Reapings:

District Eleven:

Scarlett Macrose's POV:

I woke up with a start, hearing someone knocking on my door.

I quickly scrambled out of bed, and peered out into the hallway. I realized it must be coming from the front door, and I quickly sprinted from my bedroom to it. The knocking continued loudly until I practically yanked the rusty door off its hinges.

Standing at the door was a Peacekeeper. Her expression seemed to soften ever so slightly when she saw me, and it took every ounce of willpower not to roll my eyes. I get it; I was thirteen and had that "adorable quality" about me. There were several hundred other thirteen year olds in this District. They couldn't possibly treat every single one of them how they treated me.

"Are your parents home?" she asked softly, but with a definite commanding tone in his voice.

"I don't know, do you want me to go check?" I asked grumpily.

"That would be most helpful," she smiled.

As soon as I turned my back to her, I rolled my eyes as largely as I could. Everyone seemed to assume since I was 'cute' I was some innocent angel. To set the record straight, I wasn't cute, period. I was, in fact, quite mangy looking. However, no matter what I did to my appearance, it came off as adorable and everyone still treated me like a child.

I was not some stupid, naïve, little kid! I was practically an adult! My parents were so busy running the town's main general store that they never had time to take care of me, which left me to fend for myself. Sure, there was always food in the house, and plenty of things to do, but did most thirteen year olds know how to cook? Well, in this District, most didn't.

I never got the whole 'close family' thing anyways. Seriously, people seemed to be having babies left and right here! There was usually a seventy percent chance that if you asked someone what was going on in their life, they would say 'Oh, we had another child! We named him Rye! He's our seventh, but we can't afford to take care of seven children, so we don't know what to do…'

It was so annoying. If you couldn't feed your family, then stop reproducing! Yes, I knew where babies came from! My parents were very blunt, and I've known for quite some time how they are made. Pretty much, to end this lovely rant, when you had a family of seven or eight children, it wasn't uncommon for at least one child to either get reaped for the Hunger Games, or die of starvation or some disease. It was actually common, and then the family would mourn over their loss for years. Yet, they were pretty much setting themselves up for failure, so what was the point of becoming close to the other person if they knew that they would most likely lose them? It just wasn't logical!

"Mom… Dad…?" I asked as I opened their bedroom door.

Empty. What a surprise right there.

I walked briskly back to the front door, and muttered, "They aren't home."

"Do you know when they are getting back?" she asked impatiently.

"No clue," I murmured as I shut the door.

I went back to the kitchen and began making myself some breakfast. Again, my parents were rarely around. Sometimes, I did long for a sibling. It would be nice to not be so alone all the time, but then I would remember that having relationships and bonds with other people weren't rational. In this day and age, all it led to was misery and heartache.

Once breakfast was done cooking, I quickly jammed it down my throat and ran to my bedroom. I changed into my simple reaping outfit, and combed my shoulder length black hair. My brown eyes glared back at me the entire time. I absolutely hated all this 'primping' and 'grooming'. Who cares how I looked. All that mattered was on the inside. If you looked fabulous, but were stupid, you were still an idiot. No amount of grooming could fix that.

I cleaned up the mess I had made in the kitchen, and marched out the front door. I glanced around, and sighed. I lived fairly close to the town square, which meant I had time to kill.

I smiled to myself, and decided it was time to have some fun. Sometimes, I found my 'adorableness' entertaining. It was an easy way to manipulate people. Especially kind people.

I took a seat down to the girl, and smiled up at her. Before I sat next to her, I could hear she was humming to herself, while feeding some of the birds with scraps of food. When I sat down, the birds flew away, obviously not liking me. Its okay, I had gotten used to it. Most kids my age who actually knew me knew I was a bit… odd. I wasn't an extremely happy kid, and I definitely wasn't nice. Not unless I was acting.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to scare them away…" I said as apologetically as possible.

