"Mom said she needs basil, tomatoes, b-bru . . . Gryff', what's - "
"Please, shut it."
"No, but what's this say? Gryff'!" Stephen ran a few more steps and staggered beside the older boy, shoving the sheet of paper up to his face. "What's that say? The third one down." Gryffon pushed his arm aside and kept walking, hardly regarding the boy's pout or indigent furrowing of his brows. "Please!?"
He didn't answer, though, and simply kept going. Stephen didn't need to read the list. Stephen didn't even have to have come, yet he came only to hold the goddamned list. To hold the thing, Pulchra had said. Not read off what was there. Not ask Gryffon to read anything for him. Soon enough, Stephen recovered and was talking again however. "Carrots, and beets, oh! Oh! Yay! Mom's asking for kiwis, Gryff'!"
"I don't care." He could feel the kid deflate somewhat behind him, but it didn't deter him enough to stop reading.
"She needs mint and lettuce . . . Oh ew, mo-morels . . . Mor . . . They're those mushrooms. Why does she like those?" Stephen shook his head and hopped a little to catch up to his much taller older brother. "Oh, you're gonna have to be careful, Gryff'. Nettles . . . She's wanting that again, too. And if we can stop at the - Oof!" Gryffon stopped suddenly, causing the younger boy to crash into his back. "Ow . . . Why - Hey!" He pulled the list out of the kid's hand and in the same motion crumpled it and tossed it on the floor.
"Shut up." He kept moving after the paper hit the ground, but naturally the sound of it uncrumpling only to get folded and put away was heard. Only then did Stephen's feet pounding against the floor come up again and the huffing child was at his side again.
They walked with silence threading between them, merely navigating through the paths of the district before turning closer to the orchards to follow the line of the fence to the fresh market that was held just after the boundaries of the orchards. Just listening to their feet moving and the people in the orchards themselves talking and singing quietly was comforting. It wasn't as annoying as a child's voice babbling on about things he didn't care to hear and it wasn't as unsettling as the silence he'd be stuck in if he was alone.
Gryffon raised a brow when one of the songs seemed to grow nearer, but when he looked, there was no one close enough to them to really be singing anything he should be able to make out. "Home again, home again, market is done . . . To market, to market, a gallop a trot, to buy some . . . " Gryffon turned his eyes over to Stephen and sighed. "If it hadn't been killed - "
"You're kidding, right?"
"But I'm not talking, I'm singing - "
"I just told you to shut up, not to stop talking. Shutting up includes singing." At that, Stephen bit his lip and followed silently. Guess Gryffon was serious . . . He was always serious, though, always angry, always prohibiting everything. He knew that, but it was no longer a chore to do. Gryffon had taught himself that Stephen was annoying and the less he talked the better for his patience and the kid's feelings. Shaking his head, he kept going and quickened up a bit, as if to tell Stephen to go faster and run out of breath so he couldn't sing anymore. Gryffon's eyes flitted over the ground as he tried to maneuver around the not-so-even floor close to the orchards. "Keep up, brat."
"Slow down, Gryff!" the smaller voice called after him, huffing out a breath as he jumped to keep up with his older brother's longer strides. "It's not fair, you move too fast. Mom said for me to help you, not race after you."
"I don't give a fuck about what she said," the man muttered under his breath, glancing upward. The farmer's market was about another mile away, just after the cemetery but a little closer to the Square. A sharp white flash made his steps hesitate, and soon he was slowed down enough for Stephen to catch up.
"What's that, Gryff'?" The kid pointed toward the tall grasses of the orchards where the florists of the district cultivated a lot of their flowers and further back the berries that were often made into jams.
Right smack in the middle of it sat some large contraption that held a bright light and around it appeared to huddle a group of people, all with impossibly colored hair only Capitolites would have. "Looks like a photoshoot," he answered in an almost bored tone, but his feet angled them toward the fence and led them through the slightly open door that gave them access to the ground. "For who, I don't know."
The photographers of the Capitol loved District 11 for its photogenic locations; it was as gorgeous as 4 with the scenery, and as meaningful with the town shots as District 6 was with its gang-infested alleys. But rarely did Gryffon ever pay much attention to them when they were there.
