Kiara Harrison (D11F - Age 15)
"Let's go Kiara. We're out of here. I will not stand for this!" My mother shouts to me and my dad, while ushering me out of our families house in the Victor's village. "I have put up with you for too long Leo! I will not let you raise our only daughter in this kind of enviroment. I do not want her to be a cold blooded killer like you!" My mother screams.
For once in my life, I'm at a loss for words. My father won the Games at age 17, using brute stregnth. I was born two years after that.
Just earlier this afternoon, I had gotten home from my quick shift at the orchard, and my father pulled me into the backyard. I loved spending time with him, and he taught me lots of essential life lessons. Today, he had been showing me to use a scythe, the typical D11 weapon.
I would never in my life volunteer for the Hunger Games. They're awful. But I do like spending time with my dad. That's why I was training with him when my mother caught us.
"But Monica-! My father protests.
"No Leo. I have heard enough. I should've packed our bags and left long ago with Kiara. I should've known that when you started watching old Hunger Games re-runs that you were going to do something like this. I will not let you teach our daughter to be like a Career. I absolutely forbid it." My mother marches us out the door, slamming it as we go.
"Kiara, you go to the square, and meet your friends. I know where we can stay in the meantime." My mother directs.
I nod aimlessly, sitting down on one of the rocks in the big plaza. Getting out my notebook, I jot down anything in nature I see. A red bird, a apple tree... It all gets written down for later when I'll draw it out.
Tears drip slowly down my face. I know my father made a big mistake in his life, but for once, could my mother forgive him? I doubted so. Maybe I couldn't even forgive him..
My mother appears behind me once again. "Kiara, honey, I'm sorry you had to see that. I know it's tough, but I promise you that everything will be okay. You'll see father again, don't worry." She gently pats my shoulder. "Let me braid your hair."
She slowly starts twisting my black hair up into a braided crown on my head. "What are you writing?" She quizzically asks.
"Oh-..." I reply. "Dad gave me this notebook years ago." My mothers smile disasppears, but she nods anyway, "When I'm bored, I go outside, and write down anything I see, and later I draw it. It helps me think."
"That's interesting." She comments. "Now honey, we're going to have to find somewhere else to stay, you know that?" She asks me.
"Yeah." I say, not ready to speak a whole lot anymore. I realize suddenly with a jolt, that it's the first time I haven't lived in the Victor's Village. Things are changing.
"There you go." My mothers hands tie the last ribbon in my hair. "Now go to the square, and find your friends. I'll meet you at the reapings in an hour."
I scamper off, tucking the notebook slowly into my dress pocket. "Hey Lenora!" I yell to my best friend. "You won't believe what happened today. First off, I got home and my dad started to bring me into the backyard, and then he took out a scythe, and began to train me. Next, my mother-" I have to pause for breath, rambling on and on.
All of a sudden, I don't to talk about it. That's unusual for me, I'm always the girl people get annoyed with for talking too much.
"Yeah? Keep going." Lenora says.
"Ah, never mind. It's not that interesting after all." I say, slightly chiding myself for bringing it up.
"No, go on!" She pushes.
"It's fine." I close off and begin telling her about all the things I saw outside today. This brings her smile back to her face, and reassures her that I'm fine.
"We should go." She finally says, and points to the square. I follow her to the check-in desk, and begin talking with the lady who's writing everyone's names down. Usually it's some crazy Capitol person, but this year it's someone from District 11, I can tell my the hair. She's nice, and seems genuinely sad that some kids are going to get reaped today.
I say a quick goodbye to the lady, and walk with Lenora to the 15 year old section for girls. I tap the girl in front of me on the shoulder. "Hey, what's up?" I ask her, not even knowing who it is.
She turns around, and shrugs, then quickly turns back around. Lenora laughs goodnaturedly.
"What?!" I protest at her. "I just wanted to be friendly." That makes her giggle even more, and soon, we have most of the section laughing with us. I've turned a bad day, into a fine day.
Chicory "Chico" Alyssum (D11M - Age 14)
I slip through the mud worn gate, and gently push open the white, pure door of the Franklin's house. I've been visting them for years, taking small things at first, but then taking more valuable items.
It's not hard to break into their house. The security system is crap, even though they think it protects them from anyone. All I have to do is stick a little metal wire in it for 6 seconds, and BAM! It's off.
I don't like stealing, but if I didn't do it, we'd be dead. My father left when I was a baby, not caring enough to stick around. A couple years ago, my mother passed away, after falling ill because of all her work in the rain. Now, my elderly grandmother stays at home with my sister Mari, who's 6. They do the cooking and cleaning, I do the stealing.
I slip through the halls of the Franklin mannor, swearing heavily as I bang into a door. I need to be quieter than that. When I reach the kitchen, I grab a ham sitting in the fridge, and a barrel of corn laying in the pantry.
