More story talk going on over at my Discord server. PM me for the link!

Trigger warning: some slight misgendering in Stryker's POV.

Stryker Ember, 15
District 12 Male

One month before the Reaping

"What do you mean they're gone?"

"Sorry Stryker," Spark whimpered. "I didn't mean to...but they usually come back, right? It's only been a day."
"I hope you're right. Should we look for them?"

Spark nodded, just as Stryker realized that combing the entire district was going to take up most of, if not their entire day. Great. Ey didn't want to admit it, but just like eir twin sister, ey were a little worried about their pet. Ey were a lot more attached to Bob then ey cared to admit.

"So, where should we start?"

Sure enough, by the time they had finished, it was evening. They were standing at the very edge of the district, where the electric fence crackled loudly, signaling danger for those who dared to come too close. Stryker grimaced. "Don't tell me..."
"Do you really think so?"
"God, I hope not."
"Hey! What are yo two up to?"

"Oh, hi Max." Stryker didn't flinch as eir best friend tightly wrapped an arm around eir neck. "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing?"
"We're looking for Bob," Spark explained.

Maxwell laughed. "Seriously? That rat of yours?"
"They're a good rat, Max."
"Yeah, but...a rat."

Stryker pulled eir friend's arm off em. "Come on, they're our pet!"
"Oh, fair enough. But why can't you get a real pet, like a cat or a dog?"

Just as Stryker had a witty retort lined up, Spark sighed, leaning up against em. "This sucks! We'll never be able to find them!"
"You don't know that. We can always look tomorrow."
"Good luck!" Maxwell called out, waving goodbye as the twins hurried home. Surprisingly, it was fairly empty. Lorelei, Stryker's older sister, was busy stirring a pot of something.

"Hey Stryker, Spark. Did you find Bob."
"No, not today," Spark sighed.
"That's a shame. Well, I'm sure he's still out there. Can you give me a hand with dinner, please?"

While Spark took over the pot, Stryker set the table. Just as ey finished, the door slammed, and eir father stormed in, followed by eir mother. Both looked tired.
"Good evening, Daddy," Spark said politely. "Hello, Mommy. How are you feeling?"

"Stupid overseers think they can cheat me out of my money," Jacobson Ember fumed.
"I know, I know." Ella gently stroked her husband's arm. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."
"Would you like something to eat, then?" Stryker asked, holding out a plate.

Ella suddenly whirred around in fury, nearly slapping the plate out of eir hands. "Don't talk to your mother like that, boy! Show some respect! No greeting from you when I first step into the house!? Where are your manners!?"
"Mom, I'm not a boy-"
"Don't use that tone with me!"

"Fine." Stryker calmly put the plate back on the table, doing eir best to hide eir growing anger. "Then, can you do the same for me?"
"Again with this 'not a boy' bullshit?" Jacobson asked. "Drop it, now."

"Dinnertime!" Lorelei blurted out, as she quickly grabbed the pot from her sister's hands with a fake smile. "Come on, let's all sit down and have a nice family meal-"
"Stay out of this, Lorelei!"
"Don't talk to her like that!" Stryker barked. "You know what, I'm tired and I'm hungry. I don't want to put up with this right now."

"I'm sorry, dear," Ella whispered, taking her seat at the table. Across from eir parents, Stryker blinked back tears. This was not something to cry over. Ey were just going to eat with eir family, then tomorrow, go on another hunt with Spark for Bob.

"That was really scary," Spark muttered once the twins were done eating and sitting in their rooms. "I hate it when Mom gets all...oh, what's the word...worked up?"
"I wouldn't call it that, but sure. Honestly, don't worry about it too much, I can take it."
"But aren't they our parents? Shouldn't they love us for who we are? Even Lorelei messes up your pronouns sometimes."

"At least she's getting better at it. But yeah, I agree. Anyways, it's late. I think we should go to bed early so we can spend as much time as possible looking for that damned rat."
Spark giggled. "You miss Bob just as much as I do!"
"No I don't!"