But he had time to kill and he was dragging around the kid; maybe if Stephen got tired enough he wouldn't be as annoying later on and would actually just drop and knock out in sleep, despite how far they still had to go. "Why are we going to it?" Stephen asked as he bounded after the older boy, wanting to reach out to hold Gryffon's hand to keep himself steadier as he practically ran, but chose against it. "It looks official."
"I'm a Victor. Technically, I'm as 'official' as them," he retorted, barely turning his head for Stephen to hear, so the kid barely understood. Gryffon just silently thanked him for shutting up and not asking anything else right away. He kept a good thirty feet away from the people directing the shoot, just watching, hoping the subject of their cameras was enticing enough not to get distracted from.
Stephen tugged on Gryffon's shirt, and with a roll of his eyes, the older man looked down at him. "She's pretty, Gryff." He raised a brow slightly and leaned over a bit to where Stephen stood, now catching sight of the redhead. "Isn't she?"
"Whatever you say, brat . . . "
The woman was unmistakably Emily; at that point, just by the way she moved he could see it was her. The hair and the eyes were just the points that made it certain. Her hair had been puffed up a bit more to add more volume to her already curly red hair, had an added white and faded yellow flower crown, and her makeup was far more light than what had been caked onto her for the past year.
It was completely soft and natural with light pinks that made Emily's green eyes pop more.
Emily had on an outfit that was half a dress and half made of flowers toward the bottom half of the attire and dragged behind her into the grass. Emily had an old folklore appearance of a wingless fairy; enchanting, beautiful, tempting . . . Guess that would help sell the makeup and perfume product more to give more of a magical feel to it.
The redhead often held a flower in her hand in the shots. Just because.
Emily sat down looking off to the distance as she often did and looked to the camera when told to. Often, not smiling but not as harsh as she usually appeared when she was on her break.
Once that was over, Emily stood up so the flowers she crushed during the shot would be replaced while she took her water break. She let out a sigh as her eyes searched aimlessly through the crowd and caught sight of a kid that looked suspiciously familiar, then to the much taller figure beside the boy. Gryffon Sauntor.
Emily playfully furrowed her brows and slapped on her expression of disgust at the man. "I think it's appropriate to call you stalker," she called.
Gryffon was just about ready to retreat. He felt odd just standing there, watching her, but her voice made him stop. With a smirk, he rolled his eyes and took a few more steps forward to get close enough to her without having to shout to talk. "The mini-me's the stalker this time," he retorted, nodding to the space beside him that the kid was just starting to approach. Part of Gryffon was recoiling at the thought of her meeting him at all. Stephen was a nuisance, a total bother, and just a chore to deal with. But they were there and he couldn't do anything about it. And she wasn't horrible company; he might as well take advantage of her break.
"I'm not a stalker," the child giggled. Stephen smiled up at her, tilting his head a little bit. "You're too pretty to know Gryff," was the next thing that left his mouth, which brought Gryffon to flick his ear. "Ow!" Stephen glared up at him for a moment, rubbing the side of his head.
Emily laughed and tried to cover it up behind her hand. "Yeah, I know," she agreed with Stephen with her nose wrinkled and looked back up at Gryffon. "I'm a little too pretty to know you," she teased.
Wow. Rude AND agreeing with the brat. "See? He's completely in love with you already," the older boy drawled bitterly.
"Besides, he wouldn't be the only kid that absolutely adores me," Emily began with a shrug, "Trace's daughter really liked me too," she continued and downed her water before glancing down at her dress that was still being fixed.
Oh, fuck Trace's kid. Since when did Gryffon care about her? He barely even knew her; never interacted with the pretty brunnette's pretty daughter. Stephen beamed knowingly, elbowing Gryffon's side only to be pushed back a little too rough to the point he stumbled a little. "Trace's daughter is as air headed as this one," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You need to meet intelligent kids."
"Then why'd she meet you?"
Gryffon sighed at the child's sass and ran a hand through his hair, looking over her dress. "You trying to become one with the district? I'm afraid you'll probably be made into perfume or medicine."
