Azalea Asterbloom
District 11 Female
Age 16
3 weeks before the reaping
Azalea wipes the dark berry juice off the pads of her fingers, drawing away the sweet hint of the ripe blueberry patch lines that surround her like the walls of a fortress. She heaves a small sigh, sliding the basket of picked berries even further down the clothesline. The frosty air nips at her sweatshirt, tugging it in the wind's icy breath.
The sun is already getting smaller in the auburn sky but Azalea knows it's not time to quit. It's never time to quit. Not until she can't see five feet in front of her, darkness enveloping her and her surroundings like a thick cloak. Azalea doesn't mind the hard work though, the money she'll earn for the berries will be well worth the tiring day of picking.
Her dark hair swishes in its ponytail, swaying as she moves slowly along the bush. She picks berries off the bush as fast as lightning, a smile capturing her features in a delighted hush. Her pace as quick as the messengers that practically fly through the District's square, buzzing this way and that, like worker bees collecting nectar.
"How much longer," Plum complains. His voice breaking the firm silence, as he does each evening the family spends picking berries.
"Neither of us have a watch." Marigold says, his voice reminding Azalea of a wind chime, beholding a tone that is not unlike Azalea's own voice, just a slight octive deeper. Marigold has always been Azalea's favorite, Plum always seemed too down and negative. Azalea pins optimism close to her heart and when people get down on the souls around them, she doesn't really like to associate them with her.
"And?" Plum asks, letting out a whimper as he drags his bucket down the line opposite Azalea's.
"Oh come on Plum, think of what we could buy with this money," Azalea says, her voice happy and light as it floats down her row and into his ears.
Plum pokes his head up from the bushes, "we barely get anything for the berries, we'd do much better working in the orchards." He suggests monotonically.
"These are mom and dad's plants, we can't just leave them." Azalea shrugs.
"Fine whatever." Plum sighs, dipping back down into the plants.
Azalea turns back to the line, softly humming to herself. Off her lips drips an old, lively melody her mother used to sing to her when she was little. She couldn't exactly remember the words, but the melody and beat never left her. She often did this, to pass the time on long nights.
Marigold hitches his basket off the line, taking the full basket to the cart they've already almost filled with cases of berries. He glances slightly at Azalea, tapping his foot along to the rhythm slipping softly down the lines. His green eyes shine as bright as emeralds in the night, holding a vibrant look of both hope and wonder. Azalea has always admired that about her older brother.
Azalea turns away and for a moment, she stops humming. The sound of pounding footsteps across the grassy hillside that borders the plants, holds tight to her breath. For a slight moment, her heartbeat flutters wildly. But instant relief fills her body as she sees Lilith making her way down to Azalea and her brothers, Dandelion and Malia in tow.
"Hey!" Lilith calls downwards to the berry pickers, mirroring the smile shimmering on Azalea's face.
"Lilith!" Azalea says, watching her best friend and little sisters rush toward her.
"Hey loser." Lilith replies, standing in front of Azalea for a split second before unhooking her almost full basket. "No more today, let's take a bit of a break." Lilith booms in her outrageously loud voice. Her light blonde hair braided in two plaits that hug tight to her back.
"But-" Azalea starts but stops when she sees the giddy looks on all of her sibling's faces. "Fine, load in, we gotta take these to the markets anyway."
"Where were you two?" Marigold asks suprised, turning around to face the two girls that had followed Lilith down the hillside. Malia nods for a second before raising her eyebrows at her older brother.
"We were helping take yesterday's baskets in." Dandelion answers.
"Lucky." Plum sighs, grabbing his woven basket off the line. The basket lines are one of Plum's first inventions, he created them so we don't have to lug around heavy baskets all the time and could just unclip them when they got full. Or 'full', neither Plum nor Maila ever fill their baskets up completely, but that's alright, they're still new to this whole thing.
"Oh, com'on." Marigold half scolds-half jokes. "You don't need to complain all the time, do you?"
"Actually I do, thank you very much," Plum says, grinning as he throws his last basket into the back of the cart. It sways for a second as he steps into the back, squeezing between columns of baskets.
"He's got the right idea." Lilith laughs, "y'all can find room in the back, Lea and I will take the front."
"Why does she-" Maila starts to complain but shuts up when Marigold taps her shoulder.
