who beams back.

Silence fills our table like thick ice for a moment, until I break it. "What do you think that the next compulsory exercise will be?" I preformed well on the last one, and I don't want to disappoint my allies, the Gamemakes, or myself with my next performance.

Maze shrugs in response, "It's hard to guess," she says, tugging on the end of her pleated hair. "They never show the exercises on the updates at home." Her reminder of the updates hits home. Suddenly, I'm glancing around for cameras. Somewhere, right now, my family and River are watching me, perhaps what I am doing right now.

"I'd imagine that it has something to do with climbing," Raven offers, and I look in surprise at my ally, offering his opinion without prompting.

October, too, seems interested, considering Raven carefully. "What makes you say that?"

Raven shrugs, appearing embarrassed and returning to his food. "I don't know. Just a feeling, I guess." He pauses, as though waiting for us to pick up the conversation from this point. "Well, they had us run, but they haven't seen us try to climb yet, and there's typically something that we have to climb over in the Games. I mean, running will only take you so far."

I consider his words for a moment, and find myself nodding. This rings true with all of my experiences in the forest scouting. I remember how Trew and Kri were chased by coyotes the last time we scouted. They had run as well, but ended up climbing a tree for safety, perching in its branches for hours. "You're probably right," I say. "If not today, then surely sometimes. Climbing saved the members of my troop several times."

October glances up at Maze with a small smile. "Climbing will be fun."

Maze beams back at him. "October and I both work in the orchards," she tells Raven and I. "we climb around the trees constantly - like the monkeys that are sometimes on the Games." I shudder as I think of some of the monkeys, with the venomous bites, that sometimes appear on the screens in Redwood's square.

"You'll have lots of climbing practice, too," Raven tells me, appearing deflated, counting himself the weakest of our alliance. "climbing around the wilderness and the mountains as you do."

I think back to Branchball and smile slightly, nodding. Climbing is definitely one of my strongest points. I do notice Raven's depleted look, however, and tell him, "Your strength is still important, though, Raven. I don't have anything on you, there." He nods, not appearing convinced, but I hope that he will listen anyway.

~~BTCS~~

I am standing in line before a giant rock wall course, marveling at Raven's aptitude for guessing this. October is standing in line right beside me, eyes narrowed in concentration as Atala speaks. I redirect my attention back to her, embarrassed. "This exercise will be in only one stage," she announces. "and will again be based upon the time taken to complete the exercise. First," she motions to the rock wall, "you will climb up a standard, mountain-like wall, followed by another standard climb downwards on the other side."

Nodding slightly to myself, I examine that wall, picking out the best places for hand- and foot-holds easily. Both sides are visible from the point our line is, and the Gamemakers' balcony is opposite us. They are finishing their food, and watching us with great interest. More than a few eyes rest on October and I, as we did so well on the last exercise. Doubtlessly, they are expecting great things from us.

First up is Rye Brown. District 9 is surely as flat as the floor I am standing on, but she climbs in surprising quickness. I watch her finish the ascent, and climb downwards, being more careful this way. I can't help but chuckle slightly to myself - when I first climbed, downwards seemed scarier to me, too. But it's really much easier, once you get the hang of it. I glance up at the scoreboard, showing the score for this exercise as well as the last, and find Rye's ranking. She was 10th, after myself, the Careers, October, and Grant Farmer from District 10. As the shrill noise sounds, Rye lets a triumphant snarl come over her face, and stands slightly to the side, looking proud of herself.

"She's a threat," whispers October. I shudder at the word 'threat.' This girl might take my life. "I don't think that she'll go down without a fight." I murmur an agreement, studying Rye's tough, dark face with interest. What's her story? Who is at home waiting for her?

I force my attention back to the rock wall, which Barley Harvester, Rye's district partner, is now attempting to scale. He falls several times, saved by the wires attached to him, and has to scramble for a handhold. His final time is dismal - minutes after his partner's. Rye sneers at Barley, and he shivers with fear. A great well of dislike rises in my throat, and I have to remind myself that I don't care for Barley, and I shouldn't care how Rye treats him. All the same, my hands curl into fists at my side.

