I had been surprised when Prim asked if I would come back the next day to watch the Games with her, but decided I couldn't say no. I was thankful for the company too. It was better than watching alone at home. I slipped out of my house as everyone in the district was shuffling to work. A majority of the district worked in the mines, but there were some trickling in different directions toward the train station or justice building. I left my blonde hair down, the waves creating a sort of barrier between myself and the people around me. It was a way of isolating myself, something I had gotten too good at.
I remembered the shorter route I had discovered the night before that led from my house to the Seam, avoiding most of the morning foot traffic. My leather boots made soft tapping noises against the dewy bricks of the back alleys, occasionally passing a stray dog looking for scraps or a child running off to school. The back alleys emptied into a wide street lined with warehouses, most of them empty though life had sprung up in one of them years ago. The Hob.
It was busy the night before, but no one seemed to notice me as I passed by, stealing a glance inside. The black market was a way of living for most of the vendors, and it was mostly harmless. My father had always chosen to look the other way, along with old Cray. The Head Peacekeeper had just as much of a taste for the bootlegged alcohol he purchased there as he did the desperate girls he paid to keep his bed warm. My father didn't like him but kept a neutral professional relationship with him. Any other Head Peacekeeper would spell trouble for most of the district and my father alike. The Capitol would punish my father for the things he let slide if they were to find out. Cray always made me uncomfortable, he never did have any restraint where he let his old, drunk eyes go. But I was never the type he pursued.
I was intrigued by the low hum of chatter that came from the old warehouse, a place that had always intimidated me. It was intimidating to most of the people from town, but as I passed it seemed more harmless than ever. This morning, it was quiet as most of the business came in the late evenings. As I strode closer, I noticed a familiar figure in a white uniform with bright red hair leaning against a post outside of the entrance.
"Madge Undersee, I never thought I'd see you in these parts," he remarked, crossing his arms as I came to a stop.
"Hello, Darius," I greeted with a small shake of my head. Darius was one of Twelve's Peacekeepers, and he was generally pleasant to be around. He often made jokes at his own expense, and always tried his shot with every girl who crossed his path. As far as duty goes, he was on a permanent vacation in Twelve. I didn't mind having him around during formal events in the District, even though he often teased me for the ribbons I wore in my hair at the insistence of my father's attendants.
"I don't think I've ever seen you outside of town," he noted, taking another bite of the half-eaten apple he was holding.
I shrugged, leaning against the wall next to him, "I go for walks a lot. Hanging out at the Hob again?"
He chuckled with a curt nod, "You know your father said the same thing to me a few days ago."
"Yeah, he said he was here. I bet that was quite a sight," I grin, the image of my father out of place in the Hob still striking me as amusing.
"What brings you over here?" he pried and I sighed in response.
"I'm going to watch the Games with the Everdeen's," I tell him quietly and he nods without a response for a moment.
"How are they? How is her sister?" he questioned and I shrugged again, glancing over as a few Seam children run by me into the Hob.
"They're alright, all things considered," I told him and he gave me a sad smile.
"The whole thing sucks. She's worked so hard to take care of her family," Darius muttered and I nodded in silent agreement. I realized that they probably crossed paths frequently here over the years.
We talked for a few more minutes and just as I let out a laugh at joke of his, Gale emerged from the entrance of the Hob with his empty game bag at his hip. He spotted us with a raised eyebrow, his eyes moving between the two of us for a moment.
"Is there anyone you won't flirt with, Darius?" he jabbed lightly, and I felt the heat in my cheeks with a blush as Darius chuckled in response.
"Oh, come on, I think the real question is if there's anyone who won't flirt with me," Darius taunted back, giving me a playful wink and nudge on the arm. I only respond with an eyeroll and a small shake of my head.
"If anyone was going to flirt with you, it certainly wouldn't be her," Gale teased, his grin was directed at Darius though his eyes were on me.
"I hate to break it to you, Darius, but he's right," I chime in, shrugging sympathetically before I giggled lightly. Darius feigned insult, but his grin said enough. Just then, a handful of Peacekeepers walked out from the Hob in a commotion of laughter and one of them called his name. He gave us a nod, striding off toward them but not before winking at me playfully. I rolled my eyes immediately, but the pink tinge to my cheeks gave away the still-shy girl who would always reside in me.
When I glanced up at Gale, his expression was mostly unreadable aside from the single dark, arched eyebrow. "What?" I asked, blinking as the sun rose just over the ridge of the warehouse roof across from us shining directly into my eyes. His face changed before he glanced away, a small smile playing at the edges of his mouth.
"I guess the Mayor's daughter could marry a Peacekeeper," he remarked and I narrowed my eyes, turning on my heel to walk away from him in the direction of the Seam. "Oh come on, I was joking!" I heard him call behind me, his long, easy strides matching mine so quickly and silently that I flinched when he appeared in step with me seconds later.
"You're never going to let that go, are you?" I huffed, folding my arms around my torso. As we reached the nearest houses of the Seam, I made eye contact with an older woman sweeping the stoop of her home before training my eyes on the uneven ground in front of me.