Swinging them both into my bag, I jump out the window, hoping nobody saw me.
I slip back home, taking the allys so I don't get spotted with a weirdly large bag. I squish my way through the mud and dirt that leads up to our little shack, and push open the door.
"I found food!" I call to my grandmother and Mari. My grandmother knows I steal, even though I haven't directly told her. We both pretend that I find the food laying out. That way, it's less hard for the both of us.
"Good gooood." My grandmother slighly slurs. The old age is getting to her, but for all of our sakes, I hope she's around for many more years.
"I weeeel cook." My grandmother says again, mispronouncing some of her words.
"Thanks. You know its the reaping today, right?" I ask her. "You and Mari stay here, I'll be back after."
She positions her head quizically. "Youu be carefulll. We love you too much." She says, and gives me a big hug.
"I'm going to go get ready now." I tell her. "I'll be home right after."
She nods, and I run to my room, which is just positioned right of the small kitchen. My room used to be a closet, but its the best we can do with the money we have. I throw on my nicest shirt and pants, which I usually wear when I'm seen in public. That way, I don't draw a whole lot of attention to myself by wearing dirt-thin clothes.
I run out, ready to go, and give my grandmother and Mari a quick kiss, and throw myself out the door. I don't take tesserae, because stealing is enough for me. Tesserae's a risk, but then again, so is stealing from the richest citizens in 11.
"Chico!" Calls a voice from behind me, and I turn, half expecting it to be a Peacekeeper coming to arrest me.
"Wait up dude!" My best friend Grey calls, and I sigh in relief. "How'd it go today? Get anything good?" He asks. He's the only one I tell about my stealing gig, besides my family.
"Kinda. Only enough for a week though." I say. Rich citizens would let a ham and some corn last them less than a day, but for my family, we have to strech things pretty tight.
"That's okay. It'll get better, don't worry." Grey reminds me. He's from a middle class family, who always has enough, but never enough to share. I'm fine with that though, I could never accept food from someone else, knowing that I didn't work for it.
"Hey, hey, hey" A peacekeeper stops us as we're walking into the square. My heart leaps out of my chest, and I know, this is it. I'm sorry Grandma. "You two can't cut the line. Head back there!" He sharply commands.
I run back with Grey, grateful that our lives didn't end right there and then. We check ourselves in, in a hurry, and rush to the sections, wanting to act as normal as possible.
"Ready?" Grey says to me, a reaping tradition between the two of us.
"This is the least of the dangerous things I've done today." I scoff back, what I normally say.
Kiara Harrison (D11F - Age 15)
The mayor begins his yearly speech, and I clutch Lenora's hand tightly. She drones on and on about the rebellion in the same bored, dull voice as every year. Nothing is exciting about our mayor, and I remind myself to jot that down in my notebook I keep on people's personalties.
Quincya, our escort, climbs the stage. This is her second year, and in my opinion, she's the best escort to have. That doesn't mean she's perfect - she's far from that, but she's the least annoying for sure. For one, her voice is actually normal!
"Hellooo District 11" She tries to pep us all up, but it doesn't work. A small frown encases her face, but it quickly falls away. It seems that only I noticed it.
"We will draw your female tribute first. Now, I know there's lots of anticipation, so I will draw the name quick." She says, and I think good. It'll be over with fast then.
"And here we go," She swishes her hand in the reaping bowl, and plucks a slip from the bottom third. "Kiara Harrison!" She yells out, and Lenora screeches loudly.
My eyes widen in shock, and a draw in a gasp of air. I never had to take tesserae! Why is it me then? I try walking to the stage, wanting to seem the least bit dignified, but everything goes to waste when I trip and fall, right before the platform. I hear a couple of titters from the audience, and the tears start coming out of my eyes.
I shake a little bit, and I'm led off the stage when the reapings conclude. The Peacekeepers tell me that I am to have 3 visitors. I shakily know the first two, Lenora and my mother, but wonder who the third is? Certainly not my father.
My mother walks in first, shaking herself. "Baby!" She cries. "We were going to buy a house, we were going to be happy for once!" She cries out, trying to console herself. "I can't even fathom that the Capitol would do this to us. I can't believe them!" She cries some more.
"Mother, shh, it's okay. Listen to me. I'm okay. I know this is bad, but there's nothing we can do about it." I say as some more tears drip down my face. "I promise you I'll fight back." I don't mention my father's teachings. "Maybe I'll win?" I say, even though we both know it's highly unlikely. With trained Careers in the mix, the odds were definetely not in my favor.
"If your to have 3 visitors, your time is up!" A peacekeeper shouts into the room.
"Love you tons and bunches." I say to my mom, letting her go in peace. Seconds later, Lenora is ushered into the room, crying like all my family and friends.
"Kiara! What? Why? Why did this have to happen!" She screams, inconsolable.