Stephen blinked up between the two before stepping a little closer, as if inspecting her dress. "Are they real? They smell real . . . " And so very rich and new and the top of the dress was so nice and even her hair . . . Stephen was only used to his brother's wealth, and if it wasn't for the occasional being-forced-into-an-outfit thing, he probably wouldn't see Gryffon in anything to extravagant.
"Awwww that's mean," she whined, "they're sweet," she shrugged and watched Stephen examine her dress. "I guess you can say I'm trying to become your district," she chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's actually to sell makeup and perfume," she shrugged, "be one with nature and magic and stuff as a selling point," she continued then looked back at the youngest Sauntor brother at his question. "Yep, they're real. Sorry I'm killing your district for my outfit," she wrinkled her nose.
He recovered at her answer and looked back up at the redhead. "That's okay! It's nice. If you just walk through them to stomp on them - then that'd be mean." Pointedly, he shot another look at his older brother but kept smiling.
Gryffon just shook his head at her answer. He found it all pointless, the reasoning behind the pictures and locations they chose to take pictures. The photos came out looking great, but they were all absurd anyway.
Oblivious to his brother's current disapproval, Stephen giggled a little at her comment, raising a quizzical brow at her. "Oh, wait, magic is part of nature now?" He glanced back at Gryffon, waiting for backup, but the man just rolled his eyes again and shrugged. Right. Definite no on the magic thing. "Why's it a selling point?"
"Stop asking pointless questions," Gryffon stated, gently pushing the back of his head forward. He huffed in annoyance and swatted Gryffon's hand away. "Fucking kiss-up. Somehow you're my brother," Gryffon groaned under his breath, genuinely disgusted with the kid's tone toward the redhead. It had gotten to the point where Stephen was just a general annoyance, especially when meeting a new person. He was all sweetness and questions and compliments with nothing in between, and frankly, it was irritating.
Nn. "Hey, it's okay to ask," she rolled her eyes at Gryffon. "Well yeah," she nodded at the earlier question and looked to Gryffon when his little brother waited on cue for something. "You two are joking right?" Sure, they lived in a heavily vegetated place all their lives, but they didn't see something beautiful about it? "Well," Emily began and clapped her hands together, "For the rest of the world that never saw a tree in their life finds something special about what you and district 7 have. Trees create air for us to breathe, sprout fruit to help us survive, flowers pollinate and create more flowers that are also taken by animals to make food or eat for their own," she went on with a tone of hopefulness. "I don't know, the whole cycle is unreal and, dare I say it again, magical," she smirked at Gryffon and placed her hands onto her hips.
It also brought about the myth of fairies being little forest helpers. Blooming flowers and creating the morning dew. It was dumb, but she liked the idea of it all.
"Basically, there's a beauty to where you guys live and that's the selling point," she simplified and adjusted her flower crown. "And somehow you're HIS brother," she raised a brow at him. "Be nice."
Gryffon chuckled a little at her words which made Stephen shift in place. He didn't see how that was very special. Yeah, the places were pretty and one could easily get lost in all the leafy wonder of the trees and flowers and crops, but there was nothing unusual about them. The whole plant-system worked much like humans without the need to kill or overshadow each other. They built each other up, had the moving world around then help them grow, provided clean air - and that may be the only thing humans didn't do.
Magic . . . It was something everyone wanted but didn't quite believe in, and only wishing for it to be true didn't help with anything. Except Emily was already inspiring some hope into the younger brother as his eyes stared widely at the redhead. Gryffon waved her comment away. "You're being nice for the both of us, it's fine."
He glanced up at Gryffon again, brows furrowed slightly before turning back to Emily. "It is," Stephen agreed with her with a little smile, rocking on his heels. He scrunched up his eyes for a second and snickered a bit. "You're too old to wear that to be pretty," he pointed out, nodding up to the flower crown she had on. He didn't quite remember that she wouldn't understand what he was getting at, though Gryffon raised a brow, then smirked.
With a shrug, he ruffled the kid's hair. "Not quite. It works with her, as stupid as it is." Stephen heaved an annoyed sigh and crossed his arms over his chest. Whether it worked with who she was or who she was married to or whatever! he didn't actually mean it . . .