"What, you don't wanna ride with me?" he jokes, winking softly at Azalea who just rolls her eyes back.
"Hurry up losers, we ain't got all day." Lilith quips, and Azalea can't help but let out a small chuckle. Her best friend has always been the louder one, the one who pushes Azalea outta her comfort zone. The one who isn't afraid to be herself. How they'd become friends, Azalea can't remember for the life of her, but somehow they fit and Azalea loves that.
"Technically we do though." Azalea laughs, smiling as Lilith climbs onto the front of the cart, switching on it's new fancy motor the family had just bought with the little extra they had to spare.
"Technically shut your mouth, is my sarcasm finally wearing off on you?" Lilith grins.
"Ew take it back." Azalea giggles, sliding in beside her friend as the cart rolls to a start.
Lilith swivels the steering wheel of the cart, it's old wheels creaking hoarsely in the process. "I don't want it, you keep it bitch." She says as she steers the cart through the maze of people. Thankfully, the berry patches aren't too much of a cart-ride, and Azalea could already see a few of the venues from her seat next to Lilith.
Lexus Ramirez
District 6 Female
Age 15
3 weeks before the reaping
Lexus looks down from the cargo hold of a Capital Hovercraft, taking in the swirling colors of vibrant sunset as they bled into the sea off in the horizon. A sea that borders something, somewhere over the walls of the District. There are many things beyond the District and Lexus can't help but wish she could explore them all.
It's not like the walls are able to keep the smart ones in, they are broken down in multiple parts, crumbling stone. The broken walls are a small piece of hope in a shimmering, glistening idea of a future away from the gang-run district. A district so bad, even the mayor has abandoned us in her fit of glory.
That's why Lexus wants to leave. She loves the freedom of flying and exploring with little watch, but her mind resides in the Capital. A place where she and her sister could have a possible future, one away from the drowning memories of their dead parents. Parents who Lexus feels abandoned her, leaving her with a little girl to take care of.
She was only twelve when her mother died, leaving her with a broken father and little sister. Lexus was looked upon to provide for the family, letting her father care for the child. Or at least until he slipped away, falling into a mysterious depression that contorted his emotions. Making him more susceptible to feelings of escape, and that's what he d-
"Lexus! Get your head away from the open hatch, do you want to die?" Cori shouts, her dark curls weaving in front of her tan features as the wind rushes up to meet the speeding hovercraft.
"Fine." Lexus says, stumbling back into the walls of box upon box of auto parts. They clink against each other as the sound of screeching gears fills the cold air.
"What the flap." Cori shouts, "stop moving, you're unbalancing the hovercraft." The wind pulls at her words, creating a whisper that barely reaches Lexus's ears. But she knows what she's done wrong and quickly sits down in a seat beside Amari and Falo. Amari shoots her a glare, while Falo just stares blankly into space around him.
"I'm sorry." Lexus apologizes as she turns around in her seat. Spinning on the hard, cold metal that stings at her skin through her leggings.
"Don't be sorry and get up here you idiot." Cori laughs at her co-pilot who took a seat beside the cabin crew. Lexus shoots the girl a smile as she gets back to her feet. She catches a glance of herself in the reflectiveness of the window paneling boarding the outside of the hovercraft but she ignores it. Lexus looks out beyond the reflection and into the shattering landscape of a District below her.
District Six stretched out West to the Border-Line River, a winding stream that separates the posh and elegant of Six from the common folk. Every District has its population of rich citizens, all hoping to somehow make their way into the Capital and Six's is no different. Maybe a few more than most but still, nothing outta the ordinary.
Making their way into the Capital.
That is something Lexus has thought about a lot the last few months. How could she not when she has been offered the chance of a lifetime? When her and her sister have been offered an escape? An escape from the burning memories of her mother's line-of-duty death.
Lexus knows her mother wasn't the greatest person, being a peacekeeper and all but she still loved Lexus and Avielle. She was a good peacekeeper, one known around the District for her citizen kindness. She hadn't been too hard on the District's people and many often enjoyed her times on watch.
"Ramirez!"
"Yes?"
"Daydreaming again? You have to stay outta your head when we're up in the air." Cori says, giving Lexus's shoulder a tight squeeze.
"I know, I know." Lexus snaps, instantly regretting her tone.
