You guys ready for District Twelve?! It's the final District! To me, that went by pretty fast... Yeah? Maybe. :3 Anyway, read, review(And get three points), and tell us your thoughts on the Tributes! :D Who's your favorite? Why? Enjoy! ~Squintz
DISTRICT 12 REAPING
Anali Blaise -
I wake up to the sound of my youngest sister, Siri, screaming and crying at the top of her lungs. She's had nightmares since she turned two, and it's been two years since then. I sweep the sheets over my legs, then walk out of my room, down the hall, and into Siri's room. I scoop her out of bed, and then sit down on the edge of the bed with her in my lap.
"It was only a dream, don't worry... It's pretend..." I say.
My younger sister, Kyli, opens up the door, rubbing her eyes. "Why is she crying, now?"
Even at 15 Kyli was obnoxious and lazy. She sometimes acted like she was 7 years old. Sometimes selfish, only wanting things revolving around her, and always a bit cold.
"Just a nightmare, go back to bed." I say.
"No, 'cause now Alli's awake and she's gonna annoy me." Kyli whines.
"Then go help Mom with breakfast!" I exclaim.
My only older sister, Sabine, walks into the room.
"Could you guys be any louder?" She asks, brushing her long, brown hair over her shoulders.
"Sorry, we're like, the loud parade right now." Kyli laughs, pushing Sabine aside as she walks from Siri's room.
"Why don't we all just have a damn party?" Sabine scoffs, rolling her eyes.
Great. Now Sabine will be cranky all day because she didn't sleep until 10 o'clock. I roll my eyes back at her, and Siri squirms on my lap, trying to run downstairs for breakfast.
"Down!" She squeals.
"Alright, alright. Sorry." I laugh, putting her down.
She flees from the room, and Alli trudges down the hall.
"Why are we all up...?" She says sleepily, yawning loudly.
"Reaping day today, right?" Sabine asks.
"Yup." Alli frowns.
So, we are all eligible for Reaping. Sabine is 17, I'm 16, Kyli's 15, and Alli is 14. Siri is only 4, so basically, she has a long time before she's eligible.
"How many times did you tesserae this year?" I ask Sabine.
"31." She mutters, sitting beside me and looking at Siri's destroyed teddy bear.
"Oh, man..." I say quietly.
"How about you?" Sabine asks me.
I knit my brows, thinking about the amount of times my name has gone in with the added amount of tesseraes I'd taken. With four sisters, a mom, and two pigs to feed, we always had to take tesserae. Alli leans against the doorway, crossing her arms. That lucky girl had only tesseraed twice...
"23..." I nod.
"May the odds be ever in your favour," Sabine says in a Capitol accent, giving me a tight squeeze.
I laugh, and then give her a noogie.
"C'mon, little sisters." Sabine says, snatching me up and carrying me down the stairs as Alli follows.
We sit down at the table, watching as Kyli battles Siri into her high chair. I tilt my head.
"Need some help?" I ask.
"No! I can do it." She says in an annoyed voice, always wanting to be right.
"Alright, but when she-" I begin.
"Ow! She bit me!" Kyli shrieks.
This causes Sabine and Alli to bust out laughing, and then make Siri laugh. Siri slams her spoon against the tray of her high chair, laughing hysterically. My mother laughs in the kitchen, then walks over and hands Siri her sippy cup.
"No more biting, alright?" My mother says in her silky voice, ruffling Siri's curly brown hair.
"Okay." She squeaks, biting down on a piece of toast.
I pull a bagel off the plate in the center of the table, chewing it heartily.
"Where'd you get this?" I ask.
"You know Mabel, down the street?" She asks.
"The shop owner?" Alli pitches in.
"No, the pickle farmer." Kyli snorts.
"Shut up." Alli rolls her eyes.
"You shut up!" Kyli yells back.
"Girls!" My mom says, her voice still soft.
Alli, being hostile as she is, dives across the table and throws Kyli backwards in her chair. The two begin beating eachother relentlessly. The shrieks from hair pulling fill the room, and Sabine yanks Alli off of Kyli by the wrist. Alli goes to attack again, and Sabine accidentally lets go. I jump from my chair and snatch her up by the hair.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Hair!" She squeals.
"I know." I say.
Siri squeals and laughs, pointing her little pink spoon at us.
"Knock it off." Sabine yells.
"Break it up." My mother says, separating all of us.
"We're going to be late..." She adds.
"Crap!" Sabine exclaims, dashing upstairs.
I follow after her, and then Alli follows me, and Kyli follows behind. Siri crawls up the stairs, and my mother begins on the dishes. I bolt for my room, swing open the door, and slam it behind me. I run to my closet, sliding across my rug and almost faceplanting into the wall. I grab the handle on the door, and then pull it open, taking out my favorite black dress. It reaches mid thigh, and it's a v-neck dress. It doesn't go too low, though.
I take off my sweat pants, tank top, and socks, and pull on the dress. I walk into the bathroom, brush and straighten my long, brown hair, and then brush my teeth. I put on my black heels, and then walk downstairs. Sabine is already ready, standing with her hand on the doorknob.