"I was kidding, Gryff." And of course the older man knew that, but the same way no one knew about ther marital band 8 had, they wouldn't understand the whole flower crown thing. And in any case, it didn't really look like one if he looked close. It was too small and delicate; it looked more like a birthday crown or something of the sort.
Emily narrowed at Gryffon with a slight smile then rolled her eyes. "Closest thing I'll get to a compliment from your older brother," she said to Stephen. "And yes I do need this flower crown. This isn't my true form," she added with a playful and sly smile. "I'm actually really hideous when I take it off," she smiled. "It keeps me young and beautiful."
Her comment greatly amused Stephen, and it was interesting to see just how well she was with kids. Gryffon knew she liked them, but he hadn't yet seen her interact with one, and it almost - just almost - endearing to watch.
"You get compliments from him at least," Stephen scoffed, but the bitter comment vanished from his mind almost immediately when she went on. "Really?!" His eyes widened with excitement and he hopped onto his tiptoes, trying his hardest to reach Emily's crown without staggering too close to her. "Lemme see it?" He dropped back down to his heels and closed his eyes. "I won't look at your hideous-ness if you don't want . . . I just wanna see it . . . "
Gryffon rolled his eyes and shifted in place, glancing toward the camera crew. Maybe hanging around wasn't a good idea. Now Stephen was starting to like her and with that would come some excitement to keep her around which meant more mentioning her and more obsessed babbling and just . . .
"I'm not gonna show you," she laughed, catching Gryffon's attention, and held onto the crown. "I'd rather you not go running for the hills," Emily chuckled. "Your brother has already seen how bad I get," she nodded to the taller man. Sure, referencing her anger and need to throw things at him, that got ugly fast. But the boy didn't need to see that nor would he ever.
Emily followed Gryffon's eyes and rolled her own. "They get to wait up for me since I'm important," she shrugged and fluffed her dress a bit.
The kid pouted and huffed a bit, gazing up just past her head to the flower crown. "Oh, good for him," Stephen laughed before going on, "You don't have other secret magic things you could wear for a little bit?" He had seen pictures of her before in the papers that didn't include her wearing the flowers. He wanted it for two seconds, because, yes, he was tall, but not enough to see it clearly. Maybe he'd be able to make one for her so she wouldn't have to keep switching items every time, or just give her some variation so she wouldn't have to wear the same one all the time. Maybe he could make it as magical as the one she had on now.
Gryffon nodded at her, smirking. "Aren't you a special little thing," he teased, tapping the tip of the crown down a little. "You just - "
"Oh, oh, Gryff!" Stephen turned to him again, opening his mouth, closing it, then opening it again to speak, "When she's done - "
"No. When she's done she can leave . . . Place's crowded as it is," Gryffon shook his head. He probably wouldn't even mind much, really. By the time she was done there, they'd probably be able to go back and forth at least one other time, but to have his mother and Annabelle bitch about it later, and to have Andie and Stephen demand her attention, and have his fake, always-silenced mother hovering around . . . Nope, he was good.
"Aw, man, that's not . . . Okay," he sighed, glancing back up at the redhead. "Never mind, then! Next time you're here." Stephen didn't even care that the woman might not even have wanted to come, he was just so excited. And she was so nice! He wasn't used to nice grownups outside of school.
"Well . . . " Emily started and crossed her arms over her chest. "I have another thing. But I had to take it off because it didn't go with the shoot," she answered. "It's all the way in the trailer there," the nodded towards it. Her wedding band. It was official to the public and people hardly saw her without it when the paparazzi were all over her.
Her eyes raised in interest and looked from one brother to the other. Was the small one going to invite her over too? Maybe she should just keep her schedule free for every district she went to in case the victors and their kid or sibling got excited and such. "Sounds to me your brother doesn't want to share my attention," she teased with a smug look on her face.
Stephen nodded eagerly, following her eyes toward the trailer. "What is it?" he asked, glancing back at her with a curious smile. She had so many magical things and she came from a non-magical district, according to what he seemed to make out from what she had said earlier. Why didn't Gryffon ever show him these things? Or had his older brother drained every magical thing from the house? Or was he just hiding it from the kid? Stephen didn't know, didn't really care to wonder about it. He liked the idea of magic and of it doing magical things, whether or not it was true.
