Welcome back to Shifting Sands! Guess who's computer decided not to save again? Luckily it was only one segment of the chapter this time, but it's still so annoying. I finally found the problem though, so it should be good from here.
District 7's tributes are Mortikai and Ash, brought to you by Quail of Cards (Mortikai) and santiagoponcini20 (Ash)
Hope you enjoy this chapter! It's the longest Reaping so far!
Mortikai Hart (17), District 7 Female
Harsh sunlight attacked Mortikai's eyes as she awoke. She stretched and smiled for a few seconds, until a sudden realization that it was Reaping Day seized her up for a moment. The very thought of even having the slightest chance of being selected filled her with unspeakable fear.
She quickly walked down the hallway to her mothers room and shook her awake. Her mom, Kail, wasn't happy about waking up early, as usual. Mortikai paid this no mind and went back to her room, rushing to get ready for the Reaping. She had a feeling that they were running late.
Mortikai sometimes felt like the parent in the household. Her father left when Mortikai was just two years old, which nearly destroyed her mother. She began to struggle with her mental health and spent most of her time laying in bed, neglecting to get a job or check up on Mortikai. She would only get up if alcohol was involved, a luxury that usually could not be paid for.
Mortikai's saving grace was her Grandmother who always made sure things were taken care of financially. This worked until a few months ago, when she passed away. It was a tragedy for Mortikai, as she lost the person she was closest too.
Mortikai's grandmother left behind a small sum of money, but it had all but run dry. They were just barely scraping by now, and Mortikai knew she would have to get a job soon to support her and her mother.
But the thought of even going out into the world was a frightening prospect that filled Mortikai with fear. Her anxiety was terrible and she resented the thought of putting herself in the spotlight. She'd prefer to just stay home by herself than go and hang out with her friends.
Her grandmother's death only worsened Mortikai's anxiety, who now felt truly alone. Of course, she had a few friends from school, but they could only do so much. Even they seemed to have backed off a bit, now that Mortikai was acting more distant without her grandmother to support her. She was always tearing herself down inside her own head.
She stood and looked into her cracked mirror, feeling self conscious. She had shoulder length red hair along with bangs, and fair skin. She was fairly short and had a small patch of freckles on her nose that was hardly noticeable. She also had glasses, a luxury she had received on her birthday. They were the nicest thing she owned.
Mortikai went back to her mothers room and again shook her awake. "Please wake up."
Kail let out a small laugh.
"I'll be there soon. Just go without me." Kail slurred, slightly out of it.
Mortikai nodded cautiously and left the room, caught off guard by her mothers chipper mood. She turned and walked down the hallway, passing through the kitchen and out the door. She skipped breakfast entirely, as she had multiple times before.
Mortikai met up with her friends, Mandy and Aiden, as they walked toward the Reaping with their families.
"Where's your mom?" Mandy asked.
"She's...resting." Mortikai responded. "She'll catch up. She just had a long shift in the forests yesterday."
"Ah, I see." Aiden said, before he dived into another topic. Mortikai was grateful for the subject change. She had built up a false life to tell her friends about, and Mortikai had lied and claimed that her mother had a steady job and they weren't secretly starving.
She didn't want their pity.
Ash Birchwood (18), District 7 Male
There was nothing spectacular about living life as an orphan. The District 7 orphanage was a dark and dreary place. People always said that hope went there to die.
These factors were key in shaping Ash into the person he was today. He had a negative outlook on life and was dictated by anger. He had absolutely no clue who his parents were. The orphanage was the only place he ever knew. He would leave soon, now that he was getting older. He had no idea what he would do, but he'd figure something out later. Critical thinking wasn't his strong suit.
He was currently walking the streets of District 7, in the poorest section where the orphanage was.
He turned down a dark alleyway were a young teen was standing.
"Hand it over." Ash spat with a scowl on his face.
With a shaky hand, the boy handed over a few coins.
"This is it?" Ash was outraged.
"S-sorry, it's all I had this week-" The boy stammered, before Ash pushed him into the wall.
"That's what you said last week." Ash yelled, his voice getting louder.
Ash noticed a few girls from the orphanage looking at him from afar. He didn't want to attract a crowd. "Don't let it happen again." Ash whispered in a low growl.
The boy gulped and nodded before running off.
Ash stuffed the change into his pocket and stomped off. He had expected more, but he'd go find someone else to bully into giving him money. Ash always found it so easy to intimidate people into getting what he wanted. Although Ash wasn't physically intimidating, he made up for it with his merciless and brutish personality. He was tall, but skinny. He had tan skin and brown eyes, with messy brown hair at the top of his head. He also had a gap in his teeth, but nobody ever gave him a hard time for it, fearful of the repercussions.
Ash stopped at the orphanage to find his girlfriend, Soeh, but she was surprisingly missing.
