Tallin Windsor, 18.
District 11 Male.
(tw for drug and alcohol abuse)


Tallin's eyes peeled open slowly as they adjusted to the bright light shining in through the open window nearby. A gentle breeze floated through, the smell of fresh cut grass and the new flowers of spring accompanying the gentle swishing of the curtains framing the window. The breeze prickled his bare skin where it was exposed from beneath the crumpled, tangled blankets, dried blood and bruised skin a sharp contrast against white sheets. Rolling over with a groan, Tallin reached, searching for something, although he didn't know what he expected to find. He only found more bed, the sheets and blankets near to him crumpled as if another person had slept there the night before. Tallin rubbed his eyes as he sat up, trying to recall the events of the night prior, unable to recall much of anything through the pounding in his head.

Fragments danced through his memory: a drink, or maybe three, acerbic against the back of his throat, the sharpness of needles, the cold metal against his arms and the relief he knew would follow soon after.

And the rest? Lost. Just like Tallin.

Tallin's feet hit the wooden floor with a loud creak. His head immediately began to spin, threatening to take him to his knees. Gripping onto the wall, he slowly made his way to the door nearby, the dizziness receding but the dull aching pain staying beating behind his eyes. Pulling the door open, Tallin stepped into the hallway, looking for one of the other people he lived with. It was empty, but he could hear voices from the direction of the kitchen. Tallin made his way down the hallway, hand gliding against the cool brick wall, keeping him steady as he rounded the corner into the kitchen.

"Glad to see you made it," Marsh said, raising an eyebrow across the table at Tallin, "What the hell happened to you?"

"Don't remember," Tallin muttered under his breath as he made his way towards the counter, pulling a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water from the tap.

"I'm not surprised, you should've seen yourself-" Marsh continued, before being cut off by another person entering the small kitchen.

"Oh, leave him alone, let him nurse his hangover in peace," Alida said, nudging Marsh as she passed behind him.

"You got a shift tonight?" Marsh asked, turning towards Alida.

"No, I'm off tonight," Alida shrugged, lighting one of the burners on the small stove nearby, placing the teakettle on it to boil.

"Damn, that means I'm stuck with Libby," Marsh muttered, "At least I'll be outside the door."

"There's worse sentences than working a shift with Libby," Alida replied, pulling a chair back to sit at the table, opposite from Tallin and next to Marsh. The three of them had lived together for a few years now, in a small apartment above the Dominion Bar, where they worked. Both Alida and Libby worked as hosts and servers, while Tallin was a bartender, and Marsh was their muscle, standing guard at the door to make sure nobody of unsavory sorts came in. The bar's owner, Iggy, let them live there at a reduced rate, and since it was right above their workplace it meant they didn't have to worry about transportation. It was a pretty good deal, especially for people like Tallin who didn't have any other family to reside with.

It was just him. It had always been just him.

Tallin didn't care much for his job - it gave him enough money to survive, and a place to live, but that was it. It was certainly better than working in the fields, and he was grateful to Iggy for giving him the job, but Tallin was certain that he didn't deserve it. No, there were dozens upon dozens of people far more worthy in Eleven who deserved to be in his position.

It wasn't like he'd be here much longer anyways, not if he could help it. Tallin had never been a particularly brave person though.

If he was any braver, he wouldn't be here anymore.

The whistling of the kettle through the small kitchen startled Tallin from his thoughts - which in the long run would probably be better for him, as his head wasn't a good place to be for too long. But the piercing whistle of the kettle only made the throbbing in his head worse. "Could you… turn that off please?" Tallin muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm getting it," Alida sighed, dragging herself out of whatever conversation she and Marsh were having. Tallin wouldn't exactly call them friends. Sure, they lived and worked together, but Tallin hadn't ever opened up to them about his past, and it wasn't not like they asked him about it. That's just how things were in places like the Dominion. He'd learned that quick enough upon joining up with Iggy and her group of workers. They'd taken him in like a family, no questions asked - it wasn't like he wanted a family, but he was taken in anyways when he'd accepted the job. He never thought he'd have a family again, not after what had happened to his parents all those years ago.

A single match flickering in the dark of night, burning orange and yellow, mesmerizing to a child who didn't understand what he was doing. Singed stone, cracked wood turned to charcoal in the blaze, snow blistering cold against the bottom of his feet in the dead of winter.