At her next words, Stephen laughed, covering it up with his hand as he looked up at Gryffon. "Or I just don't want your company," he retorted bluntly, narrowing his eyes at her.
Stephen shook his head and leaned up closer to Emily, cupping his mouth with his hand though it was still obvious as hell what he was saying. "He doesn't like sharing . . . Mommy didn't teach him well."
"'Mommy' didn't teach you, either," he muttered, nodding at the redhead. " . . . What's the 'magical item' that keeps your ugly from coming out when you're not wearing that ridiculous crown?" Just get the focus off him and what he did and didn't like to share.
Emily pressed her finger to her lips and calmly shushed with a playful twinkle in her eyes. "It's a secret."Oh, of course it was. Gryffon figured she was just making things up for the child, but Stephen pouted with disappointment instead. "Pretty things and things with special meaning carry magic," the redhead said in her tall tale whimsical tone. "I don't want it getting taken, do I?" She smirked sweetly.
Emily leaned in more for the boy's reach and chuckled at his whisper. "Well, either way I'm not needed," she said, straightened up and tilted her head and Gryffon. "I need to go get my pictures taken. You can bail since you don't want my company," she shook her head with a small smile and picked up most of her dress from the end of the dress where the flowers began and started to turn
"Oh . . . " Stephen started, though he nodded slowly. Pretty and special things. Did he ever really consider anything that? And if he tried looking for it, would he find it? And her special thing . . . What was it? Why was it special to her? "No, I don't think you need it taken," he agreed despite his curiosity, smiling back up at her. At her declaration at having to leave, his smile fell and he almost accusingly tossed a glare in Gryffon's direction.
Stephen actually liked one of his older brother's friends for once. It wasn't fair. But all Gryffon did was nod and state some form of goodbye that wasn't quite goodbye. More like a mumbled 'see you later', or 'have fun prancing about with fairies'. Or something. Gryffon turned to leave, tapping Stephen's head to beckon him when he stopped in place again.
"Oh!" he started, "When are coming to Eleven again?"
Like it really mattered? Gryffon rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder, impatient outwardly and uncomfortable inwardly. Stupid kid and his comments and Emily playing along and everything else.
Emily turned back to Stephen and tilted her head for an answer. "I don't know. They were saying they like coming here in the spring and early summer? So I might be back after the Games for the 'brand new season'?" She rolled her eyes. She gave a small wave then pointed to Gryffon, "Be nice to your brother. Don't be an ass."
He beamed at her and nodded. "Okay! Stop by then!" Again, no regards to what Gryffon wanted, and not even a glance his way to check that it was okay. It was a must for her to come, even if just once. "Okay? Promise!" And he would have something to give her then, so she had to . . . Gryffon would never give anything to her for him, he knew that.
"Oh, mind your own business, Em," Gryffon rolled his eyes, watching as Stephen ran back the few steps to hug her. "Or go ahead and adopt the kid, I don't need him." Lie hidden behind an annoyed shake of his head. When Stephen unwrapped his arms from around her, he dashed back to his brother, avoiding his eyes.
Emily couldn't help but smile. Alright, it was a promise then. "Promise," she nodded. "I'm making something, though! Last time I was invited I felt weird hardly doing much," she smiled before the little guy hugged her. "You know I would," she raised her brows at Gryffon. "I'll kidnap him," Emily added before he ran off.
Stephen nodded excitedly, clapping once. "What would you bring?" More curious than wanting it, really, but he was just finding out more and more things about her that he liked.
"Oh, okay, only then can you come," Gryffon said, cocking a brow with a little smirk. "If you make something and kidnap this one, you can come whenever you'd like." He ruffled Stephen's hair a bit with the kid shaking his head and shrugging out of the way.
"You'd let her take me?"