Maze is next, and she climbs so fast that she's just a brown-and-black streak in my eyes. She descends without hesitation, and finishes two minutes earlier than Rye did. Maze beams at me and October, ignoring Rye's scathing look. I lean over to whisper to Raven, "She's better than I am. Can you climb like that, too?"

Looking embarrassed, he replies, "Something like that. Maze is better than me, though, at bigger heights. I start to feel kind of ... funny." He ends abruptly, his hands on his stomach and I realize that he has a fear of heights. Not wanting to embarrass him when our strengths and weaknesses matter most, I let the conversation fall, watching Chip Drive struggle to remain on the wall.

Mason Flint doesn't do badly - he finishes just quicker than Rye, but his score looks dismal compared to Maze's. Scarlett Wires score was just larger than Rye's. Shyne beats Rye and Mason, taking second place, and Tide finishes just slower than her. Cotton Flinch takes more time than Barley, who looks relieved that he is no longer in last.

October goes next. I agree that he isn't as quick as Maze, but he is still a flash of orange hair against gray stone. He finishes only a few seconds behind Maze, and joins her in second place. I see them give each other some kind of friendly shake, obviously a tradition from District 11.

I step up, taking deep breaths, and allow the trainers to attach wires to me in case I, like Cotton and Barley, fall. I know that I don't need the help. When the shrill noise sounds, I shoot up the wall, not nearly as fast as Maze and October, but maybe faster than Shyne and Tide. When I'm at the top, I don't hesitate; I am quickly down the other side, and using gravity to my advantage. The moment that me feet hit the ground, the shrill noise sounds, and I bounce on the balls of my feet a few times to kill the momentum and adrenaline.

The moment that I register a change in the screen out of the corner of my eye, I spin to face it. My name is listed just below Shyne, Maze, and October's. Fourth fastest... Yes! I run towards Maze and October, laughing in relief, and give October a huge hug. He laughs as well, and pats my back. When I break away from October, Maze embraces me, too, whispering, "Good job, Fawn! Good job!" I break away, and make an effort to conceal my excitement, having already attracted enough attention. Raven gives me a wide smile, which I return.

In my excitement, I nearly miss Grant Farmer climbing. He does much worse at this than he did running, scoring between Scarlett and Barley. Hestia Flamel, from District 12, surprised everyone with her swimming skill. However, in this particular exercise, she sets out with determination on her face, and finishes, panting, after Grant's time.

Ryder Wheel, appearing cool and calm, follows, and scores above Grant. Thread Coil, after him, scores just below. When the two are done, they grin and mutter at each other. I nudge my allies, nodding towards the two. "Do you think that they have formed an alliance?"

Maze studies the two carefully. "It looks like it," she tells me, eyes wide. "So ... we aren't the only alliance." She's right - the only alliances that I have observed are those of the Careers's, and our own. The development of another alliance is interesting. I study the two tributes - they were both very quiet, and I hadn't taken much notice of them before this moment.

I glance towards Chip Drive as he mounts the wall, falling once on his hasty way down. He finishes sometime after Hestia. Chip's district partner, Pixel, finishes just before Barley, and I notice that the two tributes from District 3 avoid each other. There is no alliance between them. Syren Seeh mounts the rocks, climbing at exhilarating speed, and I can feel my adrenaline picking up, just by watching her. She finishes a mere second before I did, and I let out a sigh of disappointment as Syren's sneer is shot towards me.

"It's all right, Fawn," October whispers. "She's a Career, remember? She's been training for years ... the Gamemakers won't hold this against you too badly." He's right - maybe they will not see a difference between fourth and fifth. But I will. I'm gritting my teeth as Raven mounts the wall. His movements are slow, but certain, and his strength helps him slip over the rocks with ease. His time lies between Scarlett and Ryder. When he approaches us, I am sure to exaggerate his performance, and he beams with embarrassment when I am done.

