Hello, I am back, I hope you missed me! Bringing you the first half of the District Nine Reaping, purely because I still haven't got a male tribute yet... so if you want him, let me know. If I haven't received a completed form in the next two days, I will take him so we can get this moving along. For now though, I hope you enjoy this. Stay safe and well and happy, and remember that if you ever need to talk about anything, I am here!

Lana

It wouldn't make her any money. She was nowhere near talented enough to make a career out of something like this, and besides, people in her district no longer had the kind of income that would allow them to buy something like this. But she loved it, and no matter how selfish she felt taking time out of her day to paint, she needed the escape. She needed to feel as though she had a life away from everything else, a part of her life that was for her, and just for her, something that no one else had access to, no one could comment on it or put her down, or remind her that the life she so longed for would never be a reality.

Lana's life was dominated by taking care of others, it would never be that of a world class artist, or even one that was respected in her little district. No, it would be one filled with endless work and caring, and protecting. It was a thankless life, and one Lana knew she was confined to forever. She spent her time making sure everyone else was okay, being strong for them when they could no longer be strong for themselves, and when she finally got a few hours free to just exist, she was forced to pick up extra shifts at work. The lulls in the week where all she had to think about was the feeling of her brush against the canvas was what kept the girl going through the pains of life, kept her going through the constant fear that one day she would come home, and everything she had worked for and achieved wouldn't be enough.

"Lana." The frail voice broke through the girl's temporary comfort, reminding her that no matter how hard she tried to fool herself that things could be different, they never would be. This was it.

She sounded ungrateful, and every time a feeling other than gratitude filled her body, she reminded herself of just how lucky she was to have her siblings still with her. Things were not perfect, far from it, but they were better than could be said for a large proportion of the district. Lana passed them everyday on the way to work, the people left behind by life, clinging onto their final days before starvation overtook them. She always wanted to stop and help, but her family barely had enough to survive, Lana herself often went days without a full meal. But still, she knew her pity wasn't enough, and whenever she walked down the streets, she noticed how faces changed and disappeared.

The Capitol had not been kind to District Nine after the rebellion. They hadn't exactly been kind to any district but Lana could tell Nine had suffered most greatly. The grain they produced may have been a coveted supply among the districts, but the Capitol had little use for them. They didn't need grain, they had all the food they would ever need, without the help of the districts. Everywhere else provided them with something, power or luxuries, even down to the coal from Twelve. Sure, Nine may not have been the poorest district, but it felt like they got the brunt of the hatred from the Capitol. Lana knew she should be used to it, it wasn't something new, her whole life she had seen the despair and destruction left behind by their rulers, but that didn't make it any easier to look at.

"Lana." The voice repeated, more exasperated this time and desperate, and the girl knew she couldn't hesitate any longer. Hastily, she dropped her brushes into a bowl of water, wiping her hands quickly on her apron before throwing it on a ball in the floor and heading towards the bedroom at the end of the hall.

Her brother lay there, on the only bed they owned, looking worse than he had done the days before. It broke her heart to watch the boy that had always been so full of life and love and energy slowly slip away. And it hurt more to know there was nothing she could do. It was only comfort now, that was all she could provide. No doctors came to see them anymore, they had all written Jaelynn off as a lost cause, and whilst deep down Lana knew they were right to, watching him suffer every day in his own sweat and vomit made her feel like the most useless sister in the world.

She settled down next to him, perching on the end of the bed and wiping her hand across his forehead. He was sweating, but so cold to touch, and Lana could swear she felt her heart stop as the boy burst into a fit of coughs. It was like this at least five times a day. His lungs would just stop, and Lana's heart would race, left waiting to see if her brother would pull through. Jae always did, he was so much stronger than she gave him credit, but that didn't make it any easier, and all Lana could think about was the eventual day that he would just stop. Stop coughing, stop calling her name, stop breathing. And Lana didn't know how she would cope with that.

"Hi, Jae." She whispered, leaning down towards the smiling boy's face, urging him to take deep breaths as she gently stroked his hair. "You okay, baby?" He was so small and frail for a 19 year old, she sometimes forgot just how grown he was. Most of the time Lana was too scared to touch him. His body was so sensitive, she was constantly worried about causing more pain. The last thing he needed was Lana's affection making him more uncomfortable.