"I-I didn't mean it like that, okay?" Gale gave a half-hearted apology and I snorted a small laugh, shaking my head.
"That's always the first thing people go for when they say anything about me. They don't know anything about me, except that. It sets me apart from them so they attack me for it," I murmured quietly enough that the people passing wouldn't hear me.
"I didn't know it bothered you so much, Madge. I'm sorry," he apologized and I sighed, nodding.
"Well now you do," I muttered.
"Now I do," he agreed, nudging my arm lightly with his elbow and I sighed, letting go of my irritation.
"Darius talks a lot of game, but does anyone actually think he's cute?" I said, a smile playing at the corners of my lips at my own joke.
"Oh, you mean you don't?" Gale questioned and I looked up at him, my eyes narrowed until I saw the smirk and amused glint in his steel grey eyes. I pushed against his shoulder, shoving him lightly enough that he stumbled sideways with a laugh.
"I hate you, Hawthorne," I grumbled, feigning offense though I'm sure he could read right through it. With the rising summer sun came rising temperatures, and I couldn't tell if the heat that spread across my cheeks was because of this or something else. I pushed the ghost of a thought away, pulling my hair up from the back of my neck with a plain tie I kept in my pocket. I never had much of a tolerance for wearing my hair down in the heat, though it drove my mother insane to see it carelessly pulled up.
"I don't think you do," he taunted back, his shoulder bumping into mine as I pulled my hair up. "You're just easy to tease, you're so gullible."
I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as someone walking by stopped Gale and I kept walking, leaving him behind. 'He can catch up,' I thought with a playful pettiness. He had nearly seven inches on my height, and one stride of his was equal to at least two of my own. I didn't want to admit it, but he wasn't wrong. I was always the last one to catch onto a joke, though occasionally I was thankful for this. Sometimes it was better to not understand the jokes often made at my own expense.
Just as I expected, and as silently as before, he materializes back at my side a few moments later. Nothing was said between us for the next few minutes as we followed the dirt road winding further from town, the trees growing thicker between the small shack homes. I noticed a bright red bird perched on a branch over us and as I glanced up, I caught his eyes on me though they flitted away quickly. He followed my gaze, nodding his head toward it as he said, "Its a cardinal, I've seen them a lot in the winter."
"I remember them from a book in my father's library. Our ancestors used to believe that when you saw a cardinal, it was a loved one who has passed coming to visit you," I recall. "Maybe someone is trying to say hi."
We walk past the tree that held the small bird, though it had already darted off to another tree branch far behind us. "Do you really believe that?" he asked, unconvinced and I looked up at him, shrugging.
"Not really, but it's still a nice thought to have," I say, my hair brushing against my shoulder as I glance at a small, mangy dog trotting past.
"Who would be coming to visit you?" he questioned and I feel a small smile rest on my face as I thought of who I would want to visit me.
"My grandmother, maybe. She taught me to play the piano when I was a small girl. Or my aunt. I never met her, but I always wished I had with the way my mother talks about her. She's always said I remind her of her sister," I admit thoughtfully, my heart aching at the memory of my grandmother. I had been nine when she passed, but I could never forget my favorite memories of afternoons spent on the piano bench next to her trying to match her finger movements into melodies that I still played seven years later. "What about you?"
I look up at him, but his eyes are fixed on something down the road as he stays quiet for a moment. "I don't know... My dad, maybe. I'd like to think that I'm doing enough to fill his role, you know?" Immediately I think of the obligation he feels to start working in the mines to take care of his mother and siblings.
"Your family is better off because of you," I tell him, and his eyes meet mine as I give him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure he would think the same." His expression seemed to soften a little, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a brief, sad smile.
As we reached the Everdeen house, we noticed Prim tending to her small goat. Lady, I remembered her telling me the name of the black and white nanny. She greeted us with a gentle grin as she rubbed the spot between the goat's horn nubs, the small animal pressing her head into Prim's knee as she did this. "Did you find the herbs my mom was talking about? The ones for mosquito bites?" she asked Gale as he leaned against the shoddy fencing.
"Yeah, but had I known you were going to be milking her this morning, I would have taken it with me to get more," he said, gesturing toward the bucket beside Prim with a jerk of his head though his expression showed that he didn't really mind.
"I wasn't planning on it, but it got me out of the house," she responds, standing up and brushing the dust from her pants as Lady trots off behind her. 'And away from the relentless broadcasting,' I thought.
"I'm about to head out, but I'll stop by and grab it on my way back through to the Hob later, okay?" he offered, reaching into his bag to retrieve a small glass jar filled with an unfamiliar bunch of leaves. He handed it to me as Prim lifted the bucket and stepped over the fencing. "I'll see you guys later," he said and as he moved to walk past me, his shoulder bumped into my own.
I glanced back to watch him walk away as Prim returned the farewell, but I said nothing. Turning back to Prim, we started talking about the morning as we stepped inside the tiny home with the morning sunshine streaming into the windows.