Her absence enraged Ash as he stormed out of the room. He found her behind the building talking to another girl. When Soeh spotted Ash from far away, she excused herself from the conversation. The other girl walked away, leaving the couple alone.
Ash roughly grabbed Soeh's arm, causing her to open her eyes wide. "What the hell did I tell you about going somewhere without telling me?" Ash fumed.
"Sorry...I just had to tell Raquel something important...we were outside for only a moment..." Soeh explained, her voice shaking.
"I'm tired of this always happening." Ash complained as he squeezed her arm harder, causing her to wince in pain.
"I'll be sure to tell you next time." Soeh said with a frown.
"That's what I want to hear." Ash said with a devilish grin.
Soeh nodded and followed Ash back inside. She was used to being treated this way. Their relationship was toxic, but she truly believed she could change him for the better. She always thought things would be different once they got out of the orphanage. But they would need a steady income first.
So far, her attempt at fixing Ash was not working. He was still just vicious as ever.
And as far as Ash himself was concerned, he wasn't going to change for anyone.
Mortikai Hart (17), District 7 Female
Mortikai could barely catch her breath as her nervousness skyrocketed. She stood next to Mandy, waiting for the ceremony to start. Every Reaping, Mortikai was sure that it would be the year she was picked. Nothing good lasted long for her. She always thought that anything that could go wrong, would go wrong.
"I wish this thing would freaking start." Mandy complained.
"Well, we are a bit early." Mortikai pointed out, trying not to let her fear show.
A silence settled over the two girls. It was a comfortable silence, as they had been used to running out of things to say for years. They were friends by necessity, doing anything to prevent being seen as oddities among their classmates.
The other children didn't seem nervous about the reapings, or they were at least doing a great job of hiding it. Mortikai was envious that they could be so carefree. She had always wondered what it would be like to not have a care in the world. To not have to worry where the next meal was going to come from.
"Attention." Lynx said after sneaking onto the stage. She took her place next to the mayor. The mayor was a well groomed man in his forties, who looked completely normal compared to Lynx, who looked like a human feline. Her countless surgeries had altered her appearance dramatically.
"Time to select a female tribute." Lynx said in a deadpan voice. After picking the name, she returned to the microphone. "Mortikai Hart."
Mortikai's heart almost stopped right there and then. The moment she had nightmares about was a reality. She felt herself get dizzy. She was frozen in place.
Peacekeepers began to approach her, and she knew she had to move. She took an unsure step toward the stage, feeling nauseous. Her dizziness grew worse as she stumbled toward the stage. She was certain that everyone was judging her.
As she carefully climbed the steps towards Lynx, Mortikai prayed for a miracle. She knew nobody would volunteer, but she still hoped.
It didn't happen. Mortikai tried to focus on her breathing, doing her best to avoid passing out. The whole world continued to spin, the dizzy feeling still not fading.
"Ash Birchwood." Lynx read the male name.
A string of obscenities were shouted from the eighteen year old section as an unhappy young man stomped up the steps.
Everyone was shocked by what happened next as the boy slugged the mayor in the cheek, causing the man to yell in pain. Ash moved onto to Lynx, pushing her hard. Her arms flailed wildly in the air as she fell to the floor, one of her hands scraping her sharp nails against Ash's arm before she hit the ground.
Mortikai was horrified by what happened. Peacekeepers surrounded Ash and began dragging him into the Justice Building. Lynx followed after, shouting angrily at Ash. The mayor stood up, clutching the side of his face.
The mayor's wife checked up on him. Mortikai was still standing outside. The Mayor's daughter walked over to her and offered her a wry smile. "Follow me." She beckoned.
The girl led Mortikai into the Goodbye Rooms. "Your visitors will arrive shortly." She told her. "I'm sorry this happened to you." The girl looked genuinely sorry about what had happened.
"Thank you." Mortikai said, appreciative of the girl's act of kindness.
Ash Birchwood (18), District 7 Male
Ash tapped his foot impatiently despite the fact that the Reaping still wasn't set to start for ten minutes. It was his last Reaping, and the sooner it was over, the better.
He hadn't bother to dress up for the event. It's not like he owned nice clothing anyways. Even if he did, he wouldn't wear them regardless.
Lynx arrived on stage. Ash thought her appearance was completely ridiculous. He couldn't believe that people who had so much money like her would waste it on cosmetic surgery to look like an animal.
After gathering everyone's attention, Lynx began the Reaping. "Time to select a Female Tribute." After a few moments, Lynx announced the name. "Mortikai Hart."
Everyone craned their necks to look and see who was chosen. After several uncomfortable moments, a seventeen year old began her trip toward the front. Ash sized her up, and knew she wouldn't last a day in the arena. The girl looked weak and fragile.
She struggled to walk in a straight line as all eyes were on her. After she made her way to the top, she took her place next to the escort.