"Lenora, listen to me." I say intently.
She stops for a second to listen. "What?"
"I need you to look after my mom. If I die, she'll be alone in the world, with no family." I say.
"I will, I promise! She can live with us!" She says, even though it may not be true.
"Then that's all I need to know. Thank you." I whisper, and Lenora is pulled out, like a wisp of breathe taken away.
I sit, waiting for a few minutes, pondering who my last visitor will be. Finally, my father is pulled into the room.
"I didn't think you'd come." I say in a voice colder than I'd ever used before. I'm just thankful he's not crying like everyone else. I need a slight break.
"Well, I did. Kiara, I'm sorry. I made a mistake. All I want now is my family back." He says.
"Then you'll have to go talk to mom." I say to him. "She's all alone now, you know?"
"I do know. I'm going to go fix things right now. When you come back, I'll be waiting for you. Things can go back to normal, I'll stop obsessing about the Games. I'm over that now, when I lost my family because of it, well.. you don't even know Kiara. The pain I experienced. Just know I'll be here, I promise." He then leaves gracefully, for such a big person.
I don't trust his promise one bit, but at least I have some motivation to come back.
Chicory "Chico" Alyssum (D11M - Age 14)
Kiara Harrison, a willowly girl from the 15's section, is reaped as the girl tribute. I have no predictions for her. She's not as readable as all the other kids, but I've seen her around. I'm pretty sure she's the bubbly girl who's always talking.
Quincya once again steps up to the bowl. "Let's give it up for Kiara!" She says, "Now, I'll reap the male tribute! Once again, I'll do it fast so the anticipation is less!" Good for her, always looking out for us. I think sarcastically.
"Our male tribute is..." She annouces, while plucking a strip from the top of the reaping bowl. "Chico Alyssum!"
Grey gasps audibly, and I nervously stand up. My face shows tangible fear on the big screen, but I don't try to mask it. I walk up to the stage, grasping the railing as I go. I'm slightly afraid that I'll fall if I let go.
What will Mari do without me? She and Grandma won't have any food! I think, wondering how they'll live any longer.
Lost in my own thoughts, Quincya's voice breaks into my mind.
"Chico! Time to go!" She says, and I watch as the crowd files out. I walk down the steps, and into the tribute hallway, where I'm lead into a damp, dark room.
I won't have any visitors, unless Grey comes. Mari and Grandmother are at home. Oh God, they won't know where I went. Mari won't understand it, and Grandmother won't find out for a while. She barely goes out anymore.
I think callously about the promise that I'd made earlier, a promise that I'd be home right away. I wish I could take back words right now, but there was no escape from the moment I'd trapped myself in.
They'll think I'm dead. I say in my mind, thinking about Mari and Grandma once again. Then, I laugh out loud, despite myself. I am dead. I can't escape the arena.
Surprisingly, I do have one visitor. Grey decides to come and see me, which I'm grateful for, and not, all at the same time.
"Give me some tips." He says quickly.
"What? No. I'm the one going into the arena, not you." I say to him, wondering what's up.
"No, stealing tips. With you gone, I'm going to provide for your family." He says, and I thank God that I had such a good taste in friends. An invisible weight was lifted from my shoulders, knowing that my family would be okay.
"Well, first off, you need to wear good shoes, ones that don't make noise. Go to my house, and you can have mine, they're in my closet. Second, go to the Franklin's house. Their alarm system is SUPER easy to break. Just stick the piece of metal, you'll find it in the left shoe, into the key lock, and it'll turn off immediatley." I say to him.
"Yeah, okay." He says, not showing a ton of emotion in his words, but I can see it in his eyes that he's upset.
"Thanks a lot." I say to him.
"Yep, that's what friends are for. Plus, I know that you'd do it for me too." Grey checks his watch, "Good luck in the arena. I'd better go." He says, and with that, he scampers out the door, leaving me to ponder if Grey's solution really fixed my broken promise.
I doubted so.
~AN~ One more reaping to go! I hope you liked these tributes a lot! The last reaping should be up by Friday, or at least I hope! This is my longest chapter BY FAR! It's 500 words longer than the next longest!
News:
~The SYOT for the sequel to this book (don't worry, I won't start it until I'm done here), is still open, so PLEASE submit! It's a huge help to me! :)
~I set up a poll on my profile, about how well I'm doing so far. Please go vote in it!
~After I get the D12 reapings up, I will set up a poll for your favorite tribute. Please vote in it too, because it will have some sort of impact on my decision.
~If you want to know the format that this SYOT will be written in, go check out *Hear the Wind Blow: The 47th Hunger Games SYOT* by Mystical Pine Forest. All credits go to Misty for the awesome format!
Review Questions:
-Update your opinion chart
-Who do you like better Kiara or Chico?
-Which tribute do you want most to get an extra POV (so far)
Have a good day!
~Madi