Tallin had learned a lesson that night: You should never play with fire if you don't want to be burnt. And he'd been more than burnt; no, the old Tallin had been scorched, what was and what could've been turning to ash in that fire just like everybody he'd ever loved, leaving only a husk of his former self.

Never again would Tallin Windsor play with fire.

Pushing himself to his feet, Tallin stepped away from the table, quickly making his way towards the nearby stairwell, exclamations of confusion from Alida and Marsh falling on deaf ears as he closed the door to the apartment behind him. He grabbed his shoes from the nearby rack and pulled them on before making his way down the stairs. Tallin just needed to get out, to go somewhere that wasn't here. Tallin wanted to leave and never come back, but he couldn't do that. verything was just a mess and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't fucking fix it; it all just fell to pieces in his hands every time he tried.

One of these days, maybe something would come of his lethargy.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he pushed another door open and stepped into the empty dining room of the Dominion Bar. The cold air conditioning washed over him, sending a chill into his soul. He'd never truly get used to its strange interior: There were large paintings hanging from the walls, swirls of bright acrylic colours muted by the bright blue and purple lights hanging overhead. The lingering smell of cigarette smoke and sweat stayed in the air no matter what time of the day it was, making his nose itch from its stench.

"What're you doing here? Your shift doesn't start for another four hours," Iggy called from behind the bar, her imposingly tall frame bent over as she wiped the countertop down.

"Just taking a break," Tallin replied quietly with a shrug.

"Mm, I bet the AC is way better down here than it is up there," Iggy nodded with a toothy grin, "Well take a seat if you want, or help me wipe down tables if you'd like to make yourself useful."

"I'll help, I guess," Tallin nodded, stepping over to the bar. Iggy ducked under the counter for a moment, reappearing with a damp cloth in hand which she tossed across to Tallin. He caught it easily, then turned away without a word.

Wiping the tables off was easy, mindless. Tallin liked this kind of mindless work; it kept his mind busy, although it often involved making conversation. Tallin wasn't really fond of talking to people, although he'd figured out how to chat with the bar patrons without the conversations getting personal. As he continued wiping down tables, Iggy humming in the background to the small old radio that only worked half the time, Tallin felt a sense of peace wash over him, the kind of peace that never lasted in Tallin's life.

If only Tallin knew the worst was yet to come. If only he knew he'd long for this peace soon enough.


Olive Sidney, 15.
District 11 Female.


Olive ducked her head down, careful not to be seen as she gripped the branch of the large olive tree she sat in tighter. She couldn't see Indigo but that didn't mean he couldn't see her, so Olive carefully shimmied closer to the tree's trunk where the canopy of leaves would cover her the best.

"Olive? Where are you?" Indigo's voice called from nearby, close but not so close that she could see him. She'd always been fond of her brother. Despite the five-year gap between the two, one hardly ever went anywhere without the other in tow. Olive stifled a giggle as Indigo wandered beneath the tree she was in, completely unaware of her.

"C'mon, we have to go home soon, you should just come out now," Indigo called again, cupping his hands around his mouth. Olive looked up through the curtain of leaves towards the sun, which was indeed beginning to set in the sky, the shadows getting longer with every passing minute. With a sigh, Olive swung her leg over the branch she was seated on, letting herself dangle beneath the branch before dropping down to the ground below.

"Indigo!" Olive called to her brother, who had begun to walk away, oblivious to Olive's presence. The younger boy jumped, turning around to face his sister with a grin.

"I found you! That means I win!" Indigo said, a large grin spreading across his face as he bounced over to Olive.

"That doesn't count as a win for you. At least, it shouldn't," Olive replied, rolling her eyes as she took her brother's hand. The pair walked through the orchard, the trees stretching above their heads on either side, surrounding them in a green curtain of shade that protected them from the beating sun above them in the sky. It was quite peaceful out in the middle of the orchards, where it seemed as if the entire rest of the world had dropped away, leaving only the two Sidney siblings.

"Hey Olive, what's that noise?" Indigo asked as they walked. Olive paused momentarily, stopping in her tracks as she stood to listen for a moment. It sounded like footsteps, but why would there be footsteps after all the workers had gone home for the day? Though it was a bit early in the evening, there was only one other possibility- the Peacekeepers were patrolling. Olive's fears were confirmed as she caught a glimpse of gleaming white armor through the green curtains of leaves.