"And your sister, too - You can take her, too," Gryffon went on toward Emily. "Too many kids in the damn house." Stephen kept his smile up, perfectly willing to be taken by the woman. He could see her as his older sister, or even mother, or an aunt of some sort. Probably better than the brother he had now. Yet, he still didn't really feel like he would ever like to live with her. He just wouldn't know how. It would be weird, he felt. Just talking to her now was different than the communication he was used to. It made him feel just so excited. But a visit would be nice. Maybe a weekend. If Gryffon wasn't kidding, maybe she'd let him . . ? If it wasn't against 'the rules', that is.
"Don't know," she wrinkled her nose. "I might find something around here and just wing it," Emily answered honestly. And the idea of having kids around the house sounded nice, but her house would be crowded too with two adult men and two eight-year-olds and a cat. "I'll stick with making something first and MAYBE I'll consider borrowing them," Emily smirked. Emily picked up her dress and waved at them, "I'll see you guys around," Emily called and started off toward the photoshoot.
With another squeal of goodbye, Stephen pivoted and practically ran ahead of Gryffon. The man followed the kid, and though he didn't spare a glance over his shoulder toward the redhead, he remained mildly curious as to whether or not she'd actually come. Not that it really mattered, but would she really?
Willing friendly company wasn't exactly a norm in the house, and the moment his mom heard of it from Stephen, she wouldn't shut up about title he imagined. With a sigh, Gryffon rejected the thought from his mind and continued the trek with his brother.
When they reached the aisles of produce, Stephen read off what he could from the list and in much less time than it took for them to get there, they had everything they needed to buy. By the time they got home, though, Stephen was shaking with impatience and as soon as the doors opened, he ran inside the house whilst struggling with his bags and practically threw them over the kitchen table before running back out.
"Where the fu - Jesus," Gryffon sighed, letting go of his items over the table before going back out of the house. "Stephen!" The door to Annabelle's place was left open and he could just make out Stephen skidding to a stop further back in the building telling the woman something.
Barely getting halfway across the clearing, having to walk around the garden center, Annabelle showed up at the door, towel wrapped around her with her hair dripping wet. "Can you help your brother with finding flowers? I'll help him in a few minutes . . . " Without giving him time to answer, she disappeared back into the house with Stephen hanging by the doorway hopefully.
"I just need them! You don't have to help with anything else! I promise."
Rolling his eyes, he hopped up the stairs and shoved past the kid, headed to the back of the house, into the kitchen, and out of the sliding doors there. Annabelle's whole backyard was just one big garden with berries and flowers everywhere. His own mirrored hers, but she obviously had more variety and even had some mutated species of the Capitol.
"What are her favorite colors?"
"Who?"
"The pretty girl, Gryff'!" Stephen insisted as if it were the most obvious thing. He started to navigate through the garden carefully, his shoulders shaking with every breath he took. He was tired, yet so determined to do . . . Oh, shit. Of course he would.
"You're not making a flower crown or flower anything for her, Stephen," Gryffon sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "She's not - "
"'She' who?" Annabelle's voice came up behind him, making him cringe a bit.
"No one," he answered bluntly. "Purple and white, Stephen." The kid nodded eagerly and started to crouch down and pick out his favorites, all while humming a little song under his breath. "He wants to make a crown, I think. A small one, more like a wreath to wear on your head," Gryffon shrugged, turning away from Stephen. "You're gonna have to make it last."
"Who's it for?" The woman quirked her eyebrow at him quizzically, glancing toward the child quickly. "Whose favorite colors are purple and white?"
He shrugged and took a step back into the house before providing her with a shake of his head. "A new friend of his. She should be receiving it during the summer, so you need to make it tight and secure enough to last until then." Working with flowers since she won, Annabelle had the privilege to own preservative sprays that kept the flowers fresh and alive for weeks at a time, and all she had to do was carefully squirt some of it on the flower. To keep an entire crown in piece, though, she'd need to make sure she kept the spraying consistent.
She blinked slowly at him, pursing her lips. Gryffon couldn't help but chuckle a little at her expression and shrugged again. "And you suddenly care, why?"
"I don't," he shrugged. "I just don't want him whining to me then asking me to help him make another every month. You're not always around to bother, so just do the thing right." And he didn't care. Annabelle would probably disapprove if she heard straight-up that it was Emily that Stephen had met, and the possibility of breaking her rules was apparently enough incentive. Gryffon left it at that thought.