"You can go sit with the cargo if you're going to talk like that." Cori scolds, much like an older sister would.
"I'm sorry." Lexus says, pulling a bit of an empathic card from her deck. It isn't often Lexus apologizes but when she does, she really means it.
"Don't be, look, there's Yao's shop."
"Yao? Who's that?"
"Laera Yao, she's like one of the greatest people of all time. I mean- besides you, of course."
"Ohhh, yeah, you said you'd introduce me to her tomorrow. We still on for that?" Lexus asks, eager to meet her best friend's other friend.
"Of course, you two will get along great."
"Awesome! She sounds pretty fun, and Yao, that's a cool last name."
"I know right." Cori chuckles and Lexus can't help but join in, shooting her friend a wide grin. Their voices blend together into one high-pitched laugh that fills the hovercraft. Amari, Falo and Elain roll their eyes in the back, just wanting to get to the delivery point. But neither girl take much notice of their accomplices. "Like come on, I got stuck with Wels ughhh." Cori laughs.
"Wels is alright though, it's not bad, not necessarily. There's a peacekeeper in my unit whose last name is literally just the letter A."
"How?" Cori says but stops her thought as the hovercraft dips on a lower draft. The metal cargo clangs and the flight crew let out a deep, unanimous, groan.
"I'm sorry alright, come on, we're almost there," Cori says as Lexus points to a pinprick of light on the map she had sprawled across her lap.
"Just another half-mile more to the port." Lexus adds and Cori nods.
"You want to try and fly?" Cori whispers over to her co-pilot of a best friend. Lexus's eyes go as wide a boulders as she stares towards the handles of the steering wheel Cori is currently holding.
"I don't have my license yet, I probably shouldn't, what if I crash us?"
"You won't crash 'cause I'll be right here to make sure everything runs smoothly." Cori offers, raising a thin, dark eyebrow.
"You know what, why not?" Lexus laughs and Cori starts to shift her seat.
"Just apply a small bit of pressure." She nods as Lexus grips tight to the handles. "Now go!"
Phoenix Robinson
District 4 Male
Age 18
3 weeks before the reaping
Phoenix can't help but wince as he raises the shot of whisky to his lips. He can feel his hands shaking even though he'd done the same movement over a thousand times in the past, every time more blissful than the last. Yet his stomach churns at the exact thought, stinging and tearing at his insides. But who is he to let feelings rule his world? Not a Robinson, that's who.
He can hear the screaming from even up in his bedroom, with the door locked shut. The two voices clawing and scraping at each other, trying to tear the other to shreds. He barely listens to what they even say anymore, it's all the same lately. Two parents caught in a whirlwind that comes from an arranged marriage.
Pressing his back against the wall, Phoenix let's a small, troubled sigh escape from his cracked lips and out into the warm air. Even in winter, his bedroom is always warm. That's the thing that comes with the fighting, the money- how influential his parents are. It's not like he'd ever dream of being able to disobey them, they could destroy him and his reputation.
It's not like he wants to disrespect them, Phoenix is not about that, it's just sometimes a small glimmer of rebellion slips past his mind. Dancing so vividly among the thoughts of training, Elide or the Games. Those Games seem to be the only thing he is destined for. The only thing that will make his father proud, his mother smile, please his District- all of it.
"Nix?" he hears a small voice whisper outside his door and he instantly sets down the glass. He gags a little but keeps down the alcohol as he raises himself up from the carpet. His footsteps ring loud in his ears as he unlocks the door. In falls his little sister, who evidently, had her body pressed against the door.
Her short, dark brown hair bounces around at her shoulders as she regains her balance. Phoenix can't help but wish she'd just left him alone, it's her fault he'd been home and not training anyway.
"For fucks sake Aurora." He groans as she rolls her baby blue eyes up at him. She's only a few years younger than him but still managed to keep her ocean-like irises looking pure and innocent.
That's one of the biggest things that had driven the siblings apart. Aurora is a goody-two-shoes, the one who can do nothing, absolutely nothing wrong in her father's eyes. While Phoenix is trying everything under the sun to impress the man. It seems like the only thing his father is actually proud of Phoenix for is his training progress. And Nix is going to keep it that way, he enjoys training, enjoys the feeling of being in control of someone else's life other than his own. He loves the power it brings him, the feeling of being on top of the entire world.
