Almost there! I just need a Three and Seven male from Sparky She-Demon and a Six female from Tracelynn! I've sent a few messages so soon I'll assume they're busy and start down my waitlist. I also need a Twelve male from Silver, but I'm in contact with her, naturally, and know he's coming.
There are hardly any reviews this time around. That's okay, I'm not one of those authors who holds chapters hostage or kills Tributes for it. I assume everyone's just busy with school. It's just something I noticed. Drop me a line if there's a reason, like this story is hella boring or something. But then again, a lot of regular readers have been absent lately, so that's probably a big factor. I presume they're doing school stuff, which is good. I heartily support putting school before fanfic.
Porter Crane- District Nine male
I was the fastest of my group of friends. Sure, there were only three of us. Sure, the other two were girls way shorter than me. But that wasn't important. I was the fastest. The grass was green and gold around us, swaying in the breeze with its homey rustle. The sun was warm but not hot, and the dirt had its nice dirty smell.
Amelia, Annie and me were running back to me and Amelia's house. We didn't have any laundry to deliver that day, but it was just fun to run. Kids should always run when they can. Life is short, and we were young. Someday we'll be too old to run.
Amelia was right behind me, her brown braids sticking out behind her like streamers on a flag. We were twins and all, so we were similar in most ways, except the obvious one. I was fast, and so was she. Annie wasn't too far didn't care as much about the races anyway, and didn't kill herself like we did.
Well, well, well. Okay, that's a really dumb joke, but sometimes, those are the best.
The old well was something of a gathering place in my part of Nine. It depended on the time and season, but after school, it tended to attract the rougher kids. Not really dangerous kids, but the kind of kids your mother tells you not to play with.
"Hey, Porter! Having fun beating a couple of girls?" Sage called out from his perch on the well's wooden platform.
"Hey, I take what I can get," I joked back.
Sage and the two others with him, Sedge and some guy I barely knew, got up and came toward us. We looked at each other, wondering if we should run off and ignore them, but we weren't scared.
The third guy looked over Amelia creepily as she panted from our run. "I can give you a reason to be out of breath," he said
"I'm sorry, who are you again?" I asked. "Oh that's right. The one with parents who named you Raper."
"Reaper!" he said.
"Right, Reeker," I said, and wrinkled my nose. "I can't imagine why."
"Get out of here before I give you something to smile about," Reaper said, then scowled as he realized that made absolutely no sense. Amelia, Annie and me didn't wait around for him to come up with something better. We made like bananas and split.
Visenya Lloyd- District Nine female
The wheat grows, and the wheat is harvested. There are seeds, and then sprouts, and then seeds again.
I wasn't usually so philosophical. It just struck me as I played Hunter with the little kids. I used to be that little. I used to be the hunted, tunneling through the long grass and snickering into my hand as the big kids tried to find me. Now I was the big kid, and the new little kids were hiding from me.
The hunting was good. I'd already caught two kids, and I was closing in on a third. I stood still, listening for the shifting grass from the tiny movements I knew from memory I used to make when I was hiding. Or for the flash of color when the breeze moved the blades, exposing a bit of shirt.
When I was little, I thought I was such a good hider. I never imagined that every hunter was a hider before me. I had my strategies and secrets, and I still knew them now. All the little kids hidden in the fields had the same thoughts. I was a good hunter because I was once such a good hider.
Some tiny trigger set me off, and I followed it. I heard the giggle as the target realized he or she was spotted, and then the crunch as whoever it was shot up to run. I bolted after the noise, tagging the fleeing boy by his shirttail.
"Got ya!" I yelled.
Cyrus flopped dramatically into the grass, giggling as he pretended to be killed. We roughhoused for a minute, and then he bolted off to hide again for the next round.
Just after I caught Daisy, the dinner bell sounded. All around me, children stood up and ran toward the row of shacks that made up our homes. I scooped Daisy up for a piggyback ride to the edge of the field. I watched the children stream into the shacks, and the smile faded from my face.
They're getting ready for the Reaping. There wouldn't be any games tomorrow. I thought back to where I'd been just a minute ago, and my heart went cold. Playing Hunter didn't seem so fun anymore.
Daisy was just three. She didn't even know what was happening. Cyrus was twelve. I thought of him hiding in tall grass, and running. I thought of a hand snaking out and pulling him down. How he would flop and twist and try to get away. I saw a shape over him, holding him down and tumbling with him. The noises he would make. He wouldn't be pretending.
Porter: Porter has dark skin, light brown eyes, faded black hair, small nose and a slit in his eyebrows. He is 5'7 and about 140lbs. He's not bulky and has more of a slim build.
Visenya: 5ft 9 She has a triangular face, a large nose, large lips, and her dark grey eyes that are droopy. She has elbow-length, fine, light brown hair. She has long arms, a long torso, narrow hips, and long legs.