Jet Rails follows him, scoring just above her district partner, Ryder Wheel. After her, Luster Diamond mounts the wall, and scores the lowest of all the Careers so far; just behind Mason. He appears angry as he joins the Career pack, shooting glares towards everyone that dares glance at him. He appears gladdened, however, when Angela Herder scores third to last, above Chip and below Hestia.

Cole Miner is next, scoring below Scarlett, and I glance at the District 12 tribute with surprise. Where did he learn to climb well enough to score 10th? "The District 12 tributes are full of surprises this year," I whisper to Raven, who nods in agreement, studying the two, standing far apart, and looking thoughtful. I wonder if he will manage to figure out why they have such odd abilities for District 12 tributes, just as he did the exercise.

Cabel Atom scores very badly, behind Angela and taking her place as third to last. Shoulders sagging, he glances towards his district partner, Scarlett, who was avoiding his gaze. Gneiss Mount, smirking with relish, climbed very quickly - of course, she would have climbed in the mountains surrounding District 2 for training. She scores above Tide, taking the closest spot behind me.

Atala calls us back to our two crescent moons about her, and she announces that the afternoon session of personal training has begun. She repeats the rules, and I glance towards the Gamemakers, who are looking at October, Maze, Raven, and I with interest. I give a slight smile. We have their attention as much as the Careers do now.

Once Atala is done speaking, Maze says, "I want to try to use a sword." I nod in agreement, as does October and Raven, and we set off to the station. The trainer greets us curtly, and examines us carefully, and gives us each swords one by one, muttering to himself. Raven recieves a long, flat sword, holding it as though it was very heavy. October's is shorter, and lighter, but longer in width. Maze's is short enough to be mistaken for a dagger, and shines like fire. My own is assigned last, and even I can tell that it is an unusual sword - the blade is long and triangularly shaped, and light as a feather.

The trainer places us all in a circle around him, and shows us how to hold the blades and swipe them. Raven catches on quickly, grinning as the movements naturally emerged from his body. I catch on nearly as quickly, but October seems to have a hard time figuring out the movements. The trainer stands us each in front of dummies, and has us practice making contact with all of their vital points.

After several moments, I become aware that we are not the only tributes at the sword station. The Career pack has entered after us, and are currently dueling with several trainers. I stop aiming at the vital points of a dummy, turn, and watch as Luster takes on a trainer with his stocky sword. My eyes flash from Luster's feet to his sword to his grip on its handle. The trainer had his eyes narrowed in concentration, obviously having a hard time sparring with Luster. The other Careers cheer on Luster as he manages, with a twirling sort of flick from his sword, to disarm his opponent.

"Wow," Maze says under her breath. She, too, has turned around to watch. Suddenly, seeing this expertise display of why I should be terrified, I return to the dummy with newfound vigor, until the dummy falls over, its knee completely severed. The trainer turns to me, and directs me to one of the sparring trainers, with his sword at the ready.

I flick my wrist a few times, memorizing how light the metal is, and how easily it moves with me. Then I step up to face the trainer, feeling the Careers' eyes upon me. She moves slowly, deliberately, knowing that I am a beginner, and content to test how much I know. I use my sword to meet hers, my movements sharper than hers. I push my sword forward, towards her chest, but she avoids my strike with a mere step backwards. Clenching my jaw, I attempt to persue her, jabbing towards her arm. She parries easily, and makes an attack of her own. Clumsily, I smack my sword against hers, which works effectively enough, but leaves my hand stinging from the impact. Slowly, the woman repeats the movement, and I block more gently this time, careful to be firm, however, so that both swords will not fly into me.

I am conscious that Syren is now sparring with the trainer assigned to the Careers. Maze, October, and Raven are also sparring nearby. The Careers, excluding Syren, have fixed me with curious and not unfriendly looks that I can feel burning into me. I try to concentrate on when the trainer is teaching me, but it is hard with so many other things to pay attention to. Finally, our speed quickens, and I am blocking her sword and parrying her thrusts at light-speed. Eyes narrowed, I can judge her movements before they happen, if I concentrate. She is not fighting with skill enough to best any of the Careers, and overcomes me in the end, but I am surprised and satisfied of the progress I made.