Then it was time for the male tribute. "Ash Birchwood."
Ash was genuinely shocked that he was selected. He had taken out tesserae, but he forced Soeh to take out much more than he did.
Ash began swearing heavily as he angrily climbed the stage.
He felt nothing but pure anger and decided to take it out like he always did; punching someone.
The closest person was the mayor, and Ash punched him hard in the side of his face. He took it one step further by shoving Lynx to the floor.
One of her nails scratched his arm. That bitch!
Before he could cause anymore harm, a swarm of Peacekeepers latched onto Ash and dragged him into the building. Ash had a slight smirk on his face, glad that he could take the privileged mayor and escort down a peg.
He didn't even consider the fact that this could harm his chances of survival.
Mortikai Hart (17), District 7 Female
Mortikai's terror did not fade even inside the Goodbye Rooms. Terrible visions ran through her head as she thought of the violent ends that tributes met in years past. I'll be one of them.
Negative thoughts were the only things that Mortikai could process.
Mandy and Aiden both ran into the room, chattering away. "This isn't right!" Mandy said angrily.
"Well we can't change that it happened." Aiden reasoned. "Now you have to focus on coming back."
"I'm not going to win." Mortikai lamented, full of doubt. "I don't have an athletic bone in my body."
"Well your not going to win with that attitude." Aiden chastised. "Plus, your mind is more important in these Games. You can be the strongest and fastest person out there, but if your mind isn't it 100% of the time, your as good as gone."
"Exactly." Mandy agreed. "Don't underestimate yourself."
"Thanks guys. I feel a bit better now." Mortikai lied. In fact, she couldn't feel any worse than she felt right now. She still felt dizzy, as if she could pass out at any second.
Her friends left, and Mortikai decided to sit down and rest. After a few minutes, the door opened again.
Mortikai was surprised to see her mother stagger through the doorway. Kail's unkempt fire red hair was in every direction and her eyes looked red, but she had a smile on her face. She stepped toward Mortikai with her arms outstretched. As she neared, Kail practically fell into her daughters arms. Mortikai was shocked by the sign of affection, but didn't reject it.
Kail began to ramble incoherently into her daughter's ear. Mortikai assumed she was drunk, and she didn't even want to imagine how her mother of all people got her hands on more alcohol.
"I m-made..it." Kail managed to get out.
"Thank you."
"I hope you c-come back." Mortikai's mother said.
"I appreciate it." Mortikai responded, emotionless.
And just like that, her mother left her alone in the room. Well at least I have her support.
Mortikai's negative thoughts returned, and she felt herself slowly dreading what was to come. Soon, she would be in the Capitol, and eventually, the arena where she would be sacrificed.
Ash Birchwood (18), District 7 Male
"Well you're doing a fine job of making a horrible impression already!" Lynx yelled after Ash as he was forced into one of the rooms. "I can't believe him! I almost broke a nail!" Lynx complained to a few nurses who intercepted her.
Ash rolled her eyes at the foolish woman as he entered one of the goodbye rooms. "Hands off." He growled to the Peacekeepers as they let go of him. "Are you going to leave?" Ash asked one of the uniformed men.
"I think we'll stay right here." The Peacekeeper sneered.
"We're keeping an eye on you." another added.
"Whatever." Ash dismissed their concerns. He examined his arm, and noticed a small wound from where Lynx scratched him. A male nurse walked in and began examining the wound. "It's fine. It's just a scratch."
"I still need to examine it." The nurse said.
"Just leave. I don't want help." Ash snapped, too prideful to admit that someone else had caused him an injury.
The conversation was interrupted by Soeh entering the room. She looked upset, and her eyes looked wet. As she got closer to Ash, she began softly crying.
She went in to embrace Ash, but he refused. "Don't tell me your actually crying." He rolled his eyes.
"You should be too."
"Crying is for the weak." Ash stated simply.
Soeh didn't respond for a moment and just shook her head. "Can we please just try to enjoy our last time seeing each other?"
"What the hell does that mean? You think I'm not going to win?"
Soeh looked shocked by his response. "Well, you can never be too sure..."
"I'm going to win. You doubting me really pisses me off." Ash moved in to go and hit her, but one of the Peacekeepers stepped in between them.
"I believe you've had enough altercations for one day, Mr. Birchwood."
"Fine, just get her out of here." Ash said, his rage building.
Soeh looked appalled by what was coming out of his mouth.
"W-wait!" She shouted. Her protests were ignored as she was removed from the room for her own safety.
The nurse also left, and soon after, the Peacekeepers.
Ash smirked.
"Finally, some damn peace and quiet."
Once again, we have some pretty conflicting tributes.
What are your thoughts on them? Tell me in a review!
Thanks so much for reading this chapter!
-Pierana