"Yes you do. You love Bob!"
Stryker gave eir sister a shrug. "Oh please...fine. They're a good rat and I guess they're pretty fun. But I don't like like them!"

"Oh, alright. First thing tomorrow?"
"First thing."

Clair Ivory, 17
District 12 Female

Three weeks before the Reaping

Clair sighed, staring at the closed door before them. Another job, gone. They had really tried hard with this one to be the perfect employee, they swear! Unfortunately, dumb luck had gotten the best of them once again.

Stupid dumb luck.

But cursing their misfortunes didn't give them money to feed themselves with, so Clair was back on the search, looking for a new opportunity. And that was hard. No merchants were out to hire some ragged street kid fallen from grace. Clair still had the remnants of their last paycheck, but that would be gone soon and then they'd be broke. Not an ideal situation.

Oh well. They hit rock bottom before. It was only a matter of building themself back up again, no matter how long it would take.

It was still pretty early in the day, so there were plenty of people about. In the middle of the street, Clair quickly narrowed their options down, singling out people they had yet to work for. At the same time, they had to be aware of what their reputation was, and it probably wasn't stellar.

After careful consideration, Clair decided that the fruit vendor was their best bet. He was busy stocking his cart as they approached. "Good morning, sir. May I help you?"
"Are you looking for a job?"
"Yeah. How could you tell?"

"I fired you got fired this morning," the vendor laughed and Clair grimaced. "Ah, don't feel too bad about it. I was actually looking for some help myself."
Clair tugged on a strand of bright red hair, fingers crossed behind their back. "Are you offering me a job?"

The vendor just chuckled and Clair relaxed visibly. "Oh, thank you so much. I promise, I'll be responsible and punctual and I'll do everything you ask of me-"
"That sounds good. First task of the day: just watch the cart for me while I go grab a few more things. I'll be right back."

Clair placed a hand on the cart to keep it steady. Right. They could do that. They stood there while people walked around them, peering into shop windows. Almost all of them were merchants, and they could actually afford these goodies.

For the most part, Clair was ignored. They remembered visiting some of these shops as a small kid, when everyone was rebuilding from the war and slowly putting their lives back together. This used to run through aisles while their parents chatted with the owners, and leave holding their mother and father's hand.

It wasn't that lonely out on the streets. Most people were friendly enough to say a quick hello, or wave. Plus, Clair had to learn to be self-reliant, and they had plenty of time to think over and assess their identity. It took them a while to figure it out, but they had finally settled into a label they felt comfortable with.

The vendor was back after an hour. "How is everything? Any customers?"
"No, not yet."
"You know, if someone wants to buy, you can make the purchase. You've handled money before, right?"

Whoops. "Of course, I just...I just didn't know if you wanted me to be handling your money."
"Hey, you work for me now, don't you?"
"Right," Clair nodded.

The day went by slightly faster than usual. Clair handed out fruits, collected money, and helped move the cart around. Every single order they were given, they followed. When the streets were empty and everyone had gone home, the vendor began to close up his cart. He shoved the remaining money into his pockets.

Clair frowned. "Wait...don't I get paid?"
"Scram, kid."
"You said you were offering me a job!"

Clair almost jumped as a single coin came flying at their head. "Here," the vendor snarled. "I'll pay you when I feel like it."

Clair picked up the single coin, tucking it into the pocket of their old sweater. They turned around ad heading off without a word, in the search of somewhere warm to sleep. This wouldn't be enough to buy much food in the upcoming days and they weren't sure how far they could stretch what they had left. Clair sighed to themself.

Some days, it felt like the world was out to get them.

Oh well, things could've been a lot worse, right? They had a somewhat steady source of income, money, nobody was actually out to get them. They were independent, by themself, alone, with no friends or family left to love them...

Clair slid against the wall of the bakery and just sighed.

District 12 is finally done! Just a quick reminder, please be respectful of Clair and Stryker's identities and pronouns when reviewing. Intentional misgendering or any disrespectful reviews will not be tolerated.

Three Reapings left to go! Next up is my personal favourite, District 10!

-Vr