Eager to leave the eyes of the watchful Careers, I convey my willingness to move on to my allies. They agree, and the trainer that I sparred with offers one last bit of knowledge before I leave. "If you want to end a fight quickly," she tells me. "Render their hands incapable. They can't fight without them. And," she looks thoughtful. "they can't run without legs and feet." I give her a nod, trying not to think about the situation where I might need this information, and leave the station, not looking back as the Careers gaze at me.

October has noticed their watchful eyes. "You've caught their attention, haven't you?" I nod as we move to the Spears Station, not commenting. Silently, I note Raven's worried look, and Maze's stubborn one. Careers have been known to offer strong tributes an invitation to their alliance. Normally, this alliance does not end well for the tributes having been sought out by the Careers. Once there are only ten tributes, the non-traditional Career is killed by their allies. Later, the tribute pack breaks, and kills each other. But the tribute from District 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 is always killed first. If the Careers approach me, I will decline their offer. They will probably mark me as a target, but I feel safer with Raven, October, and Maze than I could with them.

Scarlett Wires is already at the Spears Station. My initial observation of her proves correct - she catches onto the basic concept quickly, and applies it in clever manners that would outwit even a Career. We don't do badly at this station, though October's best weapon has been the sword, and Maze's the bow. Raven did better with the sword than he did here, but I still believe that hand-to-hand combat will be his strength. As for me, I am accustomed to throwing knives, and making them spin in the air. Spears are incapable of this technique, and at first, I lag the farthest behind at this station. However, once I become accustomed to their heavier weight, and their longer span, I aceel here as well.

When I turn to grab another spear to aim at the moving targets, I notice that Scarlett has disappeared, and the Careers have materialized in her place. Trying to appear unfazed, I trun and throw the spear directly into the forehead of a dummy. Then I glance at Maze, who has a certain fear in her eyes that I haven't seen before, and mouths, 'Let's get out of here.' I nod, and nudge Raven. Trying to sound conversational, I tell him, "I've had enough of spears, haven't you? Let's move on." He nods, throwing his last spear, which misses by a meter, and falls to the ground. Gneiss Mount's snicker is audible, and Raven turns, aware of them for the first moment, and meeting the eye of Gneiss.

It is impossible to ignore them now. Maze and October are immediately by my side, arms folded and looking cold. I make to leave, but Shyne Luxor, a kind smile on her face, turns to me. "Hello! I'm Shyne Luxor, and it's very nice to meet you."

Remembering that this is all an act, that this is the Hunger Games, I take her extended hand and shake it, careful to keep my hand steady and firm. "Fawn Dogwood," I tell her, almost shortly. Shyne smiles at me, introducing me to each of her companions one by one. They all appear cheerful enough, even Tide and Syren, despite the way they treated me in the elevator. I, in turn, introduce my allies, who nod gruffly to the Careers.

"We were wondering," Tide smiles invitingly as he speaks the words, "if you might be interesting in joining the Career alliance." The dog pack, you mean, I think, but before I can reply, he is continuing, "We can provide a security in the arena that is unavailable elsewhere. Career tributes are rarely attacked, especially by mutts, you know." He is right - I have watched the Hunger Games all my life, and rarely are Career tributes attacked by mutts until they are in the bottom three. And, of course, he doesn't expect me to live that long.

"Career tributes live longer," Luster agrees. "because the sponsors look to us before any other tributes. If you join us, you will immediately have sponsors. This would never happen, otherwise." They haven't mentioned my allies behind me, yet. They could be speaking to us all as a whole. I glance at Maze's face, curious to see her reaction, and am startled by a venomous look. October and Raven's faces remain calm, and I hope that mine does, too.

Syren is looking at Maze as she speaks. "It is a great honor that we are extending you, you know. Not just any tribute gets the offer to join the Career alliance." Gneiss and Mason grunt in agreement. I immediately place them as the kinds of Careers that aren't much for talk. All six of the Careers' eyes are upon me, waiting for a response.

