YAY FOR SEMI QUICK UPDATES! :D
Oh, and also, THIS WILL BE THE LAST OF THE BORING REAPINGS YESSSSS

Thanks to Fangirl Moustache (PLS REVIEW I"M SAD ):) and SheerwaterPheonix (same goes to you as well)

District Twelve Reapings

Ember Clark, 13

"Mom? Is that you?"

I reach out my hand to try and grasp my mother's. "You're alive?" Mum had been dead for a good two months now, but every night I still dreamt of the same thing, and I was aware of it. Just when I'm about to graze her fingertips, light bursts into my fled of vision and instead of the tinkling I heard in the dream I hear shrieking children.

"God, can't a girl get one full night of sleep?!"

None of my adorable yet demon-like siblings, each of them with the same olive skin tone as the other, paid any attention to the sister who was screaming furiously (although in a friendly manner, if that made any sense)

Grumbling, I smack 6 year-old Ruby in the face with one of our old, stained fluffless pillow. The only response is a quiet giggle.

I clap my hands repeatedly for silence, and five pairs of eyes look attentively at me. Octavia, Tobias, Kenneth, Ruby, and Blake. Perfect.

"Listen up, everyone!" I shout. "All of you, go change in your prettiest clothes and find Dad." Perks of being the oldest- you get to boss your siblings around. I start to shoo everyone out of the room when Blake stares at me with her big, sweet eyes and asks, "Why do we have to wear fancy stuff and go outside early?"

How do you explain to a 5 year-old that there was a chance that when they're twelve they could be sent to a deathmatch? Finally, I decide that there's no choice but to tell her the truth…

In the most sugarcoated way possible.

"Well," I begin, carefully choosing my words. "When you're twelve, you have a chance of… of going to a VERY beautiful place, but never seeing your family again." I start tearing up and choking at that last bit.

"Why do we have to wear pretty clothes, though?"

"So you have a lower chance of getting picked."

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Ruby skips out the small room to dress up into her beloved red dress I bought for her birthday last year.

Sighing, I step into my low-variety closet that contained two pairs of clothes, one inside and one for the outside, and a simple, pale orange dress Dad bought for me what seemed like so many years ago, which was in reality 2 years before now.

If you think it seems weird that i still fit my 2 year-old dress, think again. This is District 12- the second poorest District. My dad has one of the most successful jobs in the entire civilization, but he can't afford to feed his six kids to the fullest. I mean, we have enough to eat, but it's not exactly filling. But I'm still grateful.

Slowly, I slip into the soft vermillion dress and secure it in the back. I actually brush my caramel-brown colored hair with the one comb the whole family shares (ew) and tie it into a ponytail with a white ribbon i found at the junk shop.

I slide my feet into a pair of beat-up slippers and head into the "kitchen" where Dad was making fruit salads for everyone.

As i approach the table, i notice the twins Octavia and Tobias arguing about which animal was better, Blake and Ruby playing with dolls, Lillith crawling around the house, and Kenneth with a grumpy look on his face. Oh, gosh, what was it now?

"But Daaaaaad," he whined. "Why do we have to eat lettuce?"

Dad answers with a stern, "Because vegetables are healthy for you."

"But whyyyy do i have to eat veggies? I don't want to eat like a rabbit!"

"You eat it or you starve. Pick one."

Kenneth grumbles and unwillingly bites down on one of the carrots. Without warning, he spits it onto the floor.

"Kenneth!" My dad yells.

What's going on with Kenneth these days? Before this week he was a perfect little angel, and now a spoiled little brat.

"Octavia, Tobias, take Blake and Ruby to the square. I'll be there in a few minutes." The twins immediately stop their endless bickering and obligingly lead the girls. "Ember, go along with Kenneth."

Kenneth walked outside with an air in his step, an air of "I'm better than you.". I counter-step him and give him a strict look. "Why are you acting like such a brat recently?"

He sticks out his tongue. "I'm not telling you!"

I give him the infamous poker face.

Pouting, he groans out a "fineeeeee" and starts speaking.

"My friend Tommy keeps bragging about how his Dad is the mayor and how he always gets what he wants! Last night he got a cool car that moves by itself. It makes me feel bad because-" He actually has the nerve to start tearing up. "Our family is super poor and we never get cool things like the car and we don't even have good food." Kenneth wipes his eyes furiously while i awkwardly pat him on the back.