"I thought you left me." He murmured, gesturing for Lana to lay down next to him on the already small single bed, smiling as she complied, nuzzling his face against her neck. "I was so scared, Lana, I woke up and you weren't there anymore."

"Oh Jae," She sighed, taking his hands in her own, and bringing his palms to her lips. "You know I would never leave you, I was just in the other room, okay? You never have to worry about me leaving you, I would never ever do that."

"Today you will." Jae spoke, shaking his head at the glass of water Lana raised to his lips, refusing to drink as usual. She persisted, holding the glass close to his lips, until at least he took in a few sips. It was better than nothing, Lana knew every time he ate or drank it was torture. "Today you all leave me." He repeated again, letting his head fall backwards against the pillow once more.

At first Lana couldn't work out what he meant, sometimes his mind was in a different place, talking about things she never understood. But this time, he was right, they were all leaving Jae today. The reaping had completely slipped her mind, there was so much going on, she barely even remembered the Capitol existed.

Leaving Jae alone now worried her more than the reaping or the games ever would. Both Lana and her brother Luke would be outside the Justice Building for at least an hour, if anything happened to Jae in her absence she would never forgive herself. That was, if Luke even showed up. Lana couldn't remember the last time she saw her older brother for more than 10 minutes. He worked hard, she knew that, but the time he usually spent laughing or cooking with his siblings, he now spent drinking alone or with work friends in an empty field. They couldn't afford the alcohol, hell, they could barely afford to pay to keep the water on, but it was Luke's money, and Lana felt selfish taking more from him than she already did.

Jae, was not exempt from the games, of course not, that would ruin the fun, he simply didn't have to attend the reaping in person, his name was still in the bowl. Lana was aware of some people that the Capitol had left untouched, mostly the terminally ill, it would be no good to watch them die of natural causes before the games had even started. But her brother hadn't been diagnosed, as far as the Capitol was aware, he just had a fever, she knew that wasn't all though, they had dealt with fevers before but this was so much worse. Jae hadn't left the bed in weeks, she couldn't bear to think what would happen if his name was called.

Lana looked down noticing tears that welled in her brothers eyes, suddenly feeling so much guilt for not fighting harder for him, if only she had found one more doctor, maybe he would have been freed from the games for the year. She knew that the chances of Jae's name being called were very remote, but it didn't stop Lana from worrying that it just might be the case.

"I'm not going to leave you." She whispered to him, cupping his cheeks in her hands. "I'm going to stay right here." Lana couldn't leave him. No one should ever have to go through the reaping alone, especially someone in Jae's condition. And, Lana was sure her name wouldn't be called, she had already been dealt the worst hand, there was no way something like the games would be thrown on top of that. They wouldn't miss her, and more importantly she wouldn't miss being with Jae. There was a register when people entered the square, and Lana knew that eventually there would be some consequences, but for now, all she could focus on was Jae.

Her mind flicked briefly to Luke, she wondered where he was, and if he was attending. She felt bad for not being there with him, but knew that whatever state he was in, he probably wouldn't want her there. And besides, Jae had to be all of their priorities, there was no knowing what day would be his last.

A TV sat in the corner of the room, usually unused, they couldn't afford to keep it running for longer than an hour a week. But this was a special occasion. Lana held her breath as she switched it on, just in time to hear the name of the female tribute.

"Thank you for your continued hospitality, District Nine, I am so happy to be back here for the third year!" The escort spoke, staring down the barrel of the camera. Hospitality my ass, Lana thought. There was no way she had stepped foot on the streets of the district, everyone here hated the escorts, Lana included, she hadn't even cared enough to learn the woman's name.

"But now I won't keep you waiting any longer," She grabbed a name from halfway down the bowl, and Lana could feel the whole district holding their breath. "Your female tribute this year, District Nine is Lana Spice! Lana? Please make the way to the stage. Lana Spice?"

She could keep calling the name, but it would do little good. Their tribute was a mile and a half away in a house that was falling apart, cradling her sobbing brother, who was bound to be dead before the end of the month.