Hopefully, my face has been emotionless as they talked. I now allow confusion to seep onto my face. "Wait. Me? What about ..." I motion to my allies, completely ignorant.

The Careers glance at each other, and it is Tide that finally speaks. "The offer is only extended to Fawn Dogwood and October Harvest."

I glance at October, surprise on my face that I don't feel. Of course they want the two of us. We scored high on the compulsory exercises, and proved ourselves adept at using swords and spears. I am a bit surprised that they didn't ask Maze as well, though. Maybe three more allies is too many for them. As I stare at October, I address the Careers. "Um ... could we have a day to think about it? Until - until the end of training, maybe? Before the sessions with the Gamemakers?" I keep my voice higher than normal, innocent-sounding. October, eyes wide, nods his agreements to the Careers.

Shyne nods slowly in agreement, glancing around at her fellow Careers until they, too, agree. "You have until lunch on the third day of training," she tells October and I, and then they leave slowly, heading to the Wrestling station.

I turn to October at once, and whisper urgently, "We can't accept. They'd kill us so quickly, we wouldn't know what happened."

October nods in agreement. "I'd rather cast my luck alone in a snake-infested tree," he tells me, turning to slap Maze's back affectionately. "Don't worry," he tells her. "We wouldn't leave you that easily." Maze doesn't appear convinced, however, eyes still narrowed towards the Careers. With her black hair back, arms folded, and looking positively evil, I find myself thinking that Maze could win the Hunger Games. She looks like a victor, the way that she is standing. However, her look deflates as she glances at October, smiling slightly.

"You'd better not," she says. "How about we try something different? Insect recognigation, maybe?" She points to a station close by, where models of bugs sit, with a gigantic screen nearby. We agree, and approach the station. The trainer greets us, and explains the purpose of the station. It is set up in the exact same format that the plants station was, and soon my allies and I are studying the many insects. Maze and October recognize many of them, and explain some of them to Raven and I.

"I suppose there's not many bugs in District 7, are there?" October asks, looking interested. I reply, "None." I can't deny that I don't like the look of the small creatures that I have never come in contact with. District 7 is too cold, and the Capitol too clean for the opportunity to arise. They appear delicate and small, but the pinchers on some of them say otherwise. When Maze explains that one spider's bite will kill, I cannot stop a shudder that brings teasing.

Maze and October do well on the insect test, and Raven does nearly as well as they do. I cannot remember many of the insects and their poisonous aspects, and am eager to leave the station. However, Raven insists upon trying the test again. I stand, biting my cheek and doing my best to ignore those disturbing models as Raven carefully retakes the test. He does much better, and I hurry the alliance away from the station.

We go to Hammock Making, a skill that I have little want of. Why make a hammock when you could sleep on the tree you're tying it to, or the ground beneath it? In the Hunger Games, the moment you wake up might be the moment you have to run for your life. You don't have time to untie the hammock and retrieve your things. You most definitely can't afford to loose the supplies. However, this is one of the few things that Raven does the best at, and he appears pleased as we move on.

Fishing is a skill that none of us have had the chance to attempt, and one that none of us are very good at. I practically snort with laughter as Maze falls into the pool of fish after attempting to rein in a particularly strong catch with the string that is serving as a fishing rod. Raven stabs his shoe with a spear instead of a fish, and I nearly trip onto my face as I chase a fish with my own spear. In the end, we all agree that we will not be fishing in the arena, but I am happy to think that we grew to trust each other a little in that time.

~~BTCS~~

After receiving a full account of the day of training, Blight looks older. "You did a good job learning," he tells Raven and I. "I am proud of you. And you bonded with Maze Fields and October Harvest?" We both nod, and I glance at Raven. I bonded with him too, and the very thought of another tribute threatening any of them makes a great well of protectiveness rise in my chest. "Good." Blight says. "Both of your tokens were cleared today." He motions to where my star-shaped carved necklace and a small carved raven sit on a side table. "Fawn, yours was thought to be sharp enough to become a throwing star, so it was filed down significantly..."