"Well, Tommy has toys that make him happy, because he's an only child. He's lonely in his big house. You have siblings you can play with, so you don't need toys."

Sniff. "Okay then. Maybe God intended it this way. But if i ever have the choice, then I'll guess i'll pick siblings." He smiles.

A few minutes later, we reach Town Square. Kenneth finds the twins, and i get in line to get my finger pricked. The peacekeeper stabs my finger and forcefully stamps it onto the paper. I stick my finger in my mouth as I go into the 13 year-old girl section.

Now I wait.

Coakum Silverwillow, 14

Light floods in through my window, making me crack my eyes open for the first time, signaling a brand new day.

How good it feels to wake up at your own time, with nobody to force you awake, and-

Wait, why does my watch say 8:10…?

Slowly, I look up towards my calendar, scared to see what awaits.

July 26, Reaping Day

OH, MY GOD. OH MY GODOMIGOsh OMIGOSH

Scrambling to find my clothes, I search all over the floor of my room. Damn it, I'm already late anyways. I pick up the first thing my hands land on and rush to get them on.

What did I wear? A fairly nice shirt and a pair of pants. Could've been better, but could've been worse as well. It'll just have to do.

I stomp into a pair of sneakers, and run out of the store that my family runs and lives in. Mom and Dad must've already left… oh, gosh…

Anxiously, I comb through my blonde hair. From where I live, i could see the Town Square- and that the Reapings had already started. I try to quickly devise a plan to sneak in when a Peacekeeper butts me from behind.

"Hey, whaddya doin' outta da Square?"

I froze up. Shiiiiiiiit. How do i explain this?

The Peacekeeper doesn't give me time to make up an excuse. "Once ye get back from the Reapings, we gunna give you a whippin' or three, understood?"

Nodding, I bolt as fast as I can into the 14 year-old group. My best friend, Collis Whitaker looks at me nervously. I simply shake my head. This is bad. After the Reapings, I'm going to get WHIPPED.

The girl tribute had already gotten Reaped. I recognized her to be Ember, the youngest girl in my eighth grade class. She had pretty dark eyes and soft features.

"And the male tribute is…" said the escort, who was named Cobalt. He paused for dramatic effect.

I was a nervous wreck. It was either being placed in a battle royale, or being tortured- but barely surviving. At least getting whipped meant I was still going to be alive… right?

"Coakum Silverwillow."

Scratch that. I'll be dead in- oh, about a week or so.

x-x-x-x-x

My parents come in, and how they acted wasn't expected. Not even remotely.

They were both frozen, stiff dolls. Considering that ever since I was born I was always being babied around, I thought that they'd actually be crying. Well, now we know that not everyone gets cliche goodbyes.

"Coakum, do you remember what we taught you?" My father echoes, his voice hollow.

I nod slightly.

"Good." Mom lets out a shaky breath. She cups my face in her hands. "Please remember, we love you. Okay?"

"O-Okay."

Both of my parents wrap me into a teary embrace. None of them say anything for an hour or so, but that might've been because I was dreaming- dreaming about a life where none of this "Hunger Games" had ever happened.

Ember Clark's POV

"Ember? You're leaving?" Ruby's innocent eyes stared into mine, curious. "You got picked?"

It took all my willpower to not cry. "Y-yes, I did."

"But you wore such a pretty dress! How could they pick you?"

I closed my eyes. "Sometimes people don't like to follow the rules."

Octavia and Tobias were trying not to cry, and Kenneth let out a few tears. Blake was bugging Mom, who was carrying Lillith, and asking why everyone was sobbing, and Dad had his head in his hands.

Finally, after all the chaos was over, Mom and Dad said, "Do your best to survive. Come back home for us- for Lillith."

Then they were gone, as quick as a flash.

Hehe. Questions!

Who did you like better?

What do you like about them both?

Predictions?

Who are you favorites so far?

Anyone you hate in particular?

-That heck of a long hiatus has made many of our sister and brother reviewers depart from us. (cue music: Arms of the Angel or something) May we be rejoined with them soon.

IN THE ARMMMMMSSSSS OF THE ANGELLLLLLLLLL