Hello! KT here with a new Hunger Games fic!
Chapters will alternate between the POVs of the characters, starting with Rosemary and then Storm
Updates should be on Sundays, maybe every other Sunday
Thank you! Enjoy!
Rosemary
The house was silent when I woke up, though I could hear the soft breathing of Ivy in her bed in the corner opposite me. I threw the covers off me, hot in the summer air, and rolled out of bed. A quick glance at the clock told me it was eight o'clock, and I headed into the bathroom to wash my face and do my teeth before pulling on a casual lilac T-shirt and some light leggings. I pulled the brush through my hair until it was straight once more and walked over to wake up Ivy.
I shook her gently, murmuring her name, but she simply murmured something unintelligible and rolled over. I chuckled slightly and took the moment to observe her, her smooth jet black hair and half-closed azure eyes, as well as her paler skin. In appearance, she was almost a polar opposite to me with my honey-blonde hair and dark mint eyes. Ivy Cloudwing, my closest friend.
"Rosemary...go away I want to sleep…" she muttered after about ten more seconds of shaking.
"Nope! Sorry, I can't let you. It's Reaping Day today, remember?"
Her eyes snapped open. "Oh, it is, isn't it? Welp, there goes my lie-in!" she laughed, rolling out of bed.
"Oh come on, you were sleeping 'til ten past eight!" I replied.
"So did you."
"I'll have you know it was eight o'clock."
She simply laughed and walked into the bathroom. I rolled my eyes with a slight laugh and set to start making breakfast in the kitchen. It was a simple house that I had moved into with just Ivy, small with just a bedroom, a bathroom, an open kitchen and the main room, but it was our cosy home. I was just an unknown face on the edge of town with my parents before and Ivy on the complete other side, but we bought it together near the centre to start getting more independent and social. It was a lonely nightmare over there. I visited my parents sometimes, but not often.
I finished pouring both bowls of cereal and pushed one across the counter for the ravenette. She thanked me and sat down.
"So...do you reckon any volunteers this year?" she asked as I sat just across from her.
I winced slightly. I hadn't really wanted this Reaping Day to come. For the past six years, the success of the trained career tributes from our District had been slowly declining, ranking lower and lower each time, until last year they both died in the bloodbath. So training in the academy was starting to fail. Less people were trying for it, and the skill levels were decreasing. Neither me nor Ivy had ever taken an interest in entering the Games, so we had never gone, but it was worrying now that there wasn't any guarantee of not entering now that there were no volunteers.
"I doubt it. You know about the academies." I replied. She nodded.
"Still, there's a lot of people in District Four, and we've never had to take out tesserae. We should be fine."
"Aaaaaand you've jinxed it."
She laughed. "Don't be pessimistic! Now come on, we've got, like, six hours before the Reapings. You up for some sailing?"
"Ya,"
She put the bowls away while I pulled on and laced up my trainers, then joined me. When we pushed the door open, we were immediately hit by a large amount of noise and chatter so early in the morning. Or late in the morning for the freelance fishers that made it by selling what they caught rather than working for a particular company. Me and Ivy did that sometimes, mostly on the weekends when we were off school and not behind on homework. We caught the fish then sold them to those that traded them, and earned enough money from that -and working for a local store and sometimes doing tasks around town- to keep the household running.
Talking idly, we walked through the bustling streets down to the piers where the boats we were docked. One of them belonged to us, or rather more Ivy's parents. They allowed us to use it, and it's fun to do on days like Easter or Reaping Day because no one goes into school or work and it's always sunny. As we drew closer to the docks, I began to hear the friendly shouts of people doing their freelance fishing. Then we rounded a corner, and I finally caught the first glimpse of the beautiful sea District Four was known for. It shimmered a light gold in the early dawn light, and a refreshing breeze blew salty air towards me. I took a deep breath in.
Home
I turned my head to see Ivy smiling into the breeze, her eyes closed in the blissful morning. Usually neither of us would pay this much attention to the small beauties of our District, but this morning it's Reaping Day, and anything can happen. I don't like to sound pessimistic, but this could be the last day one of us sees the sunrise on our water like this.
I want it to last forever
But eventually we continued forwards, down towards the rippling gold sea. The closer I got the less I wanted to go to the Reapings, but I knew that wasn't possible. At last we were able to walk onto the wooden planks of the pier and feel the water we loved lap at the sandy shore near us. Ivy led me over to the boat and we hopped on it, her immediately going to start playing about with the ropes controlling the sails.
"You do the steering. I do the sails, because no one wants a replay of that time when you almost got us killed by the rocks." she instructed.
"You were the one steering! I was catching the wind!"
"I told you to catch some of it. Not all of it."
"Same thing!"
She sighed in overly dramatic exasperation. "And that is a perfect example of why you don't do the sails."
I smiled and undid the ropes that tied the boat to the dock and pushed it out, sitting down by the tiller and watching the calm waves while she set up. I could hear her mumbling.