I pick up the necklace, noticing immediately that the edges are more rounded than they were before. I hardly notice, though, bringing it to my face and breathing in the sharp smell of pine needles and sticky sap. I sigh, my chest suddenly heavier than it was before. Homesickness wells up inside of me, and I glance at Raven. He is staring at the carved raven as though it will speak to him if he doesn't look away. He is my only part of home now - him and Blight.

Placing the necklace around my neck and letting my hands fall to my sides, I address Blight. "Do we have any obligations until dinner?"

My mentor shakes his head, and Raven glances up from the raven, lowering it slightly. "You may do what you like." I nod, and move to leave for my room, but Blight stops me. "If you would stay, Fawn, I'd like to speak with you." I stop abruptly, my lips forming a thin line as I give a sharp nod. Raven, looking surprised, enters his room. Blight and I watch until the door closes with a sharp click.

Blight immediately turns to me. "Are you thinking of accepting the offer of alliance from the Careers?"

My face twisting into an expression of disgust, I exclaim, "No!" I take a deep breath, searching for my explanation. "They'd work together to kill me once things got tough, and there's no way that I'd be able to escape from them once I'm part of their pack."

"Even with October by your side?" One of Blight's black eyebrows lifts in an infuriating manner.

I take another deep breath, through my teeth. I'm insulted that Blight would even think that I'm this stupid. "The Careers would kill us both anyway. Slowly, too. They'd torture us just to prove to the Capitol, Panem, and themselves that they could." Suddenly, I feel defensive. Maybe it's the way that Blight is looking at me, but I immediately say, childishly, "October doesn't want to, either."

Blight sighs. "I often wish that I would've accepted Crimson's offer and joined the Career alliance. I'm convinced that I could've escaped when things got tough - drought tore apart the pack early on in my Game. While they were living in cool tents with real food, I was stuck in the hot desert with nothing to eat but snake. I managed to find water, though," his eyes are distant again. "unlike most of the tributes. Too many died from dehydration that year. The Gamemakers were unhappy..." He slowly comes back to reality. "My - my point is: be sure of your decision. You may regret it later."

"I am sure," I say, firmly, thinking of how Syren and Tide treated Raven and I in the elevator. Once they saw that I was smart, they changed completely. They could change again in a heartbeat.

Blight is looking at me with that same curious expression. "Come with me. I want to show you something." He walks back towards the elevator, and I follow, wondering where he is taking me. I reach again for the comforting presence of the star necklace, and hold it as Blight leads me into an elevator and presses a button marked 'Rooftop Garden.' The elevator shoots up again in the same blur of color that I growing accustomed to. Blight leads me out of the elevator and into a domed area filled with warm air.

Shuddering, I step out of the dome quickly, and Blight follows. "Welcome," he says, "to the Garden." I catch my breath at the sight of it, and tears come to my eyes. It is much colder out here, for which I am grateful. The sun has set behind the mountains surrounding the Capitol, and the city is ablaze with lights far below us. I feel strangely disconnected to the people surging in the streets, as though I am in the stars, like my ancestors, looking down and watching. I glance up, looking for their comforting, familiar light, but seeing nothing. A pang of panic flies through me. "Where are the stars?"

Blight, understanding my panic immediately, claps my shoulder lightly. "The light drowns them out," he tells me quietly, sadly. "they're still there - we just can't see them." I stare at the blank sky, shocked. The lights were always a source of comfort for me - their absence is strange. The skies are sometimes the only thing constant in my life - cool, calm, and comforting. Sometimes, when we are in the northern part of District 7, there are beautiful ribbons of color arching across the sky. Web said that they are called Aurora Borealis, and that they appear when a person dies, and joins the stars in the sky. But there is no color, no twinkle in the sky here - only the darkness of an empty sky; an empty soul.

~~~BTCS~~~

Please review. What do you think of Fawn's reaction to there being no stars?