"What did I do?" Aurora asks, her voice dancing across the vast room. Phoenix hates it here but he finds himself cooped up in it's openness much more than he'd like.
"You know exactly what you did." He sighs, restlessly playing with his fingers behind his back.
"Excuse you." She snaps, eyes locked on the bottle he'd snagged from his father's cabinet. "What the fuck did I tell you about drinking?"
"Whatever." Phoenix sighs, "I don't care."
"You should." She quips, "I hate that you do things like this." The lies drip from her features like honey from a hive. Phoenix knows his little sister doesn't give two fucks about him, it's all for the show.
"I don't and shut it, don't lie," Phoenix says, his voice raspy and masculine. It cuts through the air like a knife and Aurora stumbles back like she's been struck. Astonishment dramatically plays at her features as she pretends to act concerned.
"Phoenix, why would I lie?"
"Quit the acting." Phoenix snarls, "I hate you." For onlookers, the scene would have been upsetting but not to Phoenix. His sister didn't care about him at all, nor does he care about her. It's her bitter tricks that always fool him in the end. Twisting and tugging at his mind, getting him to actually believe she is good. Only to watch her stomp on his heart.
"Whatever." Aurora grumbles, rolling her eyes at him as he glares at her. "Fine, I'll go then." Her tone matching his own.
"Do it, I don't care." Phoenix says, watching her spin on her heels. She leaves the room the same way she'd come in and Phoenix slams the door behind her figure.
He takes a deep breath in and opens the door. His eyes slide across the brightly-lit hallway as he regains his posture and typical confident stagger. "I'm heading out." He says to neither of his sisters in particular.
A moment of weakness like that is not atypical for Phoenix but he can never let it get the better of him. He is strong and will prove that to the world, no matter what it takes. Aurora hates the Games, saying they're a waste of time- but she's not the one having to prove himself to their father.
"Training?" Fate asks, sticking her head out of the doorway.
"Of course." Phoenix nods and she smiles back, ducking back into her own room as he pivots on his heels. He shuts his door behind him in a fluent motion, sending a whisper across the house of a goodbye.
Training is the only thing keeping Phoenix sane at this point. He wishes that fact wasn't true but, he's only human. Built like a machine, yes. Trained like a machine, yes. Treated like a machine, yes. But, at the end of the day, he's still a person.
As he strides down the hallway, he slowly rubs the nape of his own neck, tracing the few scars. The training scars, the fights, the work. All of it is Phoenix's life, his escape from whatever went down beneath his own roof.
He glances back at his sister's closed doors, wondering to himself about what they are doing.
Oxanna Blanc
District 2 Female
Age 18
3 weeks before the reaping
Oxanna leans against the locked dock handle as the girl inside screams out in agony and pain. She clamps her jawline tight as the sound distorts her emotions, twisting her features. Oxanna hates seeing others in pain, especially pain that may have been rooted in her own faults.
"Klyeme…" Oxanna croaks. A nurse dressed in all white exits the room across from Klyeme's, shooting the girl a sympathetic smile. Her pants matched something Oxanna had worn the day before, cuffed at the bottom and slim fitted at the top. Three buttons and a higher waistband had held Oxanna's outfit but the woman's own, hospital variation seems to fit her perfectly.
"I'm sorry." The woman nods, swiftly patting Oxanna awkwardly on the shoulder before pivoting on her heels. Alilia, the nurse, quickly departs from the scene, hurrying off towards the hospital's front desk. Most other people would be confused as to why Oxanna knows all of the nurses by heart but she just likes to laugh that matter off, it comes from visiting her twin sister any chance she could get.
"It's not like you two are the closest," Oxanna whispers to herself, her voice barely over a whisper. "But she deserves some support and that's your strong suit."
"Oxanna?" a loud voice yelps, question filling the hallway.
"Right here, like always. You alright?" Oxanna asks, jingling the handle of the locked door. "You really shouldn't be locking this, you'll get in trouble with the doctors." She suggests, not trying to aggravate her sister.
"I'm fine, leave me alone." Klyeme says, her voice wavering as Oxanna's dark eyes burn holes into the lock. Oxanna wishes she could make her sister feel better but with the neck injury, things aren't looking the greatest.