"Okay, so the wind is blowing towards shore...so we'll have to try and catch it with half the sail…"
Having no clue what she was on about, I stopped listening to her rambling and dipped my hand into the water, feeling how cool it was on the overly hot day. It was refreshing to say the least, almost like I could fall in and just float...float and forget Reaping Day was upon us…
I was thrown out of my thoughts as the boat lurched forward, carried by a sudden gust of stronger wind.
"Sorry!" Ivy called back as she began moving the sail into the position she thought best. I gave the tiller a few experimental pushes and pulls, and the rudder moved about in the correct directions without extra effort. Then I started to hear the light sounds of wind hitting the sail's material, and the boat began to move forwards. The noise started getting slowly louder, and I turned around then ducked down last second to avoid being knocked out or overboard by the sail swinging fast towards me.
"Sorry!" the ravenette called again, pulling the sails back into place. I rolled my eyes with a chuckle and set to work driving us away from the pier.
The space of sea we got for leisure was empty except for two other sailboats, who were doing their little sea-dances closer to the bank. Far across the other way were the floating red flags branded with the Capitol's symbol, showing us where the District ended and unknown territory began. I couldn't imagine what would happen if you were caught sailing or swimming over the border, surely they wouldn't have any mercy if you tried to escape…
Drawing myself back to the present, I pulled off a sudden, quick swerve that tilted the boat slightly, and let out a cry of joy as the boat swung around swiftly, Ivy pumping her fist into the air as we began speeding in the opposite direction, a grin spreading across both our faces.
This is it. This is where we both come alive.
We began gaining speed as we hurried towards the shore. I turned the boat more smoothly this time, but not enough to change direction. Just so that it smoothly zigzagged through the water, cleanly cutting through the shining waves. Ivy let out an exhilarated cry as she adjusted the sail so the boat ran at its full speed. I felt the wind pushing my hair forwards, and laughed as pushed it out of my eyes. I whipped around to face the horizon opposite me and it immediately streamed out behind me. I stood up and opened my arms to the warm sunlight as we rushed through the waves, kicking the tiller to the left slightly so that the boat began turning right steadily. We were getting close to the shore.
The sun climbed the sky as we skirted the shallows closer to the bank and I could see Ivy's azure eyes sparkling like the ocean in the light sky. The thrill of adventure ran through me, even though this was an adventure I chased often. It never got old. I caught occasional glimpses of fish darting away as we raced through, slowed down slightly now that we weren't downwind. I sat down again and turned it more so that we were climbing slowly towards the horizon.
Ivy tucked the sail material in and pulled it down towards the boat, picking up the oar and pushing us steadily forwards. Her eyes were still shining from the quick, swerving dance we'd performed on the waves, and I smiled as we began heading forwards more slowly, relaxing in the heat mixed with the cool air and calm sea.
After about five minutes of rowing, the ravenette put the oar down and sat in the centre of the boat. I joined her, lying against the side and putting my hands behind my head, crossing my leg over my knee after a few more seconds. I couldn't tell you how long we sat there, talking, joking and snacking on the cereal bars Ivy had brought us each, but when I next looked at my watch I sat up immediately.
"Um, we have half an hour until the Reapings, Ivy." I announced, and she hopped instantly to her feet.
"Right let's go! Turn the boat around, we are going fast."
I obliged, and soon we were once again speeding towards the docks, our sails catching the wind and pushing us forwards. We slowed down as we neared the docks and I threw the rope around the buoy floating right beside the pier, tying it whilst Ivy set the sails back to their neutral position. We hopped off and started jogging towards the house again at a comfortable pace. I was quite fast and agile, and it was quite easy to run without tiring, but this proved difficult in the even-busier streets now that everyone was starting to head towards the Square.
Once we had arrived, I went to the closet and pulled out my Reaping dress, a light teal one that fell just below my knees and was made of a light fabric.
"Ugh, I look so girly in this." Ivy stated, straightening her dark blue skirt out and making sure her black blouse was in position.
"Less than me. You look beautiful." I replied with a wink.
"Both of those statements, I can agree with." she replied with a smile, and I laughed as we walked out of the house. The crowds were beginning to die down as most people had made it to the Square. We walked briskly, not wanting to be late, but also not wanting to show up.
Then, as we rounded a corner, we saw it. The Square full of boys and girls from age twelve to eighteen with their families and others lining the outsides and the mass of peacekeepers making sure everyone was in place. Then, on the stage, was the mayor, the escort and the five victors we'd had since the Second Rebellion seated on chairs in a row. There were two District Four banners hanging on either side of the glammed-up platform, with cameras along the edges and on rooftops, and -directly in the centre of the stage- hung the large Capitol banner, the reminder that we were in their control.
I took a deep breath and found Ivy's hand, giving it reassuring squeeze for both her and me, and we continued forwards.
How was that? Just a little introduction to District Four Life.
Do you reckon I should add a prologue or is this fine?
Reviews are greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading, and hope you enjoyed!
KT