"It's Peacekeepers, c'mon, we gotta go!" Olive whispered harshly, gripping Indigo's hand tighter as she took off running. Indigo stumbled for a few steps before getting into the rhythm, keeping up easily with Olive. The two siblings quickly reached the end of the row, turning onto the main path as they continued, keeping their pace up. As they took a few more turns, ones Olive knew like the back of her hand, they soon found themselves at a small gap in the fence. Olive ushered Indigo through before squeezing through the gap herself.

"Do you think they saw us?" Indigo panted, placing his hands on his knees as he sucked in deep breaths.

"I don't think so, no. Let's hurry up and get home," Olive replied. Indigo nodded, and the pair set off again, this time trekking through a field of tall, golden grass. There was a small path trampled through it already, which the two followed, Olive leading the way. The overgrown grass waved gently in the wind, its golden colour only amplified by the warm light of the setting sun.

Eventually, the path opened up, the grass giving way to a wider dirt path, which led out onto a still wider dirt road. Further down the road, town was visible, the buildings scattered at first, packing in closer and closer, until they cast long shadows across Olive, sending a chill down her spine, as she didn't have a jacket on.. Olive had never been particularly fond of town, as she much preferred the wide open spaces of the fields past it. It was suffocating being surrounded like this, by this many people and things, and it was far too busy for her liking.

The two wound up in front of their parents' shop soon enough. Before the siblings went in, Olive paused, taking Indigo by the shoulders.

"Don't tell them what happened, alright? They'd kill us if they found out what we were doing," Olive instructed, looking her brother in the eyes. Indigo nodded, appearing to understand what his sister was saying, and the two stepped into the shop, the bell on the door jingling as they crossed the threshold.

"Oh good, you two are home just in time to help with dinner," their father called, looking up from the book he was reading as he sat behind the till. The store was small but packed with all sorts of items, everything from produce and food to nails and matches. The store did well enough that the Sidneys could live comfortably, which was more than most of the District could say.

"You two are filthy. What were you doing out there?" Father asked as the pair made their way to the door which led to the stairs to the apartment that resided above the shop.

"Oh, just playing out in the fields," Olive responded with a wave of her hand, "Like we usually do, you know?"

"Hmm, okay, well… go help your Ma, I'll be up after I close up the shop," Father replied, closing his book and placing it on the counter in front of him. Olive and Indigo nodded, heading up the stairs into the apartment. They stopped at the sink, both washing their hands (Olive making sure Indigo didn't cheat his way out of it) before heading to the kitchen, where their mother was. There was a delicious smell wafting from the kitchen, which Olive couldn't quite place, but she could feel her stomach rumbling as she walked into the kitchen.

"Oh good, you two are home. Is your father coming up?" Mother called as she leaned against the counter.

"He said he'll be up soon; he's just closing up the shop," Olive responded as she began collecting silverware to set the table. Indigo took out some glasses from the cabinet, which he then began filling with water from the sink. This was often how things went with their family, everyone doing their part in harmony, which Olive enjoyed. All she really had was her family; she never really had any friends from school or anything like that. But Olive had always wanted more than just this simple life with her family. She wanted friends of her own that weren't her brother. Olive often wondered if this was selfish: to want to leave her brother and her parents behind, to make her own way in the world. Why would she ever do that when she was perfectly set at home? But that was the way it was for every child; her parents could only do so much for her before the world would force her out on her own.

So Olive Sidney would learn to command her own future. Every child had to, after all.

"Olive hon? Are you alright?" Mother asked, placing a hand on Olive's back as she walked up.

"Oh er- yeah I'm alright," Olive replied as she shook herself out, continuing to set the table.

"Are you sure? You stopped setting the table halfway through and just stood there-" Mother continued before Olive cut her off.

"No I'm fine."

"Okay, if you say so," Mother replied, shooting her a worried look before retreating into the kitchen once again.

Soon enough, Father came upstairs, and Mother came out of the kitchen with dinner. The entire Sidney family sat around the table, making idle chatter as they ate, a peaceful atmosphere filling the air.

Olive figured she could leave commanding her own future just a little bit longer. After all, things were peaceful. Besides that, what was the worst that could happen to a simple girl like Olive?