"It's fine! I was going to leave for the Reapings soon anyways." The girl smiled. Her name was… Sage? Yes Sage. I usually referred to her as the songbird, since that was what our District had nicknamed her. She was the one in the District who had the beautiful singing voice. She sang quite a lot when she was picking berries in the fields, and things spread quickly in this District. Soon, everyone knew her as the songbird. She even looked kind of like a bird. She had this soft, natural look to her, and her face was structured in such a way that if I looked closely I could imagine one of the birds in the fields. Whether that was a compliment or an insult, I'll let you decide.

"I'm sorry, but I've never caught your name. Mine is Sage." She smiled.

"I'm Scarlett…" I said as meekly as possible.

"Nervous about the Reapings?" she asked conversationally. She had an actual caring expression on her face, and it took all of my willpower not to dry heave. Caring was a weakness. If I told her I was dying and needed some money, I bet she would have handed me every spare coin she had. Some people were so easily manipulated.

"A little… Are you, miss?" I asked.

"Hmmm… not really. There are so many people in our District… The odds of me being picked…"

"Are like finding a piece of grain in an apple tree?" I giggled. I loathed giggling.

"Yes, just like that," she laughed.

"Miss… Do you think you could possibly walk me to the town square? I'm still kind of scared…" I lied.

The only reason I wanted her to walk me to the town square was so that no bullies would come around. Just because I was kind of wealthy did not eliminate me from the whole social hierarchy of children. Seriously, some kids needed to grow up and face reality…

"Sure!" Sage replied happily. She wrapped my hand in hers, and we walked to the town square together. We spent most of the time laughing and joking around. There were times I actually kind of liked her, but most of the time I was just pretending to be happy and joyful. In all honesty, I would have liked nothing more than to slap her across the face. Some people bugged me, and she was one of those people.

We parted ways, and I made my way straight into the thirteen year old section. My eyes wandered past our Mayor, and soon I locked eyes with the escort. She was the same one from last year, but I couldn't recall her name. I'm pretty sure her name was Celia… Yes, that was it. She seemed nice enough. The two mentors for this year were named Ventre and Pablo. I had no idea how either of them won their games, and I couldn't care less. The Hunger Games were a blip on my radar. They were kind of interesting, but they were also a waste of time.

The Mayor made his speech, and soon Celia came up. She talked quietly into the microphone, and soon reached into the girl's reaping ball.

"Sage Hathaway…"

My eyes bulge a little bit, and I find myself almost laughing at the irony. I was just talking to her about being picked, and she wasn't worried. Well, looks like irony really is the most comedic thing in the world. I spot her climbing on to the stage, shaking slightly. However, she stays strong, and refrains from crying.

"Scarlett Macrose…"

For a few seconds, I'm frozen. A small smile does break across my face when I realize things just got five times more ironic. Both of us were reaped, and both of us thought we would never be picked. I slowly make my way to the stage, and I lock eyes with Sage.

An idea immediately pops into my mind. I'm good at manipulating, but that's about it for natural talents. Sage has proven very hardworking, resourceful, and compassionate. She already pities me and likes me, well that fake me, which means she will be easy to get to be my ally. If I continue to act like the scared, cute, little thirteen year old, I could see her feeling so bad that she could give her life to protect mine in the arena.

I immediately make my way towards her, and scoot close to her. It's a way to show her that I'm scared. A false way, but it will get the point across. She quickly grabs my hand, and continues to hold it. I lean my head against her arm, and just wait. As long as I hide behind this 'big sister' type of girl, I'll be fine. Plus, when she isn't useful anymore, she won't see a knife in the back coming. This is the most logical, sound plan that I have… Hopefully it's enough to get me to victory…

Sage Hathaway's POV:

Oh dear Panem.

This can't… This can't be happening to me! I… I just can't… I just can't breathe!