"Come on, guys!" She yells.
Alli and Kyli come running downstairs, and Alli stumbles over her little white heels.
"Jeez, need some dress with that skin?" Sabine snickers to Kyli.
"Just, let's go..." Kyli blows out a breath as Sabine opens the door, and we begin to the Square.
My mother carries Siri behind us, walking casually along.
"Who do you think it'll be?" Alli asks.
"I don't know... Could be anyone." I say.
"Yeah, probably Sabine." Kyli laughs.
"That wasn't even funny..." Alli says, lifting a brow at her.
"Whatever." Kyli says, getting her blood drawn and then filing into the crowd with Alli.
I go with Sabine, and then look down at the dirt. Friends and siblings are all huddled together, praying that they won't get picked. I grab Sabine's hand, clenching it tight as the District Representative waltzes to the microphone.
"Welcome to the Reaping, District Twelve! Let's watch the quick video, then get to it, yeah?" He laughs.
The video plays, and Sabine and I are both looking at the floor, our hands linked together. I close my eyes, and then open them. I look ahead to see Alli and Kyli even have their hands twined together. I guess through all of that fighting and teasing they really do love eachother like sisters should.
"Okay then, lets pick our female Tribute..." He grins, walking to the bowl.
I feel Sabine's grip tighten, and see she's holding her breath.
"Anali Blaise!"
Pyralis Kolton -
"Keep it burning for a bit." Cutler says, standing behind me and watching as I hold the sword tip in the fire.
"Okay, now... Take it out." He demands.
I pull the sword from the open flame, and then press it against the metal spinning wheel beside the fire. The blade slowly sharpens, and the bright orange point begins to dull. I quickly switch the sides, making sure to get both sharpened. Cutler applauds me, and then I move the sword end to the anvil, and straighten it out with a small mallet.
I hold out the sword, and then smile at Cutler. "Finished."
"Fantastic job, Pyralis." He grins.
"I learned from the best." I chuckle, setting the sword on the weaponry table in the corner of the room.
"I suppose." Cutler laughs.
"So," I say, sitting down and taking a drink of water.
Cutler wipes his hands on his greasy, dirt covered black apron. He pulls it off, placing it on the hook. He sits down and pulls out his breakfast. A bacon sandwich of some sort.
"So." He echoes.
"What're your thoughts? On the Reapings?" I ask.
"Wow, you're like my ex wife... Always wanting to converse about something." He teases.
"Oh, whatever." I laugh.
"I think... I think that it's stupid for only Districts One, Two, and Four to volunteer... I mean, what makes us so... Different?" Cutler asks, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"I don't know... Maybe because we're Seam kids, they don't want us in there..." I shrug.
"So what if we're Seam people? When my brother got picked, people were still afraid of him... But he died in the final three." Cutler sighs, standing up and taking a sip from his thermos.
"I suppose..." I say, running my fingers over the dull blade of a pick axe.
"Hey, care if I sharpen this thing up?" I ask.
"Sure." Cutler nods.
I clean the blade, then use a sharpening blade along the surface of the pickaxe, and wrap some leather around the end of the paint chipped handle. I nod, then sharpen the blade again, making sure to point the edges perfectly. I pull out the polish on the top shelf above the cutlery table, and then begin to touch up the silver. The dull color changes to the vibrant, bright color. I pick it up, and then turn to Cutler and show him the weapon. He grins.
"You know what?" He asks.
"What?" I reply.
"You keep it... You fixed it... You keep it." Cutler nods.
"Sweet, thanks!" I smile.
"Oh, and here." Cutler chuckles, handing me my Reaping outfit.
"Thanks." I smile.
I run to the back bathroom, and change quickly. I look like a dork, all because I lost a bet with my friend Enya. She'd challenged me to a race, and I told her I'd win. I even bet on it. She won... So, now, I had to wear dress pants, and a button down shirt with suspenders and a red bow tie. I shake my head, then walk out to the workroom to get my new pick axe.
"Wow, uh..." Cutler snickers.
"I know..." I mutter.
"Lost a bet, didn't you?" He asks, handing me the pick axe.
"Yup. Anyway, see you after the Reaping." I chuckle, making my way out of the blacksmith shop.
"See you later." Cutler calls.
I walk down to the Square, swinging the axe around. I wonder what the other people will think of me carrying this thing around. I get checked in, receiving many stares. And a Peacekeeper actually escorts me into line. I tell them that I actually just came from work, and they give me dirty looks, standing beside me in the crowd. I sigh, and then watch as the District Representative walks across stage, shows the video, and picks a young girl named Anali Blaise. She looks to be about sixteen, only two years younger than me.
"Now, should we pick our male Tribute?" He laughs, then runs to the bowl.
He pulls out a name from the side of the bowl, walking back to the microphone. He picks off the tape, then unfolds it.
"Our male Tribute will be Pyralis Kolton!" He yells.