Hey guys! I'm so excited that we got the twentieth chapter of this fic, it's really awesome! What did you all think of Catching Fire? It pretty much blew my mind, but all I have to say is...*spoiler alert* Peeta had better make it *end spoiler alert. Anyway, this is Mr. Everdeen's drabble, and while it's a bit short, I rather like it. I also posted a Catching Fire-based oneshot that is really, really sad, if you're in the mood for a tear-jerker. Up next is either Madge, Mrs. Everdeen, or Random Capitol Person. If you have any preference, mention it in your review. Anyway, thanks for all the great reviews, and I hope you like this!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.
Katniss was always different.
Even when she was young, she was always solemn for her age, much more mature than you would expect her to be. She understood the cruelty of the world she was born into more acutely than even most adults did. Even if my life hadn't been cut unnaturally short, she would have been different.
All parents want their children to be strong, emotionally and physically. Linnea and I were no different. And Katniss was strong in both ways; that much was undeniable. She was not a marvel of nature when it came to strength, but she could, and would, survive most anything you threw at her. Her inner strength was also less obvious, but it was still always there. Only the strong survive in the Seam, but most of those people aren't forced to survive virtually alone at the age of eleven. For the majority, it's developed over time, through gradual life experience. With Katniss, it happened abruptly, at an age where most children are still just that. Children. She became an adult when she should have had years of childhood before her.
In the Seam, if a child is healthy and good-looking enough, their parents will try to create for them a marriage into a merchant family. It's a way out of poverty, one that was certainly open to both my daughters. But one thing that Katniss lacked was charm or any kind of sweetness or openness to people outside her family, something girls are taught to be. She is, if not cold, distant and quiet towards strangers. But to her family…no one has ever loved a sibling more than Katniss loves Prim. Once you earn her trust, there is no one more loyal.
Some things about her, like her ability to break the rules if necessary, not to mention her courage, make her different than most of the people in District 12. But in other ways, she has traits that are quintessentially Seam. She loves her family. She is loyal to the end. And she is strong. As long as she has the strength to draw breath, she will fight for those she loves, for what she believes to be right.
Those traits, not what she has suffered, set her apart, and make her who she is. A loyal sister, a proud woman, a devoted lover, and most of all, a strong fighter.
I hope you enjoyed it! If you get a chance, go check out my other fic, titled 'The Meadow.' Thanks again for all the great reviews, and I hope you're all doing well-even though we're going back to school soon.