Oxanna had been given the official news earlier this morning, Klyeme's injury will be a disadvantage and she won't be able to volunteer like she'd planned. Leaving the back-up, her twin sister, to rise to the occasion. Yet, this isn't exactly what Oxanna wants. Oxanna doesn't want to take her spot, she'd much rather stay home with her family and friends.
It's not like she didn't enjoy training, she very much did, she just knows how much this meant to Klyeme and for her just to take that away? Oxanna couldn't bear the thought of bringing pain like that to her sister.
"I don't think that's true." Oxanna replies, her words cleanly cut through the lilac-scented air. The feeling of unwantedness underpowering the thought of making her sister feel any better. "Please Klyeme or I'm getting a nurse to unlock this door."
"Go the fuck away from me." Klyeme strains, her voice faint as if she'd just been weeping.
"Why? No, let's talk about this." Oxanna half begs-half whispers.
"I said go away, I don't want to talk to you." Klyeme says, her voice still soft yet raspy from the tears that had stolen her expression. Oxanna can feel her sister's burning heart- even from outside the door. A heart that yearned for a better defeat than a simple injury that pulled her from the race. The race for a mixture of dignity and triumph above the rest.
"I don't want to talk to you." Klyeme spits, her voice no longer sweet or soft.
"Why not?" Oxanna asks, "I'm your twin sister and I know we're not on the best terms and all but please. I didn't choose this and neither did you. It's not your fault, nor is it mine but this is our reality now and hate me all you want, but I want to make you feel better. But I can't do that locked away, now can I?"
"I guess, whatever. Oxanna, I'm sorry, I don't necessarily hate you, I just hate the situation."
"That's what I thought, now why were you screaming? Is your neck that bad?" Oxanna asks as she hears a small click and the door in front of her creaks open with a mouse-like squeak.
In the door frame, Klyeme sits patiently in her wheelchair, casts lacing her body like clothing. Her chocolate brown curls fall in front of her face, framing her features and broken expression. Oxanna's heart stings seeing her sister in such a state. She moves quickly across the room to the office chair abandoned next to the hospital bed, of which, Klyeme should be resting in.
"When did they clear you for a wheelchair?" Oxanna asks pleasantly as she takes a seat. The chair squishes and sinks beneath her, letting out a small huff.
"They haven't but they left it in here." Klyeme admits and a small sigh escapes Oxanna's parted lips.
"You idiot, you can't do that." Oxanna laughs.
Klyeme smiles at her sister's chuckle, "well, I did." She says.
"No, com'on, you need to go back to bed." Oxanna reasons lightly, her voice soft but commanding at the exact same time.
"Why though? I like being able to move around." Klyeme jokes, twirling around in a circle with her new wheels.
"Do you not want to get better?"
"Of course I do." Klyeme says, "fine, whatever." Her face drops instantly from the small wispy smile to the otherwise emotionless blank slate Oxanna has seen so many times. She slowly rides her wheelchair to the bedside, but winces when she tries to move her body forward.
"Here here, let me help you." Oxanna offers, quickly getting up from her seat and rushing over to where her sister sits. Klyeme shrugs away from her touch at first but after a minute or so, gives in and lets her sister help her back into the milky white hospital bed. After Klyeme gets settled, Oxanna shoots her sister a big grin.
"Don't get your hopes up, I still don't like you." Klyeme whispers, the once shred of laughter and happiness drained from her features.
A/N: Annnnd we're back! STABOOM. First intros done! AHH very exciting, I'm so ready for y'all to see all of the tributes and the things I have planned for them! Anyway, thoughts on the first 4? Who's your favorite? Who do you think could make it the farthest?
Also, in terms of intro order, I kinda don't have one. Well, I did and I sent it in homies but I'm going against that soooo think of it as a mystery. Even I don't know who I'm going to throw in until I do. I'm trying to spread out people who are kinda simular so that no one gets them confused until we get to see more of them.
AND TODAY'S THE FIRST MARIESDAY (I'll start posting weekly on Wednesdays -my time for y'all who are across the world-) so yay.
Oop, I'd also like to say if you could DM/PM me the things I asked for last chapter that would be great... I honestly can't remember exactly what they were. WAIT. Yes, it was the open to romance thingy, yeah, idk if you could just zip over to last chapter and check it out, I'd very much appreciate it :))
And yeah, that's all I got, as always- have a good day/night/afternoon.
Bye for now,
Marie