I stumble into the waiting room, practically gasping for breath. This was never supposed to happen to me! I'm seventeen! I was so close to being free from the Hunger Games evil grasp. I was just a year away… I shakily breathe in. The good news is that when I die… If I die, then I don't need to feel guilty. If I die, it will be just one less mouth to feed. If I win, I can bring back enough money to make sure everyone gets their fair share of food.

Suddenly, my thoughts wander to my family. Right now, my parents, grandparents, and my aunt and uncle and I are all living under one roof. It can get a little hectic, but it's necessary to conserve money. I spend my time working, but mostly I get just enough pay to feed myself. If I die, I won't hinder my family in any way.

I was disposable… just like last year's tributes. They both died in the bloodbath, and if you mentioned their names no one would know who you were talking about. They were good people, yet forgettable. That's all we are to the Capital. Disposable and forgettable. And it makes me sick.

How dare they decide who lives and who dies! How dare they try and play God! They are sick, twisted fiends who deserve nothing more than eternal damnation!

I felt myself shaking with pure anger and hatred. They were going to try and take my life away from me. They were going to try and take away little Scarlett's life. Only one can win, yet I wanted both him and me to win… Why would they make us choose things like this? Why would they make us choose between ourselves and others? Do they have no dignity!

Suddenly, the door was thrust open and my entire family poured in. Everyone I held dear came rushing in at once like a flood, and it overcame me. I felt myself beginning to drown, and there was nothing I could do but let the flood take over my entire body. Grief and pure self-pity filled my entire being as my family cried over my impending doom.

My quiet mother, hardworking father, pessimistic uncle, protective grandmother, and loving grandfather all thought I was going to die. When you compared little, meek me to a hulking Career, it just seemed impossible for me to win. The only person who seemed to not be completely stricken with grief and defeat was my aunt.

My aunt pulled me into a hug, and whispered "Don't you dare give up. No matter what happens, you must never give up. No matter what the Capital puts you through, you just can't give up on life."

"All right," I whispered in between quiet sobs.

"Good. Now take this… your brother would have wanted it to be your token…" she murmured. She put a miniature God's eye in my hand. It was made of green yarn and scraps of wood… my brother made it for me…

I clutched it life one would a life raft, and I felt myself slowly being pulled out of the flood. My aunt was right. I couldn't give up. I was a survivor, and I'm going to make it through this. No matter what happens, I have to make it through this.

Suddenly, one more visitor appeared which was odd. Usually they only let family in with family.

"I lied to the Peacekeepers and said I was your sister… Well, I do feel like your sister so I guess I won't be stricken down for lying," Poppy joked.

"Poppy," I whispered as I ran to her. Poppy had been my best friend since we were children. She had always been there for me, and I really couldn't remember life without her. She was another reason to fight.

"You're coming back," Poppy stated angrily.

"Poppy… you know the chan-"

"Screw the chances. You're coming back!"

"Okay, Poppy… Whatever you say," I whispered.

Soon, I was crying again, and I could even feel Poppy sobbing as well. Poppy never showed her emotions… never, ever…

Soon, all those that I loved were ripped away from me, and I was being dragged towards the train. "I can walk myself without being dragged, thank you," I said curtly.

The Peacekeepers let go at my comment, but still didn't leave my side. I found Scarlett, and grabbed his hand for reassurance. This little boy… I was going to protect him. Still, at the end of the day, I was the number one priority. I had things to fight for. I had my aunt to fight for! I had my future nephew to fight for! My brother and Poppy were the most important things in my life, and I was going to fight for them as well. I may be just a little songbird, but soon I was going to have to become a vulture. I was not disposable. I was valuable, and I wasn't going down without a fight!

ONLY TWO MORE REAPINGS! I really hope you guys like these tributes because I adore them :D review and tell me ;D haha thanks DimitrisGirl and orTherefore for these lovely tributes! I had a blast writing them :D I have my first two finals next week, so expect maybe only a few updates in the few weeks, pending on how much homework I have :D So yes, I hope I did these tributes justice, and I can't wait to write the next two reapings :D